©ITE CllSTO MB mm IBLAMB r^^smf TIHIE GATEWAY FiBOSIBIM(D COMPAOT PMCE FlIFTY CENTS /7 tf-;, ^ S^.^^^c^— / li "^^ Monte Cristo A MODERN MONTE CRI3T0 AND HIS ISLAND A Romantic Glimpse Into Goatology BY FREDERIC W. JONES GATEWAY PUBLISHING COMPANY BEAUMONT, CALIFORNIA 1919 Copyright 1918 By Frederic W. Jones 37/ ^ CONTENTS Author's Foreword CHAPTER 1 -A Trip to the Island Page 5 CHAPTER 2— Description of Island 10 CHAPTER 3— Whence Cometh our Goats 14 CHAPTER 4— Monte Christo and his Island 18 CHAPTER 5— Whither Goeth our Goats 27 440407 ILLUSTRATIONS FRONTISPIECE Monte Cristo The Block and Tackle Route Ten Thousand Goats Headed for a Drink at the Spring A Gang of Herders Trapped at the Spring by the Corral System Billies and Nannies in Quarantine Awaiting Shipment Author's Foreword The motor ship "Gryme" at municipal pier, was laden with several hundred live wild goats. We watched them being un- loaded. Four to six at each lift, were grappled by the horns with a hoisting con- trivance of ropes, pulley-blocks, etc. — in other words, they were transported from the hold of the vessel to the docks, via the "Block and Tackle" route. Each bunch of cud-chewers presented a sorry spectacle as they dangled in mid- air, with no apparent destination or clue on which to base hope for a much needed re- lief and their bulging glassy eyes seemed about ready to burst from their sockets. Thus suspended, these ruminant captives were jostled against one another's faces in such a manner as to appear comical. As their goatees seemed to frantically puncture 2 A MODERN MONTE CRISI^O each others eyes and ears it would have been difficult to determine whether their grimaces should be construed as exhibitions of resentment rather than tokens of affec- tion through their osculatory medium, when their noses bumped together. This scene fills me with curiosity to learn more about these goats. It is said they were born on Guadalupe (Wadaloopy) Is- land. I understand the "Gryme" returns for another load in a day or two and if op- portunity is given, I have decided to avail myself. y The Block and Tackle Route -i CHAPTER I A Trip to the Island The motor ship "Gryme" had recently re- ceived a coat of paint and looked quite dressed up. The Captain gave the signal and in a very few minutes our vessel was gracefully pulling out from municipal pier into the San Diego beautiful land-locked Bay which was resplendent with activity. Ferry boats were plying between the city and the Coro- nado peninsula. The Pacific fleet was rep- resented by many battle ships, armored cruisers of various classes, auxiliary cruisers, torpedo vessels and destroyers, monitors, submarines, submarine chasers, transports, gun boats, speed motor launches, tugs and colliers, together with innumer- able merchant vessels and minor craft. 6 A MODERN MONTE CRISTO Overhead sailed many airplanes, hydro- planes and dirigibles and last but not least, a swarm of sea gulls darting with jealous fury in every direction. I never look out upon the ocean without being attracted by the sea gulls; and never grow tired of watching their movements both on the water and in the air. They are certainly artists when it comes to floating or flying. Quite a flock are now approaching our ship. Could anything be more majestic than their outspread wings? and they are such perfect navigators. They swoop around and go just where they want to go without the slightest effort. They have no more fear of the water than they have of the air; they sit right down in it as if it wasn't wet. They can ride on a crest of foam and appear as comfortable as we could be in a rocking chair. They have a happy-go-lucky way of falling into the water just as a trapeze performer drops in- to the net below him; the only difference is, the gull is sure to arrive right side up. Two of these birds have just alighted on A MODERN MONTE CRISTO 7 the railing of the upper deck, so near to me tliat I can ahrsost touch them. I am screened from their vicv/, but can plainly see them through the cabin window; one is draped ill gray, which I have been told is the em- ])lem of youth, the other is a white beauty, and may it not be possible they are mother and daughter, and if this be so, mother has captured a small fish and holds it se- curely beneath her pink toes. It was al- wa}'s difficult for me to hold a slippery fish with my whole outfit, fingers and thumbs, but behold how easily mamma can do it with one foot containing only three long toes in front and just a little stump of a toe behind. I was fortunate in getting my close range view through the cabin window, and it was a most interesting spectacle to watch the white bird manage the fish — with its bill and hook attachment, it is marvelous how adroitly they are en- abled to pass a fish from their toes to the bill and back again to the toes of either foot without losing the fish? It certainly was a busy bird. 8 A MODERN MONTE CRISTO Their little round black" and shiny shoe- bivtton eyes must possess some kind of a multiplex radio-action apparatus which en- ables them to see everything instantaneous- ly "in any direction all the time. There is the fish to watch as well as an endless number of jealous snappers hanging around, losing no opportunity to grab the fish, and they doubtless have many other things to think of that we don't know about. Coronado and North Island are begin- ning to fade behind us and we are drawing near the construction works of the new United States Marine Corps Base. Passing out through the harbor channel entrance, with Point Loma to our right, we approach the ocean. The Coronado Islands are seen fifteen miles to the southwest. We make no stops until we reach Ensenada, Mexico, where we should arrive early in the morn- ing. The qiiiet harbor of Ensenada now lies before us. The sun is casting 4ts radiance A MODERN MONTE CRISTO 9 above the Eastern Elorizon. Until recently this town was the seat of the Mexican gov- ernment for the northern district of Lower California. It has been moved to Mexicala, in the In:perial Valley. There is micrchan- dise to be unloaded here and we expect to depart westward this afternoon and should arrive at Guadalupe Island tomorrow eve- ning. We now get our first glimpse of Guada- lupe late in the afternoon. It glistens in the sun's rays like an opal and such an irri- descent play of pearly colors are seldom seen. CHAPTER II Description of Island Guadalupe Island is situated about two hundred and forty miles out in the Pacific Ocean southwest of San Diego in latitude 29 degrees 10 minutes North, longitude 118 degrees 17 minutes West, and is twenty miles long and from three to seven miles wide. It is traversed north and south throughout its length by a chain of moun- tains, the most elevated of which near the northern end is 4500 feet high. The shores are in general, bold, rocky bluffs with de- tached rocks close to, but outside of one- quarter mile. There are no known dang- ers to navigation except a sunken rock on the west side about four miles north of the south point and three-quarters of a mile off shore. Very deep water surrounds the island, there being 1420 fathoms at 4 miles lo Ten Thousand Goats Headed for a Drink at the Sprinff A MODERN MONTE CRISTO 13 from its northern end 1121 fathoms at SjE^ miles from its southern end; between the island and the main land are depths of over 2000 fathoms. One fathom equals six feet. The island is of volcanic origin and can be seen in clear weather at a distance of about sixty miles. The southern part of the island is very barren, but the northern part has some vegetation on the mountains and several fertile valleys. Wood and water are obtained from a small cove near the northeastern end of the island. Off the south end are two rocky inlets, inner inlet, 744 feet high, is separated from the island by a passage about a quarter of a mile wide, in which are depths of eleven fathoms, with rocks under water, and sev- eral rocks out of the water; two detached rocks lie a quarter of a mile from its south- eastern side. Outer inlet 677 feet high, is separated from inner inlet by a deep chan- nel seven-eights of a mile wide. Milpomene Cove, at the south end of the island, affords anchorage in nine fathoms, sheltered- from. all. but southerly winds. CHAPTER III Whence Cometh our Goats Following the precedent of Adam and Eve — after many years, Billie and Nannie Goat are said to have settled on Guadalupe Island and their descendants of Billies and Xannies, through many generations, have in all prohability, numbered into the mil- lions by this time. History does not seem to record when or how these Billies and Nannies first es- tablished themselves, but it is not unrea- sonable to believe that their exodus may date back to the arrival of the Franciscan or Jesuite Fathers or much earlier, in fact, who shall give evidence that CharlesV. of Spain in 1542, did not commission Cabrillo to secure for him a goat ranch, which might be none other than Guadalupe? >i 'b A Gang of Herders IC A MODERN MOXTE CRIST(3 17 It has been estimated that there are up- wards of one hundred thousand goats on the island at the present time. The birth rate is said to reach from five to seven hundred daily and the death rate to have reached as high as 50 per cent. During the present year, however, the death rate has been much higher than the average, owing to an unexpected visit from a multitude of locusts which swept down upon the island and made a cleaning of everything to eat and the poor Billies and Nannies are said to have starved by the thousand. This calamity was soon followed by rains and such goats as managed to subsist on water were kept alive until the new crop of grass and weeds commenced to sprout. CHAPTER IV Monte Cristo and his Island According to thrilling narratives ver- bally given by various authorities among the islanders, the photograph of Count Alonte Cristo, the name by which he v^as universally known, presents him very much subdued from what he appeared during his heroic past. He was first brought into prominence through his escape, when a prisoner on a motor ship, and his safe return to his island home after a three-mile swim. His capture was effected by being trap- ped at the spring, around which a corral had been constructed. Our hero came down with a crowd of his companions to quench his thirst at the only spring on the island. 1^ Trapped at the Spring by the Corral System /t A MODERN MONTE CRISTO 21 He was then unsophisticated — after having been passed into the hands of a gang of ship company's employes, he discovered too late, the plot, and the object of a corral v^hich robbed him of his freedom and forced him to take the block and tackle route. Soon after pulling out to sea, our hero must have done some heavy thinking, for v^hen only a short distance from^ land, the alarm was given that a goat had jumped overboard. No attempt was made to re- cover him, and the incident was considered by all hands to be a case of lost goat. As a result of this occurrence, our hero gained the name of the Count of Monte Cristo in commemoration of Alexandre Du- mas' famous hero, which name stuck to him throughout his subsequent career. The Count's experience after jumping overboard has never been told, but that he made a successful three-mile swim and reached his native land has been proven beyond the shadow of a doubt on testimony of witnesses who claim to know positively 22 A MODERN MONTE CRISTO b}^ certain prominent and indisputable char- acteristics. From all reports, it would seem that the Count's escape from a salt water grave had wrought within his whole being, an insatiable desire to appease the Goat Gods for his rniraculaus deliverance, and as proof of his sincerity, to devote his future career to the furtherance of the highest interests of his fellow goats. In accordance v/ith the foregoing pre- dilection the Count, since his escape, has been ever on the alert to defeat the efforts of the herding gangs to corral a sufficient number of goats to meet the demands of the transportation companies for shipment, and he has shown himself to be some gen- eral, judging from the large following he has influenced, particularly among the Bil- lies. His secret service department was not- ably efficient, as the approach of any ves- sel was sighted in advance; and increased vigilance was apparent in the absence of goats for long periods between drinks, so A MODERN MONTE CRISTO 28 long indeed, that it was thought that the Count must have discovered other watering places. Careful watch was kept by the herders at the spring and efforts to secure water at midnight hours often resulted in battles in which the goats were victorious. For a brief period the Count's successful marshalling of his legions continued to carry everything before them, but, Friday, the thirteenth, was the beginning of the end of the Count's successes. He was grad- ually approaching his "Waterloo" and from a cause least expected. It was nothing short of a calamity and one probably not equalled by the Israelites under the Phar- oahs. There appeared a black cloud, and with it, came a mighty rushing wind which covered the island with a multitude of lo- custs which soon devoured everything fit to eat, thousands of Billies and Nannies were left to starve amid the devastation and many of the vast army of the Count of Monte Cristo shared the same fate. The Count, with fragments of his body 24 A MODERN MONTE CRISTO guard were discovered after the holocaust had spent its fury and the Count was pretty much all in, being weak from exhaustion, and while he was undoubtedly thankful for the water and alfalfa sustenance tendered him by his captors, he remained obdurate and still possessed his indomitable will, but, in less degree. His photograph was taken after he had time to cool off and he ap- pears quite resigned, although, were his inner consciousness exposed and expression given to his thoughts there might be re- vealed, the words made immortal by our old friend, Patrick Henry: "Give me liberty or give me death." Billies and Mannies in Quarantine Awaiting Shipment CHAPTER V Whither Goeth our Goats The last ship load of goats brought over from Guadalupe by the "Gryme" numbered 550 which are shown photographed while in quarantine at the A. T. & S. F. freight yards. The bucks for the most part are shipped to packing companies at Los An- geles and other points for slaughter and eventually find their way into the meat markets designated as choice venison and lamb chops or some portions may drift into the canned goods department where they are classified under labels delicatessen spe- cialties. The hides, hair and bones are all utilized and nothing is lost as the pork packers say "except the squeal" — a goat has never been heard to squeal. 440407 7-7 28 A MODERN MONTE CRISTO The better specimens of "does" find a ready market among the dairy ranchers for breeding purposes, being sired by pure-bred bucks imported from Toggenburg Valley, Svv^itzerland, and their descendents are des- tined to become celebrated milchers; and goat's milk is fast becoming baby's first choice — mother says. 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