The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922, November 05, 1915, Image 2
THE 8EMI.WFPKI V TRIPIINF NORTH PI ATTE. NEBRASKA. AIFYirAN 1ST ANT) L , . PROF. MILTON WHITNEY tSg$& tho Island of nnraocoraa i regime, ndmlnlBtored all thut part of Mexico, main land, and Island, which lies to tho east of Yucatan. Tho foreign port nearest to Cozurael Is Belize, Brit ish. Honduras, distant about 1(5 miles southwest. Off to tho northeast, soiuo 210 miles away, lies Cuba. From oxtremo points north to south tho island, which Is rhomboldal in form, measures a llttlo under CO miles, and from cast to west about 14 miles. I Cozutucl occupies a very prominent placo In Mox ican history. It was tho first land sighted by Her 'nnndq Cortoz when, In 1519. lie sailed westward from Cuba on that famous voyngo which had for its object tho quest of gold and for Its result the conquest of an miplre Cortoz, however, was not tho flrst Spaniard to sot foot on Cozumel's shores. Tho. year boloro he landed it was visited by (Jrljalva. tho discoverer of Tabasco; and Dan croft, tho historian, mentions others who touched there during the earlier cruises of the Castlllans among tho Antilles. It Is a mattor of record that from tho deck of hln "llagnhlp" a llttlo vessel of less than 100 tons burthen Cortoz counted 14 towors on tho north, and northwest coasts of tho Island. These ha found, when ho landed, surmounted as many temples, oroctod for Idolatrous worship, When ho disembarked with half of his followers (all told tho expedition numbered ouly C17 men), leaving tho others on board his small Ucot to fropol possible attack, Cortoz' llrst act was to dls juantla those temples. Fired with religious zcnl, Iiq pushed his way through the crowd of In diana who had como down to tho beach to re ceive, him, and, mounting tho stops of tho prin cipal placo of worship, whore tho high priest and his attendants wcro grouped, ho harangued tho natives on tho sinfulness of their Idolatry, using an. Indian who, had bcon captured off tho coast oC Yucatan by Urtjalva and who had acquired a 'working knowledge of Spanish in Cuba, as an intorprctor. After thus giving vont to blB ro Jlgiaus forvor, and Cortoz' worst onomlos could novor. truthfully assert that ho was not slncero in, his faith, ho ordered his soldiers to tear down tho altars dedicated to tho falso gods and In their placo sot up a cross. No arguing, no rea soning. Prompt, nggrosslvo action, without re gard to odds, and bucIi action was Cortoz' main characteristic nt all times when dealing with tho natives whorovor ho went. Doubtloss much of his. rcmarknblo success with thorn was duo to it. Although tho Indians woro obviously docllo, tho Invaders wcro taking big chances In thus dosocrotlng tho oacrcd groves. Dut nothing hap pened, Tho audacity of tho procoedlng was buo HnWund so great that It Blmply dazed tho na tives and loft them Incnpnblo of protest. When Cortoz was nt Cozumol tho Island had apparently sovoral thousand Inhabitants: but when Stovoiis, a prominent American nrchoolo gst and travolor, wont thoru In tho early forties of. tho last century ho fouud not a slnglo soul. Tho. crowds scon by tho Spaniards wero prob ably transients, for, ns a mattor of fact, Cozumol novor had a largo resident population. It was a pacrod placo to the Mayas of Yucatan and Con trol America, tholr Mecca, and n vast "numbor of pilgrims wont periodically to worship nt Its Hhrlnes. During tho Intorvnls botwoen pil grimages tho priests, with tholr servants and re tainers, woro doubtloss tho only residents. 1 When tho Spaniards became llrmly established in Yucutan thoy forbado tho pllgrlnmgo to Cozu mol, tholr reasons for thlB coursu being that thoy needed tho unlctorrupto1' sorvlces of tho lndluns us laborers. Tho church also took a hand In prohibiting festivals on tho Island. Thoy carried tho mind away from tho doctrlno which the mis nlon fathers woro propagating, and although tho Indian had without very groat dllllculty been In iduced to accept tho cross In placo of tho graven mago. ho would, when visiting tho familiar tiiconos, bo sure to assoclato with thorn tho tencto Vf ihls ojd bollof, still urong within him. Notwithstanding that tho religious peregrina tions ceased, Cozumol was not entirely deserted until long aftor tho Invasion. Of courso, It la more than likely that thoto whoso homos woro on tho Island continued to reside thoto after tho main body stopped' coming. For tho greater part thoy wcro spiritual councilors and niedlclno men, and It Is vory i robablo f iat thoy wero forblddon to leave. It would bo decidedly to tho Interests ofthe conquerors, both lay and clorlcal, to koop them away from tho masses of tho pooplo. That thero was a soUlement, aud that Spj-nlards lived In it, is proved oy, thu ruined church an a burial ground one sees a couplo of miles to tho north of San Mlg'-el, tho principal town, Closo by tho church ruins Is tho site ot an ancient village, now traccablo only by Its stono foundations. Whatever tho cause may havo been, It camo about In tho courso of timo that tho island of Cozumol wns abandoned as a placo of resldonco. It must have remained unoccupied for soveral generations, for when Stovens touched thero with tho object of exploring Its ruined temples, ot which many aro known to oxiBt, tho entlro sur faco, with tho oxcoptton of two clearings, was covered with a donso growth of dwarf but thick timber. Stovens satisfied himself that this forest covered tho wholo area. One of tho open spaces reforred to abovo was a clcnrlng mado by n man named Molas, a no torious character, half political refugee, half pirate, who had been exiled from Yucatan. Molaa lived for many yoars In Cozumol, and doubtloss would havo "died In his bod" tho end most de sired by all froobootors, wo aro told had ho novor returned to tho mainland, for hlB enemies woro afraid to attack him In his stronghold. Ono fatal day, howover, ho sallod his schooner across tho channol and landed noar to whero tho Valla doltd trail comes down to tin beach. Molas' two sons who had voluntarily shared tholr fa ther's oxllo accompanied him on this trip, hav ing in vain tried to dlssuado him from making it. Molas insisted that his sons should remain aboard tho schooner until ho gavo tho signal that all was clear. Tho signal novor camo. Wait ing so long for It that thoy felt suro all was not well, tho lads went ashoro at last to investigate. Tho ovor-vlgllant foo had seen Molas' boat mak ing for tho mainland. A short dlstanco from tho bench, yet htddon by tho junglo, thoy found their father's mutllntod body. Tho boys returned to tho islnnd only to remove their personal belongings and what thoy could carry away of tho family offects, and than wont to llvo In a romoto part ot Yucatan, ns far re moved from Cozumol and Us sad associations as thoy could got. Thus It camo about that tho "lslo ot SwallowB" waB again without luman In habitants. Tho other cloarlng mentioned was the deserted ranch of a cortaln "Don Albino," as Stevens calls him without revealing his surname Stovens mot Don Albino In Vallndolld, and heard from tho ranchman'B own lips why ho loft Cozuinel. In Vnlladolld a cotton mill famous In tho annals of tho town as the first to be erected In Mexico hnd started operations, anil tho owner, an enter prising Spaniard, was paying high prices for tho raw matorlal and offorlng enticing premiums to oncourago more oxtenslvo cultivation ot tho plant. Now, Don Albino possessed no land, nor had ho tho means whcrowlth to buy somo; nevertheless ho yearned to prollt by tho mill ownor's bounty. So ho conceived tho Iden of going over to Cozu mel, which by that tlmo was rcgardod as a sort of "No Man's Land," to ralso cotton. Ho could easily convey tho lint across tho chnnnul In ca noes, and although from tho const to tho mill was a Journoy of soveral days for pack mules thero would bo sulllclont margin In th price to Justify tho oxponso ot transportation. Full ot enthusiasm, Don Albino gathered around htm as many ot tho more destltuto natives as ho could induce by tho lavish uso of glowing promlsqs to accompany him and sot sail tor Cozumol. Dut tho ntotloy band soon tired of th monoto nous llfo on tho lonoly Island. Thoy woro restloso spirits, who had lived by what was really llttlo short of brigandage, tilling tho land only to tho oxtent of being sure of their stnplo food, malzo and "frljoles' (beans). Sullon under tho crav ings for tho comparative excitement ohralnnblo in tholr native pueblos, thoy beforo long picked a quarrol with tholr "patron" and, Boizlng the only canoo, returned to Yucatan. In the opinion of many, ono result of the war will bo an Incroased and stupendous demand on Amorlca for foodstuffs, and advocates of tho "back to tho soil" movement aro wondering If that will not bring about tho return of many thousnnds of men from tho city to tho farm. Commonly two causes aro assigned for tho nbandoncd farm. Ono Is tho loneliness of farm llfo and tho lack of opportunity for wholosomo recreation. Tho other Is that tho soil, through gen erations of cropping, hnB become worn out. Goth theories aro wrong, accord ing to Prof. Milton Whitney, chief of tho burcnu of soils of the department of agriculture, a man who has spent his wholo llfo In tho study of these problems. "Hope and spirit of adventure nre tho chief factors in .tho movement from tho eastern farm," Is tho succinct way In which Professor Whitney declares his belief. Perhaps this war, with promises of a bettor and moro stablo market for food, may supply tho needed Incentive "Where aro tho abandoned farms?" ho nBked. "You do not And thom In North Dakota or the Panhandle of Texas, romoto and far from urban centers as thoy aro. Hut you do And them in Now York and Ohio, for example. Hope for a golden future is what moves men to go to tho nower portions of the continent, or to tho cities. Without hopo for such a future, you cannot keep them in ono placo." Professor Whitney Is ono of those government scientists who havo given tholr lives to public service, their recompense a small salary and the satis faction of doing helpful work. Ho Is a native of Daltlmore, and is llfty-threo years- old. mi mm na i m'm mmi mi SALANDRA, WAR PREMIER ibo iwrfT aiiiiww pi gwnwi ti i ii mm iiiimi' mi i linn 1 1 1 ii mn iki i i Entirely alone, Don Albino could make no head way with his project of getting rich quickly and, taking advantago of a passing vessel, went back to Valladolld. Tho cotton ho had succeeded In plnnting beforo his mozos deserted him was al lowed to grow wild, and tho island onco more wob completely abandoned by man. It wns not until 1S48 that Cozumol was again Inhabited. Tho revolution which caused Yucatan and Campecho to separate had deprived many citizens of tho means of livelihood, and for ma terlal as woll as political reasons It becamo necessary for thom to seok pastures now. Tho federal government offered to help them, provld od they would leave tho penlpsula. But to whero could thoy bo transplanted? Being Yucatocos, quick to resent tho paternalism of tho govern ment, and always suspicious of the party In olllco's bona fides, thoy wore of a spirit difficult to koop under restraint and moro than likely to soon bocomo unruly again. Thoroforo to allow them to migrate to tho central states, or oven to tho regions bordering on tho Gulf ot Mexico, was out of tho question; it was imperatlvo that they bo kept apart from tho moro docllo pooplos of the republic lest thoy Inoculate tho latter with tho political restlossncsa that had been their own un doing. Finally It was agreed that thoy should be taken to Cozumol. This arrangomont was duly consummated, and ovorythlng necessary to ennblo tho exiles to mako a good start was furnished gratuitously by tho government. After very many vicissitudes tho colony thus launched gradually scttlod Itself Into placo, becoming at tho expiration of a docado or so firmly ostob llshed, and Cozumol Is today tho "tlorra" or homeland of as hardy and Independent a sot ot Islanders half farmors, half fishermen as can bo found anywhoro In tho Antilles. Tho present population of Cozumol numbers some fourteon hundred souls. Tho capital, San Mlguolvls credited with 900 and tho village of El Cedral 'has about 150; tho remainder aro scat tered among tho numorous rnnches. San Mlguol Is quite a thriving, well-formed town. It has sovoral wldo, clean streets; a plaza, a very presentable llttlo church, ono largo gen oral storo and soveral small ones, an Inn. and municipal ofllces and customhouse; It also boasts a sort of csplanado running along tho entlro sea front, at ono end of which 13 the llghthouso and at tho other a landing Jotty. Although most of tho buildings aro palm-thatched cottages, thoro aro sovoral strongly built Btono houses and tho main street has a two-story brick houso and a modom bungalow. Tho only regular communication with tho out Bldo world is by government transport. Thoso stoamors call twlco each month to leavo and collect mall when on routo with troops and sup plies to and from Vora Cruz and tho military sta tions of Qulntnna Boo. Health conditions In Cozumol aro oxtroMoly good, when tho tropical cllmato of tho Island Is taken Into account. Tho normal rate of mortality averagos 14 per 1,000. Epidemics aro vory raro, Indeed, practically unknown. Tho great majority of tho Cozumol islanders aro poor, so far as possessing a surplus of this world's goods Is concorncd, being satisfied with a hand-to-mouth existence Among tho very few artlclos oxported from tho Island aro aponges, but tho quantity Is limited nnd tho quality not very lino. Moro than ono at tempt hns boon mado by foreigners to fully ex ploit tho spongo business hero, but all offortB to mnko It profitable on a largo scale havo failed. Thoro aro vory many ruins on tho Island somo of which I saw und to tho extent of my limited tlmo and ability oxamlnad tho archltec tural beauty and general plan of which provide irrofutablo ovldenco that tho early Inhabitants woro intelligent and cultured to a degreo moro than surprising. Politics took . a peculiar turn In elovatlng Antonio Salandra to world wide promlnonco as tho war party premier of Italy. A less bellicose man and ono moro conservative by naturo would bo difficult to llnd among con temporary Italian statesmen. Salandra Is almost as fair an illus tration of tho scholar In politics a3 President Wilson. Ills Interests aro primarily thoso of tho student. His past activities havo been as much academic as political. Ho Is simple, modest and domestic in his personal tastes. Nevertheless It Is this profes sor of public law In the University of Romo who is todny tho idol of tho Ital ian populace, to whom the Idea of war with Austria Is so dear. Salandra was born at Trola in Foggia on August 31, 1853. Naturally a student ho qualified for tho degree of bachelor of laws at tho University of Naples when ho was twenty-two. Ho was indefatigable In equipping him self with a knowledgo of public law and flnnnco, so that when ho entered tho chamber of deputies In tho sixteenth legislature his abilities were quickly recognized. Ho held various governmental posts and finally received tho treasury portfolio In tho cabinet of Baron Sidney Sonnino, who is minister of foreign affairs in tho present cablnot. MONTANA'S ACTIVE GOVERNOR Samuel V. Stowart, governor of Montana, is ono of tho group of west ern chief executives, like Spry of Utah, who aggressively opposo tho encroach ment of federal upon stato rights In tho matter of conservation. Tho con stitution of Montana explicitly seeks to aid in tho devolopment ot tho natural resources of tho stato by en couraging capital to mako uso of tho forests and streams and by safe-guarding Interests thus created. Governor Stewart Is a man of In itiative and action, as was abundantly proved In tho labor riots at Butto, when tho I. W. W. wero dynamiting shops and halls In tholr contests with employers. Whllo tho congressional delegation In Washington was fran tically trying to Induce tho president to send federal troops to quell tho riots a body of soldiers was sent as far as Missoula Governor Stowart calmly announced that he had no uso for federal troops, that the stato could handlo itB own riots. Ho proved that It could, moreover, for ho ordered out tho National Guard and went down to tho scono of tho disorders and took chargo himself. Tho rioting was stopped and tho federal troops wero re turned to tholr quarters. Governor Stowart Is a lawyer, a director or two siaw uuima uu una -. it. r T-. -i- oimirnl onmmltinn. Hln term ns eov- been chairman of tho Democratic stato central committee ernor is from 1913 to 1917. LONDON'S DEFENDER When Sir Percy Scott was appoint ed to tho command of tho gun de fenses of London overyono acknowl edged that ho was up against a hard proposition tho guarding of tho mo tropollB ngalnst tho raids of tho Im mense Gorman Zoppellns. But nearly overyono over thoro had such confi dence In Sir Percy thnt the success of tho October raid of the kaisers airships was really a great surprise. Tho citizens of London held Indigna tion meetings, and the press asked loudly what he Intended to do and why ho didn't do It. Sir Percy's sup porters Insisted that all was woll and that ho had something up his sleeve Admiral Scott ho hoB had that rank for somo time la u scieutlst und a man of action. Ho Invented a num ber of devices for insuring accuracy ot flro by naval guns, and helped plan tho llrst drcadnaught. As commander of tho Terrlblo during tho Boer war ho mounted his 4.7-lnch guns on enrnuges that woro conceived and built within 24 hours, and got them ncros3 country In tlmo to save Ladysmlth. On tho ovo of tho present war ho declared th Impotoncy of tho big ship, asserting that abovo-wator llcets would bo swept off tho seas by the submarine