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YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

Gift of

EDWARD LEA MARSH , JR.
Yale 193 1

A DOMINICAN CAPRESSE

THE BOOK OF THE
WEST INDIES

BY

A. HYATT VERRILL
III
AUTHOR OP
"PORTO RICO, PAST AND PRESENT," "THE OCEAN AND ITS
MYSTERIES," ETC., ETC.

NEW YORK
E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY
681 FIFTH AVENUE
1917

COPYRICHT 19 IT
BV
E. P. DUTTON & CO.
3r\V

Printed in the United States of America

PREFACE

Stretching in a vast semicircle, from Florida
to the tip of South America, Has the archipelago
kno-wn as the West Indies.
With marvelous climate, their shores washed
by the bluest of blue seas, ever swept by the re
freshing trade -winds, luxuriant beyond words,
inexpressibly beautiful, and varying in character
from awe-inspiring, rugged masses of mile-high
mountains to low-lying sandy cays, the West
Indies afford interests and attractions to suit
every taste.
No two are aUke; each possesses an individual
ity, a charm, a fascination all its own. If you
seek quiet and rest, there are spots in these lovely
isles where time has stood still for centuries; if
fond of history and memories of the brave and
bloody deeds of the past, you will find interest a
plenty in the Antilles. Here was the cradle of
European ci-vdlization in the New World; here
was the haunt of pirate and buccaneer; here the
great nations of Europe struggled for supremacy
through ceiituries, and here are buildings, scenes,
iii

iv PREFACE
and ways of life contemporaneous "with Columbus
and his mail-clad conquistadores.
Or, if one desires magnificent scenery; if lus
cious fruits, gorgeous flowers, marvelous plants,
stupendous cataracts, lofty peaks, or sublime
active volcanoes, appeal to you, the West Indies
will provide them all. On the other hand, he
who feels lost without all the comforts and con
veniences, the news and the accompaniments
and luxuries of twentieth-century civilization, he
who seeks great cities, golf, horse-racing, dances,
balls, society, — even the opera, — ^may find all
these in the West Indies.
Here, almost at our doors — within from three
to ten days' sail of New York — are some fifty
islands varying in size from Cuba — vast and con
tinental with its length of eight hundred nules —
to tiny islet gems a few acres in extent. Here
one may dwell amidst all the luxuries and moder
nity of up-to-date cities teeming -with himdreds
of thousands of inhabitants or one may live in
sleepy, age-old towns and quaint villages quite
out of the world. One may travel by Pullman
express trains for day after day through a scenic
wonderland, may whirr over perfect roads in
luxurious automobiles, or, again, may foUow
narrow trails on horse or donkey back in lands
where a wheeled vehicle was never seen.
. Even climate may be found to suit the most

PREFACE V
exacting. You may bask in the sunshine and
bathe in the azure tepid water beneath wa-ving
palms if you love the ardent heat of the tropics;
you may find a climate of perpetual June on the
verdured hiUs where roses bloom forever, or, at
a higher altitude, you may find an overcoat use
ful and "Will shiver under double blankets at night.
Perhaps the very diversity in the West Indies
is their greatest charm, for the people are as varied
as the scenery and climate of their island homes.
Spanish, French, Dutch, British, — each island
reflects, in a measure, the characteristics of its
mother country and the customs, habits, language,
and ways of each are adhered to most tenaciously.
It is Uke traveling from one European nation
to another to tour the islands. One day you are
beneath the white-crossed, scarlet flag of Den
mark; the next, you are under the banner of old
England. You fall asleep with the strains of "God
Save the King" wafted to you from the British
fort, and gaze shoreward the next moming to
see the tricolor fluttering above a typically French
to-wn. You spend a forenoon strolling about a
town which might be on Mediterranean shores
and -with the soft babel of Spanish in your ears,
and, ere nightfall, look upon tiled roofs, chimney
pots, and dormer -windows, -with busy market-
women clattering about in wooden shoes, while
"Yah Mynheer" greets your wondering ears,

vi PREFACE
and you feel as if you had been whisked from
Spain to Holland. You pay your boatman in
shillings and pence, and, a few hours after, are
bargaining with another in francs and centimes,
and, ere another day has ended, you may be
stri"ving to mentally reduce guilders to dollars or
patacon to centavos and pesetas. And if you
don't like foreign ways, if you feel strange and ill
at ease amid people whose speech you cannot
grasp, you need not despair, for Uncle Sam also
has a foothold in this polyglot archipelago, and
of all the charming islands, few can boast greater
attractions, more historic interest, or more numer
ous advantages than the isle above which v/aves
the Stars and Stripes.
That Americans have not long ago more fully
awakened to the attractions, advantages, and
lures of the West Indies is amazing. Until the
European War, thousands of our citizens went
to the Riviera, to the Mediterranean, to the Orient,
and elsewhere seeking the very climate, the same
scenery, and the identical things to be found so
much nearer to our shores. Even to-day, when
the American tropics are more in the public eye
than ever before, few Americans have a correct
idea of what the West Indies offer or the truth
about them.
But in a way our people cannot be too greatly
blamed, for our British cousins are almost as

PREFACE vii
ignorant of their West Indian colonies as are
AmericaJis. Indeed the lack of knowledge, even
among officials, is incredible, and the folio-wing
anecdote, told to me by a government official of
the British West Indies, may serve as an illustra
tion of this. The official, a retired army officer,
was appointed to a post in Nevis. Anxious to
learn something of his new home he made many
inquiries but no one could give him information.
At last he sought a govemment gazette and found
the foUo-wing: "Nevis, one of the Leeward Islands.
Subject to earthquakes, epidemics, and hurricanes.
Chief town submerged."
Such misconceptions in regard to the islands
have, no doubt, done much to prevent an interest
in them and while a few, such as Cuba, Porto
Rico, and Jamaica, are becoming popular "winter
resorts, yet the great majority of the West Indies, —
the most beautiful, the most interesting, and the
most delightful are terra incognita to most people.
Even those who have heard of the smaller
islands have no tangible ideas in regard to them,
until they have actually visited the islands. They
appear so minute and unimportant on the maps —
mere pin points in comparison with the mainland,
— ^that it is difficult to realize that they are really
large, that they are covered by mile-high moun
tains, that they support large towns and cities, or
that they are worth visiting.

viii PREFACE
It is invariably a wonderful surprise to the
stranger when he first sights these "specks" of
land and finds the shore-line stretching away from
horizon to horizon in a succession of towering
moimtains, broad valleys, and -wide plains.
Still another popular idea is that the West
Indies are unbearably hot; that because they are
near the equator they must be torrid in tempera
ture, and that they are hotbeds of disease and
swarm with noxious insects and poisonous reptiles.
All this is absolute nonsense. The islands are
far healthier than many of our Northem cities;
yellow fever is unkno-wn in most of them, and
has not occurred for thirty or forty years in any
of the smaller islands, and two of the West Indies
— Cuba and Porto Rico — lead the entire world
in point of health.
As to climate, the West Indies are never as hot
as our own to-wns in midsummer. The tempera
ture rarely rises above 85°, there is a variation of
only a few degrees throughout the year, and sun
stroke and heat prostration are unknown. The
trade winds blow ceaselessly, showers keep every
thing fresh and green, and, best of all, the houses,
clothing, and Hfe are all adapted to a warm cUmate.
Insect pests are far less abundant than in the
North, flies are not as troublesome, there are few
mosquitoes — save in swampy districts where no
visitor is likely to live — and only in one or two

PREFACE u
islands are there any poisonous snakes, and, where
these do occur, they are extremely rare — far
rarer than the venomous reptiles in the vicinity
of New York City. It is to destroy such errone
ous ideas of the West Indies, to paint them in
their true colors, to point out their manifold
attractions, charms, beauties, and pecuUarities,
and to pro-vide a reUable, concise, and yet complete
handbook on the West Indies that this book has
been written.
My greatest regret is that space is so limited,
that Uttle can be said of some of the most deUght
ful and loveUest of the Caribbees; but perhaps
it is just as well that everything is not described;
that all the charms and interests of the islands
are not mentioned. There is all the more incen
tive for my readers to visit the islands, to learn
and discover for themselves, and, in doing this,
they "Will come to love and appreciate the West
Indies the more. Hyatt "Verrill
September First,
Nineteen Seventeen

CONTENTS
PAC a
Prologue, Introducing the West Indies . i
CHAPTER
I. — Bermuda  lo
II. — The Virgin Isles .... 31
III. — Islands quite out of the World . 40
IV. — St. Kitts and Ne"vis ... 47
V. — Antigua and its Neighbors . . 55
VI. — Guadeloupe, where Waves the
Tricolor  65
VII. — Dominica, the Caribbean Wonder
land ...... 72
VIII. — Martinique, the Land of Josephine 81
IX.— St. Lucia, an Island Stronghold . 88
X. — Barbados : the Tight Little, Right
Little Island .... 98
XL— St. Vincent, a Neglected Eden . 121
XIL— Grenada, the Isle of Spice . .129
XIIL— Trinidad, the Magnificent . . 144
xi

xii CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
XIV. — Santo Domingo, the Historic . 174
XV. — Porto Rico, our West Indla.n
Colony  227
XVI. — Jamaica, the Island where a
Pirate Ruled .... 261
XVII. — The Bahamas, Islands of the
Pink Pearl .... 289
XVIII. — Cuba, the Pearl of the Antilles . 300
APPENDIX
Glossary of the West Indies . 351
Useful Bits of Information . . 441
Index  453

ILLUSTRATIONS

A Dominican Capresse . . Frontispiece
Old Fort, Porto Rico . . . . v
Old Church, Antigua  x-vii
Old Bell-To"wer, Jamaica .... 9
Map of Bermuda  12
Cut Coral Ready to be Used as Building
Stone, Bermuda  17
Cathedral Rocks, Bermuda ... 20
Natural Arch, Bermuda .... 20
Shark's Hole, Bermuda .... 26
Inscription on Spanish Rocks, Bermuda . 30
Pirates' Island, Samana Bay, Santo Domingo 31
Landing Place, St. Thomas ... 32
Sugar Estate, St. Croix • . . 32
Old Port, St. Thomas  39
St. Eustatius from the Sea. ... 40
Church of St. Joseph, Jamaica ... 46
Basseterre, St. Kitts .... 48

XIV

ILLUSTRATIONS

The Circus, St. Kitts ....
Old Fort, Entrance to Antigua Harbor
View of St. John, Antigua '
Montserrat from the Sea
Wild Birds, Dominica
Old Bridge, Guadeloupe
Carib Fishing Canoes
Souffri^re, Dominica
Carib Girl, Dominica .
Entrance to Botanic Garden, Dominica
Harbor, The Lesser Antilles
Fort Royal (Fort de France), Martinique
Fort de France, Martinique
Coaling a Ship, St. Lucia .
Pitons, St. Lucia ....
Gathering Sea Eggs, Barbados .
The Wind-Swept Mahogany Trees, Bar
bados
A Barbados Road
A Barbados Landscape
On the Windward Coast, Barbados
A Bit of Water-Front, St. Vincent
Nutmegs Growing, Grenada

48 55
59 62 6471 72747679
80 8186
86 88
100 100
III III120128129

ILLUSTRATIONS

XV

St. George, Grenada  129
Street in St. George, Grenada . . . 129
Port of Spain, Trinidad .... 144
Opening Cocoa Pods, Trinidad . . .147
A Coolie Girl, Trinidad . . . .152
The Blue Basin, Trinidad . . . .158
Entering the Bocas, Trinidad . . . 163
Digging Asphalt, Trinidad . . . .163
The High Woods, Trinidad . . . 166
A Riding Bull, San Domingo . . .180
The Gate in City Wall, San Domingo . . 204
Homenaje Tower, San Domingo . . . 204
Tomb of Columbus, San Domingo . . 208
Puerto Plata, San Domingo . . . 226
The Morro, Porto Rico .... 227
Map of the City of San Juan . . . 229
Street in Ponce, Porto Rico . . . 234
City Wall and Casa Blanca, Porto Rico . 234
Comercio Valley, Porto Rico . . . 241
Martin Pena Bridge, Porto Rico . . 246
Tobacco under Shade, Porto Rico . . 246
Auto-Road Map of Porto Rico . . . 250

XVI

ILLUSTRATIONS

The Meeting of the Old and New, Porto
Rico  254
A Mountain Highway, Porto Rico . . 254
San Juan and Colon Plaza, Porto Rico . 258
San Domingo  260
Map of Jamaica  262
Along the Shore, Jamaica .... 269
Blue Hole, Jamaica  288
Fort Fincastle, Nassau .... 299
The Morro at Santiago de Cuba . . 300
Map of Havana  302
Street in Santiago de Cuba . . . 306
Church of the Angels, Cuba . . . 312
Calle Obispo, Cuba . . . . .312
The Prado, Havana, Cuba . . . .316
Principe Port, Havana . . . .351
In Cuba  352
Wreck on the Shore, Bermuda . . . 440

The Book of the West Indies

PROLOGUE
INTRODUCING THE "WEST INDIES
A GREAT many people — the majority one might
almost say — have but a very vague idea of the
West Indies. Nearly everyone knows they are
"somewhere down South"; many are aware that
they are north of South America; a large propor
tion can name Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, St. Thomas,
and Porto Rico; a few may be able to add Marti
nique and Barbados to the list, but scarce one in
a thousand can recall the names of the other islands
or can give any accurate information in regard to
the climate, people, nationality, products, or other
features of the islands; their size, or their relative
positions. In some pigeon-hole in the minds of most people
is a dim and hazy reeoUection of school-day knowl
edge of the West Indies, — a half -forgotten memory
of a scant page in the geography devoted to the

2 THE WEST INDIES
islands, a brief statement that they were hot,
pestilential, peopled by negroes, subject to earth
quakes and hurricanes, and that their sole contri
butions to the world's wealth were sugar and
rum. As to their appearance, a few rude wood
cuts come to mind ; pictures of half -naked negresses
dancing to the strum of banjos in rubbish-Uttered,
squalid streets; of broad-hatted, besashed, fierce-
whiskered horsemen holding menacing whips
above black minstrel-like laborers; of frantic
people, rushing through a chaos of flashing hght
ning, inky clouds, and flying, shattered trees, or
perchance, even a small map, whereon were
numerous pink, yellow, and green dots coUectively
labeled "The West Indies."
With such meager knowledge of these islands and
with such erroneous ideas in regard to them, it
is something of a shock to learn the truth, to
visit the islands, and to find our half-formed
conceptions totally shattered and cast to the
winds. As one steams, day after day, along a coast
stretching inland to distant mile-high mountains
it is indeed difficult to believe that the seemingly
interminable shores are those of one of the "specks"
on the map and not of a continent. As we travel
in luxurious Pullman express trains through mar
velous scenery, past palatial homes and vast
cultivated fields hour after hour, — for a day

PROLOGUE 3
and a night and more, — it seems impossible that
we are on one of these colored dots of our geog-
rapHes. And when, instead of gamboUng ne
gresses in filthy mudholes, we see trolley cars and
motor cars, perfectly dressed men, and women
who might have stepped from the latest Parisian
fashion-plate, broad asphalt boulevards and huge
department stores, we begin to realize how Uttle
we really know of the world beyond our narrow
sphere of daily Ufe.
To many it will come as a distinct surprise to
learn that Cuba, placed upon the map of the
United States, would stretch from New York to
Indianapolis and would cover a space the entire
width of New Jersey; that Santo Domingo is as
large as the State of Maine, is three times the size
of Belgium, and only a trifle smaller than Portu
gal; that more shipping enters and leaves the
harbor of Havana than any other port in America,
with the exception of New York; that two of the
"pestilential" West Indian islands rank first and
second of all the countries in the world in point
of health; that the first university in America
was in the West Indies and that students were
taught and graduated from this college a hundred
years ere the Pilgrims landed at Pljrmouth Rock,
and, finally, that to visit all the islands, without
making a stop or going over the same route twice,
would mean a voyage of twelve thousand miles

4 THE WEST INDIES
and would require over a month of steady steam
ing day and night !
I Ordinarily the West Indies are divided into
two groups, the Greater and Lesser Antilles, but
in reaUty they are separated into several divisions,
known as, the Greater Antilles, the Bahamas,
the Virgin Islands, the Leeward Islands, the Wind
ward Islands, and the Coast Islands, some of
which are poHtical divisions and others geographi
cal, but which are well-defined, well-recognized,
and serve to obviate confusion.
From Cuba, barely ninety miles from Key
West at the tip of the Florida Keys, the islands
stretch in a broken, irregular semicircle to the
northern coast of South America, and, within the
barrier thus formed, enclose the vast, almost
land-locked, Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mex
ico, — ^a body of water, to cross which, one must
sail as far as from New York to Liverpool. And
of vital importance to us is this great expanse of
enclosed sea. In fact, the very life and existence
of our country and our people depend upon it,
for this is the source of the Gulf Stream, that'
stupendous, ever-moving, ocean river of warm
water which flows northward off our coast and
makes Hfe and vegetation possible in a land which
otherwise would be a frigid waste.
Through the narrow openings between the
Lesser Antilles the ceaseless trade winds and the

PROLOGUE 5
revolution of the earth force the waters from
the broad Atlantic, and, finding no other outlet,
the water rushes out between the Greater Antilles
and through the Straits of Florida. Immeasur
able in its immensity and resistless force, is this
greatest of streams, but some faint conception of
its volume may be gained from the fact that
through the Florida Straits alone there flows each
day a mass of water equal to three hundred thou
sand Mississippi Rivers!
Yet, despite this stupendous overflow of water
which escapes, the sea, within the .chain of islands,
is ever piled higher than the ocean without, and
thus we have the strange phenomenon of islands
on whose one coast the tide rises and falls six feet
or more, while on the other the rise and fall Is not
as many Inches. Ages ago, no doubt, the Carib
bean was an Inland sea and the string of islands
was a continuous mountain chain, connecting
the two Americas, studded with volcanoes vomit
ing flame, smoke, and ashes, and of height beyond
the power of imagination. Even to-day, countless
West Indian mountains tower a mile or more into
the air, and Loma Tina, in Santo Domingo, lifts
its cloud-wreathed head eleven thousand feet
above the sea. And yet these would be but In
significant hillocks compared to the serried crest
of the prehistoric borderland of the Caribbean,
ere some awful cataclysm of the past lowered

6 THE WEST INDIES
that array of sky-piercing volcanoes and allowed
the sea to flow above the submerged land to form
the West Indies. Many of the Islands rise four
miles from the sea floor; off the northern coast of
Porto Rico are depths of 27,000 feet and more,
and, If the ocean should be swept back or the sea
dried away, the Bahamas and Cuba would ap
pear as a terrific, precipitous plateau 20,000 feet
In height and stretching for over 700 miles, Its
sheer face cut and seamed by a-wful rifts, in which
the Grand Canyon might be hidden, and sweep
ing southward for 200 miles to where the Sierra
Maestra would tower to the dizzying height of
28,000 feet.
But, perchance these submerged mountains,
these titanic precipices, and these vast, coral-
covered plains, now miles beneath the sea, have
never seen the light of day, for there are those
who claim that the islands have been separated
since the world began, that they are merely iso
lated volcanic cones, pushed up from the ocean's
bed to belch forth molten, incandescent material,
which, through countless ages, has decomposed
to form the rich and fertile lands now luxuriant
with vegetation and pleasant for man to dwell
upon. Which theory is right we may never
know, but It Is certain that all of the West Indies
are not volcanoes. The Greater Antilles — Cuba,
Jamaica, Santo Domingo, and Porto Rico — are as

PROLOGUE 7
ancient in formation as our own granite hills and
are continental In fauna and flora, while Tobago,
Trinidad, Curagao, and the Coast Islands are
merely detached bits of South America separated
from the mainland In the dim forgotten ages of
the past. Still others of these isles, such as the
Bahamas, St. Croix, Barbados, and others, are
of limestone — "coral Islands" so-called. But In
reaUty they are not coral at all In the true sense
of the term, for they are merely masses of wind-
drifted shore sand, — composed of wave-worn,
broken shells and fragments of coral, — which,
through the centuries, have become firmly ce
mented together by the percolating rains. Firm
and solid as granite, fine as marble, are the rocks
and cliffs of these islands, and It is difficult to
believe that they are simply hardened sand hills,
but if he who doubts examines a section of the
rock beneath a microscope, he will find the bits
of shells and coral still intact and embedded In
the crystalized lime deposited around them by
the evaporating water.
The present is of more Interest than the past,
however, and whatever the origin of the islands,
whether partly sunken continent, protruding,
isolated peaks, or petrified sand dunes, they are
all wonderfully beautiful, riotous In color, mar
velous in scenery, and veritable Edens of tropic
loveliness, luxuriant vegetation, and balmy air,

8 THE WEST INDIES
Here nature flaunts every tint and shade in lavish
abandon; here sun and cloud vie with each other
to produce magical effects of light and shade ; here
the unsullied air glows luminous as though filled
with floating gold dust, and sky and sea seem as
of another world than ours. Glorious as are the
days in these lotus-eating, dreamland isles of
perpetual summer, even more enchanting are the
nights. Above, arches the velvet sky, sprinkled
with myriads of scintillating, twinkUng stars, like
the riding lights of fairy ships afloat upon a purple
sea. Luminously black Is the air, sweet with the
sensuous odor of jasmine, orange flower, and gar
denia, and, borne on the balmy, caressing breeze,
is the soft swash of gently lapping waves, the
sleepy tinkle of fountains, the querulous cry of
night-birds, the distant sound of laughter and song,
and the languorous music of guitars. From the
mysterious shadows of the mountains comes the
weird boom of a tom-tom, filling the world with
dull reverberations like the staccato beats of
a gigantic pulse. Against the inky background
of trees and shrubbery gleam countless fireflies,
flitting aimlessly, erratically, — like tiny stars
gone astray and seeking to find their way to the
vault of heaven from which they feU. Above the
dim horizon blazes the Southern Cross and, over
all — calm, serene— like a mellow, golden globe,
floats the great tropic moon, outlining each rus-

PROLOGUE 9
tling leaf, each swaying bough with a tracery of
silver, transforming the housetops to sheets of
burnished metal, fiUing the scented air with
effulgent light, and silhouetting the nodding palms
that stand, like plumed sentinels, above a wave-
washed beach of diamond dust.

CHAPTER I
BERMUDA
Hundreds of miles from any coast, surrounded
on every side by the restless surges of the great
Atlantic — a mere speck in a waste of sea — Ues
Bermuda. While not strictly one of the West
Indies, yet its fauna and flora, its products and
its formation, are so similar to many of the Antilles
that we may weU consider it as a West Indian
island gone astray, and set down, — or rather
pushed up, — a thousand miles and more from its
fellows. If the ship arrives at Bermuda by daylight
there is ample opportunity for the visitor to view
the islands, as the vessel steams slowly along the
northern shores and threads her way through
the tortuous channel between sharp-fanged reefs
towards Hamilton.
And vastly disappointing is this first impression
of the Bermudas. You have looked for a bit of
Eden, — a palm-fringed Isle such as those pictured
atolls in the geographies perhaps, — and, instead,
you gaze upon a low-lying waste of white, topped
10

BERMUDA II
and broken by stunted, dull-green cedars; a land
scape as bleak and sterile as the granite-ribbed
sheep pastures of New England.
Here and there glaring white buildings stand
sharply forth against the monotony of the cedars,
graduaUy the foUage increases and loses some of
its dull, half-dead appearance, and when, at last,
the steamer passes between the verdured islets
in Hamilton Harbor and nears the docks, much
of the hills arid vales is well-clothed in greenery.
But with all its charms, and they are many,
Bermuda is far from truly tropical and if you seek
the luxuriant vegetation, the gorgeous coloring,
the balmy, voluptuous air, and the sights and
scenes of tropic lands, Bermuda will prove far
from your ideal. You must travel farther, to
the Caribbean isles, to find such sights and scenes,
for the natural vegetation of Bermuda is not rank
and colorful, the Ufe and customs are similar to
our own, and only where introduced by man are
there palms, flowers, and fruits typical of the real
tropics. And this is not surprising, for Bermuda
is far north of the tropics — the farthest north of
any spot where tropical Ufe and plants exist in a
natural state — and Its semi-tropical cUmate, where
snow and frost are unknown, is due to its location
in the Gulf Stream beyond the reach of wintry
winds and Arctic Current.
We speak of Bermuda as of a single island, but.

12 THE WEST INDIES
in reality, it is a group, or cluster, of more than
one hundred islets, — a bare half-dozen of which
are worthy of the name, — and which are so con
nected by bridges, causeways, and roads as to
form, to all intents and purposes, a single island,
the whole scarce twenty-five miles long, less than
three miles wide, and with its loftiest hlU rising
a scant three hundred feet above the sea.
But what Bermuda lacks In size and grandeur
is made up for In attractions, and to visit this
sea-girt, mid-ocean isle Is to love It, for it. possesses
a charm and fascination all its own.
In form the Bermudas are commonly Ukened
to a fish-hook, but one facetious visitor noted
their resemblance to an outstretched hand, with
expectant open palm and crooked fingers, wait
ing for American dollars; a happy simiUtude so
symbolic of Bermuda's greatest revenue that it
cannot pass unnoted.
A dozen years ago Bermuda was scarcely known
to Americans at large, and only the fortunate few
who had learned the secrets of its charms visited
its shores. But once the islands were discovered
by the American public its rise to popularity and
fame was swift, and to-day it is thronged with
thousands of visitors; palatial hotels and innumer
able boarding-houses are crowded throughout the
winter seasons and into Bermudlan pockets flows
a steady stream of American gold.

BERMUDA 13
And speaking of "discovering" Bermuda it
may be of interest to note that the islands were
repeatedly discovered, and usually by accident,
which is scarcely to be wondered at when we con
sider what a mere speck they form in the waste
of waters of the North Atlantic; the wonder is
that they were ever discovered at all. There is
some doubt as to the actual and original discoverer
of these islands, but it Is usually conceded that
one Juan Berm.udez was the first European to
land upon them. In 15 15, and It was in his honor
that they received their best-known name. But
to Bermudez and his Spaniards the islands were
of Uttle moment, and, a gale arising, the Dons
sailed away, glad to escape in safety frora the
reef-filled, treacherous spot. Twenty-eight years
later a Portuguese, Ferdinand Camelo, touched
at the Bermudas or "Isles of Devils" as they were
then called, and after carving his initials upon the
famous "Spanish Rock" and leaving a few hogs
upon the islands, he followed the example of his
predecessors and sailed off to more promising
lands. For half a century the isles were left to
themselves, until In 1593, a pirate vessel, home
ward bound from the Indies, was wrecked upon
isolated North Rock. A number of the crew
reached the shore In safety, among them an
EngHsh mariner, Henry May, and to him we owe
the Uttle we know of the islands at that time.

14 THE WEST INDIES
May and his comrades lived in Bermuda for
five months, subsisting upon the descendants of
Camelo's hogs and wild berries, until, having
constructed a shallop of Bermudlan cedar, they
set sail for Newfoundland where they arrived in
due time.
But even May's accounts of Bermuda aroused
no Interest In England and it was left to Sir George
Somers to really bring the islands to the attention
of the world. Like the others. Sir George dis
covered Bermuda by accident, for while en route
to Jamestown, Virginia, his ship was disabled in a
storm, and, being on the point of foundering, was
run ashore on Bermuda in the hope of saving the
lives of those on board. In this they were success
ful and from July, 1609, until the following May,
Somers and his companions lived on the islands
and constructed two vessels in which they sailed
to Virginia.
Unlike those other "discoverers" who had
landed at Bermuda, Somers realized their value
and his reports led to the estabUshment of the
first colony on the islands. He can truthfully
be called the Father of Bermuda and the name of
"Somers Islands" seems far more appropriate
than the more familiar name. He died in Ber
muda, while conducting an expedition for the
reUef of Jamestown, and his heart lies buried in
the ancient cemetery at St. George.

BERMUDA 15
Bermuda, like many another isle, has had a
turbulent, a varied, and an interesting history and
while space forbids a complete resume of her past
there are certain events of interest to Americans
which should be noted. Such was the famous
gunpowder plot, whereby no less a personage
than George Washington secured one hundred
barrels of powder from the sympathetic Bermu-
dians. It was a most daring and barefaced deed,
for the powder destined to drive the British from
Boston, was stolen from the British magazines
on the island and, to add insult to injury, the
barrels actually were roUed through the Governor's
grounds! Again, during our Civil War, the Bermudlans
entered prominently into the Umelight of our
land, for here foregathered the reckless blockade
runners and the sleepy, mid-ocean isles awoke to
the golden opportunity afforded by the struggle
between North and South. The long-deserted
harbors of Hamilton and St. George became
once more aUve with ships, a forest of masts rose
above the docks and warehouses, and wealth,
such as had not been known since the old days of
pirates and buccaneers, fiUed Bermudlan coffers.
But such prosperity was but fleeting, and not
untU the Bermudlans started raising early vege
tables and Easter UUes for the Northem markets
did the islands really come into their o-wn. These,

i6 THE WEST INDIES
with the tourists, are Bermuda's mainstay and
reliance and, of the two, the tourists are doubtless
the most profitable. Of all the attractions of
which Bermuda can boast, perhaps the greatest
is the climate, for it is wonderfully equable, sel
dom falUng below 60° or rising above 80°, even
in midsummer. But it Is not favorable to those
affected with asthma, tuberculosis, or pulmonary
or throat troubles, or to those suffering from rheu
matism, for it is wonderfully damp and at times
chilly and as no provision Is made for artificially
heating the majority of dwellings one may suffer
abominably from cold during a period of rainy
stormy weather, — and there is a superabundance
of such. Moreover, the houses are built of porous
Umestone, which absorbs moisture like a sponge,
and when the rain is over and the sun comes
forth the dampness is driven inward and the rooms
become tomb-Uke in their clammy chlU, and
everything mildews and molds. A small oil
or alcohol heater will readily overcome this, how
ever, and there is no reason for any one being un
comfortable, if prepared for the cUmate In advance.
Moreover, Ufe in Bermuda Is primarily and
preferably an out-of-doors existence, and a Uttle
discomfort at times Is as nothing compared to the
pleasures and enjoyments one finds at every tum.
There are miles of magnificent beaches of creamy
coral sand, some bordering sheltered coves and

BERMUDA 17
bays, others ceaselessly pounded by great foam-
crested ocean rollers. There are countless islet
gems studding land-locked lagoons and Inviting
one to row, fish, or sail. There are marvelous
caverns filled with pendant stalactites and with
many a subterranean pool whereon one may
navigate far under ground. There are a hundred
miles and more of perfect roads leading to every
part of the islands. There are golf Unks, tennis
courts, and race courses. Even those fond of
society are provided for and there Is no end of
balls, dances, receptions, teas, and pther social
entertainments. There are but two real towns in Bermuda; the
one, Hamilton, near the center of the islands; the
other, St. George, at the extreme northeastern
end, but throughout' the Bermudas are Uttle
viUages and residences; hotels and native huts
are scattered here, there, and everywhere, so that
there seems one continuous settlement. Hamilton,
the capital, is a large, busy, modern town wherein
are the principal stores, the largest hotels, and the
Govemment offices, and most of the steamers
make Hamilton their port of call. St. George
is as different as though in another land. It is
hilly, old-fashioned, quaint, "with narrow, walled
lanes and aUeys, ancient buildings, and a sleepy,
old-world atmosphere which is most fascinating.
With all its charms it is unfortunately in the most

i8 THE WEST INDIES
barren district of the island. While all parts of
Bermuda are within easy reach of either town
it is far wiser to select a residence In the outlying
districts rather than to Uve in Hamilton or St.
George. Wherever one goes in Bermuda there is "vdvid
color and intense light, too intense and "vivid if
anything, for the roads are white, the stone build
ings are whitewashed, the rocks, the reefs, the
sand, — everything save the crystalUne waters,
the verdure, and the colored folk are white, and
from every side the sunlight is reflected in a
dazzling, blinding glare that makes blue or amber
goggles a necessity.
But the very whiteness and glare serve to
accentuate the cool and restful greenery of the
vegetation and the marvelous colors of the sea.
Perhaps nowhere else In all the world is there such
gloriously tinted water. Indigo where deep, azure
and sapphire nearer shore, opalescent turquoise
in the shallows, and marbled with royal purple
and amethyst where reefs and corals dot the white
sand of its bed, the sea that laps Bermuda's
shores is an ever-changing, ever-fascinating mar
vel; a thing of wondrous beauty impossible to
describe in words or to reproduce in pigments.
No less wonderful, no less colorful, than the
water itself, is the bottom of the sea which Ues
revealed to wondering eyes through many feet

BERMUDA 19
of the crystalline Uquid. Floating upon the sur
face of the sheltered bays and lagoons one seems
suspended in midair, so glass-like in its trans
parency is this mid-ocean water, and, gazing Into
the depths one looks upon a new strange world.
Here are broad patches of smooth-swept sand,
tinted to delicate malachite-green by the inter
vening water, and, sharply outlined upon it, great
uncouth sea-puddings move slowly about, like
some strange submarine pachyderms browsing
on pale-green pastures, while opalescent hued
fishes dart and flit about Uke dainty, swift-winged
birds. Here and there, great masses of submerged
rocks rise upward from the sandy floor, but such
rocks! Surely nowhere outside of fairyland were
ever such forms and colors seen. Ever3rwhere
marine Ufe teems and each rock and reef is covered
¦with myriads of living corals, — emerald, orange,
ochre, brown, and lavender; broad purple sea-
fans wave gently to the current; slender sea-rods
and inky-black gorgonias rise like gaunt trees
from the mysterious, shadowy crevices; gigantic
sea-anemones spread their olive and magenta
tentacles Uke gorgeous flowers; sponges, brilUant
scarlet and vermilion in hue, form masses of "vi"vid
color, while back and forth among them move
rainbow-tinted fishes, great peacock-colored lob
sters, and grotesque crabs, or, sprawHng across
the patchwork of colors, one sees an octopus, its

20 THE WEST INDIES
pulpy body and eight squirming arms gay with
ever changing, chameleon-like hues.
Even such wonders pall, however, and when tired
of these sights, or when the winds ruffle the sur
face of bay and lagoon and hide the world beneath,
there are the highways and byways of the land
where one may drive, cycle, or walk for days and
ever find new sights and new scenes of beauty and
interest. From Hamilton eastward to St. George there
are three highways known as the North, Middle,
and South Roads. All are good, aU offer innu
merable attractions, and each is distinct and
different from the others, and as all converge and
join at the Flatts one may go forth by one route
and return by another.
The North Road leads past Victoria Park and
through shady Cedar Avenue and, as its name
implies, foUows the northem contour of Hamilton
Island. Soon after leaving the city Woodlands
is reached, with its waving cocoa palms giving a
tropical touch to the scene. Just beyond are
quaint old Pembroke Church and beautiful Mount
Langdon, where Is Govemment House. Then
the roadway approaches the shore, and, turning
to the right, passes an overhanging rock known
as the "Ducking Stool" where, in early days,
scolds and gossips were dipped in the sea to still
their wagging tongues.

^¦•-•w^y^^

CATHEDRAL ROCKS, BERMUDA

NATURAL ARCH, BERMUDA

BERMUDA 21
Thence, foUo-wing the coast, the highway sweeps
on, bordered on the water side by pink-flowered,
heath-Uke tamarisks, on the other by cedars,
shrabbery, and green hills, and ever with the
lovely, brilliant-colored waters gleaming In the
sun and washing beach-Uned coves and rock-
waUed Inlets. Now, passing through deep cuts
in the solid rock, now topping low hills, anon
s-winging close to the water's edge, the way con
tinues; every tum, each view affording new and
more charming views. But if you would enjoy
this North Road by all means select a pleasant
day, for when the wind is strong from the west
the spray flies across the road and one is likely
to be both cold and wet.
At Flatts Village Harrington Sound lies spread
among Its bold verdured shores and dotted with
its picturesque wooded islets. Across the narrow
inlet is a bridge and here the road may be followed
to Bailey's Bay by the north shore to St. George,
or, by turning to the right, the Sound may be
circled, and the main road again reached. Either
way is deUghtful, but of the two perhaps the latter
is the more interesting. Near at hand, close to
the water's edge, is a strangely formed mass of
stone known as "Lion Rock" and a short distance
farther on is the famous "Devil's Hole." No
visit to Bermuda would be complete without
seeing this large, water- filled grotto, containing

22 THE WEST INDIES
thousands of multi-colored fish which crowd to
the edge of the pool to receive their customary
donation of food from the stranger.
Beyond the Devil's Hole the highway climbs
over cedar-clad hills to Shark's Hole and Paynter's
Vale. Once a splendid estate, with a spacious
mansion house, Paynter's Vale has now fallen
into neglect, but it still remains one of the islands'
beauty spots where many rare and unusual forms
of vegetation thrive in luxuriant profusion and
form a miniature forest. All along this road is
a wealth of vegetation. Dense thickets, gaudy
with convolvulus and lantana ; hea-vy woods where
lofty cedars bend under their curtain-like drapery
of odorous wild jasmine, and patches of banner-
leaved bananas alternate -with cultivated fields
redolent of onions or sno-wy with Easter lUies.
Altogether it is one of the most beautiful and
attractive spots in Bermuda, for Harrington Sound
and Castle Harbor are scarcely a stone's throw
apart; separated only by this narrow wooded
ridge, the -views are magnificent and there are
many great caves and historic landmarks In the
immediate vicinity.
Close at hand lies Walsingham, famous as the
one-time residence of Thomas Moore. Despite
tradition the Bard of Erin never dwelt in the
ancient house half-hidden amidst the trees and
shrubbery of the ample grounds, but it loses none

BERMUDA 23
of its interest thereby, for he often visited Walsing
ham, many of his verses were written there, and
the calabash tree, immortalized in his poems,
StiU stands in his secluded shady glade.
Beyond Walsingham the main road is reached
and one comes to the immense causeway which
bridges the inlet to Castle Harbor and connects
Hamilton Island with St. George.
The causeway, — completed in 1871 at a cost
of nearly $150,000, — was demoUshed in a single
night, when the islands were swept by a hurricane
on September 12, 1899. As originally constructed,
it was of stone and masonry, but it was rebuilt
largely of timber. It is nearly a mile and a half
from end to end, but this includes Long Bird
Island which forms a considerable portion of the
entire length.
From the causeway there is a most charming
view of Castle Harbor, on the south, its marvel
ously blue waters stretching seaward to the out
lying islands with the Atlantic surges churned
to foam about their frowning, wave-worn cliffs.
They are wild, deserted spots to-day, their sum
mits cro-wned "with ancient, crumbUng forts and
battlements. Once peopled with red-coated sol
diery and bristUng with cannon commanding the
entrance to the harbor, they are now forsaken,
the empty casements overgrown with brush and
creepers, the gun platforms and magazines the

24 THE WEST INDIES
haunt of basking lizards and scuttling land-crabs,
while in the rock-hewn dungeons and embrasures
long-tailed tropic birds raise their young in peace.
To the north is an equally lovely -vista, — a tran
quil, caerulean lagoon, its narrow seaward opening
aU but barred by little islets and stretching east
ward to the drawbridge which spans the entrance
to St. George's inner harbor.
Crossing this bridge St. George Island is reached,
and while this island is barren and yuccas, cacti,
and giant agaves grow thickly along the roadside,
yet the -view of the land-locked harbor, St. David
and the lesser islands, and the shipping mirrored
on the glassy water, fully compensates for the
lack of beauties on the land.
In the quaint old-world town one can find much
of interest. The St. George Hotel, facing the
open plaza-like square and built two hundred years
ago, is one of the oldest buildings in Bermuda,
and its massive cedar beams, — over fifteen inches
square, — testify to the size of the trees which once
covered this portion of the islands with a veritable
forest. But everything in St. George is old,
or appears so, for this was the first settlement,
— founded in 1612 — and for two centuries it was
the capital, and it has changed but Uttle in the
past three hundred years.
Wonderfully narrow crooked lanes climb up
and down hill between the high stone walls and

BERMUDA 25
buildings, — many scarce wide enough to permit
a carriage to pass through, — for St. George's
streets were made ere wheeled vehicles were known
in Bermuda, and under the old laws a twelve-
foot thoroughfare was considered amply broad.
The town boasts a charming public garden
and here, beneath an inscribed tablet, the heart
of St. George Somers still rests, and, in the shady
old churchyard and the crypt, lies many a famed
personage of days gone by.
A walk or drive up the winding, hilly road to
old Fort St. George, Is well rewarded by the
extensive view obtained, for, from the heights,
the sea, the harbor, the outlying islands, and the
main islands are clearly visible for miles — spread
Hke a multicolored map beneath one's feet. It
was this beautiful vista which so charmed Thomas
Moore and, viewing it to-day, one cannot wonder
that he perpetuated it in his poems.
On the return to Hamilton 'tis well to turn
aside near Devil's Hole and take the road to
Tucker's Town, a tiny viUage near the southem
shore of Castle Harbor and of interest because
of the Natural Arch which spans a stretch of ocean
beach near by. Here, on the southem coast,
one also may see the "boilers," miniature atolls
projecting above the surface of the sea and on
which the long rollers constantly break in mighty
cataracts of boUIng foam, hence the native name.

26 THE WEST INDIES
And, speaking of these atolls, it may be well to
state that Bermuda is not a true "coral island" as
many people suppose.
From beating surf to wind-swept hilltops the
Bermudas are composed of drifted shore sand
which consists entirely of broken sea-sheUs and
a few fragments of coral. Although in many
places the sand has been solidified to the hardness
and fineness of marble, yet the transition may
readily be traced, step by step, from the loose
sand of the dunes to the hardest building stone,
for in many places the layers of sand and rock
grade one into the other and it is difficult to say
where one begins and the other ends. It is a
simple process of nature, for the sand, packed
tightly by the wind, becomes saturated with rain,
the carbon dioxide In the water dissolves a portion
of the Hme, and this, in tum, hardens and cements
the separate grains of sand into a compact mass.
It is the same lime in solution which causes the
beautiful stalactites and dripstone formations in
the caves and in many of these the process may
actually be watched as, drop by drop, the water
oozes from the rock and leaves a tiny deposit of
Hme to mark its passage. Often, in the hardest
stone, may be found strata or accumulations of
loose sand which, for some unkno-wn cause, has
remained unaffected by the percolating water,
and when these are exposed to the elements and

SHARK'S HOLE, BERMUDA

BERMUDA 27
the loose sand washed or blown away, caves or
cavems remain. Then, when through countless
ages, the softer rock Is worn away and only the
harder dripstone remains, such picturesque for
mations as the Natural Arch and Cathedral Rocks
result; or, if the roofs fall in, grottos such as the
Devil's Hole are produced. Indeed Harrington
Sound itself Is supposed to be but a stupendous,
water-filled cave whose roof, in prehistoric times,
coUapsed. Another peculiarity of the Bermuda rock is
that when first cut or quarried it is very soft but
upon exposure to the air it hardens rajildly until
like granite. Often one may see colored men
cutting the chalky white stone into neat square
blocks by means of hand-saws and chisels, and, as
the houses are built of stone obtained on the spot,
the builders kill two birds with one stone, the
ca"vity left by quarrying serving for a cellar to
the building erected with the stone taken from it;
a most economical method of construction.
In the center of the islands, sheltered from the
¦wind and spray by the surrounding hills and
cedars, the vegetation is far more luxuriant and
attractive than near the coast, and to drive over
the Middle Road wiU at once dispel one's first
impressions of the island's barrenness. Here, for
miles, the highways are bordered by close-set
hedges of oleanders, glorious with pink, white, and

28 THE WEST INDIES
red flowers in season. In the grounds and gardens
of country homes grow nodding palms, great rub
ber and fig trees, gorgeous purple-flowered pride
of India, fragrant franglpani and golden-yellow
locust, while oranges, lemons, papaws, and bananas
rise above the blooming shrubbery, and great
feathery bamboos arch above the smooth white
roadway. Everywhere In swales and "sinks"
are fields of rich red earth, enclosed in neat stone
walls and filled with potatoes, onions, garden
truck, or snowy white Easter lilies. But the
onions are more in evidence than the lilies In
Bermuda nowadays and, as one visitor remarked,
"You see the lilies and smell onions."
Even more beautiful are the drives westward
from Hamilton. Not far from the town are the
famous "Five Sisters," a row of graceful royal
palms, their symmetrical gray-white trunks ris
ing Uke granite columns beside the road and
their plumed tops swaying in the breeze against
the deep blue sky. They are regal trees, but mere
pigmies compared to their fellows in the Antilles,
and are notable as being the most northem out-
of-door specimens of their kind. Just beyond here,
in Paget and Warwick parishes, are some of the
most beautiful drives and most entrancing scenery
of Bermuda, the road, bordered and shaded by
giant' bamboos and high-wooded hills, affording
magnificent views; that from GIbb's HUl Light

BERMUDA 29
being the best and most extensive on the islands.
Here, as to the east of the capital, are three main
roads, but the best is the north road along the
coast which presents a constant, ever-changing
panorama of Islets, sea, and shore, with Hamilton
gleaming like a snow-drift against the dark back
ground of its encircling hills.
Following this road one may continue on to
Somerset or even to Ireland Island with its immense
dockyard and naval station and gigantic floating
dry dock. But if you visit this westem portion
of Bermuda do not fall to see the famed Cathedral
Rocks or "Old Church Rocks'' on the shore of the
"Scaur" between Somerset and Hamilton Islands.
The remains of an ancient, partly destroyed
cavern. Cathedral Rocks appear almost as If
carved by the hand of man, and while disappoint
ing in their size — they are scarcely a score of
feet in height — yet they are so remarkable and
unique that they are well worth a visit.
But the same may be said of many another
spot In these mid-ocean Isles. There are the
numerous cavems; Spanish Point with Its perfect
beach strewn with bright-hued sea-sheUs; Fairy
lands, a spot of unrivaled, dainty beauty most ap
propriately named ; Prospect HIU with Its parade-
ground, bright with red-coated "Tommies" and
society on Sundays; Elbow Bay where cedars
and deserted houses are being overwhelmed by

30

THE WEST INDIES

the irresistible drifting sand ; Hungry Bay, with its
weird mangrove swamp, its snowy white herons,
and its puzzling "fossil palm trunks"; isolated
North Rock on which the Bonaventura went to
pieces so many years ago; Castle Island with its
ancient forts; St. David's, Smith, and Cooper's
Islands once famous for their whale fishery and
where a vast treasure is reputed to be buried;
Spanish Rock with its strange, carved inscrip
tion attributed to Ferdinand Camelo; Tucker's
Island where the prisoners of the Boer War were
confined; the Biological Laboratory on Agar's
Island; the ancient, age-gray churches and moss-
grown tombstones with their amusing epitaphs;
Coney Island with its land-locked lagoon and
bathing beach. All these and many more are
within easy reach and all may be visited in ease
and comfort by boat or carriage or on foot, — surely
enough, with deep-sea fishing, boating, yachting,
out-door sports, and social events, to justify
Bermuda's ever-increasing popularity.

CHAPTER II
the virgin isles
The "Saints and Virgins," Columbus called
them, as, sweeping westward before the trade
wind, he gazed upon their forest-clad heights
from the deck of his caravel, in 1493.
And through the centuries the names he gave
them have remained unaltered, albeit they have
been tossed like shuttlecocks from nation to na
tion, and have been fought over by Spanish,
French, Dutch, and British, to fall, for so many
years, to the lot of Denmark, whose white-crossed,
scarlet banner waved above St. Thomas, St. John,
and Santa Cruz from 1666 until 191 7.
WonderfuUy beautiful appears St. Thomas,
when first seen rising above the sapphire rim of
sea and with the hazy, cloud-like mountain peaks
of Porto Rico looming against the western sky.
From palm-fringed coves the green hills sweep
upward to cloud-draped mountain tops, and sandy
beaches altemate with wave- wom cUffs until,
rounding a jutting headland, the perfect harbor
of Charlotte AmaUe is reached. 31

32 THE WEST INDIES
At the head of the bay the picturesque town
spreads upward from the water's edge upon
three steep hills; to the left is the great floating
dock and the huge coaling station of the Hamburg-
American Line ; to the right are the larger govern
ment coal docks and on every hand, save seaward,
rise the verdured mountains.
Long ere the anchor chains roar through the
hawse holes the ship is surrounded by brightly
painted boats, their negro crews clamoring for
patronage, while naked, brown diving boys beg
for coins to be tossed overboard that they may
exhibit their wondrous diving and swimming
powers for the benefit of passengers. And it is
small wonder that the good-natured, ragged crowd
throngs about each ship which enters the lovely
harbor, and that each man and boy vies with his
fellows for the favor of visitors, for the natives
have hard work to keep soul and body together
in this isle. Never an agricultural island, — for it
was long ago deforested, and is too hilly for the
use of modem farming methods and machinery,
St. Thomas prospered and fattened on her com
merce. It was a free port ; a safe and commodious
harbor invited countless ships to enter and trade
or refit, and the coaling stations and dry dock
brought a princely income to Charlotte Amalie
and afforded an abundance of employment to the
people. But with, the ocenlng of the Panama

LANDING PLACE, ST. THOMAS

SUGAR ESTATE, ST. CROIX

THE VIRGIN ISLES 33
Canal, the taking of Porto Rico by the United
States, and the cessation of German shipping and
the closing of the coaling station, due to the Euro
pean War, IU times came to St. Thomas. To-day
there is little commerce there, business is almost
at a standstill, and, save for the bay rum industry,
an occasional vessel forced to refit or make repairs
through stress of storm, and the microscopical
local trade with the neighboring islands, there
is Uttle opportunity for the Islanders to eam a
livelihood. There is not much to be seen in St. Thomas,
although the spot has a beauty, a fascination, and
an atmosphere which invariably appeal to visitors.
There is but one really level street, which leads
east and west near the waterfront and from this,
narrow side streets lead sharply up the hillsides,
in many places carried in flights of steps up the
steeper slopes.
Bordering this Main Street are the stores and
shops, where one may purchase bay rum, Panama
hats, and similar goods at very low prices ; near the
western end is the market-place, and at the eastern
extremity, close to the landing-place, is a tiny,
palm-bordered park and a quaint old fort. This
pink, picturesque fortress seems far more toy
like than real even now that the Stars and Stripes
are flying over it. The names of the streets are
the only remaining traces of the former Danish

34 THE WEST INDIES
cwnership. Everyone speaks English, many of
the boatmen and storekeepers speak a dozen or
more languages, and coins of currency of any
nation pass readily, for St. Thomas has dealt with
every race and nationality, her harbor has shel
tered ships flying the flags of every maritime
power, and her people have become cosmopoUtan
in speech and money matters.
Among the first "sights" pointed out to the
¦visitor to St. Thomas is "Blackbeard's Castle,"
a stone tower at the summit of the central hiU
on which the town Is built, while on the hill to
the right is a similar structure known as "Blue
beard's Tower." It is very doubtful If the no
torious pirate. Teach, ever held sway in the
stronghold bearing his more popular name, and cer
tainly the casrulean-whiskered wife-killer of child
hood's days never dwelt here, but the two buildings
crowning the town are well worth a -visit for the
views obtainable, and Bluebeard's Tower has been
transformed into a delightful residence by the
American scientist who has purchased It. But
if you would see St. Thomas at its best, cUmb to
the lofty summit of "Ma Falie," and select early
moming or late afternoon for the undertaking,
else you will call it "My Folly," as the way is
steep and the path none too good. Once the
hilltop is reached all will be forgotten, however,
for the panorama spread below is marvelously

THE VIRGIN ISLES 35
beautiful. At one's feet Ues the red-roofed town
with its gardens, palms, and steep lanes, looking
as if about to slip into the blue waters of the
tranquil harbor. To the west, and separated
from the harbor by a narrow, hilly peninsula,
is a great harp-shaped lagoon of gleaming sapphire,
— once the haunt of pirate and of buccaneer, but
now deserted save by picnickers and bathers —
while, stretching away to the shimmering horizon,
sparkles the Caribbean with the wraith-like forms
of the other "Saints" upon its azure bosom. To
the west, Porto Rico breaks the purpling rim of
sea; far to the southward hangs a faint, gray
cloud that marks St. Croix, and eastward — seem
ingly close at hand — lies St. John with the faint
outlines of the other "Virgins" beyond.
ST. JOHN
St. John, also formerly Danish, is of little interest
to tourists, and is seldom visited, but it is a "wildly
beautiful isle, — a rugged, forest-clothed spot with
scarce two thousand inhabitants nearly all of
whom are blacks. But it is deserving of being
better known, for there are few more charming
islands in all the Caribbean and it can boast of a
deep, safe harbor — Coral Bay — which has scarcely
an equal, although few are the seamen who have
ever seen it.
In former times the island was a famous haunt

36 THE WEST INDIES
of pirates, and In its forests, fragrant with pimento,
spice, and coffee trees, one may often stumble upon
the crumbUng forts and rusting cannon of the old
sea rovers who once made merry in this secluded
rendezvous. To-day St. John is famous only as the source
of more than half the bay rum of the world, a
statement that may surprise many, for bay rum
and St. Thomas are almost synonymous and the
name of St. John is never heard. But the most
extensive bay-tree groves in the Antilles are here,
and the bulk of the St. Thomas product is made
from leaves grown in this forgotten, out-of-the-
way Isle. ST. CROIX
Very different from St, Thomas or St. John is
the third of the Virgin Isles — St. Croix or Santa
Cruz, the Island of the Holy Cross — ^and which
is nearly fifty miles south of Charlotte AmaUe.
When sailing along Its coast, Santa Cruz re
minds one of nothing so much as an island cut
from green plush, for, from palm-fringed coral
beaches to loftiest hiUtops, it Is one glorious mass
of green; but green of a thousand shades, from the
pale and tender tint of waving cane to the deepest
terre-verte of bay trees and the emerald hue of
logwood, A land of roUing hlUs, rich -vaUeys, ancJ

THE VIRGIN ISLES 37
serene, park-like beauty Is St. Croix, and but a
single glance is needed to teU the visitor that here
sugar is king, for, over hiUs and across vaUeys,
stretch the vast cane fields. Brown where freshly
planted, delicate green where bearing, and sere
and yellow where the harvest has been garnered,
the fields appear like a gigantic patchwork quilt
covering the land.
Here and there the monument-like towers of
old windmills rise against the greenery, houses
and buildings peep from groves of palms and shade
trees, and gleaming roads wind, like white ribbons,
over the hills.
Before the town of Frederiksted the ship drops
anchor in a bay of vivid turquoise rimmed by a
crescent of snowy sand. Intensely tropical and
very foreign-looking is the town, with Its low
buildings with massive arched doorways, its
innumerable palms, and its vivid coloring of sea,
sky, and verdure.
But with all its beauty Frederiksted Is of little
interest. The dazzling glare from its white coral
roads and buildings is blinding. It is undeniably
hot and the visitor to Santa Cruz will do well to
make for the outlying country as soon as he arrives.
There are numerous public carriages and many
automobiles for hire; the roads are magnificent,
and, away from the town, all Is restful, cool, and
beautiful.

38 THE WEST INDIES
There are the great sugar estates to be visited;
the capital, Christiansted, on the opposite end of
the island, is worth seeing; there are innumerable
bathing beaches everywhere along the coast;
gorgeous flowers, strange tropical trees, blooming
vines and creepers, vast pineapple fields, fruit-
laden orange groves, acres of bananas, and mile-
long avenues of stately royal palms greet the
visitor at every turn, while far and near, stretch
the endless fields of cane.
Wonderfully happy and good-natured seem the
barefooted colored folk one meets, albeit they
are but a shade better off than their St. Thomas
neighbors; wonderfuUy pleasant and hospitable
are the whites, and, as in St. Thomas, there is
scarce a trace of Danish ownership. The most
promment planters are Americans, the island's
trade is almost entirely with the United States,
the inhabitants are far more familiar with New
York or Boston than with Copenhagen, and they
are far more interested in American than Danish
news and doings.
Several times have these Virgin Isles sought to
come under the Stars and Stripes and for innumer
able reasons. To Denmark they were a liability,
to Uncle Sam they will prove an asset. At 4 p.m.
on the 31st of March, 191 7, Old Glory fluttered
upward on the staffs which for near three centuries
had flaunted the banner of Denmark, and these

THE VIRGIN ISLES

39

beautiful islands came into their own. The sign
ing of the Treaty of the Cession of the Islands was
proclaimed in Washington on January 25th. Com
mander E. T. Pollock, U. S. N., received the sov
ereignty of the islands as the representative of
our country and was named Govemor pro tem. till
the arrival of Rear Admiral J. H. Oliver, U. S. N.
Their one-time fame as health resorts will return,
the harbor of St. Thomas will once more teem
with shipping, the fertile soil of Santa Cruz will
add its bounty to our wealth, and employment
and prosperity will replace idleness and poverty.

CHAPTER III
ISLANDS QUITE OUT OF THE WORLD
East^ward from the Virgin Isles, — like skir
mishers thrown out to guard the Caribbean from
the fury of the Atlantic, — a number of smaU
islands stand. Some are British and some are
Dutch, while one is jointly owned by France and
Holland. Mere specks on the map and seldom visited by
steamers, they are so little known that even their
names are unfamiliar to most people, although
many of them are mountainous, forest-covered,
fertile, and gem-like in their beauty. Anegada,
Virgin Gorda, Tortola, Sombrero, Anguilla, with
many a lesser islet and cay, fly the flag of England;
Saba, St. Eustatius, and St. Bartholomew are
under the banner of the Netherlands, while St.
Martins flaunts the Dutch colors from one half
of its area and the tricolor of France over the
other half.
Of little importance to-day, quite out of the
world as far as visitors and commerce are con
cerned, abandoned for the most part to the blacks,
40

ISLANDS QUITE OUT OF THE WORLD 41
and with no accommodations for strangers, yet
time was when these islands were a power in
the AntiUes and their wealth was the en-vy of
kings. Here, in the bygone days of piracy, flocked the
wUd sea rovers of the broad Spanish Malnj and In
many a safe and sheltered harbor of the "Virgins"
the "JoUy Roger" was more familiar than the
banner of any European nation. Upon their
shores the swift, armed craft were careened,
repaired, and refitted; in the tiny towns the free
booters drank, gambled, and caroused away their
ill-gotten gold, and the islands, — Immune from
the raids of their bloodthirsty guests for sake
of the asylum they afforded, — ^waxed rich aind
prosperous. Countless millions in treasure have these now
forsaken islands seen; vast sums no doubt still
lie securely hidden in their forests, and, amid
their uncharted reefs and unfrequented waters,
many a corsair ship lies rotting and coral encrasted
to-day, for among these islands many a pirate
craft was sent to the bottom, when Commodore
Porter hounded the last of the freebooters up and
down the AntUles and wiped piracy from the
Caribbean forever.
Privateers too found these outlying islands most
convenient for their needs, and St. Bartholomew,
or St, Barts as it is more often called, became a

42 THE WEST INDIES
famous resort for free"-lances of the sea during
our Revolutionary War.
Then a colony of Sweden, — under whose do
minion It remained untU 1878, — it was attacked by
Admiral Rodney who sacked the port, Gustavia,
and captured merchandise worth over two million
doUars. To-day scarce that many cents could
be found on the island, for the good old golden
days have passed, never to return, and fishing,
salt-making, and a half-hearted cultivation of the
soil are all that serve to keep the islanders alive.
SABA
Farther to the south than the true Virgins and
lying midway between St. Croix and St. Katts,
are two islands weU worthy of more than passing
notice. Massive volcanic 1! cones, they rise abruptly
from the sea, the most westerly called Saba; the
other St. Eustatius, or Statia, and both belonging
to the Dutch.
s No other spot in all the world is quite like Saba;
of all the islands it Is the strangest, and of them
all it is In many ways the most interesting. Sheer,
conical, forbidding, and frowning, this island
rises from the waves; its base in water thousands
of feet in depth; Its topmost pinnacle veiled in
drifting clouds three thousand feet above the sea;

ISLANDS QUITE OUT OF THE WORLD 43
its coast rock-bound and precipitous. Passing
it on the south no one would ever dream that.
Saba was inhabited, but when saUing past it on
the east one may glimpse a few houses, and a
church or two, nestling in the greenery of the
heights, for, strange as it may seem, some two
thousand souls dweU on this lonely volcano's
summit. A thousand feet or more above the beating surf
is the town, snugly hidden from passers-by in
an extinct crater, and appropriately called "Bot
tom." No harbor breaks Saba's rock-bound
shores; there is no safe anchorage and no good
landing-place, and, if one would visit this unique
to-wn, one must step ashore from a small boat
upon a shingly beach and either climb a steep
stairway of eight hundred stone steps, or toU up
a narrow, difficult trail through a ravine on the
other side of the island. Bad as it is to make
the ascent empty handed, yet the Sabans think
nothing of climbing to their aerie with a barrel
of flour or'slmllar burden on their heads, for they
are a sturdy race and every article brought to
Saba from the outer world must be "headed" up
the heights.
Most of the men are sailors, as they have been
since earliest times, and sail all the seven seas,
although they invariably return to their beloved
island home to pass their old age, when possible.

44 THE WEST INDIES
And indeed they could scarce find a lovelier spot,
for Saba possesses a temperate climate like per
petual spring and the town is as neat, tidy, clean,
and trim as Dutch Industry and thrift can make
it. Many of the Sabans are black, but a large
proportion are white, and as flaxen-haired, blue-
eyed, and pink-cheeked as any denizens of HoUand,
and there are few people of mixed blood.
Aside from the Incomes earned by their sailor
men, the Sabans depend for a livelihood upon rais
ing garden truck, making delicate and beautiful
lace and drawn work, and building boats. Prob
ably of all the strange things of this strangest of
strange places this last Is most remarkable, for
here, In a crater one thousand feet above the
sea are built boats which for seaworthiness,
staunchness, and_speed are famous throughout
the Caribbean. ST. eustatius
St. Eustatius is Saba's nearest neighbor, twenty
miles distant and In plain sight ; but there is little
resemblance between the two islands or the ways
of the people, for Statia possesses a large area of
fairly level land, sloping downwards from its lofty
crater to the beach upon the western coast and
here. In quite conventional manner, squats old
Orange Town with a safe anchorage ready for

ISLANDS QUITE OUT OF THE WORLD 45
any vessel which sees fit to enter. To-day there
is Uttle business in Statia, Uttle of Interest to be
seen, for Statla's greatness is of the past; but in
the heart of every patriotic citizen of the United
States the name of St. Eustatius should live for
ever, for 'twas here the Stars and Stripes were
first saluted by guns of a foreign power.
It was In November, 1776, that the guns of
ancient Fort Orange roared out their salvo to the
new flag bravely fluttering from the masthead
of the Andrew Doria, a rakish privateer of Balti
more. No doubt the Statians, and sturdy old
Governor De Graaf, repented most heartily of
this honor paid to the new-born repubUc, for it
brought their British neighbors down upon them
and Lord Rodney sailed forth from humbled Statia
with booty to the value of three million pounds
SterUng. A vast garden, producing cane, tobacco, indigo,
coffee, and cotton, and supporting a population
of nearly twenty-five thousand people, Statia in
the eighteenth century was one of the most Im
portant of West Indian ports, and the harbor of
Fort Orange was filled with countless ships drawn
here by the immense stores of supplies in this free
port, and which proved a veritable blessing to the
Continentals. But to-day the water-front is all but deserted,
the great w9.rehouses are in ruins, the once pros-

46

THE WEST INDIES

perous estates are grown up to weeds and brush,
the population has dwindled to a bare two thousand
souls, and the guns of old Fort Orange are rust-
covered and mute.

CHAPTER IV

ST. KITTS and NEVIS

After five days of naught but sea and sky,
St. Thomas and St. Croix appear verdant, lovely
spots; the first magnificent and lofty; the other
rich, colorful, and tropical, but they both pale
into insignificance when one first looks upon St.
Kitts, the most northerly of the Leeward Islands.
Stretching for miles to north and south, Ues
this sun-bright, smiUng isle, its massive mountains
cloud-draped and forest-covered, its hlUs, valleys,
and tablelands golden with vast areas of cane,
and everywhere the palms. Rimming the beaches
above the slender thread of foam, they grow
in countless thousands; they border the perfect
winding roads in colonnades for scores of miles;
they cluster above imposing plantation homes or
tiny negro hovels with equal impartiality, and,
clear-cut as silhouettes against the wondrous sky,
they stand like giant sentinels upon the hlUtops.
St. Thomas seemed lofty as the steamer slipped
along its coast and we gazed upwards to its heights,
but compared to St. Kitts the Virgin isle is merely
47

48 THE WEST INDIES
hilly. Mountains after mountains lift their ma
jestic bulks from the cultivated lands in one stu
pendous rampart of green, culminating in Mount
Misery, a dormant volcano, whose crater rim is
shrouded in perpetual clouds four thousand feet
above the sea.
Continually changing is the panorama presented
by this lovely British isle. One moment it gleams
and scintillates with effulgent sunlight; the next
a passing cloud drifts on the wings of the trade
wind from the east and instantly the mountain
slopes of green grow black and somber, the island
seems to frown, and a veil of dri-ving rain shuts
mountains from view as by a curtain drawn
before them. A minute more, and the downpour
ceases as if by magic, the curtain is swept aside,
and valleys and ravines are purple with the mois
ture rising from their depths. Here and there
wisps of cloud-wrack still cling lovingly to the
mountainsides, the sun bursts forth once more,
and St. Kitts smiles a welcome.
Now we are close enough to distinguish the
various units that make up the island as a whole.
To the north is Sandy Point, sloping gently from
the sea to Mount Misery's heights, and, close
under the shadow of the volcano, and near the
shore, snuggles a steep-sided, detached hiU stand
ing alone above the level cane fields round
about.

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS

'^'•SHHPE' i»5SuJl

THE CIRCUS, ST. KITTS

ST. KITTS AND NEVIS 49
Once a strongly fortified spot, Brimstone HiU
as it is called, is now abandoned and its crumbUng
forts deserted, save by troops of wild monkeys
which haunt the :^rests of St. Kitts, — descendants
of the soldiers' pets brought years ago from Gi
braltar. From Brimstone HIU southward the
mountains diminish In size, while broad culti
vated fields and valleys Increase, until, just back
of the town of Basseterre, the backbone of the
island ends in a low, rounded, mound-Uke emi
nence in a broad cane-covered plain and known as
Monkey HiU.
Wonderfully pretty is Basseterre viewed from
the sea, — the final touch needed to complete a
perfect scene of tropical beauty. Red roofs and
multi-tinted buildings gleam amid waving palms,
brightly painted sloops and schooners ride at
anchor on the wonderful water, and scores of
gaudy-hued row boats and launches swarm about
the newly arrived ship, their chattering negro
occupants fiUing the balmy air with a babel of
soft, throaty EngUsh.
Near the center of the water-front, a long
iron pier juts seaward and at the head of
this looms the customs house, a roomy build
ing and the most conspicuous structure in the
town. :
Landing at the pier, and emerging from the
customs house, one comes at once to the "Circus,"

50 THE WEST INDIES
a small circular open space or plaza from which
several streets radiate, and surrounded by tower
ing royal palms shading an ornamental fountain.
About the Circus, and In the vicinity, are the best
stores, shops, and business houses, and near at
hand are the most Interesting and attractive sights
of St. Kitts's capital.
A few steps to the right is a lovely Uttle park,
¦with well-kept lawns bordered by gorgeous flowers
and blooming shrubs, and shaded by magnificent
fig trees, mahoganies, cedars, tamarinds, and palms.
About this park are many residences of weU-to-
do KIttefom'ans in the midst of lovely grounds
ablaze -with flowering vines and trees, for tropical
vegetation runs riot in St. Kitts and everywhere
the town teems with wonderful trees, brilUant
flowers, and great palms. It Is a strange sensa
tion for a Northerner, who visits these islands for
the first time, to see rare orchids and strange
exotics, — of priceless worth and confined to green
houses in our own land, — blooming and gro-wing
uncared for and unnoticed by the wayside.
Flaming poincianas and heavy-scented frangi-
panis spread their gorgeous branches overhead,
night-blooming cereus sprawls over fences and
roadside walls, roses grow to tree-Uke proportions
and bloom continuously, gardenias, crotons, and
jasmine crowd one another to find roothold in the
crevices of paved courtyards, orchids deck trees

ST. KITTS AND NEVIS 51
and ruins, while amaryllis, portulaca, thunburgia,
lantana, and many another of our prized flowers,
are troublesome' weeds.
But if you would obtain a good idea of St. Kitts's
flora tum to the left at the Circus and "visit the
PubUc Garden, or, better still, hire one of the
waiting public carriages or motor cars and go
where you wUl in ease and comfort about the town
and to the outlying countryside as well. The
roads of St. Kitts are excellent and reach all
points of interest and importance and the island
may be entirely encircled in a day. The outlying
sugar estates may prove Interesting, if one has
not seen such places In St. Croix or elsewhere.
There is a beautiful waterfall at V/Ingfield; there
Is a large cavern known as Lawyer Steven's Cave ;
from the summit of Monkey HiU a superb view
of the siarrounding country and the sea may be
obtained while, if the visitor is fond of scaUng
mountain heights, the ascent of Mount Misery
may be made.
It is a wonderful trip, — up from Sandy Point
through the "high bush," as the primeval forest
is called, — "with the gigantic trees rising for a
himdred feet and more on every hand, a maze
like network of lianas binding trunks and branches
together, and the whole forming a dense canopy —
cool, damp, and sUent — ^where the sunlight never
penetrates.

52 THE WEST INDIES
Above the forest proper is the world of mountain
palms and giant tree ferns, a land of wind-swept
drifting clouds which bathe the mountain in per
petual mist, and then, at last, one comes to the
crater. From rim to bottom the crater is nearly
a thousand feet in depth, its sides In many places
sheer precipices of scarlet and yellow, at other spots
covered with trees and vegetation, while far below
are innumerable boiling springs and fumaroles from
which sulphurous vapors are ever rising.
There Is no record of an eruption in St. Kitts in
historic times, but the crater is still active, though
it slumbers, and at any moment it may burst forth
and wipe the fair Island from the face of the earth.
With all its luxuriant tropic beauty, its fertlHty,
and its possibilities yet St. Kitts is of little impor
tance commercially and Its inhabitants are far
from prosperous, for the Kittefonians have never
learned to meet conditions and wean themselves
from the sugar which made fortunes for their
ancestors. Although, during the European War,
the price of sugar has risen by leaps and bounds
and St. Kitts planters are doing well, there is
little hope for continued prosperity, once peace is
declared and sugar falls to its wonted value.
nevis
In even worse shape is Ne-vis, whose per
fect, symmetrical towering cone sweeps upward

ST. KITTS AND NEVIS 53
from the sea five miles southward from St.
Kitts. Once the favorite watering place and health
resort for the elite of Europe, America, and the
Indies, Ne-vis has fallen to poverty and decay:
Once princely mansions have gone to ruin and
now shelter sordid negro hovels. Where revelry
and music once echoed In marble halls and the
lights shed by a thousand candelabra gleamed on
laces, silks, and priceless jewels there are now but
weed-gro-wn piles of crumbling masonry. For
merly known throughout the world as The Gor
geous Isle, the birthplace of Alexander Hamilton,
the spot famous as the scene of Lord Nelson's
marriage, it is now forgotten, neglected, and of
so little importance that few ships ever drop
anchor in Charlestown harbor.
But it is beautiful despite all this. Its climate
is as perfect as In its most glorious days, its ther
mal baths, medicinal waters, and fertile soil still
remain, and there are many places worth ¦visiting
on the island.
Hamilton's birthplace still stands upon a hill
near the town, although in ruins; in the old Fig
Tree Church one may still see the marriage
register recording Nelson's wedding to the Widow
NIsbet, and submerged Jamestown — destroyed by
the earthquake of 1680 — may yet be distinguished,
coral encrusted, beneath the waters near the shore.

54 THE WEST INDIES
No one can look on Nevis without a thrill of
admiration for its beauty; no one can visit its
historic spots without a pang of sorrow for its
present state. It is but a corpse of Nevis of the
past, — ^pathetic, passed away forever perhaps,
but beautiful even if dead.

CHAPTER V

ANTIGUA AND ITS NEIGHBOR

After the lofty mountains of St. Kitts and
Nevis, with their rich green forests, Antigua seems
low and bare, — an endless succession of dull, gray-
green hUls above the sea and backed by higher
hUls of softer, brighter hue, but with little sign of
the luxuriant vegetation of the other Islands.
Antigua, however, is really much higher than it
appears and some of its interior hills rise to nearly
1000 feet above the sea. But In every way it is
very different from the volcanic islands of the
Lesser Antilles, for it is mainly of limestone forma
tion and lacks the grandeur, the scenic beauties, the
tumbling cataracts, and the roaring~mountaIn
streams of its neighbors.
Moreover, Antigua has long been denuded of its
forests; for centuries its fertile lands have been
given over to cane, it has grown dry and sterile in
many places and there is scarce a square foot of
its arable land which Is not under cultivation, or
has not been cultivated in the past.
Outside the harbor of St. John the ships anchor
55

56 THE WEST INDIES
nearly five miles from the town, for bars prevent
large vessels from entering the inner harbor, and
little can be seen of the capital from the steamer.
By means of a launch, passengers are carried to and
from the shore, but it is a long inconvenient trip
and many visitors to the islands never step ashore
at Antigua, and, to tell the truth, they miss but
little. But there are certain interesting things
to be seen and, as Antigua is the capital of
the Leeward Island Confederation, it is worth
visiting. Just at the entrance to the harbor proper the
boat passes beneath a low headland crowned with
an ancient picturesque fort and farther up the
harbor Is Rat Island -with its Leper Hospital,
neatly kept and pleasantly situated and where
those afflicted with the loathsome disease seem
quite happy and contented.
Formerly leprosy was all too common In the
West Indies and lepers mingled freely with their
fellow men and women, and even took employ
ment as servants and peddled fruits and vegetables
in the markets. To-day, however, they are segre
gated for life and In many of the islands there Is
not a single known case of leprosy.
Fortunately for the West Indies, members of
the white race were very seldom affected by the
disease and it seemed to increase or spread but
little, and the number of cases remained almost

ANTIGUA AND ITS NEIGHBOR 57
constant, even when no systematic efforts were
made to keep it under control.
But it was unpleasant, to say the least, to find
that the "boy" who had been engaged to carry
one's purchases to the ship was a leper. Fortu
nately such things are of the past and there is no
more danger of contracting leprosy, yaws, or any
other disease in the Antilles than in the North.
St. John is beautifully situated at the head of its
harbor and surrounded by rolling hills ; the streets
are straight and the town is well laid out and, with
a little care and expense, it might well be one of
the most attractive spots in the islands. But, un
fortunately, the average British West Indian has
no conception of the "City Beautiful" and appears
to take no pride in the appearance of his towns.
St. John has a few good buildings, such as the
govemment offices and court-house, and an ex
cellent market ; but the bulk of the town is made
up of frail wooden shacks, ramshackle, unpainted,
down-at-the-heel shops, and hovels, which crowd
between the better buildings and obtrude them
selves along every sidewalk. But we should not
blame the Antiguans or their neighbors too severely
for this state of affairs. Through shortsighted
policy the powers that be tax improvements, —
even to a coat of paint on a house, — and to avoid
assuming burdens they cannot bear, the people let
their houses and shops go unpainted, uncared for.

58 THE WEST INDIES
and neglected. A fire, which would sweep the
to-wn from end to end, would be a blessing in dis
guise in St. John, as in many other of the British
islands, as, from the ashes, a new and better town
would no doubt arise, as occurred in Port of Spain.
Such a beneficial conflagration is not likely to
occur, however, for St. John possesses a fire
department and the firemen are as zealous of
sa-ving a shanty as a govemment building.
At the rear of the town the great yellow Angli
can church rises far above all else, its twin towers
the most prominent landmark to be seen, and from
them a superb view may be obtained.
In the churchyard are many ancient tombstones
of once prominent Antiguans, and at either side of
the gateway are statues said to have been taken
from one of Napoleon's ships.
Perhaps the church itself is as curious and inter
esting as anything in St. John. Extemally the
church is of massive stone construction, but with
in it is of wood, for it is really one church within
another, — a unique method of construction de
signed to protect the congregation from the effects
of earthquakes. Although not volcanic, yet
Antigua Is frequently shaken by earth tremors and
once, during an unusually severe quake, the old
church tumbled about the ears of a wedding party.
Observing that the stones fell inward the Anti
guans ingeniously built a wooden church and sur-

ANTIGUA AND ITS NEIGHBOR 59
rounded it with a shell of masonry. Now, should
a simUar catastrophe occur, the wooden structure
¦wiU protect any worshipers within from falling
stones, and If the outer church Is destroyed a
complete wooden edifice wUl still remain standing.
Back of the church, and beyond the town, is
the Govemment House surrounded by beautiful
grounds and lovely gardens, and near at hand are
tennis courts, cricket fields, and a broad, smooth-
swarded savanna surrounded by avenues shaded
by double rows of mahogany trees.
Near here is the Botanic Station, — smaU but
charming, — and filled with a wealth of palms,
flowers, trees, shrubs, and rare tropical plants,
orchids and cacti, and so crowded with vegetation,
so cool and shady, and so lacking in artificiality,
that it is even more attractive than many of the
more pretentious gardens in the other Islands.
When visiting this garden the stranger is invari
ably surprised to see a lighthouse standing upon a
low hUl above a tiny pond, as If placed In this out-
of-the-way spot for the sole benefit of voyagers on
the miniature lake. As a matter of fact, the light
is visible from the sea and serves as a guiding
beacon to vessels approaching the harbor.
Aside from the places mentioned there is little
else of real interest in St. John and still less of
attractiveness, but the island is traversed by
splendid roads and a ride, by carriage or motor

6o THE WEST INDIES
car, may be taken to advantage. The scenery is
nothing to boast about, but there are many large
and fine estates, charming beach-rimmed bays and
coves, and last and by no means least, the Valley of
Petrifications, where one may gather specimens of
fossil trees and wood from the petrified forest.
Then there is English Harbor, formerly an impor
tant port and naval station, where once was a great
dockyard, and famous as the spot wherein Nelson
refitted his fleet ere saUing forth to the Battle of
Trafalgar. Taken as a whole, however, Antigua possesses
few real attractions for visitors. The scenery Is
monotonous and reminds one of a vast, well-cul
tivated, but unattractive, farmland. From earliest
times Antigua has been a sugar island; the thin
soil and lack of water prevent many other profit
able crops from being grown and while, under
war conditions, sugar pays handsomely, yet
Antigua's prosperity is of the past and its outlook
for the future is far from bright.
BARBUDA
Northeast thirty miles from Antigua is the
little Island of Barbuda, low, flat, out of the beaten
track and once a veritable garden spot.
Here, in former days, lived the Codringtons,
owners of the islet and literally monarchs of all
they surveyed. To this island manor they brought

ANTIGUA AND ITS NEIGHBOR 6i
slaves from Africa, they imported cattle, sheep,
goats, and hogs from England and, to afford sport
and recreation for themselves and their guests,
they stocked Barbuda with fallow deer, Guinea
fowl, pheasants, and other game.
Long years have passed since the "Great House"
was tenanted by the feudal lords of Barbuda;
Codrington VUlage has dwindled to a few wattled
negro huts; the island has been left to nature and
the blacks, and only the wild beasts and birds have
prospered and Increased. Where broad fields
once bore rich crops, are now dense thickets of
chaparral and jungles of scrub; crumbling walls
and ruined buildings are buried under creepers and
vines, and the once well-cultivated isle has become
a wilderness aboundmg in wild cattle, deer, and
feathered game. If fond of hunting, a visit to
Barbuda Is worth making, for there is sport in
plenty and pigeons, ducks, plover, and wild fowl
add their quota to the introduced game. In
order to hunt on Barbuda a permit must be ob
tained from the agents in Antigua and everything
one may require must be carried, for there are no
accommodations for visitors at Barbuda and only
by a small sailing vessel can one reach this Carib
bean game preserve. MONTSERRAT
West of Antigua, and some fifty miles to the

62 THE WEST INDIES
south of St. Kitts, is Montserrat, a spot most
beautiful to look upon, — a veritable emerald gem
in a sapphire setting.
Although a small island, only twelve mUes long
and seven miles wide, yet its mountains tower for
three thousand feet above the Caribbean Sea and
within its limited confines is at least one active
volcanic crater.
But so perfect is its composition, so admirably
proportioned its mountains, hills, and valleys, that
Montserrat appears more like an artist's master
piece than the reality, although no painter could
ever hope to transfer such color, light, and atmos
phere to canvas. Dominating the island, a mas
sive, flat-topped, pyramidal mountain rises grandly
against the sky, while, flanking it to right and left,
are two stupendous bowl-like craters, their sides, —
seamed, scarred, and riven by long-forgotten
eruptions, now hidden beneath a rich mantle of
verdure. Forest-clad are the higher mountain
sides, but on their lower slopes are great orchards
of limes, groves of cocoa, and neat terraced gardens
which gradually give way to fields of waving cane
stretching downwards to the thread of surf along
the ebon beaches.
Across the fields, and winding through the fertUe
valley towards the mountains, gleam white ribbons
of roads whUe, half -hidden among countless palms,
the little town of Plymouth nestles beside the sea.

XI-s
oX u.
I-<XXUi
(/>HZoE

ANTIGUA AND ITS NEIGHBOR 63
No doubt the Irish colonists, who first settled
Montsenat, were reminded of their beloved Emer
ald Isle when they gazed upon this lovely spot with
its rich and fertile valleys, its rippling streams and
velvety green verdure. Indeed, Montserrat may
well be called a West Indian Erin, for not only was
it settled largelp by the "Wild Irish" but the most
striking peculiarities of the place are the brogue
upon its peoples' tongues and their Celtic names.
It seems strange indeed to find coal-black negroes
bearing such names as Patrick Donovan, Michael
O'Hara, and Edward Mulcahy, but though their
skins are dark these natives of Montserrat are as
quick-witted, easy-going, and as prone to "Blar
ney" as their Irish ancestors. Even the physical
characteristics of the Celts have been Inherited by
many of the Montserratans, and red-headed,
freckle-faced negroes are by no means uncommon,
though far less often seen than formerly, for the
island has passed through many lean years and
large numbers of the people have migrated to more
promising lands and the neighboring islands.
To-day, however, Montserrat's one-time prosper
ity is in a measure returning, for limes and cocoa
have supplanted cane to a large extent. Montserrat
lime juice is known throughout the world and many
planters are doing wonderfully well. But there is
Httle to interest the casual visitor to Montserrat.
Much of the town is dUapidated, broken down, and

64 THE WEST INDIES
in semi-ruins ; vines, creepers, and gorgeous flowers
clamber riotously over the crumbling walls of
once beautiful mansions and imposing buildings,
and shanty-like, flimsy huts crowd weed-grown
courtyards and fill the gaps of tumble-down waUs.
Many of the streets are well kept and smoothly
paved, the roads in the outlying districts are
excellent, and a drive into the country and across
the hills is the most enjoyable means of spending
one's time in this tropical Erin.
There are many beautiful views, several fine
estates, groves of cocoa and lime orchards to be
seen, while the active crater, known as the "Sou
friere," is the most interesting spot on the island.
Here are steamlng-hot beds of sulphur and sand,
streams of boiling water, hot springs and fumaroles,
— the whole forming a miniature inferno surrounded
by a wealth of tropical foliage and within easy
access from Plymouth.

CHAPTER VI
GUADELOUPE, WHERE WA"VES THE TRICOLOR
From horizon to horizon stretch the shores of
Guadeloupe, upward to the drifting clouds soar
its scores of peaks, and, gazing upon its countless
valleys, its endless hills, its succession of mUe-high
mountains and its interminable shores, one feels
as if looking upon a continent, rather than an
island, and all preconceived ideas of these "small
islands" are cast to the winds.
A mere speck on the map, the bulk of Guade
loupe overwhelms the stranger, as the ship steams
along the coast for hour after hour; for all the
islands already visited, if rolled into one and mul
tiplied a hundredfold, would suffer woefully in
comparison with this glorious, majestic island
above which flies the tricolor of France. In bold,
verdured headlands the island rises from the sea,
and, by stupendous ridges, massive foothills, and
abysmal purple-shadowed rifts, sweeps back and
ever upward to the central mountain range, where,
enthroned among the clouds, Soufriere lifts its regal
head five thousand feet above the encircling sea.
5 6s

66 THE WEST INDIES
Almost awe-inspiring in its magnificent grandeur
is this northern portion"of Guadeloupe, — a sublime
panorama of forest-clad, mountainous country
seemingly untouched by hand of man. But in
reality much of the land is under cultivation and
cocoa groves fill many a valley and clamber up the
mountain slopes, and the foliage of coffee, spice
trees, limes, oranges, and gardens mingles with the
natural verdure of the bush and is unrecognizable
from the passing ship.
Here too, in the shadow of the mountain ranges,
is Basseterre, the capital ; but steamers seldom stop
there, for the commerce, trade, and industry of the
island center at Pointe-^-Pltre, the chief port of
Guadeloupe and situated near the southem mouth
of Salt River on Grande Terre.
In reality Guadeloupe consists of two islands, the
more westerly and northerly being rugged, mag
nificent, and lofty, — a scenic wonderland, — and
known as Guadeloupe proper, whUe to the east,
and separated only by a narrow creek kno-wn as
Salt River, lies Grande Terre, comparatively low
and level and with little in the way of scenic
beauties. In addition to these two main islands
there are the "Saintes," — three small, towering
islets off the southwestem coast; "Marie Galante,"
like a massive, terraced pyramid, and bulky "De-
sirade " with its sliced-off summit, the whole cover
ing an area of over seven hundred square miles.

GUADELOUPE 67
In contrast to the superb mountain scenery of
the northem half of Guadeloupe, Grande Terre
seems even more dull and uninteresting than it is
in reality, but it is wonderfully rich and every
available inch of its surface is under cultivation, —
largely sugar cane, — and close to the port is one
of the largest sugar mills in the world, — the Usine
Arbousier. '- PoInte-a-Pltre presents a busy, bustling scene and
seems a great city after the decadent, poverty-
stricken aspect of Montserrat, Antigua, and the
northem islands. There are commodious stone
docks, puffing tugs with strings of lighters ply back
and forth, numerous steamers, schooners, and
square-riggers swing at anchor or are moored at
the piers, the landlocked harbor teems with life,
and the waterside streets of the well-built town are
noisy with industry.
Pointe-^-Pltre is badly in need of a street-clean
ing department, for it Is none too tidy— a fault of
many French towns — but it Is far better kept than
a few years ago and is well laid out; its streets are
wide, smooth, and straight, and one looks in vain
for the miserable huts so typical of the British
islands. To find such eyesores one must go to the
poorer quarters and the suburb^, for, in the city
itself, the buUdings lining the streets are neat and
brightly painted. They are mainly of wood, how
ever, for fires, earthquakes, and hurricanes have

68 THE WEST INDIES
swept Guadeloupe repeatedly, and the inhabitants
have learned by experience that it's cheaper and
easier to rebuUd with timber than with stone and
concrete. TypicaUy French is the atmosphere of Pointe-
^-Pitre, — the colors are brUliant almost to garish-
ness, the women rival the glory of Solomon in their
quaint, gay costumes and everywhere a chatter of
French is heard. Everyone seems busy, prosper
ous, and energetic; drays creak and lumber along,
laden with produce or hauling cargo from the ships ;
motor trucks thunder by, and, about the market
place, the din is deafening.
Around the great roofed market centers the life
and business of Pointe-^-Pltre and on a Saturday,
when the country people flock to to-wn from far
and near to sell their produce, the place is ablaze
¦with color and packed to overflo-wing. Here, for
the first time, one sees the picturesque costumes
of the French West Indian women, — the dress
which has made the women of Martinique and
Guadeloupe famous for their beauty and which
makes them appear as of a distinct race from the
ragged, slovenly, unattractive females of Antigua,
St. Kitts, or the other northem islands.
In each of the French islands the costume varies
in minor detaUs, but in general effect it is simUar,
whether the wearer belongs to Guadeloupe, Mar
tinique, or Dominica, — for the latter island is more

GUADELOUPE 69
French than British in manners, customs, and
speech, although an English colony. The chief
characteristic of the Creole woman's costume is
the turban or "Madras, "a gorgeously striped and
checked cloth manufactured and sold for this
special purpose, and tied In a coquettish, jaunty
manner. In each island where the Madras is
wom the method of tying it is distinct, and by the
form of the turban the womenfolk's native Island
may readily be known. The dress itself is short-
waisted, with enormous, trailing, stiffly-starched
skirt, — preferably of glaring colors and large de
sign, — and, to finish off the whole, a brilliant silk
kerchief or "foulard" is worn folded across the
shoulders while strings of massive gold beads
encircle the neck and enormous earrings and brace
lets adom wrists and ears.
It is to be regretted that this picturesque cos
tume is rapidly giving way to more conventional
garments, and only among the older conservative
set, and on Sundays and holidays, can the -visitor
see the Creole "fiUes" in all their glory, although
some are always in evidence.
With aU its llfe.color, and bustle, and its charm
ing foreign atmosphere, Pointe-^-Pltre is unbear
ably hot at midday and there is comparatively
little to be seen in and about the town.
There is a massive cathedral in the center of the
city, with a little open plaza before it ; there are

70 THE WEST INDIES
a few handsome residences in the same neighbor
hood, and there is a large square, or savanna,
bordered by a shaded promenade leading to the
Inner harbor. There is also an attractive public
garden, a theater, a museum, and a chamber of
agriculture, but the principal public buUdings, the
govemment offices, andthe residence ofthe gov
emor are at Basseterre.
The drive from Pointe-^-Pltre to the capital is
charming and, as an automobile line makes regular
daily trips between the two towns, the visitor may
obtain an excellent idea of the island without the
least inconvenience or exertion.
Basseterre, as a town, is less interesting than
Poihte-^-Pitre and is scarcely half the latter's
size. Its chief importance lies in the fact that it
is the capital and seat of govemment, and it makes
no claim to being of commercial importance.
The French very wisely separated commercial and
political centers in their islands, thus inducing a
more even distribution of wealth and population
and compelling travel from place to place, -with
the result that their colonies are far more thickly
settled than those of Britain, whUe excellent high
ways connect all important places. To this fore
sight the prosperity and progress of the French
Islands are largely due, but the French West
Indians have placed less faith in sugar than their
English neighbors and have never been given to

GUADELOUPE

71

"putting all their eggs in one basket," so to speak,
and they have won out by providing a variety of
resources to fall back upon when sugar ceased to
pay an enormous profit. They have prospered
where the British have gone bankrupt, good-sized
towns and -villages are scattered over the land, and
their ports are busy, provided with modem ap
pliances, and are well filled with shipping.
Perchance character and temperament have
had much to do with this, for in the British islands,
where French blood and traditions predominate,
conditions are far better than in the strictly Eng
lish islands.

CHAPTER VII
DOMINICA, THE CARIBBEAN WONDERLAND
Largest of the Leeward Islands, loftiest of the
Lesser Antilles, and loveliest of the West Indian
isles is Dominica.
Twenty-five miles south of Guadeloupe it
looms against the sky, a shimmering, opalescent
vision, ethereal, hazy, and unreal, — ^like the dream
castle of a fairy tale. And none of the enchant
ment of distance is lost on nearing Dominica, for
it is doubtful if anywhere in the whole -wide world
can be found an island more beautiful.
It seems as if nature had done her utmost, had
exerted her every effort to produce a masterpiece,
and Dominica was the result, for, as one travels
north or south along the crescent of the Caribbees,
the mountains become higher and higher and the
beauties and luxuriance of the islands increase,
untU altitude, scenery, vegetation, and grandeur
culminate here.
From sea to sky the island is one towering, ma
jestic mass of mountains. Upward from the
azure sea they spring in sheer dizzying precipices
72

DOMINICA 73
and soaring peaks. They overhang the passing
ship and stretch In endless succession to distant
summits lost in blue haze amid the clouds. Be
tween them yawn stupendous clefts, black canons
and mile-deep gorges. Foaming torrents dash
through broad fertUe valleys towards the sea and
flashing cataracts spring from the dense verdure
and fall, like molten silver, into unseen shado-wy
depths. And over all is spread a wealth of vegeta
tion, a mantle of forest, inconceivable in its lux
uriance, its color, and its variety. In one vast sea
of infinitely tinted green it sweeps from beating
surf across vaUeys, hills, tablelands, and mountains,
to the very summit of sky-piercing Diablotin which
towers, sublime, massive, titanic, above all else, —
the highest peak in the Lesser Antilles.
For mile after mile, for hour after hour, the ship
steams along this coast and ever the wondrous
panorama of scenery stretches to north and south
and from beach to clouds. Many a tiny village is
passed, many a broad rIver-fUled valley is opened
to view, cocoa groves, lime orchards, and golden
patches of cane are seen breaking the deeper tint
of forest, untU, at last, the steamer comes to rest
off the port of Roseau.
Fortunate Indeed is the voyager who first looks
upon Dominica as the sun glows like a ball of mol
ten metal on the western rim of the sea. When the
sapphire surface of the Caribbean is transformed to

74 THE WEST INDIES
a sheet cf polished amethyst; when, through the
soft, effulgent glow of waning daylight, the naked
cliffs are touched with burnished gold, the verdure
gleams with coppery hues and the trade-clouds
wreathe the mountaintops in diadems of pink and
rose. At any hour, at any time from dawn tUl
dark, Dominica is beautiful beyond compare, but
when the visitor steps ashore at Roseau comes dis
appointment, for the capital is the one blot upon
this perfect island, where only man Is vile.
Picturesque to a degree, marvelously neat and
clean, yet Roseau is scarce more than a town of
hovels. Unkempt, unpainted shanties are buUt
upon and within the ruins of fine stone buildings
long since fallen to decay; they stand in scores
along the best streets and obtrude themselves on
every hand, and the few really good and substan
tial stores and residences are almost lost to sight
amid the omnipresent, shabby, flimsy stractures.
It is the same ridiculous tax on improvements
which exists in all the Leeward Islands which keeps
Roseau in this disgraceful state, for Dominica Is
the most prosperous of the Confederation, Its
people, — albeit almost wholly of the colored race, —
are industrious, intelligent, and comparatively well-
to-do and they realize the shortcomings of their
capital. Not until improvement and progress are
fostered, rather than discouraged, will the British
West Indian towns become worthy of their name

• v'f ¦'••¦* '^ ¦. I''

DOMINICA 75
and their surroundings, and until that time, Roseau
will remain as It is, — an eyesore, an ulcer, and a
disgrace. But -with all Its faults one can find much to
admire in Roseau. There are many spots of in
terest and beauty about the to-wn, and, once first
impressions are overcome, the visitor wiU find
Roseau is not so bad as It looks.
Every street within the town, whether quaint,
cobbled lane or broad smooth macadamed thor
oughfare, — and there are many such, — Is swept and
scoured daily and every street is edged by open
gutters ever filled with rushing water from the
hUls, for Roseau has a water supply unequaled in
the West Indies. Indeed, the stranger is apt to
think Dominica is over supplied with water, for
the greatest drawback to an otherwise beautiful
and healthy climate is the superabundant rain.
Of all the West Indies, Dominica can boast of
being the wettest and, for that matter, there are
but few places in the world where more rain falls
during the year. In many of the mountainous
districts over three hundred inches of rain is the
average. Think of It ! over an Inch a day year in
and year out. No wonder the natives say that in
Dominica they measure the rain "by yards, not
inches. "
But this is only in the highlands, where the
clouds from the Atlantic drift against the cool.

76 THE WEST INDIES
forest-covered peaks and bathe the land in a con
tinual hea"vy mist or light rain. Along the coast
the rainfall is much less — only a little more than
one hundred inches at Roseau — but there are no
distinct "dry" and "wet" seasons, rather a
"wet" and a "wetter."
Scarce a day passes without rain, but, as a rale,
the showers are of short duration. They often faU
from a blue and cloudless sky, no one pays any
attention to them and, inconvenient as they may
be when sightseeing, yet they are necessary. The
luxuriance, fertility, and beauty of the island de
pend upon the seemingly excessive rainfaU; -with
out it, Dominica would be but a barren waste and
even a comparatively short drought plays havoc
with the crops and results in untold losses to the
planters. If the visitor wishes to see the interior of Domin
ica, or plans to go any considerable distance from
the town, it will be necessary to travel on horseback,
for there are few roads suitable for wheeled vehi
cles on the island, and while there are many car
riages and motor cars in Roseau their sphere of
usefulness is very limited.
Lucidly for those who cannot ride, there is enough
of interest to occupy one's time for several days in
the town and within easy walking or driving dis
tance. There are numerous well-stocked stores,
several excellent boarding-houses, a good hotel,

CARIB GIRL, DOMINICA

DOMINICA 77
an ice factory, a museum, two clubs, AngUcan,
Methodist, and Catholic churches, a convent, the
Govemment House, the ancient historic fort with
its empty embrasures pointing over the town and
speaking eloquently of slave msurrections in the
past, and a Carnegie library, not to mention the
jaU, the hospital, and the various govemment
buildings. The crowning glory of Dominica's capital, the
most beautiful and interesting spot to be seen
near town, is the Botanic Station or Public Garden
and scarce five minutes' walk from the landing-
place. Here, at the foot of Morne Bruce, and some
fifty acres in extent, is a veritable wonderland of
tropic vegetation. Broad velvety lawns are dotted
with rows and groups of palms of every known
kind and from all corners of the world; trees,
wonderful with gorgeous flowers or marvelous in
habit, border the smooth gravel drives and paths,
and an endless variety of blooming shrubs and
brilliant flowers fill innumerable beds. Stretching
up the hillside, and filling the shady dale at its
base, are nutmeg and cocoa groves, orchards of
frait trees, hedges of vanilla, and an infinite
number of timber, rubber, and otherwise commer
cially valuable trees, whUe, surrounded by gigantic
bamboos and rank foliage, are great thatched sheds
which shelter hundreds of rare and wonderful
orchids. No other botanic gardens in the AntiUes

78 THE WEST INDIES
can compare with It, and If the visitor to Dominica
sees nothing else on the island his trip will be well
repaid. From the summit of Morne Brace, — an easy
climb, — a superbly beautiful view may be obtained.
At one's feet lie the gardens and the town, — ^look
ing very pretty from this height, — to the west
stretches the illimitable blue Caribbean and, in
land, is the magnificent Roseau Valley with the
fiashing, foaming river winding through the vast
lime orchards which cover hill and dale to the
steeper mountainsides which rise in wild, forest-
clad heights in every direction.
Near the gardens, but a step from the en
trance in fact, is the Bath Estate, the head
quarters of the lime Industry of the world, for it
is the largest lime estate in Dominica and this
island is the greatest lime-producing country on
the globe.
Also within easy reach of Roseau are the hot
springs of Wotten Waven, or a launch trip may be
taken to Soufriere and Its crater harbor, where
boiling streams, steaming fumaroles, and vast
sulphur beds cover the mountainsides of a valley
indescribably beautiful. Another wonderful trip
is by horseback up the Roseau Valley to and
through the cool, shady forests of the mountains
to the famed Mountain Lake, a lonely cairn fill
ing the crater of an extinct volcano among the

DOMINICA 79
perpetual clouds on the roof of the island. StiU
another trip, but one requiring strength, en
durance, and strenuous work, Is that to the
Boiling Lake, a vast, active crater wherein is
a great lake of bubbling, boUing water and
worthy of being classed among the wonders of
the world.
Weeks might be spent in Dominica without see
ing half its wonders, whole volumes might be
written on its beauties, its marvels, its resources,
and Its people, for much of its vast primeval
forests is stUl unknown, Its mountains hold many
a phenomenon undreamed of by the outside world,
its possibilities are almost limitless, its history Is
fascinating and romantic, and among its people are
numbered the few Survivors of that once powerful
and warlike race which roamed the Caribbees ere
Europeans ever set foot upon their shores, — the
¦yellow Caribs. Once bloodthirsty. Indomitable
cannibals, the Caribs fought Spanish, French,
Dutch, and British in turn, waging a relentless,
though hopeless, straggle against terrific odds for
centuries, until at last, beaten but unconquered,
their numbers decimated by massacre and butch
ery, robbed of their lands and homes and many of
them sold into slavery, they were given tiny reser
vations on St. Vincent and Dominica. But even
nature seemed to conspire to destroy them, for
those on St. Vincent were practically swept from

8o

THE WEST INDIES

existence in the eruption of 1902, and to-day the
only pure-blooded aborigines of the Antilles live
quiet, peaceful, law-abiding lives at Salybia on the
windward coast of Dominica.

CHAPTER VIII
MARTINIQUE, THE LAND OF JOSEPHINE
Fourteen years have passed since Morne Pelee
burst forth and with its blazing gases, scalding mud,
and white-hot lava bombs, swept Saint-Pierre
from off the map, and, in an Instant, destroyed
the work and gro-wth of centuries, together with
forty thousand human lives.
To-day, where stood this fairest city of the Carib
bees, only a blackened skeleton remains, while,
above the ruin that it wrought, looms grim Pelee,
menacing, forbidding, sinister, like some frowning,
monstrous ogre gloating over the dead bodies of
its -victims.
But from the passing ship one would scarce
realize that here was enacted one of the most
a-wful tragedies the world has ever known, for
nature has striven to hide the scars of her destrac
tive rage, and brash, -vines, and creepers screen the
grisly e-vidences of Pel6e's fury.
Once famed for the life, gaiety, wealth, and
-wickedness of its capital; noted far and -wide for
the beauty of its women ; raved over for its scenic
6 8i

82 THE WEST INDIES
attractions; praised for Its progress and its splen
did roads, and known to all as the birthplace of the
Empress Josephine, Martinique sprang into world
wide prominence on that fateful May morning in
1902. But after the destruction of Saint-Pierre the
island sank into oblivion, its fame departed and
its past was forgotten, and yet, Martinique is as
beautiful as ever; the wondrous scenery and lux
uriant vegetation still remain; perfect highways,
thread fields, and forests, mountains and valleys;
the women are as comely as of yore, and Fort-de-
France is a big, busy, modem, attractive town.
To the world at large Salnt-Piene was Martinique,
and many seem to think that in the fearful erup
tion the entire island was devastated. As a matter
of fact, only a few square mUes were laid waste, —
a mere microscopical portion of the island, — and
Martinique, as a whole, still remains the same
queenly island from whose shores the one-time
Queen of France went forth, to retum, cast aside
and broken-hearted, to rest forever in the lovely
tropic land of her birth.
Wonderfully alluring is Martinique from the
sea, — not so wild, majestic, and awe-inspiring in its
grandeur as Dominica, not so lofty in its mountain
heights, — but marvelously varied in its surface,
luxuriant and green beyond belief and -with a
strange indefinable atmosphere of peace, bright
ness, and promise peculiar to itself.

MARTINIQUE 83
Southward from the ruins of Saint-Pierre the
shore rises from the sea in a series of sharp ridges,
their seaward faces sliced abruptly off and giving a
strange, unique effect of Innumerable sugar-loaf-
shaped cliffs along the shore. Back towards the
central mountain range the hills rise in great green
bUlows, in places forming broad fertile tablelands,
in other spots cleft by dark gorges or rich smiling
valleys, while, here and there, steep-sided towering
peaks jut abruptly upward to the clouds. And
varied as the surface of the land is the verdure
which clothes It from surf to topmost wind-swept
pinnacle. Dark with growth of forests wherein
ax has never rang on wood, coppery with cocoa
groves, golden with cane fields, emerald with
bananas, and velvety with orchards of oranges,
limes, and lemons, the sea of green stretches as
far as eye can see. In deep sheltered coves be
tween the pyramidal headlands little towns and
fishing villages nestle by the sea, their white buUd
ings and red roofs ever topped by a gleaming
church spire, and looking like clusters of flowers
amid the palms. Bright-hued boats bob and
curtsey to the dancing waves, more and more
frequent grow the settlements, farther and farther
from the sea recede the mountains, wider and more
numerous are the cultivated lands, until, beyond a
red-cliffed headland, the harbor of Fort -de-Prance
is reached. Upon the shores of the great, almost

84 THE WEST INDIES
landlocked bay, brilliant in its coloring, flanked
by verdure-clad hills, and ancient age-gray Fort
Royal frowning from its headland, and with a
background of lofty green mountains, Fort-de-
France makes a wonderfully pretty picture.
There are no really striking buUdings in the
town, — the most notable being the church -with its
curious open iron-work spire designed to -withstand
earthquakes and hurricanes, — but there are nu
merous well-built, large, and prominent structures,
and houses, shops, stores, and other buUdings are
far superior in appearance to the majority of the
towns in the Lesser Antilles. The streets are
straight and smoothly paved — albeit none too
cleanly — the gaudy costumes of the women lend
an air of brightness, life, and vivacity to the scene,
and architecture, colbrs, people, gendarmes, man
ners, and language are unmistakably and typicaUy
French. The Mecca for every visitor to Fort-de-France
is, of course, the statue of the Empress Josephine.
With her beautiful head tumed towards her birth
place at Trois Islets across the bay, the girlish
queen stands carved in sno-wy marble, surrounded
by a circle of towering royal palms in the center of
the broad savanna. It is a magnificent monument
to Martinique's most famous daughter, — the
Creole maid who, born in an overseer's shack and
reared to womanhood in a sugar mill, — for the

MARTINIQUE 85
home of her parents had been destroyed by a
hurricane, — rose to the supreme height of Em
press of the French as -wife of Napoleon.
About the savanna are broad avenues shaded by
enormous trees, and just beyond is the secluded
inner harbor behind the fort and -with docks
crowded with shipping.
The Fort-de-France market Is large and well
kept and should by aU means be -visited, for here
one may see all the many types that go to make up
the population of Martinique, while other notable
places of interest are the Canal de Gueydon, with
its cascade flashing down to the river below; the
Government House on the hUl overlooking the city
and harbor; old Fort Royal, and Trois Islets, where
the rains of Josephine's birthplace may still be
seen, as well as the mUl wherein she dwelt until
fifteen years of age, and the church where she was
baptized and which contains a picture presented
by Napoleon and a memorial tablet to her mother.
But to enjoy Martinique, to gain an idea of the
beauties, luxuriance, and scenery of the island, the
-visitor should drive through the interior by motor
car. The roads are magnificent, every town and
¦vUlage is connected -with the capital by beautiful
highroads and wherever one goes he may be sure
of the best there is, of unbounded hospitality and
of French courtesy. By -wonderful curves and
easy grades the roads scale the mountain heights;

86 THE WEST INDIES
for mile after mile they skirt the brinks of sheer,
dizzying precipices; they follow the banks of roar
ing mountain torrents in shado-wy gorges; they
thread their way through the dim, cool aisles of
primeval forests and they stretch across countless
acres of waving cane fields.
Only by such a trip can one appreciate this
tropic isle; only by such means can the visitor
obtain an insight of the size, the fertUity, and the
scenic wonders of the West Indies, and only by
actually seeing them can the stranger know what
the tropical forests are like or realize the gigantic
size of the trees, the wonderful maze of lianas, the
infinite variety of strange air plants and orchids,
and the rank, riotous gro-wth of the "high bush. "
It is something impossible to describe, for words
are inadequate to convey the remotest conception
of scenes so totally different from anything one
has ever seen. It must be viewed, experienced,
¦visualized, to be appreciated. Then, and not tiU
then, will you know the spell of the tropics, the
subtle charm these islands hold, the irresistible
fascination they possess for those who know them
well. Seductive, languorous, voluptuous as her daugh
ters, is fair Martinique and, — unless care is used, —
as dangerous, for, like Eden of old, this Caribbean
Paradise is the home of a deadly serpent, — the
dreaded fer-de-lance, the only poisonous snake

FORT DE FRANCE, MARTINIQUE

r^ ^

COALING A SHIP, ST. LUCIA

MARTINIQUE 87
found in the AntUles, — with the exception of
Trinidad, — and confined solely to Martinique
and St. Lucia, and the greatest drawback to these
two charming isles.

CHAPTER IX
ST. LUCIA, AN ISLAND STRONGHOLD
Land is never out of sight as one saUs up or down
the Lesser Antilles, for they are strung like beads
along the edge of the Caribbean Sea, and scarce a
score of mUes of water lies between any two of the
islands. Always, as one lovely spot is left astern, another
equally beautiful looms above the horizon ahead
and, in the days when France and England
struggled for supremacy in the West Indies, this
proximity of the islands proved a blessing and a
curse to the rival powers.
A French colony sandwiched between two Brit
ish isles, or vice versa, afforded an opportunity for
constant attacks and it is little wonder that the
islands were constantly changing hands, or that
the inhabitants never knew, — from day to day, —
to which flag they owed allegiance.
But on the other hand the warring nations found
it most convenient to be able to establish naval
stations and garrisons and to buUd powerful forts,
-v\"Ithin easy striking distance of their foes, and to
88

ST. LUCIA 89
maintain a constant espionage over their neigh
bors' fleets and strongholds.
Such was the case in St. Lucia, which the British
fortified so strongly that it became known as the
"Gibraltar of the West Indies," and from whose
northem coast old Admiral Rodney watched the
powerful French fleet at anchor In the harbor of
Fort-de-France. Here, In the great sheltered bay
of Gros Islets, the British frigates lay at anchor,
cables ready to slip, guns shotted, and men at
quarters, untU the unsuspecting French sailed
forth from the protection of Fort Royal. Then,
from St. Lucia's shores, the British followed in
pursuit, and off Dominica's coast was fought the
terrific battle which made England mistress of the
Caribbean. But an even more interesting spot than the
rendezvous of Rodney's fleet lies just off the south
ern shore of Martinique and In plain view of the
ship as she leaves the birthplace of Josephine
astern. This is Diamond Rock, a sheer, towering pin
nacle rising. abruptly from the sea to a height of
six hundred feet. It seems impossible that any
human being could surmount this precipitous
fang-like crag, but not only has it been scaled, but
its summit actually has been fortified. This
happened In the eighteenth century, when a party
of British bluejackets clambered up the perpendic-

90 THE WEST INDIES
ular sides of Diamond Rock and, by almost super
human efforts, hoisted cannons to its top.
Here, for months, the handful of men defied all
attempts of the French to dislodge them and from
their lofty fortress commanded the seas for miles
about, and shelled every enemy ship that ventured
-within range. Only when their provisions and
supplies were exhausted did they surrender and,
in token of their gallantry and their remarkable
feat, the lonely sea-girt pinnacle was entered in
the official lists of the admiralty as "H. M. S.
Diamond Rock" — the only rock in the world to
become a ship of war.
Like all the volcanic islands of the chain, St.
Lucia is rugged, broken, and mountainous, but in
comparison with Guadeloupe, Martinique, and
Dominica, It appears scarce more than hUly as one
approaches its coast.
But while St. Lucia's mountains are not as lofty
as those of her northem sisters, they are far more
varied. Serrated, jagged, needle-pointed, knife-
edged, rounded, conical, and precipitous, they
appear as though picked up at random by some
giant's hand and tossed helter-skelter into the sea
to form St. Lucia.
Between the jumble of mountains and hUls are
dark, deep canons, ya-wning chasms and narrow
valleys, while over all is spread a robe of forest,
filled with dye and cabinet woods, spice trees and

ST. LUCIA 91
gorgeous flowers and through which plunge
cataracts and foaming mountain torrents.
Beautiful and fertUe is the island, wonderfully
picturesque and varied in its scenery, but St.
Lucia's chief importance lies in its strongly fortified
harbor with its great coaling station. Fittingly
was it called the "Gibraltar of the West Indies,"
for when a ship steams between Vigie Head to the
north and Cocoanut Headland to the south, she
must ran a gauntlet of massive forts and great
guns commanding a harbor entrance scarce five
himdred yards in width. Two mUes into the land
the narrow strait leads, hemmed in by hiUs on
which is the Insane Hospital, — so close to the
chaimel that the inmates' voices are audible to
those on the passing ships, — whUe hidden on the
southem ridge are masked batteries which com
mand the land and sea for mUes in every direction.
Only by reducing these forts could an enemy
approach and, even then, the entrance to St.
Lucia's harbor could be barred by a single sunken
hulk or made impassable by a few well-placed
mines. At the head of the great, semicircular
harbor, to which the fortified channel leads, lies
Castries, stretching along the water front and
clambering up the steep, verdured hiUside beyond.
Little idea of the town can be obtained from the
ship, however, for streets and buildings, — even
many of the roofs themselves, — are hidden behind

92 THE WEST INDIES
miniature mountains of coal which is piled every
where on docks, wharves, and along the water
front streets.
Deep water extends up to the substantial stone
docks and here, for the first time, the vessel is
moored to the land and passengers may step
ashore. But, before doing so, the visitor's atten
tion will no doubt be attracted, and his interest
held, by the hurrying, noisy, black women who, like
busy ants, pass ceaselessly back and forth between
the coal pUes and the waiting ships. These are
the human machines which load the vessels with
fuel from St. Lucia's supply, and no one has yet
been able to de-vise any mechanical means of
coaling as rapidly, as surely, and as economically
in St. Lucia as by women's heads. To Northem
minds it may seem inhuman, abhorrent, debasing,
for women and girls to toU for hour after hour in
the broiling sun with coal-laden baskets, weighing
more than an able-bodied man can lift, upon their
heads; but no pity need be wasted. The women
are as happy, contented, and light-hearted as
possible; they sing, dance, and skylark while
waiting for their baskets to be filled by the male
workers, — ^whose task Is to shovel the coal into
the baskets, — and they would laugh to scom any
suggestion that they were suffering or were even
working "too hard. "
To them it Is the easiest and most congenial of

ST. LUCIA 93
tasks, a source of good wages at which they can
labor as they see fit, and the person who attempted
to introduce a mechanical coaling device would
stand a good chance of being mobbed by the black
Amazons for taking away their means of livelihood.
We hear much of the West Indian negroes'
laziness, but he who sees the St. Lucia women, —
and men for that matter, — toiling at coaling a ship
¦wUl never accuse them of laziness thereafter. The
fact is, the West Indian colored man, or woman, is
not lazy, as we know the term, but they cannot
bring themselves to work regularly. When they
work, they work -with a will and with tremendous
energy and never seem to tire, but they cannot be
bound to regular hours, they labor as humor or
necessity moves them, and, between tasks, enjoy
to the utmost the delightful sensation of doing
absolutely nothing. Taken all In all they are a
good-natured, happy-go-lucky, peaceful, harmless,
usuaUy honest lot and childlike in their Ideals and
temperament. As nature has done everything for
them, as food may be had almost for the trouble
of picking it, as shelter Is unnecessary and cloth
ing is required only to comply with the law, why,
after aU, should they wear themselves out by
working ?
The to-wn of Castries is not of great interest, for
it is as flat as a table and there are few attractive
or prominent buUdings, but the streets are smooth,

94 THE WEST INDIES
straight, and laid out at right angles, the place is
clean and neat and, as a whole, is far more attrac
tive and well kept than the ports of the other
British islands to the north. Most of the houses
are of two stories, with overhanging balconies
formed by the projecting upper floors; they are in
good repair and well painted and there are no ob
trusive, ramshackle huts save in the outskirts and
the slums of Castries.
Even these are a vast improvement over dweU
ings of the same class in the other islands and many
of the poorest houses are brightly painted, well
built and toylike In their attractive design. Back
of the town towers a wooded hill, kno-wn as "The
Morne, " where, embowered amid shade trees and
palms are the residences of the govemment officials,
prominent merchants, and weU-to-do citizens,
whUe on the very summit are the big, breezy
barracks of the garrison.
In the center of the city is a shaded, pleasant
park or plaza; a picturesque canal, fringed by great
royal palms and spanned by artistic bridges, runs
beside the street in the rear of the town at the foot
of the Morne, and there are several fine churches,
some excellent schools, a large market, and a
library to be seen. A short distance from the
docks is a charming botanic garden, beautifully
situated on a level patch of land in the shelter of a
lofty hill, and whUe not so large or complete as the

ST. LUCIA 95
gardens at St. Kitts or Dominica, it is even more
attractive in some ways.
But, as in all the islands, the most interesting
sights are hi the outlying country, and, as St.
Lucia's roads are excellent and public motor cars
and carriages are numerous, a drive should be
taken by all means.
Very different from the other islands is the scen
ery of St. Lucia. There are no great cane fields
and huge sugar mUls and few large estates or ex
tensive areas of cultivation, but everjrwhere are
open meadows, rich valleys, wooded mountains,
green hills, and luxuriant verdure scarcely touched
by the hand of man. Extremely fertUe and with
boundless agricultural possibUities, yet St. Lucia
is woefully neglected and even the natural re
sources are undeveloped.
Cabinet and dyewoods abound in the forests and
along the highways ; cocoa, spices, fruit, limes, and
other valuable tropical products grow to perfection,
and yet, were it not for the coaling station, the
island would be bankrupt and poverty-stricken.
It might be an excellent thing for St. Lucia if
the coaling station was abandoned and the garrison
removed, for then the people would be compelled
to take advantage of the blessings bestowed upon
them by nature and their island would be devel
oped as it deserves.
But this wUl probably never take place and no

96 THE WEST INDIES
doubt the St. Luclans, as a whole, wUl continue to
live, — like parasites, — upon the British troops and
wUl toU and sweat at the filthy, black coal pUes
rather than lead a freer, better, and more prosper
ous existence in the fresh air of their lovely land.
It must not be assumed, however, that St. Lucia
does not produce anything. Many limes, a great
deal of fruit, and quantities of cocoa and spices, as
well as some sugar, are raised and exported and
there are many beautiful, well-cultivated and well-
paying estates on the Island. •
Like Dominica, Montserrat, and many other
volcanic islands, St. Lucia possesses an active,
though dormant, crater which is known as the
"Soufri&re," but which, unlike many of the others,
is within easy reach and may be -visited with Httle
exertion or trouble.
For over two centuries this crater has been .famed
for the curative properties of Its hot, Impregnated
waters and it is well worth a -visit, If only to see the
Pitons, at the entrance to Soufriere Bay near
whose shores the crater Is situated.
Of all things In St. Lucia the Grand and Petit
Pitons are the most interesting, the most wonderful,
and the most noteworthy, and nowhere else in the
West Indies, — or in the world for that matter, —
is there any natural formation like them.
In, twin, gigantic cones they rise for near three
thousand feet directly from the sea, their preclpi-

ST. LUCIA 97
tous sides clothed with plush-like green, their sum
mits needle-pointed and, despite the vulgar com
parison, reminding one of "Donkey's Ears," a
name bestowed upon them years ago by mariners.
To see the Pitons at their best, one should look
upon them as they loom black and titanic against
the lurid westem sky at sunset, or, better still, saU
dose to their bases in the little coastal steamer that
plies between Castries and Soufriere. Thus viewed
they are sublime in their tremendous grandeur,
their great height marvelously magnified by their
isolation from surrounding hUls. One feels awed
and overwhelmed when gazing directly upward at
the sky-piercing summits of these terrific monoliths,
forced, by some fearful cataclysm of the past from
the ocean's depths, to stand, forever, as titanic
guardians of the sea-fUled crater which forms the
bay.

CHAPTER X
BARBADOS :
THE TIGHT LITTLE, RIGHT LITTLE ISLAND
So impressive, rugged, rankly luxuriant, and
colorful are the Leeward Islands that, by contrast,
it is almost a reHef to look upon Barbados, low,
flat, dull, and commonplace from a distance.
Uninteresting, unattractive appears this most
easterly of the Lesser Antilles from the sea and -with
no hint, from its exterior, of the charms and beau
ties concealed within its bosom.
The to-wn presents an uncompromising row of
buUdings behind the docks ; smoking factory chim
neys rise here and there; steamers, ships, and small
craft swing at anchor ; a maze of spars and rigging
forms a network of black tracery above the water
front and, behind aU, are roUIng, duU-green
hUls. Aside from an occasional palm, the ardent, blaz
ing sunlight, the bright tints of buildings, and the
gaudy colors of the fishing-boats, there is little
hint of the tropics in the scene, — save the water.
98

BARBADOS 99
And, looking upon this, the visitor forgets all else
and gazes spellbound, fascinated, bereft of words
to voice admiration.
Against beaches of dazzHng white, it laps in lazy,
caressing waves of even whiter foam evolved from
a marvelous, pellucid stretch of turquoise so clear
and ethereal it seems to have no body, no substance,
but rather a film of transparent crystal. Blotched
with claret, mauve, even magenta, — the turquoise
deepens to malachite, to cobalt, to hyacinthine
tints, until it merges in the indigo of the open sea;
with each ripple, each tiny wave upon the glassy
surface, a tracery of lapis-lazuli or sapphire.
Above it wheel the snowy-breasted guUs, drop
ping like meteors and scattering showers of pris
matic spray and flashing drops like priceless jewels,
to rise on dripping pinions with breasts trans
formed to soft moss-green by the sunlight, reflected
upwards from the coral sand through fathoms of
liquid emerald.
And, looking downward from the ship's rail,
one gazes, not at the surface of the sea hiding its
secrets from human eyes, but into immeasurable
depths of blue-green atmosphere through which
move spectral, half-distinguishable shapes gaudily
riotous with color, — strange, unbelievable tropic
fish, as brilliant in their rainbow hues as the
feathered denizens of equatorial jungles, — veritable
]butterfljes of the sea.

100 THE WEST INDIES
Across this fairyland water one must needs
travel by small boat to gain the shore, for the ships
anchor a mile or more from land in Carlisle Bay.
But there is no trouble in securing transportation,
rather Is it difficult to avoid being carried shore
ward piecemeal. Scarcely does the vessel's screw
cease churning the harbor into pistachio suds ere
scores of negro boatmen clamber up dangling
ropes, or by meager toe and finger hold on the
edges of steel hull-plates, and, like a crowd of
pirates, take possession of decks; struggling, shout
ing, chaffing, and vilifying one another in their
frantic efforts to secure the confused passengers
as fares for their craft. Each and every one, to
judge by their statements, is the only responsible,
honest, reliable boatman of Barbados and all
others are thieves, cut-throats, and irresponsible
black vagabonds. Each, according to his own
story, Is the runner and representative of the only
desirable or possible hotel or boarding-house on
the island, and each thrusts greasy cards, circu
lars, and folders of restaurants, hostelries, garages,
livery stables, and curio dealers into the hands,
laps, or pockets of every passenger within reach.
But they are a good-natured, laughing, happy lot
and we can hardly blame them for their insistence,
when we realize how keen is competition for a live
lihood in Barbados. Here, where two hundred
thousand people dwell upon less than two hundred

GATHERING SEA EGGS, BARBADOS

THE WIND-SWEPT MAHOGANY TREES. BARBADOS

BARBADOS loi
square mUes of land; here on an island more densely
inhabited than any spot in the world, — save China,
— there is no place for the indolent, lackadaisical,
easy-going, come-day, go-day, God-save-Sunday
negro of the other islands. It is a case of work or
starve for every man, woman, and child and, as the
man of color has an inborn horror of an empty
stomach, he chooses the lesser of the two evils and
works. As a matter of fact it makes little difference
which one of the boats one takes, which darkey one
chooses as porter, boatman, or man Friday; their
charges are fixed by laWj the boats are all under
inspection by the officials, and every man Jack of
the crowd is licensed. In case of overcharge, in
solence, or any other shortcoming, a word to the
black "Bobby" at the landing-place will meet
with prompt and decisive action, for, by bitter
experience, the Barbadians have learned that
white supremacy is the only solution of the
racial problem, and that only by keeping their
black brothers' noses to the grindstone, can that
supremacy be maintained.
Stretching far into the bay, parallel with the
waterfront of the town, and but a few rods distant,
is a long stone breakwater or pier and, rounding
this, one comes into the real harbor or ' ' careenage "
of Bridgeto-wn. Probably the first object which
wUl attract the observant stranger is, — or at least

102 THE V/EST INDIES
was when this was written, — a strange jumble of
slender objects projecting from the surface of the ca
reenage and resembling a cargo of Brobdingnagian
toothpicks tossed helter-skelter into the channel
and on to an anchored barge. To reach the land
ing-steps the visitor must pass close to these
puzzling objects and then he discovers that they
were placed here purposely and with malice afore
thought, for the titanic toothpicks are steel rails
driven into the bottom of the fairway in a bristling
chevaux de frise, while those upon the barge are fas
tened securely in place, like a skeleton roof with
projecting steel rafters. Did you not seek in
formation from your boatman you would never
guess the real import of this astonishing affair,
for it is Barbados' sole and only "fortification " and
was designed with the purpose of preventing
wandering German warships, or raiders, from en
tering Bridgetown and making off with the coal
supply at the upper end of the careenage.
Apparently It never occurred to the ingenious
originator of Bridgetown's "defense" that an
able-bodied boat's crew could pull up the raUs,
that a well-placed charge of dynamite would dear
the channel in an Instant, that a vessel lying in the
offing would have the town at her mercy under her
guns, or that nearby beaches, the Royal MaU Dock,
or even the outer side of the breakv/ater, beckoned
invitingly for any one to come ashore when and

BARBADOS 103
where they saw fit. No indeed; in the minds of
Barbados' preparedness experts the enemy must
row into the careenage after the manner of all
law-abiding -visitors when, presto! they would
find their way barred by the crisscross raUs and
the narrow passageway shut by the "armored"
barge hastUy drawn into the gap. But all joking
aside, it is a splendid Ulustration of the terror which
filled the West Indians when Germany's raiders
cruised the Caribbean in the early days of the war,
and it no doubt served to quiet the fears of the
negroes. Moreover it offered an exceptional op
portunity for some keen, shrewd 'Badian to unload
a lot of old raUroad iron on the government at a
tremendous profit.
At the landing-place one steps directly into the
streets of Barbados' capital. The first impression
is of a blinding glare, for the streets are of white
coral limestone, many of the buUdings are as white
as if buUt of snow and the pink, yellow, fawn, and
pale blue tints of others do little to relieve the
blast of light, which seems to rise up and strike one
¦with the force of an actual blow. Along this scin-
tUlating roadway burly negroes are wheeling great
hogsheads of molasses and cases of rum on two-
wheeled "spiders"; half -naked stevedores are
toiling like galley slaves at loading and unloading
dozens of sloops and schooners ; winches creak and
groan; tackle-blocks rattle; steam derricks roar;

104 THE WEST INDIES
drays and carts rattle and ramble; raucous shouts
and cries fill the white-hot air, and one seems to
have stepped Into a pandemonium peopled by
denizens of Hades who have brought their own
atmosphere with them.
Close at hand is a tiny, triangular park sur
rounded by trees and in the welcome, if meager,
shade stand public cabs and motor cars, their black
drivers snoring on their seats and the horses half
heartedly munching the Guinea grass spread before
them on the pavement. Here too are women
vending sugar cane, fruits, bread, and sweetmeats ;
here loll a few unemployed blacks, and here are
gathered dozens of tiny donkey carts ¦with the
patient little beasts dozing in the shafts and with
long ears occasionally flopping in mild expostu
lation at troublesome flies.
To Barbados donkeys are of vast importance
and nearly all the transportation of the island
depends upon them. One meets them everywhere ;
in the busy, traffic-congested city streets; on sun
baked country roads between tossing, rustling
seas of cane ; in the fields and by the sea. It makes
little difference what is to be moved, be it grand
piano, a load of grass or cane, a wedding party or
a coffin, the omnipresent donkey cart pro-vides the
means and, aside from occasional lumbering ox
carts or mule-drawn drays, one seldom sees any
other freight vehicles on Barbados' roads.

BARBADOS 105
On the farther side of the little tree-shaded
triangle stands the Nelson monument, a well-
executed, but by no means impressive tribute to
England's greatest naval hero, and from this spot,
kno-wn as Trafalgar Square, the various tramcars
start forth on their journeys to outlying districts
of the to-wn. The Barbados tramcar is a unique
and interesting institution. Mule-drawn, capable
of seating a dozen or so passengers, the diminutive
cars apparently fulfill all of Barbados' needs to the
satisfaction of the islanders, for they have been in
use for years and, despite frequent promises, the
electric tram line seems as -visionary as ever. Far
more attractive than Trafalgar Square is the great
embowered courtyard of the post office and munici
pal buUdings opposite. It appears more lUce a
medieval fortress than a place devoted to peaceful
business, however, for antique cannon stand at the
gateways in the massive iron fence, the outer
¦windows are grim and barred, and uniformed
sentries pace to and fro. Diagonally across the
street is another little park, a charming place of
flowers and palms and with a huge, sleepily tinkling
fountain in its center. A few blocks away is
Queen's Park, a well-kept, beautiful public garden
filled -with tropic shrubs, trees, palms, and flowers,
green lawns and fountains, but patronized only
when the band plays there of an afternoon.
Little else of interest is to be seen within the

io6 THE WEST INDIES
confines of the town. There are many large, but
not Impressive, buildings, but the bulk of the
town is made up of low, two-story structures and
narrow, congested, busy streets, for an immense
amount of business is transacted here; the stores
are Innumerable and well stocked, and there Is
little to be had in New York or London that
cannot be found in Barbados' capital.
But with all due respect to Bridgetown it is
palpitatingly, unbearably hot and trying on the
eyes, and if one must see the town or patronize its
shops, by all means select the early morning hours
for the undertaking.
Outside of the city, however, there are dellghtftil
spots, charming residential sections, tree-shaded
roads, and a climate delightful with the cool breath
of the trade -wind. BellevUle, with its pretty
villas and avenues of royal palms, is most attrac
tive, but the suburb known as Hastings is even
more desirable. Here one is ever close to the
wonderfuUy tinted sea and its sno-wy beaches.
Beautiful gardens and spacious grounds surround
the wayside residences and the immense parade
ground affords a wonderful opportunity for out-of-
door life and sports, such as horseracing, tennis,
polo, cricket, etc. Opposite the race course are the
massive old barracks, and a short distance beyond
are the Hastings Rocks with the charming seaside
park where band concerts are given, and with the

BARBADOS 107
big Balmoral and Marine Hotels, and Innumerable
smaller hostelries, boarding-houses, and furnished
cottages for rent, all close at hand. Here too is
the bathing par excellence, and bathing in Bar
bados is perhaps the Island's greatest attraction.
But Bridgeto-wn and its environs are not Bar
bados by any means. The low, monotonous west
em coast is as different from the rugged, lofty
"Scotland" district of the -windward coast as If on
a separate island, and throughout the interior are
places of Interest, beauty, and attractiveness.
When one has seen the whole of Barbados, has
leamed its charms, has bathed in its tepid waters,
has become acquainted with its people, and has
partaken of their unbounded hospitality, then,
indeed, can one realize why the 'Badians love their
home above all other spots, why they have nick
named it "Little England" and why the "Bims,"
as they are sometimes called, vow that no place
in aU the world can compare with their "tight
Uttle, right little island. "
Everywhere on Barbados stretch perfect roads,
like broad white ribbons across hUls and dales of
green, and, for those who prefer a railway journey
to an automobUe drive, there is the "Barbados
Light RaUway," a fascinatingly toylike railroad
that carries one leisurely from Bridgetown to
Bathsheba across the Island with frequent stops
at plantations and tiny hamlets. Well and most

io8 THE WEST INDIES
appropriately named is this railroad, for every
thing about it is "light. " The engineer, standing
beside his "iron steed," appears a veritable giant,
the cars, or rather "coaches," might serve for
chUdren's play-houses; the traffic is light and the
train crews seem to consider their "runs" in the
light of picnics rather than as serious affairs. But
the strange little road has distinct advantages, even
if its express trains seldom exceed fifteen miles an
hour. Grades are of no importance and the road
rambles up and down hUl In a most casual manner,
the puffing little locomotive struggling laboriously
up each rise, to give a triumphant snort and coast
Mithely down the slope beyond. In case the train
is derailed, as not infrequently happens, train
men and passengers soon lift it bodily on to the
"irons" once more and resume their interrupted
journey as a matter of course. Often, at some
open, shed-like station, a colored lad rushes breath
lessly up and Informs the conductor that passen
gers are coming, and the train obligingly waits for
their arrival. Then handshakings and good-byes
are in order, the passengers clamber leisurely into
the cars, the conductor catches sight of some
friend and joins him in the shadow of the station
for a last word of gossip and a parting drink. The
train at last crawls away, only to stop and back
deliberately Into the station again to accommodate
some delayed friends of the passengers who are

BARBADOS 109
anxious to give them a last message or commission
to friends or shops In town. To the stranger,
anxious to make use of each fleeting moment of his
time, the Barbados railway is vexatious in the
extreme, but it can't be hurried and one may ob
tain a far better idea of the island during the train's
snail-like progress from coast to coast than if it
tore across country like our own expresses.
But if you are wise you wUl see Barbados from a
motor car and traverse its length and breadth by
highway, for the greater part of the railroad lies
through the most uninteresting of the island's
scenery. That time-wom adage, "As the twig is bent so
the tree is Inclined, ' ' is admirably Ulustrated and Its
truth convincingly demonstrated in Barbados, for
nearly every tree upon the island is inclined ex
actly as its first tender twigs were bent. Along the
white coral beaches long rows of cocoa palms edge
the surf, their lank trunks twisted and contorted in
a myriad of forms, but each and every one bent
in the same general direction. About plantation
houses and sugar nulls, or standing in little knots
or copses on the hlUsides, the mahogany trees
crouch one-sidedly, all -with heads tumed, like
green-dad hosts whose shoulders are bowed by
unseen burdens. Beside the glaring roads the
mUe-long rows of majestic rotal palms raise their
heights, like granite monoliths crowned with

no THE WEST INDIES
emerald plumes, and ever, their feathery banners
stream towards the setting sun. Lowliest shrub,
stoutest tree, or loftiest palm yields to the cease
less, ItEe-gi-ving trade wind that sweeps, day after
day, year after year, from the broad Atlantic and
transforms the broad acres of ribbon-leaved cane
into restless, bUlo-wy, undulating seas of tender
green. And to the trade wind, that forces all
gro-wing things to bend ever towards the west,
Barbados owes Its wonderfully perfect climate, for
despite the blazing tropic sun, the blinding roads
and the woeful lack of shade, Barbados, outside of
the town, is seldom uncomfortably warm, never
prostratingly humid, and ever with the healthy
tang of the salt sea in the air.
Everywhere, as one drives through Barbados,
and more conspicuous than aU else upon the land
scape, are the wIndmUls; great stone and wooden
towers whose motionless arms stand, like gaunt
crosses, against the fathomless blue sky, or revolve,
slowly, Indolently, Impressively, like giants aware
of their power and exerting but a tithe of their
strength to crush the gold and purple cane -within
their vitals and set free the wealth of cloying juice
upon which the Island depends for existence.
Here and there the towers stand scark, forlom, and
helpless, like derelict ships bereft of saUs, for the
wind, which served so well the planter barons of
old, is inadequate for present-day needs, and many

A BARBADOS ROAD

BARBADOS LANDSCAPE

BARBADOS in
a huge steam miU obtrudes its unlovely, prosaic
chimneys, -with smoke-blackened summits over
topping even the taUest royal palms.
But everything must give way to utUity and
revenue in aland as densely inhabited as Barbados,
and the wonder is that any spots of -virgin beauty
remain unspoUed by cultivation or habitations.
Strange as it may seem there is yet a stretch of the
original forest gro-wth in Barbados, an area kno-wn
as St. John's Wood, in the Scotland district near
the eastem coast and, stranger yet, troops of wild
monkeys, opossums, and parrots make this spot
their home and play havoc with the garden truck
of nearby estates. High, rugged, and bold is this
windward coast, -with great cliffs rising abruptly
from beating Atlantic surges, with strange fantas
tic pinnacles and grotesque rock forms hewn by the
¦winds and waves of countless ages from the solid
limestone, -with smooth sand beaches hemmed in
by jagged reefs, -with grassy flower-starred upland
downs and brush-fUled gullies. Well was it
named Scotland and, to make the resemblance
stUl more striking, upon the summit of a wind
swept cliff there stands a little church which, save
for the palms and Bougain-vUlea about it, might
weU be some highland kirk. This is old St.
John's church and in its quaint old-world grave
yard, on the brink of the precipice, lies the last of
the Christian Kings of Greece, one Ferdinando

112 THE WEST INDIES
Paleologus, who, exiled from his native land,
settled down in Little England and, as stated on
his tombstone, was a churchwarden of the parish
from 1655-66 and a vestryman for twenty years.
He died on October 3, 1678, to rest for ever in this
old churchyard of his adopted land.
In this Scotland district is the highest land in
Barbados, Mount HUlaby, with its summit 1 104
feet above the breaking surf and affording the
finest view in the island. In this district also are
the petroleum and Manjak deposits, the former of
little or no value, the latter ha-ving been worked
sporadically for many years. Near at hand also
are the clay beds and potteries, from which come
the water jars and other earthenware utensUs
which are sold in Bridgetown and are in universal
use throughout the island.
But aside from its lovely views, its exhUarating
breezes and its wild, wave-beaten coast, there are
few interests or attractions in this portion of
Barbados, and a short -visit -wUl suffice.
Everjrwhere in Barbados the long, uninterrupted
rule of Britain is in evidence. There is none of the
cosmopolitan or polyglot in speech, manners, cus
toms, race, or architecture, which is so typical of
the other islands; no hint of French, Dutch, or
Spanish occupancy, for the island has been strictly
English from the date of its first settlement in
1625 and many of its buildings and its churches

BARBADOS 113
seem transported bodUy from the mother country.
Such is Codrington College, a West Indian Oxford
estabhshed in 17 10 and connected with Durham
CoUege in England. BuUt in the heavy style of
the Georgian period, within a grove of mahogany
trees, and -with its typically EngHsh students
playing cricket on the "pitch," this two-century-
old coUege seems strangely out of place and the
•visitor can scarce believe he Is still within the
tropics. So too, Farley HaU, about fifteen mUes
from Bridgetown, is a solid, dignified old British
mansion, once the residence of Sir Graham Briggs,
a West Indian baronet, and worthy of a visit on
account of the art treasures it contains and the
scenery en route.
Gun Hill, about six miles from the capital, is
another spot which should be visited, for its sum
mit offers a superb view of the greater part of the
island, and half-way up its slopes is a gigantic
stone lion carved from the solid rock by a Major
Wilkinson who was stationed here when the hill
was garrisoned. It has been likened to the Lion
of Lucerne, but one must possess a most vivid
imagination to see the resemblance, for the Bar
bados effigy appears as if afflicted with elephantia
sis and reminds one more of a peevish kitten
playing with a catnip baU, than of the majestic
British Hon holding the world beneath its paw.
Allowances must be made for the amateurish skUl

114 THE WEST INDIES
of its creator and the medium he had at his com
mand, however, and, considering this, it was no
mean achievement to have chipped away the cliff
to leave the massive stone monument standing
forth above the greenery of the hillside.
Looking down upon the widespread cane fields
from such a spot as Gun HIU one searches in vain
for a hint of sparlding lake or glistening stream, and
then it dawns suddenly upon the stranger, that
nowhere on the island has pond, brook, or river
been seen. The fact is, there are no streams in
Barbados, or at least not in sight, for the island's
rivers flow underground through subterranean
cavems to the sea.
From these Bridgetown obtains Its ample and
pure water supply and over one hundred miles of
pipes carry the water from the unseen, unsuspected
rivers to the towns. Near Gun Hill one may
descend to one of the sources of this unique water
system. This spot, known as Cole's Cave, is a
deep wooded ravine from which leads an enormous
cavern of unknown extent and through which
flows a Stygian river which never sees the sun.
Hung with stalactites, wonderful with strange
festoons and veil-like drapery of creamy, translu
cent dripstone, this cavern might be made one of
Barbados' greatest attractions, but it has never
been completely explored, although known to
extend many miles, and there are Innumera-

BARBADOS 115
ble other caves fully as large and even less
known. Indeed, much of Barbados is honeycombed with
cavems, some of which may rival Mammoth Cave
or the Luray Cavems in size and beauty, and yet
no one has ever seen fit to investigate or exploit
them. Perchance, as you drive about the island, espe
ciaUy on the windward coast, your attention may
be attracted to dejected, listless, ragged men
and women who labor half-heartedly in their tiny
garden plots, or loll about the doors of their hovels,
and who would be passed by without a second
glance, were it not for the fact that their light hair
and fair skins give no hint of negro blood. It
seems strange indeed to find whites on a social
plane with the lowliest negroes in the West Indies,
and the question at once arises as to who these
people are, what their race, and why they are in
such straits. Their story is a sad one, their his
tory almost incredible, and their present plight
pitiable. The fact is they are white, — untainted
by negro blood, — the lowest, most worthless, most
poverty-stricken of Barbadians, known locally as
"Red Legs," and despised by both negroes and the
well-to-do whites, for incredible as it may seem,
their ancestors were slaves. Victims of the bloody
days of Cromwell's time hundreds of captive Irish,
Scotch, and English men and women were pUed In

ii6 THE WEST INDIES
the noisome, stinking holds of convict ships and
transported to Barbados, where, for the price of
1500 pounds of sugar per head, the survivors of the
a-wful voyage were sold as slaves to the planters.
In the Islands were sympathizers of both the war
ring factions in England and, no doubt, many of
the unfortunate ' ' Red Legs ' ' (so called as they were
wearers of kUts with bare knees) fell into kindly
hands, for many of them rose to affluence as plant
ers, but the lot of others was pitiful. Branded
and mutilated like cattle, they were treated with
far less humanity and more brutality than their
African fellows and, unable to withstand the hard
field labors beneath the blistering tropic sun, they
succumbed rapidly. But many survived and,
after being freed from bondage, lived on, degraded,
hopeless, spineless creatures, but ever maintaining
their purity of race and retaining the good old
family names of their ancestors. Two hundred
years and more have passed, since white slaves
were held in Barbados, and yet, to this day, the
"Red Legs" remain, living examples of a disgrace
ful episode in Britain's history and a blotch upon
her escutcheon.
And speaking of Barbados' past, perhaps no
event Is of greater interest — to Americans at least
— than the visit paid to the Island by George
Washington. This happened in the winter of
1751-52, when Washington was a major in the

BARBADOS 117
British Colonial army, and, for the sake of his
brother's health, he made his first and only ocean
voyage. Lawrence Washington was a victim of
tuberculosis and Barbados' fame as a health resort
led the brothers to seek the Island's shores in the
vain hope of curing the dread disease. WhUe on
the island our future first president contracted a
mild case of smallpox which confined him to his
bed from November 17, 1751 — only two weeks
after his arrival — until December 12th. As he
saUed for home on December 22d, he had barely
three weeks to devote to seeing the island, but he
and his brother were royally entertained during
their brief stay In Barbados and great hospitality
was shown them, — especially by the British army
and na-vy officers, for Lawrence had won fame in
the battles of Carthagena and the Spanish Main.
Just where the two brothers dwelt, while in Bar
bados, seems uncertain, but, judging by the de
scription in George Washington's journal, it was
in the -vicinity of Hastings and close to the sea.
Another illustrious visitor to Barbados' shores
was the one-armed idol of the British na-vy,- —
Admiral Lord Nelson. But the hero of Trafalgar
was in "Little England" by necessity and not by
choice and he chafed and fretted constantly. In
fact he was wont to speak of the Island as the
"Barbarous" instead of Barbados, for, gaUant
sea-fighter as he was, he had been boarded and

ii8 THE WEST INDIES
conquered by one against whom aU his fleet and
guns were powerless, — the pirate Cupid, — and his
heart was held for ransom by the widow NIsbet
in distant Nevis.
But as a whole Barbados' history is most vmin-
teresting and commonplace, for what straggles
there were took place between men of one race.
Foreign foe has never invaded the island and, save
for the bitter quanels between Jamestown and
Holetown men In the early days, occasional negro
uprisings, and a humcane now and then, there has
been little of the stimng times which add so much
of interest and romance to the other islands. But
there is one date which will ever live in the annals
of Barbados, — the day when the sun stood still.
It was in 1812, that on a Sunday moming In May,
the Barbadians awoke to find no sun rising above
the eastern sea, but instead, the darkness of mid
night overspread ocean and land. At first dumb
founded, then terror-stricken, the people gathered
in knots and groups, shivering as with cold, cower
ing together for protection from some unknown
a-wful doom, whining, weeping, waUing, praying,
for, to their minds, the end -of the world had
come. And, to add to their overwhelming terror, a fine,
impalpable, unseen something fiUed the black
air, choking, blinding, sifting through every crack
and crevice and even through garments, and

BARBADOS 119
covering houses, streets, lands, trees, people,
everything, with a thick, deadening, sUencIng
shroud. As the day wore on and still no glimmer of light
broke through the a-wful blackness, overwrought
nerves gave way, superstitious negroes went rav
ing mad, and, for hour after hour, the sounds of
human misery, a babel of lamentations, the shouts
of exhorting preachers, the fretful cries of chil
dren, the incoherent babbling of those driven In
sane by the awful strain, were the only sounds
that rent the aU-pervading, suffocating paU of
black. The hour of noon passed and still inky darkness
wrapped Barbados in its folds until, at last, in the
early afternoon, a spot of light showed in the west.
Rapidly it grew and, ere sundown, the clear, bright,
blessed sunlight streamed over land and sea, and
marvelous was the scene revealed to the still
trembling, wondering Barbadians.
No sign of green, no hint of color, no gleam of
white road was visible. From highest hilltop to
whispering surf, all was one uniform expanse of
ashen gray. Not untU a sailing vessel cast anchor
in Cariisle Bay and brought the news of the awful
eraption of St. Vincent's Soufriere did the Bar
badians know the cause of the terrifying phe
nomenon. Marvelous as it may seem, the force
of the volcano's outburst had hurled hundreds

I20

THE WEST INDIES

of thousands of tons of dust directly against the
full force of the trade wind, to darken the sky, blot
out the sun, and fall upon Barbados one hundred
miles distant.

CHAPTER XI
ST. VINCENT, A NEGLECTED EDEN
Terrific as was the eraption, widespread as was
the destraction, and great as was the loss of life
during Soufrilre's outburst In 1812, it was insig
nificant as compared to that of 1902. Coincident
•with the eruption of Mount Pelee in Martinique,
St. Vincent's Soufriere awoke from its ninety-year
sleep and with redoubled fury devastated over
one third of the island and wiped out over two
thousand lives. Great estates were buried scores
of feet beneath seas of red-hot mud; vast forests
were utterly destroyed; whole mountaintops were
blown into space; broad roaring rivers were tumed
to steam In an instant and their beds left dry and
bare; houses, mills, and towns, with all their in
habitants, were overwhelmed with ashes, mud, and
laval bombs; fires lit the black chaos -with their
awful glare, and the ground rocked, shook, and
swayed to the deafening detonations and. earth
quake shocks. The land. In places, sank; the
sea broke in tumiUtuous waves against shores that
had been mountainsides, and the ocean swept
121

122 THE WEST INDIES
above vUlages forty feet beneath its storm-lashed
surface. To-day, as one saUs past the northem shores
of St. Vincent, one looks upon a waste scarce
less gray and barren than when the volcano had
exhausted Its infernal wrath fourteen years
ago. 'Here and there, bushes, vines, and shrubs have
struggled upv/ard through the mud and cinders and
have done their best to hide the dead, mutUated,
ghastly land. A few trees, whose life was not
quite extinguished, have again donned robes of
green, but everywhere stand the gaunt, naked
skeletons of once luxuriant forests, the blackened,
deserted wrecks of mlUs, and the yawning chasms,
washed by the rains of years, in the caked black
mud that overwhelmed hUl and valley, field and
forest. But It is only a question of time ere the jungle
will come again Into its own, ere nature wIU dothe
the forbidding waste -with a mantle of verdure, ere
well-tUled gardens and cultivated fields -wUl take
the place of cinder-beds and mud-flows, ere moun
tain streams -will tumble through long-forgotten,
mud-choked courses to the sea. Then man, for
getful of the past, unmindful of the lesson taught,
will once more dwell above this vast graveyard
of his fellows, wUl rebuild mills, houses, villages,
above the ruins of those destroyed, to meet, per-

ST. VINCENT 123
haps, the same fate as those who lie forever buried
under countless tons of ashes and of mud.
It is indeed a pleasant change from the sad,
corpse-like northern district to the serene, green,
luxuriant mountainsides, the smUIng valleys, and
the palm-fringed shores beyond the area of destruc
tion. Few islands are lovelier than St. Vincent,
but where there is such a plethora of beauty It is
difficult to make comparisons and, where nature
has been so lavish as in the AntUles, words become
inadequate. Every island is distinct from its
fdlows, each has attractions, charms, an indi-vld-
uality, all its own, and yet 'tis Impossible, by mere
description, to -visualize their differences or do
justice to their wondrous scenery.
We may say they are ragged, mountainous,
marvelous with color; richly luxuriant, fascinat
ingly tropical, glowingly beautifiU; but these
terms apply with equal truth to them all. Only by
seeing them, by knowing them, can one realize
how pitiful are all attempts to picture them on
paper, to convey even a remote idea of their
appearance to those unfortunates who have never
gazed across the blue waters of the Caribbean
upon these island gems.
Guadeloupe is stupendous In its bulk, fro-wning
and gloomy; Dominica is sublime in its -wild un
touched forests, its a-wful precipices, and its mUe-
high mountains; Martinique is queenly in ity.

124 THE WEST INDIES
dignified, cloud-cro-wned mountains and its vast
fair valleys; but St. Vincent appears as if some
master hand had selected the best and most beauti
ful portions of aU these and had combined them
with consummate skUl to form a perfect whole.
It Is not so lofty as its northem sisters, — ^the
highest peak, Morne Agarou, rising to a bare
four thousand feet, — and it is not so large, — only
eighteen miles in length by eleven mUes wide, —
but within its area is an array of mountains, valleys,
hUls, and plains such as would be a credit to a
good-sized continent.
Of all the islands of any size or importance St.
Vincent is the only one which cannot be reached
by direct steamers from New York, a curious situa
tion brought about by competition and jealousy,
for In the shuffle by which the various islands were
allotted to the rival companies St. Vincent was left
out in the cold. Fearing to make it a port of caU
for dread of the others retaliating and infringing
on their monopoly of other islands, each line
avoids St. Vincent as though 'twere plague-ridden
and, as a result, the island stands Isolated, — a
neglected Eden, — only in touch -with the outside
world through small boats and the intercolonial
steamers. But, despite this, St. Vincent holds much of
Interest ; scenery of indescribable beauty abounds,
and the climate is both healthy and delightful.

ST. VINCENT 125
KIngsto-wn is the capital, — the inhabitants are
most punctUious as to the "w" in the name, — and
a pretty, well-kept, tidy Httle town it is, in a setting
unsurpassed. To the north rises a frowning
headland, capped by a crumbling age-gray fort;
in the background, soft cultivated vaUeys and
verdured hUls stretch back In a vast green amphi
theater to the blue and misty mountains, and
above the lazy surf, that breaks upon a sandy
crescent beach, stands the red-roofed town, shim
mering like burnished metal in the sun. Pic
turesque, quaint, fascinating as it Is, yet there Is
little of real interest In Kingstown Itself, but all
about are splendid roads through the loveliest of
scenes, and within a mile of the town is the famous
Botanic Garden, established in 1763 aiid the first
of its kind in America.
Well may this garden be called the cradle of
tropical agriculture In the New World, for here,
for the first time, were introduced and grown the
fraits, vegetables, spices, and other tropical plants
which to-day form the principal products of the
West Indies and much of the two Americas in
addition. To this garden in St. Vincent, Captain Bligh of
the Bounty brought the first bread-fruit plants
from the South Pacific. It was here that nutmegs
and cloves were first Introduced to America and,
despite the larger and more ambitious gardens of

126 THE WEST INDIES
Dominica, Trinidad, and other places, St. Vincent's
garden stUl leads them all in the variety and per
fection of its flora, in its beauty, and, most of all,
in the important part it has played in the develop
ment of tropical agriculture.
If one wishes to visit the ruined district in the
vicinity of Soufriere, a boat may be taken from
Kingstown to Chateau Belaire, where guides may
be obtained. But there is little to see : it is a dis
mal, depressing scene, and it is much more enjoy
able to while away one's time by driving through
the country about Kingstown, -visiting the numer
ous estates, or exploring the half -rained forts
To-day they are used only as signal stations; the
andent cannons stare mute and rust-covered from
the -vine-choked embrasures, and weeds, grass, and
starry-flowered portulaca carpet the wom stone
flagging. But many a fierce and bloody struggle
have the old forts seen; the sUent guns have oft
belched forth their messages of death across the
sparkling azure sea; the flagging has run red -with
htmian blood, and the narrow sallyports have been
heaped high and blocked -with corpses of the slain.
Upon these heights Briton and Gaul have fought,
and won, and lost, and fallen. Above the battle
ments have fluttered the lUIes of France and the
cross of St. George In turn, and for a space no
banner snapped In the breeze from the lofty staff,
neither British nor French held the fortress and

ST. VINCENT 127
manned the guns. In place of uniformed soldiery
a horde of naked savages swarmed upon the heights,
fierce Carib warriors, who, striving desperately
to -win back their usurped land, were, for the
moment, -victors In the hopeless struggle.
Not untU four thousand disciplined troops took
the field, not untU many Hves were sacrificed on
both sides, not untU the green verdure of the hUl
was crimsoned with blood, were the Indians driven
from the stronghold they had captured. And,
even then, they were unconquered. Though their
chief was gibbeted, though hundreds of the tribe
were sent in exUe to Honduras, yet the remnant
of the indomitable yeUow-skinned aborigines re
fused to surrender to Abercromby and took to
their mountain forests. Here, defying the mighty
power of Britain, they lived, harassing the settlers
at every chance, making bloody forays on outlying
estates, towns, and ¦villages, until, at last, England
was glad to sue for peace and signed a treaty with
her savage foes, by which they were given per
petual o-wnership of 230 acres near Morne Rodonde.
Here the last of the St. Vincent Caribs settled
down and, laying aside the weapons of war, busied
themselves in cultivating their gardens, weaving
baskets, and fishing in the neighboring sea. But the
doom of the Caribs, as a race, was sealed; it was
the same old story of the red and white. Slowly,
but surely, the original o-wners of the island died

128

THE WEST INDIES

out, negro blood was mixed -with that of the once
proud Indians, and nature itself seemed to con
spire against them. The fuU force of the eraption
of 1902 fell upon the Carib country, only a handful
survived that a-wful holocaust, none of pure blood
remained, and the pitiful remnant of the once
great tribe became homeless, landless paupers,
dependent upon the bounty of the govemment
their forefathers warred -with for so long.

ST. GEORGE, GRENADA

STREET IN ST. GEORGE, GRENADA

CHAPTER XII
GRENADA, THE ISLE OF SPICE
Southward from St. Vincent stretch the Grena
dines, — ^like beads of jade upon an in-visible string,
— to fair Grenada, an emerald pyramid looming
against the sky.
Beautiful are the Grenadines, the tips of sub
merged mountain peaks, some sandy, low, and
palm-covered, others high, rugged, and forested,
some -wUd and uninhabited, others populated,
ctUtivated, and prosperous, but none of great in
terest or of sufficient importance to draw steam
ships to their harbors.
Last of the Caribbees is Grenada, a superbly
beautiful and fitting pendant jewel to the chain
of island gems. Lofty it is and mountainous, a
land so sharply defined, so clearly cut, that it
seems hewn bodily from some monstrous crystal
of green.
Very different is Grenada from aU the other
islands, and unlike any other town in all the West
Indies is its capital. Along the shore one sees the
clustering buildings, from the greenery of the hUl-
9 129

130 THE WEST INDIES
side above peep red roofs, and at the summit of
the rise a church tower stands outlined against the
verdure, while to the right a squat old fort crowns
the grassy headland. Nothing unusual about it,
you may think, and you wonder why the steamer's
speed is not slackened, why no vessels swing at
anchor off the to-wn, why no clustering shore
boats are putting forth. Even as such thoughts
CTOSS your mind the vessel's course is changed, the
ship bears towards the fort, and heads directly for
the wooded heights beyond. Close beneath the
old gray walls of the fortress on the cliff we pass,
and then a cry of surprise and delight escapes our
lips, for beyond the fort — hidden from the open
sea and nestling among the hiUs — lies a land
locked, circular bay of purest blue, and, spreading
fanwise from its shores, is St. George.
Upward from the neat stone docks that edge this
snug harbor sweep the steep hUlsIdes, and up
their slopes clambers the town, rows of red-tUed
roofs gleaming in the sun one above the other,
nodding palms and fiowering trees between them,
and with sharply inclined, nanow thoroughfares
di-viding the step-like brick buUdings. Tier after
tier upward to the summit of the ridge and down
the farther side the to-wn extends, and far up the
mountainside houses peep from the rich green
verdure. To the left the to-wn ends at the ancient fort.

GRENADA, THE ISLE OF SPICE 131
to the right it loses itself 'mid palms and foliage, —
the oddest, prettiest, quaintest town in the AntUles.
So narrow is the tiny haven that when the great
ship drops anchor her stem is moored to land and
so dose to the street that one might almost leap
ashore, and lying thus the steamer all but bars
the harbor entrance. And a wonderful harbor it is,
too, for where now is tranquil water was once a
sea of molten lava, and above the encircling niHs
poured fire, smoke, and dnders, for Grenada's
harbor is but the crater of an extinct volcano, and
no man can say that it may not yet burst forth and
blow the town and all its people into atoms. Even
within historic times great changes have taken
place in St. George's crater harbor. In 1705,
when Abb6 Labat visited Grenada, a fort and
many buUdings stood upon a strip of land pro
jecting from the eastern side of the harbor, and
across the mouth of a lake which is now a lagoon,
and, close alongside, was excellent anchorage for the
largest ships of the time. The old maps show that
this was so, records prove It, and yet, to-day, land,
fort, buUdings have disappeared completely, the
shore ends In an abrupt cliff, a coral reef marks
the site of the old to-wn of Port Louis, and where
the big bluff-bowed ships once swung to their
moorings there are now scarce three feet of water.
Of the conviUsion which took place and destroyed
the original settlement -with its fort and buUdings

132 THE WEST INDIES
there Is no record, for, if any were ever made, they
were doubtless lost or destroyed during one of the
disastrous fires, in one of the many struggles
between the French and British, or else were re
moved to Martinique, together with aU other
papers and documents prior to 1763, when
Grenada was surrendered to the British. 1
But in more recent times, on November 18, 1867,
t6l)e exact, the subterranean forces again reminded
the Grenadans that their charming harbor fitlls the
crater of a volcano. Between 5 and 5 : 20 o'clock
on the afternoon of that date, the calm and placid
waters of the harbor suddenly receded for a dis
tance of five feet or more and fully exposing the
coral reef at the mouth of the lagoon. With a
rumbling noise, the water over a deep area kno-wn
as the "Green Hole" commenced toboU, and sul
phurous vapors poured from it, and then, as if
lifted from beneath, the entire harbor rose and
rushed towards the shore, flooding the lower streets
and docks to a depth of four or five feet. Once,
t-wice, thrice, four times, the waters feU untU the
bottom of the bay was bare In many places, and
each time it again rose like a wall above the docks,
swamping and -wrecking boats, stranding vessels,
and undermining buildings, but fortunately -with
no loss of life.
And when at last the harbor resumed its normal
tranquU state the people found that the Green

GRENADA, THE ISLE OF SPICE 133
Hole had been filled up, reefs had risen from the
depths, the shores had been altered, and former
shallows had become deep water. Two severe
earthquakes foUowed the outburst, like the last
convulsive twitchings of the dying volcanic forces
beneath the sea, and then the inhabitants again
forgot the dangers that lurked beneath the harbor
and resumed the even tenor of their lives.
The chances are that no serious outbreak -wiH
ever occur, that generations of Grenadans wUl
Hve and die in peace and undisturbed by the
slumbering volcanic forces 'neath the island, for
there are no active craters on Grenada and no
symptoms of acti-vity were manifested during the
eraption of St. Vincent less than seventy mUes
distant. Aside from its quaint picturesqueness, there Is
little enough to be seen in St. George. The
streets, save along the water-front, are so
precipitous as to be actually forbidding, and in
many places they are so perpendlciUar that they
are constructed in the form of steps. The larger
part of the town and most of the business section
lie beyond the ridge-topped peninsula, and to
make intercourse between the two sides of the
hUl less arduous a tunnel has been drilled through
from side to side. This tunnel, known as the
SendaU Tunnel, in honor of Gov. Sir Walter Sendall
under whose administration it was constructed.

134 THE WEST INDIES
was not completed until 1895, although the first
blast was exploded by Lady Sendall on Nov. 21,
1889. It must have proved an immense relief to
the Grenadans, who were previously compeUed to
toU up one steep slope and down another to go
from place to place in St. George, but the natives
seem to give little heed to the roof -like character
of their town and trip blithely up their toboggan-
slide highways rather than take the trouble to go
out of their way and use the tunnel. Indeed, after
a short stay in St. George, the -visitor is con-vinced
that, through generations, the Grenadans must
have developed superhuman, goat-like proclivities
for climbing.
But the stranger -wUl be wise if he refrains from
attempting to emulate them and avaUs himself,
or herself, of one of the public carriages or motor
cars which may be hired, for, impossible as It seems
at first sight, carriages and automobiles travel
here, there, and everywhere in the town, — only
balking at the flights of steps.
There are numerous stores in the town, one so-
called hotel, two clubs, a public library and reading
room, an interesting market, and several fine old
churches, as well as a botanic station across the
harbor, and the Queen's Park. But the most
interesting structure in St. George is old Fort
George upon its promontory. A finely preserved,
stout old pile it is and its massive walls show little

GRENADA, THE ISLE OF SPICE 135
effects of the two centuries and more of sun and
storm, of calm and tempest, of peace and war,
which have passed since the French owners of
Grenada first manned its battlements In 1705.
Standing upon its parapets and looking forth
upon the sparkling sea on the one hand and across
the harbor and its encircling amphitheater of hUls
on the other, one marvels that any foe of olden
days could ever have taken the to-wn thus guarded,
for the fort's guns commanded sea and shore In
every direction and any vessel entering the port
must pass -within musket shot of Its embrasures.
No longer is it of any value as a fortress, no invad
ing squadrons of wall-sided, bluff-bowed frigates
menace the quiet of the island, the one-time
enemies who straggled and battled for supremacy
in the Caribbean are fighting side by side against
a common foe. To-day, the grim old fort has
fallen to the ignominious estate of a police banacks,
and its sUent, corroded guns serve as playthings for
laughing chUdren who fill the black muzzles ¦with
pebbles and flowers and chase the lizards over the
grass-gro-wn parapets.
Across the harbor, perched on the summit of a
hiU 750 feet above the sea, are Forts Matthew and
Frederick, far larger and more powerful than that
which guards the harbor entrance, and now used
as prisons and Insane asylums. From here one
may obtain a superbly beautiful -view, and the

136 THE WEST INDIES
visitor cannot cease to wonder why the convicts
and idiots of the island are thus favored with the
finest location on Grenada as their temporary
residence. Back of the town, also, there are forts, four hun
dred feet above the harbor, on Hospital HUl, and
near them the roofs of Govemment House may
be seen half-screened by the splendid gardens of
its grounds.
Interesting sights may be scarce in Grenada's
unique capital, but there Is plenty to be seen if one
rides or drives about the island. Everywhere are
perfect roads, and, although the grades are pro
digiously steep in many places, the highways
are broad, smooth, weU kept, and unbelievably
beautiful as to sunoundlngs.
At every turn, one looks upon deep rich valleys
hemmed In by verdured mountain heights and,
gazing down, — ^like eagles from their aerie, — we
see the neat cultivated lands and gleaming buUd
ings of estates, lUce toy houses on checkerboards
of green. Through wonderful -vistas of waving
palms and flower-draped cliffs are glimpses of the
sparlding sea, stretching like a blue-tUe floor to
the horizon. Flaming poinciana trees spread their
scarlet-flowered branches above the road, or stand
boldly forth against the dark foliage of the
mountainsides, like the glo-wing coals of giant fires.
Under sun-dappled arches of bamboo, -with feathery

GRENADA, THE ISLE OF SPICE 137
branches clashing softly in the breeze half a hun
dred feet above our heads, the road leads on. We
ramble across bridges spanning precipitous ra-vines,
with tumbling sUvery streams cutting the purple-
shaded depths a thousand feet beneath. Close
under the overhanging cliffs the highway creeps,
where trailing vines and fairy-like fems are drip
ping -with seeping moisture, like strings of priceless
pearls. Ever the way -winds past hillsides dark
with the dense shade of cocoa and ever it passes
through groves of nutmeg, fruit, and spice trees.
Beside the highway are neat thatched huts .em
bowered in palms and flowers and sunounded by
vegetable gardens, and everywhere are signs of a
prosperous, contented people, sdf-respecting, in
dependent peasant proprietors who are able to
make a good livelihood from their own lands.
I But whUe the wisdom of inducing the natives to
become self-supporting agriculturists has done
much to make Grenada a well-cultivated island,
there is still much of the interior which is -wild,
uncultivated, untouched by hand of man, and a
visit to the Gran Etang will carry one through
the primeval high woods of Grenada and amid
scenery of surpassing grandeur. As the road sur
mounts the hiUs and leaves the lowlands behind,
the air becomes damp and cool, the great rifts in
the mountains' flanks are filled with a strange
green-blue semi-twUight, and the vast sUence is

138 THE WEST INDIES
broken only by the tinkling splash of an unseen
waterfall, the soft dripping of moisture from the
trees, and the far-off music of song birds hidden in
the dense jungle.
Skirting the very brinks of dizzying predpices,
where one may look down a sheer thousand feet
to a far-away torrent In the dark bottom of the
defile; hugging towering mountain sides, with
stupendous forest trees rearing their mighty trunks
a hundred feet and more above the sopping earth,
the road winds ever toward the clouds. Great
tree-ferns droop plume-like fronds above the path
way; wUd plantain flowers gleam, like tongues of
flame, in the shadows; wonderful begonias hide
rotting stumps and jutting boulders -with festoons
of coral pink; orchids deck the trees, and gorgeous
humming birds flash in the fUtering rays of sun
light, like tiny meteors of sapphire, emerald, and
ruby. For miles one travels through this wonder
land where man seems dwarfed to pigmy size, so
tremendous is the scale on which everything is
fashioned. The trees tower to unbelievable
heights; fems grow to the size of palms; rank-grow
ing plants flaunt leaves, each large enough to
shelter a horse and rider from the hea-viest shower;
flowers as big as saucers, star beds of moss in
which the traveler sinks to his knees; and, trailing
from the tree tops, — endrding the trunks as
though the forest giants were but bean poles, — are

GRENADA, THE ISLE OF SPICE 139
gnarled and twisted vines as huge as ships' cables
and bearing pea-like pods a yard in length. It
seems unreal, dreamlike, preposterously magnified,
as if one were looking at a forest through some
giant's microscope, and it dawns upon one that
thus must appear an ordinary wood to the busy
ants and tiny Insects.
And then, at last, the Gran Etang is reached,
a little cloud-kissed cairn of liquid silver, gleaming
amid the wondrous verdure eighteen hundred feet
above the sea and fiUing the center of an extinct
crater some thirty acres in extent.
Beside it is a rest house, where one may stop
in comfort if not too firmly bound by conventions,
and, upon the lake, are skiffs which enable visitors
to paddle about this strange water-filled crater In
the heart of the primeval wUdemess. Cold as a
bubbling spring is the water, unfathomable in
depth, fed by tiny streams and the seeping, per
petual moisture of drifting clouds, and with no
outlet to be seen. In the forests round about are
wUd monkeys, agouti, pigeons, and many other
birds, but there are no venomous snakes, — few of
any kind in fact, — no dangerous insects, nothing
to fear, and the visitor, fond of nature -wild and
untrammeled, may well spend days in this out-
of-the-world spot on Grenada's roof. Here the
air is cool, fresh, and invigorating, and blankets
are in order at night, for the temperature, even

140 THE WEST INDIES
at midday, rarely rises above 75° and often falls
below 60° after sundown.
Near at hand is Morne Ferdon, where the French
and negro Insurrectionists intrenched themselves
in 1795, and in view of the attacking British troops
fiendishly butchered Lieut.-Govemor Home and
forty-seven white captives. To-day, a memorial
pUlar marks the scene pf the historic atrocity, and
many a picnic party makes merry on the lofty
summit, where once the blood-mad horde tortured
and slew the helpless prisoners.
But scenes of battle and of bloodshed of past
centuries are often less interesting than scenes of
peace and progress of the present, and to many
visitors to Grenada a trip to a cocoa or nutmeg
estate wUl prove far more satisfactory and worth
while than the pilgrimage to the Gran Etang or to
Ferdon Heights. There are plenty of such estates
within easy reach of St. George, and the visitor
may be sure of a hearty welcome by the owners or
managers, who will be only too glad to show the
stranger every step in the interesting process of
curing both the cocoa and nutmegs.
Those who have never seen nutmegs, save in the
dried commerdal form In which we use them,
would never recognize the growing spice. Hang
ing from the tips of the glossy-leaved branches of
the female trees, are salmon-colored fruits much
like nectarines or apricots in appearance, and as

GRENADA, THE ISLE OF SPICE 141
these ripen they split open and expose a shining
dark brown seed, or stone, covered with a network
of intense crimson.
When fully mature the fruits fall to the ground
and the two halves separate and release the nut
megs within. Highly ornamental are the glossy
nuts -with their vivid scarlet, lace-like covering,
-which is the mace of commerce and the most valu
able product of the trees. The preparation of the
nuts is very simple, the mace being carefully
removed and dried In the sun, when it assumes a
dull brownish-yellow hue, and the nuts themselves
being cured in the shade for a few days and then
in the bright sunlight, after which they are cracked
open and the intemal kernels or real nutmegs are
removed and packed for shipment. Little goes
to waste in the preparation of nutmegs, for even
the pulpy fruit itself Is used and in Grenada is
made Into jams and jellies, which are delicious and
-with a sweet, spicy, aromatic flavor very different
from anything else.
Much more complicated and more interesting
is the preparation of cocoa, the most important of
Grenada's crops. Growing directly from the
trunks and branches of the trees, the big, roughly
conugated purple, red, and yellow pods present a
very strange appearance, looking, as one visitor
remarked, "like squashes growing on trees."
The pods are cut from the trees with knives at the

142 THE WEST INDIES
ends of bamboo poles and, as fast as picked, are
collected in baskets by the women laborers. From
the baskets they are emptied into huge pUes be
neath the trees and are opened by men who are
so expert at the work that eye can scarce follow
their motions as, with a single blow of a machete,
the pods are split open and tossed aside. Within
the pods is a mass of thick, whitish pulp containing
numerous rounded brown seeds, — the cocoa beans
of commerce. But with the extraction of the
messy pulp and its wet seeds the preparation of the
cocoa has just commenced and many processes
must be undergone ere the beans are ready for
market. First, the mass of pulp and seeds is dumped into
boxes with perforated bottoms and over them is
placed a layer of plaintain or banana leaves. The
building within which the boxes, are placed is
known as the "Sweating House," and upon the
care taken in "sweating" the quality of the beans
largely depends. Within the covered boxes the
beans are left to ferment for about three days, and
are then transferred to other boxes and allowed to
stand two or three days more when, by the fifth
or sixth day, the slimy pulp -wUl have disappeared
and the bro-wn color of the seeds ¦wUl have changed
to purple.
The beans are then spread evenly In great drjring
trays, which are arranged to ran on rails beneath

GRENADA, THE ISLE OF SPICE 143
a roof, for rain is most injurious and the trays
must be run under cover at the first hint of a
shower. Here, in the bright sunshine, the beans
are raked about and shuffied by barefooted laborers
tmtU thoroughly cured, rubbed, and polished and
ready to be bagged for shipment. On many of
the larger and more modem estates the cocoa is
dried by hot air under cover, whUe, on the other
hand, many of the smaller peasant planters cure
their crops on trays or hides placed upon the
ground or by the roadsides, and where cows, pigs,
chUdren, dogs, chickens, and other live stock wander
and play among them at wUl. No doubt the ¦visi
tor wUl look with undisguised disgust at the ne
groes treading the drying beans in the trays and
at the miscellaneous assortment of birds and
beasts nosing and scratching among those of the
more impecunious peasants, and many a traveler
has vowed never to partake of cocoa or chocolate
after viewing such sights. But only the inner
kemel is used in manufacturing cocoa and choco
late, and no one need forego beverage or confection
for fear of accumulated filth; aU that is removed
•with the outer skin or covering which, under the
name of broma or cocoa-shells, is advertised as the
most healthy and nourishing portion of the beans!

CHAPTER XIII
TRINIDAD, THE MAGNIFICENT
A TURBID, coffee-colored sea and, to the south, a
line of jagged soft blue mountains stretching to
east and west to where they blend and are lost
in the haze of distance. The one, the muddy
waters from the mighty Orinoco ; the other, the
coast of South America and Trinidad.
From a distance the land seems continuous,
unbroken, but, as the blue Indistinct mountains
resolve Into forest-clad slopes, frowning precipices,
and deep ravines, openings appear between the
peaks, — nanow straits of water, — the famous
bocas that connect the Gulf of Paria ¦with the
open sea.
To the right are the sierras of Venezuela, mas
sive, dark, forbidding ; to the left the mountains of
Trinidad, richly, gloriously green, and between the
two, the lofty islands, like Titan's stepping-stones
from shore to shore.
It is a strange sensation to pass through the
bocas for the first time, and few are those who can
refrain from gazing in wonder at the sight, even
144

TRINIDAD, THE MAGNIFICENT 145
though they have made the passage many times.
On either hand tower the stupendous cliffs, seamed
and scarred, wom into uncouth forms and great
cavems by the restless surges ever dashing about
them, covered ¦with dense green verdure to their
summits and peopled by countless sea birds which
wheel and scream as the passing ship rouses them
from their wave-washed roosting places.
Like great walls of red rock and green forest the
islands rear their heights far above the mastheads,
seemingly about to topple over on the puny vessd
as she follows the nanow channel beneath the
cliffs and so dose at hand it seems as though one
might almost leap ashore. And then the boca
is passed, the guardian islands of Trinidad's por
tals are left behind, and before us stretches the
tranquil lake-like Gulf of Paria ¦with Trinidad, vast,
colorful, magnificent, stretching in a thousand hUls
to the southem horizon.
For an hour or more the ship steams swiftly
down the gulf, past the tiny "Five Islands, " with
their brightly painted bungalows amid the ver
dure; past the great gray prison on its little isle;
past an endless succession of mountains, hills, and
valleys rising from the water's edge in tier after
tier to distant, shadowy, cloudlike forms of hazy
blue, untU, at last, anchor is dropped in the har
bor of Port-of-Spain.
Three mUes or more from land the ship swings to

146 THE WEST INDIES
her moorings amid a fleet of steamers, saUing ships,
and coal hiUks, for the harbor is shallow and freight
and passengers must be transported to the town in
tugs, launches, and lighters.
Beneath the shadow of the mountains, upon a
gently sloping plain, lies Port-of-Spain, its buUd
ings stretching for mUes along the shore, but ¦with
little of the city itself ¦visible amid the wa^ving
palms and clustering verdure, and, seeing it from
a distance, no one would dream that here is a
town of seventy thousand inhabitants, the largest,
busiest port in the British West Indies and the
second largest city in the AntiUes.
Serene and peacefiU the vast green island sweeps
from horizon to horizon : to the north, lofty, ragged,
crumpled in coimtless ridges and massive peaks,
slashed and hewn with black defiles and shadowy
valleys; to the south, dropping from rounded hUls
to rolling plains and broad savanna lands, low,
flat, and shimmering with a golden haze.
Largest of the Lesser Antilles and most southerly
of West Indian isles is Trinidad, fifty-five mUes
long and forty miles in width, and so Immense in
area that it seems a hUly rather than a mountain
ous land, although Tucutche towers for over three
thousand feet above the sea and many lesser peaks
are half a mUe or more in height.
Much of the impressive grandeur and the sub
lime scenery of the smaller volcanic islands is

OPENING COCOA PODS, TRINIDAD

TRINIDAD, THE MAGNIFICENT 147
lacking, but none can surpass Trinidad in luxuri
ance of vegetation, wonderful cataracts, richness,
resources, and progress. Within its pathless for
ests of rare and valuable woods teems strange -wild
life. Monkeys and parrots scream and chatter
in the tree tops, ant-bears, sloths, ocelots, and pec
caries haunt the jungles, alligators sun themselves
on banks of estuaries and lagoons, and birds of
brUliant plumage flit amid the foliage. Its
resources are marvelous, inexhaustible, its fertil
ity Incredible and its fauna and flora that of the
South American wUdemess, for Trinidad is but a
detached bit of the Southem continent separated
from its parent only by the nanow bocas. Here
is one's ideal of the tropics, the realization of
youthful dreams of dark jungles, strange beasts
and birds, intense color, vast morasses, trackless
forests, unknown cavems, and a -wUdemess of
mountains. Its only drawback is its climate, for
with all its attractions and charms — and they are
manifold — Trinidad is hot, damp, and oppressive
on its westward slopes, for the trade wind never
reaches here, — the mountains encompass the town
as with a stupendous wall, — and no life-giving
breeze comes from the great landlocked gulf.
But it is not unhealthy, and on the hUls — even
at the slight elevation of the savanna — one may
find cool nights and bearable days, whUe on the
wind"v\'ard slopes the air is cool, breezes blow

148 THE WEST INDIES
ceaselessly, and save at midday the climate is
all that one could wish.
When the visitor steps ashore at Port-of-Spain
he steps into a big, modern, bustling town. At
the large, commodious, well-buUt docks which
line the water-front are scores of sailing vessels,
countless lighters and barges, dozens of coastwise
steamers, and Innumerable launches, tugs, and
miscellaneous craft.
The broad, smooth thoroughfares are crowded
with moving vehicles of every description, from
humble donkey-carts to huge motor-trucks, and
the nearby railway yards are filled with lines of
freight cars, coaches, and locomotives. Parallel
with the shore, a great double avenue runs from
end to end of the town, its central portion swarded
and shaded with rows of spreading mahogany
trees, beneath which are well-kept paths and neat
benches. This splendid, park-like thoroughfare,
known as Marine Square, would be a credit to
any city, but there are few streets in Port-of-Spain
of which the same could not be said -with equal
truth. All the streets are beautifully paved with
asphalt, as are many of the remote country roads
as well, — for Trinidad is the source of the greater
portion, of the world's asphalt supply and it is the
cheapest road-making material on the island, — and
all are -wide, straight, well kept, and so clean they
would put the best of New York's avenues to shame.

TRINIDAD, THE MAGNIFICENT 149
The city is well laid out, nearly all the streets
running at right angles, there are numerous shaded
parks and breathing spaces, trolley cars run every
where, and the whole aspect of the town is one of
progress, modernity, prosperity, and neatness.
About Marine Square, Broadway, and Frederick
Streets, are most of the large stores and wholesale
houses, the banks, clubs, and steamship offices, but
there are stores and shops everywhere and the
strictly residential portions of the to-wn are in
the suburbs.
The buUdings are nearly all of stone or concrete,
weU built, brightly painted, many very artistic,
and all, save the government buUdings, with a
decidedly tropical, foreign appearance.
The shopping district fairly teems with pedes
trians and vehicles throughout the business hours,
and Frederick Street, which Is perhaps the busiest
in the city, is a gay and interesting sight, kaleido
scopic in color, crowded -with life, and a very bee
hive of acti-vity. Here are stores after stores of
every kind, many modded on the plan of our own
department stores, and here one may find anything
and everything the markets of the world afford.
Bright-hued — even gaudUy painted — are the
buUdings, and -with canvas sun a-wnlngs bearing
advertisements, the names of stores, or ornamental
designs hung above the sidewalks, whUe passing
to and fro in an ever-flowing stream are people

150 THE WEST INDIES
of a score of races, and a dozen tongues greet
one's ears. Exquisitely gowned French ladies,
dark-eyed Spanish and Venezuelan senoritas,
pantalooned Chinese women, buxom negresses,
statuesque quadroons, swarthy Portuguese, pink-
cheeked English girls fresh from home, pale-faced
English women who have dwelt long in the tropics,
nervously hurrying tourists from the States, and
dark-skinned, dog-eyed coolie women in filmy
lace, with rings in noses and laden with massive
silver anklets and bracelets galore, all jostle one
another on the crowded sidewalks and in the busy
shops. And liberally represented are the mascu
line members of Port-of-Spain's polyglot popula
tion. Half-naked, spindle-legged Hindus with
huge turbans, stolid Chinese, herculean negroes,
fiercely mustached Latin- Americans, French, Span
ish, Italian, Portuguese, English, Americans, Dutch,
Irish, Scotch, Norwegians, every race and nation,
save Germans, are there, as well as innumerable,
unidentifiable indi-viduals in whose veins runs the
blood of half the nations of Europe and a varying
quantity of Africa.
Wonderful linguists must be the derks in
Trinidad's stores, for -within a space of ten minutes
the man behind the counter may be called upon
to wait on customers in as many tongues. Spanish
is spoken everywhere and one hears it quite as
often as English, for Trinidad was long under

TRINIDAD, THE MAGNIFICENT 151
Spanish rule and its proximity to Venezuda re
sults in an enormous Spanish population and trade.
French runs Castilian a dose second and Italian,
Portuguese, Creole patois, and Hindustani are
aU in the day's work.
And, speaking of Hindustani, here in Trinidad
for the first time the visitor to the islands sees the
picturesque East Indians, the coolies, who, brought
over as indentured field hands to solve the labor
problem, have prospered and increased and add
a delightful Oriental touch to the island's attrac
tions. One sees them everywhere, the men, thin
almost to emaciation, clad in the briefest of cotton
garments consisting, like Gunga Din's costume,
of "Nothing much before and rather less than
half as much behind, " yet, despite their attenuated
figures, such tireless, ever-toUing workers that
the stranger wonders if they can be creatures of
flesh and blood. The women, on the other hand,
are plump and often comely and are attired in
bright-hued jackets, white petticoats, and flo-wing
sUken scarfs and fairly scintillate with barbaric
jewelry, some selling sweetmeats or fruits by the
wayside, others nursemaids with fair-haired chil
dren in charge, and stUl others menial laborers
like their turbaned better halves. But the coolies
are not seen at their best in Port-of Spain, they are
merdy incidental, and to study them amid all the
accompaniments and atmosphere of transplanted

152 THE WEST INDIES
India, one should -visit their settlements In the
outlying districts, on the estates, or in San Fer
nando down the coast.
Port-of-Spain is so large that the -visitor, whose
time is limited, should avaU himself of one of the
numerous, or rather innumerable, public "cabs" —
which are really ramshackle -victorias, — or, if pre
fened, a public motor car, and "do" the town in
comfort. Trolley rides wiU carry one to most of
the places of interest, but they have their limita
tions, and cab rates are very low, for the one "im
provement" to which the Trinidadians have not
awakened is the bankrupting taxi. You won't need
a guide, your black jehu wUl be guide, phUosopher,
and friend in one, and no megaphone-equipped
conductor of a metropolitan "rubber-neck" auto
can compare with the Trinidad cabby when it
comes to showing one the "sights" of his beloved
capital. But, before engaging him, be sure of
your bargain: if merely hired by the hour you
may find he is a firm believer in the old adage
that "the longest way round is the shortest way
home," and -wUl drive through half the streets
of the city to go a couple of blocks. His
tariff is regulated by law, and a card with
the rates is hung up In every public vehicle;
but If the cabman cannot charge more than
the legal price there is nothing to prevent
him from talcing less, or to enter into a bar-

A COOLIE GIRL, TRINIDAD

TRINIDAD, THE MAGNIFICENT 153
gain to visit certain stipulated places for a definite
sum. There are many places of interest to be seen
in and about Port-of-Spain. Facing Branswick
Square, -with its broad lawns, its dense shade trees,
and its fountain, are the massive red govemment
buUdings, a splendid edifice, and opposite are the
police banacks and the court house. Near at
hand, and also on Brunswick Square, Is the
beautiful Anglican cathedral of the Holy Trinity.
At the southern end of the town is the Catholic
cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, with
many notable paintings, a Florentian pulpit, and
beautiful stained glass windows. There is an
excellent Public Library, a fine hospital, and street
after street of lovely vUlas in the midst of gardens
which seem veritable bits of fairyland. But the
center of interest, the chef d'cBUvre of Port-of-
Spain's attractions, is the savanna or Queen's
Park. At the summit of the slope on which the city
stands is the savanna, a broad oval stretch of
greensward some two hundred acres in extent,
bordered by spreading saman trees and flaming
poindanas and encircled by a splendid boulevard.
About it, on three sides, are magnificent mansions
in gardens worthy of an Oriental potentate; nest
like bungalows and villas half -hidden In climbing
gorgeous-flowered vines, giant rose trees, and

154 THE WEST INDIES
graceful palms; and the great Queen's Park Hotel,
with its open-air dining-rooms, its broad verandas,
and its beautiful surroundings. On the fourth side
stands the Govemment House, — a stately struc
ture that reminds one of an old chateau, — ^in the
midst of spacious grounds ablaze with flowers,
sunounded with palms and rare trees and with a
wonderftU background of lofty rich green moun
tains, and adjoining it are the public gardens
which are, in themselves, worth going far to see.
Upon the savanna, sleek cattle graze, races are
held, and polo, football, cricket, and other games
are played, for it is large enough for all, and here,
of an afternoon, come all the wealth and fashion
of Port-of-Spain, to see and be seen, to indulge in
the outdoor sports, — which no true Britisher can
forego, regardless of climate or geography, — and to
enjoy the cool evening breeze. And marvelously
beautiful and enchanting is the savanna as the
great red sun sinks behind the Venezuelan moun
tains across the gulf and darkness descends with
tropic swiftness upon the land. From speeding
motor cars and open windows bright beams of
light glint through shrubbery and gleam on
ghostly palm trunks, casting long mysterious shad
ows across the broad white road. Upon the soft
scented breeze are bome the merry sounds of
laughter and of music. Over the dusky, dim
savanna the fireflies dance like troops of elves, and

TRINIDAD, THE MAGNIFICENT 155
against the star-studded, velvet sky the moun
tains loom — vast and black — ^like the massive
battlements of an ogre's castle.
But Trinidad's greatest beauties lie without the
to-wn and, unlike many of the other islands'
attractions, they are all easily accessible by rail
way, carriage, motor car, or coastwise steamer.
Within easy walking or driving distance is the
capital's source of water supply, the Maraval
Reservoir. Beautifully situated is the great arti-
fidal lake in a lovely valley at whose head stands
the lofty "Silla," and whose natural attractions
are enhanced a hundred fold by admirably placed
groups of palm trees, great clumps of gigantic bam
boos, brUliant flowering shrubs, hedges of multi
colored crotons, and rustic, embowered summer
houses. Less than ten miles from town is the famed
Blue Basin, a sight without a counterpart in all
the world. Here in the rich Diego Martin valley
a flashing sUver stream gushes from the green
depths of the mountainside and, in a single un
broken cataract, plunges into a great bowl-like
basin of rock, fringed with ferns and plant life
wonderful to behold. And if this were all, the
joumey to the valley would be well repaid, but
the crowning glory of the whole, the culminating
wonder of the spot, is the rock-bound pool into
which the cascade pours. CrystaUine in its purity

156 THE WEST INDIES
the water issues from the verdure, but within the
basin below, for some unknown cause, it is trans
formed into liquid sapphire, a pool of cerulean
hue so intense, so artifidal in its color, that it
seems as if one's hand, if dipped within it, would
be drawn forth dyed azure.
Even more beautiful in its sunoundlngs, and far
greater in height and volume, is the Maraccas
Waterfall in the valley of the same name some
fourteen miles from Port-of-Spain, and to reach
which one passes through sleepy, restful, quaint,
old St. Joseph, the original site of the settlement
of the island and until the British occupation
known as San Jose.
Luxuriant with vegetation, its slopes rich -with
cocoa groves and dominated by Tucutche, loftiest
peak of Trinidad, the Maraccas Valley is one of the
island's beauty spots and a fitting setting for the
cataract that has made the valley famous. A
sheer 350 feet the roaring mass of water plunges
over the precipice, while from it ever drifts a fUmy
veU of mist and spray that bathes the delicate
fems, the flowering gloxinias, the delicate begonias,
the strange orchids, and the traUing vines -with a
ceaseless shower. Like hoarfrost the moisture
clings to blossom, leaf, and twigs, a gentle breeze
ever stirs the seeping foliage and, spanning the
silver torrent like a fairy bridge, arches a rainbow.
Even larger and more beautiful, if that were

TRINIDAD, THE MAGNIFICENT 157
possible, is the Caura Waterfall, a wild, Impressive
cataract in the midst of the virgin forest near
Arima; but to reach It entails a horseback ride
and a tramp afoot for several miles after lea-ving
the raUway.
Another trip of great interest and beauty is by
boat to the Five Islands and the bocas. Like
the AntUles in miniature the little Islets dot the
surface of the gulf, each verdured, each -with
charming bungalows and vUlas peeping from the
foliage, each -with its llUiputian beaches, its tiny
coves, and its secluded nooks, and all charming,
picturesque, delectable, seemingly created as ideal
spots for picnics, lovers, and honeymoons and
well patronized by the Trinidadians for such
purposes. Upon the Islands between the bocas
are also many attractive bungalows and -villas, and
aU about are charming bathing beaches, -wild sea-
washed crags, and great cavems into whose yawn
ing mouths the -visitor may enter by boat in calm
weather. Here, in the bowels of the solid cliffs,
dwell the guacharos or devU birds, the aUeged
nut-eating, bewhiskered birds of Rooseveltlan
fame, — a species of goatsucker beloved as tidbits
by Trinidad epicures, and so reeking with grease
that the natives use them as butter or, by running
a wick through their bodies, convert them into
ornithological candles.
But Trinidad's most famous sight — its greatest

158 THE WEST INDIES
wonder — is the Pitch Lake, and no visit to the
island would be complete -without a trip to this
really remarkable and interesting spot. To reach
the Pitch Lake from Port-of-Spain one must
travel by rail to San Fernando and hence by gulf
steamer to Brighton or La Brea.
Those who -visit Trinidad by the ships of the
Trinidad Line — the only Hne saiHng for Trinidad
from New York at present — wUl have unequaled
opportunities for seeing this strange phenomenon,
however, for the ships usually go to San Fernando
on the outward voyage and stop for several days
at Brighton, loading asphalt, on the return trip.
But the joumey by raU and steamer entaUs no
hardships or discomforts and affords a splendid
¦view of the low country south of Port-of-Spain,
as weU as a chance to see quaint, picturesque San
Fernando. And San Fernando is weU worth seeing, albeit
a few hours wUl suffice to " do " the town thorough
ly. From the water front and raUway station San
Fernando climbs up a steep hUl and, like the King
of France and his men, no sooner does it reach
the top than it marches down again. And, not
content with struggling up and down the slopes,
the queer little town has burrowed into the hUl
in spots and has hewn spaces for its buildings in the
limestone rock of conical Naparima HiU which
towers above the town.

THE BLUE BASIN, TRINIDAD

TRINIDAD, THE MAGNIFICENT 159
Sharply and at all angles run the streets, — as
if : some browsing goat had wandered aimlessly
about and the streets had been laid out in the
creature's tracks; most of the buUdings are small,
flimsy, and of wood, there are few large or impres
sive stractures, and yet San Fernando is interest
ing, for it is the port of the sugar district and
swarms -with coolies untU it appears like a bit of
India rather than a to-wn of the Antilles.
Everywhere the Hindus are in e-vidence, men,
women, and children, of all ages and all degrees,
from the half-clad field hand to the sUk-robed
nabob in his motor car. Every occupation, every
trade of India is represented : sUversmiths hammer
ing coins into rough jewelry on tiny anvUs in the
doorways of their shops; vendors of fruits, vege
tables, and what not squatting beside their wares
at the wayside ; shaven-headed fakirs in rags and
tatters; holy men -with painted foreheads and
beards dyed scarlet; merchants -with stores filled
with Benares brasses, weird musical instraments,
strange foods and spices, prayer-wheels, beads,
charms, amulets, gay-hued cloths, wonderful
embroideries, crude images of Buddha and Brah
min gods, and a thousand-and-one objects whose
use is known only to the coolies; sleek, well-fed
planters who have risen from lowly laborers to
affluence and, robed in flowing, spotless sUks, drive
luxuriously in costly motor cars; spectacled gray-

i6o THE WEST INDIES
bearded -wise men teaching their brown-skinned
pupUs In the shade of roadside trees; priests reading
aloud from the Koran to knots of the faithful who,
grave-faced, listen in sUence to the words of the
Prophet; Parsees, Brahmins, Hindus, Mohamme
dans, — a score of races, hundreds of castes, a
thousand types are to be seen. Unchanged by
sunoundlngs, uninfluenced by conditions, they
live the same lives, follow the same customs, and
wear the same garments as in far-off India. Across
thousands of leagues of sea they have brought their
beliefs, their religions, their goods, their manners,
their foods, their gods, even the very atmosphere
and mystery of the East. Peaceable they are,
thrifty, hard-working, law-abiding, and to them
Trinidad owes much of its prosperity to-day,
for they solved the labor problem of the island.
Few have returned to India when the term of
their contracts ended and many have become
weU-to-do merchants and planters. Despised by
and despising the negroes, looked do-wn upon by
the whites, yet serenety the coolies go their ways
and mind their own business, unruffled, undis
turbed, but in the hearts of one and all — from low
liest laborer, toiling In cane or rice fleld for a shilling
a day, to merchant prince; from guttersweep to
white-bearded Moslem priest — there is contempt
and scorn for the Christians and the white-skinned
race whose ancestors were naked savages when the

TRINIDAD, THE MAGNIFICENT i6i
d^vilization of India was hoary -with the weight of
countless centuries.
Some twenty mUes from San Femando, a charm
ing saU by the s-wift gulf steamers or an entrancing
trip by motor car, the long pier at Brighton
stretches for 1800 feet into the waters of the gulf.
To this dock moor the great steamships of the
Trinidad Line, whUe loading asphalt, and to it
also come the ugly tank steamers to load with oil,
for Trinidad is fast coming to the fore as a petrole
um-producing land, and a number of the largest
wells and many gigantic storage tanks are in the
immediate -vicinity of the Pitch Lake.
Along the pier, and up the hillside beyond,
stretch wire cables and over these, slowly, steadUy,
travels an endless procession of great square iron
buckets. FUled to the brim -with asphalt, as they
come rumbling seaward from the hilltop, each
bucket is dumped ¦with crash and bang into the
hold of the waiting ship and, ¦with scarce a halt,
is sent swinging empty on its mile-long journey to
be refiUed. Almost in a steady stream is the
asphalt poured into the ship, and a thousand tons
a day are often loaded, -with less than a dozen negro
laborers required to accomplish the work.
To -visit the lake it is only necessary to follow
the cableway and its rattling buckets, but by all
means choose early moming or late afternoon for
the trip. During the day Brighton is hot beyond

i62 THE WEST INDIES
words; the glaring asphalt roads reflect and radiate
the blazing sunlight untU the air is like a furnace,
there is not a square inch of shade along the way,
and a breath of air is rare Indeed.
No sooner does one set foot on shore at Brighton
than the presence of vast quantities of asphalt is
manifest. Wave-polished lumps of asphalt strew
the beach in place of pebbles, jutting reefs of the
same substance project from the shaUows, black
ledges break the sandy stretch of shore and jut
from the bluffs, and everywhere, among the scant
herbage and coarse grass of the hillside, are seen
the wrinkled, rounded, dull-black masses, like the
dead bodies of huge pachyderms half -buried in the
earth. At the summit of the hUl stand the big sheds
of the refinery, the machine shops, the engine
houses, the pumping station, and the other works
of the asphalt company, and just beyond, in a
slight hollow, lies the world-famous lake.
F Never was spot more misleadingly named, for
the Pitch Lake has no resemblance to a lake, and
neither is it pitch. Far more does it appear like
a peat bog, or a partly dried swamp, for covering
an area of some 125 acres is an uneven expanse of
dull brownish black, partly overgrown with coarse
dry grass, low brash, and weeds, and with pools of
stagnant water filling the hollows and depressions
of its surface.

ENTERING THE BOCAS, TRINIDAD

DIGGING ASPHALT, TRINIDAD

TRINIDAD, THE MAGNIFICENT 163
Across it meander uneven, wavering raUway
tracks, here and there groups of negroes are work
ing busUy -with pick and shovel, and strings of
cars stand waiting for their loads. As soon as the
cars are filled they are hauled creaking and com
plaining towards the sheds, another train comes
dashing down the incHne with roar and clatter, and
noisUy the asphalt is tumbled into the cars by the
black laborers. About the borders of the "lake"
are the parched, sere hills, merging into thorny,
scrubby jungle, above which rise groves of stunted
palms, and, looming dark against the sky on the
nearby ridges, are the great derricks and monstrous
ugly tanks of the oU wells. No scene could be less
attractive, less picturesque, or more prosaic, and
yet the spot is one of the wonders of the world,
a seemingly inexhaustible storehouse of one of
ci-villzation's most useful substances, a source of
vast revenue for the company which controls it,
and the most lucrative of Trinidad's resources.
Much to the surprise of many visitors, the sur
face of the asphalt is not soft nor sticky. One
may walk across it in perfect safety, save for the
danger of wetting one's shoes in the pools of water.
It is firm and solid enough to support the weight of
tracks and cars; when dug by pick and shovel, it
breaks away from the mass in firm, hard lumps,
with a bright, smooth surface lUce dviU brown coal,
and it may be freely handled without even soiling

1 64 THE WEST INDIES
one's hands. And yet the vast mass of asphalt is
not solid. If left In one spot the raUs soon sink
from sight ; if a man stands immovable for a short
time his feet sink Into the surface, and the holes and
pits, from .which the material is removed, soon
disappear and are filled with fresh asphalt; even
within the holds of the ships, the coarse separate
lumps become transformed into a solid homogene
ous mass ere the vessels reach New York; and
which must be dug out by pick and shovel exactly
as from the lake itself.
How deep beneath the surface the asphalt
extends no one can say, but borings have been
made for hundreds of feet -without finding its
Hmit. As fast as removed it is replaced by nature,
and, for miles about, the asphalt crops up amid
the jungle that covers the land, while across the
gulf, in Venezuela, is another and even larger
"lake," and it is not unlikely that the deposit
extends beneath the water from shore to shore.
Hundreds of thousands of tons have been shipped
away annually for many years, -with little or no
apparent effect upon the lake, and even if not
absolutely inexhaustible, yet there is enough
asphalt in Trinidad to supply the world for many
years to come.
But it is not, as many suppose, of volcanic origin.
It is merely one of the products of nature's labora
tory, a substance formed from vegetation that

TRINIDAD, THE MAGNIFICENT 165
grew and died in a morass when the world was
young; a treasure hidden in the bowels of the
earth, to serve man's needs, countless millions of
years ere the first man trod our planet. The very
presence of the asphalt proves the antiquity of
Trinidad. There are no indications of volcanic
acti-vity, — even of extinct craters, — on the island,
and the so-called "Mud Volcanoes" of Princes
To-wn are merely the puny outbursts of natural
gas from the petroleum-bearing beds beneath the
surface of the earth. A few years ago the mineral
riches hidden in Trinidad's bosom were undreamed
of, but to-day oil wells by the score are pouring
forth their riches to swell the Island's wealth.
Above the giant forest trees rise the black derricks,
the wUdemess echoes to the clang of drills and the
clatter and clank of pumps, and pipe lines twist,
like huge black serpents, through the jungles.
Yet the surface of this land has been barely
scratched, only an infinitesimal part of its resources
have been developed, and untold fortunes still lie
unknown, unsuspected, in its hUls and valleys,
its mountains and its forests; it is a land of vast
promise, of marvelous opportunities, — truly, the
Magnificent Isle.
Aside from Trinidad's scenes and sights there
are many other places of great interest and beauty
within easy reach from Port-of-Spain.
Steamers ran regularly to Ciudad Bolivar, in

i66 THE WEST INDIES
the heart of Venezuela, and an excursion by one of
these boats up the mighty Orinoco and through the
midst of the untamed, primeval South American
wUdemess is a veritable trip through nature's
wonderland. Then there is Margarita, that little-known
mountainous island off Venezuela, and from whose
waters a million dollars' worth of pearls are taken
yearly, while stUl more interesting is the Dutch
island of Curagao. CURAQAO
Like a bit of HoUand whisked bodUy over sea
and dropped down in the Caribbean is Curagao.
Upon a landlocked, clover-leaf-shaped harbor
stands the town of WlUemstadt and reached only
by a nanow strait between two ancient forts
so close together that the woodeny Dutch soldiers
of the garrisons can converse across the harbor
entrance. But more interesting than the quaint
old forts upon the bare brown hUls is the bridge
which bars the channel, for it is a bridge of boats,
and, when a vessel leaves or enters the harbor,
the novel causeway is moved aside by the simple
method of towing one end of the string of pontoons
with a steam launch.
Once within the harbor the bridge is forgotten
at sight of the town. Pink, yellow, blue, green.

THE HIGH WOODS, TRINIDAD

TRINIDAD, THE MAGNIFICENT 167
red — all the colors of the rainbow — are the houses
and buUdings, whose steep, tiled roofs, dormer
¦windows, and quaint ornamentation appear so in
congraous, so out of place, so thoroughly Dutch,
that the -visitor is tempted to pinch himself to
make sure he is really awake and in his right mind.
All that is needed are a few storks on the roof
tops and a windmill or two, but there is no work
for windmills to do in Curasao and ostriches are
more useful than storks. In other words, Cu
rasao's manufacturing and agricultural resources
are nil, and ostrich farming bids fair to be the
island's most lucrative business. Banen, sterUe,
and dry, Curagao offers no inducements to the
husbandman and, aside from aloes, a few vege
tables, and a little fruit, nothing is grown. Upon
its trade and commerce Curagao has always de
pended, for it is a free port, and its location and
perfect harbor have made it a busy, important port,
as weU as a notorious spot for ambitious and dis
gruntled Latin- Americans to hatch out revolution
ary plots in safety. Recently the ostrich farms
have been estabhshed and are doing weU, but the
strangest of the island's industries — the last busi
ness one would look for in this out-of-the-way,
picturesque town— is the big publishing house and
book store of Betancourt. There is little to be
seen in Curasao outside of the town, for whUe
forty miles long and eight mUes wide It is sparsely

1 68 THE WEST INDIES
inhabited and its surface is, for the most part, most
forbidding and unattractive, — a parched, sunburnt,
mountainous land without stream, lake, or spring,
and how the giant race of Indians, which old
Amerigo Vespucci claimed to have foimd here,
ever eked out an existence is a puzzle.
But the town is interesting, and as a diminutive
tram-line, with donkeys for motive power, runs
through the streets and to the suburb, known as
Otrabanda, across the harbor, the visitor may
cover most of the sights with little exertion.
Many of the streets are wide and smoothly paved,
but many more are quaint lanes with pavements of
rough cobbles and so narrow that the projecting
balconies of the houses almost meet above one's
head. And if the picturesque Dutch town seems
Incongruous here in the tropics, even more strik
ingly out of place seem the people who throng its
streets, for one looks in vain for the baggy panta
loons, the wooden shoes, and the stiff starched caps
which befit Curasao's byways. Dutchmen there
are, and Dutchwomen too, but far more numer
ous are the black, brown, and yellow-skinned
natives of African blood, in bright turbans, gaudy
kerchiefs, and blazing colors, while the chatter
one hears is not Dutch or English, not French or
Spanish, but a marvelous jargon, a language
peculiar to Curagao, a mixture of Dutch, Spanish,
English, Indian, and negro, known as Paplamento.

TRINIDAD, THE MAGNIFICENT 169
TOBAGO
Far closer to Trinidad than Curagao, only eigh
teen mUes distant to be exact, lies another island
which, if it lacks the quaint and "Dutchy" at
mosphere of WUlemstadt, is fully as interesting and
far more beautiful.
This is Tobago, the scene of Robinson Crusoe's
story, the one-time residence of John Paul Jones,
and an island of supreme beauty whose stormy
history is without a parallel In the blood-stained
annals of the West Indies.
No doubt it will come as a surprise to many to
learn that Tobago is the isle on which poor Robin
son dwelt with Man Friday, for Juan Fernandez
has been so long associated with Defoe's hero that
it is hard to separate the real from the unreal, to
disentangle the fiction from the fact.
But if those who are skeptical will but refresh
their memories and read again the story of Robin
son Crusoe, all doubts will be dispeUed.
Does not our boyhood's idol relate how he set
sail from Brazil for Africa? Does he not state
that his ship was blown off its course and, after
an observation, he learned he was in "Latitude
eleven degrees north, beyond the coast of Guiana,
toward the River Oronoque"? Does he not tell
how he strove to reach the "English Islands, " but
was wrecked on his desert isle? Is it then con-

170 THE WEST INDIES
ceivable that the ship was blown completely around
Cape Horn to Juan Fernandez, or that the land on
which he was wrecked could, by any stretch of
the imagination, be other than one of the Lesser
Antilles? And, admitting this, what island could
it have been but Tobago, the only isle from whose
hUls the castaway could have peered forth across
the muddy waters of the "Gulph of the Oro
noque, " to which he refers, and see the faint out
Unes of the "Island of Trinidad," as stated in his
story? Unquestionably Alexander Selkirk was ma
rooned on Juan Fernandez — such is an historical
fact — but Defoe, in writing his immortal tale,
founded on Selkirk's life, placed his fictitious
hero on a much more suitable and promising
spot. The justice of Tobago's claim to be called "Cru
soe's Island" is unquestionable; the natives can
even show you the cave wherein he dwelt and the
imprint of Friday's feet in the rocks, and the
visitor to the lovely isle wiU wonder why the casta
way ever deserted it.
Surely one who was "Monarch of aU he sur
veyed" on Tobago and "Whose right there was
none to dispute" could ask for no fairer kingdom
in which to rule and pass his days in peace, even
though his subjects were but naked savages, wUd
goats, and bright-hued parrots.

TRINIDAD, THE MAGNIFICENT 171
Like its larger neighbor, Trinidad, the island of
Tobago is merely a bit of the South American con
tinent and with much the same fauna and fiora;
but here all resemblance ends.
Neither lofty nor massive is Tobago, its highest
peak. Pigeon Hill, rising scarcely two thousand
feet above the sea, and it can hardly be called
mountainous as compared to the other islands.
From its low, sandy southem coast it rises by
degrees, through level and undulating plains and
conical hills amid bowl-like valleys, to the forested
mountain-ranges of the north, and through nearly
every vale there flows a stream of sparkling crystal
water. Wonderfully varied and attractive is its coast
line, with crescent sand beaches bordering shel
tered coves; outlying verdure-draped rocky islets
and wooded cays; surf -washed reefs, protecting
secluded lagoons with arching trees above the
placid waters, and precipitous headlands, guarding
hidden, landlocked harbors within which, in days
long past, lurked many a fierce pirate and bold
sea-rover. Even the size of Tobago adds to its
charm, for it is neither so large as to be overwhelm
ing nor so small as to be insignificant, and yet so
admirably proportioned is the island, on such an
extensive scale has nature molded the landscape,
that it gives one the impression of a miniature
continent rather than an island.

172 THE ViTEST INDIES
Its greatest length is but twenty-six mUes; its
greatest width but eight miles, and much of its
73,000 acres is still virgin forest teeming with
furred and feathered life. Everywhere wonder
fully luxuriant vegetation covers the land from
sea to mountain top, and everjrwhere the fertile
soU yields bounteous crops of cocoa, rubber, fraits,
and cotton, while along the coasts and on the
lowlands are countless thousands of cocoa palms,
vast groves of smooth gray trunks and softly
clashing fronds, like a labyrinth of columns sup
porting a canopy of green and gold.
Upon the southern coast is the capital and only
town of any size or importance, — the port of
Scarborough. Nestling at the base of a hill 450
feet in height and which is crowned with the ruins
of Fort King George, is the town, a place of some
3000 inhabitants and a wide-awake, prosperous,
self-respecting little spot. The government build
ings are the most prominent and interesting buUd
ings in the town and there are several notable
churches and many well-stocked stores, but To
bago's attractions are in the country and not in
Scarborough. With a delightful, healthy 'climate; outside the
hurricane zone; with no lurking menace of a vol
canic outburst or destructive earthquake; no
swamps; no poisonous snakes; Its magnificent scen
ery and its air of quiet, restful peace, Tobago should

TRINIDAD, THE MAGNIFICENT 173
be an Ideal spot for a winter resort, once its attrac
tions are known.
From end to end, from coast to coast, one may
wander in Tobago with perfect safety and secu
rity, although the roads are none too good, and
many a river must be forded in going from place to
place. Fought over for centuries by French, Spanish,
British, Dutch, and Caribs, and often deserted
for scores of years at a time, it is remarkable that
the early settlers found time to do anything, save
SpiU one another's blood. Surely they must have
been a stout, hardy, energetic, persistent lot, for,
between battles, they tilled the soU, buUt roads,
constructed forts, and accomplished much. To-day
one may find the ruins of their forts and buildings,
their houses and their mills, overgrown with brush
and creepers, and sections still remain of the paved
highway which once spanned the island from shore
to shore.
Strange and thrilling indeed would be the tales
these ancient ruins could tell, for many a fierce and
bloody conflict raged about them, but the crum
bling stones and the rusting guns are sUent, the
deeds of cruelty and valor, which reddened To
bago's soU, are but memories of the past, and such
names as Bloody Bay, Man-o'-War Bay, and
EngHshmen's Bay are all that remain to remind us
of the island's turbulent history.

CHAPTER XIV
SANTO DOMINGO, THE HISTORIC
Many a name has this island bome. To the
simple Indians it was Haiti — the "High Land";
to the Spaniard it was Hispaniola; in later years
it became Santo Domingo; and, tom by revolutions,
drenched with blood, and divided between French
and Spanish, the western third assumed its ancient
name of Haiti, while the other two thirds was
christened the Dominican Republic. Also has it
been called the "Isle of Misrale" and "The Land
of Revolutions," while it is commonly refened to
as "The Black Republic."
But most appropriately may it be caUed "The
Island where Time has Stood Still, " for the ¦visitor
to Santo Domingo finds a land redolent of the
distant East, scenes unaltered through four hun
dred years and more, and sunoundlngs contempo
raneous with Columbus and the conquistadores.
We may gaze seaward from the very spot whereon
the great discoverer sat and watched his flagship
beaten to pieces on the reefs; we may push aside
the brush and vines and find the crumbUng founda-
174

SANTO DOMINGO, THE HISTORIC 175
tions of the first European settlement on American
soU; we may land upon the sandy shores of the
self-same cove where the first European blood was
shed in battle with the Indians; we may wander
through streets whose identical pavements have
rung to the tramp of mail-clad men led by Pizarro,
Balboa, Cortez, De Soto, De Leon, and many a
famed hidalgo, and we may still see their embla
zoned arms carved in the enduring keystones of
their fortress-like houses. We may stroll through
the rained aisles of the first university in the New
World, where youth was taught the three "R's"
a century and more ere the Pilgrims landed at
Plymouth Rock; we may see the very dungeon
wherein Columbus was cast, a prisoner in chains,
and we may kneel on the same worn flagging
pressed by his knees at many a mass in the great ca
thedral where his bones stUl rest in their leaden
casket. Truly is Santo Domingo the most historic
spot in America, the cradle of European civilization
in the New World, and the theater of the most awful
massacres, the most atrocious cruelties, the most
appalUng acts of barbarism, inhumanity, hatred,
revenge, and fiendish savagery the world has ever
seen. Second largest of the West Indies, richest
and most fertile of the Antilles, is Santo Domingo.
Marvelously beautiful is its scenery, stupendous
its mountains, vast its plains, wonderful its vaUeys.
Through it flow immense rivers, within its borders

176 THE WEST INDIES
are lakes like inland seas, immeasurable forests
clothe its surface, about its shores are islets larger
than many of the Lesser Antilles, its peaks are the
highest in the West Indies, and its streams liter
ally flow through golden sands.
But with all its beauties, its resources, its riches,
its historic interest, much of Santo Domingo is as
primitive, as backward, as crude, as four centuries
ago. Few indeed are the spots where the stranger
may stop — even for a night — without inconven
iences, discomforts, or even hardships. But for
tunately this is not necessary ; he who would visit
Santo Domingo need not forego the pleasure and
the interest for lack of accommodations, for the
steamers of the Clyde West Indian Line -visit
every port of Importance, they remain long enough
in each to permit the passengers to see all the sights
ashore, or even make railway journeys to inland
towns, and the -traveler who makes the round
voyage is independent of life ashore and dwells in
comfort and ease aboard ship.
[ Monte Christi, the flrst port of call, is a far from
attractive spot, and, being situated in the most
desolate and uninviting portion of the island, it is
apt to convey a false and disappointing Impression.
Directly from the water rises a lofty hill, its
face sliced off in a precipice of glaring red and yel
low; far in the distance rise massive mountain
ranges, and at the foot of a broad, sloping, dead-

SANTO DOMINGO, THE HISTORIC 177
green plain are a few unpainted wooden huts, a
warehouse or two of corrugated iron, and a long
flimsy pier.
Surrounded by mud flats and mangrove swamps
and infested by myriads of bloodthirsty mosquitoes,
the port of Monte Christi is untenable for cl-vUized
white men and is scarcely more than a landing
place inhabited by a few negroes and colored
laborers. From the port a carriage road and a
mule tramway line run back to the hills and here,
on the higher land, is the town proper. But,
aside from the fact that it is the outlet of the vast
and fertile Yaqui Valley and the breeding place
of most of the revolutions which have swept the
republic like epidemics and with amazing fre
quency, Monte Christi is of little importance, and
of less interest. Eastward from this forlom spot
the aspect of the island rapidly changes. Soon
the barren dun hills give place to slopes rich with
verdure, luxuriant forests grow to the very shores,
and huge green-clad mountains tower, in range
after range, as far as eye can see.
Wooded headlands and deep jungle-bordered
coves are passed in endless succession, and on the
shores of one of these bays Columbus founded
Isabella, the flrst European city in the New World.
To-day only a few stones, hidden in the brash, a
crumbling wall, and a commemorative pUlar mark
the site of this historic spot.

178 THE WEST INDIES
Fifty miles east of here towers the perfect sym
metrical cone of Isabella la Torre, and at its base,
upon a jutting hilly peninsula, lies the town of
Puerto Plata. Hard would it be to find a prettier
sight than Puerto Plata viewed from the sea.
Up- from the shores of the semicircular bay
stretches the town, its red roofs gleaming 'mid
myriads of palms, like popples in a field of grain;
to the left, the mellow pink and yellow-tinted
antique fort upon the headland, and to the right,
the crescent sweep of green mountains overtopped
by the stupendous cone whose cloud- veUcd summit,
three thousand feet above the sea, no human foot
has ever trod.
From the shore a long iron pier extends into the
bay, and so shaUow is the water that, to load and
unload the lighters, the teams are driven far into
the sea, where, with the water washing about the
horses' hips and the bottoms of the carts, the boxes,
bales, and bands are transfened from the cargo
craft to the vehicles. Puerto Plata is neat, well
kept, and with straight, fairly wide, smooth streets,
and is so brilliant with color, so plentifully sprinkled
with palms and verdure, so well supplied with
electric lights, and so bright and shining that one's
preconceived ideas of Santo Domingo are dropped
like a cast-off garment as soon as one steps ashore.
Few of the buildings are pretentious, but there are
two large club-houses, one or two good hotels, — as

SANTO DOMINGO, THE HISTORIC 179
hotels go in the tropics, — some fine churches, a
number of beautiful residences, and a very attrac
tive plaza, surrounded by palms and shade trees,
and the govemment buildings. There is also a
large, well-conducted military hospital, to the
efficiency of which the author can testify, as he
spent over two months therein.
About Puerto Plata there are many charming
drives into the outlying districts, and here one
sees, for the first time, the riding bulls which are a
distinctive feature of the island. Long-legged,
swift, and sure of foot, and bred especially for use
as saddle animals, these cattle are very different
from our own slow-plodding oxen, and throughout
the republic they are In universal use. It seems
strange indeed to see a tiny boy, a woman or a
young girl astride a huge needle-pointed, long-
horned bull and trotting through city streets or
along a country road, but the creatures are gentle
and easUy "steered" by a single rein attached to
a ring in the nose, and while their gait is uncom
fortably jolty at first, one soon becomes accustomed
to it and finds the bulls as easy riding as any
equine mount.
But, as road destroyers, the riding bulls of Santo
Domingo surpass the most ponderous motor tracks.
Even at their best the country roads of the island
are scarce worthy of the name, and when it rains
they are transformed into veritable streams of

i8o THE WEST INDIES
mud. As the bulls have a peculiar habit of step
ping in one another's tracks, — like Indians follow
ing a trail, — the depressions in the roads soon be
come deep mud holes and, when the rain ceases, and
the earth dries, the highways become an endless
succession of transverse hills and hollows baked as
hard as concrete by the sun. From hole to hole
the bulls, horses, and mules leap like gigantic
rabbits across the intervening ridges, each passing
animal adding a little to the depth of the three-foot
gullies, until the "highways" look like battle
fields in which opposing armies had intrenched
themselves. And this is no exaggeration, no fanci
ful description of the interior thoroughfares of the
Dominican Republic. No words could convey
an adequate idea of their condition ; they have been
used, wom, and neglected for four hundred years
and are abominable beyond description.
Having traversed them, one no longer wonders
why this marvelously rich land is undeveloped,
neglected, and much of it absolutely uninhabited
and unknown. Until the country is provided
with roads over which it is possible to transport
goods, it will remain in its present backward state,
for the lack of transportation facilities is even
more inimical to its progress than the revolutions.
The forests are filled with mahogany, lancewood,
cedar, satinwood, lignum vitas, and other valuable
timbers; vast groves of long-leafed pine cover the

A RIDING BULL, SAN DOMINGO

SANTO DOMINGO, THE HISTORIC iSf
interior hUls for hundreds of mUes and mineral
riches abound, while every tropical- and many
temperate-zone products grow luxuriantly. But
it is hopeless to endeavor to exploit such resources,
useless to ask capital to Invest, when, to haul a
mahogany log to the coast costs more than a dozen
logs are worth; when, to get out pine lumber en
tails a greater expense than to import such materi
als from the States; when the entire revenue of a
gold mine would be required to provide haulage to
a copper mine.
In some districts much has been done to over
come this deplorable condition, and from Puerto
Plata a raUway is in operation across the moun
tains to Santiago de los Caballeros. Indeed
Puerto Plata's chief importance lies in the fact
that it is the seaward terminal of this railroad,
which taps the vast fertUe Cibao district of the
high interior tableland. And a traly remarkable
railway it is, although but forty-two mUes in
length, for in the first fifteen mUes it climbs a
mountain range two thousand feet in height by
grades so steep that four locomotives and rack and
pinion are required to make the ascent. Even
then the mountain stiU towers high above, and
through it the raUway makes its way by a tunnel
nearly one thousand feet in length, to come forth,
on the farther side of the range, on almost level
land. Many years and a vast amount of labor and

i82 THE WEST INDIES
capital were expended in the constraction of this
road, which was commenced in 1893 and was not
completed until 1897, during which time it changed
hands several times, with the result that it is a sort
of international road, the capital having been fur
nished by the Dutch, most of the constraction being
done by Belgians, the bridges built by British, and
the rolling stock made in the United States, and,
to complete its cosmopolitan make-up, it is owned
by the Dominicans and operated by Americans.
Santiago, the inland terminus of this railway,
is an interesting and important town in the center
of the coffee and tobacco district and, with the
exception of the capital, is the largest city in the
republic, with a population of about forty-five
thousand. Originally founded in 1504, by thirty
Spanish gentlemen of noble birth, or "caballeros, "
from which fact the city took its name by special
permission of the king, Santiago has undergone
many vicissitudes in its four centuries of existence.
Sacked by pirates, fired by revolutionists, and the
storm center of innumerable battles, yet it still
remains a prosperous, wealthy, dignified old town.
Many of its inhabitants are far from being "ca
balleros" to-day, yet there are few of its leading
famUies who cannot trace their ancestry in un
broken line from the proud hidalgo founders of
the city, and in many a Santiago home are the
Toledo blades, the damascened armor, and other

SANTO DOMINGO, THE HISTORIC 183
warlike accouterments of forbears who sailed with
Columbus in his caravels.
Moreover, Santiago is a "white town," and while
many of its people are suspiciously brown yet there
is no hint of the "black republic." But, for that
matter, this term, as applied to the Spanish portion
of Santo Domingo, is a misnomer due to ignorance,
for, unlike Haiti, — which is black beyond words in
morals, history, and color of its people, — the
Dominican Republic is not even overwhelmingly
colored and, save in its coast towns, negroes are
in the minority and a large percentage of its people
are of purest CastiHan blood.
A wonderful eye for beauty and health did those
thirty long-dead Spanish gentlemen possess, for
they builded their city upon a high bluff overlook
ing the broad Yaqui River, in a spot blessed with a
healthy, delightful climate of everlasting spring.
Within its confines are three fine churches, a great
cathedral, a beautiful plaza, the governor's and
municipal palaces, an institute, and innumerable
massive, imposing residences, many of which have
remained unaltered for four hundred years.
All about Santiago gold occurs, and many of the
natives make an easy livelihood by washing out
dust and nuggets from the streams.
It was in this neighborhood that the Spaniards
first found gold in quantities. Thinking they
had discovered the long-sought, fabulous district

i84 THE WEST INDIES
of Cibao, the town of Santo Tomas was founded by
Columbus in 1494; and the Dons flocked to the new
land of promise by hundreds.
Many a vast fortune was made from the Cibao's
golden sands, and for many years a steady stream
of treasure flowed from Hispaniola into the coffers
of Spain. But to-day Santo Tomas is almost
forgotten, — an unimportant little town, — ^no ex
tensive mining operations are carried on, and yet
the treasure is still there and, even by crude, spo
radic, native methods, over six mllHon dollars'
worth of gold is annually taken from the Cibao
district. A short distance from Santiago, and connected
by railway, is the town of Moca, a city of thirty
thousand inhabitants and a "white town," with
the majority of its inhabitants of pure Castilian
descent, a spot famous for its coffee but other
wise of no great interest.
Beyond Puerto Plata an almost unbroken ex
panse of forest-covered mountains stretches to the
tip of Cape Cabras, and, rounding this, the ship
enters magnificent Samana Bay, perhaps the love
liest body of water in all the world.
Blue as the azure sky above, the placid lake-like
bay stretches into the heart of the land tUl lost in
the haze of distance. Thirty mUes in length and
ten miles in width is this great landlocked estuary,
dotted with wooded islets, bordered on the north

SANTO DOMINGO, THE HISTORIC 185
by lofty mountains rich with forests, and on the
south by low rolling land sweeping in vast plains
and conical hills to the southern coast of the island.
Sheltered from the winds, protected from the
waves, and deep enough for the largest ships,
Samana Bay affords a secure harbor wherein all
the na-vies of the world might He in safety, an
unequaled spot for a rendezvous and coaling sta
tion, a place of great strategic value and which
our Government once considered purchasing.
Soon after entering the bay, a tiny cove on the
northem shore is passed, a wild, deserted, jungle-
hidden spot, but famous in the annals of history,
for here a landing party, sent by Columbus, was
attacked by Indians and the first battle between
armed Europeans and naked savages occurred.
Gulfo de las Flechas (Bay of the Arrows) it is
called, in memory of this trifling skirmish which
sealed the doom of the aborigines of the Antilles.
Opposite this little bay, and several miles from
shore, an emerald islet breaks the surface of the
bay: a daintily pretty spot, some three mUes long
and a mile wide, rising from sno-wy coral beaches
to wooded hills. Cayo Levantado Is its name, and it
is a wonderfuUy interesting place for those in whose
veins rans a love for romance and tales of buc
caneers and buried treasure, for here the pirates
buUt a stronghold, — aU but impregnable, — from
which they defied Spain, France, and Britain alike.

l86 THE WEST INDIES
To-day, amid the overwhelming vegetation, one
may still see the ruined houses, water tanks, and
forts, all hewn from the solid living rock, but now
deserted, save by the clumsy pelicans which swarm
by thousands on the islet and rear their young in
peace upon the silent shores that once echoed to
the shouts of roistering freebooters, the maudlin
songs of drunken pirates, and the noise of de
bauchery and unbridled license.
From the loopholes, chiseled by prisoners under
the sting of the lash, traU flowering vines; great
forest trees have sprung from the crevices and in
their growth have riven asunder the walls that
laughed at shot and shell; the roofless houses,
where the pirates once made merry and gamed
away their blood-stained loot, are filled with rot
ting leaves and fallen limbs, and the cisterns, from
which the bold sea-rovers filled their water casks,
are choked with mold and great gnarled roots.
Who can say what treasures may not He hidden
in the islet's soil? Many a chest of golden dou
bloons and silver "pieces of eight" has been landed
on that sno-wy strip of sand, many a bale of shim
mering silk and cloth of gold has been tom open
and slashed In pieces with blood-stained cut
lasses, to deck ruffianly crews. There, in the
shade of the sea-grape trees, many a black-hearted
fiend has quaffed priceless wines In jeweled chal
ices from desecrated altars; up through the

SANTO DOMINGO, THE HISTORIC 187
branches of the very trees, that still rear their green
heights above the isle, have rung the screams of
ra-vished women and tortured men, and lazily
swinging to their moorings off the beach have
floated fleets of high-pooped ships with sides bris-
tHng with guns, whUe from their lofty slender
spars the Jolly Roger fluttered in the breeze
Ten miles from the entrance to the bay lies
Santa Barbara de Samana, a charmingly situated
town on the shores of a landlocked harbor and at
the base of lofty hills densely clothed with fruit
orchards, cocoa groves, and gardens.
Samana has been Spanish, French, Haitien,
American, and Dominican in tum, and at one
period of its existence was even an Independent
republic of diminutive proportions, and the inhabi
tants speak patois French and English as well as
Spanish. Indeed a large proportion can claim
English as their mother tongue, for they are de
scendants of colored folk from the United States,
who were brought out as laborers when Samana
was leased to an American company many years
ago. The San Juan Valley, a few mUes inland from
the town, is settled principally by these people who
are by far the most diligent workers and the best
agriculturists on the island. They are a prosper
ous, contented lot and still retain many of the
customs and manners of their forefathers, and state

i88 THE WEST INDIES
proudly that they are of "Yankee abstraction,"
while stUl funnier is their habit of referring to
their riding bulls as "bicycles."
Everywhere about the shores of Samana are
immense cocoanut groves and millions of the nuts
are shipped, but the most important crop is cocoa,
while large quantities of fruits and vegetables are
grown for the local markets and the visiting steam
ships, the Samana navel oranges and the huge
pineapples, often weighing twenty to twenty-
five pounds, being famous throughout the
republic. There are no large or Impressive buildings in the
town, the streets are mainly narrow, rough, and
merely bjrways, and the majority of the houses are
wooden shacks, but Samana can boast of several
important industries and possesses match and
soap factories, a chocolate factory, etc.
On the whole, however, it is of little interest, for
it Is of comparatively recent origin, as Is Sanchez,
the next port of call, sixteen miles from Samana,
at the head of the bay.
Sanchez is a curious, ragged little to-wn whose
only excuse for existing is that it is the tide-water
terminus of the Samana-La Vega Railway. It
is built upon two hills, — if the term "buUt" can
be applied to a place that appears to have been
dropped, like a handful of seeds, from above
and whose houses look as if they had found root

SANTO DOMINGO, THE HISTORIC 189
and had sprouted wherever they chanced to land
among the weeds and neglected vegetation.
A few houses — the residences of wealthy mer
chants and railway officials — are neat, well
painted, and sunounded with attractive grounds;
there is a large bare Church and a club-house on the
hUltop, and near the docks are numerous enormous
warehouses, large stores, and extensive machine
shops, as well as an immense customs-house and a
fine steel wharf. But outside of these, Sanchez
is a misdemeanor and Its streets are a felony, for
they are as crooked, steep, rough, and stony as the
bed of a mountain torrent, and in rainy weather
rivers of mud, and it rains most of the time in
Sanchez. Before the advent of the railway,
Sanchez was called Las Canltas, which means
"The Little Creeks," and any one who has essayed
to traverse the streets after a rain wUl agree that
the town was most appropriately named. Most of
the houses are ramshackle, down-at-the-heels,
out-at-elbows hovels, unpainted, weather-beaten,
and propped up on stUt-lIke posts to keep them
from sinking out of sight in the muck, for drainage
and sanitation are unheard-of luxuries and many
of the "grounds" are filthy morasses in which only
the pigs feel at home. In short, Sanchez exactly
fulfiUs the popular idea of a town in Santo Domingo
and which, by every right, belongs across the bor
der in Haiti.

190 THE WEST INDIES
But despite their slipshod, miserable apology
of a town the people of Sanchez are a hospitable,
pleasant, well-to-do lot. Many of the merchants
are very wealthy, many of their children have
been educated in Europe or the United States, and
their houses are luxuriously provided with the
most expensive cabinet work, the costliest pianos,
and the most lavish furnishings that money can
buy, while the women of the Sanchez "four hun
dred" wear the latest Parisian gowns, the most
ultra modes In millinery, and jewels worth fortunes.
Strange and Incongraous as such things appear to
the northerner, it is typical of Latin America, for
to the man of Spanish blood his home is literally
his castle — a community, a miniature kingdom in
itself. To its fastnesses he and his family retire as to
a stronghold, and what takes place outsideJiIs walls,
what the character of the surroundings, or who his
neighbors, are matters which do not concem him
in the least and which trouble him not at all.
The railway from Sanchez to La Vega, albeit
but sixty miles in length, cost an enormous sum,
and is poorly built and miserably equipped and
operated, but it carries an immense amount of
freight and many passengers and is of great im
portance, as It affords the only outlet for avast
area which otherwise would be almost completely
cut off from the outside world.
As the trains rarely exceeda speed of eight miles

SANTO DOMINGO, THE HISTORIC 191
an hour — -with the exception of the "special
express" trains which at times travel at the terrific
rate of fifteen miles — and as stops of an indefinite
time are made at every little village, estate, or
collection of huts, the railway affords the visitor
a splendid opportunity to view the country through
which it passes.
'; And it is most truly an interesting and worth
while joumey, its only drawback being that one
is compelled to spend a night In La Vega, which —
unless one Is inured to hardships and the rough
and seamy side of life or is prepared to forego all
comforts, luxuries, and many necessities — ^Is a fear
some thing to do, for La Vega's accommodations
for the stranger within its gates are primitive in
the extreme.
Close to Sanchez, the Bay of Samana culminates
in a vast mangrove swamp, stretching across to the
mouth of the Colorado River and covering an area
of over one hundred square miles, and within the
impassable, impenetrable security of this swamp
thousands of herons, egrets. Ibises, flamingos, and
other wild fowl flnd a safe refuge. For the flrst
nine or ten miles after leaving Sanchez the railway
crosses this swamp and then crawls forth onto
rolling, grassy savanna land varied by groves of
cocoa, islands of forest, and clumps of brush, and
cut by streams and rivers until It reminds one of a
jig-saw puzzle.

192 THE WEST INDIES
As the train proceeds, the patches of woods
become more scattered, great solitary trees tower
above the grassy prairies, and, far ahead, the inte
rior mountain ranges may be seen upon the horizon.
This is the grazing country, and everywhere are
herds of cattle and droves of horses, upon whose
backs perch sleek, dignified-looking blue and white
herons busUy gobbling the ticks and flies attracted
to their mounts.
Wider and wider become the prairies, fewer are
the hills and hollows until, on every hand, a vast
smooth sea of green stretches as far as eye can
see, lush as a New England meadow, dotted with
countless royal palms, and with here and there the
glint of flowing water shaded by gigantic, scarlet-
flowered trees. It is the Vega Real — the Royal
Plain — an enormous interior valley over one hun
dred miles in length and fifty miles in width and
fertile beyond belief. One might search the world
and not find a more beautiful and promising spot
for the agriculturist or colonist, or a lovelier place
in which to dwell. Marvelously rich, plentifully
watered. With a temperate climate, in which pota
toes, wheat, corn, and many other northem vege
tables and fruits grow to perfection, covered with
luxuriant grass and capable of supporting an im
mense population, yet this huge upland plain is
deserted and neglected, — a veritable waste. Here
and there a tiny hut stands In a little patch of culti-

SANTO DOMINGO, THE HISTORIC 193
vated land; a few scattered knots of cattle and
horses may be seen grazing knee-deep In the herb
age, and a lonely estancia or two stand out against
the green, but otherwise the land is as void of Hfe
and. industry as a desert.
At frequent Intervals, as the train rattles lazUy
inland from the coast, it draws up at wayside
stations, — mostly straggling, sun-baked dusters of
one-story houses, with a corrugated iron, box
like ticket and telegraph office, a big scale for
weighing cocoa, and dark stores, whose chief stock
in trade is a marvelous assortment of liquors,
and black, ebony-like sticks of the native perique
tobacco. But every station — no matter how small, how
isolated or God-forsaken — swarms with country
folk, every man or boy canying one or more fight
ing cocks under his arms. Cockfighting is the
national pastime, and, as at a moment's notice a
main may be in order, each male Dominican who
can buy, bonow, or steal a rooster, goes about in
readiness to pit his feathered champion against
all comers. As differences of opinion are liable to
arise and one never knows when some new aspir
ant for political fame or martial glory may sound
the call to arms, the Dominicans deem it but
wisdom to be ever ready for any"emergency which
may arise.
Surely, if preparedness speUed peace and pros-

194 THE WEST INDIES
perity, Santo Domingo would be the most peaceful
and prosperous of lands, for the natives are ardent
believers in the popular slogan and carry their
convictions to extremes. Many a man is seen with
two machetes, — one the ordinary type, the other
a long, keen-edged, scimitar-like weapon slung in
sheath from the shoulder, — a hea-vy revolver, a
wicked, dagger-like knife, and, for good measure, a
rifle or shotgun. And, in a way, the trath of the
preparedness creed is demonstrated, for, despite
the fact that most Dominicans are walking arsen
als, yet flghts and shooting and stabbing affrays
are far from common. Whether this is due to the
fact that it is no light matter to go about with a
chip on one's shoulder when everyone is equally
prepared for a fracas, whether it is because arms
and ammunition are so costly that the people can
not afford to waste them without good reason, or
whether the Dominicans are naturally of a peace-
loving disposition, I cannot say.
Whatever the reason, most of the blood-letting
is confined to the sporadic revolutions, and even
these seem more in the nature of games, for reliev
ing the tedium of uneventful lives, than serious
conflicts. There appears to be little or no real
animosity between the opposing factors, and I have
seen two men — who were "sniping" at one
another from the protection of trees on either side
of a highway — lay aside their arms, wave white

SANTO DOMINGO, THE HISTORIC 195
rags of truce and, advancing to a "neutral zone"
in the center of the road, smoke a cigarette of peace,
chat for a few moments, and then resume their
pot-shooting as nonchalantly as possible. Even
tually, their ammunition having been exhausted
without scoring bull's-eyes on either side, the two
warriors slouched off In the direction of the nearest
ram shop, apparently on the best of terms. Dur
ing the height of battle it is not unusual for the
opposing "armies" to lay aside all differences and
pose for a photographer and after the picture is
taken resume hostilities.
As a rule, the loss of life during an insunection
is very small, as compared to the number of com
batants and the amount of powder bumed, for
although the Dominicans fight viciously and with
conspicuous bravery at times, yet they are exe
crable shots and miserably drilled and equipped.
But for all their comic-opera attributes the revolu
tions have been the curse of the Island and have
kept it where it is to-day. Now that our own
govemment supervises the elections, supports the
legally appointed authorities, suppresses the re
volts, and disarms the natives of the republic, it
is to be hoped that insurrections are a thing of the
past and that the Dominicans will devote more of
their time to the arts of peace and give less atten
tion to war.
When the inhabitants of the island discard their

196 THE WEST INDIES
guns and take up the hoe, when they leam to
handle the machete as an agricultural implement
with the same dexterity as they now wield it as a
sword, then, and not till then, wUl dawn an era
of prosperity and progress which wiU lift Santo
Domingo to the place it merits.
At the edge of the Vega Real, where the great
plain joins the foothills. Is La Vega. Behind it
rise ranges dark with vast forests of long-leafed
pine and at its feet flows the broad and winding
Camu River. It Is a lovely situation, with a cool
and healthy climate, for the town is three hundred
feet above the sea, but La Vega, for all its natural
advantages, is neither pleasant nor healthy.
It is miserably neglected, its wide straight streets
are rough, full of holes and litter; many of its
houses are tumbling about their occupants' ears,
and cleanliness and sanitation are conspicuous by
their absence. The surroundings of many of the
buildings in the poorer sections of the city are
unspeakably filthy, and as the river serves for a
laundry, a sewer for the slaughter house, a dump
ing place for slops and garbage, and a source of
drinking water for the people, it is not at all sur
prising that La Vega suffers from fearful epidemics
of typhoid.
The pretty little plaza, -with its fine public
buUdings and immense cathedral out of all pro
portion to the number of inhabitants (about 5000),

SANTO DOMINGO, THE HISTORIC 197
is the redeeming feature of the place, but there
are also many large and handsome residences, a
very picturesque city gate, some creditable monu
ments and statues, a boys' college, and several
sawmills. On the whole, however, there is little
enough to attract the -visitor to La Vega, although
near at hand are some most interesting and his
toric spots.
The most important of these is the original
settlement of La Vega, known as La Vega la Vieja,
and which was founded by Columbus in 1495.
It soon became an important and thriving town,
but was destroyed by an earthquake in 1564 and
was deserted for the present town site. To-day,
crumbling rains mark the ancient town, and here
the -visitor may dig up old coins, bits of armor and
Toledo blades. In fact, "mining" these old Spanish
swords is quite an industry among the "paisanos"
or country folk, and the ancient weapons, which
helped carve the glory of Old Spain, are often
seen doing duty as machetes in the hands of the
Dominicans. About two miles from the deserted old settle
ment, and about six miles from the present town
of La Vega, stands the Santo Cerro or Holy Hill,
a spot greatly reverenced by the natives on account
of a miracle which is reputed to have taken place
in 1494.
It was on the summit of the hill, which rises

198 THE WEST INDIES
six hundred feet above the plain, that Columbus
sat at ease beneath a spreading sapodilla tree and
watched his mail-clad Spaniards butcher the help
less Indians while, to vary the spectacle, huge
bloodhounds were set upon the natives and with
blood-dripping teeth tore naked savages to pieces.
With their customary habit, of giving all credit for
their inhuman victories to an over-patient God,
Columbus and his companions erected a cross upon
the hlU to commemorate the slaughter wrought,
and also as a reminder to the aborigines of the
power of the Christian faith.
No sooner were the Spaniards safely out of sight
and peace once more settled down upon the blood-
drenched plain than the remnant of the Indians
hurried towards the cross to destroy and revile it.
And little can they be blamed, for to them the
cross was but the sign of slavery, torture, fire, and
sword, and good grounds had they to hate the em
blem of Christianity.
But, as the persecuted natives came near the
summit of the hill, a female figure descended from
the skies and stood upon the arms of the great
cross. Thinking, no doubt, that the apparition
was but another of their white murderers, the
Indians shot arrows and hurled stones. To their
amazement, the calm figure remained undisturbed
by the missiles passing through her body, and then,
as It dawned upon them that 'twas no fiesh and

SANTO DOMINGO, THE HISTORIC 199
blood which stood before them, but a celestial
-visitor, the savages feU upon the earth in adoration.
To-day a fragment of the cross lies enshrined in the
great cathedral of the capital, while upon the spot
where it once stood a church has been erected, to
which the faithful make pilgrimages from many
leagues around, often climbing from base to summit
of the hill on hands and knees.
Even without the romantic, historic incident of
the cross, a visit to the famous spot is well repaid
by the -view from the summit of the hill.
From here one looks forth upon the richest por
tion of the great Royal Plain, a vast carpet of
green, cut by the silvery threads of winding rivers,
dotted with tiny huts and gardens of plantains
and bananas, broken by groves of cocoa and coffee,
fields of maize and tobacco,, orchards of fruit
trees and countless royal palms, while everywhere
the scarlet, flamboyant trees blaze, Hke flaming
pyres, against the sea of verdure, which stretches,
north, southeast, and west, illimitable, magnificent,
beautiful as a dream, to the blue and shimmering
mountain ranges.
Southward from Samana Bay, around Engano
Point, — with Mona rising bare and forbidding
against the filmy, cloud-like wraiths of Porto
Rico's mountains, — the ship steams from San
chez to Macoris.
Macoris — or more properly, San Pedro de

200 THE WEST INDIES
Macoris, to avoid confusion with San Francisco
de Macoris, an interior town on the La Vega rail
way — is an important port in the midst of the rich
sugar district of the island.
The town is several miles from the sea on the
Higuano River, and here the ships moor to com
modious, well-buUt docks over which the sugar
from the estates Is hauled to the vessels' sides
on narrow-gauge steam railways. Macoris is
a flourishing city buUt on land as level as a
floor, and, In every direction, there is little to be
seen save the flat Uanuras covered with cane and
above which tower the tall chimneys of the big
sugar mills. The town is well kept, progressive,
and has a neat, self-respecting appearance, in
pleasant contrast to Sanchez and La Vega, but it
is very hot, dry, and dusty.
The streets are wide and smooth, the houses are,
as a rule, well built, and the little puffing locomo
tives hauling long trains of laden cars, the tugs
towing the big lighters up and down the river, and
the steam dredges and the extensive docks lined
with huge warehouses, give the place a very busy,
bustling appearance.
The observant visitor to Santo Domingo cannot
faU to be attracted by the great numbers of royal
palms that are seen everywhere. Highly orna
mental, with their great dark-green crowns sup
ported on ivory-white trunks, these palms give

SANTO DOMINGO, THE HISTORIC 201
an intensely tropical touch to the landscape and
are, perhaps, the most stately of trees. But they
are even more useful than ornamental and to the
natives serve almost as many purposes as the
reindeer to the Laplander. The tender heart of
the buds is delicious, either cooked or eaten raw
like salad, and is known as "palm cabbage"
throughout the West Indies. The dried sheets,
stripped from the outer portion of the bud, are
known as "Yagua," which is used in making bales
for tobacco and other products and also as shingles
and clapboards for houses. The leaves also make
excellent thatch, as well as bedding and window
shutters, and the trunks are split Into boards. It
is not uncommon to see many houses, even entire
villages, which are built wholly from the royal
palms without a single naU being used in their
construction. Westward from Macoris about forty miles is the
capital, — historic, ancient Santo Domingo City, —
the oldest existing European city in America. At
the mouth of the Ozama River, upon a high rocky
bluff, stands the Homenaje, a great stone fortress,
with its Moorish tower looming high above all else,
and its dull-red walls seeming to form a portion of
the cliff on which they rest and whose jagged angles
and every fissure they foUow. Like a grim-visaged,
red-faced, battle-scarred old campaigner it stands
above the nanow river mouth and, to one looking

202 THE WEST INDIES
upon it for the first time, it seems unreal, a vision of
the past, as much out of place in our modem world
as a helmeted halberdier amid a company of khaki-
clad soldiery armed with magazine rifles. But it
is thoroughly In keeping with the town over
which it has stood guard for four long centuries
and more.
Within Its windowless tower tradition has it
that Columbus was imprisoned, but history proves
otherwise, for the great navigator languished in
chains In Santo Domingo In 1500, nine years before
the Homenaje was built, and he was conflned in a
smaller fortress on the opposite bank of the river.
To-day, only ruins mark the spot of the original
settlement and the prison of Columbus, which,
erected in 1496 by Bartholomew Columbus, was
abandoned after being partially destroyed by a
hurricane In 1502.
Slowly the ship steams between the two ancient
historic piles — the shores so close one could toss
a stone onto dry land on either side — and enters
the broader river beyond, where, stretching for a
mile or more along the bank, is the most famous
city of old new Spain.
And as one gazes shoreward as the ship moors
to the docks beside the new and modem customs-
house, centuries seem to have rolled back to reveal
a scene out of the dim, forgotten past.
Rounded domes of ancient type, quaint masonry

SANTO DOMINGO, THE HISTORIC 203
cupolas, slender towers, and tiled roofs rise against
the sky above the city wall. Pink, yellow, and blue
houses crowd every space, some with overhanging
balconies, terraced sides, and loopholed battle
ments about their roofs, and some with water-
gates, and all mellowed, softened, ripened with
four hundred years of blazing tropic sun and
drenching tropic rains.
To some the town gives the impression of decay,
dilapidation, even squalor, and it has been de
scribed as a "city out at elbows and whose chief
thoroughfare Is a way of ruts, pits, and trenches
inlaid with rubbish and proclaiming the last scenes
of the 'Rake's Progress.'"
But this is an exaggeration, the pessimistic view
of one who must have seen the city after a siege
of seasickness or during a severe attack of indiges
tion. He who looks for the picturesque and an
cient, the romance of the past and scenes linked
with the conquest of the New World, will find this
"proud and goodly-builded city" so full of charm,
of Interest, and of wonders that Its failures, its
shortcomings, and its faults wiU be forgotten, over
looked, unnoticed.
There is no denying that the city is far from
clean, that many a one-time water gate and loop-
holed terrace are now but dumps for garbage;
that many a mosaic-paved, colonnaded patio serves
as a lumber yard or stable; that massive doors.

204 TFIE WEST INDIES
thick studded with great bronze naUs and ornate
hinges, are placarded with handbills; that tiny
shacks and miserable hovels lean drunkenly against
walls from whose summit the soldiers of CastUe
strove to beat back the hordes of Drake and Mor
gan, and that within roofless cloisters are herded
horses, goats, and cattle. But we should not judge
the Dominicans too harshly for their neglect and
their disregard of priceless rains of past magnifi
cence and grandeur. Familiarity breeds contempt ;
to those who have been born and reared for genera
tions amid such scenes they are of little mterest and
no value, and in our own colony of Porto Rico
wonderful ruins have been sacrificed with utter
disregard of their historic value. City walls have
been torn down to give way to trolley tracks,
vaulted underground passages have been filled In
to provide public dumping grounds, ancient lan
tern-like sentry boxes have been torn ruthlessly
from their bastions and thrown into rubbish heaps,
while the battle-scarred, wonderful San Juan gate
is an eyesore with patent-medicine advertisement
and announcements of motion-picture shows.
And now to return to Santo Domingo. Directly
above the docks stands an immense black ruin,
a structure with the form of a palace and the solid
ity of a fortress, and In its time it served the dual
purpose of both. This is the House of Columbus,
the one time residence of the Admiral's son, Diego,

THE GATE IN CITY WALL, SAN DOMINGO

HOMENAJE TOWER, SAN DOMINGO

SANTO DOMINGO, THE HISTORIC 205
who, as viceroy of the island, builded his house on
such massive lines and fortified it so strongly with
parapets, culverins, and cannon that the King of
Spain became alarmed and commanded the
viceroy to set sail for Spain forthwith to explain
his actions.
To the right, and near the water's edge, a seamed,
gnarled, half -dead old ceiba tree struggles to keep
green its few remaining branches. It is a disrepu
table old tree of gigantic girth, but revered by
the people, for to it, so tradition says, were moored
the caravels of Christopher Columbus. Whether
or not the hawsers of the Admiral's ships were ever
made fast to this identical tree may never be
definitely established, but the ceiba is surely old
enough to have served such a purpose, and there
is no valid reason to doubt the tale.
Near it is an enormous stone cistern, the Colum
bus Well, which has served as a water tank for
four hundred years at least, and which, if not
actually associated with the discoverer of America,
was there when he passed to and from the docks,
and no doubt his men filled their casks from it in
preparation for the long voyage back to Spain from
this wonderful land of Hispaniola.
Up from the docks a steeply sloping street leads
to the huge arched gateway in the city waU, — the
same massive wall, twenty feet or more in thick
ness and which completely encircles the city, —

2o6 THE WEST INDIES
which defended the town from its foes for centuries.
The gaping wounds upon its perpendicular face,
the rents In its coping, the cracks and shattered
stones, now half-veiled by creepers and vines,
may have been made by the shot and shell of
Drake, of Hawkins, or of Morgan, for many a can
nonading, many an assault has it withstood, and
still it stands, as defiant, as complete, as strong,
as when first erected near half a thousand years
ago. And as we approach the gateway and pass be
neath the arms of Castile and Leon, carven in the
keystone, we half expect a mail-clad sentinel to
step from the shadow of the arch and bar our way
with pike or halberd. But the only sentry is a
sleepy colored lad, clad In blue denim, his obsolete
carbine leaning against the waU behind him, a
machete across his lap, and with drooping cigarette
between his lips, »ftrho is snoring in the shade and
dreaming blissfully of winning a prize in the next
drawing of the lottery.
Beyond the gate we pass between the ruined
walls of the Columbus Palace on the right and the
huge, white, modern government buUdings, — glar
ingly contrasting with the time-softened Moorish
citadel beyond, — and through a well-paved street
reach the Plaza Colon.
Here, in the center of a little park filled "with
flowering shrubs, trees, and palms, is a splendid

SANTO DOMINGO, THE HISTORIC 207
bronze statue of Columbus, with outstretched arm
ever pointing westward ; but somewhat marred and
rendered theatrical by the figure of a nude Indian
maiden in the attitude of inscribing a tablet lauda
tory of the discoverer. As the female figure is
supposed to represent Queen Anacaona, who was
treacherously hanged by Govemor Ovando and
whose helpless subjects were ruthlessly butchered
by thousands, it is difficult to imagine why she
should express any sentiments, other than undying
hatred, towards him who brought the ruthless
Spaniards to her fair and peaceful land.
About two sides of the plaza are busy stores and
balconied residences, which seem transplanted
bodily from Meditenanean shores; on the third
side stand the really splendid Congressional build
ings, and on the fourth, directly behind the statue,
are the massive walls, the tUed roofs, and the
enormous dome of the great cathedral.
An entire square and more it covers, rambling,
more like a fortress than a place of worship, and
bearing the unmistakable imprint of great age
in every Hne and time-blackened stone of its
stracture. Commenced in 1 514 and completed in 1540,
the cathedral is by no means the oldest building
in Santo Domingo, but it is by far the most in
teresting and the most historic, for within its dim
interior repose the mortal remains of Columbus.

208 THE WEST INDIES
Space forbids a detailed discussion of the wan
derings of the admiral's bones, from the time the
great Genoese passed away in Valladolid, Spain,
until they found a last resting-place within the
cathedral in the land he loved so well. That the
supposed remains removed to Havana in 1765, and
later taken to Spain when the Spaniards evacuated
Cuba, were those of Diego Columbus and not of his
father, is a well conceded fact, and the authenticity
of the Santo Domingo bones has been satisfactorily
established by the researches of the ItaHan Gov
ernment as well as our own. Guarded by two
couchant lions, surmounted by a magnificent monu
ment of Italian marble and within an omamental
um, is the leaden casket, with its Inscription In
quaint old Spanish: "Discoverer of America, First
Admiral and Illustrious and Famous Don Chris
tobal Colon. ' ' But without the monumental tomb,
without the ashes of him who "gave unto Castile
and Leon a New World," the cathedral would be
vastly Interesting, for it is a thing of medieval
days, a structure such as will never be buUt again,
a relic of the days when the Church was the
mightiest power in the world. Within its confines
might be housed the population of a small city,
for It is a building so vast that beneath its groined
roof are more than a dozen chapels, in each of
which Mass might be held at one and the same
time without disturbing the other worshipers.

TOMB OF COLUMBUS, SAN DOMINGO

SANTO DOMINGO, THE HISTORIC 2og
A day might well be spent within the cathedral,
for there is much to see and it is a veritable treasure
house of old Spanish art, priceless jeweled oma
ments of solid gold, wonderful carvings and paint
ings by the old masters. The high altar is faced
with sheets of beaten silver from the island's
mines and is decorated with gold. There Is a
famous "Door of Pardon," wherein the fleeing
criminal, who reaches the portal, may claim safety
and a pardon. In the Capilla Alta Gracia rest the
bones of Oviedo, the greatest historian of Spanish
conquest in America. There are paintings pre
sented to the cathedral by Ferdinand and Isabella,
and brought over seas by Columbus, and paintings
by Velasquez, as well as a Virgin by MurUlo. In
the Chapel of San Francisco there is a huge cross
of mahogany, nine feet In height and rudely hewn,
the first cross erected on the site of the cathedral
and bearing date of 15 19. Peace reigns within the
dim aisles of the cathedral to-day, but time was
when the tiled floors were crowded with grave-faced
men, weeping women, and frightened children,
when the cries of infants, the wails of women, and
the groans of wounded men drowned the prayers
of priests and the chant of friars; when the nanow
windows were reddened with the glare of flames
as Drake and his buccaneers pUlaged, sacked, and
bumed the town. Experts at destraction that they
were, yet the English invaders found old Santo
14

2IO THE WEST INDIES
Domingo a difficult nut to crack. They took it
by a clever ruse, it is trae, they kUled, robbed,
looted, and destroyed to their hearts' content, but
they made but little impression on the town as a
whole. Heaven alone knows what priceless paint
ings, what marvelous works of art, what wonderful
furnishings they destroyed for the mere wanton
pleasure of destraction. Their chronicler, Thomas
Gates, mentions the richness of the furniture, the
number of the paintings, and the luxuriance of
hangings and tapestries that helped to feed the
flames, but he also adds that "the houses being
very magnificently buUt of stone gave us no small
travail to ruin them," and he owns, with deep
regret, that, despite the raiders' most dUigent
attempts, less than one third of the town was
destroyed. Convinced that to hold the place
would be hopeless, and no doubt fearing to be
caught, like a rat in a trap, by the arrival of the
Spanish fleet, Drake at last agreed to accept a
ransom and leave the town in peace. With twenty-
five thousand ducats (about $35,000) in his
pockets the venturesome Englishman sailed away
to more promising fields, but he left behind a
memento of his visit, a cannon ball in the roof of
the cathedral, which stUl remains there to this day.
The oldest church in Santo Domingo is San
Nicolas, built in 1508 and founded by no less a
personage than bloody old Govemor Ovando, who

SANTO DOMINGO, THE HISTORIC 211
hanged the Indian Queen Anacaona and put untold
thousands of the Indians to torture and the sword.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, this Ill-tem
pered old hidalgo made no pretense of maltreating
the aborigines for Christianity's sake, but kUled
for the mere joy of killing and, not confining him
self to the natives, browbeat and oppressed every
one with whom he had deahngs, not excepting
Columbus and his brother.
He must have possessed a conscience, however,
for, before he died, he repented of his villainous
ways and, to prove his sincerity perhaps, erected
the church with its beautiful groined roof, which
Is about all that remains intact to-day.
Wherever one goes about the city are ancient
churches, some In rains, some still in use, and
all replete with historic Interests and associa
tions. Largest of all is San Francisco, a dominant struc
ture on an eminence back of the Columbus House
and rising above all else. Little more than its
walls and pillars remain and yet the immense
stone arches are stUl intact and span the roofless
Interior, a splendid tribute to the long dead and
forgotten artisans who built it. Beneath the
tangled weeds and grass is a tessellated pavement,
and under the great altar Bartholomew Columbus
was buried, while at the entrance, "In humility,
that all who enter may place their feet above my

212 THE WEST INDIES
head," rests Ojeda, fellow voyager and bosom
friend of Christopher Columbus.
San Miguel, dating from 1520, San Anton, La
Merced, Regina, and Santa Clara are aU worthy
of a visit, while, most beautiful of all, is Santa
Barbara, ancient, quaint, crudely primitive, but
still in daily use and perfect condition.
But most interesting of all is Santo Domingo,
erected in 1509 and still an impressive, well pre
served edifice. Upon a serpent carved in native
wood is the pulpit, the altar is beautiful, and there
are marvelously carved reredos, while beneath the
foot-worn flooring lies many an old don and
mailed grandee of Old Spain. Here, in connec
tion with the church, was the first university In
America, a college under the direction of gentle,
peace-loving, kind-hearted Las Casas. Ever he
strove to win his fellow countrymen from the ruth
less slaughter of the Indians; he gave his Hfe to
aid the helpless aborigines of the New World, and
yet he found time to write the only reliable history
of Columbus's voyages, and here, in Santo Domingo
University, he taught a century and more before
the coming of the Mayflower.
To-day the walls of the college are in ruins, the
names of those who studied within it are forgotten,
but ever, in the annals of the bloody days of the
Conquest of America, the name of Las Casas wUl
stand forth, a bright and shining light amid the

SANTO DOMINGO, THE HISTORIC 213
black turmoil of craelty, bigotry, greed, and murder
that swept the New World with fire and sword.
Westward from the capital and seventy miles
distant is Azua, the last port of call at which the
steamers touch, and an important town in a vast
sugar-producing district.
Founded by Diego Velasquez, conqueror of
Cuba, in 1504, Azua was first situated three or four
miles to the south of the present town, but was
moved because of repeated earthquakes. To-day
it is a desolate, uninteresting spot, but full of
historic memories, and, If ghosts walk, the streets
of Azua must be filled with a brave array of spirits
of long dead hidalgos, for here dwelt Hernando
Cortez, Pizarro, Balboa, and many another dis
coverer and conquistador whose names are familiar
to every schoolchild. HAITI
He who has traveled through the Dominican
Republic, or who has skirted its shores, wUl have
been disillusioned as to the popular idea of the
island; but there is another side to the picture, the
ugly, black, repulsive side known as Haiti.
Strangely enough, although the two republics oc
cupy the same Island and are separated only by an
Imaginary boundary line, much of which is im
passable forest, untrod mountains, or unsettled

214 THE WEST INDIES
plains, yet the two are as distinct as if on different
continents. On the one side, the people, language, customs,
manners, and ways are Spanish ; foreign capital is
welcomed; the natives are hospitable, courteous,
and — could they stop fighting among themselves
— progressive. Across the border they are back
ward, averse to improvement or civilization and
look with suspicion and hatred on every stranger
and aU members of the white race, and, in speech,
manners, and names are French.
In the Dominican Republic a large proportion
of the inhabitants are white, few are black, and,
by the widest stretch of the Imagination, it could
not be classed as more than a light-brown republic.
In Haiti, on the other hand, the majority are the
blackest of the black, there are no whites, — save
the few foreigners who are so unfortunate as to
reside there for business or other necessary reasons,
— and light-colored folk are in the minority.
To go from Haiti into the Dominican Republic
is, as one traveler expressed it, "like coming out
of a tunnel into sunlight, " and he who travels from
the Dominican Republic to Haiti will feel as if he
had been thrown from the fresh, sunlit air of
day into a noisome pit as dark as night. No one
¦visits Haiti for pleasure more than once, no one
stops there longer than is necessary; and yet it is
a rich and lovely land, even more fertUe and

SANTO DOMINGO, THE HISTORIC 215
luxuriant than its neighboring republic if that be
possible, and, under other conditions, would be
idyllic. But its cities are crimes, its streets mudholes,
its ports pestholes, and its people little more than
savages. And this despite the fact that in past
days its towns were beautiful, its buildings mag
nificent, its boulevards splendid, and its roads
perfect, while among its sons it has numbered men
of such genius and fame as Alexander Dumas,
who was a native of Jeremie.
It is a living example, an indisputable proof,
that the negro is unfit to rale, incompetent to
govem, incapable of progress, and sure to revert
to barbarism, slothfulness, and savagery if left to
himself. And this Is no reflection upon the negro
race. The trouble Is we expect too much from our
black brothers. We forget that they are but a
few generations from jungle-reared savages, that
the negro to-day bears somewhat the same rela
tion to ourselves as did our skin-clad ancestors to
the conquering Romans when they invaded Britain.
Under proper conditions, under a wise, just, flrm,
and powerful guiding hand, the negro prospers and
develops, as witness the British islands, where
many of the African race rise to affiuence and
prominence. But even there, with every advan
tage and encouragement, where no racial prejudice
exists, the majority of the colored race never rise

2i6 THE WEST INDIES
above the state of laborers, with no ambition, no
intelligence, no desire for betterment. Their aim
in life is to do as little as possible to keep soul and
body together, to bask In the sun, munch sugar
cane, and spend their days in Idleness, rags, and
ease. Their point of view is that of primitive
man, the limits of their horizon are bounded by
rum, food, and warmth, and morality never enters
their minds, if indeed they know the meaning of
the word. Despite all their faults they are peace
able, law-abiding, and respectful as a rule, and in
most cases honest, — save when it comes to help
ing themselves to fruit, garden truck, or food. In
many of the islands a case of murder, assault,
highway robbery, rape, or burglary has never been
known, and one may travel in perfect safety and
security everjrwhere, while a white woman may
go where and when she pleases without the re
motest danger of molestation or even insult.
But such is not the case In Haiti. Here the
shortcomings, the faUures, the savage instincts of
the blacks have been fed and fostered for centuries.
From untamed jungles they were brought In reek
ing, pest-ridden slave-ships to serve beneath the
lash. Debased, untaught, they rose, and, in a
resistless wave of black, swept the dominating
whites from the land. Then were loosened aU the
pent-up hatred, the undying lust for revenge, the
suppressed savagery of the African races, and

SANTO DOMINGO, THE HISTORIC 217
slaughter, rapine, incendiarism, torture, and de
bauchery stalked naked through the stricken land.
Led by the more cunning, and no less savage,
mulattoes, the negroes spared neither young nor
old, man nor woman, and committed crimes and
outrages beyond the power of Imagination. Then,
to retaliate, the French also mutUated, flayed,
roasted, and tortured, and whites and blacks strove
to outdo one another in the devUishness of the
atrocities committed until, from end to end of
Haiti, was naught but burning cities, rivers crim
soned with blood, streets choked with corpses, and
the wails and groans of the wounded, the tortured,
and the dying. And when at last the awful
carnage was ended, when pestilence had come to
aid the blacks in driving the last white from the
fair island, can we wonder that the civilization of
the past, the years of prosperity and progress, were
forgotten, that the Haltiens — steeped in blood,
gorged with kiUIngs, aflame with -victory — relapsed
into the ways of their ancestors, that many of
them took to the "bush" to live as primitively as
their forbears in the jungle, that intrigue after
intrigue, revolution after revolution, murder after
murder have made up Haiti's history, or that
to-day Voodooism and Obeah hold sway ahd in
credible things happen in the outlying districts?
The only wonder Is that any vestige of civiliza
tion remains, that there is the semblance of rule,

2i8 THE WEST INDIES
of industry, of order, in the republic, and
that Haiti is not far blacker than it has been
painted. Much has been said of the weird, mysterious
rites of Voodoo and Obeah in Haiti, many false
hoods have been told and many traths denied, but
that both Voodooism and Obeah are prevalent
there is no denying.
But these things are by no means confined to
Haiti. They are rampant in all the islands where
the negro race predominates, especially in the
French colonies and the British colonies that were
once French. There is a vast difference between
Obeah and Voodooism, however, — although most
people confuse the two and have but a vague idea
of the real meaning of either term. Voodooism is
a religion brought over with the negro slaves from
Africa, a form of De-vil worship, in which the
principal deity is the Great Green Serpent who is
represented by a high priest and priestess known
as "Papa Loi" and "Maman Loi." In its most
fanatical form, Voodooism requires human sacri
fices, which are accompanied by cannibalistic
feasts and unspeakable orgies, but it is doubtful if
in any of the islands, with the possible exception
of the interior of Haiti, It Is carried to such ex
tremes. As a rule, even in Haiti, the "goat with
out horns" — as the devotees call the child to be
sacrificed — Is replaced by a young kid, but even

SANTO DOMINGO, THE HISTORIC 219
in this modified form it is a most debasing, dis
gusting, savage institution.
Obeah, on the other hand, is merely witchcraft,
"with no religious significance whatever, and which,
in its most malignant form, consists of poisoning
with de-vUIsh ingenuity, and, in its commonest and
least virulent form, amounts merely to a lot of
nonsense, hocus-pocus, and mummery. But, to
the negroes, Obeah is a very real and awful thing
and the Obeah Men and Women, or "Witch
Doctors, " are beings of supematural power and
persons to be dreaded and propitiated.
Such a firm hold has Obeah upon the people,
that many of them actually are killed by fright
produced by the "spells" of the Obeah Men.
And the belief in Obeah is not confined to the
lower classes, or the ignorant laborers, for many
merchants and planters — even officials — who are
inteUigent, well-to-do, educated men, are as firm
beUevers in Obeah as the most superstitious peas
ants and they would not dream of undertaking
any serious matter without first consulting their
favorite Obeah Man or Woman.
The worst phase of this nonsensical, ridiculous,
despicable black art is the fact that. In order to
produce the most powerful of their "charms" and
nostrams, the Obeah Men must employ certain
parts of human beings, and to procure them they
often kidnap and murder children.

220 THE WEST INDIES
Every effort has been made by the authorities
to suppress Obeah in the islands. Men and women
are convicted, fined, and imprisoned constantly for
practicing the art, and executions are not unusual
when murder can be proved, but stiU it thrives and
holds full sway, for, to the negroes, such attempts
to stamp out Obeah prove its genuineness. As one
prominent West Indian merchant put it, "There
must be something in it if the Govemment tries
to stop it. " And, incredible as it may seem, there
is something in it, for it Is an indisputable fact
that many of the Obeah Men and Women possess
strange, incomprehensible powers — hypnotic may
be — but inexplicable, and, to the natives, super
natural. Many such happenings have come under
my personal observation; reliable and truthful
Englishmen and white West Indians can vouch for
many others, and volumes might be written on the
unsolved mysteries and absolutely baffling oc
currences which have taken place, and stUl take
place, where Obeah is practiced.
Despite the deplorable condition of Haiti, de
spite the depths to which the country and its
people have fallen, yet there is much to be seen in
the republic; but distance lends enchantment to
the view most literally, and if you would -visit
Haiti, by all means confine your trips ashore to
the hours of daylight and live and sleep aboard
ship.

SANTO DOMINGO, THE HISTORIC 221
Port-au-Prince, the capital and largest city, is a
town of some seventy thousand inhabitants on the
western coast. With every natural advantage of
situation,; climate, and a splendid harbor, yet Port-
au-Prince is a dirty, wretched, forlorn city. Its
once beautiful buildings are semi-ruins surrounded
by squalid huts; the splendidly laid-out streets and
squares are filled with holes, pools of stagnant
water and festering garbage, and ebony-hued
negroes and negresses add a touch of opera-bouffe
appearance to the scene by driving and promenad
ing the sorry thoroughfares dressed in the latest
European fashions, -with all the lavish display so
dear to the heart of the African.
There are a few good buildings in the town,
among them the National Palace, where the gor
geously uniformed negro who chances to fill the
office of president holds sway. Fronting the palace
Is an unkempt field, known as the Champ de Mars,
and near at hand Is the huge cathedral wherein
the images of the Saints, and even the Virgin, are
painted bro-wn and black to match the predominat
ing hue of the republic.
Many of the stores are large and well stocked,
the offices of the consuls, the steamship companies,
and the foreign merchants are clean, well kept, and
attractive, and there are several quite imposing
buildings, such as the churches, the National
Foundry, and the schools, for, strangely enough.

222 THE WEST INDIES
Haiti, with all Its shortcomings, Is alive to the im
portance of education, and schools are numerous.
Port-au-Prince possesses tram-car lines and a
railway extends from the city into the interior,
while the streets literally teem with Ucensed cabs
or "busses," which are a necessity rather than a
luxury, for, to traverse the rough and filthy
streets afoot, is like a joumey through purgatory.
Few of the well-to-do Haltiens, or foreign mer
chants, of Port-au-Prince dwell in the town, but,
instead, make their homes at La Coupe, a beauti
fully situated suburb about five miles from the
city and at an elevation of 1200 feet above the
sea, and which is well kept, attractive, and with
many really fine residences.
Westward along the TIburon Peninsula lies
Miragoane, at the edge of a mountainous district
and in the midst of a rich coffee and logwood
section. Still farther west Is Jeremie, — famous as the
birthplace of Alexander Dumas the elder, — a
sugar and coffee port, as well as the outlet of a
wonderfully fertile but neglected district.
On the southern coast of the TIburon Peninsula
are Aux Cayes and Jacmel, the first an important
port for sugar, coffee, dyewoods, etc., and the latter
of interest mainly as an example of the depths to
which a beautifully situated to-wn can descend
when under the irresponsible rale of the black race.

SANTO DOMINGO, THE HISTORIC 223
North of the capital, at the foot of the slope of
the Atribonite Valley, is Saint Marc, a location of
marvelous scenic beauties, but which figures in
Haitien annals principally as the frequent battle
ground of warring political factions, and the visitor
who passes it by at a distance -will lose nothing of
interest thereby.
Farther north on the same bay Is Gonaives,
commercially important for Its mahogany, log
wood, and agricultural products, whUe still farther
north, around the tip of the peninsula and within
sixty miles of Cuba, is Mole St. Nicholas, with the
famous pirate stronghold of Tortuga just off the
coast. Opposite this great island is the town of
Port-de-Paix, a fairly fiourishing port as Haitien
ports go, and just beyond is Acul, a spot so replete
with natural beauties that Columbus named it
Val de Paralso or "The Vale of Paradise. "
The last of Haiti's towns upon the northern coast
is Cape Haitien, commonly known as "The Cape. "
In former days a center of such wealth, luxury,
and elegance that it was called "Little Paris, " Cape
Haitien to-day, has become a ramshackle city of
hovels which have sprung up, like repulsive fungus
growths, from the decaying ruins of former
grandeur. Near Cape Haitien is the famous Black King's
Castle and the Palace of Sans SoucI; the former
the most remarkable structure in the West Indies.

224 THE WEST INDIES
The Black King, Christophe, was a personage
scarcely less remarkable than his castle. A
negro "general" of the insunectionists, Christophe
and his followers were in possession of Cape Haitien
when attacked by the French under General
Leclerc, and deeming discretion the better part of
valor, he fired the town and retreated with his
"army" to the forest-covered hUls. But this was
by no means the last to be heard of him, for in
1811 he proclaimed himself King of Haiti, assum
ing the title of "King Henry I, " honoring his black
wife with the title of "Queen," and creating a
brand-new black nobiUty consisting of Princes of
the Royal Blood, three Princes of the Elingdom,
eight Dukes, twenty Counts, thirty-seven Barons,
and eleven Chevaliers, every one of whom had
either been a slave or was the descendant of a
slave. Sunounded by this comic-opera court Chris
tophe reigned with all the pomp and ceremony of a
true sovereign, with nine palaces, eight chateaux,
innumerable horses and carriages of state, a smaU
army of retainers, and an immense bodyguard.
At the head of the Millot Valley the remains of
his most imposing palace still stand in the most
beautiful of settings. Scarcely more than a skele
ton, overgrown -with jungle, yet its impressive
size testifies to its one-time magnificence. Here,
surrounded by every luxury and beauty his

SANTO DOMINGO, THE HISTORIC 225
imagination could picture or his money buy, the
Black King held levee in the days of his short,
dramatic reign, finally ending his picturesque
career by committing suicide within the palace,
and by his last act showing consistency in his
character by using a buUet of solid sUver.
But the most wonderful and astonishing of
Christophe's performances was the erection of the
fortress of La Ferriere, some twenty miles from
Cape Haitien. On the very summit of the lofty,
pyramidal mountain, the Black King buUt a mighty
fortress ¦with immense walls towering above the
mountaintop for over one hundred feet.
Surrounded by a deep, ¦wide moat spanned by a
soHtary drawbridge, and mounting hundreds of
cannon, the place was well-nigh impregnable. Even
more wonderful than the fort itself are the in
credible amount of labor and the stupendous out
lay that must have been required to level off the
soHd, H-ving rock of the mountain and erect the
fortress. To this lonely moimtain peak in the vast soli
tary forest every stone and every gun were hoisted
up the steep slope by gangs of ignorant blacks,
driven by a pitUess semi-savage monarch, and at
such a wanton sacrifice of life that the fort liter
ally is founded on human bones.
Within the enormous interior of his citadel King
Henry stored incredible quantities of suppHes and
IS

226 THE WEST INDIES
ammunition and in the massive treasure vault
deposited a fortune worth over $3,000,000.
But the fortress might have been a fort of card
board for all the value it proved, for the foe which
Christophe dreaded never came, and the cannon
on the mountaintop were never called upon to
defend the stronghold of the Black King. To-day
the lofty citadel stands deserted, its treasure
chambers empty, its guns thick with rast. Its
walls conquered by the ever-encroaching jungle,
but so massive, so immense, so enduring that for
centuries it will remain a marvelous monument
to the stupendous folly of the strange character
who crowned himself the First King of Haiti.

CHAPTER XV
PORTO RICO, OUR WEST INDIAN COLONY
A TUMBLED mass of hazy, purple mountains
against the sky; a line of silvery foam, where
azure sea meets palm-fringed shores; a frowning,
massive fortress upon a rocky headland, and be
yond it buildings gleaming red, yellow, blue, and
white — such is Porto Rico viewed from the sea.
Slowly the ship steams beneath the grim, age-
gray walls of Morro, — still bearing the scars of
Sampson's sheUs, — past the low-lying Canuelo
fort upon its islet, and through the nanow harbor
entrance. Along the wave-washed, rocky shore
stretches the great city wall with ancient water-
gate and lantern-like sentry boxes, while topping
its further angle is the Santa Catalina palace,
now the residence of the govemor, and above all
gleam the snowy walls of Casa Blanca, house of
Ponce de Leon. Scarce Is there time to note
these famous buUdings ere the point is passed,
and San Juan spreads like a many-colored pano
rama above the blue waters of the bay. Great
docks line the water-front, a forest of masts hides
227

228 THE WEST INDIES
the lower buildings, and above them, upward to
the summit of the hUl, rises the bright-hued,
picturesque old Spanish town.
Over aU, dominant, stupendous, gray, and solid
as the rocks themselves, towers the vast fortress
of San Cristobal — a very mountain of masonry
and which, with the Mono, has defended San
Juan against all comers for three centuries and
more. Looming in sharp contrast high above the older
buUdings of Spanish type are steel and stone
edifices of modem architecture, the skyscrapers of
San Juan, while to the left is the immense new
Federal Building and to the right the big raUway
station. Through steep and nanow streets, which
have scarce altered in three hundred years, roar
clanging trolley cars and honking automobUes;
gasoline launches puff busily among the lateen-
rigged sailing boats that savor of the Mediter
ranean ; the swarthy faces and babel of Spanish on
the docks are thoroughly foreign, and yet every
where the Stars and Stripes wave over buUdings,
forts, and palaces. Wherever we tum is this same
strange mixture of the ancient and the modem,
the present and the past, of sights famUiar and
scenes that are strange, and, stepping ashore, the
visitor scarce knows if he is in an American port
or a city of Old Spain.
Everywhere are color, warmth, and light; on all

PORTO RICO 229
sides is a touch of the Oriental; over all is the
atmosphere, the spell of the tropics, and yet on
every hand are the e-vidences of twentieth-cen
tury life, business, and progress. Indeed, it is
this very rubbing of elbows of the old and new
that is one of the greatest charms of Porto Rico.
San Juan, despite its age, its crumbling ruins, and
its quaint, canon-like byways redolent of Old
Spanish days, is a modem, busy, bustling Ameri
can city in many ways, with a fascination all its
own, and with much of real interest to be seen.
Up from the docks at the head of the Marina
leads a typical business street — the Calle San
Justo. On one side stands the Santa Ana
church, dating from the sixteenth century, and
across the way is the imposing buUding of the
American Bank three centuries younger, while
lining the smooth and well-paved thoroughfare
are shops and stores filled with every article
kno-wn to modem life.
Between plate-glass display windows are huge
archways revealing glimpses of dim cool patios
and passages that hint of mystery; above electric
signs, advertising graphophones and motor-car
accessories, are jutting Moorish balconies and iron-
baned windows, while Yale locks serve to secure
massive doors through which have entered maU-
clad knights of Spain.
At San Francisco Street tum to the left and the

230 THE WEST INDIES
Plaza Principal is reached, — an open, paved square
shaded by beautiful trees and surrounded by large
buildings and busy stores. On the north stands
the City Hall, or Alcaldia, built in 1799; to the
west is the Intendencia Building; on the south are
stores belonging mainly to American firms, and
before them, at the curb, stands a long line of
waiting automobiles and jitneys ready to whirl
the -visitor wherever he wishes about the
island. In whichever direction one turns there are sure
to be places and buUdings of historic interest. To
the northwest, the great dome of the ancient
cathedral looms above the flat roofs, a massive
structure of severely plain architecture and within
which rest the remains of the founder of the city,
Juan Ponce de Leon.
Not far distant, to the southwest of the plaza, is
the governor's residence, the palace of Santa Cata
lina, with its huge throne-room, audience-cham
bers, and mosaic-paved courts and stairways.
Beyond the palace, and almost directly in front of
the cathedral, is the immense water-gate in the
city wall and to the right of this the Casa
Blanca towers high among its wavmg palms upon
the heights.
Although popularly supposed to have been the
residence of Ponce de Leon, history does not
bear out the claim, but points to its having been

PORTO RICO 231
erected for the adopted son of the famous searcher
for the Fountain of Youth and who assumed the
name of his Ulustrious foster-father. But, regard
less of associations, the Casa Blanca is a splendidly
preserved type of old Spanish mansion. At the
summit of the ridge on which the city stands is old
San Jose church, squat, hoary with age, and
facing a small plaza, in the center of which is a
statue of De Leon cast from cannons captured by
the Spanish from the British, whUe in the tiled
roof of the church is the wound made by an Ameri
can sheU, — about the only material damage done
to the town when Sampson unsuccessfully tried
his hand at reducing the Mono.
But if you would see ancient buUdings, by aU
means visit the fortresses of San Cristobal and
San Sebastian, or old Mono, with their mazes of
underground galleries, their subtenanean tunnels,
their tomb-like dungeons, within which prisoners
were secured by iron bars across their necks and
left to die a Hngering, a-wful death. Veritable
dties in themselves, these vast citadels were
capable of sheltering hundreds — even thousands
— of people; and within them the entire popu
lation of the city could seek refuge in the olden
times when foes attacked the town.
And these are by no means all the sights. There
are the extensive new market; the pantheon or
cemetery; the Balleja Banacks, capable of housing

232 THE WEST INDIES
two thousand troops; the prison, a model institu
tion which is a revelation to northern eyes; the
splendid old churches, with their wonderful
decorations, their jewel-decked images, and their
paintings by old masters; the old monasteries,
now occupied as police barracks and courts; and
the Plaza Colon with its beautiful statue of
Columbus. But interesting as is San Juan, it is a hot spot
during the day, and far more attractive is the
interior of the island, with its mountain heights,
its broad, rich valleys, its winding rivers, and its
fresh, cool, life-giving air. Everywhere are per
fect roads, smooth, broad, beautifully graded,
wonderfully kept, marvels of engineering skill,
and affording a score and more of fascinating
tours by automobile.
Although but eighty-five miles in length and
thirty-five in width, Porto Rico can boast of
nearly one thousand miles of highways which
encircle the island, connect all the important
towns and villages, and form a network across
mountains, valleys, and plains over which the
products and imports of the island are trans
ported by bull carts, mule teams, and motor
trucks. 1 Most important and best known of all the
island's roads is the famous Military Road, buUt
by the Spaniards years before the American

PORTO RICO 233
occupation, but still the best of the highways and
leading across the backbone of the island from
San Juan to Ponce.
Outward from the busy dty streets a splendid
asphalt boulevard leads past the railway station,
the Y. M. C. A. Building, the theater, and
under the frowning waUs of San Cristobal, to the
suburb of Puerto Tierra. Here, In the olden
days, was the land gate in the city wall, from
which the suburb took its name, but now no vestige
of the gate and only Isolated fragments of the wall
remain. At this spot the true Military Road
begins, and a mile or so farther on It crosses the
splendid San Antonio bridge, with quaint old San
Geronimo on its jutting cape at the left and half-
ruined walls and brush-filled moats on the right.
Here the island of San Juan is left behind, and
the mainland of Porto Rico, with the charmingly
pretty Suburb of Santurce, is reached. This is
the residential suburb of San Juan, a place of
-villas, bungalows, and mansions hidden amid
flowers, shrabbery, and palms, and with many
typically American houses, ornately ugly, built
of concrete and utterly unfitted to a tropical land,
as well as glaringly out of place amid such beauti
ful sunoundlngs. Prominent beside the roadway
are the buildings of the Union Club, the Miramar
Theater, and the American Hotel, all charmingly
situated and with a lovely view across the bay to

234 THE WEST INDIES
San Juan on the one hand and past Fort San
Geronimo to the open sea on the other.
Between embowered grounds and splendid
gardens stretches the wide smooth highway, and
over it passes a never-ending, fasdnating, motley
stream of traffic — a kaleidoscopic panorama of
life and color. Galloping horsemen, pannier-
laden horses, diminutive donkeys hidden under
great loads of cane or grass, lumbering army
wagons with six clattering mules driven by khaki-
clad troopers, snorting, roaring motor tracks,
creaking bull carts, swift-speeding touring cars,
whirring motorcycles, and luxurious private
carriages pass and repass, whUe threading their
way between the vehicles, and trudging along the
narrow footpaths by the wayside, are natives of
every color, class, and trade. Lean, swarthy
Porto Ricans, barefooted, but bearing themselves
with the dignity of grandees, Herculean negroes,
buxom negresses, some with bundles on their
heads, come carrying trays, others with baskets
on their arms, and still others pushing banows;
vendors of fruit, bread, vegetables, eggs, fowls,
ice cream, beverages, and sweets, while queerest
of all are the funny miniature stores on wheels,
some in the form of houses, others fashioned like
steamships, others like trolley cars, still others
like nothing "on earth, the heavens above or
the waters beneath, " but with the owners of

STREET IN PONCE, PORTO RICO

CITY WALL AND CASA BLANCA. PORTO RICO

PORTO RICO 235
each and every one Uterally doing a pushing
business. White, black, yellow, brown, and olive; men,
women, girls, and boys — a score of races, count
less types, a hundred trades and occupations,
crowd this great artery, this "King's Highway,"
that leads from the modernized teeming city
into the vast interior; from the sweltering, glaring
streets and noisy traffic of the capital to the
-wide free sweep of valleys and the cloud-draped
mountaintops, for this is the only road leading
outward from San Juan, and over it passes all the
overland traffic of the entire island.
Beyond Santurce the road curves through
meadows covered with cocoanut groves, over the
beautiful Martin Pena bridge, through the vil
lage of Hato Rey, and into the little town of Rio
Piedras. Far more Spanish-American is this little town
than San Juan, but it lacks nothing in the way
of modem improvements and has many new and
handsome buildings, such as the Capuchin Mon
astery, the Municipal Hospital, the Insular Nor
mal School, and the University of Porto Rico.
Here also are the reservoir from which the capital
obtains its water supply, the repair shops of the
railway and trolley companies, and a pubHc garden
and botanic park on the site of the old summer
palace of the Spanish Governor-General.

236 THE WEST INDIES
Straight through the town the highway con
tinues, and onward across an almost level plain
beyond, while to east and south the foothiUs
rise in broken spurs and conical eminences, becom
ing higher and more rugged towards the distant
LuquiUa Range with its purple summits hidden
in the clouds.
Soon the road commences to ascend, winding by
easy grades and graceful curves, in many places
with an asphalt surface, and slowly climbing
higher and higher, but so gradually one scarce
realizes the ascent. Beside the roadway wave
feathery masses of giant bamboos ; towering royal
palms shade the way, and through the foHage one
sees glimpses of deep valleys and steep hiUsides
richly green, while thatched and wattled huts
nestle amid gardens of plantains and bananas.
Every moment new and more lovely scenes are
revealed, until, swinging around a sharp bend
and rumbling over an ancient picturesque Spanish
bridge, La Muda is reached. A little later the
last ridge is topped and the Caguas Valley lies
below, with the little red-roofed town in the midst
of cane and tobacco fields bordered by the silver
ribbons of the Tenabo and Caguas rivers. Caguas
is a thriving little town of some 25,000 inhabi
tants about twenty-five miles from San Juan and
in the heart of a rich tobacco district. On all sides
the great thatched drying sheds stand prominently

PORTO RICO 237
above the fields which, in growing time, appear
as if covered -with snowdrifts, owing to the immense
area of cheesecloth stretched above the tender
plants. The streets of Caguas are well kept; there are
numerous shops and restaurants and two hotels in
the to-wn, as well as a pretty palm-embowered
plaza and a picturesque church.
The low, one-story stuccoed buildings, -with their
roofs of heavy Spanish tiles, give an old, foreign,
picturesque appearance to the town, but Caguas
is by no means out of date and has many fine
buildings, a good library, a hospital, one of the
finest schools In the island, and some enormous
tobacco warehouses, while all the streets and
houses are pro^vided with electric lights. More
over, a railway connects the town with San Juan,
and telephone lines keep It in constant communi
cation •with all other parts of the island.
Beyond Caguas, the Military Road crosses a
fairly level valley through an avenue of gleaming,
scarlet-flowered poinciana trees which form an
arch of living flame above the roadway, "whUe
ahead tower the lofty mountains. Soon the circu
lar valley is left behind and again the road climbs
the foothills and in sweeping, serpentine curves
ascends the mountainside.
Ever upward mounts the road, crossing deep
banancas on age-old Spanish bridges, skirting the

238 THE WEST INDIES
brinks of dizzying precipices, twisting in sharp
hairpin curves about jutting mountainsides and
beetUng cliffs, while far below are the broad green
fields, the glistening rivers, and the cultivated
hillsides. Nowhere is the grade unduly steep, and
yet, within fifteen miles, the road rises two thou
sand feet above the valley. The air is fresh, cool,
and bracing, and giant tree fems, gorgeous flowers,
air plants, orchids and banks of tralUng fems
grow in profusion beside the roadway. Then the
last ridge is reached and from the summit
the road swings quickly down to Cayey with the
immense military banacks standing boldly forth
against the background of the smiling valley, .^j
Although the descent to Cayey is considerable,
yet the town is at an elevation of 1300 feet above
the sea and has a cool and healthy climate, where
coffee and tobacco grow to perfection. But
while the town is clean, quaint, and picturesque it
has little of interest, aside from the fact that it
was at this spot that the advancing American
troops were halted by the signing of the peace
protocol while marching to attack San Juan.
Leaving the rough uneven streets of Cayey be
hind, the road once more climbs upward on a
mountain range even loftier than those already
passed, and at every turn one marvels at the
stupendous labor which must have been expended
in hewing the highway from the mountain slopes.

PORTO RICO 239
a marvelous piece of work which "wIU ever remain
an enduring monument to the sklU of the old
Spanish engineers who built it.
Creeping around waU-like, towering cliffs at
the verges of sheer precipices, stretching across
nanow knife-edged ridges, the road unfolds a
glorious scenic panorama until at an altitude of
three thousand feet one looks do'wn upon Aibonlto
sleeping on a green and rolHng plain girt round
¦with majestic mountain peaks.
And at the lovely sight one involuntarily
exclaims, "How beautiful!" the very words which,
in their Spanish form, — ^Ai bonito! — gave to the
to^wn its name.
Aibonlto is an important coffee and tobacco
to^wn, with hospitals, schools, hotels, and weU-kept
streets and stores, and situated in its charming
vaUey two thousand feet above the sea it possesses
a deUghtful, healthy climate; but unfortunately
the accommodations for strangers are of the most
primitive description, as is the case in nearly all
the smaller Porto Rican towns. Hotels there are
to be sure and every effort is made to please,
but the cooking is Spanish, the food reeks ¦with
grease, and the night Hfe of the bedrooms is
altogether too friendly and attentive. For
tunately it is seldom necessary to stop overnight
in the outlying towns, for the distances be
tween Ponce and San Juan, by any route, are

240 THE WEST INDIES
not so great that the trip cannot be made in
a day. At Aibonlto it seems as if one must be at the
very roof of the island, but there are still heights
beyond to be climbed, and through dense groves
of coffee, riotous masses of flowering shrubs and
vines, thickets of tree ferns, and deep verdured
ravines, the road mounts upward until, at Aibonlto
Pass, 3300 feet in the air, the backbone of Porto
Rico is reached and one looks down on every side
at a scene of marvelous grandeur.
Sheer from the narrow ridge, scarce wide enough
to bear the road, the earth drops off a thousand
feet and more on either hand. In every direction
stretch rich green valleys, towering peaks, vast
mountain heights, and verdured hUls. In the dim
and shadowy depths of cool ra-vines are glimpses
of sparkling, foaming tonents; tiny huts peep
from bowers of fruit trees or perch upon the very
brinks of awful precipices, and far to the south
ward — a line of shimmering blue beyond the far-
off hazy foothills — sparkles the Caribbean Sea.
From this lofty aerie all is do-wn hlU, and s-wiftly
the road dips down in sinuous curves, sharp turns,
and great spiral, corkscrew twists until, within a
distance of six miles, Coamo is reached at a scant
five hundred feet above sea level.
Coamo, founded in 1606, has a hospital, many
schools, a pretty plaza, neat houses, and well-kept

COMERCIO VALLEY, PORTO RICO

PORTO RICO 241
streets, and produces quantities of coffee, sugar,
fruits, and vegetables; but, in a general way, aU
this is equally true of almost any other town, for
aU the interior cities of Porto Rico are much aUke.
There are always the same, straight, smooth main
street, the nanow cobbled byways, the bright-
hued, stuccoed buildings with their red-tUed
roofs, the omnipresent plaza with its immense
church, and one town has Httle more of Interest
than the next.
Near Coamo, however, are the famed Coamo
Springs, the waters of which possess wonderful
medicinal properties, and here there are a large,
splendidly equipped hotel, a sanitarium, and baths,
sunounded by entrancing scenery and in a glorious
climate of perpetual June.
Soon after leaving Coamo, the road passes
through the little town of Juana Diaz, hence it
crosses the level coastal plain, — under arches of
flaming poincianas and between pastures which
might well be In New England for all they savor of
the tropics, — until the outlying streets of Ponce are
reached. Ponce has little of historic interest, but to many
¦visitors it proves more attractive than San Juan,
for it is absolutely different from the capital and
has a distinctive character of its own and, as
far as appearances go, it might well be in another
land. Whereas San Juan is built upon a hiUside

242 THE WEST INDIES
and there is scarce a level street in the town, Ponce
is level as a floor and not a hilly street can be seen.
In the capital, three, four, and even six-story build
ings give a modern aspect to the city, but hardly
a structure in Ponce rises higher than two stories.
Far more Spanish-American is Ponce than San
Juan, with buildings of bright hues and massive
Spanish architecture, shado^wy patios, Innumerable
palms and flowering plants, and intensely tropical
in appearance. And thoroughly tropical is the
climate as well, far hotter than San Juan, though
somewhat tempered by the sea breeze that usually
prevails. In the center of the city are a large shaded plaza
with an imposing cathedral, an omamental kiosk
for the band, and a fearfully and wonderfully
painted, red, blue, white, and black fire-engine
house, wherein the hand engine and hose carts
repose in all their glory of red and gold, while the
"bomberos, " or firemen, loll about, sweltering
in red flannel shirts, huge helmets, and jack boots,
expectantly waiting for a fire.
One really pities these poor Ponce firemen, for
they are ever ready and waiting for a conflagration
which rarely occurs, for five fires a year would be
a record in this town of stone and concrete and
whose buildings contain scarce enough wood
to make a respectable bonfire. Surely un
limited patience must be the prime requisite

PORTO RICO 243
In securing a position on Ponce's fire-fighting
force. There are many magnificent private residences
in Ponce, a large covered market of great interest
to strangers, several hospitals and asylums,
numerous clubs, telephone and electric Ughting
systems, an ice factory, cigar and cigarette fac
tories, a hippodrome, a baseball field, motion pic
ture theaters, and a splendid theater kno-wn as La
Perla, not to mention the wdl-stocked stores, the
numerous restaurants, and half a dozen hotels,
some of which are excellent.
Everywhere are flowers and gro-wing plants, and
scarce a patio, a balcony, or a garden is seen
which is not gorgeous with blooms, for the people
are passionately fond of flowers and the climate is
most favorable to vegetation. So much so, in fact,
that even the telephone, telegraph, and electric-
Hght -wires serve as rootholds for orchid-like
air-plants which give the strands the appearance
of being decorated with innumerable birds' nests.
Industrially and commercially Ponce is the
second city in Porto Rico and is the shipping port
for the principal sugar and coffee districts, and yet
the casual visitor sees little that savors of exten
sive commerce or business.
This is due to the fact that the "playa," or shore,
andthe "muelle, " or dock, are nearly two mUes
from the city and reached by trolley or by a maca-

244 THE WEST INDIES
dam highway; but the road is rough and unpleasant
and the trolley hot and stuffy and, aside from the
long causeway terminating in the enormous steel
warehouse and dock, there is little of interest
at the city's water-front.
From Ponce, roads lead to various parts of the
island, and the visitor may travel by motor car or
railway to many interesting spots. Westward
a road leads through Penuelas, Yauco, Sabana
Grande, and San German to Mayaguez. To the
north a highway may be followed through Adjun
tas and Utuado to Arecibo, while easterly one may
travel through various shore towns to Guayama
and Humacao and from either of these towns
may turn inland to Cayey or Caguas on the MiH
tary Road, or. If preferred, the route may be con
tinued completely around the eastern shore of the
island. The steamers of the Porto Rico Line sail around
the island from San Juan to Ponce and retum,
stopping at Arecibo and Mayaguez, and affording
excellent opportunities for seeing these two cities,
but if possible to do so, the -visitor should by all
means see the interior of the island by touring its
roads, for some of the most interesting places, and
by far the most beautiful scenery, are far from the
coast. The Arecibo road is very beautiful and
passes through some of the few remaining areas of
virgin forest on the island. Adjuntas, about twelve

PORTO RICO 245
mUes north of Ponce, is the first town reached
and is at an elevation of nearly 1800 feet above
the sea, in a rich coffee district. It is located in a
lovely valley surrounded by mountains, some of
which are over three thousand feet in height and
from whose summits the traveler may gaze north
upon the Atlantic and, by turning his head, may
look across the Caribbean to the south, whUe
east and west stretches the whole vast panorama
of the Islands, spread like a map of checkered
green at his feet.
Utuado, the next town on this road, is in the
midst of wonderfully grand and imposing moun
tain scenery; ragged, majestic, and with many
naked precipitous peaks projecting far above the
verdure, while tumbling mountain torrents plunge
in foaming cataracts amid the luxuriant growth of
tree fems, orchids, and strange exotic plants.
Arecibo is a very old and interesting town,
founded in 1537, and with a population of about
ten thousand. It is by far the most typically
Spanish-American city on the island and was
formerly sunounded by great swamps and was
very unhealthy, but the swamps have been
drained and converted into fertile sugar lands,
and to-day the town Is as healthy as San Juan
itself. There are numerous stores in Arecibo,
a very beautiful plaza on the water-front, a
good hotel, and every modern Improvement,

246 THE WEST INDIES
and the town is connected by railway with San
Juan. Westward from Arecibo, on the railway line and
also on the automobile road to Mayaguez, is
Aguadilla, and, while the road is by no means
as interesting or beautiful as many others, the
town is worth a -visit, as it was here Columbus
first landed on Porto Rican soU. He was in
search of water for his ships, and filled his casks at
a spring which gushed forth near the beach and
which he named "Ojo de Agua," or "The Water's
Eye." To-day the same spring serves to supply
Aguadilla's people with water and Is covered with
an ornate commemorative fountain. The honor
of the historic visit of Columbus Is also claimed by
Aguada, farther to the west, but there is Httle
doubt that the Ojo de Agua is the original Colum
bus spring. But even without its claim to such
fame, Aguada is of historic interest, for it was
founded by Soto Mayor, one of Ponce de Leon's
officers. The first settlement was destroyed by
Indians, however, although its ruins may still be
seen. The present town has a population of about
twelve thousand and is in a rich sugar and coffee
district, while cigar and hat making are important
industries. As the road from Arecibo to Aguada and Maya
guez is not as perfect as one could wish and has no
great scenic interest, it Is wisest to make the joumey

MARTIN PENA BRIDGE, PORTO HICO

TOBACCO UNDER SHADE, PORTO RICO

PORTO RICO 247
by rail, while, if one wishes merely to see Maya
guez, it may be -visited to best advantage by the
steamship. A few mUes south of Aguada, and about three
miles from the sea, is Afiasco, founded in 1773, and
with about two thousand inhabitants ; it is of inter
est solely as being on or near the spot where the
Indians first discovered that the Spaniards were
not superior beings. Here, by the Afiasco River,
an unfortunate Spaniard — one Salcedo — fell into
the hands of the natives and, feeling some doubt as
to the Europeans' immortality, which they had
not questioned heretofore, the Indians decided
to make a test case of Salcedo. They proceeded
very much after the manner of our own forefathers
when testing accused persons for witchcraft,
namely, by holding the poor Don under water, and
probably arguing that if he was immortal the
enforced immersion would do him no harm, while,
if mortal, the means would be justified by the end.
Needless to say the result of the experiment
was highly satisfactory to the savages, regardless
of Salcedo's opinion, and to make assurance doubly
sure the Indians guarded the body with the great
est care untU the tropical climate proved beyond
aU question the false assumptions under which
they had been laboring.
Mayaguez, the third of Porto Rican towns in
commercial importance, was founded in 1763 and

248 THE WEST INDIES
has a population of some forty thousand inhabi
tants. In the minds of many people Mayaguez is
the prettiest, most attractive, and most picturesque
city on the island, and there is no denying its
charms. Upon a smiling, fertile plain or "Vega" the city
stands, facing the deep and weU-protected harbor
to the west and with ranges of wooded mountains
rich with coffee groves for a background. Beauti
fully situated, surrounded by wonderfully fertUe
lands, and with an excellent harbor, Mayaguez
possesses every advantage, and the progressive
people of the town have made the best of what a
bounteous nature has proyided. No wonder the
inhabitants are proud of their town, for they have
exerted every effort to make their home as beauti
ful, as attractive, and as up-to-date as possible, and
wonderfully well have they succeeded.
The city may not be able to boast of ancient
forts, battle-scarred walls and crumbling rains, but
its seaside drive along the playa,[its four charming
plazas. Its wide straight streets, its cleanliness and
modernity make up for all that the town lacks in
antiquity or historic interest. But there is much
of real interest in Mayaguez. Its great market
place, Its numerous churches, its beautiful homes,
its public library, and its Agricultural Experiment
Station are all worth seeing and, moreover, the
to-wn is the terminus of two raUroads.

PORTO RICO 249
The plazas of Mayaguez are'famous throughout
the island, the three most notable being : Columbus
Square, with its beautiful statue of Columbus;
Flower Square, with its glorious wealth of flowers
and foliage; and Old Plaza, each of which is differ
ent from all the others, each lovely in Its own way,
but all equally neat, well kept, and so clean that
they would prove models for our own dties to
follow. At Mayaguez the visitor may obtain the best of
the beautiful drawn work and embroidery of the
island, the work of the inmates of the convent
near the town. Here too are found the best of the
Porto Rican hats, woven from palm and equal to
many of the genuine Panamas, while in the market
one may find innumerable native curios and speci
mens of handiwork not seen elsewhere on the
island. Southward from Mayaguez, on the line of the
western railway, is San German, founded in 1512,
and named by Diego Columbus, Viceroy of Santo
Domingo and son of the discoverer. Historically
San German Is very interesting, as it has been
attacked and destroyed repeatedly by Indians,
pirates, freebooters, and European foes, and after
each misfortune it was rebuUt in a different spot.
As a result the uneasy little town has jumped from
pillar to post over quite a wide area during its
troubled existence, but it must have been anchored

250 THE WEST INDIES
to Its present site for some time, as the ancient
church, the Convento de Porta Coeli, bears the date
of 1538, and several other buildings in the town
date from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Beautifully situated in the hUls above a rich
vaUey, San German is most picturesque and is
often called the "City of the Hills, " and moreover
it is blessed with a delightfully cool and healthy
climate. Indeed, even the old Spaniards realized
this and used the spot for the purpose of acclimat
ing the fresh troops brought from Spain and, to
house them, built the huge banacks which still
remain. Old as it is San German Is progressive and has
two banks, eight wholesale business houses, nu
merous retail stores, a theater, four hotels, several
churches, a city hall, a municipal library and
market, many schools, and modern Hghting and
sanitation. Eastward from San German, on the road
to Ponce, are Sabana Grande, Yauco, Guanica,
Guayanilla, and Penuelas, of which Guanica is the
only town of much interest to the casual -visitor.
Here is the immense Guanica Central, one of the
largest and most important of Porto Rican sugar
mills, but more interesting to most visitors Is
the fact that it was here that General Miles landed
with the United States troops when he invaded
Porto Rico on July 25, 1898.

AUrO-ROAD MAP

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PORTO RICO 251
Traveling east from Ponce along the southern
coast are many towns, some quaint, others beauti
ful, others interesting, and all of which may be
reached either by motor car or by the railway
from Ponce to Guayama.
Aside from the towns, the southern coastal
plain of the island has much of interest in itself for
those who really care to see the features of our only
West Indian possession. This is the great sugar
district of the island, and broad cane fields stretch
away to the distant mountains for mile after mile.
In many places the land is very dry, and immense
Irrigation systems are necessary to insure the
crops. In this dry district also there are many
miles of low saline plains stretching inland from
the sea, and on which grow giant cacti, agaves,
Spanish bayonet, clumps of coarse grass, and other
desert plants and which, with the herds of grazing
cattle, make one think of Arizona or the Mexican
border, rather than of a Caribbean island. But as
one travels eastward the fertility of the land
increases, streams and rivers -wind down from the
mountains, the hills approach more closely to the
shore, and rich vegetation covers the land until,
at Guayama, the luxuriant verdure of the tropics
is on every side.
Guayama, the first important city eastward
from Ponce on the southern coast. Is a flourishing
town of some eighteen thousand inhabitants.

252 THE WEST INDIES
with many fine buUdings, a beautiful plaza with
an Immense pink, domed church, numerous schools
and busy stores, and Is in direct communication
with San Juan by a line of motor busses which
travel back and forth over the magnificent highway
which leads from Guayama to the Military Road
near Cayey.
Beyond Guayama on the coast road are Arroyo,
PatlUas, and Maunabo, all wonderfully quaint,
picturesque, foreign-looking towns, while Anoyo
is of real interest as being the first spot to use the
telegraph in Porto Rico, a line having been In
stalled there by Samuel F. B. Morse, the inventor,
while on a visit to relatives who o-wned a nearby
sugar estate. Beyond Patillas the road climbs
a steep cliff, and for several miles the traveler
skirts the verge of a precipice, with the breaking
surf and palm-fringed beach beneath and the
wonderfully blue sea stretching away to the
wraith-like cloud that marks Culebra Island to
the southeast.
Rounding the last cliff, the highway -winds do-wn
to a broad and fertile valley and soon after passes
through Maunabo. Beyond this quaint and
picturesquely pretty little spot, the ascent of the
mountains begins, the roadway winding back and
forth and roundabout like a huge red serpent and
affording marvelous vistas of deep gorges, lofty
peaks, tumbling mountain streams, and flashing

PORTO RICO 253
cascades, whUe through the roadside foliage are
glimpses of the distant valley and the sea beyond.
Topping the ridge, the road sweeps grandly
down to the lovely valley of Yabucoa, past the
Central Mercedes, and, crossing several rivers,
enters Humacao.
Typically, intensely Spanish is Humacao, but
neat and scrupulously clean, with a charming
little plaza, wide streets, and substantial buildings,
among which are numerous stores, several churches,
a library, and a fairly good and very clean hotel.
Beautifully situated and full of glowing color is
the to-wn, with mountains surrounding its lovely
valley on three sides. Within six miles is the
ocean, from which the cool trade winds bring
fresh, life-giving whiffs of sweet salt air, while
all about are well-tilled fields and neat gardens,
the whole presenting an effect of prosperity and
contentment which is very pleasing.
From Humacao a road leads to Caguas and the
Military Road, while another highway encircles
the eastern end of the island, passing through
Fajardo, Loiza, and Carolina and finally meeting
the MUitary Road at Rio Piedras.
Although the Military Road is the only direct
highway out of San Juan, yet one may travel by
motor ear or railway along the northern coast of
the Island to Arecibo or, if traveling by automo
bUe, the visitor may follow the Comercio road and

254 THE WEST INDIES
again reach the Military Road near Aibonlto.
This route affords scenery of unrivaled grandeur,
a roadway marvelous for the engineering feats
displayed in its construction, and a trip which may
be made in a single day.
Crossing from San Juan by the little ferryboat
at the Marina, the to-wn of Cantano is reached
on the opposite side of the harbor, a typical West
Indian village surrounded by immense mangrove
swamps. From Cantano the way leads over the
swamps by a high, broad causeway to the town of
Bayamon, a thriving little dty with several fac
tories, some fine buildings, and splendid streets
and of great historic interest. Indeed, Bayamon
might truthfully claim to be the most historic
spot on Porto Rico, not excepting San Juan, for
it was founded by Ponce de Leon himself in 1509,
and moreover it is close to the spot where the fa
mous old knight first set foot on Porto Rican! 'soil
and where he made his first settlement, the VUla de
Caparra. Later this became known as the City
of Puerto Rico, the capital of the island of San
Juan de Bautista. In 1521 the original town site
was abandoned, owing to its defenseless position,
and the settlers moved bag and baggage across
the bay and founded the present dty of San Juan,
while the old name of their capital was bestowed
upon the island itself.
All about Bayamon are orchards of grapefruit

THE MEETING OF THE OLD AND NEW, PORTO RICO

A MOUNTAIN HIGHWAY, PORTO RICO

PORTO RICO '255
and oranges and fields of pineapples, for this is the
principal fruit-growing district of the island and
has been wonderfully built up and developed by the
American planters, whose neat bungalows are seen
here and there among the trees laden -with their
golden frait.
At Bayamon the road forks, the right-hand
branch leading onward to Arecibo, while the tum
to the left carries one inland to Comercio. For
several miles It rises and falls over low-rolling
hills, until the long iron bridge across the Rio
Plata is reached. Here the highway commences
its steady climb up the mountains, following the
sides of the deep valley and with the gleaming Rio
Plata tumbling seaward In its rocky bed between
the emerald mountain slopes. Gradually It mounts
higher and higher above the stream, until the river
seems but a thread of silver tracing a devious way
at the bottom of the gorge. Then, from ahead,
a strange sound is borne upon the breeze, a distant
muffled roar and, turning a bend in the road, one
comes within sight of the mighty dam of the
Porto Rico Lighting and Power Company, — a
stupendous, flashing cataract of water pouring
between verdured hiUs with the roar of distant
thunder, while beyond stretches the vast artificial
lake, placid and calm, with the towering moun
tains minored on its glassy surface.
Onward and upward beyond this great hydro-

256 THE WEST INDIES
power plant, the highway leads until Comerdo is
reached, a mountain town with the hUlsides about
so thickly covered with royal palms that the spot
was formerly called Sabana de Palma or "Palm
Meadow. "
From Comercio theroad winds about the precipi
tous mountainsides, piercing jutting promonto
ries in wall-sided cuttings, cUnging like a twiiung
vine to cliffs and spurs, and anon winding and
doubling by such enormous, circuitous t-wists that
one may glance do-wnward at half a dozen tiers of
roadway upon the slopes beneath.
When, at last, the devious turns, the mighty
horseshoe curves, and the innumerable loops come
to an end and the traveler emerges at the summit
of the wind-swept mountaintop, he looks upon a
glorious panorama unequaled in any other part of
Porto Rico : a marvelous anay of ragged towering
peaks, deep valleys, broad plateaus, and terrific
gorges of a thousand shades and tints; golden in
the sunshine. Indigo beneath the shadows of pass
ing clouds, opalescent, purple, mauve and lavender,
emerald and azure, while, like a vast red labyrinth,
the road cuts sharply through the greenery, and
silver streams and red-roofed vUlages gleam in the
abysmal depths of valleys.
From this most lofty point the road sweeps
quickly down through groves of coffee, tangled
jungles of tropic plants, and clumps of royal palms

PORTO RICO 257
to Bananquitas. Here, in the center of the
coffee-covered hills, one needs an overcoat and
blankets after sundown, for Barranqultas is the
loftiest town in Porto Rico and the coolest, and
even at midday there is no hint of the tropics in
the air.
Beyond Bananquitas, through shady copses of
coffee trees and deep cool jungles of luxuriant
mountain plants, the way slopes gradually down,
to come forth at length upon the Military Road
a mile or two above Aibonlto.
But, to describe in detail all the charming
sights, the interesting trips, the magnificent scen
ery, the wonderful roads, or the manifold attrac
tions of Porto Rico, would require a volume in itself.
Much that the other islands have is lacking ; but
much that Porto Rico has, no other land can
boast, and in many ways it offers attractions not
to be found elsewhere in the world. It is but four
days' sail from New York — scarcely farther than
Des Moines, Iowa; there are no bothersome
customs examinations to be undergone, it Is pro-
¦vided with every necessity and luxury of modern
life, it is healthier than any city in the United
States, its roads are a revelation. It is not volcanic,
there are no poisonous reptiles, and, best of all in the
minds of many, it Is under our own government,
our own laws, and our own fiag.
But do not imagine because the island Is an
17

258 THE WEST INDIES
American colony that you will feel thoroughly at
home in Porto Rico. Do not delude yourself
with the idea that you will be able to converse in
English with everyone you meet, and don't go to
Porto Rico puffed up with the importance of being
an American citizen and expect to lord it over
the natives, white, black, or brown.
You will find Porto Rico as foreign, as strange,
as incomprehensible In many ways as any Euro
pean country. You can get along in the towns and
stores and in the American hotels and business
houses, as well as on the railways, with EngHsh
alone, but while English is the "official" language
of the island many officials do not speak it, and
nearly everyone finds Spanish necessary, while
not one Porto Rican in a hundred, in the interior,
can speak or understand our tongue. Even in
some of the larger stores in San Juan, there is not
a clerk who can speak EngHsh intelUgently.
Moreover, you will find that with all our short
comings as colonizers, Porto Rico is governed for
the Porto Ricans, and he who goes about figura
tively dressed In the American fiag is looked upon
with contempt and ridicule by Porto Ricans and
resident Americans alike. You will not be in
Porto Rico for long, ere you leam that the Porto
Rican — white or colored — looks upon the Anglo-
Saxon race with much the same feelings that the
Anglo-Saxon regards the Latin and the man of

SAN JUAN AND COLON PLAZA, PORTO RICO

PORTO RICO 259
color, and that to enter their social Hfe, their
homes — to get a real insight of the Porto Rican
character — is as difficult a task for the American
as for the rich man to enter the portals of Paradise.
Eighteen years have passed since the Stars and
Stripes first floated above Porto Rico, and while
great changes have been wrought by our adminis
tration, yet much of the old, with its charm — the
foreign old-world character and picturesqueness
of Spanish days — remains unchanged.
In many ways Porto Rico has been American
ized, yet, save on the surface, it is as un-American
as ever. Our sanitation has transformed the
island from a pest-hole to the second healthiest
country on the globe; our capital has brought
industry, progress, and prosperity to the land; our
laws have righted many wrongs; our schools have
educated thousands of Porto Rican children, and
the natives are thoroughly, sincerely, intensely
patriotic; but in speech, manners, many of their
customs, and home life they are stIU Spanish to the
core. And this is as it should be. We cannot expect
the traditions, blood, ties, inheritance, and civUi
zation of centuries to give way, to be tossed
aside and revolutionized, in a score of years or less.
The Porto Ricans are of a different race than
ourselves, and we should not be misled into think
ing that any Latin wJU ever beconie Anglo-Saxon

260 THE WEST INDIES
in ideas, thoughts, manners, or ideals, — we cannot
graft the palm upon the pine, — and, trath to tell,
we could learn much to our own benefit and advan
tage from our Porto Rican neighbors.
We have given them much, — for which they are
keenly grateful, — but we have robbed them of
much that was dear to their hearts. They wel
comed us with open arms when we came unbidden
to their land; they have proved loyal, law-abiding,
worthy, and yet we have failed to treat them as
equals, or even as equals of the colored inhabitants
of the United States or the black and brown
people of Hawaii.
We have refused them citizenship — the right to
rale and govern, or even to have an audible voice
in their own island. No wonder they are more or
less aloof, no wonder they chafe and feel injustice
done them, for they are neither aliens nor Ameri
cans, but merely "people of Porto Rico." Like
their Island they are legally neither one thing nor
the other, neither "fish, flesh, fowl, or good red
herring."

CHAPTER XVI
JAMAICA, THE ISLAND -WHERE A PIRATE RULED
Largest of the British West Indies, and third
largest of the Greater Antilles, is Jamaica, and
yet, as compared with Cuba or Santo Domingo it
is very small, for its area is less than one tenth
that of Cuba and about one sixth that of Santo
Domingo. But within its 4200 square miles of
mountain, valley, and plain is much entrancing
scenery, numerous peaks a mile and more in
height, wonderfully rich valleys, magnificent
forests, great waterfalls and tumbling mountain
torrents, and tranquil rivers without end ; indeed,
the island received Its name owing to the number
of its streams, the Indian word xamayca signifying
"a land of springs and streams. "
About the Island's shores are many landlocked
harbors and many busy thriving ports, while rail
ways connect the more important towns and the
opposite shores of the island, and over two thou
sand miles of perfect roads cover the surface with a
veritable network of highways. 261

262 THE WEST INDIES
Of all the islands Jamaica Is probably the best
known and the most frequently visited, and
yearly thousands of Northerners make the trip
to Jamaica, or pass the winter months in its balmy,
tropical climate. To many, Jamaica is distinctly
a British island, but its discovery, its settlement,
and Its start on the road to civilization, prosperity,
and cultivation, were all due to the Spaniards, who
remained in possession of the island for 150 years
or until It was wrested from them by the British in
1655. As is the case with most of the British
West Indies, England cannot claim to be anything
more than stepmother to Jamaica, and the former
Spanish ownership is still kept green by such
names as Rio Cobre, Rio Nuevo, Rio de Oro,
Sabana la Mar, etc., while even the typically
British "Bog- Walk" Is merely a corruption of
the more euphonious Spanish name, "Boca de
Agua" (water's mouth) .
While there is nothing unusual about this, —
for the chronic struggle for supremacy between
European nations and the kaleidoscopic shifting
of sovereignty, were common to all the islands, —
yet Jamaica has the unique distinction of having
been governed by a pirate, the redoubtable,
ruthless Henry Morgan.
Of all the cruel, bloodthirsty, swashbuckling
sea robbers who sailed the Spanish Main, Morgan
was preeminently the most atrocious, the most

iJ^

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ONTEQO BAV "" 'G^lmoaih '
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o Ocho Rlofl B»r ^ f)
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stony Hin^ losewOwtlV / J f^k„
a-^.w?r"jr«,Ubota<lpTo™ ¦ /^

JAMAICA 263
daring, the bravest, and the most famous, or in
famous, and despite his rascality and his murder
ous, nefarious ways, we cannot help but admire his
courage, his romantic, adventurous deeds, and his
marvelous feats. But the supreme triumph of
his career came when, after his spectacular sack of
Panama, he was sent, a prisoner, to England, and
Instead of being hanged — as he richly deserved —
he was knighted and appointed Lieutenant-Gov
ernor of Jamaica and Commander-in-Chief of the
British forces In the island.
No doubt the King of England bore In mind the
old adage that " it takes a thief to catch a th ief "and
wisely decided that the best man to clean up the
nest of pirates In Jamaica was the ex-chieftaIn of
the corsairs. In this shrewd surmise His Majesty
was Jiot far wrong, for, to give Morgan his due,
his word was as good as his bond, and in his new
position this most dreaded of freebooters wasted
neither pity nor mercy on his former companions
and followers, but sent them to the gallows and
the gibbet most impartially and expeditiously.
Not only did this pirate chieftain rule Jamaica,
but the island's early wealth and prosperity were
built upon the business of piracy, and for many
years Jamaica was notoriously a rendezvous, a
resort, and a clearing house of the buccaneers.
In the city of Port Royal, opposite the present
capital of Kingston, the pirates, freebooters, and

264 THE WEST INDIES
"brethren of the Main" foregathered from far
and near.
To this spot they brought their ill-gotten treas
ures, chests of plate and golden doubloons, pieces of
eight and Ingots of silver, chalices and candlesticks
of gold ablaze with jewels, bales of silks and bolts
of velvets, kegs of rum and casks of wine ; the lo ot of
many a ship and galleon, the sack of many a city
and town, the holy altarpleces of many a dese
crated church, jewels wrenched from fingers and
arms of dismembered living women, and the output
of many a mine, until, within this little Jamaican
town, was such a vast accumulation of wealth
that Port Royal was famed as the richest city
the world had ever known.
And here the swaggering, black-hearted crew
gambled and drank and caroused away the riches
they had won at cost of untold misery and count
less human lives; here debauchery, licentiousness,
and every form of vice held full sway, brazenly
flaunting its shame, proud of its sin, until the
name of Port Royal was blazoned throughout the
world as all that stood for depravity and vicious
ness — the wickedest city that ever disgraced this
fair earth.
And then, as though an outraged God could no
longer permit this blot upon the universe, the city
was wiped off the map In an instant, when, on
June 7, 1692, an earthquake shook Jamaica to its

JAMAICA 265
foundations, and Port Royal, with three thou
sand of its houses, most of its people, and all Its
treasures, slipped bodily into the sea.
To-day, when the water is calm, the coral-
encrusted ruins of the old pirate town may be seen
beneath the sea as one sails over the bay, and the
negro boatmen tell weird tales of spectral ships
sailing into the teeth of the wind — riding the crest
of storms, ever striving to make the lost port,
while, from beneath the tempest-tossed waves,
the phantom bells of the cathedral toll the requiem
for the dead.
Across the bay from Port Royal stands the capi
tal of Jamaica, Kingston, a city whose foundations
were laid by the survivors of Port Royal and
which, in 1907, suffered nearly as much as did its
-wicked predecessor two centuries before. Leveled
by the awful earthquake, swept with the con
flagration which followed, Kingston was scarce
more than a mass of smoldering rains — a waste of
broken stone and dust, a heap of debris, after the
catastrophe of nine years ago; but the town has
rapidly recovered, it has been rebuilt, and until
another tremor levels it again, it will continue
as busy, prosperous, and important as before.
Beautiful indeed are Kingston and its harbor as
the ship passes the sandy palisadoes, -with the cocoa-
palms rising like pillars of a colonnade above this
golden strip of shore that connects Port Royal

266 THE WEST INDIES
with the mainland. At the foot of a sloping plain
of green, with its feet in the sea, is the city, set In
an amphitheater of hills behind which rise the
hyacinthine mountains — a mighty rampart against
the sky; but Its charms are those of the tropic
flowers which lure insects to their death, a fatal
beauty, for under the fair green plain and the
peaceful verdured land lurks the sleeping ogre of
destruction, the ever-present menace of a cata
clysm such as has devastated the island on two
occasions in the past.
A city of some fifty thousand inhabitants,
Kingston Is the second wealthiest and important
city in the West Indies. It is regularly laid out,
with its streets running at right angles, and is clean
and well kept, with numerous splendid steel and
concrete buildings erected since the earthquake,
but it possesses nothing in the way of Interesting
ruins of past grandeur, no massive structures
eloquent of a fascinating, romantic youth. Even
before the earthquake, there was little of historic
interest In the town, and the few notable old land
marks were mostly ruined or destroyed and have
been rebuilt or remodeled. Among the most
noteworthy of these was the old parish church,
buUt soon after the destraction of Port Royal, and
within which were preserved the ragged battle
flags borne by Britain's triumphant warships in
olden days. Near the altar was a black marble

JAMAICA 267
slab, marking the grave of Admiral Benbow,
whUe many other notable monuments and ceno
taphs were to be seen. The ancient church sur
vived the shock, but its tower was rent apart, its
steeple was left standing drunkenly awry, the
interior was wrecked, and tons of debris covered
the resting place of the old admiral. Fortunately,
the priceless collections of specimens, the unique
relics, the immense library, and the many art
treasures in the Institute of Jamaica on East
Street were saved, although somewhat damaged.
Here may be seen the old bell from Port Royal,
which once hung In the church built by contri
butions from pirates, among them Morgan him
self — a quaint conceit quite In keeping with the
curiously warped and twisted point of view of the
buccaneers. Here also are the famous "Shark
Papers," the papers of an American privateer
which were tossed overboard by the skipper when
chased by a British cruiser, and which bobbed up
at a most inopportune moment, being brought into
port by another British officer who had found them
in the stomach of a shark captured off Haiti.
Solely upon the evidence of these marvelously
recovered documents the unfortunate captain
and his crew were convicted.
Aside from such curious and interesting objects
there is little to attract the stranger in Kings
ton, but, uninteresting as is the city, so far as

268 THE VSHEST INDIES
quaintness, antiquity or historical associations are
concerned, yet its modernity, its up-to-date con
veniences, and its excellent accommodations for
visitors, place it far in advance of most West
Indian capitals.
But Jamaica's attractions, its advantages and its
fascination are in the Island itself, and not in its
capital, and few visitors remain in Kingston save
for a short stay or through necessity, for it is
undeniably hot, while, in the suburbs and the
hills, within easy reach of the town, one may find
fresh, cool, healthy air and charming rural sur
roundings, delightfully quiet, restful, and beautiful.
Such a spot is Spanish Town, northwest of
Kingston, and which for over three centuries was
the capital of the island. Founded in 1520 by the
Spaniards, who called it Santiago de la Vega,
this city of the Dons was renamed Spanish Town
by the British, who no doubt found the long
euphonious CastiHan appellation a stumbling-block
for Anglo-Saxon tongues. Save for its name
there is no hint of Spanish dominion In the town
to-day, and one looks in vain for vine-grown bas
tions, crumbling embrasured walls, massive build
ings with arched portals leading to shady patios, or
Iron-grilled, jutting balconies. Instead, there are
white-painted, green-shuttered villas in charming
gardens and clean bright streets. Spanish Town
of to-day Is a quiet, sleepy little village, loUInc

4
U4S
4

JAMAICA 269
upon the sunny land beside the Rio Cobre, and
seemingly enjoying the delightful occupation of
doing absolutely nothing, quite as much as the
languid colored folk who doze at the doorways
of their little huts.
In the center of the town, quite after the style
of every self-respecting Spanish city, is a little plaza
containing a market-place and a prim little garden
within an iron railing, and surrounded by the larger
and more important buildings of the one-time
capital. , On one side Is the House of Assembly,
and across the way is King's House, a colonial,
mansion-like structure of red brick with white
painted pillars supporting a hea-vy portico. Here
also is the Rodney monument, an octagonal Greek
temple, flanked by a colonnade of Ionic columns
and containing a statue of the famous British
admiral who won the memorable victory over
De Grasse, off Dominica, and established British
supremacy in the Caribbean for all time. The
statue, made by Bacon, and by some considered
a masterpiece, represents England's naval hero
bareheaded, naked to the waist, and clad only
in toga and kilt and with one hand resting upon
a shield and sword. No doubt the sculptor in
tended to make the figure heroic in this classic
pose, but somehow the unmistakably British
features of the doughty old sea-dog fail to lend
themselves to the part and the admiral appears far

270 THE WEST INDIES
more as if emerging from a Turkish bath, with a
towel about his middle, than Hke a noble Roman.
In the suburbs of the town stands the oldest
church on the island and the sole remaining relic
of Spanish days in the neighborhood. This is the
English Cathedral, built by the Spaniards, a
structure of faded pink brick with a white wooden
steeple and which is literally floored with tomb
stones. Here rest the bones of many of the most
famous and aristocratic personages of Jamaica's
early British days, and whose lives and virtues are
extolled in verse and prose on scores of tablets and
monuments. Some of these are exquisite works
of art by Bacon, others are elaborate with coats-of-
arms and classic designs, while some of the epi
taphs are very quaint and amusing, as for example,
one above the grave of an officer who came over
with Penn and Venables and who "died amid
great applause, " if we are to believe the inscription.
Both the old church and Rodney's monument,
as well as the other old buildings, were seriously
injured in the earthquake of 1907, for the town
was badly shaken and many residences were
destroyed, but the total damage was very light
as compared with that in Kingston.
As Spanish Town possesses an excellent hotel,
a protracted stay may be made here and much of
beauty and Interest may be seen in the neighbor
hood. Among the attractive spots in the viclpity

JAMAICA 271
is the famous Bog Walk, one of the most pictur
esque and beautiful bits of Jamaica. On the way
from Spanish Town to the Bog Walk one sees
the dam and power plant of the West Indies
Electric Company which furnishes the power for
the street railways of the capital. While the
utility and necessity of the plant are unquestion
able, it is regrettable that the fascinating beauty
of the lovely Rio Cobre should be ruined by this
unlovely work of man. As someone has most
happily expressed It, the Rio Cobre is the most
praised and most damned stream in Jamaica!
Six miles from Bog Walk station is the remark
able natural bridge across the Rio de Oro, where
the sides of the deep canon, through which the
stream has hewn its course, meet in an arch
capped by a single stupendous slab of rock sixty
feet above the river.
Also within easy reach of Spanish Town, about
ten miles distant, is Old Harbor Bay, the spot
where the Spanish, under Esquivel, first landed
on the island. Here stands the ancient Tama
rind Tree Church which tradition claims was
erected by order of Diego Columbus and which,
if true, would make this church the oldest and most
interesting relic of Spanish dominion in Jamaica.
Even nearer the capital than Spanish Town are
many delightful places where the visitor may
tarry. A troUey from Kingston passes through

272 THE WEST INDIES
the valley to Half -Way-Tree, three miles from the
town, and along the route are residences of many
of the well-to-do of Kingston who dwell In this
delightful suburban district. Half-Way-Tree is
so called as it is half way to the Constant Spring
Hotel at the foot of the Blue Mountains, and
nearly six hundred feet above the sea. Two miles
beyond Half-Way-Tree Is King's House, the
residence of the Governor-General, a splendid
mansion amid magnificent grounds and with a
ballroom costing $25,000. The earthquake played
havoc with King's House, the only habitable por
tion remaining after the shock being the bungalow
occupied by the Governor's secretary, but like the
other ruined government buUdings it was rebuilt
better than before.
Also within easy reach of Kingston by trolley or
motor car are the Hope and Castleton Gardens ; the
former about five miles from the city and seven
hundred feet above the sea. This magnificent
botanic or agricultural station covers 220 acres
and affords a wonderful opportunity to study
the great variety of native, as well as introduced,
plants, flowers, and trees, especially those of
industrial or economic value.
Castleton Gardens are farther away, some nine
teen miles from Kingston, and a carriage or motor
car must be hired for the trip. The start should
preferably be made early in the day, for the flrst

JAMAICA 273
few mUes of road are very hot and dusty, but very
soon the shade of the forest is reached and, as
the highway cHmbs upward, the air becomes cool
and refreshing. Castleton is nearly flve hundred
feet above the sea and was established nearly
sixty years ago. Not only are the gardens wonder
fully Interesting for the wealth and variety of their
vegetation, but there are arbors, benches, and
bathing pools on the grounds, and near at hand
are an excellent hotel and dining-room, as well
as numerous charming cottages which may be
rented. Still another short trip from Kingston Is that to
Gordon Town, nine miles distant, and nearly one
thousand feet above sea level. The road winds for
mUes along the banks of the Hope River, a tum-
bUng stream flowing through picturesque scenery,
with tropic foHage covering the hillsides and flow
ing over to submerge the valleys and ra-vines with a
flood of green, while flowering vines clamber over
roadside rocks and bushes, and giant creepers hang
in mile-long festoons over the verges of the mighty
cHffs. Gordon Town is but a village, a country
resort of cottages, and a favorite residential spot
for many of Kingston's business men. There
are accommodations here for the stranger, and
one may pass a most enjoyable time, rambling
through the hUls covered with their coffee and
cacao groves, cHmbing the heights, or making short
IS

274 THE WEST INDIES
excursions to neighboring places of wonderful
scenic beauty.
A visit to Newcastle, nearly four thousand feet
above the sea, affords an excellent Idea of the
glorious mountain scenery of Jamaica and the cool
temperate zone of the high altitudes, where north
ern flowers, fruits, and vegetables grow luxuriantly
about the quarters of the officers at the great
mUitary barracks. Wonderful feats of engineer
ing were displayed in buUding the splendid road
to this lofty site and froin -which one may look
forth upon a scene beautiful and sublime beyond
description. Kingston, on its plain at the borders
of the harbor, seems almost underfoot ; beyond is
the slender sickle-like strip of gold and green, the
palisadoes, tipped by Port Royal, — like a pendant
gem at the end of a jeweled chain, while east and
west the shore line stretches for a hundred mUes
in jutting capes, deep crescent coves, and rocky
headlands rimmed with a silver thread of surf.
Even farther towards the sky one may ascend,
until the very summit of the range is reached at
Saint Catherine's Peak, a mile above the vast blue
Caribbean outspread for countless leagues to where
it meets the arching dome of sky.
But if one desires mountain heights, awe-Inspir
ing scenery, marvelous views, and does not mind
roughing it a bit, the ascent of the Blue Mountain
Peak should certainly be made, for this Is the high-

JAMAICA 275
est peak in Jamaica and the loftiest mountain
avaUable for ordinary mortals in the West Indies,
a cloud--wrapped summit 7338 feet above the sea.
Here, in the drifting mist of the wind-swept roof
of the island, one has half of Jamaica at one's feet;
a map of a thousand shades of green, cut with
vast black gorges, flecked with purple shadows,
dappled with plantations, orchards, fields, and
cultivated lands, threaded by silver streams and
-winding roads and ringed about by a sea of spar
kling blue. Then, as a cloud swirls softly and
silently about the mountain peaks, the world below
is veiled from sight, and far and near eddies and
rolls a boundless sea of white, a biUowy waste of
mist, above which solitary, alone, cut off from all
the universe, is the tiny bit of rock on which
one stands. Again the scene changes, and beneath
the tossing waves of vapor the lightning fiashes
and the thunder peals, the phantasmal sea is riven
asunder, and from the gray waste rise rock-ribbed
mountain heights and wet green hilltops. Thus,
one feels, must the new-born world have seemed,
when, from the nebulous universe, the land took
form; thus must Noah have felt, as he looked
forth from his ark upon the top of Ararat; and one
half expects to see great uncouth monsters stranded
upon the jutting slopes, huge, slimy, writhing
forms left by the receding flood, until, with a
sudden burst of light, the wide fair land leaps

276 THE WEST INDIES
into view and shreds of vapor, cHnging to the
forest tops, alone remain of the vast, spectral,
vanished sea.
Here, upon this sky-piercing summit, the Jamai
can government maintains a hut for the benefit
of those who desire to spend a night above the
clouds; but the accommodations are of the most
primitive description, and It Is wiser to descend
to one of the stopping places at a lower level, such
as Whitfield Hall, a well-built comfortable house
four thousand feet above the sea and built over
two hundred years ago. Strange as it may seem,
the man who built this house was named Heaven, a
most appropriate name for one residing among
the clouds, and members of the Heaven family
still dwell (or did until recently) in this traly
Heavenly homestead.
Among the greatest of Jamaica's advantages
is the accessibility of all parts of the Island. The
government railway traverses the island from
north to south and almost from end to end, connect
ing Kingston with Montego Bay and with branch
Hnes from Spanish Town to Port Antonio, from
Bog Walk to Ewarton, and from May Pen to
Chapelton, while two thousand miles of perfect
automobile roads reach every to-wn and village,
and coastwise steamers ply between the various
ports. To describe in detail the Innumerable drives

JAMAICA 277
and rides, the marvelously beautiful scenery, the
fasdnating towns, the mountain resorts, the
natural wonders, and the manifold attractions and
interesting spots in Jamaica, would require a mas
sive volume; but a brief description of the more
important towns and scenes and the principal
railway trips -will serve to give the prospective
visitor some idea of what this glorious island
offers. The most attractive line is, perhaps, that from
Kingston to Port Antonio, seventy-five miles
distant. For the first few miles the way leads
through low-lying mangrove swamps and then
enters the fertile banana-covered plain of St.
Catherine, — a country made productive by irri
gation, — and from Gregory Park, the first stop,
to Spanish Town, nothing but a vast blUo-wy sea
of banner-Hke leaves can be seen.
Beyond Spanish Town, the level lands are left
behind and the train enters the hills through rock-
waUed cuts, and with sharp, jagged peaks rising
against the sky on every hand. Skirting the steep
slopes the train dashes through two tunnels,
swings round a gorge, and enters a tunnel half a
mile in length, to emerge upon a sunshine-flooded
scene of wonderful beauty. Below the tracks
flows the dark blue Rio Cobre, beyond its ver
dured banks rise the green walls of the deep gorge,
and in the background tower the lofty, forest-clad

278 THE WEST INDIES
mountains in range after range of blue slopes and
sun-bright crests.
Leaving Bog Walk, where a short branch line
extends to Ewarton nine miles away, the train
sweeps into a rolling, hUly district, luxuriantly rich
with riotous vegetation and countless bananas,
until Riversdale Is reached. Here begin the
engineering feats which fill the traveler with
admiration, as, turning and twisting, roaring in
and out of tunnels, skirting precipices and creeping
around horseshoe curves, the train threads Its
way through the mountains ; the puffing locomotive
one moment above one's head upon the hillside,
the next, below the windows of the car, and seem
ingly chasing its tail like a playful kitten.
Passing Troja and Richmond, the train enters
the most important banana-growing section of the
island, the Parish of St. Mary, and as far as eye
can see there is no break in the smooth green
sweep of tossing leaves, save where a few fruit
trees grow about the negroes' huts, their foliage
rising, like deep-green islands, above the vnnd-
swept ocean of pale green.
Steadily up the steep grade the train mounts to
Highgate, and then slips gaily do-wn to Albany,
while all about, the impossible slopes of the hlUs
are thick with bananas growing In spots so precipi
tous that one marvels that they can bear their
bunches of fruit without toppling over to the plain

JAMAICA 279
beneath. Here and there, thin wire ropes are
seen, swinging in graceful curves from the hilltops
to the lowland, and down these cobweb-like
strands great bunches of bananas come rushing
through the air to be loaded into the waiting
trains upon a siding.
Presently, rounding a wooded hillside, the
valley of Wag Water comes into view, a lovely
scene of open, fertile, cultivated lands hemmed
in by softly shaded blue and purple mountains.
Over a great Iron bridge that spans the tiny
stream winding through Its wide and sandy bed —
but which In a few hours may become a raging,
inesistible torrent — the train continues on its
way and enters the straggling seaside town of
Anotto Bay.
From here, the line skirts the shore, revealing
glorious vistas of plume-crowned palms, In endless
rows above the creamy beach, and with the long
line of sno"wy surf and sparkling turquoise sea
beyond. Buff Bay, Orange Bay, and Hope Bay
are passed in tum; Spanish River is crossed, and
rushing through St. Margaret's Bay, the train
pulls into Port Antonio.
Port Antonio, the chief port on Jamaica's
northem coast, and second only to Kingston, is
the headquarters of the vast banana Industry of
the island and the shipping port for countless
millions of bunches of the fruit which has made

280 THE WEST INDIES
Jamaica's prosperity — not to mention the few
odd mUlion cocoanuts and oranges which are also
shipped from here. From a humble beginning,
when a schooner load of bananas was sent from
San Antonio to the States, this industry has
grown, until to-day Jamaica leads all the world
in its banana shipments; a business of stupendous
proportions developed from nothing in less than
fifty years.
Situated upon a narrow, hog-backed peninsula
between two lovely harbors. Port Antonio is a
beautiful and picturesque spot, with red-roofed,
green-shuttered houses half-hidden amid palms
and verdure and backed by hUls rising gradually
to the distant mountains. Most prominent of aU
things in the port is the great hotel, a palatial
hostelry that appears as if transported bodUy
from Sag Harbor or some fashionable New Eng
land shore resort and dropped do^wn amid palms
and tropic foliage.
To those who feel lost and ill at ease unless
surrounded by every luxury, comfort, and formal
convention of fashionable hotel Hfe, Port Antonio
will appeal more strongly than any other spot in
Jamaica. But those who seek the out-of-the-way
corners, the quaintness and the charm of dreamy
tropic lands, freedom, and change from our every
day life, and those who delight in getting away
from the beaten track, ¦will find few attractions in

JAMAICA 281
Port Antonio ¦with its huge hotel, stiff artificiality,
idle chatter, tango parties, trivialities, and other
accessories of a fashionable watering place. But
there are numerous quiet, unpretentious hotels
and boarding places in the town, and It cannot be
denied that the climate is really delightful, the
bathing excellent, the scenery superb, and much
can be forgiven and overlooked when such a rare
combination is found.
From Port Antonio, also, one may take many
excursions of interest, such as to Don Christopher's
Cove near Anotto Bay, where Columbus beached
his caravels in 1504 and remained a castaway
upon his own ships for a whole year. A charm
ingly pretty spot is the cove, with lovely bathing
beaches and limpid transparent water, but it is
doubtful if the marooned admiral and his grum
bling crews admired the beauties of Nature so
lavishly spread about them.
Threatened by mutiny and faced with famine,
Columbus and his comrades had a hard time of It,
untu the shrewd Don Christopher succeeded
in frightening the Indians into bringing provisions,
by his famous trick of predicting the eclipse of the
moon. Another trip worth while Is that to Golden Vale
and Moore Town, the latter the home of the
remnants of the once dreaded and powerful
Maroons. Descendants of runaway slaves, the

282 THE WEST INDIES
Maroons for years defied the armies of Jamaica
and England, and murdered, pUlaged, and burned
at will, until a treaty was made by which they were
granted freedom and were given 2500 acres of land.
Although mainly of African blood, yet the Maroons
consider themselves a race apart and look upon the
blacks with supreme contempt. In fact, during
the negro insurrection of 1865 they proved of great
service in tracking down and kUling the rebels.
Once savage, warlike, and indomitable fighters,
the Maroons dwell contentedly in their thatched
and wattled huts at Moore Town, at peace with
the world, but still proud of the bloody history and
fighting prowess of their ancestors.
Very different from the Port Antonio trip is the
journey to Montego Bay, on the northwestern
coast of Jamaica, 113 miles from Kingston.
As far as Spanish Town, the same route Is fol
lowed as before, and beyond here, to May Pen, the
train runs across a rolling level country covered
with guinea grass, cane, sisal, and cotton and
through the little towns of Hartlands, Bushy Park,
and Old Harbor. Just before reaching May Pen
the train rumbles over a fine iron bridge, and the
traveler is surprised to see nothing but a dry, weed-
grown, empty river bed ¦without a sign of water.
But while out of sight, the river is there, flowing
merrily seaward beneath the earth, for, like many
other rivers in Jamaica, this Rio MInho has the

JAMAICA 283
peculiar characteristic of appearing and dis
appearing without the least apparent reason.
Sinking out of sight it flows for miles through sub
tenanean cavems, and then bobs up and con
tinues on its way, as any respectable stream should,
and as if tired of playing hide-and-seek. During
heavy rains, however, the underground channels
are inadequate to cany off the excess water, and
the streams rash seaward in foaming torrents
upon the surface as well as under it.
From May Pen to Clarendon Park is a district
of fertile plains, fine sugar estates, and cattle farms,
while, about Clarendon Park, great quantities of
frait are raised, and the train is besieged by
negresses vending oranges and pineapples, custard-
apples, mangoes, sapodlUas, and other luscious
fraits of the island. Up the hills through Immense
orchards of oranges, tangerines, and other fruit trees
the train climbs to WUlIamsfield, four miles from
which Is Mandeville, a popular mountain resort
two thousand feet above the sea, and with a splen
did hotel and great golf links, in a temperate
climate of perpetual spring.
StUl ascending, the road passes through Kendal
and reaches Green Vale, the highest point on the
line, at an elevation of 1700 feet. Here is the
Pimento district, and everywhere upon the grassy
open lands are seen the handsome white-barked
trees with their dark-green leaves.

284 THE WEST INDIES
From the frait of these the "aUspice" of com
merce is obtained, the trees of Jamaica producing
two thirds of the world's supply. From Green
Vale the train glides down-hill to the rolling low
lands, out of the fruit and spice districts, and into
grassy pastures, banana farms, and cane fields
to Appleton. Following the course of the Black
River through cool and dusky glens, past sparkling
cascades and tumbling rapids, the train winds in
and out and comes at last into the famous Cockpit
Country. A wild, desolate land is this, a weird,
broken, ragged waste of precipitous cliffs and
conical limestone peaks, tumbled about hit or miss,
separated by deep ravines and nanow canons,
and^forest clad. Here the Maroons held their own
against the British troops In days gone by, and
seeing the spot, one no longer marvels at the feat,
for few places in the world are better suited to
savage guenilla warfare.
Beyond here are cultivated lands, more of the
omnipresent bananas, of which, long ere this, the
traveler wUl be heartily tired, and one breathes a
sigh of relief as the broad green leaves are left
behind, and at Montpellier one sees a wide and
undulating prairie, broken by clumps of spreading
trees, while in the shade, or grazing on the thick
green grass, are hundreds of odd, bluish, hump
backed zebus which give a delightful foreign aspect
to the landscape. Then come the sugar lands and

JAMAICA 285
cane fields; the salt tang of the sea is in the air,
and swinging swiftly around a hillside, the land
suddenly drops from sight and one looks unex
pectedly upon the tranquil waters of Montego Bay,
with the wooded Bogue Islands sharply sUhouetted
against the crimsoned sunset sky and shimmering
purple sea.
Beautiful in its location, sunounded by scenery
unexcelled for its picturesque variety and luxurl-
antverdure, with splendid bathing beaches and the
lovely outlying islets, Montego Bay Is unsurpassed
in its attractions and advantages. Moreover,
there are excellent hotels and boarding places, the
train service to Kingston is regular, and all about
are delightful drives and interesting spots to visit.
Here, in olden days, came many a Spanish ship
from Cuba across the way, and here the Dons
busied themselves in kUlIng the wild hogs that
roamed the forests about and from which they
tried out the fat or lard. So important did this
Industry become that it gave the name to the
bay, for Montego is but a corruption of the Span
ish "manteca," meaning lard.
There are many interesting and beautiful por
tions of Jamaica which cannot be visited by rail
way, however; but all of these are easily reached
by motor car or carriage, either from Kingston or
from towns on the railway line. In fact, Jamaica
is so well supplied with magnificent highways and

286 THE WEST INDIES
is so Hmited in area that one may tour by auto
mobile from coast to coast and from end to end
of the island and see every important and Interest
ing spot in a comparatively short time.
Among the many interesting and attractive
spots within reach of the highways, but off the
railway lines, the following should certainly be
visited :
Fern Gully, nine miles from Ocho Rios — a
great ravine literally filled to overflowing with
myriads of ferns of every imaginable color, form,
and size, from gigantic tree-ferns to the tiniest
"filmles" and the wonderful gold and sUver
fems. Judgment Cliff, two miles from Easington,
where half a mountain was torn away by the
earthquake of 1692, and which fell upon and
destroyed the estate of a notorious Dutchman,
hence the name.
The Baths of St. Thomas the Apostle, near the
village of Bath, forty miles from Kingston, and
a spot whose hot medicinal waters have been
famous for centuries.
Oracabessa Bay, six miles from Port Maria, the
place where Columbus first landed In Jamaica,
on May 5, 1494.
Rio Nuevo, where the Spaniards made their last
stand against the conquering British in 1658.
St. Ann's, with its forests of pimento, or all-

JAMAICA 287
spice, trees. Its spice-laden air. Its rushing streams,
and dashing cataracts.
Sevilla del Oro, the site of the first Spanish
settlement on the island.
Dry Harbor, where Columbus repaired his leaky
ships, and the neighboring enormous caverns at
Cave HaU Pen and which extend for miles under
ground and have never been fully explored.
WhUe, of all Jamaica's natural wonders, none are
more worthy of a visit than its magnificent water
falls, the most famous of which is Roaring River
Falls, a wonderful cascade, one hundred and fifty
feet in height and two hundred feet in width, and
which is so surrounded by forest, by trees and
palms, and so broken up by jutting rocks clothed
with verdure, that It appears like a series of smaller
falls, a myriad of cataracts of a hundred forms and
sizes — a thousand masses of feathery, prismatic
foam and countless veils of shimmering spray,
tumbling, dashing, roaring from nowhere into
nowhere, amid a tropic jungle, and with a noise
deafening in its volume.
Another notable cataract, much nearer Kingston
than Roaring River, is the Cane River Fall in a
deep gorge about nine miles east of the capital.
Even on the hottest days of summer, between the
precipitous walls of the ravine it is deliciously
cool, the cliffs dripping with moisture, draped with
fems and fiowering vines, and hung with orchids.

288 THE WEST INDIES
At the head of this magnificent canon the mass
of silvery water falls from a lofty shelf of rock, to
plunge into a great, rocky, fern-edged bowl. Here
one may pass behind the cataract and look through
the opalescent green veil of falling water, and here,
behind the falls, is a cavern, once the lair of a
famous brigand known as "Three-Fingered Jack. "
He was killed by a Maroon in single-handed
combat, and the victor, to prove his triumph,
brought in the bandit's hand with the three
digits. For his services in ridding the community
of the dreaded outlaw, the Maroon was rewarded
by a pension of $ioo a year for life. Doubtless
he deeply regretted that there were not more
three-fingered brigands to conquer, for fighting
was the favorite occupation of the Maroons, and
to let the life out of a man in an exciting scrap
must have seemed a very easy means of earning
an annuity.

CHAPTER XVII
the BAHAMAS, ISLANDS OF THE PINK PEARL
Most northerly of the trae West Indies, and
nearest to oiu: shores, are the Bahamas, a scattered
group of three thousand islands, cays, and reefs,
and extending from Great Bahama, off Jupiter,
Florida, to Grand Turk, off the coast of Santo
Domingo — a distance of over seven hundred
miles. Low, flat, sandy, and banen, of so-called "coral"
limestone and only semi-tropical in their flora,
the Bahamas are lacking in scenic beauties, and are
monotonous and uninteresting in appearance.
The thin soil supports a certain amount of vege
tation, but nothing luxuriantly tropical; the
verdure consisting of pitch-pine groves, scrubby
palmettos, tangled thickets of thorny scrub and
cactus, with the shores ringed by ragged sea-grape
and SprawHng mangrove trees.
Although the first spot in the West Indies to be
discovered by Columbus in 1492, yet the Bahamas
were among the last to be settled, for their re-
389

290 THE WEST INDIES
sources are most meager, and even to-day many
of the islands are uninhabited, wild, and practically
unknown, save to the negro spongers, fishermen,
and squatters who frequent their lagoons and
coves. With the highest elevation scarce three hun
dred feet above the sea, and surrounded by thou
sands of uncharted reefs and rocks, the Bahamas
have proved the graveyard of countless ships, and
for many years were the resort of pirates and
buccaneers. With the passing of these -pictur
esque gentry, the islands became the headquarters
of a less courageous and more degenerate class of
freebooters — the wreckers, who lured vessels to
destraction for the sake of loot, or contented them
selves with plundering such unfortunate ships
and mariners as came to grief upon the Bahaman
reefs. Although piracy is an occupation long dead
and -wrecking Is supposedly a thing of the past In
the West Indies, yet, until a few years ago, the
Bahamans were not averse to profiting by the mis
fortunes of others, and as recently as 1904 a
number of wreckers were brought to Nassau to
stand trial for wrecking and looting a yacht on
Rum Cay.
Following the piping days of piracy and -wreck
ing came the more remunerative, and scarcely
less exciting, industry of blockade-running, and,
during our Civil War, the islands waxed prosper-

THE BAHAMAS 291
ous and the people wealthy through this lucrative,
if precarious, business.
But the most important, the most successful, and
the most praiseworthy industry of the Bahamans
has been the exploitation of their capital as a
winter resort for Northerners.
And despite their lack of scenic attractions, the
monotony of their landscapes, and their dearth of
vegetation, the Bahamas can truthfully claim
attractions which place the islands in the front
rank of desirable places in which to escape the
rigors of our winters.
Not the least of these Is the climate, for while
mainly outside the tropics, yet the Bahamas are
ever warm, sunshiny, and balmy, while the heat
of the sun is tempered by the ceaseless, refreshing
trade winds. Wonderfully equable is the tempera
ture, rarely falling below 70° and seldom rising
above 80°, and, day In and day out, the needle of the
recording thermometer at Nassau draws an almost
imwavering line along its chart.
Moreover, the sea bathing Is deUghtful ; there are
excellent fishing and boating; splendid roads cover
the Hmited area of New Providence and there
are unexcelled hotels, every Improvement, out
door sports of every description, and all the com
forts, luxuries, and accessories of the North, not
excepting the formal social functions, the ridicu
lous conventions and the usual Inanities and gossip

292 THE WEST INDIES
without which fashionable society would find the
most delightful spot intolerable. To speak of the
Bahamas and to describe them is really to write of
Nassau, for the other islands are rarely visited,
there are no accommodations for strangers upon
them, and the life, entertainment, business, and
allurements of the Bahamas aU center in the
quaint town on New Providence, 145 mUes
from Miami, Florida.
Upon a low hill, barely one hundred feet In
height, the city of Nassau reclines drowsily in a
glorious bath of sunshine, and facing the north,
as if its only interest was in the coming of more
tourists to keep It from falling fast asleep.
Above it on the hilltop stands an old gray fort ;
at either end of the ridge stand others, and between
them gleam the pink, yellow, and white houses
with their silvery gray roofs, above which wave the
nodding palms.
Wonderfully pretty is the scene, but the great
est beauty, the most ardent color, and the most
striking feature of Nassau is the water that
stretches from the creamy sand beaches to the
foam-capped outer reefs.
Vi-vid emerald in the shallows, blotched by pur
ple above the reefs, cobalt, sapphire, and indigo
in the shadows, the water shimmers with every
color of the peacock's tail to where the lavender
horizon joins an azure sky.

THE BAHAMAS 293
Above this wondrous sea, the ship seems sus
pended in mid-air and, looking down through the
crystalUne, transparent liquid, one sees the wav
ing purple sea-fans and multicolored corals upon
the distant bottom. And In and out, back and
forth among the growths, float and dart flshes of
rainbow hues — ^fish of silver and of opal, of blue
and gold, of purple and carmine, of blazing orange
and burnished green ; fishes striped with black and
white, mottled with a score of tints, piebald and
speckled; a veritable riot of living color, unreal,
impossible — ^a prismatic phantasy.
Unlike any other West Indian town is Nassau, a
place of white coral streets, of huge waUs enclosing
gardens of gorgeous foliage and flowers, of low
pink and yeUow houses capped by weathered
shingled roofs, of blazing light and purple-black
shadows, and of indolent negroes In picturesque
rags. Sleepy, languid, almost moribund it seems. No
one hurries, no one has a care or worry in the
world; it is a lotus-eating land, despite electric
lights, motor cars, excellent shops, and great
modem hotels.
There are few notable buildings in the town,
the most important — aside from the hotels — being
the cathedral, the banacks near the parade ground
on Marlborough Street, the public library —
formerly a prison — and the post office, council

294 THE WEST INDIES
chambers, treasury, court house, and other govern
ment buildings about the square.
In the square Is the famous ceiba or silk-cotton
tree, one of Nassau's "wonders," but which, in
any of the more southerly West Indies, would be
passed by without notice. The Sponge Exchange
and the Fish Market are also points of interest,
provided the visitor does not possess a delicate
nose. At the head of George Street, on Mount Fitz
william, stands Government House, sunounded
by eighteen acres of beautiful grounds and afford
ing a magnificent view. Here, too, Is the statue
of Columbus, modeled after Washington Irving's
own ideas and suggestions. Luckily the monu
ment is labeled, as otherwise one might well
mistake it for a statue of some swaggering, swash
buckling character of Nassau's past, for, to tell the
truth, the slouch-hatted figure with toga over
shoulder looks more like a pirate than like the
discoverer of America.
Most interesting of the "sights" about Nassau
are the old forts upon the hill. Fort Fincastle, as
the central fort is called, is a quaint structure
resembling nothing so much as a petrified paddle-
wheel steamboat. It was built in 1789 and is now
used as a signal station, and from Its walls one
may obtain a splendid view. But it is most
famous for the so-caUed "Queen's Staircase," by

THE BAHAMAS 295
which it is approached — a nanow passageway,
seventy feet in depth and thirty feet In width,
and cut through the solid limestone rock.
The other forts. Fort Montague and Fort
Charlotte, were built respectively in 1741 and
1788. A splendid view may be obtained from
either, but Charlotte is the more interesting, as
it contains many subterranean dungeons and
passageways, some of which are reputed to extend
underground to Govemment House.
With its three commanding forts overlooking
the town and harbor, one would think that Nassau
would have been Impregnable in olden times; but
it has been attacked and taken on several occasions.
Fort Montague was captured by the embryonic
American navy In 1776, and was again taken by
the Spaniards in 1781. The Dons were driven out
by Loyalists from North Carolina in 1783, the vic
tory being brought about by strategy on the part of
Colonel Devaux. By sending his boats ashore
filled with men who secreted themselves on their
return to the ships, and repeating the ruse a
number of times, the Spaniards were led to believe
that a large force had been landed, and after a
short parley surrendered the fortress without a
straggle. '
Outside of Nassau, there are perfect roads
traversing the entire island of New Providence,
which is about twenty-seven mUes In length and

296 THE WEST INDIES
from three to seven miles in -width. The scenery,
however, is far from attractive and consists mainly
of a waste of pitch-pines and untidy palmettos,
dotted with shallow ponds and practically flat,
save for the "Blue HiUs" which rise to a height
of 120 feet.
At Waterloo, however, there is a sight worth
seeing, the "Lake of Fire," an artificial pond
some three hundred feet wide and about one
thousand feet long which Is connected -with the
sea by a canal dosed by a gate. After dark,
the pond glows and gleams -with phosphorescence
in a marvelous manner, the boats upon its surface
leaving a wake of glo-wing fire, whUe the water,
dripping from the oars, appears lUce red-hot molten
metal. But the most alluring of Nassau's charms is the
sea bathing. Either in the sheltered coves, where
the sea is calm, or at Hog Island -with its beating
surf, the water is always tepid, the air is ever
caressingly warm. And when tired of bathing, —
if indeed one can ever tire of such a luxury as this, —
one may doze beneath the shade upon the beach,
while overhead the palms whisper a drowsy
lullaby, their drooping fronds rustling like the sU
very burble of a woodland brook, or gently
clashing like the soft patter of raindrops on a roof.
Far to the eastward of Nassau, at the very
opposite extremity of the Bahaman archipelago.

THE BAHAMAS 297
is an interesting group of islands which, although
a part of the Bahamas, are under the government
of Jamaica.These are the Turks Islands, the Islands of
Salt — a_ long low strip of land girt -with sUver-
white beaches marred -with the blackened bones of
wrecks. At one end a solitary lighthouse, at the
other extremity a tiny rambling town of lime
stone and wooden buildings, such is Turk's Island
-viewed from the sea.
Very much like many another West Indian
to-wn is the port, but in one way Turk's Island
differs from all other spots, for Its sole industry, its
only revenue, the occupation in which everyone
is engaged, is salt.
Indeed, to hear the Turks Islanders talk, one
would imagine salt was some sort of vegetable, for
they speak of "raising" so many bushels of salt;
of "harvesting" the salt, and of a good or bad salt
crop. Everywhere about the town, along every street,
covering vast areas of lowland, and filling count
less sheds, are tons of salt. Like huge snowdrifts
the great pUes rise high above one's head on either
side of the roads, while everywhere are donkey
carts and mule teams laden with the crystals and,
knee-deep In the glistening heaps, negroes are
busUy shoveHng and raking over the half-dried
mass.

298 THE WEST INDIES
Back of the town, upon the lowland, are the
"salt pans," pond depressions waUed off into
squares of various sizes and depths and connected
with the sea by trenches provided -with gates.
When salt is to be made, the first series of pans
is filled with sea-water, by opening the sluice
gates, and here it is allowed to stand for about six
weeks, or until the greater portion of the water
has evaporated. The residue is then led by ditches
into the second series of shallower "pans" where it
remains for two weeks more, by which time it
has become thick and syrup-like in consistency.
As It will no longer flow freely of its own accord
it is now pumped, by queer windmlUs consisting
of a series of boat sails fastened to a horizontal
frame, into the last, or drying, pans. Here It
stands for two or three weeks until crystaUized,
and during that time it is raked, shoveled, and
tossed about, much in the manner of grass upon a
hay field, until It Is uniformly dried.
When crystallization is complete the salt is
raked into piles and shoveled into carts to be
transported to the salt houses, where It is stored,
StiU further dried, and finally ground or crashed
and packed in bags or bands, while the "crop"
to be shipped In bulk is stored in immense pUes
on every available bit of unoccupied land.
Considering the size of the island a surprising
quantity of salt Is "raised." the annual crop

THE BAHAMAS 299
amounting to nearly half a million bushels, whUe the
crop on the neighboring Caicos Islands totals about
a miUion bushels and Little Turk produces a
quarter of a million more.
Notwithstanding this output the Turks Islanders
are among the most poverty-stricken of West
Indians, for every article of wearing apparel, every
stick of fuel, and every bit of food, must be im
ported from the United States or the neighboring
islands. Twice a month the Clyde Line steamship
breaks the monotony of the people's lives, frequent
saUing vessels call for salt cargoes, cable communi
cation keeps them in touch with the doings of the
world, and good roads enable those who own
carriages to drive about. Around some of the
houses are trees and flowers, even a few palms,
aU carefully brought from other lands and planted
in soil imported from Santo Domingo. Strangely
enough the Inhabitants are intensely patriotic and
think their island the finest spot on earth, despite
the fact that it is quite out of the world, its only
scenery salt ponds and its only product salt.

CHAPTER XVIII
CUBA, THE "pearl OF THE ANTILLES"
South of the Bahamas and stretching along the
horizon for nearly eight hundred miles lies Cuba,
historic, magnificent, and vast, the largest of the
West Indies and the "Pearl of the Antilles."
Fortunate is the visitor to Cuba who first sees
Havana from the sea at sunrise. To the left, the
grim old Mono crowning Its rocky headland, to
the right, the flat-roofed, sleeping town, stretching
for miles along the shore, while, In the background,
soft green hills loom mistily against the gold and
crimson glory of the dawn.
Bathed in the soft effulgent light of breaking
day, the many-tinted city seems transformed to
a bit of fairyland, — unreal, phantasmal, ethereal,
— beautiful as a dream of Heaven, and as fleeting.
Above the sea of roofs, blue wreaths of smoke
float upward from many a newly kindled fire;
the distant crowing of cocks and barking of dogs
are borne faintly seaward on the morning breeze;
a few moving specks of men are seen upon the
streets, a trolley car rattles noisily along the
300

CUBA 301
water-front; factory whistles break the silence with
roaring summons to labor; the ringing call of a bugle
sounds from the parapets of Morro ; upward to the
summit of the flagstaff flutters the lone-staned flag
of Cuba, and day has come.
Under the frowning battlements of Morro, and
past the silent guns on ancient Punta Fort, the
ship steams slowly through the nanow strait
of blue that leads to the harbor, where, swinging
at their moorings, lying at the massive steel and
concrete docks — a forest of masts and funnels
as far as the eye can see — are scores of great
ocean-going steamers and countless sailing vessels
flying the flags of every nation. Puffing launches,
bright-hued rowboats, Immense fighters, fussy
tugs, and swift-moving ferryboats ply back and
forth in every direction. And, as the traveler
looks upon this mass of shipping, the busy docks,
the teeming water-front, the puffing locomotives
and clanging trolley cars, the towering, smoke-
belching factory chimneys, and the vast sea of
roofs, broken by the steel and concrete, many-
storied heights of modern buUdings, he realizes
that here indeed is a metropoHs, a huge, modern,
bustling city.
1 With more commerce than any other port in
America, save New York, with close to half a
mUHon inhabitants, with buUdings the equal
of any in the world, with palatial hotels, boule-

302 THE WEST INDIES
vards magnificent beyond compare, theaters,
among which is the fifth largest in the world,
stores that are a revelation, and every device,
invention, improvement, and innovation known to
the twentieth century, yet Havana is as fasci
natingly foreign, as picturesque, as colorful and
charming, and as strange as any dty of the Old
Worid. Four centuries have passed since Havana first
sprang Into being, four centuries of war and peace,
of fire and sword, of cruel misrule and trlvunphant
freedom, and, whUe vast changes have been
wrought, since that day when the banner of Spain
was hauled from the staff on which it had flaunted
its red and yellow stripes for so long, still the Hfe,
the people, the customs, and the atmosphere of old
Havana remain unaltered. Modemlty has im
proved it, sanitation has stamped out disease and
has transformed it from a plague-ridden to a
marvelously healthy city; the bad has been
eliminated, but without robbing it of aught that
was good, lovable, and fascinating, and to-day the
capital of the "Pearl of the Antilles" is the same
irresistible, quaint old city as of yore.
Many of the streets are as narrow as bypaths,
and lead, like canons dim and cool with shadows,
between Spanish buildings, the tiled fronts and
jutting balconies with scarce a dozen feet of space
between them.

EXPLANATION,
MAP OF HAVANA
] Alameda. 2 Albear Square.
3 Albisu Theatre. 4 American
Club, s Angeles Church. 6 Beien
Church. 7 CabaUera Wharf.
8 La India Park, 9 Cathedral.
10 Central Station. 11 Christ
Church. 12 City Wall. 13 Clerks'
Club. 14 Colon Market. 13 Colon
Park. 16 Congressional Building,
17 Customs House. 18 Customs
Warehouse. 19 Dominican
Convent. 20 Francisco de Paula
Church. 21 La Fuerza. 22 Henry
Clay Cigar Factory. 23 Miramar
Hotel. 24 House of Representa
tives. 25 Jail (old). 26 LepeF
Hospital. 27 Luz Wharf.
28 Malecon Drive. 29 Marti
Theatre. 30 Merced Church,
31 National Bank. 32 Library.
33 National Theatre. 34 Pairet
Theatre. 3S Old Palace.
36 Palace of Justice. 37 Paula
Hospital. 38 Pelota Court.
39 Plaza de Armas. 40 La Lonja
or Produce Exchange. 41 Punta
Fort. 42 San Juan de Dios
Park* 43 San Lazaro Watch Tower.
44 Catalina Church. 4S Santa
Clara Church, 46 Students*
Memorial. 47 Tacon Market,
48 Templete. 49 Treasury.
SO Ursuline Convent.

CUBA 303
Great archways in ponderous walls lead to huge,
colonnaded patios wherein fountains splash, birds
sing, and flowering plants fill the air with perfume;
at -windows, barred by hand-wrought iron grill-
work, dark-eyed, languorous women idly watch the
passing throngs, whUe the tinkle of guitars and the
strains of soft Spanish music mingle with the roar
of traffic and the honk of automobUe homs.
For ancient, picturesque, and delightfully foreign
as are these byways of old Havana, yet through
them flows a constant stream of modern traffic,
pedestrians of every class, color, and race ; rubber-
tired Victorias; mule-drawn drays and ox-carts;
ponderous motor trucks and vans; rushing motor
delivery wagons; softly purring limousines and
clanging trolley cars. Marvelous it seems that
the nanow lanes can accommodate the jam, that
acddents are not of constant occurrence, but the
traffic moves swiftly and with scarce a hitch, for
the police are effident, and the drivers skUlful,
and accustomed to conditions which would make a
New York taxi-driver pale.
Overhead, during the sunny hours of the day,
stretch canopies gay with color, gorgeous -with
painted advertisements and strange Spanish names
and which, far above the streets, form a covered
way like an Oriental bazaar between the stores
of the shopping districts. And such shops! No
dingy, dusty, old-fashioned affairs are these, but

304 THE WEST INDIES
modern stores with enormous plate glass windows,
brass and mahogany fronts, and within which
every article known to the world may be found.
The only thing wanting is the modern American
department store, but the Cuban merchant has
his own ideas on such matters, and most peculiar
some of these are to the Northerner. Rosaries,
crucifixes, prayer books, and lottery tickets seem a
strange combination to us; to find confectionery
side by side with firearms and ammunition Is a
surprise, and one gasps in amazement at sight of
canary birds sold In a shop with quilts and mat
tresses; but no doubt, to the Cuban mind, our
habit of selling cigars and postage stamps in drag
stores is quite as incomprehensible.
One must not judge Havana's streets by the
narrow ways of the old portion of the city, however,
for there are numerous thoroughfares as -wide and
modern as any of our own, while the Prado and
the Malecon have few rivals for beauty or perfec
tion in any city of the world.
In Havana, all roads lead to the Central Plaza
or "Parque Central," the heart of the city, the
spot from which the main arteries and troUey
lines radiate, and about which are located the
most splendid and noteworthy buildings, the
theaters, the club houses, and the hotels.
Beautiful In itself Is the plaza, a great open
space occupying several squares and filled with

CUBA 305
palms, shade trees, and beautiful flowers ; a splen
did statue of the martyred patriot, Marti, in the
center, and threaded by smooth paths bordered
by benches for those who would tarry beneath the
shade. And sitting here and looking about at the
sunoundlngs, the wonderful beauty, the marvel
ous wealth, and the progressive modernity of
Cuba's capital are bome forcibly upon the visitor.
On aU four sides are massive buildings, con
spicuous among them being the Hotel Plaza,
the Bazaar de Paris, the Asturias Club, the Hotel
Inglatena and Telegrafos, and the ornately beauti
ful Gallegos Club — a club house costing over one
mUlion dollars and erected by clerks and work,
men — while beyond is the magniflcent new Presi
dential Palace.
Everjrwhere upon the streets are luxurious motor
cars, — many in the ten thousand dollar class, —
splendid horse-drawn vehicles, and fashionably
dressed crowds of men and women, whUe upon the
roofs blaze and scintillate a myriad of electric
signs which would be a credit to upper Broadway.
About the plaza centers the gay night life of the
dty, for Havana wakes up about the time that
other cities go to bed, and here, better than in any
other one spot in the city, the visitor may find
constant interest and amusement and can best
study the life and ways of the people.
Each of the immense buUdings about the park oc-

3o6 THE WEST INDIES
cupies an entire square — great, massive structures
of stone and concrete several stories in height and
supported by huge columns at the edges of the
sidewalks, thus forming cool, shady colonnades
with arched openings In which are displayed
the Innumerable wares of the booths and stores on
the ground floors. Typical of Havana are these
bazaar-like arcades, the only doors or walls to the
shops being iron screens which are rolled up out of
sight during the day, and here, In the open air,
the Havanese shop and gossip, eat, drink, and are
shaved In full view of the ever-passing crowds.
Between the booths, from side to side and di
agonally through the buildings, run streets or pas
sages also bordered by countless shops, the whole
forming a veritable city of stores. In a way like a
gigantic department store, save that the various
shopkeepers have no Interests in common and each
is a keen rival and competitor of his neighbors.
Even more heterogeneous than our five-and-ten-
cent stores Is the variety of articles to be found in
one of these grdat bazaars, for hats, shoes, china,
laces, toys, jewelry, baskets, embroidery, liquors,
groceries, tobacco and cigars, saddles and har
ness, souvenirs and post cards, curios and furniture
are side by side, whUe for good measure there are
bootblacks, restaurants, barber shops, and cafes.
The visitor to Havana will find It a tiresome
undertaking to wander about the city and see all

CUBA 307
the interesting spots afoot, and while the numerous
trolley cars wUl carry one to a large proportion
of the more important places, It is far more satis
factory to do one's sight-seeing by means of a cab.
The "coches, " as these quaint Victoria-like public
carriages are called, are one of Havana's time
honored Institutions. They are always In evidence,
scores of them lining the curb about the plaza and
In the busier thoroughfares, and they are the cheap
est thing In Cuba, and for the modest sum of ten
cents one or two people may ride anywhere within
the city limits, while a third passenger costs but
five cents additional. If longer trips are desired,
the "coches" may be hired at $1.00 to $1.25 per
hour, and In a few hours' time every point of Interest
in the city and its environs may be -visited. As a
rale the driver or "cochero" may be trasted to
show the stranger all places of importance, but It
is well to anange beforehand just where one is to
go In a certain time, as otherwise the jehu may
cover the same ground twice or may travel by
such de-vious routes that far more .time than is
necessary is consumed. Few ofthe "cocheros"
speak English, but one may always call upon an
employee of the hotel to act as interpreter and
make all business anangements.
Just what route should be taken, or in what
order the more Interesting features of Havana
should be visited, are matters which each visitor

3o8 THE WEST INDIES
must dedde for himself, but, as a rule, the drive
always begins with the Prado.
This magnificent thoroughfare stretches from
Colon Park to the water-front, about two mUes,
and throughout its entire length It is bordered
by splendid buUdings, whUe in the center, between
the two asphalt driveways, is a series of parklets
shaded by poincianas, laurel trees, and palms.
Colon Park, at the upper extremity of the Prado,
is a charming spot of grass plots, shrabbery, and
splendid trees, with numerous paths and walks
through avenues of royal palms, while opposite
its entrance in the center of the Prado is a strik
ingly beautiful monument supporting the figure
of an Indian goddess known as "La Habena" or
"La India." Justly proud of the Prado are the
Cubans, and with good reason, for from end to
end It is a street to excite the admiration of any
one. Even during the day, the Prado is filled with
carriages, automobiles, and pedestrians, but after
sundown it fairly teems and swarms with life,
and It would be a difficult matter to find another
thoroughfare in all the world which is gayer, nois
ier, or more animated than the Prado between the
early evening and midnight. The hours of dark
ness are the Cubans' playtime, and long after mid
night and well towards break of day, the Plaza and
Prado, the Malecon, and many a lesser street are

CUBA 309
ablaze with lights and noisy with song, music,
and laughter, while vehicles move in a constant
stream, and cafes, restaurants, and theaters are
filled to overflowing.
¦At the edge of the sea, with Mono In plain
view across the nanow harbor entrance, the Prado
joins the Malecon in a broad open space, bor
dered by the sea-wall sweeping in a semicircle from
the old Punta Fort on the right to the Miramar
Hotel on the left.
Fronting quaint old Punta with its jutting sentry
boxes, antique guns, and grassy moat. Is a large
savanna^ smoothly swarded, cut by asphalt drives
and set with trees, flower beds, and tropic shrab
bery. On the farther side Is the old jail, a mon
strous yellow building designed to hold flve
thousand prisoners, — and often filled at that, dur
ing the Spanish regime, — but now transformed to
neat and sanitary quarters for the Board of Educa
tion. Half way between the jail and Punta stand
the remains of a one-time building whereon
is a commemorative tablet marking the spot
where eight Cuban students were massacred in
1871. From the Punta the wide and perfect roadway
of the Malecon sweeps beside the sea wall for sev
eral mUes, one of the pleasantest driveways in the
world, with the residences of wealthy Cubans on
the one hand and, on the other, the sapphire sea

310 THE WEST INDIES
and breaking surf, with the ceaseless, refreshing
breeze cool with the breath of the ocean.
By continuing along the Malecon one passes
the Leper Hospital of San Lazaro and the odd
watch tower, from which, In olden times, the
Spaniards kept a lookout for the approach of
pirates and other foes, and just beyond, reaches
the Vedado, a residential suburb. From the
Vedado one may return to the plaza by any one
of half a dozen routes, one of the best being by
way of Colon Cemetery, El Principe Fort, and
the Botanic Gardens.
It was in Colon Cemetery that the victims of
the Maine disaster were buried, and a splendid
monument marks their former resting place, but,
aside from this, the cemetery is worthy of a visit
for Its magnificent sculptured arched gateway
and numerous costly monuments, while. If a funeral
Is taking place, the stranger will find the hearse as
Interesting as anything to be seen. Drawn by six
or more plumed and gaily caparisoned horses,
decorated with scarlet and gold, driven by liveried
outriders, and -with footmen dressed in sixteenth
century costumes, with cocked hats, gold lace,
scarlet knickerbockers, and powdered wigs, the
Havana hearses appear more like circus wagons
than anything else to Northem eyes, but to the
Cubans they are the correct thing, and one may
know the deceased Cuban's standing and wealth

CUBA 311
by the number of horses and the gorgeousness of
the vehicle which carries him to his last resting
place. Principe Fort, a quaint, ancient structure with
immense walls, deep moat, and portcullis, is at
present used only as a jaU, but from the hUltop
on which It stands one may obtain a superb view
of the great city, the harbor, and the Mono
and Cabanas beyond.
; No visit to a West Indian town would be com
plete without a trip to the market, arid in Havana
there are several, two of which, the Colon and the
Tacon, are very large and within a short walk of
the Parque Central.
Tacon Market is a block from Colon Park and
four blocks from the plaza, while Colon Market
is between ZiUueta and Montsenate streets, a
block from the Plaza Hotel and Central Park.
Here one may see every fruit and vegetable of the
tropics, as well as a great variety of those familiar
to our Northem markets, for Cuba's soil and climate
are well adapted to raising the products of the
temperate as well as the torrid zones. Interesting
too are the' fish stalls with their marvelously
colored, gorgeously tinted denizens of Cuba's wa
ters, while in some ways the poultry section of the
market is the most Interesting of all. The Cuban
poultryman has ways of his own and divides his
fowls into numerous sections, each of which has

312 THE WEST INDIES
its own price. Thus, one may purchase a breast,
wing, leg, neck, or even a head or giblets, according
to one's taste or needs, and the stranger is filled
with wonder at the miiltitude of cuts, steaks and
joints which the Cuban manages to dissect from a
turkey or a chicken.
Not far from Colon Market is one of the few
remaining fragments of the vast city waU which
originally encircled Havana and did much to
protect its riches and its people from pirates and
other enemies.
A few steps from this little comer of wall, with
its single picturesque sentry box, is the lovely Los
Angeles Church with its soft, cream-colored
steeple and roof, prickly as a cactus, with miniature
spires. About this church are some of the quaint
est and oldest streets in Havana, crooked, running
at all angles and narrow — the Loma del Angel be
ing scarce ten feet in width and the nano-west
thoroughfare in the city.
Another very interesting section of Havana is
the district about the Plaza de Armas at the foot of
O'ReiUy and Obispo streets. Here, opposite the
open square of the Plaza de Armas with its hand
some statue of Ferdinand VI, is the spot where
the founders of Havana first landed and which Is
marked by a modest little temple-like chapel
and monument within an omamental Iron and
stone fence. This Is the Templete and beside

CUBA 313
it stands a ceiba tree, a scion of the original tree
beneath which the first Mass In Cuba was said
when the colonists first stepped ashore. Once a
year the Templete is opened and, on the night of
November 15th, and the foUowing day, it is
iUuminated and decorated in commemoration of
the founding of the city.
AU about here is historic ground, for this was
the nucleus of the city, and from here It has grown
and spread in every direction. The palace of the
former -viceroys and governors-general — slater used
as the presidential palace — fronts on the plaza
and is open to visitors. Within it, in a patio
fiUed with palms and fiowers, is a striking statue
of Columbus; the massive marble stairways are
beautiful, and the magnificence of Spanish domin
ion is stUl visible on every side, especially in the
immense throne room.
But the most noteworthy building, and the most
historical In the neighborhood, is the unpretentious
gray stone pile on the northem side of the square.
This is La Fuerza, once a powerful fort and the
oldest buUding in Havana, built in 1538 under the
personal supervision of Ferdinand de Soto. Here,
in the thick-walled, moated fastness, De Soto left
his wife, the beautiful Donna Isabel, when he
saUed forth to Florida in 1539, and here she
waited through four long years of patient, ever-
hopeful vigU untu, realizing her husband would

314 THE WEST INDIES
never more retum, she succumbed to her
grief. To-day, the drawbridge spans a dry and grass-
grown moat, the guns wUl never more roar forth
their messages of death, no grim sentinels pace the
parapets, but, looking seaward from the battle
ments, one may imagine Donna Isabel, with tear-
stained cheeks, gazing ever westward in the hope
of seeing the white glint of sails upon the deep
blue sea, the fiutter of gold and crimson flags, the
glint of sun on casque and breastplate, as the ship
she longed for came bravely home to Havana
with De Soto, flushed with fame and glory, upon
the lofty poop.
Little she dreamed that in a far and unknown
land the body of her Ferdinand was being lowered,
in secret and at dead of night, within the black
and sUent waters of the Mississippi, and stiU
less did she dream that above the fortress he had
builded, would one day fly a new flag, the banner
of a people and a nation fated to spring up and
overthrow the mighty power of Spain.
Many a hard-fought battle has old La Fuerza
seen. Stoutly and well has it fulfiUed its mission
to defy the guns of pirates, buccaneers, and fight
ing ships of Britain, France, and Holland. Within
Its massive walls has rested wealth untold, count
less millions in gold and precious stones, for La
Fuerza was the treasure vault of the New World,

CUBA- "315
and here were stored, for safety, the riches of
galleons and plate ships homeward bound from
Pera and Mexico, Cartagena and Porto Bello.
Never has La Fuerza fallen, never have Its colors
been struck to besieger, save when the British
took the Mono and tumed its guns upon the sister
fort across the harbor.
Only a short distance from La Fuerza and the
Plaza de Armas, a few blocks up Emperado
Street behind the palace. Is the cathedral, a Latin-
Gothic imposing church with twin towers, which
¦^ras ccBumenced in 1656 and completed in 1724.
Witidn ITS hoary gray stone walls are many fine
p-.r~i7~\^ by old masters, while the altar of Italian
—,F.r^e. -the mosaic pavement, and the jeweled
and gmbnadered vestments are truly marvel
ous. But the cathedral's chief fame Is due to Its claim
as the former resting place of the bones of Colum
bus, which it never contained, if we can credit
the most painstaking researches and Indisputable
historic facts. Tradition dies hard, however, and
while it has been definitely established that the
ashes of the discoverer stiU remain in the cathedral
at Santo Domingo City, — ^where they were buried
after their removal from Spain, — and that the
supposed remains taken to Havana were those of
Diego, his son, yet many people still cling to the
beHef that the discoverer of America rested

31 6 THE WEST INDIES
in Havana's cathedral until removed by the
Spaniards after the Cuban war.
Many another point of interest is to be seen
about Havana. There are quaint historic old
churches, ancient monasteries and convents, the
theaters, the pelota games, lovely Marianao beach
with its bathing and yachting; the magnificent
modern Central Railway Station, the beautiful
Produce Exchange Building, or La Lonja, the
library with over twenty thousand volumes,
among which are priceless old works of early
Spanish chroniclers, and the cigar factories,
while of greater interest than all, to many -visitors,
are the Morro and Cabanas castles.
Both of these are within easy reach, both are
open to the public, and no visitor to Havana should
consider his stay complete without seeing these
wonderful old fortifications. From CabaUera
Wharf launches and small boats may be taken
across the harbor, the trip costing ten cents each
way, and from the landing place below Cabanas
Heights a long, winding, covered way leads up the
steep slope to the summit.
As the climb is very fatiguing and hot it should
be made as early in the morning as possible, or else
on a cool and cloudy day, and upon reaching
Cabanas a pass should be obtained to visit Morro.
Cabanas, although built as a fortress, has never
been under fire and has served no other purpose

<m
3U
<z<>

CUBA 317
than a prison and barracks where, during the
numerous revolts of the Cubans, the Spaniards
confined, tortured, and executed countless num
bers of the patriots. Even before one enters
the forbidding walls of the vast fortress its sinister
history is brought "vividly to mind, for at the
right of the portal Is a shallow moat, above which,
on the walls, is a beautiful commemorative tablet
of bronze. This is the famous Laurel Ditch, a
spot wherein the condemned prisoners were placed
against the wall and shot without trial, and one may
StiU see the bullet marks indenting the masonry
for a space of near one hundred feet, mutely
but eloquently testifying to the number of firing
squads whose leveled rifles sent victims of Spain's
oppression to their deaths. But cruel and in
human as were these executions, those who fell
in the Laurel Ditch were less to be pitied than
those who remained alive in the dark and a"vrful
dungeons within the walls.
Not untU one enters Cabafias can one reaUze
the Immensity of the place, which is a mUe in
length, one thousand feet In width, and which cost
over fourteen •million dollars, while eleven years
were required for its construction. Within this
vast castle-fortress are cells, dungeons, and secret
passageways without end, many far underground,
and reminding one of a gigantic, fossilized rabbit
warren full of holes and burrows made by pre-

3i8 THE WEST INDIES
historic monsters and tumed to stone From the
lofty ramparts, with their curious andent cannon,
a wonderful view of harbor and city is presented,
with the rich, green, smiling country beyond and
star-shaped Atares Castle on the heights above the
town — the spot wherein Crittenden and his fifty
Kentucky comrades were shot down.
Far older and more Interesting than Cabanas Is
the Morro, a short walk to the north, for it was
completed In 1597, nearly two centuries before
Cabanas, and designed as an exact replica of the
Moorish fortress at Lisbon.
But through the repairs and alterations of three
hundred years the original design and appearance
of Mono have been greatly changed and, at first
sight. It appears far more modern than either
the Mono at San Juan, Porto Rico, or the fortress
of the same name at Santiago.
As is the case -with Cabanas, the immense
strength and size of the Morro do not impress the
observer until within its walls which rise for one
hundred feet and more, sheer from the bare and
wave-beaten cliffs above the sea. Stupendously
thick and strong they are too, and absolutely
inaccessible, save from the landward side where
enormous moats, forty feet in "width and seventy
feet deep, have been hewn from the solid rock and
are spanned by drawbridges leading to the huge
sally port.

CUBA 319
In the center of the castle is a large open
parade ground, about which are dark gloomy
casements, and from here a sloping, paved way
leads downward towards the dungeons and the sea,
and, in one place, the -visitor is shown a steep
slide through which. In former times, the prisoners,
both dead and alive, were slipped into the waves to
feed the sharks in the Nido de Tiburones (Shark's
Nest) just below.
Built to protect Havana from enemies approach
ing from the sea, yet never but once has the
fortress been seriously exposed to attack. That
was in 1762 when the British laid siege to Havana
and the Mono proved the undoing of the city it was
designed to defend, for it was mined and captured
by the English from the land side and its guns,
trained on La Fuerza and La Punta, compelled
the sunender of the to-wn. Obsolete, useless
against modern artillery, but imposing and pictur
esque as ever, the Morro stands to-day, a wonder
ful monument, a splendid relic of the past, a
mighty engine of war converted to the needs of
peace, a giant created to destroy, serving to safe
guard, life, for above its ramparts stands the
slender tower of the wireless station, while, from
the lofty Hghthouse within its walls, a bright
beam guides the mariner in safety towards the
harbor. To many Havana is Cuba and Cuba is Havana,

320 THE WEST INDIES
and many visitors to the island see nothing out
side of the capital. But while Havana is the
largest of Cuban towns, the center of the wealth,
business, and commerce of the republic, yet there
is much to be seen elsewhere, and, to see the
best of Cuba, to know the Pearl of the Antilles
for what it is, and to obtain an intelligent idea
of its products, resources, scenery, development,
and attractions, the traveler should visit all
the more important towns reached by coasting
steamers or railways, or both.
So vast is Cuba, so different are its various
provinces, so varied Its resources, scenery, and
cHmate, so numerous its towns, and so innumerable
its places of interest and its attractions, that to
describe the island adequately would require
not one, but many, chapters, — even an entire
volume or more.
Without going far afield the visitor to Cuba may
see considerable of the interior of the island and
its resources, and there are many short trips from
Havana which may be taken by railway, boat, or
trolley Hne.
By crossing the bay, by ferry, from Havana, one
may visit Regla, a little village once a famous
resort of smugglers and pirates, but now of Uttle
interest save as the terminus of an electric line
to Guanabacoa, an interesting town, at one time
a very fashionable summer resort, and famed for

CUBA 321
its medicinal springs. It was here that Ocampo
landed in 1508 and pitched the seams of his ships
with asphalt from the hUls behind the town. From
the fact that his vessels were careened In the bay,
which now forms Havana's harbor, the latter
received the name of Puerto de Carenas, which it
retained for many years.
Here, too, is the College of Pious Souls, one of
the most famous of Cuban schools, a massive
building very similar to the old California Mis
sions, with pillared colonnades and fiower-fiUed
patios. There are also many notable old churches
in the to-wn, that of Potosi being famous for its
miracles and which is 'annually -visited by thou
sands of pilgrims from all parts of the island.
From Guanabacoa a bus line runs to Cojimar, a
seacoast resort -with a magnificent bathing beach. In
the shelter of a quaint little castle-like fort known
as "Little Mono," and as there is a good hotel
here, the visitor may spend several days at Cojimar
and enjoy the cool sea breezes and the bathing.
Another short trip is by electric train to Mari
anao, where there is a splendid country club and
sea bathing, or one may continue on to Guanajay,
or even into the rich tobacco district of Pinar del
Rio; while another interesting trip is that to
Madruga, among the hiUs southeast of Havana,
and from whose springs the famous Copey water of
the island is obtained.

322 THE WEST INDIES
Guines, not far distant, is in a vast sugar dis
trict, and many Americans have settled in the
vicinity. It was between Guines and Havana that
the first railway in Cuba was estabUshedin 1834, and
which was In actual use In 1837, years before many
of our largest towns had been weaned from the
pony express and the lumbering stage coach. The
first locomotive used on this pioneer railway is
still in existence, carefully preserved in the huge
Central Station in Havana, and forming a wonder
ful contrast to the huge Mogul locomotives of
Cuban railways of to-day, and which stand,
panting, at the heads of long trains of Pullman
coaches within a few yards of their miniature
predecessor. Still another, and the most fascinating of aU
short trips, is that to Matanzas and the famous
Yumuri Valley. Matanzas is but sixty-three miles
from Havana and readily accessible, as four trains
leave Havana daily for the town. Its beautiful situ
ation, its wonderful caves, its tropical verdure, and
its quaint foreign appearance have made this north
em coast town a veritable Mecca for excursionists
and travelers. The railway passes through charm
ingly interesting country, first vast cane fields, then
through rolling hills, hence through a deep gorge
dense with tropical foliage, ferns, and flowers, and
flnally across the fertile San Juan Valley, rich -with
orange orchards and with green hUls on either side.

CUBA 323
while far ahead the solitary majestic peak or
"pan" of Matanzas towers far above the town.
Matanzas is low, its highest point scarce one
hundred feet above the sea, and it is divided into
three parts by the San Juan and Yumuri rivers.
Each portion is known by a different name, that
section lying between the two streams being
Old To-wn or "Pueblo Viejo, " that on the northern
bank of the Yumuri being called VersaUles, while
that on the south bank of the San Juan Is ' ' Pueblo
Nuevo" or New Town.
There are many Important and notable buUd
ings in Matanzas, such as the Governor's Palace,
the Cuban Club, the Spanish Club, and the
Gran Hotel, aU of which are buUt on or near
the lovely Plaza de Libertad, while In the Ver
sailles section are many magnificent mansions
as well as the Paseo Marti, a beautiful boulevard
much like Havana's prado in miniature. Even
more pretentious and beautiful are the princely
residences of the wealthy Matanzans in New Town,
veritable palaces of every color of the rainbow,
with enormous porticoes, marble columns, immense
patios, and superb gardens.
But with all the attractions of Matanzas the
real mterest of the locality lies in the Yumuri
Valley and the BeUamar Caves.
The Yumuri Valley has been called the "Vale
of Paradise, " and its beauties ha"ve been described

324 THE WEST INDIES
more often than any other spot in Cuba, and whUe
its loveliness cannot be gainsaid, yet it is not so
large, so luxuriant, nor so attractive as the Vega
Real of Santo Domingo, or more beautiful than
many of the vales, girt with towering mountains,
in Porto Rico. But it can boast of one attraction
lacking in all others, the Hermitage of Monteser-
rate upon the crest of Cumbre HUl, a sacred shrine
credited with innumerable miracles.
Within are many offerings from the faithful,
and from far and near come pilgrims hobbling
on crutches or canes, slowly, painfully, -with
many a halt, climbing the steep hUl, to retum,
sound in limb, walking unaided and erect, their
canes and crutches left within the Hermitage as
testimony to the wondrous powers of the Lady of
Monteserrate. In a hill, about two miles from Matanzas, are
the Caves of BeUamar, no whit less famous than
the Yumuri Valley, and which were first discovered
accidentally by a Chinese laborer who lost his
crowbar through a hidden crevice beneath the
earth where he was working.
The caverns are entered through a small buUding
and by a broad stairway cut In the rock and are
illuminated by electricity, and the lights, glinting
and glistening upon the countless crystalline
stalactites, present a wonderful and beautiful
effect.

CUBA 325
Although not as large as the Luray or the Mam
moth Cave, yet the caves of BeUamar extend for
over four miles, are one hundred feet and more
in height, and are far more beautiful than our
gigantic caves in the perfection of their formations.
The perfect domed roofs, hung with stalactites
like pendant banners, the enormous columns,
reaching from floor to ceiling, and the marvelously
sparkHng, prismatic character of the dripstone,
excel any caverns in the United States. The
first and largest of the chambers, the so-called
Gothic Temple, is nearly 250 feet in Idngth by
75 feet In width, and, in addition, there are
numerous smaller chambers, halls, passages, and
grottoes with subterranean rivers, deep, awesome
chasms, and natural bridges of stone.
Should the visitor to Cuba elect to travel farther
along the northern shores of the Island he will flnd
many a pretty town, much lovely scenery, and
many interesting spots. First beyond Matanzas
is Cardenas, one hundred mUes from Havana and
a modem thriving city, famous in the annals
of our brief war with Spain as the scene of the
first American fatalities of the conflict, when
Ensign Bagley and four seamen were killed dur
ing an engagement on May 11, 1890. North of
the town is a very attractive seashore resort, the
Varadero, with many attractive villas and summer
homes along the shore.

326 THE West Indies
Eastward, about seventy miles from Cardenas,
Is Sagua la Grande, an extremely picturesque
town, built partly on piles like Batabano, and
which Is the "farthest north" town in Cuba. Off
the shore are numerous islets, or cays, the summer
homes of prominent Cubans, and on one of which,
Cayo Christo, the President of Cuba has a resi
dence. Still continuing eastward, Caibarien is
reached, an important shipping port connected by
railway with interior towns.
Nuevitas, the next port. Is a very old town, the
terminus of a railway to Camaguey in the interior,
and mainly of interest as being the port of La
Gloria, the most flourishing as well as the pioneer
American colony in Cuba.
Next comes Vita, a shipping port of the sugar
district and with a wonderful landlocked harbor,
and beyond is Gibara, a quaint and very ancient
Spanish town and one of the few Cuban towns
which Is still as fascinatingly old-fashioned and
Oriental as before the Spanish War.
Charmingly picturesque is Gibara, -vrith its
brilliantly colored buildings against the steep
green hillside above the crescent-shaped bay, and
flanked by comic-opera blockhouses and topped by
the great yellow cathedral among the palms. More
over it is a spot of great historic interest, for it was
the first place touched at by Columbus when he
discovered Cuba In 1492, and the triple mountains,

CUBA 327
mentioned in his joumal as the ' ' Silla, ' ' the ' ' Pan, ' '
and the "Tabla," stUl loom as prominently and
impressively beyond the town as on that day 424
years ago; their lower slopes, verdure clad and
green, their summits, naked and precipitous, like
three great fangs, gleaming golden in the sunlight.
Nipe Bay, with Saetia amid Its pineapple plan
tations, Preston, the United Fruit Company
to-wn, and Felton, the shipping port of the vast
Iron mines, He just beyond Gibara, and here one
finds the great, busy, modem port, Antilla, the
terminus of an important branch of the Cuba
Central Railway and the third most important
seaport of Cuba.
Only a few years ago Nipe Bay was the lonely,
almost unknown, haunt of fishermen, smugglers,
and filibusters, but to-day the wonderful natural
harbor is filled with great steamships from far and
near, about the shores are numerous flourishing up-
to-date towns with American hotels, factories, and
Industries, while all about, the forests of cabinet
woods, the fertUe fruit and cane lands, and the
mountains of valuable ores are pouring their wealth
into the mushroom-like port, which Is already
second only to Havana in prosperity and progress.
Last of the northern coast towns of Cuba is
Baracoa upon the borders of a landlocked harbor
beneath the shadow of the Yunque Mountain
which towers for two thousand feet above the

328 THE WEST INDIES
town. Discovered by Columbus in 1492, this
lovely spot so attracted the great navigator that he
declared In his journal that "a thousand tongues
could not suffice to describe the things I saw here
of novelty and beauty, for it was all like a scene
of enchantment." Oldest of Cuba's towns is
Baracoa, for, lured by the glowing words of Colum
bus, hither came Diego Velasquez in 15 11 to
found a settlement. The fort he built so long
ago still stands above the town, butthe city has
changed much, for, despite its Isolation, it Is a busy
modern place and a shipping port for millions of
cocoanuts and countless thousands of bunches of
bananas. So numerous are its ports that Cuba has been
called "the island of one hundred harbors," and
this Is no exaggeration, for both the northem and
southern coasts are dotted with towns, many of
which are Important shipping ports.
Nearest to Havana, on the south, is Batabano,
the "Little Venice" of Cuba, a village on stilts
and mainly inhabited by spongers and fishermen
and of importance as the port from which steam
ers sail for the Isle of Pines. Fifty miles of
shallow water separate this much-exploited and
over-estimated Island from Batabano and, unless
one Is desirous of looking over the ground with an
eye to investment, there Is little reason for visiting
the Isle of Pines. But it is a delightful sail across

CUBA 329
the gulf, over a wonderful sea, so clear and shallow
that the multicolored, coral-paved bottom may be
plainly viewed, and, moreover, the isle affords
exceUent bathing, many delightful drives, and good
fishing. Discovered by Columbus, who named it Evan
gelista, the Isle of Pines — so-called because of its
extensive pine forests — was considered practically
worthless by the Spaniards and was abandoned to
pirates, smugglers, and buccaneers, while con-victs
sent there by the Spaniards added to the choice
collection of its inhabitants. It cannot be denied
that there Is some good land In the Isle of Pines,
that the climate Is healthy and delightful, and that,
as a winter residence for Northerners, the isle
Is all that has been claimed for it, but, like many
another land and colonization scheme, the possi
bUities of the Isle of Pines have been terribly
exaggerated. Its total area is but half a million acres and
over one third of this Is worthless, annually
inundated, swampy and flinty, wretched moun
tains, while much of the remainder is barren pine-
land. Even the fertile portions are often parched
and dry during some of the year and are flooded
at other seasons.
Moreover the transportation facUities to the
world's markets are poor, the best soil requires
fertilizing, and there is not a single advantage

330 THE WEST INDIES
or attraction possessed by the Isle of Pines which
cannot be found to much greater extent and
under more favorable conditions in Cuba or
Porto Rico.
But the roads are excellent, much of the scenery
is attractive, there are large modern hotels and
many charming residences on the isle, and the
majority of the well-to-do inhabitants are
Americans. Unquestionably many of the colonists have
made money on the Isle of Pines, and, beyond a
doubt, many more wUl succeed and prosper, but
many more have faUed and have lost their all
through misleading and false representations and
have worked their way home, sadder but wiser
men, while still others remain stranded on the
isle and In Cuba, and are compelled to work at
menial labor to earn their daily bread.
Aside from limited agricultural possibilities,
the resources of the Isle of Pines are few and
scarcely exploited. There are marble quanies
in the hills, forests of cedar, mahogany, and pine
in the mountains, and there are numerous mineral
springs, the water from which is bottled and sold
In large quantities in Cuba.
Eastward from Batabano is Jagua Bay, — one of
the finest harbors in the world, — and six miles
from the entrance, upon a gentle slope of wondrous
green, Is Cienfuegos. Strangely named was this

CUBA 331
city, for Columbus, viewing the spot at night and
seeing the flashing lights of countless firefiies,
exclaimed, "Mira los cienfuegos!" (Behold the
himdred fires !)
One of the best of Cuba's towns is Cienfuegos,
as well as one of the most modem, for it was not
founded until 1819 and was completely rebuilt
in 1825, after its destruction by a hurricane.
Second only to Havana, from a commercial stand
point, and first of all Cuban ports in its sugar
shipments, Cienfuegos is a wealthy, prosperous,
progressive city with -wide straight streets, electric
lights, and every improvement.
The plaza is noted for its beauty and Is guarded
by two great marble lions, presented by Queen
Isabella of Spain, while facing it is the massive
cathedral within which Is a wonderful image
of the Madonna robed in cloth of gold and royal
purple, and which, like the lions, is also a gift
of the Spanish queen.
Notable among the prominent buildings is the
great Terry Theater, built at a cost of over
$150,000 by the heirs of Don Tomas Terry,
one of Cuba's wealthiest sugar kings, and the
receipts from which are devoted to the schools.
About the plaza centers the life of the city, and
here, on Sunday and Thursday evenings, come the
beauty and wealth — as well as the ugly and
humble — of the town, to listen to the dreamy music

332 THE WEST INDIES
of the band and to parade beneath the palms,
seeing and being seen. In true Spanish-American
fashion. In Havana few of the women of the
better class retain the becoming, picturesque
dress of Spain, but in Cienfuegos soft mantUlas
and fluttering rebosas have not given way to
Parisian millinery and bizarre gowns of up-to-date
style, and the Senoras and Senoritas are stUl true to
the fiower-bedecked hair, clinging laces, high
combs, and bewitching costumes of their ancestors.
Cienfuegos itself is rather too hot for comfort
during the day, although the climate is healthy
enough, but about the borders of the bay are
villas and suburbs which are cool and breezy, and
here the well-to-do residents dwell, amid a Para
dise of tropic foliage, with the turquoise waters
of the bay stretching across to smooth green
fields, beyond which rise the opalescent, distant
mountains. All about Cienfuegos are delightful drives,
beautiful scenery, and interesting spots, such as
Habanilla Falls, a lovely cataract in the most
luxuriant of tropic verdure, and the Damiju River,
flowing under arches of bamboo, whUe close at
hand, at the entrance to the harbor, Is the hoary
old Castillo de Jagua, a fortress built in the reign
of PhUip V and the quaintest and most picturesque
of all Cuba's medieval structures.
Trinidad, the next important port to the east of

CUBA 333
Cienfuegos, is the second oldest town in Cuba,
founded in 1513 by caballeros from Spain, who
accompanied Cortez on his conquest of Mexico,
and among whom was Puertocarero who made
the first voyage from New to Old Spain.
Beyond Trinidad Is Jucaro, of little interest
save as the southem end of the famous "trocha. "
Beyond here, and stretching for miles just off the
coast, is a chain of innumerable islets or cays,
marvelously beautiful at a distance, and called
by Columbus "Las Jardines de la Reina" (The
Gardens of the Queen) but, despite their beauty,
untenable for any inhabitants other than spongers
and fishermen, owing to the myriads of blood
thirsty mosquitoes with which they are infested.
At the eastem end of this chain of cays Is the
Gulf of Guacanaybo into which flows the great
Cauto River, the largest and most important
of Cuba's streams and which is navigable by steam
boats for fifty miles. Upon the eastem shore of this
great bay Is Manzanillo, a city of twenty thousand
inhabitants and an important port through which
are exported the products of a vast and rich
agricultural district.
The town is supplied with electric lights and
Is modern In every way, but unfortunately It Is
very hot and far from healthy, and its chief
interest to Americans lies in the fact that it was
at this spot that the last shot of the Spanish-

334 THE WEST INDIES
American war was fired, while the town was
barely saved from bombardment by the timely
signing of the peace protocol.
Far more interesting than the trip along Cuba's
coasts, and affording a far better opportunity to
view the island, is the journey from Havana to
Santiago, a distance of five hundred mUes, by the
Cuba Central Railway.
Twenty-four hours are required for the joumey,
but luxurious Pullman cars are fumished, there
are restaurants, hotels, and other accommodations
en route, and the trip is as comfortable and
pleasant as a trip on one of our own great railways
and, if desired, a stop-over may be made at
Camaguey or other points.
As the first part of the route is through a flat,
uninteresting cane district which extends as far
as Santa Clara, it Is wisest to take the evening
train, which leaves Havana at lo p. M., and thus
have the entire ^ following day amid the most
Interesting and varied scenery and the most
noteworthy towns of the interior of the island.
At daybreak the traveler looks forth across far-
reaching fields of cane and tobacco above which
stretches a gossamer coverlet of mist, like a vast
silver sea, from which rise islands of bamboo
and lofty palms, whUe half -submerged in the nebu
lous sea are tiny huts, neat houses, and great sugar
miUs, Rapidly the buildings become more numer-

CUBA 335
ous, cane and tobacco give way to roads and
streets, and, with a rumble and roar, the train
pulls into Santa Clara, 184 miles from the capital.
A city of twenty-five thousand inhabitants is
Santa Clara, a thri-ving modern town, in the
center of a sugar and cattle district which produces
nearly one third of all the sugar raised in Cuba.
With a healthy climate, excellent hotels and
restaurants, and noted for the beauty of its women,
Santa Clara has many attractions. It is lit with
electricity, it possesses a splendid water supply,
the streets are smooth and level, there are many
notable buildings, and the town possesses a famous
theater, the "Teatro de la Caridad," which was
presented to the city by a native lady, and the
entire proceeds of which, like those of the Teny
Theater in Cienfuegos, are devoted to the public
schools. The cathedral is also notable, and within it is a
picture of the Madonna which has hung in the
same spot for over two hundred years.
But, unless the traveler decides to stop over in
the town, there is little opportunity to see its sights,
and the train soon moves slowly out of the station
and rushes eastward across the level lands towards
Placetas del Sur. Here a branch line leads to
Caibarien and northern coast ports, whUe to the
south is the Manicaragua Valley, famous for
its superior tobacco.

336 THE WEST INDIES
Zaza del Medio, 237 miles from Havana, Is the
next stop, a beautifully situated little town on the
banks of the Zaza River. Here the flat cane and
grazing district is left behind and all about are
beautiful rolling hUls, checkered with tobacco fields
and gardens, separated by groves of royal palms
and poinciana trees, while between the hills
stretch lush grassy Uanuras cut by the great, wind
ing, sUvery river.
From Zaza a railway leads to Sancti Spiritus,
seven miles south, and which, founded in 15 14, had
become so rich by 1667 that it attracted the
attention of pirates who Invaded the town, "much
to the detriment of the persons and properties
of its inhabitants," as stated by the historian
Pezuela. Still later. In 1719, Sancti Spiritus was
again looted by French and British pirates from
the Bahamas, and, on various other occasions since
then, the "persons and properties of its inhabit
ants" have suffered from warfare, revolutions, and
bandits. Onward from Zaza, past many small towns, the
train rushes eastward through a rich and beautiful
country where forests of cabinet woods clothe
the hillsides, while above the tobacco they will
one day box rise, magnificent trees of Spanish
cedar. At Ciego de Avila, 280 miles from Havana, the
train crosses the famous, or Infamous, "trocha,"

CUBA 337
a cleared barbed-wire road constructed by the
Spaniards across the island from Jucaro on the
south to San Fernando on the north coast. At
intervals of a kilometer apart little blockhouses,
or forts, were erected, and many of these stUl
stand, dilapidated and overgrown, beside the half-
mile clearing which has been converted Into gar
dens, orchards, and fields by the Cubans, who have
thus benefited by the labors of their former enemies.
Ciego itself Is a prosperous little town, with
sawmills buzzing noisily as they transform the
mahogany and cedar logs from the nearby forests
Into cigar boxes and cabinet wood. At this place
there is an excellent railway restaurant and half an
hour is aUowed for meals, which Is ample time to
eat and see the town in addition.
Leaving Ciego, the railway enters a district of
great tropical forests interspersed by broad smiling
valleys and rich pasture lands, where herds of
cattle graze, while numerous sawmills stand among
the trees, and acres of bananas and plantain trees
stretch across the clearings.
Through many a red-tUed village and thatched-
roof wayside settlement, the train thunders ; over
many a culvert and bridge it roars, and the whistle
shrieks at many a grade crossing, whUe swarthy
Cubans, half-naked brown chUdren, and fair-
skinned northern settlers wave hats and hands
as the cars sweep past toward distant Santiago.

338 THE WEST INDIES
Wider and larger become the clearings and the
cultivated lands, farther and farther apart are the
forests; broad fields of waving guinea grass take
the place of banana portreros, and everywhere
countless horses and great herds of cattle graze
upon the rolling, open prairie land. Then, far
ahead, one sees a glimpse of twin church towers
against the shimmering blue sky and the train
enters ancient, picturesque old Camaguey.
Upon a high interior plain, seven hundred feet
above the sea, is the city of Camaguey, and this
altitude, combined with the trade wind sweeping
in from the north, gives to the locality a cool,
delightful, healthy climate. And as perfect as
its climate is Camaguey' s situation upon the gently
rolling plain dotted with palms and trees, cut by
streams, luxuriant with verdure, and with the
purple-shadowed mountains looming In the dis
tance. Very old is Camaguey and, despite all Its modem
improvements and twentieth-century progress,
it looks its age and is full of picturesque, Old-
World nooks and byways, crooked, roughly
paved streets, rambling squat buildings, heavy
stone cornices, red-tUed roofs, projecting iron
window-grills of antique design, and dark court
yards which give a most Oriental, Moorish appear
ance to the town.
OriginaUy built upon the northem coast near

CUBA 339
Nuevitas, the town was known as Puerto Principe,
but within a year of its founding, in 151 5, it was so
ravished by pirates that the citizens were obliged
to pack up what little the freebooters had left
them and move inland.
But even this migration did not prevent the
pirates from following, and. In 1665, the city was
sacked by Morgan, who made a forced march
from the coast and secured a vast amount of
treasure which the inhabitants had accumulated
through the cattle industry. Many of the people
were killed in the raid and many more perished
miserably of thirst and starvation, for the buc
caneers drove all the inhabitants Into the churches,
and, locking them up, left them to starve, mean
while making merry on their victims' property
and varying their diversions by butchering men,
women, and chUdren who had fallen into their
clutches. Finally, having exhausted the supplies of the
city, the pirates departed for the coast with five
hundred head of stolen cattle and a number of
prisoners, who were forced to kill and dress the
animals for provisioning their captors' ships.
One may still see the old churches, within which
the captives waUed out their misery in the bloody
days when the pirates held the city. La Merced
is one of these, a structure with walls four to
eight feet thick and buUt as if to withstand a siege.

340 THE WEST INDIES
The altar of solid sUver was made from forty
thousand Spanish dollars, and there Is also a
sepulcher of beaten silver, weighing five hundred
pounds, containing an Image of Christ and which,
on Good Friday, Is carried through the streets on
men's shoulders.
Camaguey Is famous for its churches and. In
addition to La Merced, there are many others of
equal note, among them La Soledad, buUt In
1697, and Nuestra Senora de la Caridad, near
which Is a remarkable well, thirty feet In depth, with
a -winding stairway leading down to the surface of
the water, and all hewn from the solid rock.
Although still called, at times, by Its original
name of Puerto Principe, yet the old Indian
name of Camaguey is In more general use and Is
much more appropriate, for "Prince's Port"
seems scarcely fitting for an interior town many
miles from the sea.
Since the evacuation of the Island by the Span
iards, Camaguey has become a very important
progressive city, largely owing to the fact that the
Cuban Railway has established its headquarters
here and, in addition, maintains one of the finest
hotels In Spanish America. The Hotel Camaguey
was originally a cavalry and Infantry barracks
of the Spanish troops and, with an area of nearly
five acres, was capable of housing two thousand
soldiers.

CUBA 341
Remodeled and renovated and with sanitary
plumbing, artesian wells, electric lights, and every
up-to-date convenience, the massive old buUding
has been transformed into a modern and most
attractive hotel, with lovely patios filled with
palms, shade trees, vines, and flowers, and yet with
all of Its quaint old Moorish architectural features
retained. The streets of the city, though often narrow,
and as rocky as the proverbial road to Dublin,
are clean and well kept ; there are beautiful parks
and plazas, trolley cars and electric lights, and the
water supply is from artesian wells. With its
modernity on the one hand and Its quaint, Old-
World charms on the other. Its ideal climate and its
beautiful situation, the interesting town should
prove a most delightful winter resort, especially
as many of the planters In the vicinity are Ameri
cans and English is more generally spoken in
Camaguey than in any other Cuban city.
All about Camaguey is a marvelously rich
agricultural and grazing district, with great fruit
and truck gardens, ranches containing thousands
of acres, immense herds of cattle, and vast tracts of
valuable timber, the whole forming one of the most
alluring and promising districts of Cuba and with
Its resources scarcely touched as yet.
Through this rich upland plain the train con
tinues its journey to Marti, at the junction of the

342 THE WEST INDIES
Bayamo, San Luis, and Manzanillo lines, a town
named in honor of Cuba's martyred patriot.
Fifty miles farther east is Las Tunas, famous as
the scene of a most remarkable victory won by
General Garcia's force of six hundred men against
tremendous odds and In which General Frederick
Funston took a conspicuous part as officer in
charge of the Cuban artillery.
At the close of the war not a house or building
remained standing in Las Tunas, but the town
was rapidly rebuUt, and to-day it Is a prosperous
modern little place surrounded by over one
thousand acres of citrus fruit orchards owned by
American and Canadian colonists.
Beyond Las Tunas, the open grassy and agricul
tural district rapidly gives place to forest-covered
land, with the mighty trees crowding close beside
the tracks and with every little station surrounded
by huge piles of cedar, mahogany, locust, and
Hgnum-vltas logs.
For mUe after mile and hour after hour the
train tears through the Interminable forests, whUe
long shadows creep among the trees, untU, when
Alto Cedro is reached, darkness is descending on
the land.
At Alto Cedro, 491 mUes from Havana, a stop of
twenty-five minutes Is made to enable passengers
to dine at the station restaurant, and the traveler
grudges the delay, as the rapidly approaching

CUBA 343
night hides the -wild, sublime scenery that stretches
beyond the town.
Soon only twinkling Hghts mark the little
vUlages which flit rapidly past the windows,
while the train whirls swiftly through the soft tropic
night and enters a narrow pass In the sky-piercing
Maestra Mountains. Roaring over spider-web-like
bridges, skirting the verges of velvet-black canons,
circling precipitous cliffs, and crawling through
ravines the train at last flashes by the lights
of scattered houses, and slowly, with grinding
brakes, comes to the end of its run in the station
at Santiago.
Picturesque, quaint, historic, hilly, hot, and
fascinating Is Santiago, a city without a counter
part In the New World, and utterly charming
despite its torrid temperature and its everlast
ingly precipitous, breath-exhausting streets. Even
under Spanish rule, Santiago was a fascinating
spot, but now that the dirt, filth, and odors of those
days have gone forever, now that the rough and
cobbled byways have been replaced with asphalt
and macadam pavements; with trolley cars thread
ing the ancient thoroughfares, with water which one
may drink without fear of sudden death or linger
ing sickness, and, more Important than all, now
that there Is a good hotel In the town, Santiago
has become doubly attractive.
Girt round by rugged wooded mountains, re-

344 THE WEST INDIES
plete with wild tropic scenery, with its wonderful
harbor, its ancient houses and steep fantastic
streets, Santiago de Cuba is beautiful to see and
possesses an atmosphere and individuality of its
own. From the verge of the blue harbor, -with palm-
embowered Marine Park stretching along the shore,
the picturesque city climbs up the hillsides In tier
after tier of pink, blue, green, white, and piebald
buildings, red-tUed roofs, and waving palms; the
whole culminating in the great cathedral, while
everjrwhere meander the nanow crooked streets,
in many places carried from block to block in
the form of flights of steps.
And added to all its other attractions is Its
Interesting history, for Santiago was for many
years the capital and most important town in
Cuba; it has passed through many a siege, through
many stormy times, and up and down Its steep
thoroughfares has passed many a famous man —
many a one who helped build the glory of New
Spain. Here In Santiago lived Velasquez, founder of
Cuba, and here he died and was buried in 1522.
Here, too, dwelt Cortez, within a house still stand
ing on the hUl, a squat, one-story, tiled-roof
dwelling from whose wooden-grilled windows a
glorious view of mountains, town, and harbor is
outspread. Even a more interesting character of

CUBA 345
history has lived here In old Santiago — Bartholo
mew Las Casas, chronicler of Columbus's voyages,
friend of the Indians, the director of the first
university on American soil, and the most wonder
ful, the most glorious, and the most revered figure
of those romantic, reckless, adventurous, cruel
years of the conquest of the New World.
And In Santiago, In later years, dwelt Doctor
Antomarchi, the physician who was at Napo
leon's bedside when the ill-starred emperor died in
St. Helena, and In Santiago's quiet cemetery he
lies buried, a victim of yellow fever, as stated on
the monument above his grave.
In Santiago, too, was the first school in Cuba,
established in 1522, and on the site of this ancient
institution now stands a modern American school,
a model In every way, which was built at a cost
of $50,000, half of which was donated by Mr.
H. L. Higginson of Boston.
Throughout the world the name of Adellna Patti
is known to fame, her voice has charmed countless
thousands in the greatest theaters and opera-
houses of every land, but how many who have
thrUled at her music know that It was In quaint
old Santiago that she first appeared in public?
But such was the case, and near the plaza stands
the FUarmonIa Theater where, at the age of four
teen, she made her debut in the ancient, out-of-the-
world Cuban town.

346 THE WEST INDIES
Dark deeds have taken place In Santiago also.
'Twas here the Spaniards shot the captain and
the men of the Virginius in 1873, and, to add insult
to the butchery, killed the Americans in the public
slaughter house where a monument now marks
the spot -with the inscription: "You who pass here
uncover your heads. It is consecrated earth.
For thirty years it has been blessed by the blood
of patriots sacrificed to tjrranny. "
Aside from its history, its associations with
bloody deeds, and its foreign atmosphere, Santiago
holds much of Interest. There is the Alameda,
or park, along the water-front, the resort of Santi
ago's fashionable folk in the cool of the afternoon
and on Sundays; the plaza with Its cathedral,
which Is the largest on the island, with twin towers,
massive dome, and enormous nave, while on the
opposite side of the plaza are the Carlos Club, the
Casa Grande Hotel, the Municipal Buildings,
and the famous Venus Restaurant. Here, above
the town, the air is cool and fresh after sundown,
and the visitor may sit In the shade and listen to
the band as "all the world and his wife" pasears
about the paths and drives, while stretching
from one's feet to the harbor, and twinkling -with
innumerable lights, lies the town, like a gigantic
fan set with scintillating gems.
About Santiago are many spots made famous
by our war with Spain and all are -within easy

CUBA 347
reach. Scarce three miles from the town and
accessible by an electric-car line is San Juan Hill
and Its battlefield, El Caney and the Peace Tree,
and from the last a splendid view Is obtained
of the route followed by the American troops and
the country round about made memorable by the
war. Another trip of great Interest is to Cobre and its
copper mines, to the west of Santiago, and reached
by the company's steamer over the bay and hence
by private railway through wonderful scenery to
the mines. For centuries the Cobre mines have
been worked with little diminution in their rich
ness, and while they are well worth seeing, yet the
greatest attraction of the district Is the famous
Virgin, known as "Nuestra Senora de la Cari
dad, " an Image credited with miraculous powers
which has been at Cobre for nearly three centuries.
Strangely romantic Is the story of the Virgin of
Cobre, and thousands of pilgrims flock each year to
the shrine on the eighth of September, the date
of her festival.
It was over four hundred years ago that Alonzo
de Ojeda bore an image of the Virgin with him on
his caravel and was shipwrecked upon the southern
coast of Cuba. Fortunately, friendly Indians
were near at hand, and Ojeda's life was saved by
the Cacique and, in token of his gratitude, the
Spaniard gave the wooden Virgin to the Indian

348 THE WEST INDIES
chief. Within a rude shrine, erected by the
savages, the Virgin was placed, and before it the
Indians prostrated themselves in adoration, until
one day the Image mysteriously disappeared.
One hundred years passed by and the Virgin
was forgotten, when a party of Indians found the
lost Image floating upon a bit of plank In Nipe
Bay and carried it to their village of Hato, not
far from Cobre.
But three times In succession the Virgin left
the spot unaided and each time reappeared upon
the summit of the mountain, and the Indians,
fully convinced It was her wish to remain there,
built a shrine upon the eminence. That was In
1 63 1, and within that shrine the Image has re
mained until the present day.
Carved of wood, and about eighteen Inches In
height, this historic image Is mounted within a
tabernacle of tortoise-shell. Inlaid with gold and
ivory, and is richly robed in gold and decorated
with jewels valued at over $10,000. Great as is
the wealth bestowed upon it the .shrine at one time
contained decorations and offerings of far greater
worth, but on a night in May, 1899, some sacri
legious thief broke into the shrine and robbed
the sanctuary of gold and jewels valued at more
than $25,000.
No visit to Santiago would be complete without
a trip to the Morro, the wonderful medieval fort-

CUBA 349
ress that guards the nanow waterway leading to
Santiago's wondrous harbor.
High on a rocky promontory, two hundred feet
above the beating, ceaseless waves, It stands, its
frowning walls fitted so closely to the lofty cliff
that they appear a very portion of the rock itself.
Impregnable it seems, vast, rock-ribbed, and built
to endure for all time ; its turrets and towers scarce
altered since the days 'twas built, four centuries
ago, its quaint stone sentry boxes overhanging the
abyss above the sea. Hoary with great age,
battle-scarred, seamed, and lichen-covered, it stUl
remains intact as ever, though countless tons of
shot and shell have been hurled against its ram
parts, though storm and flood and hurricane and
battle have beat against its mighty walls for ages.
Thus It appears as viewed from seaward, as
strong, enduring, and formidable as ever, but,
when seen from within Its walls, it Is crumbling
and dismantled, deserted save by a tiny garrison,
and useful only as a signal station.
Armed with a pass, the visitor may ramble
where he will throughout the old castle-fortress,
and a member of the garrison wUl gladly act as
guide and point out every place of interest far
and near, for from Morro's lofty perch there Is a
marvelous view, a panorama of the beautiful
harbor and the city, of the country and the coast,
for many miles.

350 THE WEST INDIES
Close under the wave-worn cliffs below the
fortress Hes the harbor entrance, scarce five hun
dred feet in width, with La Socapa just across
the way, and beyond, the ancient battery on
EstreUa Point. Next comes Punta Gorda, with
its scowling ramparts, and, farther on, the hUly
wooded islet, — Cayo Smith, — with red roofs peep
ing from the verdure. Beyond this pretty spot
stretches the great, landlocked purse-shaped har
bor, six miles In length by three mUes wide, sur
rounded by towering mountains and, at its head,
the prismatic-hued city gleaming in the sun.
Far in the hazy east lies Daiquiri, the landing
place of Shafter's troops; beyond it is Guantanamo
and, turning about, one looks across the interven
ing sun-steeped land to Siboney, whUe stretching
southward to the shimmering horizon sparkles the
blue Caribbean Sea.
Out yonder on the white-capped waves once
rose and fell the grim fighting ships of Schley and
Sampson ; under the very walls on which one stands
stole Hobson on the Merrimac; out through the
winding channel beneath one's feet swept Cer
vera's fleet on its way to destruction and, for years
thereafter, the burned and battered hulks strewed
the rocky coast for fifty mUes to the west, mute
testimonials to the end of Spain's dominion in the
New World.

APPENDIX
GLOSSARY OF THE WEST INDIES

APPENDIX
GLOSSARY OF THE WEST INDIES
Anegada
One of the British Virgin Island group situated
northeast bf St. Thomas.
— A small island twelve miles in length by two miles
in width and known also as the "Overflowed Island,"
as much of its area is scarcely above sea level and
is often submerged during storms.
Population entirely black and colored.
Supposed to contain a great quantity of buried
pirate treasure. Copper and silver ore deposits are
known to exist, but are not worked.
Discovered by Columbus in 1493. Later the resort
of pirates and buccaneers.
No hotels or boarding houses.
Reached by sailing boats from St. Thomas and
St. Kitts.
Language and currency English.
Anguilla
One of the British Leeward Islands about sixty
mUes north of St. Kitts and under jurisdiction of the
latter. 351

352 APPENDIX
Known sometimes as Eel Island and Little Snake.
'Length about sixteen miles; width, three miles; area,
thirty-six square miles. Sterile for the most part.
Population about three thousand, principally
negroes. Cattle and ponies are raised and exported.
Formerly a resort of freebooters.
No hotels or boarding places.
Reached by packets from St. Kitts.
Language and currency English.
Antigua
Seat of government of British Leeward Island
Confederation. About fifty miles southeast of St. Kitts.
About seventy miles in circumference with an area
of about io8 square miles or 69,000 acres of which half
are cultivated.
Mainly of limestone formation, low and rolling,
but with hills rising to a height of eight hundred feet.
Soil in many places fertile but dry and subject to
droughts. In many places exhausted by constant
crops without fertilizer being used.
Population about fifty thousand. Capital and
chief port St. John's with thirteen thousand inhab
itants. English Harbor, formerly an important naval
station, is situated on the opposite side of the island
from St. John's, but is not used at present.
Sugar is the principal crop, but pineapples are also
exported. Cotton and sisal hemp have been tried
with little success.

APPENDIX 353
CUmate healthy but dry and hot.
Discovered by Columbus on his second voyage in
1493. Reason for name (Antigua or "Ancient")
unknown. First settled by the Spaniards and later
by French, but the first permanent colony was estab
lished by the English under Sir Thomas Warner in
1632. Inhabited by Caribs who were troublesome, and in
1640 the governor's wife was kidnaped by the Carib
chief. She was rescued by the governor, but, becoming
suspicious of her faithfulness, he went insane. Devas
tated by hurricanes repeatedly. After the Caribs
were driven from Antigua they continued to harass the
British by forays from the other islands until a son of
Sir Thomas Warner, who had become the governor,
massacred the Caribs by treachery.
Inviting them to a feast, his men fell upon the In
dians and butchered them to a man. Among the
slain was Sir Thomas Warner's half-breed son who
was a sub-chief in command of the Caribs.
After this massacre the English were subject to
attacks by the French, but have maintained their
occupancy to the present time.
Among places of interest are the Anglican Church
and ancient cemetery at St. John's; the public
gardens; Government House; leper hospital; old
forts; English Harbor, and old dockyard where Nel
son refitted his fleet; Valley of Petrifications; sugar
estates. Numerous boarding houses and one or two fair
hotels in St. John's. Saddle ponies, motor cars, and
33

354 APPENDIX
carriages, as well as rowboats, sailboats, and launches,
¦ may be hired.
Reached by Quebec S. S. Co. (about nine days)
from New York. By Royal Mail (Canadian Line)
from Bermuda, Halifax, and other islands and, under
normal conditions, by Royal Mail Steam Packet
Co. Language and currency English. Terms "dollars
and cents" used and five-dollar Colonial Bank Notes
in circulation, as well as notes of Royal Bank of
Canada. AVES
There are two islands of this name in the Antilles.
The first is a small islet about one hundred miles west of
Dominica. It is uninhabited, scarcely above sea level,
and is the haunt of thousands of sea birds. Claimed
by both France and England. A midshipman of the
United States Navy, who died during the "War of 1812,
is buried on this desolate bit of land. The other
Aves Island is one of the "Coast Islands" off the
northern coast of South America and is a dependency
of Venezuela. This is the "Isle of Aves" referred
to in stories of pirates. It is of no importance to-day.
BAHAMAS
A group of some three thousand islands, cays, and
exposed reefs belonging to Great Britain and situated
east of Florida and north of Cuba and distant about
one thousand mUes from New York. Most westerly

APPENDIX 355
island, Great Bahama, off Jupiter, Florida. Most
easterly, Grand Turk, north of Santo Domingo.
Total area of group about 5700 square miles.
Highest land three hundred feet above sea. Of so-
called "coral" (Aeolian) limestone formation with
thin but fertUe soil which supports a semi-tropical
flora but is capable of producing many tropical fruits
and other plants.
Population about sixty thousand, mainly colored.
Capital and chief port, Nassau, on New Providence
Island, with fifteen thousand inhabitants.
Principal islands are Acklin, Andros, Abaco, the
Biminis, the Caicos, Cat Island, Eleuthera, Exuma,
Fortune Island, Grand Bahama, Great Inagua, Grand
Turk, Harbor Island, Long Island, Long Cay, Maya-
guana, New Providence, Ragged Island, Rum Cay,
and Watling's. San Salvador Island is the same as
Cat Island.
Few of the islands are populated and the inhabitants
of these are mainly negroes and half-breeds.
Principal products are salt, turtles, sponges, sisal
hemp, cotton, cocoanuts, and tropical fruits. Most
important industry, exploitation of islands as a winter
resort. Climate healthy and pleasant during the winter
months, but very hot in summer.
Discovered by Columbus in 1492, the land first
sighted on his famous voyage being one of the Ba
hamas and supposedly either Watling's or San Salva
dor Island, but identity questionable. First settled
by the English under Captain Sayles in 1667 at New

356 APPENDIX
Providence. Colony destroyed and governor roasted
over a slow fire by the Spaniards a few years later.
For many years a resort of pirates, buccaneers, and
wreckers. Wrecking carried on until within the last
decade on outlying islands. During our Civil War
a famous resort and headquarters for blockade
runners. Places of interest are the "Sea Gardens," Hole in the
Wall on Abaco; Glass Window at Eleuthera; Caverns
at Eleuthera; Cat or San Salvador Island, scene of
Columbus's landing in Washington Irving's works;
Lake of Fire near Nassau, also called Waterloo;
Blue Hills; Lake Killarney; Lake Cunningham; Caves
on New Providence; Fish Market; Sponge Exchange,
public library; ceiba tree; Government House; Statue
of Columbus; Fort Fincastle; Queen's Staircase;
Fort Charlotte, and Fort Montague in and about
Nassau. Numerous hotels and boarding places at Nassau
and boarding houses at Grand Turk and some other
islands. Reached by Ward Line (N. Y. & Cuba MaU S. S.
Co.) from New York or via Florida East Coast Lines.
Language English. Currency officially British but
U. S. money widely used. Baliceux
One of the Grenadines between St. Vincent and
Grenada in the Lesser Antilles (Windward Islands).
British and under jurisdiction of Grenada.

APPENDIX 357
Barbados
A British possession and most easterly of the West
Indies nicknamed "Little England" and "Bimshire
Land." Inhabitants known locaUy as "Bims" or
"Badians." Length about twenty-two miles ; width fifteen miles.
Of limestone formation, comparatively low and flat,
but with hills in Scotland district on eastern coast
rising to one thousand feet above the sea. No true
streams or lakes, but with numerous underground riv
ers and vast caverns, many of which are unexplored.
Soil very fertile.
Population about 200,000 or nearly 1200 to the
square mUe. The most densely inhabited spot in
the world with exception of China.
Capital, Bridgetown, with about thirty thousand
inhabitants. Other important towns and settlements
are Holetown, Hastings (a suburb of the capital),
Martin's Bay, Bathsheba, etc., but the population
spreads so evenly over the island that it is difficult to
define the settlements or areas of villages.
Principal exports, sugar, molasses, and rum, but
many vegetables are exported to other islands, and
arrowroot, cotton, corn, etc., are also raised.
Climate exceedingly healthy and pleasant, winter
months average from 68°-8o° ; summer from 73''-86°.
Trade winds blow constantly and seldom uncomfort
ably warm. During the summer severe thunder
storms are frequent and hurricanes often occur.
Discovered by the Spaniards under Columbus and

358 APPENDIX
named (supposedly) from the beard-like growth of
tendrils on the wild fig trees (Barbados meaning
"bearded"), but this explanation is questionable.
First visited by the English in 1605 when Sir Oliver
Leigh stopped at the island in the Olive Blossom.
Barbados was then uninhabited, although Indian
tools and weapons are often found, and no settlement
was made until 1625, when two large vessels, under
command of Sir William Courteen, with forty emi
grants and eight negroes, were driven to Barbados
by storms. A landing was made at the present site
of Holetown and a settlement named Jamestown
established. In 1627 the Earl of Carlisle obtained a grant to all
the Caribbees from King James and sent out a Bermu
dlan named Wolferstone as governor.
A new settlement was started at Carlisle Bay and
called Bridgetown, from a bridge built across the
inlet known to-day as the "Careenage."
Troubles arose between the two parties, in which
the Jamestown people were defeated.
The colony prospered and increased rapidly, in 1645
the inhabitants numbering eighteen thousand, which
in five years increased to thirty thousand, only one
fifth of whom were negro slaves. At this period
many Royalists fled from England to Barbados
until the royalist party in the island became so power
ful that upon the execution of Charles the First the
Barbadians declared themselves subjects of Charles
the Second.
Lord WUloughby, a royalist exile, was elected gov-

APPENDIX 359
emor and under him the Barbadians attempted to
resist an expedition sent against them by Parliament
in 1651.
Between 1650 and 1660 a great number of Irish
and Scotch captives of the Cromwell wars were sent
to Barbados and sold as slaves at 1500 pounds of sugar
per head. They were branded and mutilated to pre
vent escape and were treated with greater inhumanity
and brutality than the negroes, but many of them
managed to rise to affluence and became planters.
Locally known as "Red Legs, " from the fact that they
were mainly wearers of kilts with bare knees, these
white slaves of Barbados were looked upon with con
tempt even by the blacks. Many of their descend
ants are living in Barbados to-day and, while free men
and women, they are usually poverty-stricken, anasmic,
listless, miserable specimens of humanity; a condition
due very largely to intermarriage and the ravages of
the hookworm.
Negro slavery was abolished in 1834, but by then
the blacks had increased prodigiously and even by
the middle of the eighteenth century ntimbered over
sixty thousand.
Indians were also captured on the other islands and
brought to Barbados as slaves.
After the Restoration, Barbados had little excite
ment save for slave uprisings which were quelled by
gibbeting, beheading, burning alive, or otherwise
torturing the leaders.
In 1751-1752, George Washington, who was at
that time a major in the British Colonial Forces, made

36o APPENDIX
a visit to the island. This was his only foreign voyage,
and it was made in order to benefit his brother Law
rence, who was suffering with tuberculosis.
During their stay in Barbados the Washingtons
were exposed to smallpox and the "Father of his
Country" was taken ill with the disease and did
not recover for a month. No one knows which house
the two brothers occupied in Barbados, but it was
near Bridgetown and, judging by the description in
George Washington's diary, was undoubtedly near the
present barracks or at Hastings.
Barbados is one of the few islands of the Lesser
AntUles which was never invaded by a foreign foe and
which has remained continuously British from the
first. During the war of 1812 the island suffered from
the activities of American privateers, and in i8i6the
worst negro uprising of her history occuned. The
mutiny was not quelled until vast areas of cane had
been burned, many estates destroyed, innumerable
blacks killed and executed, and over five hundred
negroes exiled. As a result the whites have held su
premacy in Barbados and the blacks are ruled with a
firm hand.
Among the places of interest on the island are:
the Old Barracks, Hastings Rock, the Race Course,
Holetown, Queen's Park, Belleville, all near Bridge
town. The Barbados Light Railway. The Crane,
Bath, Bathsheba, Martin's Bay, and other beautiful
seaside resorts on the windward coast. Lion Rock
at Gun Hill. Animal Flower Cave. Christ Church,

APPENDIX 361
St. John's Church, and the tomb of the last Christian
King of Greece. Harrington College. Codrington
CoUege. Farley HiU and Mansion, Turner's Hall,
Wood, and BoUing Spring. Cole's Cave, Hackleton's
Cliff, Scotland district, sugar estates, etc.
Numerous excellent hotels and innumerable board
ing places. Furnished and unfurnished cottages and
bungalows at Bridgetown, Hastings, and other towns
and at seaside resorts.
Caniages, automobiles, and boats for hire.
Reached by Quebec S. S. Co. (about fourteen
days) from New York; also by Lampert and Holt Line;
Booth Line; Lloyd Brazlliero Line, etc. By Royal
Mail (Canadian line) from Bermuda, Halifax, and
other islands, and under normal conditions by various
French, German, Italian, and other ships.
Language, English. Currency British, but terms
"dollars and cents" almost universally used and five-
dollar Colonial Bank notes, as well as Royal Bank of
Canada notes, in circulation. U. S. money accepted
readily.
Barbuda
A dependency of Antigua and about thirty mUes
north of that island. SmaU and flat, about seventy-
five square miles in area.
Population about seven hundred blacks and a very
few whites.
Only town, Codrington VUlage.
Exports and products, wood, hides, skins, and
jerked meat.

362 APPENDIX
Formerly the property of the Codrington famUy, —
a sort of island manor. Well stocked with game.
No hotels or boarding places.
Reached by saUboat from Antigua.
Battowia
One of the Grenadines, which see.
Beata
A smaU island belonging to the Dominican republic
and situated off the southern coast of Santo Domingo.
Language, Spanish. Currency, U. S.
Becquia
One of the Grenadines and under the jurisdiction
of Grenada. Wooded and with hills eight hundred
feet in height extending through the island. Length,
six mUes; width, one mUe.
Population mainly blacks.
Products, cattle, sheep, goats, cotton, and cocoa.
Reached by packet boats from Grenada.
Language and cunency as in Grenada.
BERMUDA
A group of nearly three hundred islands, cays, and
reefs situated in the Atlantic Ocean about 750 miles
southeast of New York and six hundred miles east of
Charleston, South Carolina.

APPENDIX 363
Total area about twenty square mUes. Low, flat,
and of so-caUed "coral" formation, but in reality
composed entirely of wind-drifted, solidified beach
sand. No springs, streams, or fresh water ponds on
the islands.
Population about 18,000. Capital, HamUton, with
2300 inhabitants. St. George is also an important
port and was formerly the capital.
Principal products and exports are onions, potatoes,
early vegetables, Easter Hlies, and garden truck.
Climate remarkably equable, healthy, and pleasant,
but damp and often chUly. Frost unknown. Not
tropical. Discovered by a Spaniard, Juan Bermudez, in 1515,
while on a voyage from Spain to Cuba with a cargo of
hogs. The historian, Oviedo, was on board the
vessel — the Garza — and recorded the discovery.
Later, in 1543, visited by Ferdinand Camelo, a Portu
guese, who claimed possession but did not remain.
In 1593 an Englishman, Henry May, who was on
board a privateering or pirate vessel, was -wrecked up
on the North Rocks. May and his companions re
mained in Bermuda for five months and finally built
a vessel of native cedar in which they saUed for New
foundland, where they anived in May, 1594.
In 1609 the Sea Venture with 150 people, among
whom were Sir George Somers and Sir Thomas Gates,
sprang a leak during a storm while en route from Eng
land to Virginia. To save the ship she was run
ashore on the Bermudas. The shipwrecked people
landed in July, 1609, and saved a large portion of the

364 APPENDIX
supplies and provisions of their vessel. They lived
upon the island until the following May and then set
out for Jamestown in two vessels they had built of the
native cedar. Reaching Virginia safely they found
the colony in destitute circumstances, and Sir George
Somers decided to return to Bermuda for supplies and
saUed in the vessel built on the islands. He died
soon after reaching Bermuda and his comrades left for
England, carrying his body, but leaving his heart in
Bermuda, where it rests to-day.
Three men refused to leave the islands, however.
From the accounts of Somers' raen, an English colony
was started in Bermuda in 1612.
The three men left had lived and had discovered a
large amount of ambergris, which was at once taken
from them by the governor on his anival. A settle
ment was made at or near St. George and named in
honor of Sir George Somers, the islands also being
christened "Somers Islands" in his memory.
By the end of 161 5 several vessels had arrived and
the colony numbered over three hundred souls.
They were prosperous and unfortunate by turns
and suffered many hardships at the hands of Governor
Tucker,, but by 1620 had grown to an important
colony, with a general assembly, forts, public buUdings,
and roads, and a map was published by Captain John
Smith in 1624.
In 1665, Captain Wentworth made a piratical raid
on Tortola, in the Virgin Islands, and stole ninety
negro slaves. Various other semi-piratical ventures
were also undertaken by the Bermudlans. In 17 10

APPENDIX 365
the governor of Bermuda sent an armed vessel against
the freebooters of the Bahamas and over a hun
dred of the buccaneers were brought to Bermuda as
settlers. In the same year the Bermudlans attacked and
captured a party of Spaniards who had invaded Turk's
Island in the Bahamas.
In addition to the original English, there were the
mixed nationalities comprising the pirates in Bermuda,
as well as many negroes, and, to complete the choice
assortment, many American Indians were brought
as slaves from New England.
In 1 775 the sympathies of the islanders were strongly
in favor of the rebellious colonists of New England
and, to aid General Washington in his campaign, the
Bermudlans stole one hundred barrels of gunpowder
from the magazines on the island.
Despite this, Bermuda remained loyal to England
and when the Civil War broke out their ports became
a famous rendezvous for blockade runners.
Places of interest to visitors are: Gibbs HUl Light,
Floating Dock and Naval Station at Ireland Island;
Cathedral, or Old Church Rocks; Mount Langdon;
Prospect Hill; Hungry Bay and fossil palm trees; lily
fields; "Five Sisters" near HamUton; Spanish Point;
Fairylands; stone quarries; Stalactite Cave on Tuck
er's Island; Biological Station on Agar's Island;
Hanington Sound; Lion Rock; DevU's Hole; Payn
ter's Vale; Shark's Hole; Tuckerstown Natural Arch;
Penniston's Cave; Walsingham and Tom Moore's
calabash tree; Crystal Cave; Walsingham Cave;

366 APPENDIX
Blue Grotto; coral reefs and marine gardens; Cause
way; Castle Island and old forts; St. Georges.
Innumerable boarding houses and splendid ho
tels everywhere. Principal islands of group : Ireland
Island; Somerset Island; Hamilton or Main Island;
Long Bird Island; St. George Island; St. David
Island. Carriages, bicycles, horses; and boats to hire, but
motor cars not allowed, except a bus line under
government supervision.
Reached by Quebec S. S. Co. (about two days) from
New York; by Royal Mail, Canadian Line, from
Halifax and West Indies, and, under normal condi
tions, by Royal Mail Steam Packet Co.
Language, English. Currency nominally British,
but to large extent United States.
BuEN Ayre or Bonaire
A Dutch possession under the government of Cu
rasao. About three hundred miles west of Curagao. Area
about one hundred square miles.
Population about one thousand
Chief products, fish, divi-divi, aloes, salt, goats, and
sheep. No hotels or boarding places.
Reached by packet boats from Curagao.
Language and currency as in Curagao.
Cannouan
One of the Grenadines, which see.

APPENDIX 367
Carriacou
Largest of the Grenadines and about twenty miles
north of Grenada.
Area about 13 square mUes or 8467 acres. Highest
land, Bellevue North, 980 feet. Many hiUs and small
mountains of sharp' pyramidal form, with luxuriant
tropical vegetation, but most of original forest growth
cut off.
Population about seven thousand. A fine almost
landlocked harbor at Harvey Vale Bay on southwest
coast. Fertile, well-watered, and cultivated. Chief prod
ucts are cotton, limes, cocoa, fruits, and vegetables.
Language and currency as in Grenada.
No regular hotels.
Reached by coastal steamers from Grenada.
CAYMANS
A group of small islands 180 miles northwest of
Jamaica and under the government of that island.
Grand Cayman, the largest of the group. Is 17 miles
in length by four to eight mUes wide. Low but well-
wooded islands, once the haunt of pirates and
buccaneers. Now devoted mainly to cocoanuts,
mahogany, dye woods, cedar and timber industries.
Hats, baskets, fans, etc., are also exported. Popu
lation of Grand Cayman about 5000.
Other islands are Cayman Brae and Little Cayman,
about 70 miles from Grand Cayman and seven mUes
apart. Each is about ten miles long by a mile in

368 APPENDIX
width and with a combined population of about 900.
Devoted almost exclusively to cocoanuts.
Reached by small boats or packet from Jamaica.
Language, English. Currency, British Sterling.
Crab Island
Also called Vieques. A small island belonging to
the United States and thirteen miles east of Porto
Rico. Mountainous, with heavy forests of timber
and with fertile valleys in which tropical fruits, coffee,
cane, etc., are raised. Many cattle are exported.
Length about twenty-one miles. Width about six
mUes. Population about six thousand.
Chief town, Isabel Segunda, with a church, munici
pal hospital, and nine public schools, but no hotels
or boarding places. On the southern coast is another
port called Punta Arenas.
Reached by sailing vessels from Porto Rico or St.
Thomas. Language, English and Spanish. Cunency, U. S.
Cuba
Largest of the West Indies and nearest to the
United States, being distant only ninety mUes from
Key West. An independent republic with sovereignty
guaranteed by United States.
About 780 miles in length and varying in width
from twenty to one hundred miles. Area about
45, 000 square mUes, one fourth of which is moun
tainous, the balance plains, valleys, and swamps.

APPENDIX

369

Highest land, the Sierra Maestra range 111 south
eastern part of island, 8320 feet and second loftiest
mountains of West Indies.
More than fifty good harbors which are ports of
entry and many of which are completely landlocked.
Over 150 important rivers, only one of which, the
Cauto in Santiago Province, is navigable for any great
distance. Population about 3,000,000. Capital and chief
port, Havana on northwest coast, with about 300,000
inhabitants. Havana is the largest city in West
Indies and more merchandise enters and leaves its
harbor than any port of United States except New
York. Other large and important towns are the fol
lowing. (Population only approximate.)

Santiago de Cuba

46,000

Cardenas

25,000

Cienfuegos

30,000

Manzanillo

16,000

Santa Clara

17,000

Sagua la Grande

13,000

Guanabacoa

15,000

Pinar del Rio

10,000

Trinidad

12,000

Jovellanos

10,000

Marianao

10,000

Caibarien

9,000

San Antonio de los

Holguin

8,000

Bafios

10,000

Camaguey

30,000

Guines

9,000

Sancti Spiritus

18,000

Placetas

7,000

Guantanamo

15,000

Matanzas

36,000

The island is divided into six provinces as

follows :

Oriente

Camaguey Santa Clara

Matanzas

Havana Pinar del Rio

34

370 APPENDIX
Cuba's resources are almost unlimited. There are
vast mineral riches, important fisheries, valuable
woods, enormous agricultural opportunities, and im
mense areas of grazing lands.
The heaviest forests are in eastem Cuba, the
greatest mineral deposits in the mountains of the
southeast; the best grazing lands in the central por
tions of the island, and the only large swamps are
along the southern central coast.
The flora of Cuba comprises over three thousand
species, including the entire range of the tropics, and
the forests contain such valuable woods as mahogany,
lignum-vitas, cedar, and logwood. _A11 the tropical,
and many of the temperate fruits and vegetables, may
be grown to perfection.
Among the mineral riches are iron, copper, gold,
manganese, cinnabar, lignite, asphalt, petroleum, etc.
The sponge fishery is an important industry, tortoise
shell is obtained in large quantities, pearls occur in
the waters among the outlying cays, and the food
fishery is of vast importance.
Cuba is one of the few countries in the world whose
exports exceed the imports, the balance in favor of the
island amounting to over $3200 per capita, the per
capita commerce being over one hundred dollars
and exceeding that of any other country, with the
exception of the Argentine Republic.
And this despite the fact that the island's per capita
debt is very high, amounting to about twenty-eight
dollars and that only a small portion — about 1,800,000
acres— of her soil is under cultivation.

APPENDIX 371
Annual exports about $250,000,000.
Annual imports about 155,000,000.00
Principal exports are:
Sugar valued at over $150,000,000.00
Tobacco " " " 60,000,000.00
Fruits and vegetables over 10,000,000.00
Cocoa, asphalt, honey, sisal, timber over 10,000,000.00
Miscellaneous over 10,000,000.00
Cuba's climate is exceedingly pleasant and salu
brious, in fact the island is the healthiest spot in the
world, the mortality being but ten per thousand as
against sixteen per thousand in the United States.
On the coast it Is hot at times, but the maximum
temperature ever recorded was 98° on August 24,1899,
and only four times In six years has it risen above 95°.
The minimum temperature recorded was 47° on Janu
ary 27, 1901. The average for the hottest and coolest
months, over a period of six years, was: June, 80°;
July, 80°; August, 81"; September, 80°; January, 70°.
Much of Cuba is outside the hunicane zone and
only on five occasions has the weather bureau at
Havana recorded a wind velocity exceeding thirty-
five miles per hour. No record of a severe gale or
hunicane is known from Havana, although the east
ern and southem coasts suffer at times.
Average rainfall fifty-four inches annually. Almost
any desired climate may be found. In the high
interior lands and mountains it is very cool, whereas
the towns on the coast, especially in the south, are
very hot during the middle of the day.

372 APPENDIX
Cuba was discovered by Columbus on October 28,
1492. Although greatly pleased with the beauty of
the island he never saUed around it, and died in the
belief that it was a continent.
In 1508, Spaniards under Ocampo explored the coast
line and entered the bay, which is now Havana's
harbor, for the purpose of careening and pitching their
ships with the native asphalt. The island was first
named Juana in honor of Prince Juan, son of Ferdi
nand and Isabella, but upon the death of the king was
rechristened Femandina and was later changed to
Santiago and still later to Ave Maria. The pres
ent name of Cuba is of Indian origin and means a
"jar of oil."
In 151 1 Don Diego Velasquez, with four ships
and with Hernando Cortez among the party of three
hundred men, saUed from Santo Domingo for Cuba and
landed near the present site of Guantanamo on the
southern coast. They were not impressed with the
spot and not until 15 12 was the first settlement estab
lished at Baracoa, on the northern coast. Santiago
was founded by Velasquez in 15 14 and Havana in
1519. The original landing-place at Havana is now
marked by a building known as the "Templete."
For many years Havana and the other towns were
greatly troubled by pirates and the Fuerza and Punta
forts and the Mono were built mainly as a protection
against such enemies, the Fuerza being erected under
the direction of De Soto in 1539. It is the oldest
building in Havana to-day.
Havana was attacked by Sir Francis Drake in 1592,

APPENDIX 373
by Dutch buccaneers in 1628, and was totally de
stroyed by the French in 1538 and again in 1554.
Vast fortunes were at that time stored at Havana,
in transit from Mexico and Panama to Spain, and to
protect these riches from the freebooters the city wall
was begun in 1665, and, with its completion, the city
became almost impregnable, but was taken by Lord
Albemarle and the British fleet in 1762, and remained
under British rule for a year. Among the officers
taking part in this battle was General Israel Putnam
of Revolutionary fame.
Santiago was the capital until 1608, and was fre
quently attacked by pirates and other nations. Cap
tured by the French in 1553 and ransomed for $80,000
and taken by British in 1662. In 1663 the Santiago
Morro was rebuilt and strengthened and withstood
all subsequent assaults untU the Spanish-American
war. The first revolt against Spanish rule was in 1850-51
and was led by Narciso Lopez. In August, 1868, the
famous " Ten Year's War " broke forth, but the Cubans
were unsuccessful and not until the revolution of
1895, which culminated in the evacuation of the Span
iards on January i, 1899, was Cuba freed from the
misrule of Spain.
The island then became a possession of the United
States and was delivered to the Cubans May 20,
1902. About Havana there are innumerable places of in
terest, among which are the following. (Numerals
refer to map of Havana.)

374 APPENDIX
I . Alameda. Formerly the favorite parade ground
but now in the midst of the busy shipping
district. Reached by Aduana cars, or by walk
through Officios Street.
2. Albear Square. Junction of San Rafael,
O'Reilly, and Obispo Streets, one block
from Central Park. Statue Is of Senor
Albear, the engineer who built Havana's
present water supply system.
3. Albisu Theater. Albear Square and San Rafael
Street.
4. American Club. Prado and Virtudes Street.
Surmounted by eagle and initials " A. C. "
5. Angeles Church. On Montserrate Street,
two blocks from Central Park. Near by is
the Loma del Angel, narrowest street in
Havana.
6. Belen Church. Corner Compostela and Luz
Streets. Connected by a covered bridge
with the convent school across the street.
Contains a museum, valuable library, and
notable paintings. Open to public.
7. Caballera Wharf. Landing-place for small
boat's. Foot of Obispo and O'Reilly Streets.
8. Campo Marte. With statue of La India. Also
known as India Park. Upper end of Prado,
facing Colon Park.
9. Cathedral. Founded by Jesuits in 1656 and
completed In 1724. Formerly contained sup
posed bones of Columbus. (See San'Domingo.)
Silver altar valued at $10,000,000 and many

APPENDIX 375
jeweled vestments. On Emperado Street,
corner of San Ignacio.
10. Central Station. Terminal of United and
Central RaUways. Egido Street — continu
ation of Montserrate Street — short distance
from Central Park on trolley line.
1 1 . Christ Church. VUlegas and Amargura Streets.
In rear Is the Augustinian CoUege.
12. City Hall. Only small portions remain, the
best and most accessible being between
Zulueta and Montserrate Streets, near Henry
Clay Cigar Factory.
13. Clerk's Club. Headquarters of protective and
benefit association of over 35,000 members.
Corner Prado and Trocadero Street.
14. Colon Market. One block from Central Park
on Montsenate Street, reaching through to
Zulueta Street, and between Animas and
Trocadero Streets.
15. Colon Park. Occupies twelve squares at
upper end of Prado, opposite La India
statue.
x6. Congressional Buildings. Facing Plaza de
Armas on O'ReUly Street.
17. Custom House (Aduana) . Reached by Aduana
cars or by walking south two blocks from
Albisu Theater on Montsenate Street and
turning to left at Teniente Street. On
Officios Street at foot of Teniente Rey Street.
18. Customs Warehouse. Formerly the church of
San Francisco. Never used as church since it

376 APPENDIX
was desecrated by British in 1762. Near
Custom House close to Machina Docks.
19. Dominican Convent and Church. Founded
1578. Opened as school by Dominican Friars
1728. Became University of Havana and
removed to larger quarters on Principe Hill.
O'ReiUy, Mercaderes, Obispo, and San Ignacio
Streets.
20. Francisco de Paula Church. Facing harbor
on Paula Street.
21. Fuerza Fort. Reached by Aduana cars, or
by walking down either Obispo or O'ReiUy
Streets. Faces Plaza de Armas on O'Reilly
Street. Oldest building in Havana, buUt by
De Soto, 1539.
22. Henry Clay Cigar Factory. Three blocks
from Central Park on Zulueta Street. Open
to visitors.
23. House of Representatives. Plaza de Armas,
south side.
24. Jail. Now used as office of Board of Education
but formerly the Spanish prison. A large build
ing at the foot of Prado on the right-hand
side.
25. Leper Hospital. Faces the sea at Malecon
Drive and Oquendo Street. Founded 1681,
by donation of Mexican priest.
26. Luz Wharf. Ferries for Casa Blanca, Regla,
and Guanabacoa leave from here. Close to
Plaza de Armas.
27. Malecon Drive. A beautiful drive along sea-

APPENDIX 377
wall from Punta Castle, at foot of Prado, to
Vedado (residential district).
28. Marti Theater. One block east of Prado at
corner of Zulueta and Dragones Streets.
29. Merced Church. Richest and most aristo
cratic church in Cuba. Built in 1746. Con
tains many notable paintings. Cuba and
Merced Streets.
. 30. Miramar Hotel. Facing the sea on left-hand
side of the Prado on the Malecon.
31. National Bank. Havana's "sky-scraper."
The American Consulate is on the fifth floor.
Up-to-date, fireproof building built in Spanish
style with patio. Corner Cuba and Obispo
Streets.
32. National Library. Open week days from
8 A.M. untU 5 p.m. Contains over 20,000
volumes and many rare old books, among
them works of Las Casas, printed in 1552, and
History of New World, published 1565. On
Chacon Street at corner of Maestranza Street.
33. National Theater. Cuba's largest theater
and fifth largest in the world. Bmlt seventy-
six years ago and cost half a million dollars.
Now rebuUt and forming a portion of the
magnificent new group of buUdings occupying
the square bounded by Consulado, San
Rafael, and Prado and facing Central Park.
34. Pairet Theater. Faces Central Park on the
south, between Prado and Zulueta Streets.
35. Palace (old). Plaza de Armas, Obispo, and

378 APPENDIX
O'ReUly Streets. The magnificent ne'w pal
ace is on the Prado facing Central Park.
36. Palace of Justice. Cuban Department of
State and Justice. To the left as one leaves
the cathedral.
37. Paula Hospital for Women. Between Ha
vana and Cuba Streets on San Isidro Street.
38. Pelota Court. This place, known as the
" Fronton, " is where the famous Basque game
of pelota is played; the favorite game of the
Spaniards and Cubans and second only to
baseball in popularity. Oquendo and Con
cordia Streets.
39. Plaza de Armas. Occupies the square at foot of
O'Reilly and Obispo Streets. Around it are the
Templete, Post Office, Old Palace, and Fuerza.
40. Produce Exchange (La Lonja). A splendid
new building on San Francisco Plaza near
San Francisco Wharf. Reached by Muelle or
Aduana car lines or by walking down O'Reilly
or Obispo Street.
41. Punta Fort. Commenced at same time as the
Morro, in 1589. At foot of Prado.
42. San Juan de Dios Park. Contains a statue of
Cervantes. Between Aguilar and Habana
Streets one block from O'Reilly Street, on
Emperado Street.
43. San Lazaro Tower. A watch tower erected as
a lookout against pirates in the old days.
Near the Leper Hospital close to the shore on
the Malecon Drive.

APPENDIX 379
44. Santa Catalina Church and Convent. Built
in 1698. Situated on O'ReiUy Street. Con
tains many relics.
45. Santa Clara Church and Convent. Founded
1644. Sol and Luz Streets, between Cuba
and Havana Streets.
46. Students' Memorial. In Neptune Park at
foot of Zulueta Street and Prado, near La
Punta fort. Erected in memory of eight
University students who were executed on the
spot In 1871.
47. Tacon Market. Havana's largest market.
One block west of Colon Park on La Reina
Street. Reached by troUey cars through
Angeles or Reina Street.
48. Templete. A small chapel erected to com
memorate landing of first settlers of Havana.
A ceiba tree, — a descendant of the original
tree under which first mass was said, — stands
beside the buUding. Open but once a year,
on the night of November 15th — when lighted
and decorated on anniversary of landing.
Foot of O'ReUly Street, fronting Plaza de
Armas.
49. Treasury. Foot of Obispo Street on nanow
lane turning to the right.
50. Ursuline Convent. About two blocks from
Central Park, south on Egido Street near
Dragones Street.
Notable spots which should be visited in the vicinity
of Havana are: The Morro and Cabanas across the

38o APPENDIX
bay; Atares Castle; Principe Fortress; Botanical
Gardens; Baseball grounds (Almendares Field) ; Regla;
Colon Cemetery, — where the victims of Maine dis
aster were interred; Marianao Playa with its lovely
sea bathing; Campo Columbia, etc.
About Santiago there are also many notable places
of interest, among them the Morro Castle; house
of Hernando Cortez; Higginson School; Filarmonia
Theater, where Patti first appeared in public when
fourteen years old; monument to Americans of
Virginius; Alameda; San Carlos Club; San Juan
Battlefield; Peace Tree; El Caney; Cobre copper
mines. The miraculous image of Nuestra Senora de
la Caridad and shrine, with offerings and jeweled
robes valued at over $10,000,000.
Throughout the interior, and along the coasts there
are also many beautiful, fascinating, interesting spots
too numerous to mention, but the Caves of BeUamar
and Yumuri Valley near Matanzas; the tobacco dis
trict about Pinar del Rio; the ancient town of Cama
guey, or Puerto Principe, sacked by Henry Morgan,
although far from the coast; Batabano, a little Venice
with houses on stilts and from which the steamers sail
for Isle of Pines; the famous Trocha, and many other
places will well repay a visit or, better still, a trip
from Havana to Santiago by railway should be taken.
Havana's hotels are palatial, numerous, and strictly
modern, and there are also innumerable boarding
places and excellent restaurants. In every town of
any importance there are first-class hotels and any
where in Cuba a traveler may be perfectly comfortable.

APPENDIX 381
Caniages, locaUy called "cabs" or "coches," are
everywhere and are ridiculously cheap. (See tariffs
canied by every pubUc vehicle and don't pay more.)
Trolley cars run here, there, and everywhere about
Havana, boats and launches ply back and forth upon
the harbor, and there are many public automobUes.
Most of the towns of Cuba are in direct communi
cation with Havana by railway or electric lines; coastal
vessels connect the coast ports, and there is not
the least difficulty in traveling anywhere on the island
(see "Railways, steamboat lines, etc.").
Cuba is reached from New York by United Fruit
Co., and by the New York and Cuba MaU S. S. Co.
(Ward Line) ; by railway to Florida and hence by ferry
or steamer from Key West, and from Boston, New
Orleans, PhUadelphia, and all other large ports by
direct steamships.
The language of Cuba is Spanish, but in every hotel,
on all the railway and steamboat lines, and in all the
larger stores and shops the employes, or at least some
of them, speak English. There is no difficulty in
finding interpreters and most of the educated Cubans
speak both French and English fluently. The coinage
of Cuba is its own, but Spanish, French, and United
States coins are accepted and the basis is the dollar
or "peso" of one hundred cents or "centavos,"
with a gold standard. Culebra
A possession of the United States off the eastern
coast of Porto Rico. An important naval station

382 APPENDIX
where is stationed a detachment of the U. S. Marine
Corps. Aside from the naval station at Great Har
bor there are two small towns on Culebra, Pueblo
Dewey and Camp Roosevelt.
Culebra is hilly but not mountainous; dry, but the
soil is fertUe. Cattle raising is the only industry.
No hotels or boarding houses.
. Places of interest : Naval station. Reached by
mail boat from Fajardo, Porto Rico; by boats from
San Juan or by sailboat from St. Thomas.
Language, English and Spanish. Currency, U. S.
Curasao
A Dutch island and seat of government of Dutch
West Indies of which Curagao is the largest island.
About forty miles off the Venezuelan coast. Length
about forty miles; width four to seven miles. Area
200 square miles. Highest mountain 1000 feet above
sea. Discovered by Amerigo Vespucci in 1499, who
reported the island inhabited by a race of giants.
Chief town, WUlemstadt, with a population of
about 20,000. Total population about 30,000.
Mainly of importance for its commerce, as it is a free
port, but exports phosphate rock, ostrich plumes,
fish, and other products.
Several good hotels and boarding houses.
Points of interest: The bridge of boats across en
trance to the harbor. Old pirate forts. Ostrich farm.
Publishing house of Betancourt Co. Quaint Dutch
architecture.

APPENDIX 383
Language officially Dutch, but English generally
spoken. The native tongue is a strange lingo caUed
Papiamento, and a mixture of Dutch, English, Span
ish, Negro, French, Portuguese, and probably some
Indian. Cunency, Dutch.
Reached by Royal Dutch W. I. Line from New York
or by Red " D " Line from New York via Porto Rico.
Desirade or Deseada
A dependency of Guadeloupe and east of the latter.
First landfall of Columbus on his second voyage in
1493 and named by him "The Desired Land." Area
about ten square miles. Of limestone formation and
curiously tenaced.
Population about 1500, mostly blacks.
No hotels or boarding places.
Reached by saUboat from Guadeloupe.
Language as in Gaudeloupe. Cunency, French.
Dominica
A British colony of the Leeward Island Confedera
tion and largest of the group. Situated fifteen miles
north of Martinique and about twenty-five miles south
of Guadeloupe. Extremely mountainous and rugged,
volcanic in formation and with several active, but
dormant, craters. Loftiest of the Lesser AntiUes,
the highest peak being Morne Diablotin, 5300 feet;
but Microtin, Trois Pitons, and several other moun
tains are nearly as high. Home of last of the pure-

384 APPENDIX
blooded yellow Caribs, the aborigines of the Antilles.
About three hundred Caribs live in Dominica, of
v;hom not over thirty-five are of unmixed blood.
Length of island about 30 miles; width 16; area 300
square miles or about 200,000 acres, of which less
than 90,000 are under cultivation.
Population about 35,000, less than one per cent.
of whom are white.
Capital, Roseau, with 7000 inhabitants.
Other ports Soufriere, Portsmouth, Rosalie, Grand
Bay, etc.
Discovered by Columbus in 1493 and named in
honor of the day, Sunday.
First settled by British in 1627. Driven out by
Caribs and settled by French, who also abandoned
it to Indians. Afterwards declared a "neutral
island" and left to Caribs until 1748. Seized by
English in 1763 and later changed hands repeatedly
until ceded permanently to Great Britain in 1805.
Most important naval battle between French and
English fleets occurred off western coast of the island
in 1782, when Rodney defeated De Grasse.
Climate very healthy, hot on coasts but cool in
interior, with excessive rainfall, amounting to over
three hundred inches annually in mountains.
Chief products: limes, lime juice, lime oil, cocoa,
fruits, and spices.
Points of interest: Botanic station at Roseau;
library and old fort, Roseau; lime estates, craters at
Roufri6re, mountain or fresh water lake, boiling lake,
hot springs of Wotten Waven, waterfall near Roseau,

APPENDIX 385
old fort at Scott's Head, imperial road into interior,
Carib settlement at Salybia.
La Paz Hotel and several good boarding places in
Roseau. Reached by Quebec S. S. Line (about ten days)
from N. Y.; Royal Mail (Canadian) boats from
Halifax and Bermuda and from other British W. I.
ports, and, under normal conditions, by Royal MaU
(Intercolonial) boats.
Language officially and nominaUy English, but the
natives use patois to large extent.
Currency British, but terms "dollars and cents"
used almost universaUy. Colonial banks. Five-doUar
bills are also used, as well as notes of Royal Bank of
Canada. Dominican Republic
The eastern portion, consisting of about two thirds
of the area, of the island of Santo Domingo. An
independent republic under the semi-supervision of
the United States Government, which controls the
customs and guarantees constitutional rights and
elections. Situated between Cuba on the west and Porto Rico
to the east, the island of Santo Domingo is one of the
most beautiful and fertile of the West Indies and the
second largest of the Greater Antilles. The Domini
can Republic has an area of about 20,000 square
miles and is the most mountainous of the West Indies
as well as the loftiest; Mount Loma Tina rising to

386 APPENDIX
1 1, ooo feet above the sea. There are large areas of
level land, however, vast tablelands and plains, enor
mous valleys, and extensive swamps.
The population numbers about 600,000, and, unlike
Haiti, a large percentage of the Inhabitants are white,
or very slightly tainted with negro blood. Capital,
Santo Domingo City, the oldest city in the New World,
founded in 1496 on the Ozama River in the southem
part of the republic. Population about 30,000. Other
important towns are : Monte Christi, on the northern
coast, founded in 1523, with a population of 10,000, is
the outlet of the Yaqui Valley and Is close to the Hai
tien border famous as a nucleus of revolutions. Puerto
Plata, also on the northern coast, is at the seaward
terminus of the railway to Santiago de los Caballeros
on the Interior tableland. It has a population of
about 15,000 and is beautifully situated on an almost
landlocked bay at the foot of Isabella de Torre, 2000
feet in height. Founded in 1502. Near Puerto Plata,
about fifty miles west, are the ruins of Isabella, the
first European city founded in America and first
settled by men under Columbus in 1493.
Samana or Santa Barbara de Samana, on the north
ern coast of Samana Bay, in the eastern portion of the
republic, is also an important town of about 10,000
inhabitants and was founded by Canary Islanders in
1756, but has a large population of negroes from the
United States who immigrated to the district many
years ago. Sanchez, at the head of Samana Bay, is the
terminus of the Samana-La Vega railway and has a
population of about 3000. La Vega, the inland termi-

APPENDIX 387
nus of this raUway, has a population of about 30,000;
settled in 1564 after the original town of Concepcion de
la Vega (founded by Bartholomew Columbus in 1495)
was destroyed by an earthquake. Moca, with about
30,000 inhabitants, between La Vega and Santiago,
is an important inland town, as is Santiago de los
Caballeros, the Interior terminus of the Puerto Plata
railway, and which has a population of about 45,000
and was founded by "gentlemen" (caballeros) of
noble birth in 1504. San Francisco de Macoris, con
nected with La Vega by raUway, has a population of
about 30,000 and is the center of the cocoa industry.
On the southern coasts are : La Romana, an important
sugar port; San Pedro de Macoris on the Higuano
River and with a population of about 15,000, an
important shipping point for the sugar mills of the
Seybo district. Azua, west of Santo Domingo City,
is also an important sugar port. It was founded by
Diego Velasquez in 1504 and has a population of about
20,000. There are also many other towns of great
historical interest and local importance, such as San
Cristobal; Bani, the birthplace of the Cuban patriot,
General Maximo Gomez; Barahona; Neyba, near
which is the Cero de Sal, a mountain of rock salt;
Higuey in the Seybo district, founded by Ponce de
Leon; Sabana la Mar on the southern shore of the
Bay of Samana, and near which is the immense cocoa
plantation of the Souchards ; Junico, in the pine belt
of the interior; as well as many smaller towns dating
back to the days of Columbus.
The resources of the Dominican Republic are almost

388 APPENDIX
innumerable. Vast mineral wealth abounds but is
undeveloped. Gold, silver, copper, iron, nickel, salt,
petroleum, lignite, cinnabar, tin, and amber are known
to exist, and in the Spanish days the island was the
greatest source of precious metals of all the New
World colonies. Vast pine forests cover the interior
mountains; mahogany, lancewood, cedar, and other
cabinet woods abound; logwood grows luxuriantly,
and any tropical, and many temperate, products can
be easily grown. ,
The chief exports are cacao, cocoanuts, fruits,
hides, timber, logwood, mangrove bark, sugar, coffee,
tobacco, salt, etc.
The climate varies greatly according to the district
and altitude but is healthy in nearly every portion of
the republic. In the interior it is cool and spring
like, but on some parts of the coasts very hot and dry.
The republic has a long, turbulent, but romantic,
history. Discovered by Columbus in December,
1492. First settled by him the following year, the
island was known for many years as "Hispaniola."
In 1496, Bartholomew Columbus — the admiral's
brother — founded Santo Domingo City. It was here
that Columbus was confined in chains and here it is
believed he lies buried to-day. During the subsequent
centuries, the island passed through many wars and
innumerable slave insunections; was French, Spanish,
English, and independent by turn, and, since it became
a republic, it has suffered greatly from continual
revolutions. Places of interest are too numerous to mention in

APPENDIX 389
full, but important places about Santo Domingo City
are : The tomb of Columbus, in the ancient cathedral ;
the Homenaje Tower, oldest fortress in America;
Columbus's well, Columbus's tree (to which he is said
to have moored his caravels) ; house of Diego Colum
bus, son of Christopher; ruins of San Francisco
convent and of Dominican convent, where Las Casas
conducted first university In New World; Santa
Barbara Church, city waU and gateways, plaza and
statue of Columbus. Scenic attractions are: The
waterfalls near Puerto Plata, Vega Real on Samana-
La Vega railway, buccaneers' strongholds on islands
in Samana Bay, Caverns at San Lorenzo on south
shore of the bay, mountain of salt at Neyba, Lake
Rincon and Lake Enrlquillo, Seybo plains, cocoa
estates, La Sosua near Puerto Plata, site of Con
cepcion de la Vega and Holy Hill (Santo Cerro);
ruins of Isabella, the first settlement in America, etc.
Several hotels in the capital, Puerto Plata, and other
coast towns, and inns or boarding places in every town
of importance, but none is really good and the traveler
must put up with a great deal of discomfort and
many inconveniences, as conditions are most primi
tive. Probably the best hotels are at Puerto Plata.
Reached by Clyde West Indian Line, via Turk's
Island from New York. These steamers touch at
every port of importance from Monte Christi to Azua
and return. Also by irregular and uncertain small
steamers from Porto Rico and Cuba. Under normal
conditions by West Indian ships of Hamburg-Ameri
can Line.

390 APPENDIX
Language of Dominican RepubUc is colloquial
Spanish, but English is understood to some extent
in most of the larger towns. Currency In use is that
of the United States, but Dominican coins are In circu
lation at greatly depreciated value.
GONAiEVES OR GONAVE
A large island in the gulf of the same name off the
western coast of Haiti and belonging to that republic.
About thirty-five miles long by eight miles wide.
Heavily wooded but scantily inhabited by negro
fishermen and woodcutters. A large lake exists on the
island. Length about forty miles.
Grenada
Seat of government of the British Windward Island
Confederation. About 70 miles southwest of St.
Vincent and 96 miles north of Trinidad.
Length about 20 miles; width about 12 miles; area
about 120 square miles or 77,000 acres, of which
about 40,000 are cultivated. Very mountainous and
fertile. Of volcanic formation but with no active
craters. Highest peak. Mount St. Catherine, 2750
feet. Numerous streams and rivers and three good-
sized lakes occupying extinct craters at high altitudes.
Population about 60,000 (191 1). Capital and chief
port, St. Georges, with about 5000 inhabitants.
Other towns are Grenville, on the Atlantic or eastern
coast, with 1400 inhabitants; Gouyave, about 12 miles

APPENDIX 391
north of St. Georges, with a population of about
3000; Sauteurs, on the northern coast, with about
1200 inhabitants; and Victoria, 1600 inhabitants.
Chief products and exports are cocoa, nutmegs,
spices, cotton, rubber, kola nuts, fruits, and sorae
sugar. The climate is delightful and remarkably healthy.
Yellow fever has not been epideraic for one hundred
years, malaria and other tropical diseases are not
troublesome, and severe hurricanes have never oc
curred, although the fag-ends of hurricanes which have
been disastrous in neighboring islands have often
reached Grenada without causing material damage.
Earthquakes are of frequent and regular occunence,
but no serious damage has ever been caused by them
and they are usually very light.
During the rainy season, from May until December,
it is rather hot on the coast, but always cool and pleas
ant in the hills. Average annual temperature, 83°
on the coast. Highest recorded, 93°. In the interior
it frequently falls as low as 67° during the night.
Average annual rainfall at St. Georges, seventy-seven
inches. Discovered by Columbus, August 15, 1498, and
for over one hundred years left in undisputed posses
sion of the Caribs. First settled by the British, AprU
I, 1609, when 208 colonists reached the islands only to
be driven off by the Caribs.
Clairaed by both French and British from 1626-38.
In the latter year the French atterapted a settlement,
but were repulsed by the Caribs, who were then left

392 APPENDIX
undisturbed for twelve years. In 1650 the French
"Company of the Islands of America" sold Marti
nique, Grenada, and St. Lucia to MM. HouU and Du
Parquet, for £1660. With two hundred men the new
owners landed in June, 1650, and purchased the
island from the Caribs for hatchets, knives, beads, and
two bottles of brandy. In February, 1651, the Indians
repented of their bargain and rose against the French,
but the latter, reinforced with trained troops, con
ducted a war of extermination, accompanied by most
inhuman atrocities, and killed most of the Caribs,
driving the last organized band off a precipice on the
northern coast which is known as Morne des Sauteurs
or "Leapers' HiU" to this day. The last Caribs of
Grenada died in 1705. Le Compte, the leader of the
French against the Caribs, met speedy retribution for
his murderous acts and was drowned when returning
to St. Georges (then Fort Royal).
In 1657, the inhabitants revolted against the brutal
French governor, and capturing him, condemned hira
to be hanged. By claiming royal blood he induced his
captors to alter his punishment to decapitation, but
finding there was no proficient executioner on the
island they compromised by shooting him.
On February 4, 1762, the island was taken by the
British and was placed under the jurisdiction of the
Lieutenant-Governor of Dominica. In 1771, St.
Georges, which was of wooden construction, was
totally destroyed by fire, and another disastrous
conflagration took place in 1775, after which the town
was rebuilt of brick, stone, and tile.

APPENDIX 393
Recaptured by the French, June, 1779, but restored
to Great Britain, by treaty of VersaUles, September
3. 1784-
In 1795, the French and negroes, incited by the new
French Republic, joined in an insurrection and
butchered the English at GrenvUle at midnight
March 2d, and carried many captives from other
districts into their mountain fastnesses. Lieutenant-
Governor Home was in the country at the time and
whUe on his return to the capital was taken prisoner
by the revolutionists. As only 192 soldiers were
on the island at the time, requests for aid were sent
to the other British islands and to the Spaniards in
Trinidad. The latter at once despatched arraed
vessels and troops, but were unable to cope with the
situation and garrisoned the forts until the arrival of
British reinforcements, who, under General Lindsay,
attempted to storm the intrenched camp of the French
and their negro allies. They were unsuccessful, how
ever, many of the English were attacked by fever,
and General Lindsay, temporarUy insane from fever,
comraitted suicide. Meanwhile the white captives of
the insunectionists were tortured and butchered in
sight of the British soldiers as reprisal for being
attacked. NotuntU the 19th of June, 1796, was the
insunection finally quelled.
On AprU i, 1833, Grenada was raade a part of the
Windward Island Confederation and on May 22, 1838,
the emancipation of the slaves was declared.
No event of great importance occuned until 1867
when, on November 18th, a submarine volcanic dis-

394 APPENDIX
turbance took place in the harbor of St. Georges. The
water receded for five or six feet. In certain spots it
boiled furiously and emitted sulphurous vapors, and
then the water rose for four feet above its normal
level. Four times this phenomenon was repeated,
and while great damage to shipping and property was
caused there was no loss of life. Great changes in the
bottom of the harbor occuned during the disturbance,
which was coincidental with the earthquake and tidal
wave at St. Thomas and St Croix.
Places of interest are: The town of St. Georges;
Gran Etang, a fresh-water lake in an extinct crater;
Morne de Sauteurs, where the last of the Grenada
Caribs were forced to leap from the cliff into the sea
to avoid raassacre by the French; public gardens
near St. Georges, Governraent House, old forts, and
cocoa and nutmeg plantations.
One hotel, not very good, and a few boarding places
at St. Georges.
Rest House at Gran Etang.
Reached by Trinidad Line (Trinidad Shipping
& Trading Co.) seven days from New York; by Royal
Mail (Canadian) Line from Halifax, Bermuda and
other islands, and, under normal trade conditions, by
the Royal Mail Steara Packet Co.
Language, English, but a large proportion of the
colored population speaks patois or Creole. Cunency,
British, but Colonial Bank and Royal Bank of Canada
notes are in circulation.

APPENDIX 395
Grenadines
A group of British islands lying between Grenada
and St. Vincent and under jurisdiction of Grenada.
Very varied in size and character. Many fertile,
well wooded, and mountainous; others low, barren,
and sterile. Highest point one thousand feet above
sea. Principal islands are Bequia, Union, Baliceaux,
Battowia, Cannouan, and Carriacou.
Area of entire group about ten thousand acres.
Principal products: cocoa, cotton, spices, dyewoods,
fish, cattle, and goats.
Reached by packet boats from Grenada, or by sail
boat from St. Vincent.
Language and cunency as in Grenada.
Guadeloupe
A French Island about sixty miles south of Antigua
and twenty-five miles north of Dominica.
Comprises five separate islands : Guadeloupe proper,
Grande Terre, Marie Galante, Desirade, and the
Saintes, with a total area of about 700 square miles.
Guadeloupe, the northern and western portion, is ex
ceedingly mountainous and of volcanic formation with
an active crater, the Soufriere, which is the highest
point of land, reaching a height of 5000 feet.
Very fertUe, rugged, and heavily forested. Grande
Terre, the southern and eastern portion of the island,
is low, flat, and of limestone or ancient coral formation.
"Very fertUe and devoted to agriculture and -with

396 APPENDIX
nearly every available Inch under cultivation. Marie
Galante and Desirade (which see) are calcareous,
pyramidal, lofty, and curiously terraced in form.
The Saintes are three small volcanic islets rising to a
height of 1000 feet. All are wooded.
Population of all five islands about 200,000.
Capital, Basseterre, on Guadeloupe, with a popula
tion of about 10,000. Chief port, Pointe-^-Pitre, on
Grande Terre, with 18,000 inhabitants.
Chief products and exports: sugar, cocoa, coffee,
cabinet woods, dyewoods, and spices.
Climate healthy and delightful in the mountains,
hot and none too salubrious in the lowlands.
Discovered by Colurabus on his second voyage in
1493 and first spot where the Spaniards found the
native aborigines, called Caribs, with human flesh
being cooked in their pots. Settled by the French
and has been French, British, Dutch, and French by
turns. Places of interest are the various public buildings
and gardens at Pointe-^-Pitre, government building
at Bassetcne, sugar mills and estates, forest scenery,
and the Soufriere crater, which is somewhat difficult
of ascent, but can be visited from Bassetene.
Several hotels and boarding houses at Pointe-^-Pltre
and Basseterre.
Reached by Quebec S. S. Line (about nine days)
frora New York and by Corapagnie Generale Trans-
atlantique, frora the French Islands, Colon, and Porto
Rico. Language, French among the upper classes; patois,

APPENDIX 397
or colloquial, French among the coramon people. A
few merchants and natives of other Islands may be
found who speak English. Currency, French, but a
local French West Indian coinage is in circulation.
British and Araerican cunency passes among the
merchants and British silver is accepted by the market
people. Haiti
The western one third of the island of Santo Do
mingo. An independent negro republic commonly
called the "Black Republic" and now under a partial
protectorate of the United States.
An extremely fertUe, luxuriant, well wooded, and
beautiful country with many lofty raountains, exten
sive plains, and broad rich valleys. Area about
9000 square miles.
Population about 1,500,000, of whom less than 10
per cent, are white or of mixed blood, the great bulk
of the Inhabitants being serai-civilized, ignorant blacks
who have reverted to many of the habits of their
African ancestors.
Capital and largest city, Port-au-Prince, with
about 70,000 inhabitants. Other important towns
are Jacmel, southeast of the capital, with a beautiful
harbor, Miragoane west of Port-au-Prince, Petit
Goave, Aux Cayes, Jeremie, on the tip of the
Tiburon Peninsula; Gonaives and St. Marc on the
western coast, the former with 18,000 inhabitants;
Mole St. Nicholas at the extreme northwestern tip

398 APPENDIX
of the republic; Port de Paix on the northern coast,
and Cape Haitien also on the northern coast and
faraous as the spot where Columbus was shipwrecked
on his faraous voyage in 1492.
With unbounded resources, Haiti could be the most
prosperous and wealthy of lands, but while a large
amount of produce is exported, constant revolutions,
an ignorant population, and slothfulness and lack
of ambition have kept it from development and
prosperity. The principal products and exports are
coffee, cocoa, sugar, dye woods, timber, hides, and
tobacco. Climate is healthy, away from the towns ; hot on the
coasts, but delightful in the hills. None of the towns
are fit for human beings under present conditions, but
sanitation and enterprise could make them as healthy
and delightful as those of Cuba or Porto Rico.
Haiti's history is one of massacre after massacre
and untold cruelties. Discovered by Columbus in
1492, a teraporary settlement was made at Cape
Haitien, a fort was erected, and the wreckage of the
Santa Maria was collected and drawn ashore. This
was called La Navidad by Columbus in honor of
Christmas Day, on which his vessel was wrecked.
Upon his return the following year, Columbus found
his fort destroyed and burned and the ganison
massacred. Later, settlements were made at various points
and the district of the north was acquired by the
French by treaty in 1697.
In 1 79 1 a slave insunection broke out, the leader

APPENDIX 399
being one Toussaint I'Ouverture, and under his direc
tion the negroes were successful and the French were
butchered and driven from the island. At that time
there were half a mUlion blacks and less than seven
thousand whites in Haiti and the Europeans were
helpless. To subdue the negroes, a force of sixty
thousand troops and a fleet of men-of-war were sent by
Napoleon and the blacks retreated to the mountains.
Toussaint was captured and died in a French prison,
but his followers committed awful butcheries, yellow
fever aided them, and the French troops succumbed by
thousands. The French, under Rocharabeau, strove
to outdo the negroes in atrocities and the blacks
retaliated in kind and as a result Haiti literally ran
with blood. Only the arrival of a British force saved
the French from annihilation and they gladly sur
rendered to their white eneraies. After the evacu
ation by the French in 1804, the blacks and colored
people swore to renounce France and under Dessalines
butchered the few remaining whites, and, ever since,
the island has been in possession of the negro race,
although subject to many conflicts among them
selves and with their neighbors of the Dorainican
Republic and European powers. /
Places of interest are the ruins of the Black King's
Castle, Sans Souci, at Cape Haitien, La Coupe, the
suramer residence of the better class of people of Port-
au-Prince, and the few public buildings of the towns.
No decent hotels or boarding houses, although
accommodations, of a sort, may be had in the larger
towns.

400 APPENDIX
Reached by Royal Dutch West India Line from
New York and, under normal conditions, by steamers
of Hamburg- American (Atlas) Line.
Language, French among better classes; patois,
or colloquial, French among lower classes. Currency,
Haitien, but United States and British as weU as
French cunency is in circulation.
Isle of Pines
An island sixty miles off the southem coast of Cuba
and belonging to that republic.
About 900 square miles In area, or about 575,000
acres. Approximately one fourth of the Island is low
and swampy, and inundated in rainy seasons; the re
mainder high, broken, and mountainous. Much arable
and fertile land, raany rich valleys, and well watered
with rivers and strearas.
Well forested with raahogany, pine, and other tiraber
trees and with many mineral springs.
Population mainly citizens of United States who
have exploited the island as a tropical Eden and a spot
where fortunes may be made in lands and fruit
growing. Chief port, Nueva Gerona. Santa F^ is seventeen
miles inland.
Chief products and exports: mineral waters, timber,
fruit; marble quarries are in the Crystal Hills, —
Cenos de los Cristales, — and wild game abounds.
Formerly a famous resort for pirates and later for
wreckers, and used as a penal settlement by the
Spaniards.

APPENDIX 401
Climate healthy and delightful, save in the rainy
season. Places of interest nil, aside from the various colonies
and buildings erected by Americans.
Hotels and boarding places in the towns.
Reached by steamer from Batabano, thirty-six
miles by railway from Havana.
Language, raainly English, although Spanish is
spoken by the native Cubans. Cunency, as in Cuba
(officially), but United States cunency in common use.
Jamaica
A British island, third largest of the Greater AntiUes,
situated 90 miles south of eastern Cuba and 100 miles
southwest of Santo Domingo. Approximately 1500
miles from New York and 540 miles from Colon.
About 145 miles in length and 50 in width with an
area of 4207 square miles or 2,692,587 acres of which
some 100,000 acres are under cultivation.
A mountainous island, with highest peak of Blue
Mountains 7360 feet above the sea. Many lesser
peaks are frora 4000 to 6000 feet. No active volcanic
craters. Of very ancient forraation. Abundantly
watered, with innumerable rivers and strearas, few
of which are navigable. Well wooded, fertile, and
luxuriant. Population about 700,000. Capital, Kingston, with
about 50,000 Inhabitants. Other important towns
are : Port Royal across the bay from Kingston, Span
ish Town, MandevUle, 2200 feet above the sea and a
06

402 APPENDIX
famous health resort, Montego Bay, on the north
coast, Ewarton, Moneague, Port Antonio, the head
quarters of the banana industry. Port Morant, St.
Ann's, Savanna la Mar in the southwest and the port
for the logwood district, as well as many smaller
towns, villages, etc.
Jamaica's industries are agricultural, as are her
resources, and although gold, copper, manganese, and
other metals occur they have never been worked on a
commercially profitable scale. The principal exports
are fruits, mainly bananas and oranges, dye and cabi
net woods, coffee, sugar, rum, pimento, cocoanuts,
cocoa, and various other tropical products.
Cliraate delightfully cool and extremely healthy
in the highlands and seldom unbearably hot in the
coastal towns, except on the southern coast out of
reach of the trade winds.
Discovered by Colurabus in 1494. In 1502-04, on
his last voyage to the West Indies, Columbus beached
his vessels, which were unseaworthy, on the north
coast of Jaraaica and remained there for a year, until
rescued by an expedition sent from Santo Domingo.
The spot where he spent those twelve months of
suffering, mutiny, and hardship is known as Don
Christopher's Cove and is between St. Ann's Bay and
Annotta Bay. First settled by Spanish at "Sevilla
Nueva," now St. Ann's, and later on the southem
coast at Old Harbor and other points. Spanish Town,
then called Santiago de la Vega, was founded in
1520. Spanish occupation continued until 1655, when the

APPENDIX 403
English, under Admiral Penn and General Venables,
conquered the island. First British governor ap
pointed 1661, and capital established at Spanish Town,
1664. In 1670, Jamaica was formally ceded to the
British. On June 7, 1692, Port Royal, which had become the
headquarters of the buccaneers and was famed as the
"richest and wickedest city in the world," was de
stroyed by an earthquake. The town, with three
thousand houses, most of its inhabitants, and all its
wealth, slipped into the sea. Captain Henry Mor
gan, — the noted pirate, — after the sack of Panama,
was made govemor of the island.
During the years of warfare between Spanish and
British, thousands of slaves escaped and fled to the
mountain forests, where they developed into a race
of semi-savages known as "Maroons." From 1730-
34 these "Maroons" constantly harassed the planters
and settlements, but were so strongly fortified in the
forests that all expeditions sent against them were
defeated. Not until 2500 acres of land were ceded
permanently to the Maroons and freedom granted
them by treaty, were the Jamaicans left in peace.
In 1760 occuned a serious slave uprising, and in 1795
the Maroons again attacked the whites and for a year
desperate warfare was waged against them. At last a
new treaty was made, and more than five hundred of
the Maroons were exiled to Siena Leone and Nova
Scotia. In 1744 Savanna la Mar was destroyed by earth
quake, and other tremors caused considerable damage

404 APPENDIX
from time to time. In 1838 emancipation of slaves
was proclaimed, but In 1865 another outbreak of the
blacks occurred and Montego Bay was attacked and
many whites slaughtered. The uprising was finally
quelled by troops, and the ringleader, S. W. Gordon, a
planter, merchant, and politician, was arrested and
hanged. Since that time the raost Iraportant events in Ja
maica's history have been earthquakes and hunicanes.
In 1880 a hurricane killed thirty people in Kingston,
destroyed raost of the wharves and many houses, and
did a vast amount of damage, and in December, 1882,
a fire devastated forty acres of the town and destroyed
six hundred buildings, causing a loss of over one
million dollars. On August 11, 1903, another huni
cane swept Jamaica, destroying crops, buUdings,
and cultivation and entailing a loss estiraated at
over ten million dollars. But by far the worst
of such catastrophes was the earthquake, and sub
sequent fire, which practically destroyed Kingston
and caused tenific daraage in other places on Janu
ary 14, 1907. During this quake over one thousand
lives were lost and the raost important streets and
buildings of Kingston were converted to worthless
ruins. But the island quickly recovered and the
town was rebuUt. An important event of more
recent date was the stupendous production of a
moving-picture film which took place in Jaraaica in
1915-16. This film, which cost over one million
dollars, required thousands of people, the erection
of a large city, and an unprecedented deraand for

APPENDIX 405
labor, supplies, and accommodations, and placed
a tremendous araount of money in circulation in
Jamaica. Places of interest are very numerous. In Kingston
and its vicinity are King's House, Institute of Jamaica,
where are the famous "Shark Papers," Race Course,
Hope and Castleton Gardens, Port Royal, Fort
Charles. Scenic and other attractions are Bog Walk,
Rio Cobre, Spanish Town, Dry River, Chinchona
Plantation, caves at Ewarton, St. Elizabeth, St.
Thoraas, River Head, Dry River, etc., Roaring
River Falls and Fern Valley, near Moneague, Natural
Bridge near Riversdale, Cane River Falls, Don Christo
pher's Cove, near Annotta Bay, MUk River Baths and
hot springs.
Hotels of the highest class, boarding places, and
furnished cottages and bungalows are nuraerous in all
important towns and resorts.
Over two thousand railes of good roads and nu
merous railway lines, as well as coastal steam
boats, afford easy access to all parts of the island.
Horses, carriages, motor cars, boats, and launches for
hire. Reached by United Fruit Co. (about five days)
from New York and Gulf ports, and, under normal
shipping conditions, by Royal MaU Steam Packet
Co. Language, English. Cunency, British, but Colonial
Bank and Royal Bank of Canada notes and United
States currency in circulation and terras "dollars and
cents" used alraost universally.

406 APPENDIX
Leeward Islands
A group of islands forming a confederation under
British rule and which includes St. Kitts, Nevis,
Antigua, Barbuda, Montserrat, Dominica, AnguiUa,
and the British Virgin Islands.
Five presidencies make up the confederation and
areas foUows: St. Kitts, Nevis, and Anguilla; Antigua,
Barbuda, and Redonda; Montsenat; Dominica; Vir
gin Islands.
Each presidency has an administrator, or commis
sioner, while the governor-general has his residence
and seat of government in Antigua.
See descriptions of individual islands.
Margarita or "Pearl Island"
A dependency of Venezuela off the coast of that
country and about twenty miles from the town of
Cumana. About 50 miles long by 5 to 20 miles in width. Two
mountain ranges, 4000 feet above the sea, run through
the island which is nearly divided by a huge lagoon.
Mountainous and little cultivated.
Population about 20,000. Capital, Asuncion.
Chief port, Pampatar.
Chief products and exports, pearls and pearl shell,
hammocks, hats, tiles, and lace.
About one million dollars' worth of pearls and shell
exported annually. Sorae of the largest pearls in the
world have been taken frora the waters about this

APPENDIX 407
island. Pearls first discovered at Margarita by Colum
bus in 1498.
Climate dry and healthy.
Few places of interest aside from pearl fisheries.
No regular hotels.
Reached by Royal Dutch West India Line from
Cumana. By sailboat and packet from Venezuela,
Trinidad, and Curagao.
Language, Spanish. Cunency as in Venezuela.
Marie Galante
A French island and a dependency of Guadeloupe.
South of the latter.
Of calcareous formation, terraced in form, with a
flat table-like summit seven hundred feet in height.
Population about 17,000, mostly blacks.
Discovered by Columbus, 1493, and named after
his flagship.
No hotels or boarding places.
Reached by small boat or packet frora Guadeloupe.
Language and cunency as in Guadeloupe.
Martinique
A French colony fifteen miles south of Dominica
and about twenty miles north of St. Lucia. Birth
place of Josephine, Empress of France. Scene of
most disastrous volcanic eruption of modern tiraes.
St. Plene, capital of the island, destroyed with loss

408 APPENDIX
of thirty to forty thousand lives and nearly one fourth
of island devastated by Mt. Pel6e, May, 1902.
Length about 30 miles; width about 15 miles.
Area 500 square miles. A mountainous, volcanic
island, rich, and luxuriant with forests and verdure.
Highest peak is Morne Pelde, 4400 feet.
Population about 200,000. Capital and chief port,
Fort-de-France, with 30,000 inhabitants.
Chief products, cocoa, sugar, coffee, spices, and
dye and cabinet woods.
Climate hot on coast, healthy as a whole and de
lightfully cool in hills.
Discovered by Colurabus, 1502. First settled by
French in 1635. Seized by British in 1762, 1781,
1794, and 1809, and ceded to France in 1814. Uninter
ruptedly French since.
Places of interest are ruins of St. Piene, crater of Mt.
Pel^e, birthplace of Josephine at Trois Islets, church
where she was christened at Trois Islets, statue of the
Empress at Fort-de-France, old Fort Royal at Fort-de-
France, Canal de Gueydon, Port-de-France. Scenery
of interior.
Numerous hotels and boarding places in Fort-de-
France. Motor cars, sailboats, horses, and caniages for hire.
Coastal steamers and diligences connect principal
towns. Reached by Quebec S. S. Co. (about 12 days) from
New York, Compagnie Generale Transatlantique
from French colonies and Porto Rico. Language,
French. Cunency as in Guadeloupe.

APPENDIX 409
Mona
An island off the western coast of Porto Rico afid
property of United States. Banen, scrub-covered,
and of no value except for the lighthouse. A favorite
spot for Porto Rican sportsraen, as many wild fowl
resort to it and there are wild goats, etc., on the Island.
Montserrat
A British island, one of the Leeward Island con
federation southeast of St. Kitts and southwest of
Antigua. Length about twelve miles ; width seven miles. Vol
canic and v/ith an active crater known as the "Sou
friere." Very mountainous and well wooded in the
central and northern parts, but with broad valleys
and fertUe plains sloping from central range of moun
tains to the leeward coast. Highest peak, 3000 feet.
Population about 14,000. Capital and port, Ply
mouth, with about 6000 inhabitants. Few whites on
the island.
Chief products, limes and lime juice, sugar, fruits,
and garden truck.
Climate very healthy and pleasant. Average
teraperature from 70°-85°.
Discovered by Columbus, 1493. First settled by
English, 1632. Seized by French, 1664. Recaptured
by British, 1668. Retaken by French in 1782. Eng
lish since 1 784. Many of the early settlers were Irish
and their traits and characters, together with names.

410 APPENDIX
have been transraitted to colored people now living on
the island.
Little of interest, aside from the people and the
crater of Soufriere.
Reached by Royal MaU (Canadian) boats from
Halifax, Bermuda, and other islands; occasionaUy by
ships of Quebec S. S. Co., and, under normal condi
tions, by intercolonial boats of Royal Mail Steam
Packet Co.
No good hotels or boarding places.
Language, English, usually with a distinct 'brogue.
Cunency, British, with Colonial and Royal Bank of
Canada notes. Ne-vis
One of the British Leeward Islands a few miles south
of St. Kitts and under government of latter.
Of volcanic formation with a very perfect, extinct
volcanic cone about 4000 feet in height. Bulk of land
fairly level and sloping gently to base of mountain.
Area about 50 square miles or 35,000 acres, about half
of which are, or have been, under cultivation.
Capital and port, Charlestown. Formerly James
town was the capital, but on April 30, 1689, this town
was submerged by an earthquake. The ruins are still
visible beneath the sea.
Principal products, sugar, molasses, cotton, and
some sisal.
Climate exceedingly healthy and pleasant. At
one time famous as a health resort and watering place

APPENDIX 411
throughout the West Indies, Europe, and America.
Many hot and medicinal springs on the island.
Discovered by Columbus, 1493, and naraed "NIeve"
from the snow-like effect of clouds about the moun
tain summit.
Famous as birthplace of Alexander HamUton, and
as spot where Admiral Nelson was manied.
Places of interest are the ruins of Hamilton's House,
Old Fig Tree Church and raaniage register contain
ing entry of Nelson's wedding, ruins of once famous
"Bath House," thermal springs, and submerged city.
No hotels or boarding houses, but accommodations
may be obtained in private houses at Charlestown.
Horses and caniages for hire.
Reached by sailboat or packet from St. Kitts. By
Royal MaU (Canadian) boats frora Halifax, Berrauda,
and other Islands, and occasionally by ships of Que
bec S. S. Co.
Language and cunency as at St. Kitts.
Norman Island
A smaU and uniraportant islet of the British Virgin
Island group. South of Tortola. Area about two
thousand acres.
Formerly a resort of pirates and buccaneers. Treas
ure is reputed buried here. Oruba
One of the Dutch islands under govemment of
Curasao and west of the latter at the entrance to
Gulf of Maracaibo.

412 APPENDIX
Area about 75 square miles.
Population about 1000.
Chief products, aloes, salt, fish, goats, and sheep.
No hotels.
Reached by packet from Maracaibo or Curagao.
Language and money as in Curagao.
PoRTO Rico
A colony of the United States, one of the Greater
Antilles, situated about forty miles west of St. Thomas
and fifty miles east of Santo Domingo.
Smallest of the Greater Antilles, about 100 miles
long by 36 miles wide. Area about 3500 square miles.
Very mountainous and rugged in the Interior, with
broad valleys, tablelands, and plains. Once hea-vlly
wooded, but now alraost denuded of forests, save in
the northern forest reserve and in isolated mountain
ous districts. Highest peak. El Yunque, 3600 feet.
Very fertile and well watered with numerous rivers,
none of which are navigable.
Population about a million, of whom less than
fifty thousand are negroes, the principal populktion
being of almost pure Spanish descent, although there
are many colored and mixed races. Capital and chief
port, San Juan, on the northern coast, with about
fifty thousand inhabitants.
Ponce, on the southern coast, and Mayaguez on the
west, as well as Arecibo, are all iraportant ports.
Many coastal and interior towns of great value and
importance are connected by excellent roads or by

APPENDIX 413
railway with the capital and various ports. The
island is divided Into sixty-nine districts, or municipali
ties, each of which Is practically autonomous. In
most cases the chief town is of the same name as its
municipality. The resources of Porto Rico are very great, but are
mainly agricultural, although gold, iron, copper, and
other minerals occur and have not been exploited.
Principal products are sugar, tobacco, fruits, vege
tables, and coffee.
Climate very pleasant and exceedingly healthy,
Porto Rico ranking second healthiest country in the
world. On the coasts the climate is rather hot, but in
the hills and mountains it is cool and pleasant. Aver
age temperature of coastal districts for summer 80°,
for winter 75°. Average humidity at San Juan, for
winter 75°; for summer 81°. Rainfall from forty-five
inches in dryer districts, to two hundred inches per
year in wettest districts.
Discovered by Columbus In 1493. In search of
water Columbus landed at or near the present site of
Aguadilla and named the island San Juan Bautista,
the native name being Borinqu^n. On board of one of
Columbus's ships was Juan Ponce de Leon who was so
attracted by the new land that in 1508 he sailed
from Santo Domingo and landed near the present
town of Aguada. Traveling eastward he found a
sheltered bay which he christened Puerto Rico, and
being well received by the Indians he returned to
Santo Domingo and related his discoveries to Governor
Ovando. The latter furnished De Leon with sup-

414 APPENDIX
plies and men to settle Puerto Rico, where he landed
in 1509. At a spot he called Caparra he started a
settlement which was later abandoned in favor of the
present site of San Juan. Frora here he set forth
on his famous search for the Fountain of Youth, and
in 1512 he sailed again, but was wounded by an In
dian's arrow and died In Havana.
From 1516 until 1798 the Island was constantly
attacked by invaders and in 1535 and 1543 the French
sacked and burned several towns. In 1565, Sir
John Hawkins tried his hand at taking Porto Rico
and in 1572 the faraous privateer. Sir Francis Drake,
also attacked it, but both were driven off. In 1595
they tried once raore, attracted by vast treasure on
galleons In the harbor, but they were badly beaten,
Hawkins dying off the eastern coast of the island
and Drake succumbing ere he reached Porto Bello,
towards which he set sail. Once raore, in 1597, the
British attacked San Juan with a fleet of twenty
ships under Lord Cumberland. They landed at
Santtirce, and were on the brink of victory when
pestUence broke out among the troops and they
were compelled to abandon the siege. In 1625 a fleet
of Dutch ships bombarded the fortresses of San Juan,
but without success. The next serious attack was in
1797, when Sir Ralph Abercromby landed at San
turce, and after two weeks of furious hand-to-hand
fighting the British were driven off with great loss.
Not until one hundred years later was the island
seriously disturbed. Then the war vessels of the
United States, under Admiral Sampson, shelled San

APPENDIX 415
Juan's forts, but with scarcely more effect than
the fleets of Drake and Hawkins, and the Porto
Ricans were left In peace until the United States
troops landed on the southern coast and raarched
overland, to be halted near Cayey by the news that
the peace protocol had been signed. In August, 1898,
the island was fonnally given over to the United
States. Places of interest are numerous, especiaUy about
San Juan. Among them may be mentioned the
Mono, San Sebastian, and San Cristobal forts, San
Geronimo, Casa Blanca or house of Ponce de Leon,
San Juan church and statue of Ponce de Leon, the
cathedral, with tomb of Ponce de Leon, old palace,
now the governor's residence, old city wall and gates,
prison, old churches, statue of Columbus, and Colon
Plaza, etc. In the outlying country are many interest
ing sights and in nearly every town are places of
historic or other interest.
Several fair hotels and boarding places In San
Juan and many excellent boarding houses and a
first-class hotel at Santurce. ' Several hotels in Ponce
and hotels more or less comfortable in every town of
any size. Innumerable automobiles for hire, regular
motor car service over the island, raany "jitney" lines,
trolley cars, and steam railways.
Reached by New York & Porto Rico Line (about 4
days) from New York or by Red "D" Line steamers
from New York and from Venezuela and Curagao.
Under normal conditions by various British, French,
Italian, and German steamers from Colon, Jamaica,

41 6 APPENDIX
St. Thomas, Europe, South Araerica, and the other
West Indian islands.
Language, officially" English. Practically all the
Porto Ricans use Spanish exclusively and few outside
of the larger towns understand or speak English. In
the stores, hotels, and offices and on the railways,
trolley lines, and public conveyances there Is usually
soraeone who speaks EngUsh.
Cunency the same as in United States.
Redonda
A lofty, isolated rock belonging to Antigua and
west of the latter, about midway between St. Kitts
and Montsenat.
Altitude about looo feet.
Population (when mining operations are going on)
about 100, mostly black laborers.
Only product, phosphate rock.
Saba
A Dutch island between St. Kitts and St. Croix.
About 40 miles west of St. Kitts.
Merely an enormous volcanic cone rising abruptly
from the sea for 3000 feet. Area about 5 square miles.
No harbor or safe anchorage. Upper mountain
sides verdured, lower slopes grown over with stunted
brush, creepers, and cacti. No heavy forests. Inte
rior valleys and hUlsides fertile and cultivated where-
ever possible.

APPENDIX 417
Population about 2000. Chief town. Bottom, situ
ated about 1000 feet above the sea in a crater and
•with about 1500 inhabitants. Rest of people live at
smaller villages, or "districts," known as Windward
Side, Hell's Gate, St. John's, and Leverack's Town.
No wheeled vehicles, all traveling being done afoot,
on horseback, or In chairs canied by negroes.
Chief products, fruit, vegetables, — including white
potatoes and other temperate vegetables and fruits, —
lace and drawn-work, and boats. Men mainly sailors,
many of them officers of steamships and trans
atlantic liners.
Climate extremely healthy and pleasant, perpetu
ally spring-like or temperate, rather than tropical.
Places of interest are the "Ladder," a flight of
eight hundred stone steps leading from landing place to
town; the Devil's Warming Pan, a hot stone which
is never wet or cool, even In the hardest rains; the
Sulphur Mine, and the town of Bottom.
No hotels or boarding houses.
Reached by smaU boat from St. Kitts or St. Eusta
tius. Language, Dutch, but English understood and used
by nearly everyone. Cunency as in Curagao, but
British money readily accepted.
Saintes (The)
Small, rocky, volcanic Islands belonging to Guade
loupe and south of the latter. About 1000 feet in
)ieight. «»

4i8 APPENDIX
Saint Bartholomew, commonly Called St.
Bart's
A French island and dependency of Guadeloupe,
40 miles north of St. Kitts.
Hilly, with one peak rising to 1000 feet. No fresh
water ponds or streams. Area about 8 square
miles. Population about 3000, nearly all black or colored.
Capital and port, Gustavia.
Belonged to Sweden untU 1878, when ceded to
present owners. At one time resort of pirates and
buccaneers. Vast treasure supposed to be burled on
the island by Montbars, known as "The Extermi
nator," and who had headquarters here.
No hotels or boarding places.
Reached by small boat from neighboring islands.
Currency and language as in Guadeloupe, but
English generally spoken or understood.
Saint Christopher, more commonly Called
St. Kitts
One of the British Leeward Islands, sometimes
called the " Mother of the British West Indies, " as it
was the first of the Lesser AntiUes settled by the
British. Volcanic, with an active crater. Mount Misery,
about 4000 feet above the sea. Area about 75 square
mUes, much of which is cultivated. Fertile, weU
watered, and with mountains heavily wooded.

APPENDIX 419
Population about 35,000. Capital, Bassetene, with
about 12,000 inhabitants.
Principal products, sugar, molasses, and rum.
Climate healthy and agreeable.
Discovered by Columbus in 1493 and named In honor
of his patron saint, owing to a fancied resemblance
of its mountains to St. Christopher bearing the Infant
Jesus on his shoulder. Not named after Columbus
himself as often alleged. First settled by the British in
1623. Made untenable by pirates, whose settlements
were finally destroyed and buccaneers driven away by
combined attack of French, English, and Spanish in
1630. Taken by the French in 1782, but ceded to
England in 1783.
Places of Interest are not numerous about Basse
tene, but there Is a pretty public garden and the
roads are excellent. Outside of the city the main
points of interest are Monkey Hill, Fort Brimstone,
Mount Misery Crater, Wingfield Estate Cataract,
Lawyer Stevens's Cave, etc.
Several boarding places and one or two fair hotels
at Bassetene.
Horses, carriages, and motor cars for hire..
Reached by Quebec S. S. Co. (about 8 days)
from New York. By Royal Mail (Canadian) Line
from Bermuda, Halifax, and other British islands,
and, under normal conditions, by Royal Mail Steam
Packet Co.
Language, English. Currency, British, with Royal
Bank of Canada and Colonial Bank notes in cir
culation.

420 APPENDIX
Santa Cruz or St. Croix
An Island about 60 miles south of St. Thomas and
100 miles west of St. Kitts. One of the former Danish
islands, transfened to the United States in 191 7.
A hilly, limestone island about 20 railes long and 6
miles wide. Area about 75 square miles with a large
portion under cultivation. Fertile, well watered, and
luxuriant, but not heavily wooded.
Population about 30,000. Capital, Christiansted,
on eastern coast. Chief port, FrederUcsted, on western
coast. Chief products, sugar, rum, molasses, and some fruit.
Climate hot in the towns, but very equable and
healthy and formerly a noted health resort.
Discovered by Columbus, 1493. Settled by Dutch
and English in 1625. Later taken by Spaniards and
French, and in 1653 sold by Louis XIV to the Knights
of Malta who were succeeded by the French West
India Company in 1665. Deserted until 1733, when
sold by French to Denmark for $375,000. In
1867, Santa Cruz was subjected to an immense tidal
wave which reached a height of sixty feet and carried
the vessels in the harbor high and dry far from shore.
Among the ships which were thus stranded was the
United States frigate Monongahela which was left
standing upright among the buildings of the town
beyond a row of cocoanut trees, the ship actually
having been carried over the palm trees. The vessel
was launched after raonths of labor and was practi
cally unharmed and left under her own steam. In

APPENDIX 421
1878 a negro insurrection caused considerable damage,
and occasional hurricanes have varied the monotony
of the lives of the natives since then.
No particular spots of interest.
Fairly comfortable semi-hotels and boarding
places. Reached by Quebec S. S. Co. (about 7 days) from
New York.
Horses, caniages, and automobUes for hire.
Language, English (except among Danes). Cur
rency, Danish West Indian, but United States money
accepted. Saint John
Smallest of the three former Danish islands and a
few miles east of St. Thomas.
Rugged, heavily wooded, well watered, and once
cultivated. Length about 9 miles; width about 5 miles. Area
about 21 square miles.
Population about 2000, nearly all negroes.
Chief products, bay leaves and bay oil.
Port, Coral Bay, with a splendid harbor, one of the
best In the West Indies.
Formerly a rendezvous of buccaneers. Rusty can
non and ruined pirate forts are to be found overgrown
with vines and brush.
Settled by the Danes In 1684.
No hotels or boarding places.
Reached by packet from St. Thomas.
Language and currency as in St. Thomas.

422 APPENDIX Saint Kitts
The West Indian name for St. Christopher, which
see. Saint Lucia
A British island of the Windward Island group.
About 20 miles north of St. Vincent, lOO miles west of
Barbados, and i8 miles south of Martinique.
Volcanic, with an active crater, the Soufriere, on
southern part of island. Highest peaks, Morne
Giraie and Piton Canaries, 3000 feet; Grand and Petit
Pitons rise directly from the sea off Soufriere Bay
to a height of 2620 and 2460 feet. Length about 28
miles; width about 15 railes. Area about 250 square
miles. Heavily wooded, fertile, and well watered.
Population about 50,000. Capital, Castries, with
12,000 Inhabitants. An important coaling station
and strongly fortified. Sometimes called "The Gi
braltar of West Indies."
Climate hot and not very healthy on coast. Cool
and salubrious in the hills. Infested by deadly fer-de-
lance serpent.
Chief products, cocoa, Umes, spices, fruits, and
dyewoods. Discovered by Columbus, 1502, on his fourth voy
age. First settled by British, 1605, when sixty-seven
colonists arrived in Olive Blossom. They were , at
tacked and massacred by the Caribs, and the twenty
survivors fled to South America within a month

APPENDIX 423
after landing on the island. In 1635, French settlers
attempted to take possession, but were driven out
by British who were in turn kiUed and forced off by
Caribs. For next two hundred years fought over by
French and British until finally ceded to England in
1814. Places of interest are the PubUc Gardens, coaling
docks, Morne and Government House, Pitons, Crater
at Soufriere.
Several hotels and boarding places at Castries.
Reached by Quebec S. S. Co. (about 14 days) from
New York. By Royal Mail (Canadian) Line from
Halifax, Bermuda, and British islands, and, under
normal conditions, by Royal Mail Steam Packet
Co. Language, English. Patois or Creole spoken by
lower classes. Cunency, British, but Royal Bank of
Canada and Colonial Bank notes in circulation.
Saint Martin
Jointly French and Dutch, the northern half being
under the jurisdiction of Guadeloupe while the south- .
ern half Is under the government of Curagao. Situ
ated southwest of AnguiUa and northwest of St.
Kitts. A wooded, fertUe, mountainous Island. Area about
40 square mUes. Highest peak. Paradise Peak, 1900
feet. Population of entire Island about 8000, of whom
about 3000 reside in French tenitory and 5000 in
Dutch.

424 APPENDIX
Capitals: French, Marigot. Dutch, Philipsburg.
Chief products, salt, vegetables, and cattle. Copper
and manganese occur.
Climate healthy and pleasant.
Formerly a noted resort of pirates and buccaneers.
No hotels.
Reached by occasional steamers of Quebec Line, but
usually only by saUing vessels or packet boats from
St. Kitts, St. Croix, St. Thomas, or Curagao.
Language, Dutch and French patois, but English
quite generally spoken. Cunency sarae as in Dutch
and French colonies. Saint Thomas
One of the Virgin Islands, about 40 miles east of
Porto Rico. Until recently Danish.
Mountainous but dry, banen, and little cultivated.
Length about 13 miles; width about 3 miles. Area
about 33 square miles.
Population about 15,000, mostly colored. Capital
and only port, Charlotte Amalie (sometimes spelled
Amalia), with about 13,000 inhabitants.
Formerly of great comraercial iraportance, as it
was a free port and possesses a large and magnificent
harbor. Produces practically nothing but bay rum.
An important coaling station.
Climate healthy and pleasant.
Discovered by Columbus, 1493. First settled by
Danish under Erik Smidt, March 30, 1666. Taken
by the Dutch under Governor Huntum. Recolonized

APPENDIX 425
by Danes, under Jorgen Iwerson, May 23, 1672.
Iwerson, who was sent out by Danish West India and
Guinea Company, became governor and was a most
despotic ruler, but under him the island prospered.
Succeeded by Nie Esmit, to whom Iwerson delivered
the governorship upon his resignation. Soon after
Iwerson set out to take charge again, but was thrown
overboard by his mutinous crew on the voyage.
On April 9, 1690, St. Thomas suffered frora a severe
earthquake, and soon after the entire island was
leased out by the Danish King to the Brandenbergh
Corapany which rapidly developed the coraraerce
of the island. First destructive hurricane, 1697.
In 1756 Dutch coramerce was excluded, which alraost
ruined the island, and the King of Denmark rescinded
all rights of the Brandenberghs. In 1800, British,
under Colonel CoweU, seized St. Thomas, but within
a year it was restored to Denmark. In 1804 and
1806, island swept by fires, causing damage estimated
at over sixteen million dollars.
Again occupied by the British In 1807 and held by
them until April 9, 1815, when once more restored to
the Danes. In 1 866 ravaged by yellow fever, smallpox,
and cholera. October 29, 1866, loss of three hundred
lives and seventy-seven vessels and immense damage
by hurricane. Noveraber i8th of the same year tidal
wave and earthquake did enormous daraage. Another
disastrous hunicane occurred in 1876, after which the
town was rebuUt, sanitation was estabhshed, and
the island greatly Improved and modernized.
Came under United States flag, AprU 1917.

426 APPENDIX
Places of interest are: Bluebeard's and Black
beard's Castles, Ma Falie, from which a magnificent
view may be obtained, old Danish fort, coaling docks.
Sail Rock.
Reached by Quebec S. S. Co., from New York
and by various English, French, Italian, Dutch, Ger
man, and other lines from Europe and Porto Rico.
Language officially Danish and cunency that of
Denmark, but English generally spoken except by
officials and any money gladly accepted.
A few fair hotels and boarding houses In Charlotte
Amalie. Saint Vincent
One of the British Windward Island group, about
20 railes south of St. Lucia and loo miles west of
Barbados. Volcanic, mountainous, fertile, and heavily wooded.
The active volcano, known as "Soufriere," devastated
an iraraense area and kUled many people in 1812 and
in May, 1902, destroyed 2000 lives and over one third
of the Island.
Highest point, Morne Agarou, 4000 feet. Length
about 18 railes; width about 11 miles. Area about
140 square miles.
Population about 50,000. Capital and chief port,
Kingstown, with 5000 inhabitants.
Principal products, cocoa, sugar, fruits, ano-wroot.
Cliraate very pleasant and healthy, one of the health
iest Islands in West Indies. Temperature averages
frora 75°-8o° the year round.

APPENDIX 427
Places of interest: Botanic Gardens, established in
1763, and first of their kind In America, old forts,
volcanic district and crater, Carib settieraent, drives
through interior.
No 'really good hotel, but several boarding places.
Reached by sraall boat or packet frora neighboring
islands or by Royal Mail (Canadian) Line from Ber
muda, Halifax, or other English islands.
Language, English. Many of the natives speak
patois or Creole by preference. Currency, British,
with Colonial and Royal Bank of Canada notes in
circulation. San Domingo, properly Santo Domingo
Second largest of the Greater Antilles. Situated
about 65 railes west of Porto Rico and 50 miles east
of Cuba. Divided into two independent republics,
the eastern two thirds forming the Dominican Re
public, the remainder comprising the republic of
Haiti or, as it is often called, "The Black Republic."
A very large Island, about 500 miles in length and
175 miles wide, with an area of nearly 30,000 square
miles. About the size of Maine; one fourth larger
than Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and
Connecticut corabined; three times the size of Bel
gium; twice as large as Denmark, and only a trifle
smaller than Ireland or Portugal.
In addition to the main island there are the depend
ent islands of Gonaives, Tortuga, Saona, Alta Vela,
and Beata, sorae of which are larger than any of the

428 APPENDIX
Lesser Antilles and which add over 600 square miles
to the total area. Extreraely raountainous, the high
est peak in the West Indies being Mount Loma Tina
In the Dorainican Republic, about 11,000 feet, with
numerous peaks over' 6000 feet in height. Between
the mountain ranges are many wide elevated plains,
broad fertile valleys, imraense tablelands, and near
the coasts vast rolling prairies or savannas. Heav
ily forested with valuable tiraber, such as raahogany,
cedar, lancewood, ebony, logwood, lignum-vltce, and
long leaf pine. Contains vast mineral resources, such
as gold, mercury, manganese, lignite, iron, copper,
lead, tin, bismuth, nickel, alum, kaolin, petroleum,
salt, amber, etc.
Well watered with three enormous rivers In the
Dominican Republic and with numerous smaller
rivers and countless streams. Three huge lakes in
the southwestern part of the island. Only a sraall
portion of the island is under cultivation.
Population over two million (exact numbers un
obtainable), of whom about 600,000 reside in the
Dominican Republic, while the Haltiens nuraber about
1,500,000. Practically all the Haitien population is
black, whUe the people of the Dominican Republic
are mainly white or light colored, only about 20 per
cent, being of pronounced negro blood.
Capital of the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo
City on the Ozama River on the southern coast, with
about 30,000 inhabitants. Capital of Haiti, Port-au-
Prince, with about 70,000 inhabitants. Other impor
tant ports are Puerto Plata, Samana, Macoris, Monte

APPENDIX 429
Christi, Sanchez, and Azua In the Dominican Republic ;
Cape Haitien, Aux Cayes, Jeremie, Jacmel, Gonaives,
and Miragoane are important Haitien ports. In the
Dominican Republic there are also several large
interior towns, such as La Vega, San Francisco de
Macoris, Santiago, and Moca.
Cliraate healthy — where not ruined by human
habitations and unsanitary conditions — and very
pleasant. Almost any climate may be found by
traveling inland from the coast. On the coast the
temperature varies from 8o°-84° during the winter
months and from 86°-90° during the summer. Nights
very cool, from 48°-50° during winter and frora
70°-75° In suraraer, due to northerly night winds.
History bloody, turbulent, and closely associated
with the most illustrious personages of early Spanish do
minion in the New World. Santo Domingo City is the
oldest European city In America; on Santo Domingo
the first settlement in the New World was established
by Columbus; here the first gold was found by the
Spaniards; on this Island the first blood was shed in
a battle between Europeans and Indians; Columbus
was shipwrecked on the coast of this island; he was
imprisoned in the fortress at Santo Domingo City ; the
ruins of his son's house stIU stand; in Santo Domingo
was founded the first university In America and
Columbus is buried in the cathedral of the capital.
Hernando Cortez, Ponce de Leon, Pizarro, Balboa,
and many notable Spaniards lived on the island and
set forth on their historic expeditions from its shores.
Discovered by Columbus, December 6, 1492.

430 APPENDIX
First landing on northern coast near present site of
Mole St. Nicholas. On Christraas Eve, at the place
now known as Cape Haitien, the fiagship Santa Maria
was wrecked upon a reef and Columbus and his men
were hospitably received by the native Indian cacique.
The wreckage of the caravel was brought ashore and
used in constructing a fort. Here forty of the raen
were left while Columbus continued his voyage
eastward. In the following year he returned, to find
his fort destroyed and the men massacred; and, at a
spot fifty miles west of the present town of Puerto
Plata, a new town was founded. This was called
Isabella, but it endured only a short time, and to-day
a few crumbling walls are all that mark this first
European settlement in America. In 1496 Bartholo
mew Columbus founded Santo Domingo City, and the
island rapidly prospered and becarae the richest of
Spain's colonies. In 1795, Hispaniola, as it was
called, was ceded to France by the treaty of B41e.
After the downfall of Napoleon the eastern portion
was returned to Spain, the portion now known as
Haiti remaining as a colony of France. In 1822
the Spanish portion placed itself under Haitien rule
but withdrew after the revolution of 1843. Fearing
negro invasion by the Haitiens the Spanish speaking
portion of the island voluntarily went under Spanish
rule in 1861. In 1863 the Dorainicans revolted and in
1865 became independent. Since then the island
has been torn by revolutions, massacres, and uprisings,
the French or Haitien portion, which won its independ
ence in 1805, being especially noted for the massacres,

APPENDIX 431
revolts, and uprisings which have prevented the island
from developing or progressing. In 1905 the United
States assumed charge of the customs in the Domini
can Republic and maintains a semi-supervision of its
elections and governraent. A similar arrangement
was made -with Haiti in 1916.
Places of interest are numerous. There are no
really first class hotels. (See Dominican Republic
and Haiti.)
Several railway lines in Dorainican Republic.
One from Puerto Plata to Santiago and another
from Sanchez to La Vega. In Haiti, one railway
is in operation from Port-au-Prince Into the interior.
(For steamship routes see Haiti and Dominican
Republic.) Language In Dominican Republic, Spanish. In
Haiti, French.
Cunency in Dominican Republic, United States.
In Haiti, French and Haitien, but United States
cunency in common use. Saona
A small island off the southeastern coast of Santo
Domingo and belonging to the Dominican Republic
Brush- and chaparral-covered, infested with mos
quitoes, and of no importance. Sombrero
A possession of Great Britain and most northerly
of the eastern Caribbees.

432 APPENDIX
Banen, barely above sea level, and isolated.
Useful only as a site for the lighthouse which marks
the entrance to the Anegada Passage. Once the source
of considerable phosphate rock.
Statia
The West Indian appellation of St. Eustatius,
which see. Tobago
A British island under jurisdiction of Trinidad
and about thirty railes northeast of the latter.
Volcanic, but of ancient formation; rough, well
wooded, with many streams and very fertile. Physi
cally and geologically a portion of South America.
Many small mountains or high hills interspersed
with beautiful valleys. Highest peak. Pigeon HUl,
1900 feet.
Length about 26 mUes; width about 8 miles. Area
about 115 square miles or 74,000 acres, of which some
53,000 are private lands, 6500 are a rain and forest
reserve, and 14,000 are crown lands for sale.
Population about 20,000. Capital, Scarborough,
with 3000 inhabitants.
Chief products, cocoanuts, cocoa, spices, fruit,
cattle. Famous as the scene of Robinson Crusoe's story.
Climate very healthy and delightful.
One of the stormiest histories of any West Indian
island. Discovered by Spanish. Settled by English, 1625.

APPENDIX 433
British driven out by Caribs and then colonized by
Dutch in 1632. The Dutch were forced to leave by
Spaniards from Trinidad and the next settlement
was by the Duke of Courland, but his colony was
destroyed by Hollanders in 1658. The French then
drove off the Dutch and were themselves attacked
and routed by British in 1666. The French retaliated
by driving off the English and destroying their prop
erties, and by mutual agreement Tobago was deserted
and left as a "neutral island" until 1673.
Seized by British, who were attacked by the Dutch,
and after six years of constant struggles between the
French, English, and Dutch the island was restored to
HoUand in 1679.
Once more declared a no-man's land in 1684, it was
left to its Carib owners until 1744, when the French
again took possession, only to be attacked by the
British In 1762. A year later, 1763, ceded to Great
Britain by treaty, but seized by French in 1781.
Taken from them by the British In 1793, the latter
were compelled to restore the island to France in 1802.
Captured by the English for the last time in 1803, it
was formaUy ceded to them in 1814 and has remained
a British colony ever since.
Places of Interest are not numerous, the scenery
being the island's chief attraction, although the caves
are interesting and the natives wiU point out the
original "Crusoe's Cave," as weU as an alleged "foot
print " made by Robinson in the soUd rock.
No regular hotel that Is good, but numerous board
ing places. 28

434 APPENDIX
Reached by mail boats and intercolonial steamers
from Trinidad.
Language and currency as in Trinidad.
Tortola
One of the British Virgin Islands and largest of that
group. Situated northeast of St. Thomas.
A raountainous island 18 miles In length by 7 miles
wide and with peaks reaching nearly 2000 feet above
the sea.
Capital, Roadtown, with about 500 inhabitants,
nearly all of whom are blacks.
Of no importance and almost deserted. Formerly
the resort of buccaneers and pirates. '
No hotels or boarding places.
Reached only by packet or sailboat from St. Thomas
or St. Kitts.
Language and cunency as in neighboring British
Islands. Tortuga
A large island belonging to Haiti and opposite
Port de Paix.
Hea-vily wooded, mountainous, and sparsdy inhab
ited. About twenty miles in length by three miles
wide and with a fine though small harbor.
Formerly a stronghold of the buccaneers and doubt
less contains raore buried treasure than any other
spot in the Antilles.

APPENDIX 435
Settled by buccaneers and pirates In 1630 after
they had been driven from St. Kitts and other resorts.
All the ships and troops sent against them by Spain,
France and England, were unsuccessful, and for thirty
years the freebooters held the island and defied the
world. From this stronghold they sent expeditions
throughout the Spanish Main, and Darien, Panama,
and Porto Bello were sacked by pirates from Tortuga.
When finally dispersed many of them settled on the
mainland of Haiti and the Dominican Republic and
turned cattlemen and planters.
No hotels, boarding places, or accommodations of
any sort.
Reached only by small boat from Haitien ports.
Language and cunency as in Haiti.
There is another Tortuga situated off the coast of
Venezuela and belonging to that repubHc, but of no
importance. Neither of these should be confounded
with the Dry Tortugas, which are small cays west of
Key West and belonging to the United States.
Trinidad
Most southerly of West Indies and largest of British
islands with exception of Jamaica. Northeast of
Venezuela, from which It is separated only by the Gulf
of Paria and the narrow straits or "Bocas" a few
hundred feet in width.
Length about 55 miles; width about 40 miles,
with an area of about 1750 square mUes or 1,122,880
acres, with about 350,000 acres under cultivation.

436 APPENDIX
Extremely rugged and mountainous in the northern
part; wide plains and rolling hilly country in the
south. Very fertile and well watered and heavily
wooded. Mainly of volcanic but ancient formation
with considerable areas of calcareous forraation and in
reality merely a bit of the South American continent
with practically the same flora and fauna.
Highest peak, Tucutche, 3012 feet.
Population about half a miUion. Capital and
principal port, Port of Spain, with 70,000 inhabi
tants. Resources enormous; petroleum, asphalt, and many
minerals abound; the forests are filled with valuable
timber, and agricultural possibilities are almost
unlimited. Chief products, asphalt, petroleum, cocoa, coffee,
sugar, tiraber, balata, cocoanuts, spices, etc.
Climate very hot on coast of the Gulf, but cool and
pleasant in highlands and on windward coast. Plealthy
as a whole.
Discovered by Columbus, July 31, 1498, and named
in honor of the three prominent peaks now known as
the "Three Sisters."
First settled by Spanish under Don Antonio de
Benio y Oruna at site of present town of St. Joseph
and which they named San Jos6 de Oruna. At
tacked and captured by Sir Walter Raleigh, in 1595,
who was exploring the vicinity in his search for El
Dorado. The Island, however, remained a Spanish possession
until 1797, when captured by the British under Sir

APPENDIX 437
Ralph Abercromby. Has remained a British colony
from that date until the present time.
Places of interest are raany. About Port of Spain
may be mentioned the Savanna or Queen's Park;
coolie villages; Five Islands, the Bocas, and the
caverns near St. Joseph; Government House and
PubHc Gardens. Within easy reach are the Blue
Basin, Maraccas Waterfall, Maraval Reservoir,
Caura Cataract, Mud Volcanoes near Princes Town.
San Fernando is an interesting and important town
connected with Port of Spain by railway and with
Brighton, La Brea, and other ports on the Gulf by
steamboats. Trinidad's greatest "sight" is the fa
mous Pitch Lake at Brighton, from which a large
portion of the world's supply of asphalt is obtained.
The numerous oil wells are also worth seeing, but as
there are several about the Pitch Lake those who
visit this natural wonder will be able to satisfy their
curiosity without making a special trip to the oil
wells. Excellent hotels and many boarding places at Port
of Spain. Houses and bungalows, furnished, for rent
on the islands in the Gulf.
Horses, carriages, and automobiles, as well as boats,
for hire. Trolley lines reach all parts of Port of Spain
and the nearby villages and places of interest. Rail
way lines and coastal steamers ply between all
principal towns and agricultural districts. Roads
excellent, many of asphalt, and reaching all parts of
the island. Telephone and telegraph systeras every
where.

438 APPENDIX
Reached by Trinidad Line (Trinidad Trading &
Shipping Co.) from New York (8 days). By Royal
Mail (Canadian Line) boats frora Halifax, Bermuda,
and other British possessions. By Royal Dutch
West India Line from New York, via Haiti and
Venezuela. By French, Italian, and Spanish ships
from various South American ports. Ships of the
Lamport and Holt, Lloyd Brazlliero, and Booth lines
frequently make Trinidad a port of call from Brazil
ian ports en route to New York. River steamers
may be taken to Ciudad Bolivar on the Orinoco and
trips may readily be made to Margarita, Curagao,
Venezuela, and the Guianas.
Language, English, but nearly all merchants and
many of the other people speak Spanish and French,
as there is a very large Latin-American and French
population. Cunency, British, but Royal Bank of
Canada, Colonial Bank, and Trinidad (local) notes
are used largely and United States cunency passes
freely everywhere. Union
One of the Grenadines, about midway between St.
Vincent and Grenada. Rich, fertile, and well wooded.
Noted for its boats. Formerly headquarters of an
important whale fishery. See Grenadines.
Virgin Gorda
One of the British Virgin Islands and second largest
of the group.

APPENDIX 439
About 8 miles in length with an area of about
50,000 acres. Mountains 1500 feet in height. Gold,
silver, and copper exist, but have not been exploited.
Formerly a lair of the buccaneers.
Reached only by small boat or packet from neigh
boring islands. Virgin Islands'

A chain or group of rather small islands, thirty or
forty in number, many of which are mere reefs or rocks
and situated east of Porto Rico and about forty miles
distant from that island at the nearest point.
Strictly speaking the Virgin Islands include St.
Thomas and St. John, but the term is usually applied
to the British islands only. These are Tortola, Virgin
Gorda, Anegada, Norman Island, etc., with a total
area of about sixty square miles.
Mostly rough, well wooded, and many rich in min
eral resources, but sparsely inhabited and with a
total population of about five thousand, nearly all
blacks and colored people.
In early days the favorite resort of pirates and free
booters whose occupancy is perpetuated in the names
of many of the islets, such as Dead Man's Chest, Rum
Island, Dutchman's Cap, etc.
Reached only by small boat from neighboring
islands. Language and currency as in St. Kitts and other
British colonies.

440

APPENDIX
Windward Islands

A federation of British Islands, comprising St.
Lucia, St. Vincent, Grenada, and the Grenadines.
Seat of governraent at Grenada. See under separate
Islands for further data.

USEFUL BITS OF INFORMATION
Automobiles
In practically every island, -with the exception of
Bermuda, there are numerous automobiles. In sorae
of the smaller and more mountainous islands the extent
of roads adapted to motor cars is very limited, but in
most of the islands one can reach all the larger towns
and villages by automobile. It Is hardly worth while
for the visitor to take a car to the West Indies, unless
he expects to remain In one island for some time ; but
if spending a few weeks in Porto Rico, Cuba, Jamaica,
Trinidad, or Barbados by all raeans take a car if possi
ble. The freight charges are low, there is no duty —
or else the duty collected will be refunded when the
machine is taken frora the island — and one can see
much more of the country and may have a much more
enjoyable time with a private car than if depending
upon hiring one.
Banks
In every island there are branches of the Colonial
Bank of London, the Royal Bank of Canada, or other
large banking houses where letters of credit, money
orders, travelers' checks may be cashed and any other
banking business may be negotiated. 441

443 USEFUL BITS OF INFORMATION
Bathing
In nearly every Island there is excellent bathing,
both in fresh and salt water. Owing to the danger
of bathing in unfarailiar places it is always advisable
to ask the natives for advice and inforraation before
entering the water. In many places the poisonous
manchineel tree grows close to the water and is
liable to cause severe, or even dangerous, Initation of
the skin; while in other places, sea-urchins with their
poisonous brittle spines, Portuguese men-of-war with
their stinging tentacles, the savage banacouta fish, or
other dangerous forms of animal life are abundant.
Sharks are the least of all dangers and the natives
seldom pay any attention to thera, as the sharks found
in shallow water are usually harmless species or are
too well fed on offal to molest human beings.
Beggars
In some of the Islands beggars are very persistent
and numerous, but it is mistaken charity to give them
anything, as most of them are professionals, and If the
visitor tosses coins to one he will be followed and
besieged by scores of others. In every island there
are charitable institutions and hospitals. Moreover,
it Is impossible for the natives to suffer from cold or
exposure in the tropics and almost as impossible for
them to go hungry. In the English colonies begging
is prohibited by law.

USEFUL BITS OF INFORMATION 443
Boats
In many of the islands it is necessary to take small
boats from the ship to shore and vice versa. The
charges are very low, but a bargain should always be
made in advance and payment for the round trip should
not be made until one is back aboard ship, as otherwise
the boatman may refuse to put you aboard without
an exorbitant charge. In" most of the islands, how
ever, the tariff is fixed by law and any complaint
made to a policeman wiU have prompt and satisfactory
attention. Cablegrams
All the islands are connected with Europe and the
United States by cables and in many there are also
wireless stations. Cable charges are reasonable, but
during the war messages are subject to censorship in
the British and French colonies.
Climate
Although often very hot at midday, yet the climate
of the West Indies is far more equable than our
summers, and the humid, prostrating heat of our north
ern cities is unknown. Sunstrokes never occur, but it
is wise to remain quiet during the heat of the day and
take walks and other exercise early in the mornings
and late in the afternoons. The nights are usually
cool, and by ascending the hiUs or mountains, one may

444 USEFUL BITS OF INFORMATION
find almost any climate desired. The difference in
teraperature bet-ween winter and summer is very
slight, many of the islands possessing a climate so
equable that a variation of five degrees through the
year Is rare. During the summer, however, there is a
great deal of rain, and gales and hunicanes occur,
the latter usually following a well defined area or belt
and seldom extending beyond it. Hunicanes, how
ever, are a much exaggerated bugaboo and seldom cause
loss of life or serious damage. We read of hundreds of
houses being destroyed, but after seeing the flimsy
"houses" of palm and thatch, the wonder is that any
survive a decent gale. In many of the islands huni
canes have never occurred, and no one need hesitate
to visit the West Indies for fear of these tropical
storms. Clothing
The clothing worn in the West Indies is much the
same as that worn in the United States in midsummer.
White duck, pongee, Palm Beach cloth and flannels are
the favorite raaterials, but in the British colonies serges,
tweeds, and other heavy goods are worn for formal
occasions, while In the highlands spring weight cloth
ing should be worn and light overcoats are often neces
sary. Woolen underclothing is preferable to cotton if
one expects to take much exercise. For head-covering
felt, straw, and Panama hats are worn, as are pith
and cork helmets. There are no particular styles for
clothing in the islands and one may dress to suit one's

USEFUL BITS OF INFORMATION 445
own personal tastes and requirements; besides, what
ever an American does or wears is looked upon as a
"Yankee" characteristic, for the ways of the Araeri
can are unfathomable to the West Indian.
Criminals
As a whole, the islands are wonderfully free from
crimes and criminals. In many places burglary,
robbery, murder, assault, and other serious offenses are
unknown and there is not an island in the West
Indies — with the exception of Haiti — where a white
man or woraan may not go where and when he or
she desires in perfect safety. Diseases
Compared to our own cities there are few contagious
diseases in the West Indies and practically no danger
of the casual visitor contracting them. Typhoid is
prevalent in some portions of Santo Domingo. Small
pox of a very mild form sometiraes occurs in the vari
ous Islands; but malaria, raild stomach and bowel
complaints, and dysentery are the commonest ailments.
Most of the cases of stomach and bowel trouble raay
be traced to carelessness and overindulgence in fruits;
or are due to sitting in wet or damp garraents. Malaria
is no more comraon than in the United States and is
no more dangerous, save in the swampy, unhealthy
districts. With reasonable care and common sense
one may avoid aU iUness in the West Indies just as weU

446 USEFUL BITS OF INFORMATION
as at home. The natives often suffer from loathsome
skin and filarial diseases, but in most places they are
now shut up in well-conducted hospitals, and raore
over Northerners seldom or never contract these
diseases. Duties
There is no trouble or inconvenience in regard to
customs or duties, as in all the islands a reasonable
amount of dutiable articles are adraitted free and in
most of the islands the officials are far more lenient
in this respect than In the United States.
Expenses
Although living is cheap in the West Indies, it is
only comparatively so. If one lives upon native food
and lives as do the better class of West Indians the
cost of living is very low, but if one lives as in the
States the expenses will mount rapidly. In most of
the hotels the rates are reasonable, but the -visitor
must not expect the same service, food, and attention
as in hotels of equal standing at home. Labor, boat
and carriage hire, and simUar expenses are very low.
Food
As a general rule the food of the West Indies is
similar to that of the mother country of the particular
island. Fish is extensively eaten, local vegetables are

USEFUL BITS OF INFORMATION 447
always served, and white potatoes are usually con
sidered a necessity for strangers, although the soggy
imported tubers are far inferior to the native yams,
sweet potatoes, bread-fruit, taro, etc.
Many of the islands have certain local dishes
peculiar to themselves and which are delicious. Thus,
there are the giant frogs or "Crapaud" of Dominica,
known as Mountain Chicken; the iguanas or giant
lizards of the various islands; the famed Flying Fish
Cutlets and Sea Eggs of Barbados, etc. Native
meat, as a rule, is tough and poor, but mutton is
usually good and there are always fowl and turkeys
in abundance and one's health will be far better if
little meat Is eaten. Fruit
The number of fruits which are seen In the West
Indies is almost unlimited. Aside from the well
known oranges, citrus fruits, melons, pineapples,
mangos, avocado-pears, etc., there are innuraerable
strange fruits never seen in the Northern markets.
It is a wise plan not to indulge too freely in fruit at
first, however, but to accustom oneself gradually,
regardless of the temptation to try every new fruit one
sees. Contrary to the ideas of many people, the West
Indian fruits have definite seasons, as do our own,
and while some varieties are to be had throughout
the year they are at their best during certain months,
whUe others cannot be obtained except at their

448 USEFUL BITS OF INFORMATION
regular season. As the seasons for the fruits vary
in the different islands, no hard and fast list can be
made. A large nuraber of the best fruits are in bear
ing only during the summer raonths and hence are
seldom seen by the ordinary tourist.
The following list will prove a fairly accurate guide
to the fruits in season during the various months of
the year:
January. Orange, malacca-apple, tamarind,
belle-apple.
February. Orange, cashew, star-apple, tamarind,
mamee-apple, sapodilla.
March. Orange, star-apple, balata, cashew,
shaddock, sapodilla.
April. Orange, cashew, maraee-apple, star-
apple, custard-apple, pineapple, sapo-
diUa, cashew.
May. Orange, pineapple, sapodilla, rose-apple,
sapote, mamee-apple, cashew, cus
tard apple, jarabolan.
June. Mango, raalacca-apple, cashew, pine
apple, sapodilla, grenadilla, beUe-
apple, melons, gru-gru.
July. Mango, sapodilla, malacca-apple,
sugar-apple, maraee, guava, soursop,
avocado-pear, gru-gru.
August. Mango, avocado-pear, sugar-apple,
guava, orange, Kovernor-plum, hog-
plum, shaddock, maraee.

USEFUL BITS OP INFORMATION 449
September. Mangosteen, golden-apple, governor-
plum, guava, orange, avocado-pear,
sugar-apple.
October. Mangosteen, avocado-pear, grena
dilla, soursop, sapodilla, sugar-apple,
orange, pois-doux.
November. Orange, guava, sapodilla, sugar-apple,
pois-doux, avocado-pear, shaddock.
December. Orange, balata, guava, avocado-pear,
melons, sapodilla.
Insect Pests
Many people Imagine that the West Indies swarm
with noxious insects. In reality Insects are no more
troublesome than in the United States, unless one goes
into the forest or " bush." Mosquitoes occur in all the
islands, but are seldora as abundant as in the North,
and in every respectable house and hotel the beds are
protected by mosquito nets. Window or door screens
are seldom necessary. Flies are not as abundant as in
the North, but ants of Innumerable varieties are very
troublesorae. The huge wild cockroaches at times
invade houses at night, but the small Croton bugs and
house roaches are almost unknown. The most
troublesome insect is the red-bug or "BSte Rouge," a
tiny spider-like pest that buries under one's skin, caus
ing intense itching and irritation. They are found only
on weeds and grass and the best remedy is to rub the
affiicted parts with some greasy ointment or to touch
each red spot, where a "Bete Rouge" is buried under

450 USEFUL BITS OF INFORMATION
the skin, with a drop of Iodine. In some places they
are very abundant, while in others they are never
found. Centipedes and scorpions, as well as wood-
ticks, are not common, and save in the "bush" one
seldom sees them. Their bites or "stings" are no
more to be feared than the sting of a bee or hornet.

Ownership
The islands comprise British, French, Dutch, Vene
zuelan, and United States colonies, and independent
republics; Great Britain owning the majority. The
islands are divided between various governments as
follows: Great Britain. Jaraaica, Bahamas, Turks Islands,
Berrauda, Caymans, Leeward and Windward
Islands, British Virgin Islands, Barbados, Trini
dad, and Tobago.
France. Martinique, Guadeloupe, Marie Galante,
The Saintes, Desirade, half of St. Martin.
Holland. Curasao, Buen Aire, Oruba, Saba, St.
Eustatius, half of St. Martin and dependencies.
Venezuela. Aves, Margarita, and other islets off the
coast.
United States. Porto Rico, Vieques, Culebra,
Mona, St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. John.
Independent Republics. Cuba, Haiti, Dominican
Republic.

^USEFUL BITS OF INFORMATION 451
Passports
Although passports are not essential, except in Haiti
and the Dominican Republic, yet it is a wise plan to
cany a passport, especially during the war, as both the
British and French authorities are very suspicious of
strangers who stop in their West Indian colonies. If
merely taking the round trip a passport is unnecessary.
Photographs
In nearly every island there are photographers, and
¦views and postcards may be purchased, and in all the
larger islands photographic films and supplies raay be
purchased. In Porto Rico, Cuba, Trinidad, Barbados, and
Jamaica there are competent photographers where
films may be developed and printed satisfactorily.
There Is no objection to visitors taking pictures, or
using cameras. In any of the Islands under normal
conditions, but during the war many of the British
colonies have prohibited the use of cameras, and in all
of the French and British islands the photographing
of forts, troops, war vessels, or defenses, as well as wire
less stations. Is strictly prohibited and any one found
talcing such pictures, or with them in his possession, is
liable to arrest and to have the camera, films, and
pictures confiscated. By inquiring of the customs or
police officers who board the ship at every port the
-visitor can obtain information in regard to such mat
ters and thus avoid a great deal of unpleasantness.

452 USEFUL BITS OF INFORMATION
Railways
With the exception of Barbados and Trinidad, none
of the Lesser Antilles have railway lines. The Greater
Antilles, however, are all provided with railways,
Cuba leading all the islands in the extent of its lines,
with Jamaica next, followed by Porto Rico and Santo
Domingo. Snakes
With the exception of Trinidad, Martinique, and
St. Lucia, none of the islands are infested with poison
ous snakes, and in those three islands the venomous
serpents are rare and seldom seen. The fer-de-
lance, which occurs in Martinique and St. Lucia, is
an introduced species and in the former island was
largely exterminated by the Mt. Pelee eruption.
Even in St. Lucia and Trinidad there is less danger of
being bitten by a poisonous snake than on the Pali
sades of the Hudson or in any of the mountain resorts
of the United States. In all the other islands, smaU,
useful, non-poisonous snakes are found, but are seldom
seen. Lizards of many species are very abundant and
are always in evidence, but all are absolutely harmless
and are protected and encouraged, as they are most
useful in catching and devouring ants, ffies, mos
quitoes, and other insects.

INDEX

PAGB
Abaco Island. . ,  355.
Acklin Island  355.
Aguadilla  246.
Aibonito  239, 240.
Ajuntas  244, 245.
Alameda  346.
Andros Island  355.
Aneg;ada  351.
Anglican Church... 58, 59, 357.
Anguilla  351.
Antigua  56, 352, 406.
 , sights  353.
Antilla  327.
Antomarchi, Doctor  345.
Arecibo  245.
Arecibo Road  244.
Arroyo  252.
Atares Castle  318.
Automobiles  441.
Aves  354.
Azua  213.
Bahamas  4, 354.
 , sights.  356.
Balcieux  356.
Banks  441.
Baracoa  327.
Barbados  , . .357.
 , sights  360, 361.
Barbuda  60, 61, 361, 406.
Bartholomew Las Casas, 345.
Basseterre  49, 66, 70.
Bath Estate  78.
Bathing  442.
Baths of St. Thomas the
Apostle  286

PAGB
Battowia (vide Grenadines) 395-
Bayamon  254.
Beata  362.
Beggars  442.
BeUamar Caves  323.
Bequia  362.
Bermuda  362 S.
 1 sights  365, 366.
Bermudez, Juan  13.
Biminis Islands  355.
"Blackbeard's Castle"  34.
Black King's Castle,.223, 224 ff .
Blue Basin  155.
"Bluebeard's Tower"  34.
Blue Mountain Peak, 274, 516.
Boats  443.
Bog "Walk  271.
Boiling Lake  79.
Bonaire  366.
Botanic Garden  125.
Botanic Stations  59, 77, 78.
Bridgetown  103 ff.
Brighton  161, 162.
British "Virgin Islands  406.
Buen Ayre  366.
Cabanas Castle  316.
Cablegrams  443.
Caguas  236, 237, 253.
Caicos Island  299, 355.
Camaguey  338, 339 ff.
Camelo, Ferdinand  ,13.
Cane River Pall  287.
Cannouan (vide Grenadines) 395-

453

454

INDEX

PAGE
Cardenas  325.
Carriacou  367.
Castle Harbor  23.
Castleton Gardens. . .272, 273.
Castries  91, 93.
Cathedral of the Immacu
late Conception  153.
Cathedral Rocks  27, 29.
Cat Island  355.
Caura "Waterfalls  157.
Cajrmans  367.
Cayo Levantado  185.
Cayo Smith  350.
Charlotte AmaKe:  31, 32.
Christiansted  38.
Cienfuegos   331.
Ciudad Bolivar  165.
Climate  443.
Clothing  •  444.
Coamo Springs  241.
Coast Islands  4.
Cobre  347.
Cockpit Country  284.
Codrington College  113.
Codringtons  60, 61.
Cojimar  321.
Cole's Cave  114.
College of Pious Souls. . .321.
Colon Market. . . . .-  311.
Colon Park.  308.
Columbus, Bartholomew, 211.
Columbus, Christopher:
Battle with savages. . ^ . 185.
House.  204.
Palace  206.
Prison  202.
Remains  207.
Square  249.
Statues  207, 294.
Comercio  255, 256.
Comercio Road  254.
Cortez  344.
Crab Island  368.
Criminals  445.
Crittenden  318.
Cuba  •  368 ff.
 , history  372.

PAGB
Cuba, sights  380, 381.
Culebra  381.
 , sights  382.
Curasao  166 ff., 382.
Damiju River  332.
Deseada  383.
Desirade  383, 395.
DeSoto  313, 314.
"Devil's Hole"  21, 22.
Diablotin  73.
Diamond Rock  89, go.
Diseases  445.
Dominica  68, 383, 406.
 , history  384.
 , sights  384, 385.
Dominican Republic, 174, 385 s.
 , history  388.
 , sights  388, 389.
Don Christopher's Cove. .281.
Dry Harbor  287.
Dumas, Alex., birthplace.. 222.
Duties.  446.
Eel Island  352.
El Caney  347.
Eleuthera Island  355.
English Cathedral  270.
Expenses  446.
Exuma Island  355.
Parley Hall  113.
Pern Gully  286.
Pig Tree Church  53.
Pive Islands  145, 157.
"Pive Sisters"  28.
Pood  446.
Port Charlotte  295.
Port-de-Prance  83, 84.
Port Pincastle   294.
Fort Frederick  135.
Port George  134, 135.
Port Matthew  135.
Port St. George  25.
Fortune Island  r355*
Frederick Street  '. 149.

INDEX

455

PAGE
Fruit  447.
Funston, Gen. Fred  342.
Garcia, Gen  342.
Gibara  326, 327.
Gibb's Hill Light  29.
"Gibraltar of the "West
Indies"  89, 91
Glass "Window  365.
Goldefl "Vale  281.
Gonaives (Gonave)  390.
Gordon Town  273.
Gorgeous Isle, The  53.
Grand Pitons  96.
Grande Terre  395.
Grand Turk  355.
Gran Etang  137, 138, 139.
Great Bahama  355.
Greater Antilles  4.
Great Inagua Island  355.
Green Hole  132.
Grenada  390.
 , history.  391 ff.
 , sights  394.
Grenadines  395.
Guadeloupe  395.
 , sights  396.
Guanabacoa  320.
Guanica  250.
Guayama  251, 252.
Gulf of Paria  144, 145.
Gun Hill  113.
Habanilla Falls  332.
Haiti  174, 213 ff., 397 ff.
 , history  398 ff.
 , sights  399.
Half -"Way-Tree  272.
Hamilton, Alexander, 17, 18, 20.
 , birthplace  53.
Harbor Island  355.
Havana  300 ff.
 , sights  374 ff-
Hermitage of Monteserrate, 324-
Hispaniola  174.

PAGE
Hog Island  296.
Hole in the "Wall  356.
Holy Trinity  153.
Homenaje  201, 202.
Hope Gardens  272.
Humacao.   253.
Isabella  177.
Isabella la Torre  178.
Isle of Pines  328, 329, 400.
Insect pests  449.
Jagua Bay  330.
Jamaica  401 ff.
 , history  402 ff.
 , sights  .405.
Jamestown  53.
Josephine, Empress, 82, 84, 85.
Judgment Cliff  286.
King's House  272.
Kingston  265 ff. ,401.
Kingstown  125.
La Coupe  122.
La Ferrifere  225.
La Fuerza  313.
Lake Killarney  356.
"Lake of Fire"  296.
La Lonja  316.
La Merced  339.
La Socapa  350.
Las Tunas  342.
La Vega  190, 191, 196, 197.
La Vega la Vieja  197.
Laurel Ditch  317.
Leeward Islands  4, 406.
Lesser Antilles  4.
Little Snake  532.
Long Caylsland  355.
Long Island  355.
Los Angeles Chm-ch  312.
"Ma Falie"  34.
Malecon  304.
Mandeville  283.
ManzaniUo  333.

456

INDEX

PAGE
Maraccas "Waterfall  156.
Maraval Reservoir  155.
Marianao  32I.
Marie Galante  395, 407.
Margarita  406.
Marine Square  148, 149.
Market, Port-de-France.. . .85.
Martinique  68, 407.
 , sights  408.
Matanzas  322.
Maunabo  252.
May, Henry  13, 14.
Mayaguana Island  355.
Mayaguez  244, 247, 248 ff.
Military Road  232, 253.
Mona  409.
Monkey HiU  51.
Montego Bay  285.
Montserrat. . . .61 ff., 406, 409.
Moore, Thomas  22.
Moore Town  282.
Morne Agarou  124.
Morne Bruce  78.
Morne Ferdon  140.
Morro  227, 231, 300, 349.
Morro Castle  316.
Mountain Lake  78.
Mount Hillaby  112.
Mount Misery.  48, 51.
Mount Pel6e  121.
Nassau  292 ff., 355.
National Palace  221.
Nevis  47, 406, 410.
 , sights  411.
New Castle  274.
New Providence  291, 292.
New Providence Island. . .355.
Norman Island  411.
Nuestra Senora de la Caridad,
^ . 340, 347, 348.
Nue-vitas  326.
Old Harbor Bay  271.
Oracabessa Bay..  286.
Oruba  411.

PAGE
"Overflowed Island"  351.
Oviedo  209.
Ownership  450.
"Parque Central". . .304, 305.
Passports  451.
PatUlas  252.
Patti, Adelina  345.
Peace Tree  347.
Pel^e  81,
Petit Pitons  96,
Photographs  451.
Pigeon Hill  171.
Pirate Henry Morgan, 262, 263.
Pitch Lake  158, 162 ff.
Plaza Colon  232.
Plymouth  62 ff.
Point-^-P!tre  66 ff.
Ponce  241 ff.
Ponce de Leon:
House  227.
Remains  230.
Port Antonio  279, 280 ff.
Port-au-Prince. . . .221, 222 ff.,
397 ff.
Porter, Commodore  41.
Port of Spain.. 145, 146, 148 ff.
Porto Rico  412 ff.
 , history  413, 414.
¦  , sights  415.
Port Royal  263, 274.
Prado  304, 308.
Principe Fort  311.
PubKc Garden, St. Kitts. . .51.
Puerta Tierra  233.
Puerto Plata  178, 179.
Punta Fort  309.
Queen Anacaona  207, 211.
Queen's Park  153, 154.
Ragged Island  355.
Redonda  416.
Rio Cobre  269, 271, 277.
Rio de Oro  271.
Rio Nuevo  286.
Rio Piedras  235.

INDEX

457

PACE
Roanng River Falls  287.
Robinson Crusoe's residence, 169, 170.
Rodney Monument  269.
Roseau  73 ff.
Rum Cay Island  355.
Saba. . _.  42 ff., 416.
 , sights  417.
Sagua la Grande  326.
St. Ann's  286.
St. Bartholomew (St. Barts),
41, 418.
St. Catherine's Park  274.
St. Christopher (St. Kitts), 418.
St. Croix  36 ff.
St. Eustatius  44 ff.
St. George  17, 18, 20, 130.
St. George Hotel  24.
St. George Somers  25.
St. John  35ff-. 55. 57,
58, 352, 421.
St. John's Wood  in.
St. Kitts  47, 406.
 , history.  419.
St. Lucia  422 ff.
St. Martin  423.
St. Pierre  81, 82, 83.
St. Thomas  31 ff., 424.
 , sights  425, 426.
St. Vincent  426.
 , Soufrifere, 79, 118 ff., 121.
Saintes (The)  395, 417.
Samana Bay  184, 185.
Sanchez  188.
San Cristobal  228, 231.
San Domingo (Santo Domingo),
427 ff., 429 ff.
 , sights  431.
San Femando  158, 159 ff.
San Francisco  211.
San German  294, 295.
San Geronimo  233.
San Juan  227, 228 ff.
San Juan HiU  347.
San Miguel  212.
San Nicolas  210.

PAGE
San Pedro de Macoris  199,
200 ff.
San Salvador Island  355.
San Sebastian  231.
Santa Ana Church  229.
Santa Barbara de Samana, 187.
Santa Clara  335.
Santa Cruz  36 ff., 420,
Santiago  182, 334, 343 ff.
 , sights  380.
Santo Cerro  197, 198.
Santo Domingo  212.
 , Cathedral  207.
 , City.  201 ff.
Saona  431.
Scarborough  172,
Sea Gardens  356.
SendaU Tunnel  133.
Se-viUa del Oro  287.
Sombrero  431.
Somers, Sir George  14.
Soufrifere  78.
 , ruins  126.
Spanish Town  268.
Statia(i'i<2e St. Eustatius), 44 ff.
Tacon Market  311.
Tamarind Tree Church. . .271.
Templete  312.
Tobago  169 ff,
 , history  432, 433.
Tortola  434.
Tortuga  434.
Trinidad  333i 435 ff-
 , history.  436.
 , sights  437.
Tucker's Town  25.
Turks Islands  297.
Union  438.
University, First American, 212.
Utuado  245.
"Vale of Paradise"  223.
Valley of Petrifactions  353.
Vedado  310.

458

INDEX

PAGE
Vega Real  192, 199.
Velasquez  344.
Virgin Gorda  438.
Virgin Islands  4, 439.
Vita  326.
Walsingham  22, 23.
Washington, George, 116, 117.
 , gunpowder plot  15.

PAGE
Wag Water Valley  279.
WatUng's Island  355.
WUlemstadt  166.
Windward Islands  4, 440.
Yumuri Valley  322, 323.
Zaza del Medio  336.

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