THE AZORES 



521 



53 miles south of St. Michaels, has al- 

 ways been free from eruptions and even 

 heavy earthquakes. 



AZOREAN EMIGRATION TO THE UNITED 



STATES 



There is perhaps no country in the 

 world that has such a heavy tide of emi- 

 gration, in proportion to the number of 

 its inhabitants, as the Western Islands. 

 Some of the emigrants go to Brazil, but 

 by far the majority to the United States. 

 During the year before the world war 

 6,000 Azoreans emigrated to the United 

 States, and it is estimated that there are 

 35,000 Azoreans in California and over 

 60,000 in New Bedford, Massachusetts. 

 Providence, Rhode Island, and other parts 

 of New England, making a total of almost 

 100,000. The population of all the 

 Azores is scarcely 300,000. Many of the 

 emigrants return home, and almost all of 

 the inhabitants of some of the islands 

 have been in the United States. 



It is not unusual, even on the small 

 islands, remote from foreign influence 

 and the busy world of the twentieth cen- 

 tury, to hear a boy of 17 discuss his con- 

 templated trip to Massachusetts, a gray- 

 haired senor speak of the bark Sarah that 

 carried him to American shores in 1850, 

 or an aged mother refer to her son in the 

 far-off land of California. 



Most of these emigrants sail from Ponta 

 Delgada, the capital of St. Michaels, 

 where they gather from all the islands. 

 Two Portuguese steamers make their 

 monthly rounds to the various Azorean 

 ports, bringing back to St. Michaels old 

 men who have visited relatives and are 

 now returning to America, and young 

 men and young women, boys and girls, 

 about to seek their fortunes in the New 

 World. 



Those are busy days in the port of St. 

 Michaels. On first view, the Azorean 

 emigrants, gathered on the wharf, differ 

 little from those of other countries ; but 

 an opportunity to study them more closely 

 will reveal many interesting faces and 

 figures. These peasants have lived in a 

 healthful, mid-ocean climate and led their 

 simple lives among the hills and rugged 

 mountains of their native land. Dejec- 

 tion is not pictured on their faces. Many 

 of them are tall and strong. But per- 



haps the most notable feature to a 

 stranger is the healthy glow of their faces. 



Unfortunately, many do not find the 

 fortune they seek in America. Some go 

 to the western part of the United States 

 and continue to lead a healthful life on 

 the ranches in California and Nevada, 

 but others seek employment in the manu- 

 facturing centers of the eastern States. 



Not accustomed to the cold climate and 

 indoor work, or the result of denying 

 themselves some of the necessaries of 

 life in order to accumulate enough money 

 to return home, it sometimes happens that 

 they contract consumption. While this 

 is by no means the rule, the government 

 of St. Michaels has, in connection with 

 its hospital, a special department for those 

 afflicted with this disease. 



ST. MICHAELS "A VISIT TO PARADISE" 



"You are going to a paradise," was the 

 information I received from a friend 

 when he heard of my contemplated trip 

 to the Azores. Naturally, my expecta- 

 tions ran high. Unfortunately, when our 

 boat anchored off St. Michaels, February 

 clouds, sending down sudden squalls, 

 were hanging low over the hills. But, 

 even with high expectations and the in- 

 terference of low clouds, the scene was 

 not disappointing. 



A sudden burst of glory is not es- 

 sential for a terrestrial paradise. St. 

 Michaels does not overwhelm you .with 

 the grandeur of a Rocky Mountain scene. 

 It captures you subtly. Little by little 

 impressions pile up in your memory until 

 your fancy lingers in the beautiful gar- 

 dens, whose walls are covered with wis- 

 teria and climbing roses, in the magnifi- 

 cent parks, and among the extensive 

 hedges of hydrangea that bloom along the 

 country roads. 



By way of contrast, St. Michaels will 

 fret and frown amid fearful, stormy seas. 

 But you are compensated when, on a 

 sunny day, you stand on the summit of 

 one of the many peaks and behold the 

 tranquil scene below you. Then you will 

 see the island studded with towns and vil- 

 lages, the verdant hills laid out in check- 

 ered fields and cultivated to the very tops, 

 picturesque dome-like windmills turning 

 their long wings, and the harbor and sur- 



