^■^ ■ I " SHhr ■ 'V't'i' T tf.\ .ji H §■ ■ ^H ■ ■ ■ 1 ^H 1 1 1 1 1 mm- ^M Ho ■ r.,.. ■ ■ ,i M wr..' III EH ■WSMHh Copyright N° COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT: DOWN THE ISLANDS A VOYAGE TO THE CARIBBEES WILLIAM AGNEW PATON WITH ILLUSTRATIONS FROM DRAWINGS BY M. J. BURNS NEW YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 1887 Copyright, 1S87, by CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS & & frb TROWS PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING COMPANY, NEW YORK. A hindu cooly belle (see page 177). NOTE. SOME of the chapters contained in the first part of this volume originally appeared, in a more condensed form, in the columns of The Evening Post. To them I have added much new and, I hope, interesting mat- ter. It is within bounds to say that more than half of the contents of Down the Islands is now to be published for the first time. I avail myself of this opportunity to thank Hon. Perry Belmont, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, XLVth Congress ; Nevile Lubbock, Esquire, British West Indian Commissioner ; E. T. Grannum, Esquire, Member of the Barbados House of Assembly ; J. R. McLeod, Es- quire, of Georgetown, Demerara, for their courtesy in pro- curing for me valuable books and documents containing of- ficial information concerning the Windward Islands, of which I have made use in writing this book. W. A. P. CONTENTS. PAGE INTRODUCTION 3 CHAPTER I. A VOYAGE TO THE CARIBBEES. A Sudden Start on a Sea Journey. — Incidents of the Voyage. — From January to June, Overcoats to Seersuckers, in Three Days.— The Rising of the Southern Cross. — The Course to the Caribbees. — Historical Notes. — A Landfall 7 CHAPTER II. AN AFTERNOON ON DECK. The Northern Caribbees. — Anguilla. — Its "Wild Irish" Settlers and Present In- habitants. — St. Martin, a Franco-Dutch Island. — St. Bartholomew. — Saba, a Crater Shipyard.— St. Eustatius. — Arrival at St. Christopher 22 CHAPTER III. ST. CHRISTOPHER. St. Kitt's Liamuiga, the Fertile. — Historical Notes.— Governors Warner and D'Esnambuc. — English and French Settlement of St. Christopher. — Final Bauishmeut of the French. — Sunrise in Basseterre Roadstead. — The Fleet of Bumboats. — Attacked by Fruit-sellers and Washerwomen. — Effecting a Landing ■> . ? 33 Vl CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. RAMBLES IN ST. KITT'S. PAGE Basseterre, the Capital of St. Kitt's. — Slavery and Windmills. — Free Labor and Steam-power. — A Magnificent Landscape. — Distant Views. — The Barber of Basseterre. — A Wonderful Garden. — A Host of New-found Friends. — The Voyage to Antigua 44 CHAPTER V. ANTIGUA. A Tropical Sunrise. — Antigua. — The Harbor of St. John's. — General Description of the Island. — A Derelict Bark. — Scenes on Landing. — A View from an Old Church-yard. — Lizards Great and Small. — West Indian Entertainers. — A Morning Drive 56 CHAPTER VI. A DAY AT ANTIGUA. West Indian Hospitality. — A Sugar Plantation. — Sugar-making. — An Occult Luncheon. — Turtle, and again Turtle. — The Public Library. — Historical Notes. — Under Way for Islands farther South 68 CHAPTER VII. LIFE ON SHIPBOARD. A Sudden Sunset. — A Mysterious Evening.— Sleeping on Deck. — The Ladies' Reservation. — The Doctor's Camping-ground. — Morning Ritual. — Fruit and Salt-water Baths. — Guadeloupe. — The Saints. — Marie Galante. — Dominica... 80 CHAPTER VIII. SABBATH ISLAND. Dominica. — Mount Diablotin. — The Lay of the Land. — The Forests and Mountains. — Its unexplored Interior. — Dr. Imray's Description of its Soil and " Pecu- liarities." — Its Crops and Commerce. — The Land of Caribs. — Roseau 88 CONTEXTS. vu CHAPTER IX. MAD ANINA— MARTINIQUE. PAGE A Silver Streak. — Shakespeare's Knowledge concerning the New World and the Cannibals. —Martinique, its Physical Geography, Climate, and Soil. — St. Pierre, Martinique, Colored Folks. — The Costumes, Jewellery, and Appear- ance of the Franco-Africaines 100 CHAPTER X. A DRIVE THROUGH MARTINIQUE. "Not our Funeral." — A Merry Party. — Over the Hills and Far Away. — The Gen- darmerie. — The Valley of the Roxelane. — The High Woods. — Martinique Scenery. — A Way-side Luncheon. — Agouti. — A Pig's Nurse. — A Chorus of Bells.— Return to the Ship 112 CHAPTER XI. ST. PIERRE, MARTINIQUE. A Visit to the American Consul. — Hotel Micas. — The Carriage which never "Came to Arrive." — Strolls about Town — Des MoucJies du Vent. — A Religious Parade. — An Ancient Muldtresse. — A Street Fountain.— Birthplace of Empress Jo- sephine. — H. M. S. Diamond Rock. . , 125 CHAPTER XII. ARRIVAL AT BARBADOS. Carlisle Bay. — A Fleet of Merchantmen. — What was not to be Seen by the Dawn's early Light. — Where are the Yankee Ships and their Yankee Crews ? — One Vast Sugar-estate. — An International Episode. — Barbadian Loyalty to Britain. — Aunt Polly. — Swizzles and Swizzle-sticks 135 viii CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIII. WALKS IN BRIDGETOWN. PAGE A Favored People. — Statistics of Population. — Sugar, Molasses, Rum. — Street Scenes in Bridgetown. — The Ice Establishment. — War News. — New Old Friends. — Barbadian Sociability. — A Well-ordered Hostelry . 148 CHAPTER XIV. THE TIP-END OF A CONTLNENT. Bound for South America.— Pepper-pot. — An Apothecary's Prescription. — Suri- nam. — Equatorial Holland. — Dikes and Windmills. — Statistical Gleanings. — An American Market Building. — The Shipping Laws of 1798 162 CHAPTER XV. DEMERARA. Georgetown. — Its Hindu Citizens. — The Tower Hotel. — A Meteorological Digres- sion. — A Hindu Belle. — Her Face and her Fortune. — A Street Idyl. — Victoria Regia 173 CHAPTER XVI. ISLAND OF TRINIDAD. The North Coast.— The Dragon's Mouths.— Gulf of Paria.— Port of Spain.— The Street-cleaning Department. — A Chapter of Horrors. — The Environs of Port of Spain 183 CHAPTER XVII. A HINDU TOWN. San Fernando. — A Cooly Town. — The Contract-labor System. — A Silver-smith. — Bangle-making. — A Cooly Doctor-shop. — The Market-place. — Curry in all Shapes 194 CONTENTS. IX CHAPTER XVIII. THE FUTURE OF THE COLORED RACES. PAGE Regrets at Leaving San Fernando. — The Future of the Cooly and Negro Races. — The Heirs of the Caribbees. — The Example of Hayti. — Are the Colored Races to Retrograde in their Civilization ? — Wanted, a Constable 205 CHAPTER XIX. GRENADA. Discovery of Grenada and Tobago. — Description of the Former. — St. George's Harbor. — A Romantic Town. — The "Yaws." — A Ride Inland. — Beasts of Burden. — Cocoa and Cocoa-planting. — Bread-fruit 222 CHAPTER XX. DRIVE THROUGH GRENADA. A Wonderful Procession. — A Curious Orchestra of Silent Reeds. — "Gib me six- pence, an I tell you." — Morne des Sauteurs. — Historical Notes. — French Con- quest of Grenada. — Its Capture by the English.— A Plague of Ants 234 CHAPTER XXI. ST. LUCIA. Its Settlement. — Carib Wars. — Struggle between English and French for its Pos- session. — The Gibraltar of the West Indies. — Warfare for a Century and a Half. — Rodney. — Sir John Moore. — Final Cession of the Island to Great Britain 246 CHAPTER XXII. ASHORE AT ST. LUCIA. Geography of St. Lucia. — Port Castries. — Souf riere Bay and Town. — Diving Darkies. — Electioneering. — Creole Ponies. — The Sulphur Mountain. — A Trip along the Shore. — The Pitons. 258 x CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXIII. MONTSERRAT. PAGE To Montserrat via Sundry other Islands — Irish Darkies. — General Description. — Plymouth. — The Swarm of Beggars. — "Glad I'se alibe, sah. " — A Heartless Flirtation. — The Author's Experience with an Unknown Fruit 270 CHAPTER XXIV. NEVIS. St. Mary-the-Round. — Nevis. — Its Geography and General Appearance. — Charles- town, its Capital. — Its Hot Springs. — An Ancient Hotel and Ancient Guard- ian. — Lord Nelson's Marriage in Nevis. — Alexander Hamilton 281 CHAPTER XXV. THE CONCLUSION OF THE WHOLE MATTER. Aleck and Anthony, the Crew of the Captain's Gig. — How Aleck "loss his mudder." — From Basseterre to Sandy Point. — A Historic Coach. — View from North End of St. Kitt's.— Home Again 293 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS. A Hindu Coolt Belle, Bum-boats at Basseterre, St. Kitt's, . An Avenue of Cocoa-palms, Martinique Scenery, A French Creole, A Martinique Belle, Street Fountain in St. Pierre, Birthplace of the Empress Josephine, Flying-fish Fleet off Barbados, Main Street of Bridgetown, Barbados, A Cooly Woman, . Hindu Doctor and Wife, The Pitons of St. Lucia, "Penny fo' de Baby, please," Nevis, Frontispiece. FACING PAGE . 39 . 102 . 107 . 110 . 129 . 132 . 139 . 148 . 180 . 200 . 264 . 273 , 281 ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT. PAGE Initial, ...•••• S Getting his Bearings, ..... 11 Watching for the Southern Cross, . . 12 Map op Martin Behaim— 1492, .... . 1»> Initial, ....... oo A Caribbean Bo-peep, ..... . 24 Statia, ....... . 30 Tailpiece, ....... • 32 Street Scenes, ...... . 41 The Beach at Basseterre, .... . 44 An Old Gateway, ...... . 47 A Relic of the Good Old Times, . 49 Old Well — St. Kitt's ..... . 51 Initial, ....... . 56 Fruit-seller — Antigua, ..... . 60 Common Garden-lizard, ..... . 64 The Salmagundian making ready to Sketch, . 67 Initial, . . ..... . 68 Tailpiece, ....... . 79 Initial, ....... . 100 The Market-place, St. Pierre . . 114 Initial, ....... . 135 Nelson Monument— Bridgetown, . 156 Park in Barbados, ..... . 161 Initial, ....... . 162 A Medical Recipe, ..... . 165 Native Indian of British Guiana, . . . 169 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS XI] i PAGE Headpiece, ......... . 173 Leaves of "Victoria Regia," ..... . 181 Tailpiece, ' . . ...... . 182 Hindu Barber, .... ... . 183 View of Port of Spain, ...... . 186 Road in Front of Governor's Palace, . 191 Cooly Field-hand, . , . 195 A New World Hindu, ...... . 197 Initial, ........ . 205 Hindu Coolies cutting Cane, ..... . 207 The Salmagundian gets a " Tip," .... . 222 Fort St. George, Grenada, ..... . 225 Tailpiece, ........ . 233 A Mount, . . ... . 234 Molasses, . . . . . . . 239 Tailpiece, ........ . 245 Return from Soufriere, ..... . 266 A Planter's House, ...... . 268 Initial, ... . 270 Scramble for a Copper, ...... . 275 The Seller of Cashews, ..... . 276 A Pirogue, . . . . 280 Sail Rock, ........ . 281 Redonda, . 282 Church where Nelson is alleged to have been married, . 289 Tailpiece, ........ . 301 DOWN THE ISLANDS Somfcrero A -*\ 'JfZ&LSiguiilUi/ W~ Bartholomew Sk Christophers CAR IB BEE Guadalou' UecuPitro 5&/J XMaru, The Safnts^^i$a2a7rfa Dominic* Diamond RocK*^*;- 1 ^. Lucia - v . *"« Barbados S VincentMj) [i Gren a di nine's Carrxncc'' OR Grenada WINDWARD b George- Tobago ISLANDS DOWN THE ISLANDS. INTRODUCTION SAT down to my breakfast on the morning of the second day of April, 188-, with no more notion that I should find myself at dinner-time that day at sea, bound on a voyage the story of which I now propose to write, than I have, seeing that I am come in safety home again, of setting out before to- morrow to seek my fortune in the uttermost part of the mysterious country known as the Back of Beyond. On the morning in question, having slept in, as my Scotch forebears would put it, I was not surprised, on entering the dining-room, to discover that the other members of my family had already gone their several ways into the work-a-day world ; all except my father, who was standing by the win- dow, whence, from time to time, he cast weather- wise glances aloft, blinking and frowning at as angry a sky as had ever scowled back at him on any morning all winter long between Thanksgiving and the dreary April day whereof I am writing. According to calendars and date-lines of daily newspapers the second month of spring was two days old ; the weather, to the con- trary, bore testimony of midwinter — midwinter at its worst — with never a suggestion of springtide nor prophecy of summer ; if summer there was ever again to be. The temperature was of January. A 4 DOWN TEE ISLANDS. bitter wind chased dark masses of clouds relentlessly before it ; occasional flurries of snow, mingled with dust set free by March thaws and subsequent dry spells, choked and blinded the few, the very few, venturesome folk who hurried along the almost deserted thoroughfares of New York City. Rheumatism and lumbago claimed their victims at the street-corners; coughs and colds lurked privily, lying wait at every open door and window. Heaped in the gutters and piled high within the iron railings in front of the houses there yet remained unmelted patches and remnants of grimy snow, the cast-off rags and tatters of winter. Strange noises were to be heard overhead, where revolving chimney-tops groaned and grumbled as they turned every which way on stiffened joints ; shutters moaned on rusty hinges ; win- dow-blinds banging away like batteries of artillery, threatened to fly from their fastenings to dash themselves into kindling on the icy pavements below. There was a cheerful fire of soft coal burning in the dining-room grate. As I settled myself at table my father left his place at the window, and, approaching the fireplace, laid a fair, round hickory-stick on the glowing embers, where it presently began to sing as merrily as the Perrybingle family tea-kettle. "When the flames had licked the wood all over, with much hissing and smacking of lips they proceeded leisurely to devour the fragrant morsel, roaring up the chimney mean- while in brave defiance of the tempest as it whistled the sparks upward to lead them a merry dance out into the cold and gloom of winter. Once more stationing himself at his point of observation my father re- marked, in the confident tone of a man who had weighed well his words: " The Doctor will catch it this afternoon when he gets outside of Sandy Hook ! » Hardly were the words spoken when an unusually violent gust, the cause of renewed groanings and sounds of woe among the chimney- tops, swooping down from the roofs of the dwellings to windward of our home dashed like invisible driving spray against the window-panes. The blast roared lustily, but, failing to frighten the observer from his INTRODUCTION. 5 coign of vantage or to enter the cosey room by main force, in rage of disappointment the southeaster slammed my father's iron shutters in his face and so put an end to his meteorological observations, for that morning at least. The good man turned from the darkened window and left the room, adding, as he bade me good-morning : " What a day to go to sea ! " What a day, indeed ! What a day to go anywhere under the sky ; worst of all, to go to sea. It was bad enough to be compelled to stir out-of-doors on such a day, or, for that matter even, to move about in-doors beyond the comfortable influence of a blazing hearth. Without pretending to be weatherwise, although I can make good my claim to be considered the son of a weather-prophet of acknowl- edged accuracy in making predictions, by aid of a meteorological shoulder and well-tested weather-glass, I could see with half an eye that the Doctor would inevitably " catch it," whatever it was or from whichever way it blew, long before he came half-way to Sandy Hook, or by whatever other course he might make bold to venture seaward that April day. In due time, having satisfied my appetite, leisurely looking over the morning papers meanwhile, I rose from the breakfast-table, entertain- ing even at that late hour, no more idea of going to sea than I have, as I sit writing these words, of taking my departure forthwith, ere this ink be dry, to the land which lies east of the moon and west of the sun, indeed, I may say — and with no intent to exaggerate — to the Cannibal Islands themselves. Shortly before noon the Doctor, who had prescribed for himself that most agreeable of all remedies, to wit, rest and a sea-voyage, whose preparations to follow his own advice, " to take what he would give," I was watching with envious interest, suddenly, without pausing in the operation of packing his trunk, startled me by asking the ques- tion : " How would you like to go to the Caribbean Islands % " The inquiry smacked of suggestion and contained a pleasant flavor 6 DOWN THE ISLANDS. of invitation. What wonder, then, that I eagerly confessed my will- ingness, not to say longing, to set out at once, not only to the archipel- ago in question, but to any other part of the navigable sea or habitable land to which he might be good enough to ask me to bear him company. Nevertheless, as I made my confession it did not enter my brain to conceive that there was any probability of my going with him on a trip for which he had nearly completed all his preparations and I had made no preparation at all. In a word, I had as soon thought of setting out with him then and there as he of leaving me in charge of his patients during his proposed absence. It is the unexpected that happens. So it fell out that I sat down to dinner at four — bells, that day, hav- ing the Doctor for my vis-a-vis at the Captain's table in the cabin of the steamship Barracouta, bound, not, indeed, to the Back of Beyond but, in very truth, to the Cannibal Islands — the original and, mark you ! the first so-called Cannibal Islands which, as everybody ought to know, were discovered in the year 1493 by no less famous a navigator than Christoval Colon himself. It may well be imagined, I did not make haste slowly in my efforts to catch the steamer, which was to sail that day promptly at 2 p.m. In- deed ! so great was my hurry and excitement that I was half-way to Sandy Hook before I began to realize how I had set out on a voyage which, as it turned out, was to last five weeks to a day. In hot haste, therefore, I took my departure from home and from among my people, not in the manner of a man who was minded to go a-pleasuring, but after the fashion of one who meditates a flight into foreign parts con- veniently beyond the ken of extradition treaties. CHAPTER I. A VOYAGE TO THE CARIBBEES. A Sudden Start on a Sea Journey — Incidents of the Voyage — From January to June, Overcoats to Seersuckers, in Three Days— The Rising of the Southern Cross — The Course to the Caribbees — Historical Notes — A Landfall. A nipping southeaster hurtled over the East River, as the Barracouta swung out of her dock at the foot of Market Street, and gradually headed oceanward. The gale driving counter to the ebbing tide caught the crests of the waves, -curled them backward, whipping them into foam and icy spray ; it whistled through the rigging of the ships, swept across the cables of the great bridge, until they droned like the chords of a titanic ^Eolian harp. The clouds fled away headlong be- fore the pitiless storm, that whisked the steam from the vent of the Barracouta's whistle, which gave a prolonged shriek as the steamer gathered headway. A parting salute was fired, and the squall snatched the smoke from the cannon's mouth, tearing it into tatters and whirling it out of sight before the report of the discharge had startled the echoes of Washington Heights. The air became colder and colder as the steamer kept steadfastly on her way down the harbor, the storm increased in violence until it was impossible to escape from its onset in the shelter of any nook or corner on deck. The captain and pilot paced to and fro on the bridge, stamping their feet, beating their hands, blinking and wink- ing ahead into the eye of the wind, from time to time turning their backs to the gale to catch breath as they rubbed their noses, already as red as the port side-light of the steamer. The man at the steering 8 DOWN THE ISLANDS. gear, standing exposed to the weather forward of the deck-house, looked pinched and utterly woe-begone, clinging desperately as if frozen fast to the spokes of the wheel which, in its oscillations, seemed to move, not to be moved or controlled by, him. On deck a few pas- sengers stuck it out obstinately, cowering in the lee of the smoke-stack. Two able-bodied sea travellers, the Doctor and the companion of his travels, tramped valiantly up and down, taking exercise for to-morrow and trying their sea-legs. As the steamer passed through the Narrows, Staten Island and the Bay llidge shore showed chill and desolate, all the trees gaunt and leafless, the meadows sere and frost-bound ; moreover, there was a broad fringe of ice all round the sea-wall of Fort Lafayette. On Coney Island and all along the New Jersey strand great waves flung themselves high up on the beach, and long before the Barracouta passed the Hook great billows charged in from the warring sea to meet her. Out on the open it was dreary and bitterly cold. I thought of the store of summer clothing in my trunks below, and shivered miserably, although crowded close to the warm side of the smoke-stack. Three days later the mere mention or remembrance of winter wraps brought the perspiration to my brow as I sat in the shade of the deck-awning. Night came on, and a dirty night it proved to be, but the ship struggled bravely summerward, leaving winter, knot by knot, astern. Far away beneath the Southern Cross lay our desired haven, beyond the blue waters where it is always spring or summer, where there is no ice nor snow, chill winds nor frosty weather. Shortly before dark we heard a great alarum high overhead, the " honking " of a flock of wild geese winging their way to the ice-bound North from which we were hastening. The apparition of the steamer with its long plume of inky smoke startled them ; for a few moments the long line of their flight was broken — their rank, falling into con- fusion, swerved from its direct course like a file of soldiers thrown out of step. Then the swiftest and, presumably, the wisest, members of the company went quickly to the front, with loud trumpeting, to A VOYAGE TO THE CARIBBEES. 9 marshal and re-form the column. Away it sped, lessening to view, until it appeared like a mysterious flying serpent, such as ancient mariners are said often to have seen hovering in mid-air ; it dwindled in the distance, for a moment floated over the horizon like a film of cloud ; then the jaws of darkness devoured it up. At dark Long Branch was on our starboard quarter, distant eight or ten miles in the west. At bedtime Barnegat Light, just abeam, winked slyly at us, as if up to our little game (and entirely approving of it, by the way) of sailing away in quest of summer long before the time of the singing of birds had come to our Northern homes. The next morning we were crossing the river in the ocean, as Maury calls the Gulf Stream in his delightful book (" The Physical Geography of the Sea "), a book that deserves to be well-thumbed by all sea-going people, whether they be shipped as sailor-men before, or passengers behind the mast. The air was mild and spring-like, the sky, however, still threatened storm ; frequent rain-squalls drove us to seek shelter, but not for long at a time, in the deck-cabin, or those who found favor in the sight of our captain, into his snug official quarters under the pilot-bridge. All day the gulls that had followed us throughout the previous night hovered in our wake, uttering shrill, complaining cries. These restless beings bore us company until we came to quieter waters, where we found warmer weather and fairer skies ; then, like the evil voices that haunted Bunyan's Pilgrim, they went back and came no farther. "When the stormy birds forsook us we were taken under the protection of other seafowl, called by sailors " bo'suns," for the reason their long tail-feathers bear a fancied resemblance to marlin-spikes. Landsmen know these as man-o'-war birds, of all winged creatures the most graceful, flying so easily, wafted with so little effort from wave to cloud that one is never tired of watching them, forever cir- cling and poising in mid-air. These attendant spirits accompanied us for days, until we reached the Caribbean Islands, and thence, when we were northward bound, escorted us back again to that place be- 10 DOWN THE ISLANDS. tween the sea and sky where they had first taken us under their care and keeping. On the second day of the voyage spring came joyously to meet us, bringing sunshine and warm weather. We threw aside our wraps, and turned down the collars of our overcoats, which we had worn con- stantly since leaving home. Later in the morning we discarded top- coats and reefers altogether; presently there was no need to pace the decks to keep ourselves warm. By mid-day, stowed away in snug places on the deck or lounging comfortably in easy-chairs, talking or reading, smoking, dozing, each according to his humor, we all rejoiced greatly in the sunshine. The delightful change in the weather had a pleasant effect upon the spirits of the ship's company ; the passengers, gradually yielding to its genial influence, became more and more affable, in a surprisingly short time made themselves at home, striking up acquaintance with, and confiding in one another, in the manner of jovial sea-going folk. First, it was unanimously agreed that the weather was all that could be desired or we deserved. Second, that the Barracouta was a sea- worthy and comfortable vessel. A further meeting of minds devel- oped the fact that the companionship of our captain was agreeable to all on board. His cheery presence was as welcome as the flowers in May. Before many days, indeed from that day forth, we looked upon him as the owner of the steam-yacht Barracouta, on which we were cruising, by invitation of our friend, at his sole expense (a mere trifle to him, by the way, of three or four hundred dollars per diem), having nothing to do but enjoy ourselves and partake of the kindly hospital- ity of our host. On the third day out from JSTew York we donned summer apparel, and were glad of the shade of an awning stretched over the deck. The thermometer had mounted from the thirties into the seventies. In seventy-two hours we had given winter the slip, leaving leaden skies and howling gales behind us, to sail under a cloudless heaven over a sea glistening in the sunlight of midsummer. It was almost A VOYAGE TO THE UABIBBEES. 11 impossible to realize that in so short a time we had been transported from January to June. The magic of the change may thus be formu- lated : Day before yesterday, late in the evening, we bade good-by to winter ; yesterday morn- ing we fell in with early spring; in the afternoon ethereal mildness itself ex- tended to us a genial greet- ing, and to-day we drank in, or, like Joey Ladle, took in through the pores, all the delights of one of the rarest days of a New Eng- land June. Had Mark Twain's collector-of-weathers been of our company, within three days of setting sail from the foot of Market Street, New York, he might have added to his meteorological museum speci- mens of every known variety of climate to be found in the latitude and longitude of the Island of Manhattan between Christmas and Fourth of July. When we had left Sandy Hook seven or eight hundred miles be- hind us, patches of bright-yellow gulf-weed floating on the ocean bore witness that we had reached the outlying regions of the Sargasso Sea. 12 DOWN THE ISLANDS. Schools of dolphins numbering many scores played about the ship ; innumerable flying-fish, frightened at our sudden approach, leaped unexpectedly from the sea, to scatter in all directions, like bevies of quail flushed by an over-eager dog. We enjoyed from this time on a climate that varied but little in temperature, being always, day and night, delicious and mild. In the evenings glorious sunsets promised well for the morrow, and at night the stars shone with unusual lustre. Night by night, as we neared the tropics, we watched to see the Southern Cross rise above the horizon ahead of us. Some of the ship's company really seemed to yearn for it with sentimental antici- pations of delight, having prepared themselves by meditation (and fasting, during rough w r eather) to gaze upon the mysterious symbol in solemn wonderment or with ecstatic admiration as the occasion might seem to demand. At last, one glorious evening, we were summoned from the dinner-table out on to the deck, into the pale light of the stars, there to behold the much-talked of constellation, some of us for the first time in our lives. "When it was pointed out to us as we stood in the moonlight, leaning over the taffrail, there was a short but A VOYAGE TO THE CARIBBEES. 13 embarrassing silence, which was shattered (broken would be altogether too mild a term) almost immediately by somebody, I think it was one of the ladies, who remarked, in an injured tone : " I don't think that's much ! " Alas ! she voiced the sentiment of a majority of her fellow-pas- sengers. It required a determined effort of the imagination to make out the cruciform outline of the Southern Cross, so imperfectly indicated as it is when seen north of the equator, by four irregularly placed stars — heavenly bodies that certainly did not, on that evening at least, shine with the rare effulgence we had been led to expect they would shed. Therefore we hastily concluded we had been imposed upon, and were wroth, as Naaman the Syrian was wroth when bidden by the master of Gehazi — " Go and wash in Jordan seven times." " Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel ? " Were not Pleiades and Orion more glorious than the constellation we had sailed so far to see ? In honest truth, we had not sailed far, nor even turned aside from our course, but being, man and woman-like, unreasonable in our dis- appointment, we would have chimed in with Sidney Smith's irreverent friend who had been heard on occasion to speak " disrespectfully of the equator " itself, had he been of our company and seen fit to ex- press utter disapprobation with the appearance of the Southern Cross. We watched it evening after evening and through the silent watches of the night ; as we approached the equator it rose higher and higher above the horizon, brightened and glowed in greater glory, but we never entirely recovered from the rude shock to our sensibilities occa- sioned by our disappointment over its entirely unsatisfactory first reve- lation. By the time I had been four or five days at sea I ceased to won- der at the breathless haste of my departure from my father's house, 14 DOWN THE ISLANDS. and began to have some idea of where I was going ; for I confess, when I set out on the voyage, 1 was wof ully ignorant of everything concern- ing the Caribbean Islands, almost of their whereabouts. And I here venture to remark — not ill-humoredly nor in extenuation of my own lack of knowledge concerning the geography of these islands that dot the chart of the Caribbean Sea like stepping-stones between the shores of ]STorth and South America — it is an undoubted fact, a fact to be marvelled at, that nine out of ten of my countrymen are no better in- formed on the subject than was I when I set sail for the Windward Islands. I am convinced this is true, for, on my return home, I had what journalists call " a beat " on nearly all my acquaintances, to whom I had much that was strange and wonderful to tell concerning my travels. I made the pleasing discovery that whatever I had to say about the foreign parts I had visited was good fresh news to such of my friends and neighbors as were compelled, for the sake of politeness or the kindly interest they take in whatever concerns me, to hear me patiently, remaining dumb before me, until I had sailed my voyage to the Caribbees over again. A mono- other things I discovered how, before the time of Colum- bus, some geographers imagined the existence of a continent lying to the west of the Azores, basing their statements concerning its location and extent on the stories told by adventurous mariners who had journeyed far into the terror-inspiring expanse of the Western Ocean. By giving heed to yarns spun for their delectation, by sailor-men newly returned from cruises in the direction of fabled Cipango and far Cathay, the scientific gentlemen who composed the royal or imperial geographical societies of the fifteenth century became cunning to de- sign maps of the world which they offered in evidence, in support of theories on which they founded a system of physical geography that set at naught the established order of creation. These learned people not only said unto continents " Be ye removed and be ye cast into the sea," but, aided by their imaginations, raised from unfathomable depths populous archipelagoes or deserted islands with less mental labor and A VOYAGE TO THE UARIBBEES. 15 expenditure of will-power than was necessary to enable Prospero to call spirits from the vasty deep. Of the cartographic curiosities produced by the glowing imagina- tions of these venerable savants the historian Hallam gives us his opin- ion in the following words : " These early maps and charts of the fif- teenth century are to us but a chaos of error and confusion, but it was on them that the patient eye of Columbus rested through long hours of meditation, while strenuous hope and unsubdued doubt were strug- gling in his soul." In 1474 the Italian mathematician Toscanelli fur- nished a map of the world, lately devised by him, to aid the would-be discoverer of new worlds in demonstrating to capitalists and royalties how simple a feat of seamanship it was to reach India by sailing west- ward across the Atlantic Ocean. The value of this contribution to the geography of Columbus' day maybe readily appreciated when we learn that, according to Toscanelli's calculations, the globe was but six thou- sand miles in diameter, thus conceding to the earth a circumference of less than nineteen thousand miles. By this convenient arrangement Toscanelli brought Cipango (Japan) nearer to Portugal by one-half of the distance than was afterward found to separate the two countries. When Bartholomew Columbus visited London, in the year 1488, for the purpose of interesting King Henry VII. in his brother's scheme for reaching the Indies, he carried with him a revised and corrected edition of Toscanelli's map ; but unfortunately neither the original nor the copy of it (the latter the first sea-chart exhibited in London) have been preserved. Wishing to put before my reader a representation of the Western Ocean as it was supposed to be in the year of the discovery of America, I will cause to be reproduced in this book of mine a map drawn and published in the year 1492 by Martin Behaim, the famous cosmographer, of Nuremberg, to whom was at one time accorded the honor of having discovered the new world ; although it is well-known, in these later days, that he had sailed no farther into the unknown sea than Fa} 7 al in the Azores. A glance at Behaim's map will serve to show that he was not one 16 DOWN THE ISLANDS. of the wise men who gave credence to the idea that there was a conti- nent to bar the advance of ships sailing westward from the Azores to Cathay. Although he was no wiser than others of his profession, his was an exception to the opinion generally entertained by the physical geographers of the fifteenth century, of whom a majority firmly be- lieved in the existence of a vast and populous land to the shores of Globus Martini Behaim Narinbergensis 1492. which the prevailing easterly winds would waft the vessels of coura- geous mariners, should they continue sailing long enough toward the setting sun, taking no thought how they might win their way back to their own country until they were ready to return with a cargo of gold and spice, the wealth of Ormus and of Ind. To this fabled con- tinent, by those who maintained there was such an one, was given the name Antilla ; therefore it was reasonable, when Columbus arrived A VOYAGE TO THE CABIBBEES. 17 among the islands composing what would fitly, and might well, in honor of their discoverer be named the Columbian Archipelago, that he imagined he had reached the Ante-Illas — the Forward — that is to say, the outlying islands, the advance-sentinels guarding the coast of the mysterious country where there were great cities and untold stores of precious stones. Peter Martyr, who was personally acquainted with the great Genovese (or was he a Corsican, as has been lately claimed), writing during the same year that Christopher Columbus returned from his first expedition in search of the new world, states : " The great ad- miral gives it out that he has discovered the island Ophir, but after considering the world as laid down by cosmographers, those must be the islands called Antillse." Early Spanish navigators, accepting this theory, called the islands, now known to English-speaking people as the "West Indies, Antillia. When wider explorations had added in- numerable islands to their charts, they divided the Columbian Ar- chipelago into two groups, naming them, respectively, " Islas de Lu- cayas" and " Islas de los Caribes," or "de los Cannibales." Of the first-named islands, which we now call the Bahamas, I need but to recall the fact that on the morning of October 13, 1492, Colum- bus on his first voyage of discovery sighted the island called by the natives " Guanihane " — and gave to it the name San Salvador. This was his first sight of the new world. On his second voyage, in the year 1493, Columbus discovered the Caribbean Archipelago in such manner as I shall hereafter relate. The islands of the Caribs and of the Cannibals were known to the Spaniards at a later date, and are set down on their charts, even until this very day, as " Islas de Barlovento " and " Islas de Sotavento " — that is to say, the Windward and Leeward Islands. Strictly speaking the Leeward Islands were' and are, Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola or Hayti, and Porto Pico ; they are also called the Greater Antilles ; while the smaller islands which extend for eight hundred and fifty miles, in a remarkably regular curve, from the southeastern point of 2 18 DOWN THE ISLANDS. Porto Rico to the mouth of the Orinoco River, as well as the islands stretching along the north coast of Venezuela, are called the Windward Islands, or Lesser Antilles. The English apply the name West Indies to all the islands which separate the Atlantic Ocean from the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, but, " not content to let other nations keep a separate name to themselves," divide the group known to the rest of mankind as the Windward Islands into two lesser groups, naming the islands between Porto Rico and Martinique, the Leeward ; and those between Martin- ique and the mouth of the Orinoco, the Windward Islands. The archi- pelago thus subdivided by the British for their own convenience is also known as the Caribbean Islands. By this denomination we Ameri- cans designate the series of islands which to the north includes the Virgin Islands and to the south terminates with Trinidad. We also call the entire group the Windward Islands. The most northerly of the Caribbean Islands lie about fifteen hun- dred and fifty miles in a southeasterly direction from New York ; therefore a vessel bound to St. Christopher (the destination of the Barracouta) enters the Gulf Stream nearly one hundred and fifty miles from Sandy Hook, crosses this mighty current diagonally, pass- ing midway between Charleston, S. C, and Hamilton, the capital of the Bermuda Islands (the distance between these two seaports is, ap- proximately, eight hundred miles), and enters the tropics latitude 23° fully one thousand miles to the east of the most southerly point of Florida, that is to say, in about the longitude of Halifax, Nova Scotia. On the afternoon of the sixth day of our voyage land was in sight, showing faintly against the southern sky, more to be guessed at than distinctly seen. At first we could barely make out the dim outline of the mountain -peaks of St. Martin. Not until an hour later, although lying many miles nearer to the ship, did the level, serpentine coast- line of Anguilla come into view ; then we discovered, directly ahead of us, the barren chalk-cliffs of Sombrero faintly showing their snow- A VOYAGE TO THE CARIBBEES. 19 white battlements, like a line of breakers, above the blue plain of ocean. Toward this island, which English sailors call the Spanish Hat, we held our course until we could distinctly see the light-house built and maintained upon the rock by the British Government. Of little value to man is this bare, storm-beaten islet, a few acres in extent, rising at its highest point no more than forty feet above waves that forever beat against its perpendicular sides. There is but one safe landing-place in all the circumference of Sombrero, on the western or leeward side,, where a narrow ledge, at all times nearly awash, projects a short distance outward into the sea, forming a jetty by no means easy of approach. From this, a steep and narrow path leads to the level plain above. The island is formed of a perfectly white limestone; it shines and glistens in the dazzling sunlight until the eye, teased beyond endurance by the glare, gladly turns away from it to the restful green of fairer coasts in plain sight farther to the south. Sombrero is barren and desolate, with never a tree and scarce a blade of grass or other green thing growing on it — save a few prickly-pears, a strange cactus- growth that thrives in the midst of desolation — not even moss can find place to cling to the naked rock ; a fringe of deep-red sea-weed floats wide upon the water at tide-mark all round the foot of the cliffs, discoloring the foam, giving it a crimson stain. This lonely rock stands in the midst of the sea, a scorched and weather-beaten boundary marking where the waves of the Atlantic Ocean meet and mingle with the waters of the Caribbean Sea. It is uninhabited ex- cept by the keeper of the light station and his assistants, and a few quarrymen who live in miserable shanties, all huddled together near the middle of the island. These self -exiled workmen are engaged in breaking up the limestone rock, of which quantities are shipped away to be used in making fertilizers. Sombrero was once the resting-place of numberless sea-fowl ; in those days the people from neighboring islands used to come and 20 DOWN THE ISLANDS. collect the eggs. Now the birds have deserted their breeding-ground, and save for the human-kind laboring upon it there are no other living things to be found upon the rock except black lizards a few inches in length. There is little sweet-water to be found upon the island, for only a scant supply collects in the hollows of the rock during infrequent rains. This light-station, at the grand gate to the Caribbean Sea, lies in the channel between Anegada, the northernmost of the Virgin Islands, and Anguilla, the northeasternmost of the Caribbees ; it is forty-seven miles distant from the former, and bears northwest twenty-five miles from the edge of the reefs surrounding the latter. Sombrero is a little less than one mile in length from 1SLN.E. to S.S.W., not more than a thousand feet wide at its broadest part ; the lighthouse upon the southeast side of it stands in latitude 13° 35' 45" N., longitude 63° 27' 46" "W. It shows, from an altitude of one hundred and fifty feet above the sea, a white light, revolving once a minute, visible about twenty miles from all points of the compass. Both to the east and to the west of Sombrero the channels are well-defined, so that vessels, having made this landfall, may go in safety either in enter- ing or in leaving the Caribbean Sea. Before the establishment of the light-house many vessels, losing their bearings, were wrecked upon the reefs which surround and outlie the nearest of the Virgin and other islands. The Barracouta passed close by Sombrero on its leeward side, within a quarter of a mile of the landing-place ; although we saluted the little colony with a blast of steam-whistle and by dipping our ensign, we received no answer or recognition, notwithstanding we could see people walking about on the shore, looking, at the distance, like black and brown ants on a great lump of white sugar. Anguilla, twenty-five miles, and St. Martin, forty miles distant, re- spectively were in plain sight from Sombrero, and shortly after leav- ing it behind us Saba came distinctly into view sixty miles away to the east of south ; presently St. Eustatius uplifted its pyramid still more to the east, at a distance of seventy-five miles ; then, as we con- A VOYAGE TO TEE GABIBBEES. 21 tinued on our course, St. Bartholomew opened out from behind the mountains of St. Martin. At last, St. Christopher loomed up large and bold far ahead of us, ninety miles to the southeast of Sombrero, its great peaks grandly showing between St. Bartholomew on the east and St. Eustatius and Saba on the west. Our good ship had entered the Caribbean Sea — our cruise down the islands was fairly begun. CHAPTER II. AN AFTERNOON ON DECK. The Northern Caribbees — Anguilla — Its ' ' Wild Irish " Settlers and Present Inhabitants — St. Martin, a Franco-Dutch Island — St. Bartholomew — Saba, a Crater Shipyard — St. Eustatius — Arrival at St. Christopher. VEIi the blue water of the Carib- bean Sea the Barracouta held her way, going along a good ten knots, rolling easily with a gentle mo- tion that lulled even the most alert and open-eyed of her passengers into moments of comfortable for- getfulness. Several times during the afternoon I caught myself " dropping off," and the Doctor that evening explained his appearance on deck, long after his customary bedtime, by admitting that between luncheon and dinner-time he had on four or five different occasions managed to get forty winks. As for the Salmagundian, he frankly announced that there was no use trying to keep his eyes open, and to the best of my recollection he did not try. Several times, indeed , he aroused himself long enough to study the poses of his fellow-passengers as they lay " promiscu- ous, lapped in balmy sleep " on the deck, or lolled in deck-chairs, too charmed to read or talk, too comfortable to move, some of them AN AFTERNOON ON DECK 23 apparently too lazy to breathe. They snored instead ! When the Salmagundian had contemplated the drowsy scene, he mumbled something about charcoal-paper and making a sketch, but he never carried out his threat. Once, after a long silence, he pulled himself together sufficiently to mutter in a weary tone, as if dazed and over- come by the discovery : " The ship joggles ! " Once he attempted to leave his deck-chair, but sank back spine- lessly ; a far-away look came into his eyes, his mind wandered, and so, with a great sigh, softly murmuring : " We're a nod lot," he flickered, so to speak, for an instant, and went out into forgetfulness. The Salmagundian slept ! What an afternoon it was when we sighted the most northern group of the lovely Caribbees ! I shall never forget it. Reader, I shall not try (it would be utterly useless, so far beyond the power of words) to describe the glory of it. Even now, long afterward, to think of -it awakens memories of sensuous de- light ; it seems as if, eons ago, I had lived with the lotos-eaters — had visited the land where it is always afternoon. After leaving Sombrero astern the steamer passed within a few miles of Anguilla (Anguis Insula), or Snake Island, a long, narrow, serpentine strip of land — as its name implies, an almost treeless plain — inhabited by herdsmen who make but little, if any, attempt to cultivate the unfruitful soil or prepare scant pasturage for a few miser- able herds of cattle and half-starved flocks of sheep that " bite the herbage," as Dr. Sam Johnson would have said — "graze" would be too enthusiastic a term to describe their futile efforts to fill their bellies with sun-dried grass and weeds. More than two hundred years ago the French settlers of St. Chris- topher sent an agent to spy out this island. On his return from his mission he reported to his countrymen : " Uisle n'est pas estime'e valoir la peine qiCon la garde ni qu'on la cultiveP And his people, accepting this low estimate of the value and fer- 24 DOWN THE ISLANDS. tility of Anguilla, left the few fishermen already settled upon it in undisturbed possession of their unfruitful and sterile inheritance. A few years later there landed upon the island a number of people «rv/*»v-' A Caribbean Bo-peep whom Oldmixon in his ancient chronicle quaintly calls Wild-Irish, to distinguish them from the English of Ireland. These wretches, he writes, " thinking it to be impossible for men to be poorer than them- selves, took away from the miserable inhabitants even the little that AN AFTERNOON ON DECK. 25 they seemed to have," drove the peaceful toilers of the sea from the island and occupied their settlements. The Wild Irish enjoyed, for a time at least, all the privileges of home rule, and the statement made by West Indian historians, that the colonists spent the time in fighting among themselves like Kilkenny cats, until the Government of Great Britain assumed the direction of their affairs, without the formality of conquest or treaty of annexation, may be, and probably, in justice, had better be, taken with a charitable pinch of salt. Be all that as it may, Anguilla became a British colony, and has re- mained under English rule until this day. The population of the island is estimated to be nearly two thou- sand five hundred souls, whereof only one hundred are whites, all the rest being either colored or of pure African blood. The island is under the Presidency of St. Christopher, but has a local government of its own, at the head of which is a stipendiary magistrate whose salary is a charge on the Imperial exchequer. This official is chair- man of a vestry composed of three members elected by the islanders, and three chosen by the Crown ; these seven gentlemen conduct the affairs of the colony, directing the disbursement of an annual revenue of less than £600. It is fair to say that the annual expenditures at no time exceed the income of this little government, and it may there- fore be presumed that the taxation to which the people of Anguilla are subjected is not very grievous to be borne, seeing that it amounts to no more than five shillings per capita per annum. There are two local courts on the island, from which an appeal lies to the Supreme Court of the Leeward Islands. Anguilla extends northeast and southwest for fourteen miles, and is at no place of greater breadth than three miles. On its northern side the hills rise to the height of two hundred feet, the highest eleva- tion being in the neighborhood of Crocus Bay, where is the chief settlement. Toward the south and west the land falls away to the sea, the southern shore being low, at a short distance seaward barely show- ing above high-water mark. Around this main island are numerous 26 DOWN THE ISLANDS. islets. Scrub Islet, also called Anguillita, lies to the east, distant about a quarter of a mile ; this, and Dog Island on the northwest, are the largest of the outlying dependencies. The channel between Anguilla and St. Martin to the south is four miles wide, affording a safe passage for the largest ships. Anguilla lies sixty miles northwest of St. Christopher. There is little to attract attention to this flat and uninteresting place ; nevertheless, it seemed beautiful to me. Even the parched moorland in the afternoon light put on a garb of rich and mellow coloring, and all around the sea framed it in, making a picture of great loveliness, wonderful for the effect of softly blending outlines and deli- cate shading. To the south, in striking contrast to the low, uninteresting, level plain of Anguilla, St. Martin towers above the sea in picturesque grandeur. We passed within five miles of its leeward coast, upon which the sunlight of afternoon shone, glorifying all the western shore. The mountains and savannahs presented an exquisite landscape of rare color, flecked by shadows of drifting clouds, the sombre tints of for- ests and darkened valleys all showing like an embroidered pattern of oriental carpeting. Fertile meadows and plantations spread over the hill- sides between the sea-shore and the dense forests on the mountain-steeps ; here and there villages, isolated dwellings, and hamlets of white-walled farm- buildings, roofed with red tiles, appeared among groves of palms and fruit-bearing trees. On the sea, between the steamer's wake and rugged cliffs overhanging a long margin of breakers, the sails of fish- ing-boats glistened in the sunlight as the steady northeast trade-wind wafted them far out from shore. We were loath to hasten past so lovely a picture, but comforted ourselves with the thought that on our return homeward we might perhaps feast our eyes with one more view of St. Martin, our first love. The early Spanish navigators used to resort to this island for the purpose of procuring salt, which was taken in great abundance from AN AFTERNOON ON DECK. 27 natural pans along the shore ; but they made no lasting settlements, and St. Martin was not occupied permanently until the Dutch and French entered into joint possession of it, and the descendants of these early settlers continue until this day living peaceably together on the island, preserving the traditions and language, the manners and time-honored customs, of their forefathers. The Dutch were the first to arrive in the island after the Spaniards left it — being led thither from St. Eustatius by no less celebrated a personage than Admiral de Ruyter, who happened to be cruising in these seas at the time. The French came to St. Martin shortly after the Dutch, and, by an amicable ar- rangement with the representative of the States General, divided the island with them, keeping the northwest part for themselves, while the Hollanders withdrew to the southeastern portion, congratulat- ing themselves upon having the best of the bargain, seeing that the most profitable salt-ponds were included in their reservation. At first the Dutch outnumbered the French, but in these latter days this order of things has been reversed — the latest enumeration of the in- habitants showing that, while there are between four or five thousand citoyens who shrug the shoulder, there are less than three thousand burghers who lay the forefinger alongside the nose. As was to be ex- pected, there has been considerable confusion of tongues in naming places, bodies of water, and divisions of the dry land, in this colony, divided as it is between the people of two nations ; thus we find PTiilvpsburg, the seat of government of the Dutch part of the island, at the head of Grande Baie, the entrance to which is, or rather was in days gone by, guarded by Fort Willem and Fort Amsterdam. Morne de la Fortune, a conical peak forming a bold promontory, juts far into the sea from the northwest coast, confronting Oostenberg, a promi- nent landmark soaring heavenward a few miles farther to the south. There is a Baie d : Orient, an Anse de la Grande Case, and bays with names as Dutch as Zuyder Zee. Finally, just as the men of ancient Athens erected an altar to the Unknown, so did some of the early set- tlers of St. Martin— heaven only knows if they were of Hollandish or 28 DOWN THE ISLANDS. Frankish speech — name a great crag in honor of the unknowable, call- ing it, whatever the name may mean or portend, Mollibeday Hock. The figure of the island resembles an equilateral triangle, its sides facing the east, northwest, and southeast, each about seven miles in length. The coast is very irregular, being deeply indented by bays and inlets, in some of which there are good anchorages and careening places. A high ridge of table-land extends through the island from north to south, whereof the loftiest peaks are nearly fourteen hun- dred feet in height. A few miles to the east of the westernmost point of St. Martin, Marigot Baie makes into the shore, and at the head of it, hiding from the sea, is the little town of Marigot, the capital of the French part of the island. About twelve miles to the southeast of St. Martin lies St. Bar- tholomew, or St. Bart's as it is commonly called, an island that was colonized by the French in 1650. Later it came into the possession of the Swedes, to which historic fact the name of Gustavia (Gustaf), its capital, in some sort bears testimony. We did not approach St. Bart's near enough to gain any idea of its fertility or of the amount of its surface under cultivation, or of the situations of its towns and set- tlements. St. Bartholomew is said to be peopled by men of no con- siderable enterprise, and the life of its inhabitants is peaceful, not to say indolent. There is little to disturb the quiet of society, such so- ciety as may be found in a population of four thousand, and we may well believe that, lying as it does out of the direct line of travel, hav- ing no commerce of importance, and a soil, as compared with that of other islands, unproductive, life in this community is one eternal round of dulness ; therefore, as Davies the historian said of it more than two hundred years ago, so may it with equal truth be written in our day, to wit. : " Such as are enclined to solitude cannot dispose themselves to a fitter place for it than this is." We sailed between St. Eustatius or Statia and Saba, Dutch islands both of them, rising out of the sea in majestic cones ; that of Statia falling away on its northern side into a broken plain of meadow- AN AFTERNOON ON BECK. 29 land, while Saba is ramparted all round about with a wall of stupen- dous cliffs. Saba is inhabited by a few settlers of Dutch ancestry, about two thousand in all, who dwell high up above the sea in little settlements ; the largest of them, one thousand feet above sea-level, is called The Bottom, for the reason that its houses cuddle together in the depths of a crater of an extinct volcano. The cliffs rise perpen- dicularly from the ocean, and access to the habitable part of this quaint colony is to be had only by climbing up a flight of eight hundred steps, cut in the solid rock, or by a more tedious climb up a narrow and almost impassable ravine on the south side of the island. The peo- ple of Saba are celebrated throughout the Caribbean Islands for the fishing-boats they build in a crater — the oddest of places imaginable for a ship-yard. When the boats are ready to be launched, they are low- ered down the overhanging precipices into the sea. There is no tim- ber growing on the island, no beach from which to launch a boat when it is built, no harbor to shelter- one when launched, and yet these Dutch "West Indians profit by their trade of boat-building, and cruise all about the Caribbean Archipelago in the staunch, sea-worthy craft they construct in the hollow of a crater on the top of their mountain- colony. From the verge of the sea-wall of mighty precipices the face of Saba inclines upward and backward like an embankment piled upon the masonry of a cyclopean fortification ; the ascent to the top of the conical peak of the island, which is over two thousand eight hundred feet high, is steep, and in many places impossible to be climbed, as may well be imagined when the fact is stated that the greatest diameter of Saba is but two and a quarter miles. A landing can only be made at this little colony when the winds are moderate and the sea is smooth ; there are no safe anchorages, and sailing vessels do not attempt to ap- proach the great rock except in cases of necessity, or under most favor- able circumstances, notwithstanding the statement contained in mari- ners' guides that there is very little current in the sea surrounding Saba, and the rise and fall of the tide are almost imperceptible. None 30 DOWN THE ISLANDS. of the islands we had hitherto seen, and none we were thereafter to behold, awakened so much curiosity in my mind, or provoked such a longing to go on shore for the purpose of visiting the quaint settle- ment, to study the romantic life of this strange folk, to watch them build their boats, and, if need be, bear a hand at the launching of one of the little craft as it was lowered down the cliffs, to be wet for the first time with salt-water. Alas ! I had to be content with hurrying past the place, and have therefore ever since promised myself that when my ship comes in (she has been homeward bound many a year) Statia. I shall put to sea again in my own pleasure-craft, lay my course for the Caribbees, land at, or rather go on board of, Saba, there to remain until the idea of dwelling on a mountain in the midst of the sea should no longer to my mind be a wonderful experience, and one that chal- lenged my especial admiration. St. Eustatius, in the early days of its settlement by the Dutch, was a most fertile and diligently cultivated settlement. Its mountain-tops were covered by a luxuriant growth of forest, and " all the compass of its sides were highly productive; it can hardly be credited what quan- tities of tobacco it hath hitherto, and still doth yield," wrote a visitor AN AFTERNOON ON DECK. 31 to Statia in 1664. At the present time it cannot be said to enjoy any degree of prosperity, and few of the descendants of the original settlers, remain upon the island. Its glory has departed ; the soil, exhausted by reckless cultivation, yields but small return for the labor expended upon it. There is but little trade of any kind, either export or import, between the island and any other part of the world, except that annu- ally a few cargoes of yams, the chief crop now raised there, are shipped away to St. Christopher or to the other neighboring colonies. Orangetown, the only town in Statia, lies on the western coast, partly on the beach, and partly on the cliffs, one hundred and fifty feet above. In front of it, antiquated Fort Orange crumbles slowly away through, all these years of peace, of no more value as a defence, in time of war, as war is waged nowadays, than a breastplate of beaten iron in a battle between soldiers armed with needle-guns or Remington rifles. St. Eustatius, or St. Eustace, as Davies the historian calls it, has been a Dutch colony ever since 1600, many years before Peter Stuyvesant governed in the New Netherlands. Once the island was temporarily in the possession of Great Britain, for in the year 1782 Admiral Rodney, of whose name and fame the history of the Caribbean Islands, contains frequent and glorious mention, captured Statia, at the same time reducing St. Bart's, St. Martin, and almost inaccessible Saba, to subjection to the crown of Great Britain. Rodney secured by these conquests immense booty of merchandise and ships, but leaving Statia insufficiently defended, it was shortly afterward retaken by French and Dutch adventurers, and has remained in the possession of descend- ants of the latter until the present time. St. Eustatius is separated from St. Christopher by a channel seven miles in width ; across this the Barracouta steamed after night had fallen and we had lost all view of land. The stars were shining with wonderful lustre, casting wavering reflections in the sea ; the water was unruffled, the wind having died away under the lee of the lofty peaks of St. Christopher. It was nearly midnight when we ran into the shadows of mighty hills and skirted along the western coast of the 32 DO WN THE ISLANDS. island, which we could barely discern in the darkness, although we sailed quite close to it. The ship held a straight course for more than an hour ; then, rounding a bold headland, entered a broad and peaceful roadstead where shone the lights of many vessels lying at anchor. Presently the engine was slowed down ; as the pulsations and throb- bings of the great heart ceased, a mysterious silence fell around us ; with lessening speed the Barracouta threaded her way among the shipping to her anchorage. Suddenly there came a sharp cry out of the darkness, " Let go ! " and there was a mighty splash, followed by the roar and rattle of fathom upon fathom of chain. The first stage of our journey was over. Our good ship had anchored in the harbor of Basseterre, the chief town of St. Kitt's. CHAPTER III. ST. CHRISTOPHER. St. Kitt's Liamuiga, the Fertile. — Historical Notes. — Governor's Warner and DEsnam- buc. — English and French Settlement of St. Christopher. — Final Banishment of the French. — Sunrise in Basseterre Roadstead. — The Fleet of Bumboats. — At- tacked by Fruit-sellers and Washerwomen. — Effecting a Landing. The Caribs, the ancient and warlike people once the lords of the beau- tiful island where we had cast anchor, called it Liamuiga (the Fer- tile), and well does it deserve that name. Columbus, passing near it in November, 1493, on his way from Dominica to Hispaniola, being charmed with its loveliness and finding it very pleasant, as we are told by an ancient chronicler, would needs give it his name. " He was engaged to give it this name from a consideration of the figure of its mountain, the island having at its upper part, as it were upon one of its shoulders, another lesser mountain, as St. Christopher is painted carry- ing our Saviour upon his, as it were a little child." The English, upon taking possession of the island many years afterward, rechristened their newly acquired colony, calling it St. Kitt's, by which name St. Christopher is now generally known. Columbus did not tarry long at the land that found such favor in his sight ; indeed, it is by no means certain that he or any of his crew landed upon it, being eager to arrive at the continent which their imagination pictured to them lying within a few days' sail of the newly discovered archipelago. There is no evi- dence that the Spaniards made an attempt at any time to establish a settlement on the island. Its fertile, forest- covered valleys and hill- sides had no attractions for them — its rugged hills yielded no gold, 34: DOWN THE ISLANDS. the sole object of the avarice which tempted them in search of the fabled wealth of unknown worlds. For one hundred and twenty-five years the Caribs remained in possession of Liamuiga, until the year 1618, when a certain Mr. Thomas Warner, an adventurous and enterprising trader, accompanied shipmaster Roger Isorth on a voyage to Surinam, where he fell in with Captain Thomas Painton, who proposed to Warner that instead of endeavoring to establish themselves in a part of the world where the Dutch had already secured a foothold, they should attempt the settlement of one of the smaller Caribbean Islands. Painton gave so glowing a report of the beauty, fertility, and natural advantages of St. Christopher that Warner decided to repair thither with him, to the end that they two should found a colony. Painton died in Surinam, but Warner, returning to England in 1620, for the purpose of enlisting the co-operation of his patrons in this new enterprise, immediately busied himself to carry out the project, of which he now became the sole promoter. With great difficulty he induced fourteen adventurers as needy as himself to embark with him in a vessel bound for Vir- ginia, where they arrived in safety after a stormy voyage across the Atlantic, and, sailing thence soon after their arrival, reached St. Chris- topher in January, 1623. It has been claimed for Barbados that it is the most ancient of all the British colonies in the West Indies, and it is indeed true, as I shall hereafter show, that the Olive Blossom, a British ship, having touched there in 1605, remained at anchor long enough to allow its commander to take possession of that island in the name of James I., but it is also true that no permanent settlement was established in Barbados until twenty years later ; for the Olive Blossom continued on her voyage to countries farther to the west and south, leaving the Island Barbados desolate and uninhabited. The colonists sent out by Sir William Courteen, under the patronage of the Earl of Marlborough, did not arrive at Barbados till the latter part of 1624, more than a year after Mr. Thomas Warner had taken possession of St. Christopher. It is maintained by some historians that a number ST. CHRISTOPHER. 35 of French emigrants, led by M. D'Esnambuc, landed on the island the very same, day that "Warner's little band pre-empted their claim to their settlement, in spite of the vigorous protests of the natives of Liamuiga, who attempted to prevent the landing of the unwelcome new-comers, but the French historian Du Tertre, who never failed to support any claim his countrymen saw fit to set up to any one of the Caribbean Islands, or, for that matter, to any part of the habitable earth, admits that D'Esnambuc did not leave France till 1625. There- fore St. Christopher can rightly lay claim to the proud distinction of being considered the oldest "West Indian possession of the British Crown, all the pretensions of the Barbadians and the Frenchmen to the contrary notwithstanding. During the first year of their residence on St. Kitt's, the English colonists saw their plantations utterly demolished by a hurricane, and by this disaster found themselves so reduced in circumstances that Warner was obliged to return* to England to implore assistance. While at home he secured the patronage of James Hay, Earl of Car- lisle, who fitted out, at his own charges, a ship laden with food and ag- ricultural implements, and sent it with quick despatch to St. Christo- pher, where it arrived in the spring of 1624. Warner returned to his colony during the following year, accompanied by a number of new recruits. It is more than probable that D'Esnambuc, the captain of a French privateer whose ship had been disabled in an engagement with a Spanish galleon, sought refuge in one of the roadsteads of the island on the day of Warner's second arrival, thus lending some color to the claim that he shared with Warner the honor of first colonizing St. Christopher. Being constantly in danger of an attack by the Ca- ribs, who made a brave resistance to the attempts of the strangers to drive them from their island-home, the English settlers received D'Es- nambuc and his thirty followers most cordially, entered into an ami- cable agreement with them, and, having joined forces, ruthlessly massa- cred the natives and divided the island between them. The English settled at Sandy Point on the northwestern, and the French at Basse- 36 DOWN THE ISLANDS. terre on the southwestern shore. After the massacre of the Caribs, an act of brutal barbarity which Du Tertre calls a glorious victory, the settlers were troubled no more by the natives, and the French and English colonists remained at peace with one another, cultivating the fruitful soil and increasing in wealth and numbers. Warner and D'Esnambuc returned each to his own country. Warner was knighted in 1625, receiving the appointment to the Governorship of St. Chris- topher, and came again that year to the island, accompanied by four hundred new recruits. D'Esnambuc, who, being taken under the patronage of Cardinal Richelieu, was joined by more than five hundred emigrants, put to sea in February, 1627, with his expedition, in ships so poorly equipped and provisioned that many of the company perished miserably during the voyage for want of food. The survivors were kindly received by the English settlers, for they took pity on the Frenchmen in their wretched plight and gave them such provisions as could be spared from their own scanty store ; thus the people of the two nations for many years lived amicably together on their island- home. In the reign of Charles I., during his war with the Dutch, France having declared for the latter the French settlers in St. Christopher, unmindful of past favors, drove the Englishmen from their settlement. The exiles thus unceremoniously driven away by their ungrateful neighbors, were however restored to their homes and lands by the Treaty of Breda. During the Revolution in England the French, pre- tending to espouse the cause of the abdicated king, expelled the Eng- lish a second time from St. Christopher and remained for nearly a year sole masters of the island. This action on their part is alleged to have been one of the causes that induced William and Mary to de- clare war against Louis XIV. In 1690 General Codrington, Governor of Barbados, on receipt of the news of the Battle of the Boyne, fitted out an armament to capture St. Christopher. In this adventure all the English islands joined. The expedition consisted of three thou- sand armed men, of which number seven hundred were English sol- ST. CHRISTOPHER. 37 diers, eight hundred from Nevis and Barbados, eight hundred from Antigua, four hundred from Montserrat, and two hundred gentlemen volunteers. This large force of men, conveyed in eleven men-of-war, accompanied by five tenders, met with little or no resistance, and ex- perienced little difficulty in capturing the island, when about two thousand of its French inhabitants were banished to Martinique and San Domingo. The French made several attempts to re-establish themselves on the island, and in a measure succeeded in doing so, a remnant remain- ing at St. Christopher until in Queen Anne's day, when they were finally driven from the island by the English, who held it successfully against all comers until the, end of the war, when, by the Peace of Utrecht, St. Ivitt's was ceded to Great Britain, in wmose possession it has remained until the present time. During the war for American independence it is said that the people of St. Kitt's sympathized with the rebellious colonies, but were prevented, by the presence of an Eng- lish fleet in their neighborhood, from actively participating in the war against the mother country. The Island of St. Christopher lies in latitude 17° 18' 1ST. ; in longi- tude 62° 48' "W. The main body of the island is an oval, nearly thir- teen miles long, little less than six miles in width at its broadest part, and contains an area of about sixty -eight square miles, or nearly forty- four thousand acres, of which thirty thousand are under cultivation. Its entire surface, except toward the southeastern extremity, is very mountainous. The Conarrhee Hills uplift their heads around the lofty and precipitous crags of Mount Misery, which towers heaven- ward in the centre of the island to a height of four thousand three hundred and fourteen feet. From the southeastern shore a long neck of uncultivated land, a quarter of a mile in width makes out for three miles or more into the sea, increasing, fan-like, in extent. The surface of the land at first gradually rises toward the south, then abruptly mounts upward, form- ing a cluster of conical hills called St. Anthony's Peaks, all of them 38 DOWN THE ISLANDS. bare of trees but covered with a growth of bristling grasses, mimosae, and a great variety of cacti such as thrive best in sterile, parched soil or among volcanic rocks. The view looking north toward the land from the deck of the Bar- racouta at sunrise on the morning after our arrival at Basseterre was extremely beautiful and inspiring — a scene, not easily, if ever, to be for- gotten. The steamer was at anchor about half a mile from shore ; before us an amphitheatre of mountains enclosing the town extended from a promontory rising boldly from the sea on the north to high and rugged cliffs plunging into the ocean at the southeastern end of the island. The land ascends gently from a crescent of sand by which the harbor is bounded on the north and east. The picturesque little town lies close by the margin of the sea, and beyond it, sugar-plantations extend upward on the left of the picture until they join the dense forests by which the mountain-sides are overgrown ; on the right, toward the southeast, spreading over the neck of land I have men- tioned above, lies the valley of Basseterre, between Monkey Hill, one thousand three hundred and nineteen feet in height, on the northwest and the group of rugged cone-shaped heights on the southeast. At intervals here and there among groves of palms, mango, tama- rind, ceiba, and many other wonderful flowering trees the houses of the planters, who own all this fair country, overlook fertile meadows and valleys, the town and the harbor, with its great fleet of ships. The peaks and summits of the mountains rise, one behind the other, until in the background, overtopping all, the almost inaccessible pin- nacle of Mount Misery pierces the clouds that seldom lift from the top of this once active but now slumbering volcano. On infrequent cloud- less days, for it is a rare occurrence to see Mount Misery uncovered at any season of the year, the blackened, fire-worn crests surrounding and overhanging its hideous crater may be seen a hundred miles or more out at sea. The ruggedness and wildness of this magnificent mountain serve only to render the contrast of the cultivated country be- tween it and the ocean more strikingly beautiful. Toward the south- ST. CHRISTOPHER. 39 east the grand, symmetrical cone of Nevis, rising from the seas beyond a narrow strait, stands out bold and clear against the sky, making a landscape of such surpassing beauty that it would be impossible to sail fifteen hundred miles, or, for that matter, any number of miles from Sandy Hook in any direction, and make a fairer landfall than the harbor of Basseterre. Long before sunrise I had been awakened by a perfect babel of voices, and my first appearance on deck was the signal for a storm of shouts and cries from a multitude of boatmen in a fleet of small boats surrounding the steamer. There were stevedores and long- shoremen, fruit-sellers and washerwomen, venders of knick-knacks, flowers, shells, and coral, geological, and botanical specimens ; all the congregation of traffickers howled at me, gesticulating frantically, as each and everyone besought, nay, commanded, me and my fellow-ob- servers of the riotous scene to buy their wares, deliver up our raiment to be washed, or to take passage on their craft. The boatmen screamed out the names of their boats and their own names, they jostled their little vessels together in a fierce contest to approach near- est to the side of the ship or to bring their boats closest to the foot of the companion-ladder. They threatened one another with terrible cries and frantic gestures. From moment to moment we expected to see a dozen or score of them tumble overboard. At times it seemed as if riot and bloodshed were inevitable ; indeed, as if a riot had already broken out. The noise and confusion were more deafening and astounding than that created by cabmen at a railroad depot at home in New York, at times equalling the din and disorder of our Stock Ex- change during a tight money market or a corner in stocks. I happened to step to the side of the vessel for the purpose of bargaining for some fruit that had attracted my attention and for which my teeth watered ; I was received with a stunning chorus by the entire flotilla. High above the general tumult and explosion of noise soared such, fortissimi fragments as — " Mary Jane's awaiting f o' you, dear massa." Mary Jane, be it ob- 40 DOWN THE ISLANDS. served, was the name of a boat. " Don't forget Aleck, sir ! " " Cush- ions in dis boat." " Do yo' washin'." " 'Member Lucy." Whether Lucy was a boat or a washerwoman I remain to this day in blissful ig- norance. " I'se waitin' for yer, captain." " Here's yo' bes' figs." I learned afterward that figs signified bananas — fig-bananas. " Take yo' asho' jus' now." And so on. By a shake of my head I diverted the deluge of words from myself and my affairs, and the fickle crowd dedicated their remarks to one another. " Massa don' wan' yo' boat." " He won't trust hisself wid you." " He told you to go away." " I knock you in de water." " Shut you mouf, you nigga." Here, as elsewhere, " nigger " was employed as a term of reproach among negroes. In the scramble and mimic battle oars were broken, rudders became unshipped and drifted away with the tide, boatmen lost their hats, fruit-sellers their fruits, curiosities were spilled into the sea, and I saw one great specimen of coral at least return with a splash to the ocean-depths that bore it. The darkies, roaring like wild beasts, seemed ready, or ever we came to the bottom of the ship's ladder, to rend us in pieces and take us ashore piecemeal. By and by, exhausted by long- continued frantic struggling, as well as by the wear and tear of the lungs and throats, after the storm and war of words there came a great and grateful calm of silence. In the meantime, a large gang of stevedores had boarded the ship, the hatches fore and aft were taken off, and steam- winches were set a- running. The work of breaking out aud discharging cargo was going on with such wonderful rapidity that it took but little time to load six or seven lighters lying alongside, to start them shoreward, while their places were promptly taken by others in readiness to be made fast to the ship. As soon as storage-room was made below by removing such of the cargo as happened to be consigned to St. Ivitt's, a quantity of freight destined to other ports was brought to the Barracouta from shore. In this manner, the operations of loading and unloading went on simultaneously and with remarkable activity throughout the live- long day until late in the evening. During our trip down the islands ST. CHRISTOPHER. 41 our ship was compelled to anchor at a distance from shore, for the reason that at none of our stopping-places, save at Demerara, did we find any harbors, and were therefore obliged to lay at anchorage in open roadsteads. So far from finding these positions off-shore incon- venient or undesirable, we dis- covered that our isolation was a great addition to our com- fort, for, no matter how warm it may have been on the land there was always a cool breeze blowing across the water, therefore at no time of the night or day were we oppress- ed by the heat, nor was our privacy invaded by a staring, gabbling crowd of wonder-seeking dock-rats and loungers. It was not monoto- nous to be thus cut off from immediate communication with the land, for in every harbor we visited in the West Indies the Barracouta be- came the centre of a fleet of small boats filled with darkies who, while keeping at a respectable distance, kept also a sharp lookout for our Street Scenes. 42 DOWN THE ISLANDS. spare change and were a constant source of amusement to us, entertain- ing us by their quaint remarks and grotesque behavior. At every port of call there were neat, clean-looking washerwomen ready to take our linen in charge, many of them by no means inexperienced hlanchisseuses, for they did their work neatly, thoroughly, and promptly ; received payment therefor graciously, earnestly soliciting our further favors, " Nex' time yo' come back, dear massa." It was astonishing with what quantities of fruit we passengers on the Barracouta were tempted ; and the cheapness of it, as well as the inexhaustible supply of all kinds, was still more to be marvelled at by those of us who could not rid our minds of the idea that tropical fruits were of necessity luxuries, in the nature of things costly, and therefore to be indulged in sparingly except by those whose purses were com- mensurate with their appetite for expensive delicacies of the kind. Oranges, limes, bananas, mangoes, pines, soursops, avocado-pears, and other juicy, tempting comestibles before untasted by us who were mak- ing our first discoveries of the delights of a West Indian voyage, were constantly in active demand; in fact, any appetizing morsel that ap- peared to be good for food or was pleasant to the eye commanded a ready sale, regardless of quality or degree of ripeness. We held as naught the old Spanish proverb which sets forth the varying metal- lurgical properties of fruit according to the time of day it happens to be eaten by human beings. The arrival of a fruit-seller's boat along- side the vessel was watched with eager interest ; the discovery of any hitherto untried specimen was promptly advertised by cries of, " Hi ! you there ! how much are those ? What'll you take for the lot, basket and all?" The inquiries frequently made by us of the hucksters we patronized, "Is it good to eat ? " " Do you eat it raw ? " invariably excited the unrestrained mirth of the colored by-standers. The fruit- sellers took a childish delight in showing us how strange varieties were to be made ready for the experimental bite, which was generally taken in the presence of a silent, expectant group of the purchaser's fellow- passengers. ST. CHRISTOPHER. 43 A number of passengers, of whom I was one, were ferried ashore about seven o'clock. We landed in safety on a well-built pier project- ing a hundred feet or more from the beach, on which the waves were tumbling within a few yards of the front walls of a row of stores and warehouses, built in a curve along the shore. Immediately upon set- ting foot on land we were surrounded by a host of fruit and flower- sellers, and those having cocoanuts and sugar-cane for sale ; all of them, singly and collectively, and no less noisily than their brethren in the boats which had followed us landward from the ship, clamored for our patronage, thrusting their wares into our faces — indeed, I may say, with much color of truth, almost into our mouths. Being abun- dantly supplied, by reason of purchases made aforetime on board ship, we politely but firmly refused all the bargains which were offered with exasperating persistence not to say maddening reiteration, walked up the wharf, passed through a picturesque and ancient gate-way, ran the gauntlet of Her Majesty's customs-officers, and at last found ourselves in the metropolis of St. Christopher. CHAPTER IV. RAMBLES IN ST. KITT'S. Basseterre, the Capital of St. Kitt's. — Slavery and Windmills. — Free Labor and Steam- power. — A Magnificent Landscape. — Distant Views. — The Barber of Basseterre. — A Wonderful Garden. — A Host of New-found Friends. — The Voyage to Antigua. Basseterre, the capital of St. Christopher, is a town of sixteen or sev- enteen hundred dwellings, with a population of about seven thousand (the total number of inhabitants in St. Kitt's is in the neighborhood The Beach at Basseterre. of twenty-nine thousand). In this town are Government House and other public buildings, and several churches, one of which, at least, makes good a claim to be considered architecturally handsome. Previous to the year 1866 the two Houses of Legislation which regu- lated the public business of St. Kitt's met at Basseterre when called to- gether by the executive. From that year down to 1878 the functions RAMBLES IN ST. KITT'S. 45 of the two houses, which were then abolished, were exercised by a single chamber composed of three Crown officials — seven members appointed by the Crown and ten elected by the rate-payers. Since 1878 St. Christopher has been a Crown colony, and is governed by all the laws and regulations in such cases made and provided. The foreign com- merce of St. Kitt's, which is chiefly carried on iu Basseterre, consists of imports from Great Britain and the United States, and the export of rum, molasses, and sugar — mainly to the mother country. The people of St. Kitt's are spoken of as Kittefonians and are, as well they may be, very proud of their island, of its scenery, and its wonderful fertility. Although Basseterre is a large town, but few of the houses are well or substantially built ; indeed, most of the dwellings are construct- ed of wood, and those occupied by the negroes deserve no other de- scription than to be accounted as miserable shanties. A few of the bet- ter class of habitations are built of «a grayish stone or of rough masonry covered with white plaster and roofed with old-fashioned red tiles that contrast pleasantly in color with the rich-green foliage of the palms and stately trees growing in gardens and along the streets. The prin- cipal warehouses of Basseterre stand close to the beach, following its curve, facing the breakers that crumble into a foam a stone's throw from their front doors. Along the broad street, or levee, the Barra- coota's passengers held their way in search of the office of the agent of the Atlantic & West India Steam-ship Company. We had been invited to call there and make it our headquarters while in town. The scene presented on the beach was interesting and well worthy the attention of even the most listless and chronically bored traveller in our party. Seaward of the high surf, many fishing-boats and lighters rode at anchor ; others, drawn high up on the sands, evidently newly come to land, attracted around them motley crowds of negroes who were bargaining with the fishermen for the catch of the previous night. Gangs of longshoremen, lazily loading or unloading lighters and other small craft of various kinds, paused in their work to stare at 46 DOWN THE ISLANDS. us and comment, in by no means inaudible tones, upon our appearance, which they evidently found novel and outlandish. Hundreds of hogs- heads of sugar, molasses, and rum lay along the strand, brought there in drays and carts of various nondescript patterns, all drawn by wretched-looking horses or the meekest of half-starved mules. The scene was one of activity and bustle, confusion worse confounded by the shouting and noise of many discordant voices — for the darkies rejoice in hearing themselves talk, and call every man to his fellow. Some of the dwelling-houses of Basseterre stand in the midst of gardens shut in from view by high, unsightly stone walls, most inhos- pitable and bare-looking. This renders the town less attractive in appearance than it otherwise well might be. There can be no logical reason for this waste of stone and mortar. It seems selfish and inex- cusably exclusive to wall in such wonderful gardens, and for no appar- ent good reason but a desire to wall out the passers-by. Such, how- ever, is the custom in parts of Great Britain, and the custom is provokingly imitated in many West Indian towns by those most hos- pitable people in the world, the British West Indians. While walk- ing along the streets of Basseterre, one is constantly tempted to ask the passers-by for a hoost to enable one to get a short, if it be only a short, peep at the shrubs, ferns, and flowers in the gardens. The palms rear their graceful crowns high overhead ; mango, tamarind, ceiba, and endless varieties of wide-spreading trees lift their branches above the enclosures ; the broad leaves of bananas and plantains wave like ban- ners in the air ; here and there flamboyant trees in full bloom, covered with magenta blossoms, present a startling contrast to the net-work of green foliage that surrounds them. These truly magnificent trees are to be seen everywhere at this time of the year, bearing glowing masses of flowers in color resembling those of the rhododendron. Through gate- ways, sometimes through spaces left by falling walls, one can catch occasional glimpses of fruits and flowers, of ferns in be- wildering and beautiful variety, roses and lilies, rare plants to be seen only in the greenhouses of grand domains or public gardens at the RAMBLES IN ST. KITT'S. 47 North, cactuses and orchids, delicate creepers and vines clinging in fes- toons to trunk and branch, beautifying the trees they are slowly but surely killing. Some of the more hoar and venerable trees around which the vines seem to cling most fondly, as lissome Yivian clung to An Old Gate-way. Merlin of old, are covered from root to the farthest end of their spreading boughs with parasites and air-plants. It would seem that even this teeming, hospitable soil could not make room for all the growing things that the fostering air nourishes and fondles into life and reproductive growth, for the sides of the houses are covered with 48 DOWN THE ISLANDS. vines and creepers, and wherever there may be found a morsel of earth, on roof or top of wall, in crack or crevice, large enough to give the most delicate tendril or root the feeblest support, there will some tender, graceful, living green thing be found, rejoicing in the sunlight, in dew and rain. In the midst of Basseterre there is a public garden, most tastefully laid out with beds of flowers and variegated shrubs. It is a pleasant, shady spot, where idle darkies congregate to gossip and children love to play. Placed at regular intervals in rows along the walks are great palm-trees, their column-like trunks perfectly smooth and round, re- sembling unpolished pillars of gray New Hampshire granite. These palms were the first I had ever seen growing in the open air. I could hear the wind rustle amid their branches, I could stand — yes, actually did stand — in their grateful, cooling shade. Then, for the first time, I realized that I had reached the tropics— had left the land of maple, elm, and hemlock far beyond the sea. A road runs from Basseterre in a southeasterly direction, climbs a gentle ascent to the crest of the island, where the Atlantic is to be seen stretching away as far as the eye can reach ; thence the highway gradually descends to the windward shore, trending toward the north, continuing along the east coast of St. Ivitt's, with the ocean on one hand and the land sweeping upward toward the forests and the moun- tains on the other, and so, completing the circuit of the island, re-enters Basseterre from the north on the western or leeward shore. Nothing can exceed in loveliness and grandeur a view I had from the top of a knoll a short distance from this highway. I stood in the midst of a great sugar-plantation, looking out upon a plain dotted with dark, cool groves and gardens of orange-trees and flowering shrubs. Picturesque farm-houses and negro-cabins, half-hidden beneath the shade of palms and evergreen trees, stood near the main road, or were approached through lanes walled in by hedges of prickly-pear and tangled rows of bushes, all overgrown by creepers and clusters of vines. From the midst of them, here and there, the aloe shot up its AN AVENUE OP COCOA-PALMS. RAMBLES IN ST. KITT'S. 49 A Relic of the Good Old Times. May-pole, crowned with flowers. Among groves of mangoes and tamarinds I could see from afar gorgeous masses of crimson, flamboy- ant blossoms, while in the open fields trees as large as giant oaks 4 50 DOWN THE ISLANDS. spread out boughs covered with yellow blossoms to shelter lazy cattle from the heat of the sun. Ruined windmills stood on the tops of the highest knolls, where they were most exposed to the sweep of the trade- wind that, once upon a time, long ago, set their mighty arms whirling light merrily. These windmills were veritable giants in the good old slavery days, before steam-power, when sugar-estates paid their lucky owners princely incomes, instead of only beggarly interest on capital as is the case nowadays; for in the days of windmills and slavery the planter, according to all accounts, was a nabob, and every sugar-estate on the fertile island was a gold-mine. Steam, free labor, and beetroot-sugar have changed all that. The windmills, no longer used except in out-of-the-world places, beyond the reach of levelling enterprise and matter-of-fact steam-power, are falling into ruin, and, like the castles of feudalism after the invention of gunpowder, are now but picturesque refuges for bats and owls. Their work is done by newfangled engines, housed in ugly sheds with awkward, straight up and down chimneys, built of dirty-red brick, or worse, rusty iron stacks, continually vomiting clouds of filthy smoke. The old mills were well built and hurricane-proof, their lower parts of stone, the upper stories of heavy joiner- work. The great sails have rotted and fallen from many of them, leaving only the towers standing, and these are all overgrown with vines, mosses, cactuses, and parasitic plants. From where I stood I could see, on one side of the island, Basse- terre and its quiet harbor, the refuge of many vessels ; on the other, a long line of white breakers rolled in from the ocean, to fall in glisten- ing foam upon a beach lined by rows of willows, cotton-wood, and manchineel-trees, fringing the edges of the plantations. I looked across the meadow-land, where, beyond rugged cliffs, at the southern point of St. Kitt's, across a narrow strait, glimmering in the sun- light like frosted silver, Nevis swept grandly upward from the Atlan- tic into the dazzling clouds ever sleeping around the top of its great pyramid, hiding it from mortal sight day after day throughout the never-ending summer. RAMBLES IN ST. KITT'S. 51 Continuing onward for a mile from where I had paused to enjoy this delectable view, I came to a place where, near the road, and be- tween it and the shore, were several large salt-pans, the bottoms of which, lying lower than high-water mark, were easily covered with sea-water, to be evaporated, leaving the salt, which is carefully scraped together in piles, and then taken away to be shipped, or for use in home consumption. In this way, from the various salt-pans in the island there are gathered annually between twelve and fifteen thousand barrels of pure sea-salt. After sitting for half an hour in the shadow Old Well— St. Kitt's. of a grove of palms, enjoying the delicious breeze and admiring a prospect of which I remember thinking at the time I should never tire, wishing I were the fortunate owner of a villa built on that charm- ing spot, I returned unwillingly and slowly to Basseterre, casting many lingering looks behind. The town seemed dusty and stifling after the fresh air of the hills ; therefore the suggestion made by an Antiguan who had sailed with us from New York, bound to his own island, where we were to touch after leaving St. Kitt's, to wit : " Let's have a hair-cut and a sham- poo," jumped with my inclination, especially as my friend assured 52 DOWN THE ISLANDS. me that until I had been " properly doctored by the barber of Basse- terre " (who is, be it said, as well known to voyagers among the Carib- bean Islands as is the " Barber of Seville " to opera-goers, or the Floren- tine barber to the readers of " Romola) " I had no satisfactory reasons or valid pretext for pretending that I had ever been artistically dealt with from a correct tonsorial point of view. The barber of Basse- terre (who, by the way, followed the sea and his profession for many years on board H. M. S. Niobe, the flagship of the British Navy on the West Indian station) is also a gatherer and circulator of news, a man of opinions, and possessed of the courage of the same, and is much sought after by those who wish to keep themselves au courant of Kittefonian affairs. For these reasons, when I took my seat in his chair, I felt as if I had been invited by one of the old masters to sit for my portrait. Taking heart of grace, I committed myself into his care and keeping, feeling well assured that in the hands of a master workman not a hair of my head would take any harm. When I had received the finishing touches, and was loosed from the drapery in which I had been enveloped like a statue previous to the ceremonies attending its unveiling, I was perfumed, puffed, and powdered, so fresh and rosy-looking as to resemble a highly colored fashion-plate present- ment of my former unadorned self. I was afraid to smile lest I should muss my hair, or perchance unwittingly disturb the exceedingly nice, but, I must say, somewhat conventional and " slick," arrangement of my beard and mustache. I returned to the Barracouta about noon to luncheon ; others of the party remained on shore, sojourning during the heat of the day at a hotel of which they afterward gave a most favorable account, saying that its larder was well stocked with toothsome kickshaws, that in particular there was a most meritorious pepper-pot ; but each and all of them dwelt with enthusiastic emphasis on the skill displayed by Boniface in swizzling swizzles with his swizzle-stick. What a pepper- pot is, and, more particularly, what a swizzle is, how and of what in- gredients compounded, why so called, with what ceremonies and ob- RAMBLES IN ST. KITT'S. 53 servances it is mingled and set up, will be made known hereafter with particular care, all in its proper place in my narrative. After a siesta on board I returned to land, with a numerous addi- tion to the contingent I had left ashore lingering over their swizzles at the inn, and proceeded with them to the office of the consignee of the Barracouta, where we were put into carriages and driven to the house of the owner of one of the most extensive sugar-plantations on the island. The hospitable mansion stands on the mountain-side, overlook- ing the town, in the midst of pleasure-grounds laid out, generations ago, by the ancestors of the present possessor, in terraces, parterres, shrubberies, and beds of flowers and ferns. Nearly every plant or tree indigenous to the West Indies was here to be seen, rare exotics, rare to us children of the North ; tropical plants, all growing to per- fection in marvellous, not to say bewildering, luxuriance. " In the open air, just think of it ! " exclaimed one of the visitors who, like myself, failed to realize -that in seven days from midwinter we had arrived in midsummer — that we, in reality and in very truth, lived and breathed in the tropics. I could hardly persuade myself of the fact that at no time of the year was it necessary to transplant the treasures and curiosities of this garden, by which we were surrounded, into pots and hot-house tubs, with the intent to store them away under glass until winter had come and gone. The garden, which was several acres in extent, contained a bewildering variety of trees, flowers, vines, exquisite ferns, orchids, and delicate plants. Such a horticultural dis- play, within ten miles of New York or Boston, would so greatly pro- mote local travel, attract crowds of sightseers, it would be well worth the trouble of even the least accommodating railroad company to run excursion trains to and from the exhibition half-hourly every pleasant day during the short season the show might flourish and retain its beauty in our northern climate, from the time — our spring gets everythin' in tune, An' gives one leap from April into June 54 DOWN THE ISLANDS. until the maples hang out the first red cautionary signals foretelling frost and foul weather. One night of frost, such as with us would serve to strike down the morning-glories and dahlias, or cause the shining golden-rods to bronze and wither away, would utterly destroy every growing thing in this West Indian garden, every palm and vine, all the fruits and flowers that here, all the year round, show so rich and luxuriant. We remained with our new-found friends, wandering about their estate, enjoying every moment of our stay, until after five o'clock tea was served ; then, just before sunset, started down the mountain-side, and after a drive of a mile reached the landing-place, were ferried off to our floating hotel, and reported our return to the officer in charge of the Barracouta. During the evening our ship's company received a numerous and notable addition, in the persons of certain delegates from Antigua, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and Barbados, who had been to St. Kitt's to attend a convention at which the commercial relations of the Caribbean Islands with the United States were in part the subject of discussion, as I was informed by one of the gentlemen who had repre- sented his island in this Caribbean parliament. These members of Her Majesty's Government arrived on board singly and in groups, some of them accompanied by their wives and daughters ; when all had come, the Barracouta could afford barely enough accommodation for all our guests. I say our guests, for, be it remembered, I have ex- plained how we regular Barracoutans — the through passengers — looked upon the ship as our private steam-yacht ; and so, having thus put our- selves in the place of hosts, were bound by all the laws of hospitality to entertain all visitors whomsoever in a manner becoming their rank and dignity. We found the new arrivals to be an uncommonly inter- esting, entertaining, and jolly lot of people, disposed to be heartily satisfied with everything and everybody ; therefore, bearing in grate- ful remembrance the almost embarrassing hospitality with which the Kittefonians had greeted us, we bestirred ourselves in the vain attempt RAMBLES IN ST. KITT'S. 55 to do unto these West Indians even as their countrymen had done unto us. We got on famously with our newly found friends, and be- fore bedtime each one of our party had received numerous invitations to lunch, to dine, to drive, to stop a night, make ourselves at home when we arrived at islands yet in store for us — islands of which some of us had, I fear, as indefinite ideas as Columbus had when he first dis- covered this Caribbean Archipelago, four centuries ago. With such tropical rapidity and spontaneity did the bud of acquaintance blossom, bloom, and ripen unto the full flower and fruit of good-fellowship, that before bedtime I found myself exchanging confidences on terms of delightful familiarity with new old friends, whose flattering invita- tions I had accepted, whose names I may have heard mentioned when introduced to them (to some I was not formally presented), but whose faces I had as } 7 et dimly seen by the unsatisfactory glimmer of an oc- casional match or by the glow of pipe or cigar as we smoked in the dark out on deck. At nine o'clock a gun was fired to recall those passengers who had again lingered during the latter part of the afternoon and the early evening on shore, enticed by swizzle or other forms of hospital- ity. At ten the Barracouta, getting under weigh, sailed southward, keeping close to the leeward coast of St. Kitt's ; then, crossing the narrow channel between that island and Nevis, skirted the south- western coast of that island and at midnight came to the open sea. Presently turning to the east, the ship steamed leisurely all night toward the light-house at the entrance of the harbor of St. John's, Antigua, where, after a run of sixty miles from Basseterre, she was to cast anchor in the morning. CHAPTER V. ANTIGUA. A Tropical Sunrise. — Antigua. — The Harbor of St. John's. — General Description of the Island. — A Derelict Bark. — Scenes on Landing. — A View from an Old Church-yard. — Lizards Great and Small. — West Indian Entertainers. — A Momma; Drive. SUXRISE the morning after -we left St. Christopher, Antigua was in sight eight or ten miles to the east- ward directly ahead of the Barra- couta. At that distance the island appears barren and desolate, but as we approached the land we discov- ered many dwellings, and a wide expanse of cultivated laud rising in gentle undulations backward from an almost unbroken rampart of cliffs that confront the sea. Here and there, at widely separated inter- vals, the waves have battered breaches in this sea-wall ; through them entrance is gained to quiet anchorages. In a few places on the coast the meadows gradually slope downward to a shelving beach from which sandspits extend great distances into the ocean, rendering navi- gation dangerous to sailors who have not studied their island-charts. In these latitudes day comes unheralded by dawn, as night is un- preceded by the gloaming. The transition from darkness to sunlight is almost instantaneous. Light clouds drifting high overhead catch the first rays of the coming sun ; they glow and change from gray and brown to dull red, then brightening, gleam brilliant crimson or daz- ANTIGUA. 57 zling orange ; their reflections tinge the mountain-tops. The evanes- cent colors fade as the sun lifts above the horizon ; the clouds shine a glistening, snowy white. Day has come ! Day is everywhere ! Not alone over there in the east. Oh, sleepy-head from far up North, turn round and see ; even in the west it is broad daylight ! In very truth, unless the " f owlis " in the tropics " slepen alle night with open eye " morning must often surprise them ere they have had time to pipe a note. So was it that morning we first beheld the blessed land of Santa Maria de la Antigua. One moment lying in shadow beneath the stars, then it put on all the tints and colors of meadow and valley, of coming harvest, of palms and fruit-trees. The Caribbees, in respect of the characteristic features of their physical geography, may be divided into two distinct classes — the mountainous islands and the islands of low and undulating surface. To the former class belong St. Christopher and Nevis, with their grand summits soaring heavenward — indeed, I may say all the Caribbean Islands save and excepting four ; namely, Anguilla, Barbuda, Antigua, and Barbados are either isolated lofty peaks (such as Nevis) or, as in the case of St. Ivitt's, clusters of crags and pinnacles rising high above the sea-level. The four islands I have named above are not of volcanic origin, as are all the rest of the group. They are of coral formation, according to some geologists ; others, however, dispute this theory. Who shall decide the question when learned doctors disagree ? Certes not I, who know naught of their science beyond the fact that these wise men are unable to arrive at one mind whether our pleasant world was made in six days or took as many millions of ages in the building. Be all this as it may, the surfaces of the four islands are comparatively low, undulating, prairie-like ; while all the other Caribbees overlook the ocean, abounding in precipices and steep acclivities, rent by gloomy chasms, divided by valleys ; most of them hiding their tops in cloud- land, whence they draw down superabundant moisture that might well be spared to refresh the sunny, parching plains of Antigua and islands resembling it in outlines and rolling plains. 58 DOWN THE ISLANDS. Antigua is in longitude 61° 45' W., latitude 17° 6' N. In shape it is an irregular oval, thirteen and one-half miles from east to west, a little over nine miles from north to south, and has an area of about sixty-nine thousand acres. As compared with the mountainous islands lying to the south and west of it, the surface of this Caribbee is of moderate elevation. Boggy Peak, the highest of the Sheckerly Moun- tains, rising in the southwest, is only thirteen hundred and forty feet in height. From the southwest the face of the country ascends grad- ually to the summit of this prominent landmark, thence it falls sea- ward in some places very abruptly, dips beneath tide- water ; lifts again, forming dangerous reefs and shoal places far beyond the shore. In the mountainous part of Antigua the soil is poor and starved, and but little tilled ; in all other regions the land is very productive, and, notwithstanding it suffers at times severely from drought, yields ex- ceedingly large crops to reward a very industrious and energetic race of planters. The inhabitants of Antigua number not far from thirty- five thousand souls, of whom about two thousand three hundred are whites. Passing Sandy Island light-house, at the entrance to the harbor of St. John's, the Barracouta came to anchor in a roadstead where she made one of a fleet of many vessels, flying flags of all nations, all save the Stars and Stripes, which in these later years has all but disap- peared from the harbors of the world. From our anchorage, half a mile or so from the land, we had an extended view of the western slope of the island, from the crest of its water-shed down to the ocean on its leeward side. In general appearance Antigua reminded me of the shores of Martha's Vineyard in summer-time ; the harbor of St. John's, in particular, suggesting Vineyard Haven in many ways, so that the scenery had a familiar look, at least so long as we remained at such a distance as prevented our distinguishing between the foliage of tropical trees, forever green, and those that shed their leaves in chill October. Antigua was long ago entirely denuded of primeval forests ; indeed, there are but few trees growing upon the hill-side or in the bot- ANTIGUA. 59 tom-lands. Nevertheless, the heart of the island is exceedingly fertile ; there verdant meadows and savannahs alternate with cultivated cane- pieces. The coast is indented by shallow coves and land-locked bays into which, in the rainy season, a few short-lived creeks and rivulets empty sluggish currents. In the dry season the beds of these water- courses bake and harden in the heat of the sun and all the country withers to a russet brown, for the atmosphere of Antigua, by compar- ison with that of some of the other islands, is hot and parching. For all that, it is by no means the dry-as-dust place, where the earth re- fuses to yield water for the use of man, that by some ill-informed travellers it is said to be. The annual rainfall is forty-five inches, but in unusually hot seasons it has been known to decrease to less than twenty-six inches. If compared with the neighboring island of Dom- inica, where the fountains of the great deep are in a continual state of disruption, pouring down no less than two hundred and eight inches of rain in a twelvemonth, Antigua is indeed a thirsty land. Its name in the Spanish tongue, we are informed by Wynne in his chronicle, sig- nifies " a place without water," but other historians assert that when the island was discovered, in the year 1493, by Christopher Columbus the few Caribs settled there called it Xamaca, " a land of springs." Other authorities point out that Xamaca means a place of forests, and by that name Jamaica was known in old times. This we may well believe, seeing that Jamaica is a veritable "land of forest and of flood." It is therefore probable that in some way a confusion has arisen as to the ancient names of the two islands, and through all the changing years the Carib name of the lesser island has been forgotten never to be recalled. When we visited Antigua, at the end of an unusually long dry season, when prayers for rain were being offered up in the churches, we found the vegetation moderately green, with only here and there a hill-top or steep slope showing brown and scorched. We could easily imagine, what is beyond doubt a fact, that at all times of the year An- tigua is picturesque, wanting, it is true, in the grandeur so characteris- 60 J) OWN THE ISLANDS. tic of the scenery of St. Kitt's or Nevis. Nevertheless, this island pos- sesses a beauty of its own, which feasts the eye and satisfies the mind. I do not choose to render the judgment of Paris concerning the com- parative beauty of the many lovely Caribbean islands we visited dur- ing our voyage ; they are all beautiful, differing each one from the other only as one star differeth from another in glory ; or, to borrow an unpoetical illustration from a member of our own party, who, when pressed to decide the question, was reminded of the old Kentuckian who, in the " shanks of the evening," was wont to maintain there was no such thing as lad Kentucky whiskey, ad- mitting with extreme reluctance, even in the early-sermons and soda-water period of the day after, that it might be possible some Kentucky whiskey was better than others. Shortly after the Barraoouta drop- ped anchor in the harbor of St. John's, as has been already related, she was surrounded, as at St. Christopher the day before, by a fleet of bumboats containing fruit-sellers and hucksters — all yelling at the top of their voices whenever a possible customer appeared at the side of the ship. The inevitable washerwoman also proclaimed her presence, lifting up her voice in shrillest treble, as clearly and distinctly audible as fife-notes heard above the din of battle. Those of the passengers who were ready to go ashore took passage in a well-appointed steam-launch, thereby exciting the ill-concealed disgust of the darkies, who looked upon this recently established competition as an unwarrantable inva- sion of their ancient monopoly as ferrymen. A shallow bar, separating the inner from the outer harbor of St. Fruit-seller — Antigua. ANTIGUA. 61 John's, renders the approach to the former both difficult and danger- ous, as witness the fact — a large bark, in trying to beat up the nar- row channel a few days before our arrival, had gone hard aground on the sand, where we saw her heeled over, the water rising to her hatch- combings, slowly breaking up, not worth the price of the nails in her timbers. On the south side of the entrance to the inner harbor the ruins of an old fort stand on an eminence commanding the fair-way ; opposite, on the north, St. James' Fort crowns the summit of a promontory connected with the mainland by a narrow causeway. We landed at a quay of well-joined masonry, in the presence of a crowd of blacks who evidently took stock of us, " sizing us up," no doubt, with the de- sign of engaging us in pecuniary transactions more or less connected with fruit, then and there, or later in the day, as opportunity might offer. Everywhere were fruit-sellers, with shallow wooden trays bal- anced on their heads, venders of knick-knacks, cheap jewellery, and divers glittering gewgaws such as find favor in the sight of our colored sisters ; for the negresses of Antigua, after the manner of their kind in other lands, delight in the unlimited quantity rather than in the precious quality of their personal adornment. Doubtless these bejew- elled ladies of color would (if they had ever heard of her) honor the memory of Tarpeia, if, indeed, they did not positively envy her fate, esteeming her a favored person of quality who died, as all ladies mov- ing in the best circles of colored society in Antigua would be glad to die, crushed beneath the weight of an unlimited assortment of precious gifts. The city of St. John's is laid out four-square ; the houses are for the most part built of wood, the most serviceable and lasting ma- terial in this unstable place. Antigua is subject to frequent earth- quakes ; therefore the buildings are seldom constructed more than two stories in height. Those of the better class are commodious, are usually painted white, with jalousies or Venetian blinds, and have broad verandas on the lower stories ; above these are covered galleries, 62 DOWN THE ISLANDS. into which the windows of the second stories open. I speak of the very few houses of the very few well-to-do whites. The negro-quar- ters are miserable shanties, filthy, unwholesome, badly built, ready to fall to pieces or to be blown away by the first hurricane — in fact, many of them, already collapsed, were little better than cow-sheds in appear- ance. Some of the better class of dwellings are surrounded by trees, shrubs, exquisite ferns, and wonderful treasures of flowers and grace- ful growing things. We saw several built like Swiss cottages, of stone to the top of the first story, and above that of wood ; they had their kitchens detached from the living-rooms — a very desirable arrangement in that hot climate, as it serves to keep the heat and smell of cooking out of the sleeping-apartments. After rambling for a time about the streets we climbed to the top of a hill, back of the town, to the old church of St. John's (built in the year 1793), which stands in the midst of a God's acre, a veritable Golgotha, crowded with the graves of generation after generation of Antigonians, many of the sepulchres marked with curious tombstones, inscribed with quaint and, in several instances, really laughable epi- taphs, all of which, had time served, I was minded to copy. From the church-yard we had a grand view of at least half of the island. Far to the east, over fertile plantation, and away toward the north, beyond rugged hills and moorland, we could see distant villages and hamlets. We could follow with the eye, broad, smooth roads, leading to the set- tlements, through valleys, over braes, across thousands of acres of cane- pieces. Everywhere sugar-cane ! Nothing but sugar-cane ! Why should anyone expect to see any other crop ? Why should the planters of Antigua, or, for that matter, any of the planters in the West Indies, waste labor and time in planting grain ? Why, indeed ? Has not the president of one of the greatest railroads in the Western part of the United States, who visited the Caribbees in the Barracouta on the trip preceding mine, after carefully calculating the relative value of a crop of corn and a crop of sugar, announced that an acre ANTIGUA. 63 of cane will produce ten times as much, in marketable value, as the same acre planted with maize? That may be, Mr. Kailroad Pres- ident, but why is it that within the memory of men still living — yes, of youths still at school — the land along the line of your railroad has increased ten, twenty, in some places one hundred-fold, while sugar- estates in the West Indies may be purchased (so I am credibly in- formed) for prices not exceeding the value of the growing crops, and, even at that low rate, turn out to be ruinous bargains to the purchaser ? Current rumor has it that all, or nearly all, the sugar-estates in the British West Indies are heavily mortgaged ; it is asserted on all sides that a forced sale of any of them would fail to realize a sum equal to five years' interest on the mortgages wherewith they are encumbered. These statements I make guardedly, and wish them to be accepted as testimony offered by many people of the Caribbees with whom I had conversation on the subject. I must admit that during my visit the state of trade was very depressed, the commercial outlook gloomy — not to say disheartening — so that probably my informants may have taken an unreasonably hopeless view of the condition of affairs. I hope so, with all my heart. From all that I have been able to learn during the time that has elapsed since I returned from my trip down the islands, the worst forebodings of the planters and merchants have had a sad fulfilment. But there is better and more profitable employment in Antigua than meditation among the tombs, as we discovered, to our great de- light, when we returned to the town and were presently taken to breakfast by hospitable people who, in the goodness of their hearts, put themselves to no end of trouble to render our stay at St. John's agreeable. After a drive of less than half a mile from the landing- place we arrived at the shore of the inner harbor at a place where a narrow causeway connects the mainland with the islet or promontory on the north side of the bay, upon the summit of which, as I have al- ready set forth, stands St. James' Fort. Passing through a wide arched gateway, we entered the lovely 64 DOWN THE ISLANDS. pleasure-grounds of our entertainers, and found ourselves in a garden laid out in lawns and walks, where the shrubbery, flowers, and grass were kept delightful^ green by frequent sprinkling of water drawn from a fountain playing beneath palm-trees. Humming-birds darted from flower to flower — delicate little creat- ures, glistening like jewels in the sunlight — gaudy insects wmeeled their droning flight among the vines, clumsy beetles and awkward bugs of frightful aspect, overweighted by shining coats of mail, lumbered about the paths, trying to hide in crevices or under stones. Lizards as long as your hand sat watching us, listening (as only liz- Common Garden-lizard. ards are said to listen) as if they could really hear the flowers grow and the gnomes talking underground. When frightened they scam- pered away as lively as rabbits, disappearing with the bewildering agility of prairie-dogs. At first one regards these harmless creat- ures with repugnance, but the feeling soon wears away when one of them is seen engaged in the steady occupation of lizard life — fly -catch- ing ; you cannot help admiring his sprightly movement and graceful play, never again thinking of doing harm to this faithful ally of man in his warfare, relentlessly waged, against that pest, the common house- fly. I have watched a lizard steal gently up the steps, cross a veranda, pause for a moment upon a threshold or window-sill, trying to hear if the family were at home, then venture boldly into a room to pounce ANTIGUA. 65 upon an unsuspecting fly, drunk with repeated heel-taps or gorged with stolen sweets ; this done, in a twinkling dart out of doors, bear- ing off in triumph the astonished victim, in search of which his liz- ardship had ventured so far and dared so much. Near the houses, in the gardens, one sees small lizards only ; but in the meadows and cane-pieces, and on the roads, larger specimens scat across the open or scamper among the thickest undergrowth. The iguana, the giant liz- ard (to be found in all the Caribbean islands) is a disgusting, repulsive reptile, gnarled and knotted with wart-like excrescences of exceedingly grewsome and gouty appearance. It frequently attains a length of two or three feet, is sluggish and ungainly in its movements, and although I was assured of its harmless disposition my curiosity to study its for- bidding make-up never once tempted me within reach of its villanous- looking tail and preposterous jaws. At Trinidad I had a portion of one to eat, and I said I liked it — politeness seemed to demand that much of my gentility — and I did not positively dislike it, but it made me shudder to think what it was, or rather had been, in a raw state and when alive. The flesh tasted somewhat like veal ; that is, I thought the little bit I tried to eat tasted like veal. A second bite might have undeceived me, but I preferred to live in doubtful joy rather than solve the question at the risk of being obliged to leave the table. From this lovely garden we went into the house to breakfast ; we were entertained with true West Indian hospitality, enjoying the good things, all and sundry, set before us with a zest and relish begotten of fasting (except in the matter of fruit) from sunrise until the fore- noon was wellnigh spent. After breakfast, accompanied by our hostess, we were driven to the plantation of one of the members of the Executive Council of the Governor of Antigua, whose residence is on the road to English Har- bor, the principal town on the south coast of the island. We passed through a lovely country, a land of farms, cultivated to perfection, pro- ductive of a surprising growth of sugar-cane, and doubtless favorable 66 DOWN TEE ISLANDS. to the growing of cotton and many other tropical staples. Although we looked for other crops we saw nothing but cane, everywhere mo- nopolizing the care and attention of the husbandmen over all this fertile Caribbee. On the hill-tops, in the bottom-lands, along the banks of creeks at this season dry and waterless, by the edges of ponds where cattle went to drink, there grew a few full-branched forest-trees and tall palms. By the wayside, hedgerows of prickly-pears and impene- trable shrubbery, overgrown by lilac jasmine, hemmed in the mead- ows and cane-pieces. Conspicuous among all other plants, the May- pole aloe shot up twenty or thirty feet, bearing aloft a yellow crown of blossoms. At intervals along the road we passed darkies of every age, of both sexes, on their way to or from town, carrying baskets of fruit and vegetables ; we heard some of them singing, but as we approached they stepped aside to make way for us, and watched us in silence, always ready and delighted to return our greetings. Close to some of the negro -shanties were little gardens planted with potatoes, yams, pea-bushes, arrowroot, and the like. These picturesque hovels, in appearance little better than New England chicken-houses, are raised a few feet above the ground, and have steps of rough stones or logs rising to the doors ; they have no chimneys, for all cooking is done in the open air, over charcoal fires, a few handfuls of that fuel giving heat sufficient to cook a meal for a whole hungry family. The negroes, however, have at no time much to cook ; their customary diet consists of yams, cassava bread made into cakes resembling Scotch bannocks, occasionally a little salt fish, molasses galore, and in cane- time all the sugar-cane procurable by foul means or fair. In cane- time, the time of jubilee, the darkies are fat — fat and happy, fat and " sassy," fat and lazy. The saying, " As fat as a nigger in cane-time," has become proverbial in Antigua, or, for that matter, in all sugar- growing countries. After driving for an hour we arrived at our destination and found our host, whose acquaintance we had made the night before on the ANTIGUA. 67 voyage from St. Kitt's (we had much reason, as I shall show, to con- gratulate ourselves upon having fallen in with him on our travels), waiting to receive and introduce us to his family. The Salmagundian making ready to Sketch. CHAPTER VI. A DAY AT ANTIGUA. West Indian Hospitality. — A Sugar Plantation. — Sugar-making. — An Occult Luncheon. — Turtle, and again Turtle. — The Public Library. — Historical Notes. — Under Way for Islands farther South. | E were made welcome at our friend's house in a manner that banished at once all thought that until that day we had been utter strangers to our entertainers, and so, without ceremony or restraint, were soon comfortably settled, some in the drawing-room, some on the veran- da, pleasantly chatting with new- found acquaintances ; say, rather, kind-hearted friends, who mani- fested a flattering interest in us and in our affairs. Kinder-hearted, more gracious gentle-folk I never met, no matter where my stages may have been, at home or abroad, than the West Indian people. Their hospitality is as genial and sunny as their delightful climate ; they are generous and very socially inclined, ready to receive all strangers heartily. No matter whether their guest hails from neighboring islands, from England (the old land that all British Creoles call "home"), or from foreign countries, they are tireless in their atten- tion to the stranger within their gates. A DAY AT ANTIGUA. 69 After enjoying the cool shade of the house, conversing merrily, sundry appropriate and satisfying liquid comforts being meanwhile handed round, we were conducted by the proprietor of the estate to the sugar-houses, where the machinery for sugar-making and the dis- tillation of rum was in full operation. I was much interested in watching the darkies at their work. The rags that hung in tatters on powerful forms scarcely served to conceal the muscular limbs of the men, who exerted their great strength awkwardly, but with right good- will.* The women bore their part right manfully, if I may be permit- ted the expression, in all the hard work, being evidently unsexed, not to say brutalized, by their unwomanly occupation. For this reason, doubtless, they appeared to us more degraded and less intelligent than their brothers, fathers, sons, and, perhaps, husbands. Never- theless, all the groups of laborers, male or female, were picturesque, awakening little pity for their raggedness. In such a climate rags lose their pathos — they tell no miserable story of chill penury, of pinch- ing cold ; the tatters, once as gaudy as cheap dyes could make them, now faded and beyond all power of needle and thread to mend them, lent a variety of blended coloring to a picture full of sunlight. To and fro across the yard girls and women hurried, with great tubs of molasses or rum poised upon their heads. All the hands about the buildings were in what was, evidently, to them a perfectly congenial state of stickiness ; from their matted woolly pates down to the soles of their plantigrade feet they were so daubed over and smeared — if not literally clothed, at least coated — with a sugary glaze, that each darky looked for all the world like a life-sized, animated chocolate figure. The workers applied themselves to their task with such infi- nite good-nature and hearty good-will that I began seriously to doubt the fairness or the justness of the statement one hears so constantly reiterated on all sides concerning negro laziness and incapacity for any kind of work. When we had completed our inspection of the sugar-factory we returned to the house, and presently were shown into the dining-room, 70 DOWN THE ISLANDS. which, as is generally the case in these islands and elsewhere in the region of the trade-winds, was on the windward side of the dwelling. Windward — mark the word ! In these islands of unending midsum- mer, where ye gather roses not only when ye may but whenever ye will, where a hot-house would be as useless as an ice-house at Wrangel Land or Lady Franklin Bay — all the good people, forgetful of the North Star, take their bearings by the trade-wind, which for nine months of twelve blows easterly, varying from northeast to south- east. Windward Islanders never speak of the eastern or western coast of an island or side of a house, but invariably of the windward or leeward coast or side, as the case may be. They also speak of going down or up the islands, not of going north or south. In the dining- room on the windward side of the house, accordingly, we sat down to a sumptuous meal of most tempting appetency, perfectly cooked and daintily served ; a banquet consisting of so many novel dishes of in- viting or perplexing appearance that the ladies, being first served, were in doubt how they had best help themselves, in what quantity, or whether the mysterious but tempting morsels were to be treated with forks or spoons, with fish-knives or blades of cold steel. All of the guests were at a loss to decide whether the component parts of savory messes had grown i' the ground, had been born alive, or hatched from eggs ; whether or not the cook, in preparing the raw material for the table, had been obliged to rid it of withered leaves or claws or feath- ers, wash its roots, singe it as sheep's-heads are singed, or scrape off scales; nor did we care to inquire too closely. Perhaps, in many cases, ignorance was bliss ; in our contentment we thought it folly to be wise. In these lands of iguana, groo-groo worms, edible apes and wapauderies, the foreign diner-out had best take whatever is set before him, asking no questions, as did I, in thankfulness of heart. There was one royal dish of which we had all seen many weak imitations and mock suggestions — we were all familiar with it, just as the un travelled art amateur knows his old masters from having seen more or less clever copies and reproductions by various cheap and unsatisfying pro- A DAT AT ANTIGUA. 71 cesses — a giant dish of green-turtle fins and fat, with an abundance of delicate morsels all floating in a wonderful sauce, composing a mess the like of which was never yet — no, nor ever will be — furnished forth within a thousand miles of Guildhall. This dish, fit to set before the Lord Mayor, was served liberally and with little ceremony ; in fact, with no more pomp and circumstance than would have attended its coming had it been an Irish stew or a dish of Boston beans. More- over, I noticed that our hostess passed it by, saying she preferred mut- ton. Verily, green turtles, like prophets, are not without honor save in their own country. In such goodly company and with such surroundings, what wonder was it that the afternoon was far advanced before we came usque ad poma — that is to say, to the pineapples. Ah-h ! those little, black Antigua pines — juicier, tenderer and pulpier, more fruity, more fra- grant, than any fruit I had ever before tasted. How delicious my ex- perience of them ! How tantalizing the craving for their rich flavor, their delicate fragrance, that haunts about the memories of my visit to Antigua — the garden in which grows this fruit of the Hesperides ! After luncheon, coffee was served on the veranda, where we sat for half an hour holding high converse with our good host and hostess and others of their household. Then we regretfully bade our friends good-by, drove back to St. John's, where all the passengers — those who had gone merrymaking to the great sugar-estate and those who had remained behind — rendezvoused at the landing-place, expecting to find a launch waiting for them, but it had steamed out to the Barracouta, and so our stay on shore was prolonged for nearly two hours. I made use of the spare time profitably at the public library, where I found many rare books kept in excellent order, ready to the hand of the librarian, an exceedingly courteous and well-informed gentleman, who, upon learning who and of what nation I was, also my errand to the place, made himself of great use, enabling me to make the most of the short time I could spend in examining the treasures of which he was the custodian. 72 DOWN THE ISLANDS. At all the Caribbean towns I visited I was impressed by the dis- covery in each of them, in some convenient location, of a well-appoint- ed, well-stocked library of carefully selected books. A short study of the catalogues of titles served to show that the volumes had been se- lected with unusual discrimination, involving a knowledge of English literature by no means of ordinary scope. In all these libraries are to be found the best writings of celebrated authors, especially of those writers who flourished during the last century and the first half of this. The fact that the volumes, although well taken care of, bear evidence of continual use, says much for the diligence of the people in the matter of seeking after the best sort of knowledge. The public library at St. John's is a delightful room — perfectly lighted, quiet, pervaded by an air of repose and contemplation — a place where one may lazily turn over the pages of the latest novel, or study without being disturbed by gossiping visitors or having one's attention distracted by street- cries or the rumbling of passing vehicles. There I passed two of the pleasantest hours of all the delightful weeks I spent in the "West In- dies. I love to turn over the pages of my note-book, for the entries then made in it serve to recall to my mind a picture of the well-filled shelves, the easy-chairs, and the open windows — giving entrance to the soft trade-wind. I need no scratch of pen or pencil to remind me of the good-natured librarian, who brought me the right books at the right time, opened at the right place, who regretted I could not stay longer, and who, when we parted, extended to me the right hand of fellowship, saying, in a gentle voice, " I like people who like books." The bibliography of the British West Indies includes many histo- ries and reports and books of travel ; nearly all of them, however, were written before 1834, the date of the manumission of the slaves in the English colonies. During the last fifty years but few books have been published (if we except the works of Kingsley, Trollope, and Ober) that give any connected history of the course of events or valuable information concerning the islands since Queen Victoria came to the throne. From a worn and tattered blue-book, containing the A DAY AT ANTIGUA. 73 " Accounts of Slave-compensation Claims," printed by the British House of Commons in 1838, I made a few notes that may not be uninterest- ing. In 1834 slavery was abolished in all the possessions of Great Brit- ain. Parliament voted a gross sum, which was distributed among owners of slaves as compensation for setting their blacks free. The negroes were divided into classes according to the kind of labor for which they were fitted, and a value was set upon each class by valuers, sworn faithfully to perform their duties. Thus, in Antigua, head-people were valued at £144 9s. 8-|d. ; trades-people, £112 ; inferior trades-people, £59 ; field-hands, £94 ; inferior field-hands, £31 ; domestics, £82. The valuations differed in different islands ; for instance, head-people in Jamaica were valued at £78 ; in St. Kitt's, £80 ; in Grenada, £120 ; and so on. Children under six years of age on August 1, 1834 (the day set for the emancipation of the slaves), were valued at £13 17s. 4d.; aged, deceased, or otherwise non-effective adults, at £10 18s. 5^d. By arbi- tration the rates of compensation were determined, and, like the valu- ations, differed in different islands — head-people being rated as fol- lows : In Jamaica, £31 ; in Antigua, £34 ; in St. Kitt's, £80 ; in Gre- nada, £41 ; the compensation for other slaves being in proportion. The commissioners appointed to carry out the act of Parliament took nearly four years to complete their labors. From their final report it appears that the total sum expended under the act was £18,669,401 10s. 7d., leaving contested unpaid claims to the amount of £1,330,- 598 9s. 5d. The total expense of the commission was £61,147 13s. 2d.; that is to say, a little over one-third of one per cent, of the money dis- bursed by the commissioners. The Antiguans, to their credit be it said, were the first to carry out the provisions of the act of Parliament. As I studied the columns of figures of this grand book-account, the record of the noblest financial transaction ever negotiated by the men of any nation, I could not help indulging a feeling of pride that I was a kinsman of the nation of shopkeepers. Just here let me remind my countrymen of the fact that will in this connection keep recurring to my mind, namely : In 1860 the value of the property in slaves in the 74 DOWN THE ISLANDS. United States was estimated, with reasonable accuracy, to be three thousand five hundred millions of dollars. In 1864 the Rebellion was crushed, the slaves were free, and the United States Government had incurred a debt almost precisely equal in amount to the valuation set on the total number of slaves held in bondage four years before. It has cost much money to rid our race of the disgrace entailed on it by the success attending Sir John Hawkins in his first business-venture of bringing a cargo of colored men from Africa to work on the planta- tions in America. The history of Antigua is by no means dry reading, as a few brief extracts, copied into my note-book from volumes in the public library of St. John's, will show. Columbus, having discovered Antigua and given it its name, de- serted the island, and nothing is known of it until Antonio Serrano failed in an attempt to plant a colony upon it in 1520. From that year, except by such Europeans as were cast upon it by the mischance of shipwreck, Antigua remained unexplored until Charles I. of Eng- land granted it to his unworthy favorite the Earl of Carlisle, who, how- ever, set small store upon it, preferring to send out colonists to St. Christopher, twenty leagues farther to the east. In 1692, M. D'Es- nambuc with a party of French crossed from St. Kitt's, but after a short stay in Antigua abandoned it on account of the scarcity of sweet water. He was followed by General Sir Thomas Warner, the English Gov- ernor of St. Kitt's, who colonized Antigua, or Antego as he called it, in 1632, and for eight years his settlement prospered. Then the Caribs came from Dominica and made great slaughter of the colonists, carry- ing off in their retreat many women and children, among them the wife and babe of the governor himself. In the days of Cromwell the Antiguans refused to acknowledge the Commonwealth, until Sir George Ayscue forcibly convinced them that, if the Lord Protector had not indeed been crowned, he was nevertheless every inch a king. After the restoration Charles II. granted the island to Lord Francis Willoughby, who perished at sea in a hurricane that wrecked his fleet A DAY AT ANTIGUA. 75 off the coast of Guadeloupe in the year 1665. During the century and a half of almost incessant war between England and France, Antigua was constantly in danger of attack from the French of Martinique, who stirred up the Caribs (as in North America their compatriots stirred up the Indians) to hostility against English settlers, so that the latter fre- quently found themselves " robbed of the very shoes off their feet." It is interesting to Americans to know that among those who assisted in defending Antigua during this French and Carib war was a certain Captain Samuel Winthrop (or Winthorp, as the name is spelled in the old chronicle from which I quote), son of that John Winthrop, of Groton Hall, England, who became the first Governor of Massachusetts Bay in the year 1629, and a brother of Colonel Stephen Winthrop of the Parliamentary Army ; also of that other John Winthrop who founded the city of New London in 1661. The year 1674 is a mem- orable one in the history of Antigua, for then it was that Colonel Cod- rington, of Barbados, took up bis residence on the island and engaged in sugar-planting. It was by his enterprise and energy that many other planters were induced to do likewise, until, in this way, was es- tablished an industry that in after years became the source of great wealth and prosperity to all who engaged in it. The natives of Domi- nica became so troublesome this same year that Sir William Staple- ton, Captain-General of the Leeward Islands, was petitioned by the Antiguans to permit them to "kill and destroy the Indians inhabiting the island of Dominica." This request having graciously been granted, Philip Warner, Governor of Antigua, fitted out an expedition, which he led in person, obtaining a signal victory over the savages. This Carib war raged for many years and with relentless fury, as may well be imagined from the following incident, narrated by Dam- pier, the famous freebooter, who visited the Caribbean Archipelago many times during his adventurous career. He says : " The Caribbees had done some spoil in our English plantation in Antigua, and therefore Governor Warner's son, by his wife, took a party of men and went to suppress the Indians, and came to a place 76 DOWN THE ISLANDS. where his brother Indian Warner lived. Great seeming joy was there at their meeting, but how far real the event showed, for the English Warner, providing plenty of liquor and inviting his half-brother to be merry with him, in the midst of his entertainment ordered his men, when a signal was given, to murder him and all his Indians, which was accordingly performed. Such perfidious doings as these, besides the baseness of them, are a great hinderance of our gaining interest among the Indians." Philip Warner was tried, it is true, for the murder of his half- brother, but, being triumphantly acquitted, had his lands restored to him, and was re-established in the honors of the governorship. In 1703 a monthly mail-service was started between Antigua, Bar- bados, St. Christopher, Nevis, Montserrat, Jamaica, and England. It is curious to note the charges that were made for the convey ance of letters in those days ; they were as follows : For every letter not ex- ceeding one sheet of paper, 9d. ; for two sheets, Is. 6d. ; for every packet weighing 1 oz. or under, 2s. 8d. In the year 1770, Antigua was visited by Captain Kidd, " As he sailed, as he sailed." This gallant tar persuaded the governor to give him command of a small sloop of thirty guns, promising in turn to ex- terminate (he, of all salt-water highwaymen) the pirates that infested these seas in by-gone days. This he did, in his own way, and doubt- less to his own entire satisfaction. The people of Antigua, during his protectorate, had frequent cause to remember the fable of the Doves who invited the Kite to defend them from the Hawk, no doubt puz- zling themselves considerably how best to solve the problem, Quis cus- todiet custodem ? until Kidd saw fit to depart for the East Indies, as he did a year or two afterward, in the thirty-gun sloop, which he forgot to restore to the governor. In the time of Queen Anne " that abominable and atrocious gov- ernor, Daniel Park, arrived to blast for a time with his unhallowed breath this beautiful island." This truly remarkable man was a Vir- ginian who had committed a murder at a gambling-table, deserted his A DAT AT ANTIGUA. 77 wife, fled to England, purchased an estate, got himself elected to, and was promptly expelled from Parliament for bribery. He fled to Hol- land, pursued by a captain of the Queen's Guard, whose wife he had dishonored, and there volunteered, under the Duke of Marlborough, as aide-de-camp. The duke was almost immediately obliged to dis- honorably discharge the rascal from the army, and after the Battle of Blenheim, to get rid of him, despatched him to England to announce the gaining of that famous victory to Queen Anne, sending by the hand of Parks the following letter to the Duchess of Marlborough : August 13, 1704. I have not time to say more, but to beg you will give my Duty to the Queen, and let her know her Army has had a glorious Victory. Mon s Tallard and two other Generals are in my Coach and I am following the rest. The bearer, my Aiede-Oamp C. M. Parkes, will give her and account of what has pass'd. I shal doe it in a day or two by a nother more att large. Maelbokough. To relieve herself in turn of the presence of the busy villain, the Queen made pretence of honoring the bearer of good tidings, and ap- pointed this precious scoundrel to the Governorship of Antigua, where he lost no time in provoking a riot, in which he was killed by a mob, who, exasperated by his crimes, literally tore him to pieces in the street. Before the abolition of slavery Antigua was the scene of several negro insurrections, which (with one notable exception, in the year 1736) were easily suppressed, and, although threatened by foes from without, the island has usually enjoyed internal peace. In the year 1787, Prince William Henry, afterward William IV. of England, visited Antigua in the frigate Pegasus. His appearance threw Anti- guan society into a fever of loyal enthusiasm. The Solicitor-General of the island, in attempting to read an address of welcome, was so overawed that he was bereft of speech. The prince during his stay impressed the good people of Antigua with a sense of his " gracious 78 DOWN THE ISLANDS. majesty of mien and kingly qualities," and the enthusiastic historian who chronicles the events of this royal visit becomes recklessly extrava- gant in the use of what may well be called truly loyal adjectives, as witness the following selection, culled at random from page after page of glowing narrative, in which the prince is described as " affable," " bluff," " civil," " condescending," " conspicuous," " dignified," " frank," " gallant " (with the accent first on one and then on t'other syllable), " gracious," " humble," " liberal," " pleasing," " polite," " princely," " serene," striking," " urbane," " victorious," with all of which the other parts of speech patriotically, enthusiastically, and unanimously agree. A greater man than prince or king, who hap- pened to follow humbly in the suite of his royal master, receives but a passing notice, to wit : " Captain Nelson, of the Boreas, accompanied His Royal High- ness." Antigua, at one time, was compensated for the short plague of Parks by the presence of the Eight Honorable Ralph Lord Laving- ton, Baron of Lavington, " a very hospitable man and fond of splendor. His balls and routs were given upon a scale of the grand- est and most impressive magnificence. His hospitality was tempered by the regard due to a personage of his importance, and he firmly be- lieved in the inferiority in blood, breeding, and mental capacity of the black man. He would not, upon any occasion, receive a letter or parcel from the fingers of a black or colored man, and, in order to guard against such horrible defilement, he had a golden instrument wrought, something like a pair of sugar-tongs, in which to hold the presented article." " He would not allow his blacks to wear shoes or stockings ; his footmen used to stand behind his carriage with their naked legs shin- ing from the butter with which, by His Excellency's orders, they were daily compelled to anoint them." The whistle of the steam-launch interrupted my researches into the chronicles of Antigua. Bidding good-by to the librarian I hurried to A DAY AT ANTIGUA. 79 the landing, where I found the little tender waiting for me ; I stepped on board, and in twenty minutes was once more on the deck of the Barracouta. The captain was on the bridge when we reached the steamer, up came the anchor, and in a few moments after our arrival " at home," as we called our ship, we were off down the islands, bound for Dominica and Martinique. CHAPTER VII. LIFE ON SHIPBOARD. A Sudden Sunset. — A Mysterious Evening. — Sleeping on Deck. — The Ladies' Reserva- tion. — The Doctor's Camping-ground. — Morning Ritual. — Fruit and Salt-water Baths. — Guadeloupe. — The Saints. — Marie Galante. — Dominica. After a stay of twelve hours at Antigua the Barracouta steamed out of the harbor of St. John's as the sun was setting, and, taking a southerly course, resumed her voyage. The air was mild and balmy, the sky cloudless, the atmosphere remarkably transparent ; we could see distinctly the mountain of St. Kitt's and the pyramid of Nevis, far away in the west, across sixty miles of intervening ocean, seem- ingly joined together, showing above the horizon in purple silhouette against a sky of pale, opalescent tints. Hugged Montserrat was also in plain sight, forty miles to the south of Nevis ; and between the two, Redonda, misty and golden, like Kubla Khan's pleasure-dome, floated midway in the waves. Ahead of us, leagues away in the south, we were aware of Guadeloupe — dimly shadowed forth between sight and imagination — a great mountain in cloudland. "We barely had time to repeat the names of the islands, in their order, before they faded from our sight. Day was done. Done, and done with ! It was difficult to realize that the sun had gone down in the fore- ordained, natural way. It went out, so to speak, suddenly, unex- pectedly (as if something was wrong with the meter, or the wires had got crossed) ; it did not appear to sink beneath the waves, but to plunge into them, so that one almost expected to see a great splash, and, by the obvious association of absurd ideas, was reminded of LIFE ON SHIPBOARD. 81 the Irishman who, upon hearing the sunset-gun one mellow evening, asked if the orb of day always " wint down wid a bang." There was no twilight, no evening ; night began late in the afternoon ! The stars blazed out unexpectedly, not one by one, but simultaneously, as if the constellations were revealed by the drawing of a curtain, or, to use a more commonplace metaphor, by the starting of a dynamo with which they were connected on electric circuit. ]STever do I remember to have been more spellbound by the gentle influence of the stars than I was all that evening while lounging about on deck ; at times reclining in a deck-chair to gaze aloft, watching the tapering mast as it swayed to and fro, describing great arcs and circles on the face of the heavens. At times I leaned over the taffrail, attempting in vain to make out the line of the horizon, and to distinguish between the glowing stars, that hung so low they seemed like lights shining afar from a mysterious coast, and the glimmer of their reflections, that bespangled the darkness of the sea. The trade-wind thrummed across the rigging, the cordage gave out a whispering sound of many voices — the droning of a great city in the dead of night. The lapping of the water against the side of the ship, the plash of the waves breaking near her, the swirl- ing of the foam in her wake, the gentle rocking of the vessel, all soothed and lulled the senses, tempting to forgetfulness, dispelling all thought of care and vain regret. It was delicious, sensuous. Reader, it was sleep-compelling ; therefore marvel not that I yielded to the power of the enchantment, and oftentimes knew not whether I was in dreamland or awake, in spirit journeying among the Is- lands of the Blest, or in the flesh voyaging between the sea and stars. Just before midnight our ship ran under the lee of Guadeloupe and steamed gently to the south, close to a mysterious coast barely distinguishable in the darkness. Those passengers — I was one of them — who had remained up to view the island by the glimpses of the new moon, might as well have turned in at their usual bed- 82 DOWN TEE ISLANDS. time for all the idea they got of its scenery or proportions, and so, without further delay, sought their sleeping-places on the deck. Yes ! we Barracoutans slept on deck. Not because it was hot, un- comfortable, or stuffy down below, nor because we were deck-passen- gers ; each one of us had a state-room apiece at his or her disposal, a roomy, clean, well-ventilated state-room ; for in respect of her cabin accommodations the Barracouta is a model ship, being also an easy, although somewhat persistent roller, she is a good ship to pass the night in. We slept on deck because we were " out for a good time," as an English passenger put it, and did as "we jolly well liked." We found sleeping on deck had very much of the flavor, and all the attractions, of camping out, with none of the disadvantages of damp beds or busy insects; there was a feeling of freedom about it, a delicious sense of abundant ventilation and elbow-room ; it was also gratifying to our personal pride, for we flattered ourselves that we were granted this, among other special privileges, because we happened, luckily, to be friends of the captain — having by the same token, also, a right to sit at his table, to smoke in the purser's cabin, or to be on terms of personal intimacy with the man at the wheel, if we saw fit to cultivate his acquaintance ; all rules and regulations of the company to the contrary notwithstanding. In the case of the lady passengers (who occupied their reservation upstairs nightly), they looked upon sleeping in the " Social Hall " as a guarantee and confirmation of their right to have luncheons served on deck between meals and to ask the cap- tain difficult questions in navigation. They availed themselves of this their privilege, not to say undoubted right, with an unswerving deter- mination — were not to be persuaded that their state-rooms were habita- ble ; nor would they permit themselves to be drawn into unnecessary argument about the matter, but maintained a perfectly unanswerable silence that in the end gained them the victory. At four bells, even- ing, elles y etaient, and until morning elles y restaient. If, as some- times happened, a heedless male passenger, on deck after ten o'clock, discovered that he had forgotten some indispensable article of personal LIFE ON SHIPBOARD. S3 property, he had but to make up his mind whether its possession was worth a journey down the forward hatch, a walk aft past the engine- room, through the steward's pantry, across the pitch-dark expanse of the dining-saloon, a grope around in his state-room, and a return trip to the upper deck ; or whether he had better do without — whatever it happened to be — altogether for that night, vowing to remember to stow it away on deck before early bedtime the following evening, and, acting accordingly, reconcile himself to the inevitable, call down bless- ings on the head of the man who invented sleep, and make the best of it until the stewardess announced, as was her wont, at an early hour the next morning, that the occupants of the Social Hall, having folded their tents, had stolen below, to reappear an hour or two later in tri- umph at the breakfast-table. Most of the gentlemen camped aft under the deck-awning, making themselves comfortable on mattresses and pillows borrowed from their state-rooms ; the ladies, as before noted, reposed amidships, where the motion of the ship was reduced to a reassuring minimum, in the So- cial Hall, with all its doors and windows open, delightfully cool, com- fortably furnished with broad and well-cushioned settees, and withal a good place for conversation, day or night. The Doctor (and who ought to know better than he if there was any danger in sleeping on deck ?) established himself, the third night out from Kew York, be- tween the cabin skylights, where he slept in peace and perfect venti- lation, the loose continuations of the drapery of his couch fluttering freely in the trade- wind ; for he invariably refused my nightly offer to get a paper of carpet-tacks and a hammer and tack him in securely for the night. He was habitually and invariably the first one to turn out in the morning, never once missing a sunrise during the five weeks of our out-of-door, open-sea life. I slept for thirty-three nights either on deck or in the smoking-room, wherever I found the best draught, and, strange as it may appear to those who have never breathed the mollifying air of these regions, I was cured of a sore- throat and influenza, to which I had fallen a victim on the windy, bit- 84 DOWN THE ISLANDS. terly cold day I left New York. It was delightful to awaken in the morning refreshed by these alfresco slumbers, experiencing none of the sensations of languor which generally render the operation of dress- ing in the state-room so tedious and discouraging. All one had to do was to open one's eyes, sit up, and straightway begin to eat of the fruit placed within reach the night before ; watch the sun rise, bundle up one's bed, and stow it out of the way of the sailors when they began washing the decks. We even enjoyed witnessing that operation, usu- ally so maddening to sleepy-heads below, as I can testify from drowsy experience gained on Cunard or White Star steamers, for often have I been awakened by the sound of scrubbing and squeegeeing over my head when I thought the merciless tar above would scrub a hole in the deck and tumble in upon me — bucket, squeegee, wet feet, and all. After sunrise and fruit, it was the height of luxury (it is one of the most delightful reminiscences of the trip) to saunter forward, and tip a sailor to give one a good sousing with sea-water. Those of us who tried the experiment daily were compelled to station ourselves near one of the scuppers in the forecastle while Jack Tar ducked us with a stream from the deck-hose, sometimes directed against us with mis- chievous suddenness and force, to the great amusement of his grinning mates. Afterward we were thoroughly groomed, oftentimes with such hearty good-will that we were ready to cry out at being so vigorously " polished off," as the sailors called the operation of setting us in a glow. Then — well, then — we ate a little fruit while dressing, strolled aft to our state-rooms, and partook of occasional fruit till we sat down to a breakfast which consisted principally of the same delightful diet. Every morning the Doctor gently announced his return to conscious- ness, and oranges, by drawing sundry deep and comfortable sighs, that I may not better describe than by saying they sounded like long- needed holiday sighs of restfulness. He evidently enjoyed inflating, not only his lungs, but his entire " subject " with the fresh trades. He seemed to know, by reason of much study of matters anatomical, how to distribute the pure air into his innermost recesses as if he were LIFE ON SHIPBOARD. 85 a well-developed, still-paying, although partially worked-out mine, whose lowest levels and longest galleries required thorough Ventilation to clear them, not, indeed, of choke-damp or smoke of blasting-powder, but of lingering reminiscences of anaesthetics, operations, and stuffy sick-rooms. Having thus, so to speak, thrown open the doors and windows of his earthly tabernacle, the Doctor merrily greeted me in the following formula : " Well ! what do you think of it now ? " To which I triumphantly and on all occasions made reply : " There's nothing like it ! " By it we both meant everything that entered into, belonged to, or was part of, what might be called the whole outfit of a trip down the islands, to wit : The sea, the air, the islands, the people, the green- turtle, the fruits, the good old ship, our fellow-passengers, and, above all, sleeping on deck. The Barracouta having run under the lee of Guadeloupe about mid- night, as I have already shown, coasted along the west coast of that island until between three or four o'clock in the morning ; then pass- ing a cluster of small islands called the Saints, just as the sky began to glow in the east, came again to the open sea. When it was light we could see, many miles astern of us, the great mountains of the island we had passed in the night ; closer to us, the Saints were clearly visible on our starboard quarter, and a little to the north of east we descried the small island to which Columbus gave the name Marie Galante, calling it after his own ship. To those of the passengers who rose at the break of day the rising sun revealed the great hills of Dominica, at a distance of twenty-five or thirty miles to the east of south. In the clear atmosphere of the morning it seemed at first to be close at hand, but as the sun drew up after it a golden haze from the ocean, the island mysteriously appeared to withdraw from us until we were midway between it and Guade- loupe ; then the gray of its shores became a deeper blue, that changed to olive green, faded to brown of cliffs and promontories, or faint-yel- low tints of cane-pieces and droughty meadow-land, spreading between 86 DOWN THE ISLANDS. the brighter greens of forests and valleys refreshed by living water- courses. Dominica lay before us, clothed in a rich garment of many- blending colors, resplendent in the morning sun, majestic in its out- lines and proportious^-the grandest and most magnificent of all the Caribbees. All around the ship, although we were still far out at sea, count- less canoe-shaped skiffs danced and tossed on the great waves that set the steamer a-rolling until it was difficult to keep a footing on deck. In each of these tiny craft were two darkies, who displayed wonderful skill in handling the lightly built pirogues (for so are called the little vessels so similar in appearance to the jteriaguas one sees in an- tique pictures of the waters around my native town), in none of which would I attempt the passage of the Tappan Zee, even on a moderately windy day, much less dare the perils of a voyage from one Caribbee to another, in any weather. So lightly did these slightly built fishing- boats skim from one wave-crest to another, that at a distance they looked more like white or brown butterflies flitting over a meadow of billowy, wind-tossed grain than canoes sailing on the great ocean. The negro fishermen are daring navigators, thinking nothing of cross- ing from one island to another — forty, fifty, even a hundred miles from shore to shore. The coast of Dominica rises majestically in a succession of cliffs and terraces, towers higher and higher, until many of its peaks and pinnacles attain a height of three thousand or four thousand feet ; then, above all, Mount Diablotin, the highest mountain in the Windward Islands, lifts its head more than a mile above the sea. As we neared the shore we could hear the thunder roll, and see the lightning play among clouds gathering thick above the cane-pieces and pasture- lands of the foot-hills. We could trace the course of foaming moun- tain-streams leaping from crag to crag, down glens and gorges, be- tween heavy masses of overhanging foliage, down to where a line of snow-white surf broke against the coast-wall of solid rock. The green of the hill-sides and the plantations was fresh and vivid, owing to the LIFE ON SHIPBOARD. 87 abundance of rain that falls upon Dominica all the year round, in fre- quent copious showers ; for even in the height of the dry season the floods descend almost daily, until the rank vegetation glistens and shines, at no time showing brown and sear as on others of the islands. In the opinion of Trollope, who has written a most agreeable and entertaining book on the West Indies : " Dominica is by far the most picturesque of all the islands. The mountain-chain rises parallel to the coast, and all the hills are broken and rugged, seamed and fur- rowed and scarred, covered with a luxuriant vegetation of every shade of green ; purple, of mango and cocoa ; golden, of cane and lime and orange and citron. Palms crown their ridges, cultured grounds infre- quently gleam golden brown on their slopes, and dense clouds come pouring over their crest from the Atlantic. North and south this bul- wark of hills ends in high cliffs plunged into the sea." When the day is fair the outlines of the mountains show clearly defined against the sky, but rainless days are few in Dominica, and almost constantly great clouds hide the uplands in impenetrable mists and fogs. We were fortunate in the hour of our arrival on the coast of this grand Carib- bee, on the morning of a perfect day, and we saw the whole ex- tent of it as we coasted under its lee, keeping close to the land, for we were to call at Roseau to receive passengers and take the mails on board. CHAPTER VIII. SABBATH ISLAND. Dominica. — Mount Diablotin. — The Lay of the Land. — The Forests and Mountains. — Its unexplored Interior. — Dr. Imray's Description of its Soil and " Peculiari- ties." — Its Crops and Commerce. — The Land of Caribs. — Roseau. The island of Dominica lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in 15° 39' north latitude, 61° 30' west longitude, mid- way between Guadeloupe on the north and Martinique on the south. It is twenty-nine miles long, extending from Cape Melville on the north to Cachacrou Head in the south ; at its greatest width, that is to say, from Pagouma Point to Crabiere Point, it is sixteen miles in diameter. A line drawn between these two promontories across the island would pass nearly over the peak of Mount Diablotin, which is, as I have already said, the highest mountain, not only in this island but also in all the Caribbean Archipelago. Indeed, if we could see a plan of the elevation of the Caribbees as they lie from north to south, we would be struck by the fact that, beginning with Sombrero, at the extreme northerly end of the group, there is a noticeable and progressive increase in the height of the summits of the mountainous islands, until Mount Diablotin, the dominating height, is reached, thence the altitude of the hills diminishes, with marked regularity, to the south of this central mountain, gradually decreasing in height toward the low rolling hills in the south part of Trinidad. The last-named eminences are but moderate-sized braes, subsiding into broken plain and prairie country, only slightly raised above the SABBATH ISLAND. 89 level of the waters which ebb and flow between Trinidad and the mainland of South America, through the Serpent's Mouths, into which empty the incalculable floods of the Orinoco Eiver. In like manner, that other island mountain-chain— for so we may call the Greater Antilles and the Virgin Islands— rises in successive leaps from the sea, beginning with a range of low hills west of the centre of Cuba, attaining great height in the eastern part of that country, whence it dips beneath the ocean again between Cuba and Hayti, to rise in the latter island to its grandest height, eight thousand feet or more, thence descending to a lesser elevation in Porto Eico, a still lower in St. Thomas ; and so, decreasing in size until the most easterly of the Virgin Islands is reached, the mountain-range sinks again to sea-level, and its crest is lost in the channel between Ane- gada and Sombrero. Dominica, according to the "Leeward Islands Almanack," contains 186,436 acres, or 290 square miles, of which 55,000 acres are under cul- tivation. It has a coast-line of over one hundred miles ; the whole surface of the island is very irregular, and there is but little marshy land. I can do no better than quote from a description of Dominica written by a certain Dr. Imray, who resided for many years on the island and who is undoubtedly the best authority on all matters con- cerning the geography, botany, and physical peculiarities of this grand Caribbee. The sketch itself, from which I shall quote, originally appeared in the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal, 1848 : " ' Viewed from the sea,' says the doctor, < the island has a singu- larly bold and magnificent appearance. A dark, irregular mass of lofty mountains rises abruptly from the ocean, as if suddenly upheaved from the deep by some mighty convulsion of nature. The rugged grandeur of the island is softened, on a nearer approach, by the mantle of green that everywhere covers its surface, from the sea-margin to the tops of the highest mountains. In sailing along the coast the smiling valleys, deep ravines with overhanging cliffs, and lofty, wooded 90 DOWN THE ISLANDS. mountains, form a succession of views of exceeding beauty and mag- nificence. . • • " ' The coasts of the island, for the most part bold and rocky, are here and there indented by deep bays. On the windward side, high ranges of cliffs, broken at intervals by ravines and valleys, rise precipi- tously from the water's edge. ...... " ' The European visitor is struck with the luxuriance of vegetation that everywhere meets his eye. Not only are the precipices fringed with trees and shrubs, but along the face of the cliffs are seen growing many different kinds of plants, and even trees are observed shooting, as it were, from the bare rock, and sending out their roots in all directions in search of rents and crevices, into which they drive for the purpose of finding nourishment. Wherever, indeed, the smallest portion of soil can collect, there some form of vegetable life is met with. " ' The highest range of mountains runs in the centre of the island in the direction of north to south. From this, smaller ranges of mountains pass down to the coast on each side, being intersected by valleys and deep ravines, narrow and winding at first, but opening out toward the coast. ....... " ' The formation of the island is volcanic. The cliffs near the sea are chiefly composed of vast masses of conglomerate. In many places along the coast beds of coral are found lying on the conglomerate rock at a height of more than two hundred feet above the sea-level. There are many volcanic openings in different parts of the island. Around all of those that I have visited are found large accumula- tions of sulphur. This substance is met with in the greatest quan- tities at the southern extremity of the island, in a deep and confined valley, where there are several volcanic fissures. Near most of these openings, springs of hot water issue from crevices, and in the Roseau Valley they boil up in the bed of the river. .... " ' From the mountainous nature of the country abundance of rain SABBATH ISLAND. 91 falls ; and in the bottom of almost every valley there is a clear run- ning stream fed by many tributaries. ..... " ' The whole face of the island, except where it is cleared by culti- vation, is covered with forests. In some of the valleys of the forest, trees attain an enormous height and size ; their stately, massive trunks, rising from the ground like huge columns, excite the wonder and ad- miration of the beholder. " ' The soil differs in quality in different districts, but it is every- where fertile in the low-lying grounds and a short way up the sides of the mountain. Still higher up, a red or yellow clay is generally found, covered by a thin stratum of vegetable mould. A substratum of clay is, however, very common throughout the whole island. "'Of the surface of the country, generally, but a small portion is in cultivation, not more than a thirtieth part. The sugar-plantations are chiefly situated in the valleys near the coast, where the soil is very pro- ductive. The mountains bordering on the sea round the whole island were at one time covered with the plantations of coffee, which then formed the staple export of the colony. About eighteen years ago there appeared on the trees a blight, which has completely ruined these properties — not much more coffee being now produced than suf- fices for the consumption of the inhabitants. The quantity of coffee formerly raised and exported used to be from two to five million pounds a year. The cultivation is reviving. " ' On the windward side of the island the trade-breeze is generally regular and steady. The atmospheric current is interrupted by the high central range of mountains, and, in consequence, there are fre- quent calms on the leeward coast, with occasional gusts of wind rush- ing down the ravines and valleys with much force. " ' The mountains of this island are the highest in the whole range of the Lesser Antilles, the highest peak of Morne Diablotin reaching the height of 5,314 feet. " ' To gain the summit of any of the higher mountains is a task by no means easily accomplished, for they rise so abruptly as only to be 92 DOWN THE ISLANDS. accessible by following the course of some steep ridge. I have twice ascended the Couliabon Mountain (not far from Roseau), which is 4,500 feet high. Gradually, as the ascent is made, the character of the vegetation alters, and the noble forest-trees shrink into small shrubs. Still, wherever the eye reaches, all is green, unless it be where dark-gray masses of rock project from the mountain-sides, or a bright-red surface is left by some avalanche of earth that has been recently separated by the heavy rains, and has fallen into the ravine below. When the traveller has at length reached the highest peak, he is rewarded for the toilsome ascent by a prospect of sur- passing loveliness and grandeur. The sublimity of Alpine scenery is combined with the verdure and luxuriant vegetation of the tropics. On one side the spectator looks down on the country below as on a map ; on the other, mountains stretch away beyond mountains, some shooting up in isolated peaks to the skies, others sloping in undulating ridges to the sea-shore. The mountain-sides, brilliantly lighted up by the rays of the sun, furnish a strong contrast with the dark masses of shadow thrown on the deep ravines beyond. The snowy-looking clouds, as they float along, continually vary the light and shade, while every tint of green is beautifully blended, from the deep sombre shade of the primitive forest to the light, lively hue of the cultivated cane-field. The air that is breathed is pure, and uncontaminated by the causes of disease that abound along the sea-margin or lurk in the recesses of the ravines and valleys. " ' Though the temperature at some seasons is high during the day, and the atmosphere close and sultry, the nights are invariably cool, the neighboring high mountains sending down their refreshing breezes as the sun sets. " ' The average temperature in Roseau for each month, taken over a period of five years, is — mean annual temperature, 79.40°. The average maximum is 83.93°, and the minimum 74.88°. The mean temperature near the coast is about the same as in the other islands, but the minimum range is considerably under most of them. SABBATH ISLAND. 93 " * The division of the year is into the wet and dry seasons, though rain falls at all times of the year. The difference is, that a much greater quantity falls in the rainy or hurricane season, as it is more commonly called (beginning in the latter part of July and ending in October), than at any period of the year. By the register kept in the garrison at Morne Bruce, it appears that from April, 1846, to April, 1847, sixty-eight inches of rain fell, and during the succeeding year seventy-two inches. « < Vegetation is hurried on with extraordinary rapidity by the heat and light and continual supply of moisture ; but decay is equally rapid. In these countries, indeed, the destructive process that is in operation everywhere goes on with an energy and activity unknown in temperate climates. The heavy rains, followed by intense heat and high winds, act upon the cliffs, and continually detach stones and large fragments of the rock. Where the roads lead under these cliffs, it is dangerous to pass during or after heavy rain. Landslips are constantly happen- ing in all parts of the island. The mountain-slopes are washed by the floods of rain in the hurricane season, and the clear, sparkling stream- let becomes all at once a turbid, impetuous torrent, dashing down to the bottom of the ravine to join the river below, which rolls on to the sea loaded with immense quantities of earth, vegetable and animal matter, and the trunks of trees ; and sometimes large stones are car- ried along its bed by the force of the torrent. The ocean is tinged for miles out by the red earthy matter, and the debris often is washed up by the waves, and strewed along the coasts. Nature, indeed, in these islands, assumes her most terrible as well as her most beautiful forms, for what visitations can be more appalling than the earthquake and the hurricane — the one shaking down cities in a few minutes, and burying their miserable inhabitants in the ruins ; the other sweep- ing, with its destructive blast, across the face of the land, and leaving only desolation and ruin behind ? ' " The population, according to the census of 1881, was 28,211. Of this total 309 were of Carib blood ; of these 173 are said to be pure 94 DOWN TEE ISLANDS. Carib by uncontarainated descent ; but there are those who assert, on the other hand, that at present there are no people of unmixed Indian blood on the island. In the foregoing extracts from Dr. Imray's description of the island the rainfall is said to be less than eighty inches in each year ; this does not accord with what I have elsewhere stated, that as much as two hundred and eight inches of rain was estimated to have fallen in certain years. I made the extract in testimony of the larger quantity of annual rainfall from "Antigua and the Antiguans," a history to which I am inclined to accord a cer- tain degree of reliability. It is more than likely, however, that Dr. Imray states the fact with greater exactness ; this would seem to be probable, when it is remembered that he made his residence in the island of Dominica, and was therefore presumably fitted to speak with definite understanding of all such matters. Should the rain- fall of Dominica be less than eighty inches, it is still double, or nearly double, that of the neighboring droughty land of Antigua, and it was the contrast between the climates of the two Caribbees that I was seeking to illustrate when I quoted from the book in question. About twenty thousand acres of land only may be said to be under active cultivation in the body of the island, that is to say, successively tilled from year to year, although a much greater quantity is occasion- ally, and at irregular intervals, brought under crops. Be this as it may, by far the greater part of Dominica is unbroken wilderness. The four centuries that have passed since the great Admiral christened it Sabbath Island have changed its aspect, we may well be sure, but little. Its impenetrable forests and steep hill -sides have resisted the axe and ploughshare, setting at naught the toil of settlers, save where here and there infrequent clearings, by almost infinite labor, have been made to yield rich crops of sugar-cane, and, in former days, abundant supplies of coffee, indigo, and, it is said, some cotton. Sugar, of course, is the principal product — of which six thousand hogs- heads was the largest annual yield at any time, that is to say, an SABBATH ISLAND. 95 amount equal to but one-tenth of the annual product of Martinique. The quantity produced is no greater now than it was one hundred years ago. Cocoa is an important crop, and the manufacture of lime-juice is ex- tensively carried on. Coffee was at one time the chief export, and Do- minica berries were famous for their size and quality, and their aroma was delightful to connoisseurs. Great quantities of oranges are shipped hence to New York ; bananas, pineapples, cocoa-nuts thrive luxuri- antly in all parts of the island, and it is claimed that the " greater part of the bay-rum exported from St. Thomas is made from oil dis- tilled from Dominica bay-leaves.'' In addition to these staples, there are to be had in this wonderful place — ginger, cinnamon, peppers, cloves, nutmegs, vanilla, toics-les-mois, cardamoms, and cassava. Many valuable woods grow in the forests — logwood, mahogany, satinwood, rosewood, among others — and a bewildering variety of other useful trees, of which there is a list of one hundred and sixty-nine varieties catalogued in the almanac from which I have several times quoted. Food is abundant, living is cheap, the island is not overcrowded; therefore the darkies have an easy time, as no one need go hun- gry at any time of the year — no one, at least, who will walk into the woods, where are wild fruits and vegetables to be had at no more trouble to the would-be eater than to put forth his hand and pluck. About eight o'clock in the morning the Barracouta stopped, a mile from shore, in front of Roseau, the principal town of the island, and fired a gun to call off the boat with the mails and passengers that were waiting to come on board. The scenery of Roseau Bay is grand ; it is beyond all power of description to paint its loveliness and stately beauty. The Roseau River empties a strong and tumultu- ous current into the sea, in flood-time washing ton upon ton of gravel and sand into the bay, discoloring the water for a mile or more from shore. All the surroundings of the harbor are so beautiful, so fasci- nating, that we were sorely tempted to go ashore, but we had to be 96 DOWN THE ISLANDS. satisfied with a short peep into this delectable haven, and to leave it with regret, always longing to return and explore its wonders. We tarried only a short time, then kept on our journey down the coast, and so came, in time, to the open channel between Dominica and Martinique. Of all the Caribbees, Dominica most awakened my curiosity and excited my imagination. It seemed so inaccessible, so mysterious, a great wilderness in the midst of the sea, unexplored and unexplorable. What wonder that the Caribs longest remained in possession of it ; the mention of its name suggests an inquiry into the history of that inter- esting race. Just as at Barbados it seems natural to inquire into the statistics of sugar-planting, in St. Lucia to rehearse the stories of the wars between England and France, so in Dominica one is tempted to discourse of the legends of the Carib people, to learn of their struggle for liberty, their mad fight for existence. The legends of this ill- fated people seems to haunt the mountain-heights and valleys where they longest made a stand in defence of their old homes, as echoes call- ing back from hill and glen. In the least-explored mountain-retreats and gloomiest valleys of Dominica there still exists a miserable remnant of this once powerful and numerous nation, a few wretched survivors preserving some tra- ditions, and until within a few years a vestige of the ancient language of a great and warlike people — the undisputed, unconquerable masters of all the Caribbean islands in years gone by. For years and years after the coming of Columbus the " Caribs " and the " Canibals," the " Robbers " and the " Man-eaters," successfully resisted all attempted invasions, and were only after ages deprived of their inheritance, as the ancient Britons were in the end dispossessed by the Danes and Norse- men. Inch by inch, foot by foot, in continual struggle the natives defended their island settlements. It is the old story of the North American Indians over again, of savage races in all parts of the world when in conflict with Europeans — a competition of arrows and clubs against gunpowder and rum ; savage cunning against civilized diplo- SABBATH ISLAND. 97 macy. This process of civilizing the Caribs went ruthlessly on — Carib against Spaniard, Frenchman, Dutchman, Englishman, Carib against the whole world, until there remains of the ancient possessors of these islands but a handful on Dominica and a wretched band of half-breeds (half Carib, half runaway-slave) on the island of St. Yincent ; nor will it be many years until the last Carib shall be gathered to his fore- fathers, leaving nothing but a tradition — the imperfectly remembered story of a once mighty people. On Sunday, November 3, 1493, Columbus, on his second voyage, discovered Dominica, and naming it in honor of the day, sailed to the east of north, laying his course for a smaller island, upon which he landed, calling it " Marigalante," after the name of his own ship. Taking possession of all the islands in sight in the name of Ferdi- nand and Isabella, naming the largest of them " Guadalupe " (having promised the monks of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Estremadura to call some newly discovered place after their convent), Columbus con- tinued on his voyage, passed Antigua, St. Kitt's, and the islands to the north and west of Dominica, and so came to Hayti, his desired haven. In after years so troublesome did the Caribs become, opposing all attempts to settle or even explore Dominica, that the historian Da- vies, failing to possess himself of accurate information concerning it, romances about the island in a manner worthy of credulous Sir John Mandeville himself. "Writing of Dominica in 1666, he states that in his day it was a howling wilderness, " inhabited by hordes of hostile savages who dwell among horrid and unnatural scenery," infested by " an infinite number of reptiles of a dreadful bulk and length," men- tioning in particular one " monstrous serpent that wore on its head a very sparkling stone, like a carbuncle, of inestimable price. ... It commonly veiled that jewel with a thin moving skin, like a man's eye- lid, but when it went to drink or sported itself " this reptile " fully dis- covered it, so that the rocks and all about it received a wonderful lustre from the fires issuing out of that precious crown." The Caribs kept away from the coast, hiding themselves in the forests and fortifying 98 DOWN THE ISLANDS. their almost inaccessible mountain-encampments, leaving the shore in horrid solitude to the sea-birds that " are, for the most part," says Da- vies, " taken by hand, not fearing man, in regard they seldom see any." The Caribs had good reason to keep away from the sea-shore, for Oldmixon tells us that : " At this time (1676) there was a wicked practice in the West Indies of which the English are accused, and that was their stealing and enslaving Indians, which they took on the con- tinent or the islands, and one, Colonel Warner, being charged with the unlawful traffic — if it deserves that name — was made a prisoner in England, and sent ... to Barbadoes to take a trial there, but he found so many friends that he came off." He also states that although Dominica was claimed by the English sovereigns as "a jewel in the British crown," they could not for many years base their right of ownership on any proof of peaceful possession or even successful re- sistance to the native attempts to dispossess them of it ; for their sub- jects, who desired to settle upon the island, maintained with diffi- culty a mere foothold on the coast, all their efforts to penetrate into the interior resulting in certain loss of life and disastrous defeat. So that, although the English pretended " to be lords of this island, they never successfully attempted to make any settlement upon it, the Caribbeans are so numerous. . . . 'Tis likely the Caribbeans will never part with the possession of this island, and so it may as well be left out of the Governor of Barbadoes' commission, as the Kingdom of Jerusalem out of the King of Spain's titles." From time to time runaway negro slaves joined themselves to the Caribs, and by intermarriage bred a race of " black Caribs," as the half-bloods are called, to distinguish them from the " yellow " or true Caribs. Gradually the aborigines were driven from their ancient do- mains, until in our days they are crowded into a small reservation on the windward side of the island, extending three or four miles along the Atlantic coast and reaching inland to the summits of the moun- tains. There they live pensioners upon the charity of a government that, as we have seen, once despaired of ever being able to conquer SABBATH ISLAND. 99 their warlike ancestors. Mr. F. A. Ober, in his " Camp in the Carib- bees," a most interesting and useful book, gives an account of his visit to Cabes-Terre (Carib's-land), where he lived for months engaged in his work as ornithologist for the Smithsonian Institute. He tells us that the Caribs raise a few yams, sweet potatoes, cassava, bananas, and plantains ; live in huts framed of poles and thatched with bundles of grass. The roads to their settlements are rough trails ; winding through the forests, over mountains, and along the banks of torrents. The adult people are clad in little besides their shirts, and the children in nature's covering that requires no patching, and admits of no tucking or letting out. The men hunt a little, do as little work as possible, helping the women make baskets of a peculiar grass so closely woven together that they will hold water. The principal town of the Caribs, Salibia, as it is called, is situated high up on the mountains of Dominica, and is seldom visited by white people. The Caribs of Dominica speak a jargon of English which is almost unintelligible to the white residents of the island. But a few years ago the last Carib who could speak the native dialect of the aborigines of Dominica died of old age and was buried near Salibia. Curiously enough, but just as might have been expected when some one person had to "say the last word " ever to be spoken in Caribbese, this ultimate Carib was a woman. With remarkable patience the other survivors of her nation waited until this old lady, with her last word of their native tongue on her dying lips, departed this life, taking with her into everlasting silence all that was left of a language of which she had for many years enjoyed a tyrannous and exasperating monopoly. CHAPTER IX. MADANINA— MARTINIQUE. A Silver Streak. — Shakespeare's Knowledge concerning the New World and the Canni- bals. — Martinique, its Physical Geography, Climate, and Soil. — St. Pierre, Marti- nique, Colored Folks. — The Costumes, Jewellery, and Appearance of the Franco- Africaines. — A Night in the Harbor. ^-^Lf&^&JS& HKKF. is a river in Macedon, and there is also, moreover, a river at Monmouth." As England and France are separated by the Straits of Dover, so are English Dominica and French Mar- tinique parted by an ex- panse of open sea. More- over, as one river resembles the other in the peculiarity that " there is salmons in both," if Captain Fluellen is to be believed, so do each of the bodies of salt-water in question possess one quality in common, to wit : Both are three and twenty miles in width. Speaking of Fluellen, I am reminded that the first edition of Shakespeare's collected plays was published in London in 1623, the MADANINA— MARTINIQUE. 101 same year that the poet's fellow-countryman, Thomas "Warner, landed upon St. Christopher and founded an English colony ; that is to say, one hundred and thirty years after Columbus had bestowed his own name and that of his patron saint upon the island until then known as The Fertile by its Carib lords. Shakespeare, who of all living men of his day was best informed of what was going on in the world, and made such masterly use of his world-wide knowledge, has paid but little attention to the discovery of a new continent peopled by races of strange and outlandish men. He indeed mentions the "still-vexed Bermoothes " (the Bermudas) — his Shy lock is made to say of Antonio, " He hath a third (argosy) at Mexico " — but he barely notices the New World, and yet surely lie must have heard much of America ; for in the traveller's history, the recital of which by Othello so charmed the greedy ear of the fair Venetian, there is abundant evidence that the author had in mind the story of some adventurous mariner newly re- turned from beyond the Western ocean to spin yarns about his most disastrous chances and moving accidents, and indulge in a quiet shot, with his good long-bow, at "the cannibals that each other eat." That there were races of anthropophagi known to the Europeans before Columbus' time is certain, but man-eaters were not called cannibals until after the Caribs had eaten their first white man, who, in the nat- ure of things, was probably a subject of their Most Catholic Majes- ties Ferdinand and Isabella. Therefore when Shakespeare puts it into the mouth of one of the characters in " Coriolanus " to say, " Had he been cannibally given he might have boiled and eaten him too," the poet is guilty of as glaring an anachronism as when in " Julius Caesar " lie makes his Brutus bid Cassius " count the clock." Some of the tribes of the New World anthropophagi are said by early historians to have called themselves Caribs, some Caribals, while others of them pronounced the latter word, "Canibals" — changing the r to n, as Chi- namen transmute r into I. This does not seem in the least improbable, when we consider that the Spaniards changed Christoforo Colombo to Cristobal Colon, and the English, in turn, converted Santo Christoval 102 DOWN THE ISLANDS. into St. Kitt's. The New "World undoubtedly contributed the word " cannibal " to European languages — and the Caribbees are undoubt- edly the original Cannibal Islands. But to return to my story. I have not forgotten the name of the strip of seething brine that writhes and tumbles, tormented by tide and wind, between the cliffs of Dover and the rocks of Cape Gris-nez — I have crossed it many times and oft, in imminent danger of losing all my personal effects, except such as happened to be fastened securely to the outside of my suffering body, or locked in my portmanteau ; but I have to confess that, just as Fluellen had forgotten the name of the river in far-away Macedon (if, indeed, he ever knew it), so " it is not in my prains what is the name " of the peaceful sea, if name it has, that lies between Cachacrou Head, Dominica, and Cape St. Martin, Martinique, sparkling in the sunlight, glistening in the star- light, day after day, night after night, throughout unending summer. But whatever be the name of the strait or channel across which the Barracouta bravely bore us, the passage over the blue deep from Do- minica to Martinique was delightful, and beyond all gainsaying enjoy- able, being made in ease and comfort. Between Cape St. Martin, its northwest extremity, and Cape d'Enfer, the jumping-off place at the tip-end of the island on its south- eastern confines, Martinique is thirty-five miles in length, varying in width from seven to sixteen miles, being broadest between Cape Enrage on the leeward and the Peninsula Caravelle on the windward shore. Its area is about three hundred and eighty square miles, that is to say, 245,000 acres in all, of which a little over 80,000 acres are well-watered plains and fertile hill-sides under cultivation. There is nearly an equal amount of forest or savannah, while the remainder of the land, either because of its ruggedness, or because it is covered with impenetrable jungle, lies fallow year after year. Some of this fallow land was at one time cleared of trees and broken by the plough ; in later days it has been permitted to remain untilled, and in many places is once more overgrown by shrubs and ferns, or by a vigorous second MADANINA— MARTINIQUE. 103 growth of trees. The surface of the island is rugged and mountainous, the shores steep and precipitous. Great promontories and headlands project out to sea, enclosing deep bays and narrow inlets. Many lofty peaks rise in the centre of the island (Mont Pelee, over 4,400 feet high, most prominent of all, towers in the northwest), overlooking valleys and table-lands, covered with dense " high woods," as the pri- meval forests are called. In the centre of the island the Pitons du Carbet attain a height of 4,000 feet, forming a group of very rugged, conical peaks, while in the southeast Mont Vauclin, with flattened top, stands up boldly 1,600 feet into heaven. These three elevations, sur- mounting the foot-hills, are visible far out at sea, rendering Martinique a conspicuous landfall to mariners while yet many miles of ocean sep- arate them from the land. All the mountains of the island show traces and scars of their volcanic origin, and in this island, as in Nevis, St. Lucia, Dominica, and others of the mountainous islands, there are numerous boiling springs, some of which are possessed of medicinal and curative properties. The soil is a rich vegetable loam, mingled with pumice ; it is rich beyond all belief, readily cultivated, and for this reason Maiv tinique is esteemed as the most fertile of all the Caribbees, with the possible exception of St. Christopher and wonderful Barbados. The climate is delightful at all times of the year except during the months of July, August, and September ; the inhabitants enjoy immunity from hurricanes, for the island lies out of the well-defined track of the cyclones that frequently burst with phenomenal fury on the shores of others of the Caribbees. The mean annual temperature is 81° of heat i — the warmest weather prevails in June, when the thermometer aver- ages 83° ; the coolest in January, when the mean temperature is 77°. In August, during the height of the wet season, the rainfall amounts to 11.5 inches ; in March, the driest of the months, to 3.7 inches, and the total for the year is eighty-seven inches, or more than double the total rainfall of New England. Taking the size of the island into consideration, its population,which amounts to no less than 163,000 (an average of 428 to the square mile), 104 DOWN THE ISLANDS. is remarkably large. Belgium, the most thickly populated country in Europe, contains but 440 people to the square mile ; therefore it would appear that Martinique is one of the most densely inhabited parts of the globe. When we recall the fact that in the whole island there are but 80,000 acres under cultivation, we may well wonder how it is possible for so many human beings to find subsistence, or how even a small proportion of them can find work of any kind to keep their idle fingers from picking and stealing. Nearly ninety per cent, of the in- habitants of Martinique are of pure negro blood, or have African blood in their veins. It is said the half-breeds predominate, for the reason that white and black races have mingled more freely than has been the case on the islands belonging to Great Britain. The colored people of Martinique are, it is said, more prosperous, better fed and cared for, more ambitious of getting on in the world, and consequently more industrious and intelligent, than the blacks on other islands. I can hardly credit the statement, made in my hearing while on the island, by a French Creole, who presumably had no intent or desire to exaggerate its grossness, that sixty-six per cent, of all the children born on the island are of illegitimate birth. If this be true, 1 can imagine a more hideous social condition does not exist elsewhere in the so- called civilized world, unless it be among the negroes on the island of Hayti, for instance, where the blacks are rapidly returning to a state of barbarism more cruel and degraded, more hopeless than that in which their ancestors were found when their enslavers brought them from Africa. Late in the afternoon the Barracouta announced her arrival in the roadstead of St. Pierre by firing a salute, which was so promptly an- swered from shore that the report of the cannon on land sounded like the echo of the ship's brass twelve-pounder. The darkies that came to meet us in a flotilla of small boats made as great an outcry as did their dusky brethren at the other ports we had visited, but, unlike the Kittefonian or Antiguan darkies, who jabbered an almost unintelligi- ble English dialect, the Martinique colored folks jabbered a perfectly MABANINA—MARTINIQ UE. 105 unintelligible patois which, by reason of certain familiar antics of in- tonation and odd inflection, sounded like French. We were at a loss to distinguish what the darkies said beyond oui and non, and so they might as well have been Biscay an fishermen or contemporaries of Clovis. I entered into what might, by excessive compliment and a polite stretch of the imagination, have been called a conversation with the first fruit-seller who came on board. .Taking him aside, where I could bargain with him without fear of being outbid by other cus- tomers, I pointed to his stock-in-trade, which consisted of forty or fifty limes in a tin-pail, and remarked, in pure commercial French, be it observed, using the familiar phraseology of the author of " Shop- ping before Breakfast," " Combien ? " The grinning darky promptly named a price that would have sounded ridiculously cheap in Fulton Market — it sounded ridiculously enough on board the Barracouta — , " Deux sheel'n, s-e-e-ks pance." Rather than have him imagine that I did not understand I closed the bargain then and there, explaining to the Doctor, who volunteered the information that I was not buying greenhouse melons, that there was no use trying to cheapen the wares of the French negroes, whose politeness and attention to the little courtesies due to strangers were so different from the small trading spirit displayed by " niggers " de- scended from the slaves of a nation of shopkeepers. 1 do not think I convinced my shipmate of the correctness of my theory ; he, however, seemed to be much cheered and encouraged by the assurance, and made haste to repeat it to our companions, who, as I now believe, formed a pool to bear the lime-market, for in a few minutes the price of that comestible had fallen to a lower rate per dozen than I had paid per lime. When our gallant captain heard of my fruit trans- action he seemed to enjoy himself more than at any other time during the trip. His mirth was infectious, and was like to become epidemic, until, finally, I was obliged to dispense unlimited lime-juice in the 106 DOWN THE ISLANDS. smoking-room. The skipper, with reckless extravagance (as I thought, seeing it came so dear), drank his allowance straight, notwithstand- ing the numerous hints thrown out to him by my more considerate fellow-passengers, who, mindful of the costly quality of my entertain- ment, adulterated their lime-juice with sundry and divers of the ship's stores. The captain's physical sufferings were easily alleviated, but his thirst for knowledge concerning the strict business-like habits of the colored Creoles of Martinique was unquenchable for several days. As soon as possible after our arrival in the harbor of St. Pierre, we went ashore in one of the ship's boats and landed at a well-built pier, excellently contrived for the convenience of passengers. "We were at once most favorably impressed by the prevailing order and cleanliness of all we saw, as well as by the neatness of the houses, that were noticeably French, as by the spruce, well-favored, prosperous ap- pearance of the people. Like all towns on the leeward coasts of the mountainous Caribbean islands, St. Pierre is situated close beside the sea ; in fact, it is only separated from the water by a wide beach, along which there is a row of warehouses, occupied by shipping mer- chants who carry on a large trade, not only with France, but with all other parts of the civilized world ; for this city of twenty-five thousand inhabitants is the chief commercial port of the island and its roadstead affords good anchorage for many vessels. The mountains rise in a vast amphitheatre behind the houses, extending, in magnificent sweep, from Point Carbet on the south to La Mare on the north ; between these two promontories a crescent of sand, five miles in length, bounds the bay. In the middle of the picture the hills are cleft by the valley of the Riviere Roxelane, whose waters, after a headlong rush down the steeps, flow gently across a fertile, highly cultivated savannah, until they finally empty into the bay of St. Pierre, near the northern suburbs of the town. The streets of St. Pierre are well paved — streams of water flowing on both sides of the roadways carry away the dirt and garbage ; many of the wider avenues are shaded by trees, and the shops in all the thoroughfares give signs of doing a driving A FRENCH t'KEOLK. MADAN1N A— MARTINIQUE. 107 trade with crowds of customers. For these reasons the town has a great appearance of prosperity, and all its people go about the streets with the air of those who find little difficulty in keeping the wolf from their doors and are able to lay up a little store for rainy days. In many ways the contrast between St. Pierre and the British towns we had visited was very marked — a contrast that other visitors to the Caribbees have not failed to notice — but not for a deed or a gift of the whole lovely Colombian Archipelago can I be induced to say one word that might maliciously be tortured into a reproach of the Anglo- Creoles ; for assuredly it does not lie in the mouth of any traveller who has been a welcome guest at the groaning tables of Kittefonians and Antiguans, or who has been entertained, as I afterward was, at the Ice House in Bridgetown, Barbados, to grumble or find fault even with the dust on the streets of people who keep their houses swept and garnished, their doors wide opien, and their tables spread for the entertainment of foreigners, no matter whether their guests arrive in yacht or man-of-war or are cast away on their coasts by the wreck of clumsy merchantmen. It were churlish indeed to find fault with any custom or to dwell critically upon any shortcoming of these hospitable people, who, as hosts, live up to their green turtle. Anthony Trollope, who may be accepted as a writer entitled to his opinion on this as on all other subjects, in his delightful book, "The West Indies and the Spanish Main," after reluctantly confessing his surprise at the great superiority of the French West Indian towns to those which belong to Great Britain, ventures to draw a comparison between the manners and customs of the English Creoles and the habits of life of their neighbors, the inhabitants of Martinique and Guadeloupe. He de- clares that the neatness and orderly management of the French cities and villages and the contrasting slovenliness and disorder of the British towns are due entirely to natural causes, which he formulates as follows : " The French colonists, whether Creoles or Europeans, consider the West Indies their country ; they cast no wishful eyes toward France ; 108 DOWN THE ISLANDS. . . . they marry, build in and for the West Indies, and for the West Indies alone. In our colonies it is quite different. . . . Everyone regards the colony as a temporary lodging-place, where they must sojourn in sugar and molasses till their mortgages will let them live elsewhere. They call England their home, though many of them have never been there. They talk of visiting home and going home, and pique themselves on knowing the probable result of a contested election in England more than in mending their roads, establishing a police, or bettering the condition of a prison. The French colonist deliberately expatriates himself ; the Englishman never." In these words Trollope paraphrases the language of a relative of the poet Coleridge, who wrote of the Caribbees as he found them more than half a century ago. Mr. Coleridge's book, " Six Months in the West Indies," is a most entertaining volume, and I commend it as such to my readers. As it was in Coleridge's time in the good old days of slavery, so it was thirty years ago in the time of Trollope and in this year of grace — in all that testifies to the prosperity and thrift of all classes of Creoles, white or black, the British West Indian islands present a striking contrast to the French Caribbees. Walking slowly, keeping my eyes about me as I loitered from cor- ner to corner through the streets of St. Pierre, I presently came to the busiest part of the town, where stands a great church, in the front of which I halted for a few minutes to watch a throng of worshippers coming in from all directions, summoned by the tolling of a bell to at- tend vespers. It was a good-natured, talkative, laughing, gossipping crowd, composed for the greater part of colored women, all of them gay and radiant in the gaudiest of calicoes and colored cotton-stuffs ; there were but few meanly clad persons, and fewer beggars than we had elsewhere seen. The men were more stalwart, more active and agile in their movements than are our Southern blacks or the negroes of St. Kitt's and Antigua. The women were more shapely and well- favored, their figures lissome and by no means gross, or lacking in beauty of contour or comeliness. There were all shades of color, MAD AN IN A— MARTINIQUE. 109 from the saccatra of pure African blood to the sangmele, who, being al- most white, might readily pass for a swarthy French Creole of European descent. The costumes of the women were neat and agreeably clean ; their gowns, of cheapest prints or coarsest colored-stuft's, were arranged with taste and carefully draped. The garment of prevailing fashion was a single loose wrapper of colored calico or flowered muslin, belted at the waist with artful but perfectly excusable care. The young women leave one arm and shoulder bare, which, thrown into strong re- lief by well-washed cambric, makes a pleasing study in black and white, well worthy of the chalk and charcoal of the ablest Tile Club man or Salmagundian. When walking, the negresses gather up one side of their phylacteries, fastening them at the hip, thus adding to their jaunty appearance, gaining a certain ehic which lends an artistic finish to their toilet ; for the negresses have learned from their French mis- tresses the arts and graces of making themselves attractive, and beyond doubt study how to make themselves pleasing in the sight of men. With a Franco-Africaine, love of personal adornment is a passion in the gratification of which she displays a reckless extravagance, as witness the immense string of beads of extraordinary size she coils around her shapely neck, to say nothing of the preposterous rings she attaches to her ears — I do not exaggerate when I state that it would require but little stretch of the imagination, or of the ear-rings them- selves, to speak of some of them as being large enough to serve as muffin rings. A favorite form of ornament is composed of six golden bars, as large round and as long as the wearer's little finger, bound together with heavy bands ; these ear-rings look more like the gilt bar- rels of a six-chambered pistol than female gewgaws, and the beholder is surprised to find that the lobe of the human ear can bear the weight of so much metal without being torn or causing pain to the wearer. In keeping with these encumbrances, the size of which I do not exag- gerate, are brooches as large as soap-dishes, lockets the size of snuff- boxes, bracelets, armlets, finger-rings of all patterns and degrees of inconvenience — all gorgeous, not to say stunning — and I can hardly 110 DOWN THE ISLANDS. believe the statements I heard reiterated again and again, to the effect that all this jewellery is of pure gold — that even the blackest ne- gresses scorn to wear Brummagem or plated imitations. If, however, these fairy tales be true, then can I boast that at Martinique I had my washing done up by the spouse of a bonanza king who (unless he had paid his wife's jeweller) could still afford to sit in his counting- house, counting out his money, while the queen herself was in the garden hanging up my clothes. Little girls, maidens, matrons, and ancient dames, all of them wear gorgeous bandanna handkerchiefs, built upon their heads with scrupu- lous care in intricate folds, and all these coifs, it is needless to say, are as gaudy, if not as tasteful and unutterably lovely, as Easter bonnets. Many of the quadroons are handsome, even beautiful in their youth, and all the women of pure black, as well as those of mixed blood, walk with a lightness of step and a graceful freedom of motion that are very noticeable and pleasant to see. I say all the women — but I must con- fine this description to those who go shoeless — for when a negress crams her feet into even the best-fitting pair of shoes her gait becomes as awkward as the waddle of an Indian squaw or of a black swan on dry land ; she minces and totters, in such danger of falling forward that one feels constrained to go to her and say : " Mam'selle Ebene or JVoirette, do, I beseech you, put your shoes where you carry everything else, namely, on the top of your well-balanced head — do let me see you walk barefoot once again, for, I assure you, neither your Chinese cousins nor your European mistresses can ever hope to imitate your goddess-like gait until they practise the art of walking with their tiny high-heeled boots nicely balanced on their heads, as you so often are pleased to carry yours.-' The language of the people of Martinique of course is French. The negro Creoles speak a jargon that baffled all our attempts at ex- tended conversation, although they understood those of our party to whom French of Paris was not unknown. The whites speak French with an accent that very closely resembles the speech of the Creoles A MARTINIQUE BELLE. MADANINA— MARTINIQUE. Ill of Louisiana. And just here let me mention that the name " Creole" is applied to everything born in the West Indies, and, as the London Spectator of recent date points out : " There are not only Creole men and women of pure British, as well as of French, Dutch, and Spanish stock, but Creole bulls and cows, Creole horses, and Creole cocks and hens ; and as the Louisianians are especially fond of the appellation, so also do the Creoles of the "West Indies consider the name honorable and worthy to be borne by all people of native birth." One hears the phrase, " one of the oldest Creole families," just as in New York one hears the term, " old Knickerbocker families," or as in Nevada I have heard the enterprising, public-spirited citizens who opened the first faro-banks or gin-mills deferentially referred to by the upper middle classes of a brand-new mining-camp as " solid old-timers." Continuing my stroll about the streets, looking into the shop- windows, watching the people passing and repassing, nodding in return to their nods, bowing like a tea-shop mandarin, I came at length to the boutique of a dealer in fruits — fruits of all kinds, mangoes, sappo- dillas, sour- and sweet-sops, avocado pears, and others too numerous to mention. I at once proceeded to take samples of the stock-in-trade of this merchant, telling him to keep my score and I would settle with him when I could eat no more. At a fruit-stand in New York I should speedily have bankrupted myself, and yet when I ceased eating, for very shamefacedness, the fruiterer was perfectly content to receive the sum of one franc, then and there to him in hand paid. Telling him I would return later in the evening to clear out his remaining stock, I joined the stragglers of our party at the landing-place, and went with them on board the Barracouta to a late but satisfying dinner, and at an early hour turned in on deck. CHAPTER X. A DRIVE THROUGH MARTINIQUE. "Not our Funeral." — A Merry Party. — Over the Hills and Far Away. — The Gendar- merie. — The Valley of the Roxelane. — The High Woods. — Martinique Scenery. — A Way -side Luncheon. — Agouti. — A Pig's Nurse. — A Chorus of Bells. — Return to the Ship. We bestirred ourselves early next morning, left the ship before the sun was two hours high, were rowed ashore, and from the landing readily found our way to the office of the agent of the Barracouta, where a line of carriages was drawn up along the sidewalk await- ing our arrival, for we had been promised a long drive over the hills and far away through the high woods of Martinique. We were a merry and comfortable party, as may well be imagined, and as we took the seats assigned to us in the vehicles, which formed in a line on one side of the street, all traffic in the neighborhood came to a stand-still ; a crowd gathered around us, impeding the passage of carts and pedestrians. We were evidently objects of curiosity to the on- lookers, and seemed to afford them as much amusement as a Punch and Judy show affords the unfashionable mob at the East End of London. The situation, besides being extremely embarrassing, was, to say the least, ridiculous ; the row of waiting carriages was painfully suggestive of a much more melancholy occasion than that which had called together the respectful throng ; there was an oppressive silence until someone, prompted by the imp of mischief, observed : "It takes a longtime to get the remains down-stairs." Very trivial the remark may seem as repeated here, but under the circumstances it was sufficiently vial d j?ropos to throw some of the A DRIVE THROUGH MARTINIQUE. 113 lighter-minded Barracoutans into convulsions of laughter, in which they were joined by the puzzled and delighted by-standers, who laughed loud and long to see the ecstasy of mirth which brought the tears to our eyes and set stitches in our shaking sides. So we drove away, conscious that we had disgraced ourselves before the public — a black public, too, and for a time were humbled in spirit, looking at one another with reproachful glances of mingled surprise and reproof. It was not long, however, before we regained our wonted spirits, and once more all went merry as a marriage-bell. The moral of this incident teaches how easy it is to be excited to enthusiasm, and how people with a mind to enjoy life may not be restrained from making the most of it in the glorious West Indies. We drove along the Rue Yictor Hugo, a narrow, well-paved avenue, taking our departure from the vicinage of the great church, a building of no architectural beauty or pretension to elaborate design, but main- tained in perfect repair, near which stands a tall framework of heavy timbers erected to do duty as a belfry when the steeple of the church was overturned by an earthquake many years ago. The shops on either side of this main avenue are neatly furnished, and present a prosperous appearance. Rue Yictor Hugo, the Broadway of St. Pierre, runs parallel to the shore and is crossed at right angles by other thor- oughfares and passages, descending in easy grades from the upper town toward the sea, all of them well swept and sprinkled. Near the north- ern end of the town, where is the principal market-place, we drove by numerous substantial dwellings, each enclosed in a walled garden deeply shaded by magnificent mango-trees ; then turning into a street leading inland, we drove down an abrupt steep, into the most densely peopled part of the town, and presently came to the Gendarmerie, extensive barracks built on the Place d'Armes many years ago for the comfortable quartering of several hundred troops. I asked our driver if there were many soldiers in Martinique in these days of the Republic, for formerly kings and emperors had here kept stationed a considerable contingent. He replied in a patois more unintelli- 114 DOWN TEE ISLANDS. gible than that of Sardou's " Nos Bons Yillageois," and so to this day I am none the wiser for his attempt to speak French. However, as we passed the military precinct without challenge, without, indeed, behold- The Market-place. ing more than a dozen uniformed personages, having the semi-civilian air of sergents-de-ville rather than the prim appearance of soldiers of the line, I concluded that the garrison had been withdrawn from Marti- nique shortly after Napoleon the Little had left Maximilian to his own A DRIVE THROUGH MARTINIQUE. 115 devices and to the mercy of the Mexicans. That this was the case I afterward learned in well-broken English from a vieille moustache, who informed me he had been mustered out of service in Martinique years ago. In plaintive language he expressed his anguish and futile indignation, his despair at la deeheance of a great nation ; that final catastrophe having occurred, according to his calendar, when France consented to the burglary of Alsace and Lorraine. Then every French- man fell down, and he himself, in particular, was forced upon his knees in the midst of chaos. " C'etait un crime, m'sieu', un meurtre brutal — epouvantable, dis- je ! inexcusable; je ne l'excuserai jamais — jamais!" cried this Creole Bombastes Furioso, breaking forth in an unrestrainable torrent of his native French, hurling the words at me in impotent rage in so loud a tone of voice, with such a claquement des doigts, snapping his fingers in the face of the whole world, that I was afraid he would bring down upon us the reserve force of gendarmes, who would promptly lay us two by the heels for plotting blue ruin against the French Republic, to the detriment and final undoing of the peace and security of the same. The gesture of unutterable scorn, not to say ineffable hatred, for the scelerats who had winked at the ravish- ing of their country and were responsible for the existing state of affairs in France may suggestively and generally be described as a shrug of the shoulders. But to speak of it simply as such would as faintly convey an idea of its intensity and exaggerated significance as it would to speak of Niagara as a cascade, or of the cancan as a figure in the Lancers. It was a convulsion, threatening the disloca- tion of the man's entire anatomy — I was startled, alarmed, by its exe- cution, expecting it to be followed by a shower of buttons torn from their fastenings by the uncalculated force of the sudden strain to which they were subjected. The lower borders of his trousers parted company with the tops of his gaiters, his imperial seemed to descend to the vicinity of his vest-pockets, his shoulders to mount above the tops of his ears ; so that I have always fancied that, had he worn 116 DOWN THE ISLANDS. epaulets, those insignia of his military rank would have clashed to- gether above the pompon on Yieille Moustache's fatigue-cap. Until I witnessed that particular shrug I had accused Cicero of unworthy ex- aggeration when he says of Piso who, he alleges, was wont to eke out the poverty of his oratory by meretricious aid of countenance and gest- ure, being wise by signs : Respondes altero ad frontem sublato, altero ad nientiim depresso supercilio, crudelitatem, tihi non placere / that is to say, he fetched one of his brows up to his forehead and bent the other down to his chin. But, having witnessed the marvellous contortions of my gallant Frenchman, I can see no reason why I should not credit the Roman pettifogger with all the forensic agility of which Cicero alleges Piso was possessed withal. When I had thanked and re-remercied, reassured, and had the goodness to be assured and reassured by this embodiment of French Imperialism, I parted from him with full understanding of the causes that keep the barracks in St. Pierre tenantless until this day. After I had turned the corner and was beyond his ken, when I no longer felt his glittering ej 7 e piercing my inner consciousness, as he would have impaled a retreating Prussian, had he ever seen one, on his bayonet, I permitted myself to hope that the day would soon come when, not alone in the Antilles of his exile, but in all the fair land of his birth, barracks and casernes will be turned into store-houses, swords into pruning-hooks, and a mighty host of men sent to follow the plough. Vive la Hepublique ! Continuing onward beyond the Gendarmerie, we drove by the Jardin d'Acclimatation, a wonderful park where there is a marvellous exhibition of the flora of all the islands of the Caribbean Archipelago, and of many other tropical lands besides. There days might be spent in studying the beauties of trees and flowers ; we had, however, no time to halt, but hurried past, catching tantalizing glimpses of the treas- ures growing in this enchanting paradise. Just as we began the ascent of the road which winds upward from the broad savannah spreading in gentle slopes and undulations between the town and the forest- A DRIVE THROUGH MARTINIQUE. 117 clad hills, we saw the way-side shrine so often described by visitors to Martinique. I, for one, had often read of it, had seen many pictures of it, was, indeed, on the outlook for it ; therefore, when the little place of devotion came in view, I hailed it as a familiar friend. It stands close to the road, and as we passed the place our driver reverently lifted his hat, an act of piety he was called upon to repeat many times during the day, for there are similar shrines at almost every turn. On our left the Riviere Roxelane came tumbling down between the rugged walls of a charming valley, shaded over by forests, choked with luxuriant vegetation, where the net-work of vines festoon and beautify the cliffs and precipices that rise from the grand sweep of mountain-side. On our right a cascade, leaping from the verge of a perpendicular crag, fell in a shower of silver through the green of palm, bread-fruit, and ceiba-trees, some of them covered with blossoms, all wet with spray and foam. Our driver, ventilating his knowledge of English, in reply to our pantomimic inquiry, assured us the fall was " sevantee fit 'igh." The water fell into a picturesque basin, in which we saw papyrus and graceful reeds growing among curious water-plants ; and the night-blooming cereus bloomed in such perfect beauty, glorifying this enchanted spot where the splash of falling water sounded so cool and inviting, the shadow of trees and vines so restful, that it required no small amount of resolution to leave it be- hind and begin our journey along the scorching road out from the shadow of the foliage into the glare and torment of the sunlight. From the next turn in the road we looked upon Mount Pelee, soaring above the valley of the EoxeJane, where that riotous stream boiled and foamed close to the margin of the high woods. We traced its comse as far as the eye could reach, until it glistened in the dis- tance like a narrow riband of silver shot through cloth of green. The road-sides were hedged with flowering shrubs ; in the thickets, the broad, shining leaves of wild plantains waved in the breeze. Palms of all varieties were everywhere — growing singly, in large groups, or forming extensive groves ; and near the banks of the water-courses 118 DOWN THE ISLANDS. were masses of the gloomy foliage of that mysterious tree, the man- grove, the roots of which are fabled to distil blood when torn from mother earth. On the hill-sides, coffee-plantations gave promise of infinite demi-tasses, while, protected from the direct rays of the sun by the shade of taller trees, the cocoa ripened almost ready to be gathered ; masses of volcanic rock, overgrown with mosses, lichens, orchids, and vegetable parasites, draped with vines and creepers, lay scattered in grand confusion, like ruins of cairns, or fortresses built in the days when there were giants in the land. We climbed upward, through groves of bananas, plantains, oranges, limes, and citrons, pass- ing sugar-plantations where the harvesters were at work cutting the yellow cane. From time to time, when we came to the top of a diffi- cult ascent, the highway skirted along the edge of cliffs or steep em- bankments, whence we could look for miles over hills and valleys, cov- ered with thickets and jungles, orchards, forests, meadows, savannahs, and fertile, cultivated lands, and beheld, far beyond all, the sea, shin- ing like lapis lazuli in the sunlight. From the heights we viewed giant trees dwindled to shrubs, farm-houses like playthings in the in- tervals. We heard the notes of many birds strange to us, the soughing of the trade-wind sweeping through the forest, the frou-frou of the palms, the drowsy sound of water dripping from mossy rocks into limpid pools, where callas thrive and rare water-plants (rare to us Northern-born folk, common weeds by their native brooks) grow in the dank, impenetrable undergrowth. High up on the hills grow the mountain-palms {Euterpe montana), which, although not so tall or stalwart as some of their kind, exceed them all in beauty and strength. They thrive best where the wind blows with greatest fury. We saw them swaying and bending in the breeze — their lissome and graceful movement most pleasant to behold. These palms mark the boundaries of the high woods, the impenetra- ble primeval forests where flourish gigantic tree-ferns, thirty or forty feet high, spreading out delicate, lace-like leaves of wonderful size, so broad, so long, that a man on horseback can find shelter from the heat A DRIVE THROUGH MARTINIQUE. 119 of the sun or beating of the rain beneath their shelter. Here, too, are curious liana trees, from which depend long, delicate fibres resem- bling cordage, reaching downward from the branches until they touch the earth ; then, taking fresh root firmly, support their parent trunk like shrouds staying the masts of great ships. The young lianas, an inch thick, are strong and tough, and are frequently used as ropes ; they may be tied into knots, so elastic is the fibre of the wood before it hardens with its longer growth. In ravines where the soil is fat and rich, enormous gomrniers (gum-trees), often exceeding five or six feet in girth, stand with spreading roots that rise above the ground like flying buttresses, to support tall, straight trunks one hundred feet or more in height. The stem and branches of many of thesa noble trees are so overgrown by parasites and air-plants that one is at a loss to distinguish the bark or foliage of the tree itself. The Caribs made their war-canoes from these immense logs — even in our days the pi- rogues to be seen sailing about the harbors of these islands are hol- lowed in the old-fashioned way, with fire and axe, from the trunks of the gommier. This tree yields an aromatic gum, used by the negroes in making torches ; for this reason it is also called the flambeau-tree. Here and there among the underwood we saw thickets of halisiers (wild plantains), with broad leaves resembling those of the banana- palm, having a central stalk which holds aloft a trident of scarlet flow- ers, in shape like the gladiolus, but many times larger. At intervals we came to impenetrable jungles of bamboo ; bamboo, of all growing things beyond all compare the most ' graceful and exquisite. I will not attempt to describe the bewildering display of the marvellous and luxuriant vegetation, for every turn in the road as we ascended higher and higher, leaving the cultivated lands and fallow pastures behind us as we penetrated deeper into the high woods, revealed scenes that to our excited imaginations seemed to surpass in grandeur — exceed in enchantment, all we had looked upon before. We passed many pict- uresque villages of well-built houses and thatched cabins, clustering around little churches in front of which were wooden shrines where 120 DOWN THE ISLANDS. pious wayfarers had placed offerings of fruits and wild-flowers or lighted tapers, and all the passers-by devoutly bowed the head and crossed themselves, or stopped and murmured a " Hail, Mary." On the outskirts of these settlements are the residences of the owners of the neighboring estates, and beyond them the forests again shut in the view. We drove rapidly along well-made roads, crossing mountain- streams on old-fashioned high-arched bridges of solid masonry that, were it not for earthquakes, might last for centuries. Fifteen miles from town we halted to rest and water our horses, jaded by the long pull up the mountains ; then, after lunching by the way-side, in the shade of a giant fern, we reluctantly began our journey homeward — yes, reluctantly — for from our resting-place we could see the highway winding down into a valley of such indescribable loveliness, we could not help thinking that beyond was a more charming and bewitch- ing country than that which had excited our imagination and awakened our admiration as we passed through it from the sea-shore to the moun- tain-heights. Our ride back to St. Pierre was no less entertaining than our journey thence. As the journey was, for the greater part of the distance, down hill, we travelled more rapidly, and the changes of scenery were more frequent and startling ; one moment we were in the forest beneath arching branches, catching occasional glimpses of mag- nificent peaks and summits of mountains, then pent up between insur- mountable barriers of cliffs and crags, wondering in what direction lay our escape if ever we wished to leave valleys as fair, and seemingly inaccessible, as the Happy Valley of the Prince of Abyssinia. Out again from shade into sunlight, the road led along the edge of preci- pices overlooking miles of lowlands, undulating toward the sea in wide stretches of plain and savannah, changing from green to blue, fading to gray of distant coast-line, and the ocean bluer and mistier out be- yond, until the eye could not distinguish where the sea melted into clouds and met the sky. Everywhere in the cane-pieces the plantation-hands were at work, A DRIVE THROUGH MARTINIQUE. 121 and on the road we met barefooted darkies, plodding steadily along, who gladly returned our salutations and turned to stare at us as long as we were in sight. They carried everything with which they were encumbered on their heads — cocoa-nuts, jugs, coffee-pots, cups, bottles — all as securely balanced as if those articles were a part of the anatomy of their bearer. The children, mere pickaninnies, toddled along with cans and calabashes of molasses, yams, bananas, oranges, or what not, as firmly fixed on their crania as if they had been wens. A Marti- nique boy will stow away as many personal effects on the top of his head as a Yankee boy will find room for in the pockets of his trou- sers. "We saw one youngster with a huge grass-mat several feet in diameter which he wore as jauntily as if it had been a chip hat; from a distance he looked, for all the world, like an animated mushroom out for a stroll — an object, by the way, we should not have been at all sur- prised to fall in with during our travels in this land of sensitive plants, and ferns as tall as full-grown cherry-trees. Another youth passed us bearing aloft a dead agouti, an animal in size, appearance, and habits resembling the woodchuck. This little fellow was decidedly the hap- piest mortal we had seen that day, and our driver's mouth watered as he volunteered the information : " He mange c'la. Agouti ! Bon ? Mais oui ! sairtan-lee ! Oh, for sure ! Me eat him aussi ! " The agouti is of the same species as the guinea-pig, and is to be found in nearly all the Caribbean Islands as well as in South America. Those who have eaten it say that its flesh resembles in taste that of the rabbit. It is considered to be food fit to set before a king by the negroes, who hunt the agouti as diligently as the darkies hunt coon or 'possum in our Southern States. The sight of a fat specimen of this toothsome beast will stampede an entire gang of plantation-hands, old and young, male and female, all joining in the mad pursuit ; for an agouti hunt, I am told, equals in excitement the chase after a wood- chuck during the recess of a country school in our rural districts. Hoes, hands, and feet are brought into requisition by the negroes 122 DOWN THE ISLANDS. when they have run their game to earth. Frequently, before the prize is captured, if captured at all, a hole will have been excavated in the earth, which, if not as deep as a well or as wide as a church door, will be large enough to barbecue an ox, the darkies meanwhile display- ing an activity of which no one in these islands thinks their race capa- ble, although I must say that I saw no reason for the uncompromising illiberality of this almost universally entertained opinion. "VVe noticed but few cattle during our drive ; indeed, there are not many domestic animals on any of the West Indian Islands, the few we did see being unhealthy, poor, and emaciated. Cattle do not thrive in this climate — the everlasting summer weather affects them unfavorably. It is surprising that in all these years no one has thought of breeding from Hindoo stock a race of cattle that would, as is well known, thrive and flourish in hot climates. As it is, one sees none but sickly, scrawny, raw-boned beasts of diminutive size, tottering about in search of fodder and cooling streams. Sheep, also, of which considerable num- bers are brought from the United States, to be killed soon after their arrival, fare badly in the West Indies ; those we saw on the hill-sides of Martinique looked as if they had been sent south to a milder climate in the vain hope of arresting the ravages of a general and fatal break- up. As for the pigs, they were weird pictures of porcine woe ; and, a fact which the descriptions of other travellers will vouch for, we were excusable in mistaking a drove of swine that we saw rooting about in a cane-piece for a pack of under-sized deer-hounds lazily picking up a lost scent — their noses being so long and so very pointed, their eyes so prominent and so very glassy, and their ears hanging down by their jowls like the tabs of a moth-eaten fur-cap. You could count their ribs and tell all their bones ; their bodies were long and spectral, with never a suggestion of bacon or lard ; as for ham, it would have taken several hogs to supply that necessary part of the sandwiches for even a small picnic. To complete the catalogue of their poverty, there was not a tooth-brushf ul of bristles on the whole drove. One wretch- ed pig we saw deserves, and shall have, special mention. An elderly A DRIVE THROUGH MARTINIQUE. 123 negress was leading it along the road by a string; she seemed so proud of her charge, so careful of it, so anxious in her attention to its bodily comfort, that one of our party said she was the pig's nurse. However, as she carried an earthen jug and a cassava strainer, house- hold goods, all of the probable value of one franc, on her head, and as, moreover, it was near the first of May, we concluded she was moving to the country where she had secured summer board for the pig, hop- ing to recruit its health, shattered by the gayety of a winter in the city. I will elsewhere describe the Creole horse, that is, the average labor- ing horse of these islands, which is an exceedingly inferior creature, as raw-boned and as ill-favored as Don Quixote's Eosinante. In Mar- tinique and, in fact, in other islands where considerate and hospitable entertainers placed their private establishments at our disposal, we found the vehicles well appointed, often stylish, the horses showing the effects of careful grooming and, although lacking somewhat in spirit and power, in every other way trim and well turned out. This was particularly true of the equipment furnished to us by our kindly hosts at St. Pierre ; therefore, although the day was warm and the roads somewhat dusty (it was impossible they should be otherwise, see- ing it was near the end of the dry season), we made our 'promenade en voiture in great comfort ; indeed, in luxury, for better roads, more skil- fully constructed and graded, or more perfectly kept in repair and cleaned of way-side weeds and unsightly rubbish one may not find in Central Park. Indeed, highways equal to the country roads of Martinique are not to be found in the suburbs of Philadelphia, New York, or Boston. A few miles from St. Pierre we met the Bishop of Martinique in his state carriage, journeying, no doubt, to pay a pastoral visit to dis- tant flocks in the villages of the high woods. He was arrayed in purple robes, and wore fine linen, and looked as if he fared sumptuously every day. We did him such reverence as was due his cloth ; but he kept his eye on his prayer-book, telling his beads until we had passed ; then, however, we saw him looking back after us, let us hope, to mur- mur a benedicite. We descended rapidly from the uplands, and 124 DOWN TEE ISLANDS. shortly before sunset reached the level road that crosses the savannah, passed the Jardin d'Acclimatation and the Gendarmerie, and, as the bells were tolling vespers, drew up in Rue Victor Hugo, near the great church whence we had set out in the morning. Walking to the landing-place, we found it crowded with people, and all along the shore numberless darkies, of all kinds and conditions, big and little, young and old, male and female, were bathing promis- cuously together in innocent enjoyment. As we embarked in our small boat and were pushed from shore, the lamp in the light- house on the beach was lighted ; one by one the anchor lights were run up the fore-rigging of sailing-craft and steamers lying in the roadstead. We steered for the light of our own good ship, and as we reached her companion-ladder the great church-bell tolled six o'clock, solemnly and slowly, like an archbishop chanting mass, and all the ships' bells took up the chorus in sharp treble, like boy-choristers sing- ing the responses, and chimed out, clearly and melodiously, four bells. CHAPTER XL ST. PIERRE, MARTINIQUE. A Visit to the American Consul. — Hotel Micas. — The Carriage which never "Came to Arrive." — Strolls about Town. — Des MoucJies du Vent. — A Religious Parade. — An Ancient Muldtresse. — A Street Fountain. — Birthplace of Empress Josephine. — H. M. S. Diamond Rock. The morning of our third day in Martinique was spent by the ship's company in those various enjoyments which suggest themselves to the minds of travellers who have passed the previous day in industrious sight-seeing. Most of the company were content to remain on the ship, to write letters, post up their diaries, to read or talk over their ex- periences of two days on shore. Finding that the steamer was not to sail until early in the afternoon, I availed myself of the opportunity to take a final stroll. Accompanied by the Doctor and the Salma- gundian, I was set on shore by the crew of the captain's gig — Aleck and Anthony — two able-bodied sailor-men, brave hearts of ebony, of whom I shall have somewhat to say hereafter, in a more convenient part of my story. No sooner had we set foot on the quay than the Salmagundian hurried away to put the finishing touches to several sketches he had all but completed during our sojourn in the neigh- borhood of St. Pierre. We saw him no more that day until, as the Barracouta was starting — and then, just as the companion-ladder was about to be raised — he came on board, triumphantly proclaiming he had " captured four of them," producing his sketch-book in evidence of his industry with pen and pencil. The doctor and I walked across the strand to a building over which fluttered the Stars and Stripes in honor of the presence of our vessel 126 DOWN THE ISLANDS. in the roadstead. Finding the door open, we ascended a flight of steps to the office of the American Consul, to whom, as in duty bound, we intended to pay our respects preparatory to leaving his jurisdiction; for we were indebted for certain valuable services, most good-nat- uredly rendered by him, since we had made ourselves known to the representative of our Government on our arrival in the island. From the consul's we proceeded to the Hotel Micas, a hostelry of no inconsiderable repute for clean beds and dainty dishes — one might well wish the service were better, and it would call for little per- sonal supervision, by the way, on the part of M. le Maitre cP Hotel to improve it to a most noticeable degree. The hotel is similar in ap- pearance and equipment to those inns one sees in seaport towns in the South of France or in Algeria — there is a cafe, a salle a manger, a hillard, a high desk where presides madame or mademoiselle, as the case may be, sitting at the receipt of custom. It was very French in aspect, furnishing, and all the hundred and one things the traveller saw, heard, smelled, or tasted. The service was empty, unavailing, obstructive, impracticable politeness and naught else, as we found when we ordered, or, rather, politely requested, the agreeable garcon — of whom we had previously commanded two limonades gazeuses — to be pleased to cause to come a fiacre, a voiture, open or closed, of one horse or two, whichever might be most conveniently made to advance to the front door of the hotel, to the end that we might take a short prom- enade to the Jardin d'Acclimatation. Although we were promised that whatever form of two or four-wheeled accommodation might be assigned to us would arrive at once, immediately, in fifteen minutes — and then (a good quarter of an hour later) was alleged to be (it went without saying) arriving, it never came to arrive, although we waited two mortal hours, cooling our heels and tempering our impa- tience with limonade gazeuse ; nor did the promised vehicle (as we afterward were informed on our return to St. Pierre) approach to range itself in front of the Hotel Micas until we had started for the steamer, being warned by the report of her gun that she was prepared ST. PIERRE, MARTINIQUE. 127 to sail in one hour. This incident proved to us how deeply we were indebted to our good friends who placed their private carriages at our disposal the day before — it also proved that "fine words butter no pars- nips." While we were waiting for the horse and buggy — which, in spite of the assurance that they did of a truth put in an appearance after our departure from the Hotel Micas, I shall always consider as mythical as the Hippogriff of Atlantes, or the flying carpet whereof Shahrazad the daughter of the Wezeer, discoursed so glibly to King Shahriyar — the Doctor and I took several short strolls up and down the streets in the neighborhood of the hotel — sometimes in company sometimes just "takin' a dander to oursel's," as Scotch folks describe the recreation of aimlessly drifting about — now here, now there, now in the full current of a busy street, now in the quiet eddy of a lane or little used thoroughfare — loafing about in a leisurely, heedless sort of way — poking about, " fly-gobbling " the French natives of Martinique call it, for they are familiar with the habits of the gobemouches that may be seen anywhere on the island along the road-sides, open- mouthed, ready to swallow any bait that may attract their attention or tickle their fancy, for such is the disposition of these staring creatures, also called des moicches du vent. Near the great church of which I have spoken, as I loitered along, followed by a squad of persistent beggars — well-dressed beggars they were, too ; that is to say, their poverty was not emphasized by a dis- play of rags or bodily deformity, so that they seemed to be amateur rather than professional alms-seekers — and preceded by several boys, who insisted upon pointing out the way to me, my further progress was barred, for a few minutes, by a procession of priests carrying the holy relics around a block of buildings in one of which, during the night, there had occurred a death. For a short time traffic was at a stand-still, the people in front of the shops ceased bargaining, the loungers on the corners became at- tentive, forebore chattering, and forgot for the moment to pass jokes. All the men removed their hats, the women bowed, some knelt, all 128 DOWN THE ISLANDS. crossed themselves. The procession of priests, cross-hearers, and those burning incense — a score in all — passed, and immediately the world went on in the ordinary way, no one asking, " Who was it ? " or seeming to care — the king "was dead, long live the king. In front of the church, clinging to the iron railing that enclosed a court-yard, a hundred feet or more square, was an old muldtresse, a very old woman — it seemed to me I never had seen so aged a human being, so wrinkled, so bloodless, so fleshless. Her corpse-like appearance suggested the thought that a skilful taxidermist had drawn the shrivelled, parchment-like skin of an Egyptian mummy over a skeleton about to fall into an unarticulated heap of dried bones. It was an uncanny, an unearthly sight. Slowly, and in evident pain, the human shape — one could hardly call it body — dragged itself ? foot by foot, hand over hand, along by the side of the railing ; had she let go of the iron she would in all probability have fallen to the ground. How did she get there unaided, and how was she to get away ? It was horrible to see her ; nevertheless I kept my eyes fixed upon her as if fascinated — thinking, meantime, of the Witch of Endor, of the three ghostly crones in "Macbeth." She mumbled and raved, yet kept her poor old eyes fixed on the church, on the cross in the pavement inside the enclosure. As people hurried by her she cowered, fearing to be thrown down — she nearly fell over sideways when she let go her hold of her support, to cross herself. She had been a tall woman dur- ing her youth and motherhood, years ago ; now she was passing belief stooped and shrunken, her features pinched and sharp ; nevertheless one could trace a certain memory of regularity and beauty in them. It was not difficult to imagine that she had been handsome long ago. As I watched her, it seemed cruel not to go to her aid. I would gladly have paid for a carriage to take her away to her home, if she had one. Where were her children ? Were there no refuges for the very old ? I gave her a franc ; she hardly understood my intent, could scarcely see the silver piece — was too dazed to think of thanking me, and seemed not to know what to do with the coin. Her lonely helplessness excited one's pity, $ STREET FOUNTAIN IN ST. PIERRE. ST. PIEREE, MARTINIQUE. 129 reverence — tempted one's superstition. Two hundred years ago she would have been burned as an unhallowed child of Satan. Poor creat- ure ! She kept, her eyes turned to the cross. ! One could almost im- agine she was gifted with power to see into the future — she had been for many, many years peering into the life that is to come, unmindful of the past, taking no heed of the present, forgetting and forgot. Another excursion brought me to a fountain at a place where two ways met; to it there constantly came girls and women to fill their j ugs and buckets with water ■ drawn from a spring back of the town, high on the hill-side. There they stood, while their vessels were filling, to gossip and pass the time of day. It was a picturesque "bit," and is worthy of having a picture of it placed before my readers. Those of .them who have visited St. Pierre may be pleased to have this familiar object recalled to their minds. But I must bring these reminiscences of St. Pierre to a close, by saying I could write of .many other interesting sights that pleased me that morning while waiting for the carriage that never came to arrive. Having lunched at the hotel — and, angered as we were by the failure to visit the beautiful garden to which we had so earnestly desired to drive, we were nevertheless compelled to. admit .that we had often and in many places partaken of worse fare than that served by the polite gargon, who ceased not to. assure us, while we were at the table and as we paid our reckoning and bade him bon jour, that the voiture viendrait tout de suite, it messieurs Would have the goodness to continue to wait only one tout petit moment. The Barracouta steamed out the roadstead of St. Pierre, about three o'clock in the afternoon. As we drew away from our anchor- age, leaving the little town farther and farther astern, the hills seemed to rise higher and higher above the roofs of the houses, the sweep of the savannah broadened to the view, the forests appeared to recede inland, we could look into the deep recesses of the valley of the Eoxe- lane, through which, the day before, we had entered into the delecta- ble land, when we set out on our enchanting excursion over the hills 130 DOWN THE ISLANDS. and through the high woods of Martinique — an expedition of which I attempted some description in my last chapter. I say, attempted a description, advisedly ; for it would be impossible to convey any ade- quate idea of the grandeur and loveliness of the scenery of wonderful Madanina — for so the ancient dead and gone people called this fairy land of theirs in the olden time. I might as well try to illustrate the geography of the Caribbean Archipelago by means of a chart extem- porized on the dinner-table with finger-bowls, almond-shells, and other postprandial debris to represent islands, the courses of the trade- winds, and the tracks of cyclone creased with back of knife in the damask, as to seek to give a satisfying word-picture of any of the Caribbees. Therefore I frankly confess my dissatisfaction with my vain attempt to tell of the indescribable glory of Martinique. " I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream — past the wit of man to say what dream it was. Man is but an ass if he go about to expound this dream " — with any idea of satisfying the mem- ory of travellers who have preceded him, or gaining the applause of those who may come after him into these charming regions. I make this suspiciously extravagant statement with fervor aforethought, many months after my visit to the Windward Islands, writing in midwinter, and, therefore, presumably not in the heat of enthusiasm or with imagination excited by recent and bewildering experience. None who has visited, or may hereafter visit, the delicious country through which it was my good fortune to travel, that rare April day, will attempt to gainsay me unless he be willing to write himself down — in short, unless he be a matter-of-fact, practical person who would go about to expound my dream. We sailed away from St. Pierre, as above related, the second Mon- day of April. It was midsummer with us, and it ought to have been spring in the latitude of New York, but I have since learned that (as was to be expected in the the nature of things meteorological in that part of the world) nature was still " haggling with its greens " in the neighborhood of Manhattan ; folks at home were shivering under ST. PIERRE, MARTINIQUE. 131 extra blankets while we, thrice happy, slept in peace on the deck of the Barracouta, with nothing but an awning between us and the stars. We steamed along the lee shore of Martinique for ten miles or more, crossed the entrance to Fort Royal Bay, continued onward until we passed the southwestern promontory, Cape Salomon ; then, coming to the open sea, laid our course for Barbados, one hundred and ten miles southeast by east across the Atlantic. In the south, distant from us ten leagues or more, the purple mountains of St. Lucia, veiled in golden haze, glimmered between the ocean and a shining cloud- bank, that settled lower and lower, finally hiding the island as the setting sun glorified the sea and sky. The southern limits of Martinique are less precipitous than the northern or leeward shores. Between the bold headland we had just rounded and the cliffs at the southeastern point of the island the mountains recede a moderate distance from the coast ; the coast curves inward in places, affording anchorage in shallow water, safe only dur- ing the peaceful months when the hurricanes leave the ocean undis- turbed. At the head of its commodious harbor, which I have said in- dents the southwest part of Martinique, lies Port Royal, or Fort-de- France, as that town, the capital of the island, is alternately called, with ready compliment either to King or President, whichever may happen for the time being to be installed at Paris. Near this sea- port, once the metropolis of Martinique, the fair Creole, Josephine Tas- cher de la Pagerie, was born and lived in happiness, until she went to France as the wife of Yiscount Beauharnais. This unfortunate lady, after the untimely death of her first husband, married Napoleon I. As Empress, Josephine was mindful of the land of her birth, and, like Queen Esther of old, who interceded for her people, the imperial Creole was solicitous for the welfare of her kindred. It was due to the good use she made of whatever influence she may have had over the Emperor (whom, perchance, she, poor woman, sometimes even dared to call her Petit Oaporal) that her own people, the good folk of Martinique, had "joy and gladness, a feast, and a good day," all the 132 ' DOWN THE ISLANDS. days of her power and glory. They were not forgetful of her good- ness when she was past interceding for them, as witness a statue they erected to her dear memory in Fort-de-France, where it may be seen looking benignly down upon the market-place until this day. The accompanying drawing of the humble cottage in which the Empress of the French was born, although it possesses an historic in- terest, is nevertheless calculated to convey an erroneous idea of the wealth and social distinction of the La Pagerie family. Judging from the small proportions of the cabin — it deserves no better-sound- ing name — its out-of-the-way position, the roughness of the material of which it is constructed, the entire absence of any suggestion of com- fort or luxury, one is led to believe that the early days of Joseph- ine were spent in poverty, if not, indeed, in squalor and social insig- nificance. Such, however, is not the case. The La Pagerie family were of aristocratic origin, possessed estates of by no means limited extent, and were considered people of importance, if not, indeed, of high rank. The parents of the future viscountess and empress dwelt for some time after their marriage in the family mansion, which was situated near the little cottage of the sketch ; in fact, the latter was but one of the numerous negro quarters erected on the home estate for the accommodation of the family slaves. Shortly before the birth of Josephine the grande maison was utterly destroyed by fire, and Madame de la Pagerie was compelled to seek shelter in the out-building whereof the Salmagundian has given the readers of this book a faith- ful illustration. So it fell out that the little Creole Esther, who after- ward was to be so unfortunate as to find favor in the sight of a greater than Ahasuerus, was born in a miserable shanty of rough, unhewn stone, thatched with the leaves of palm-trees and wild plantains. At a distance of one mile from the mainland, southward of a grand promontory called Morne du Diamant, there leaps up from the sea a stupendous rock, with such perpendicular sides that, by their exceed- ing steepness, to all appearance its narrow, level top, five hundred and seventy-four feet above sea-level, is rendered inaccessible to man. / i ST. PIERRE, MARTINIQUE. 133 These smooth, flinty battlements no doubt remained unsealed from the beginning of time until Admiral Sir Thomas Hood, serving under Rodney, conceived the idea of flaunting the British ensign from the peak of this breeding-place of sea-fowl, in the face of Frenchmen shut up in fortresses on Martinique, or in ships lying in Grande Anse du Diamant and other anchorages, almost under the shadow of the Caribbean Gibraltar. England and France (in Hood's time) had been at war for nearly a century and a half ; therefore, of all mortal beings hated and scorned by British tars, the Johnny Crapauds were most despised. The French fleets in the West Indies rendezvoused in Port Royal, Martinique, while the English squadrons watched them from Castries Harbor, thirty-five miles to the south across the waters, at St. Lucia. For years the French had maintained water-communication along the coast of Martinique by means of coasting-vessels dodging in and out of the harbors, setting at naught all attempts of the Britishers to intercept them as they sneaked and cowered close inshore under the shelter of Diamond Rock. According to one version of the story of Hood's exploit, some of his sailors flew a great kite from the deck of a sloop- of -war, or, as some say, fired a shot carrying a line, which they managed to stretch across the summit of the crag ; by this line a rope was drawn over the lofty pinnacle and made fast below. I take the liberty of throwing a doubt upon these clumsy yarns, being of opinion that a bold sailor-man climbed up the side of the rock, dragging a length of casting-line behind him, which his mates gently paid out as he won his way up to the top. Be this part of the story as it may, the rest is soon told — may, indeed, readily be guessed : How a crew of dare-devil sailors were hoisted up to the narrow foot- hold, many feet above the main-truck of their vessel, which had meantime been warped alongside the rock. Guns and provisions were sent aloft and stowed away by the boarding party, by whom no time was lost, we may well be sure, in planting the English flag in full view, and in defiance of the jabbering Frenchmen, who, too late, found 134 DOWN THE ISLANDS. themselves outwitted by the English mariners. When the sun went down upon that day of glorious memory for England, H. B. M. sloop- of-war Diamond Rock was armed, manned, and provisioned, with everything made snug and ship-shape. And from this sea-girt citadel Hood's tars blazed away with their long-toms at every kind of craft, seventy-four or bumboat, that attempted to run the gauntlet of their cannonading. For nine months the French Governor of Martinique was deprived of all jurisdiction over Diamond Rock, having as little reason to include it in his commission as the Spanish Dons, who, in punctilious accordance with time-honored precedent, find solace for their wounded pride in signing themselves, " Governors of Algeciras and of Gibraltar, temporarily in the possession of the British." The crew of Diamond Rock was finally starved out, and the Frenchmen, taking possession of the crag, have ever since guarded against all at- tempts at its recapture. Two hours after we left Diamond Rock behind us darkness cov- ered the face of the deep, the Barracouta held on her way, steaming leisurely all night, and shortly before sunrise reached her moorings, a half-mile from land, in Carlisle Bay, in which roadstead I counted over one hundred sea-going vessels all lying at anchor in front of Bridge- town, the capital of Barbados. CHAPTER XII ARRIVAL AT BARBADOS. Carlisle Bay. — A Fleet of Merchantmen. — What was not to be Seen by the Dawn's early Light. — Where are the Yankee Ships and their Yankee Crews ? — One Vast Sugar- estate. — An International Episode. — Barbadian Loyalty to Britain. — Aunt Polly. — Swizzles and Swizzle-sticks. AKBADOS, not Barby-does, nor Bar-bad-oes, nor, worse yet, Barb -ad-os, but Bar-bade-os, with slight emphasis on the o ; not o in possible nor o in toes, but midway between the two sounds, pronouncing the ulti- mate syllable gently and with bated breath ; for if there is any- thing a Barbadian (a Bar-bade- ien) will not lightly forgive, it is to hear the name of his island mispronounced or mouthed. This justifiable peculiarity of amiable folk sometimes provokes them to polite correction, more civilly spoken, however, be it said, than the impatient reproof administered by an old retainer to him who asked if Lord Chol-mon-de-ley was at home, " No, young man, nor none of 'is pe-dp-le." Barbados is known to the initiated as Bimshire — a Barbadian as a Bim. Why? Ask not me. Neither by carefully turning over 136 DOWN THE ISLANDS. the pages of many books, intent upon determining this weighty ques- tion, nor by asking many wise folk who might be presumed to know concerning the matter, have I been able to discover the derivation of these words, and so, as Sindbad the Sailor threw stones at the peo- ple in the tops of palm-trees when he wanted a cocoa-nut in return, so do I throw out the suggestion, to wit : Barbados is known all the world over as the little island that pays her own way ; it has never been conquered ; its people are enterprising and energetic, go-ahead and driving ; in short, the business men of these islands. Barbadian may therefore be said to mean a man with go and grit, energy and vim — ergo, a Yim — Barbados, Vimshire. The town we call Havana, other folks call Habana. A Marseillais calls a violon, biolon, and why not, by this declension, changing V to B, Yim and Yimshire — Bim and Bimshire ? Ridiculus mus ! Perhaps ! Will anybody toss me a cocoa-nut, with the milk in it more reasonably or logically ac- counted for ? Ligon, in his account of this island, published in 1657, spells the name Barbadoes, but in all documents issued by the government it is printed Barbados, and the latter orthography is adopted by the best authorities of our own day. Certain early historians tell us that the Portuguese discoverers of this island found it uninhabited ; others state that there were a few Caribs living there, but it is not disputed by any that when the English colonized Barbados it was an unpeo- pled and deserted land. The truth of this historical fact being estab- lished beyond perad venture, the islanders may proudly, and do justly, boast that they came honestly by their possessions, having been obliged to drive no man thence at the beginning. The exact date of its discovery is hidden in obscurity, but in all probability Barbados was familiar to Portuguese navigators as early as the year 1518. It undoubtedly appears by the name of Barnuodo on an ancient chart (published in 1554), Bryan Edwards, who says that Barbados is not set down on any sea-map prior to the year 1600, to the contrary not- withstanding. The Portuguese called the island they discovered Los ARRIVAL AT BARBADOS. 137 Barbados (the bearded), giving it that name because of many trees (the banyan) that had hanging from their branches great mats of fibrous roots which bore a fancied resemblance to long gray beards. Barbados, the most easterly and farthest to the windward of all the Caribbees, is seventy-eight miles east from St. Vincent: — nearly one hundred and fifty miles northeast of Trinidad, which lies across the mouths of the Orinoco River. It is in 13° 4' north latitude, 59° 37' west longitude and would seem to be an island of indefinite, or, rather, shall I say undetermined, length ; for, according to the author of one of a series of original papers issued in 1886 under the author- ity of a Royal Commission, wherein Her Majesty's Colonies are de- scribed by writers who may be supposed to know whereof they write, Barbados is said to be twenty-one miles in length, fourteen in breadth, and to resemble in appearance the Isle of Wight. In the West In- dies Directory, Part V., published by the celebrated chart and nautical book-publishers at their address in the Minories, London, the island is stated to be eighteen miles long and twelve and one-half miles wide, or about twice the size of the Isle of Jersey on the coast of France — while in a volume issued from the United States Hydrographic Office, its width is set down at twelve miles, the length given being the same as in the last-quoted authority. These disagreements concerning a matter which could be so readily and accurately determined are unac- countable ; however, the three books are at one in stating that Barba- dos contains one hundred and sixty-six square miles, or a little over 106,000 acres, of which (surprising to say) less than 7,000 acres are uncultivated, a fact that testifies to the fruitfulness of its soil as well as to the diligence of its people. The island is an irregular oval in form, if we believe one author, or irregularly triangular, if we choose to receive the testimony of another. The surface of the country is rolling prairie, undulating gently backward from the sea, in this respect resembling Antigua. In the northeastern part of the island, within the limits of a territory fitly called Scotland, the cultivated hills attain a height of between eleven 138 DOWN THE ISLANDS. and twelve hundred feet, Mount Hillaby and Mount Boscobella being the loftiest elevations. In this district the country is very broken, re- sembling Scotch moorland ; but, for all that, the land is diligently tilled and kept in a high state of cultivation. From the two heights above named a chain of hills extends south- ward through the colony, as it were a backbone, from which spurs and offshoots stand out in both directions, the range being intersected in all directions by ravines and gorges, giving to the scenery a weird and picturesque aspect. Among these hills subterranean streams find their way, through caverns measureless to man, whether down to a sunless sea, or into old ocean as ordinary water-courses flow, I know not. The face of the island gently declines toward the south, until near that ex- tremity there are no altitudes of more than two hundred or three hundred feet ; the River Mole and two smaller streams flow through the fertile intervals, draining them of surplus moisture. The annual rainfall amounts to over seventy inches, and Barba- dos is rarely subject to droughts of long enough duration to damage the growing crops. There have been notable, but infrequent, excep- tions to this rule. The mean temperature is 81° F. ; the thermometer annually ranges between 76° and 83°. Occasionally slight shocks of earthquake are felt, and in the rainy season (July to December) thun- der-storms, accompanied by violent hurricanes, sometimes cause wide- spread and appalling damage to life and wordly goods, as was the case in 1780, when four thousand persons and property to the value of £1,300,000 were destroyed in a few hours. There was also a fearful storm in 1831, by which one thousand six hundred of the inhabitants lost their lives, and nearly £1,700,000 worth of real property was swept away by the irresistible fury of a tornado. The island is sur- rounded by coral reefs, in places extending three miles out to sea, with infrequent openings through which entrances are gained to two or three shore-anchorages. To approach these requires the most care- ful navigation of local pilots, who cruise in all weathers many miles from land, in eager competition to be first to board incoming vessels. ARRIVAL AT BARBADOS. 139 The scene which presented itself to our charmed and astonished gaze on our arrival in Carlisle Bay was one of remarkable activity and bustle, in many ways interesting and picturesque. At no other port in the Caribbean Islands did we behold so great a fleet of mer- chantmen and coasting-vessels. There were several trading-steamers lying at anchor near a trim, steel-clad cruiser flying the standard of St. George, the broad expanse of the roadstead being crowded with craft of all sizes, of every variety of rig and model : Smart, yacht-like, Gloucester fishing-smacks, with tapering masts and light spars, many of them lately arrived from the Grand Banks of Newfoundland or the Georges, laden with malodorous cargoes of smoked, dried, or salted fish ; timber-drogers from the United States, with loads of Georgia pine, a wood very highly prized in all these islands, where a species of ant greedily devours every other kind of lumber. These little pests evidently do not enjoy the resinous flavor of the pine, and so, when they make a meal of a dwelling-house or barn, or, as they have been known to do, of a good-sized country-town, they devour only the simplest, most digestible, home-made building material. It is almost incredible what devastation these little creatures work, as we shall see when I have told of their ravages in the island of Grenada. In addition to the craft above described, there were collected, from " a' the airts the wind can blaw " under heaven, Danish, Norwegian, and English barks and brigs ; Dutch, Italian, Austrian, and Spanish square-riggers, manned by motley crews shipped during voyages to the four corners of the globe — Saxon, Gaul, Scandinavian, Celt ; jolly, yellow tars apprenticed when lads before the mast of Chinese junks, Malay proas, or, for aught I know, Mozambique dhows ; Lascars, ill- looking fellows, piratical of aspect, who would scuttle a ship for the mere pleasure it would give them to drown its captain, as Shan O'Neil of the Red Hand is said to have set fire to old Dublin Cathedral for no other reason, good or bad, than, "Begorra, I thought the arch- bishop was inside ; " many men of many nations, speaking as many languages as might have been heard at Babel — tars of high and low 140 DOWN THE ISLANDS. degree. Nevertheless, in all this fleet, riding so proudly at anchor in grand and stately marine display, the holders of the America's Cup of 1851, the builders of the Puritan of 1885, of the Mayflower in 1886, and, of more glorious memory still, the Black Ball packets and Baltimore clippers of a quarter of a century ago, were represented by a beggarly squadron of two- or three-masted schooners, a fishing-smack or two — all of which were sailed by down-East Bluenoses, or outland- ish men understanding just enough English to distinguish between marline spike and spankerboom. Verily, the words, " Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light ? " had a sad and humiliating signifi- cance, not to say sarcastic import, as my eyes wandered over the road- stead with its mighty navy ; and I have humbly to confess that I had but little cause to hail with pride the few, the conspicuously few, patched and faded star-spangled banners I beheld fluttering in the trade-wind that April morning. Where, oh, where, are the Yankee ships ? Like the London police (according to Mr. Punch), conspicuous (in every harbor of the world) by their absence — and yet, there be cedars of Maine and Georgia pine — yes, and Pennsylvania iron and steel, and merchants ready to say : "Build me straight, oh worthy master, Staunch and strong, a goodly vessel ; " and ship-masters delighted to hear and obey. Where are the ships ? and where the Yankee crews ? Turned farmers, weavers, hewers of wood — in short, landlubbers. I remember to have boarded a schooner at anchor in Gloucester Harbor — as tight and trim a vessel as ever passed out to sea between Eastern Point and Norman's Woe. Her skipper was a Swede ; his mate's speech betrayed him to be a German ; there were ten sailors — let me give their names, as they will serve to indicate the cosmopoli- tan, not to say un-American, quality of the crew : Crowley, Billman, Gevalt, Benshimol, McDonald, McFarland, Nilsou, Christiansen, Flink- ARRIVAL AT BARBADOS. 141 feldt, Karl Foster. The first two, indeed, were able-bodied seamen born in Massachusetts ; the third a Swede ; and, in the order named, an Algerian, a Nova Scotian, a man of Cape Breton, a Dane, a Nor- wegian, a Fin, and a German from the Baltic Provinces. There was beyond doubt an American vessel — and a Yankee crew whereof two could ask for a ration of Yankee pork and beans without falling foul of their ^'s and V&. This is by no means an exaggerated case — it is a plain, every-day fact ; a sample of the crews to be found on board of every ninety-five out of a hundred vessels — coasters or open-sea cruisers — flying the Stars and Stripes. Barbados is one grand sugar-estate. Every acre of tillable land has been broken by the plough, and year by year yields a marvellous increase. For generations the wonderful natural fertility of the soil has been stimulated by the labor and art of painstaking, skilful hus- bandmen, until less than one-fifteenth of the entire compass of the island remains unplanted or unproductive. In view of this fact it is no exaggeration to say that, excepting those parcels of ground occu- pied by the dwellings of the living, or consecrated by the burial of the dead, Bimshire is one magnificent cane-piece in a state of perfect cultivation. Sugar-cane grows everywhere — on hill-sides so steep that one wonders how the furrows are laid or the harrow can be driven across the sloping fields ; it clings to shelves of rocks upon which toil- ing negroes replace the soil washed from the narrow ledges, year after year, by deluges of rain. It ripens close to the sea — so close, in fact, that in times of hurricane the skirts of the plantations are frequently sprinkled with salt-spray. Sugar-cane everywhere ! nothing but sugar- cane ! Planters and plantations, sugar, molasses, rum ! The philosopher who made the discovery that all great rivers ran past big cities, if he had had occasion, would doubtless have called attention to the fact that the best farming-lands are situated in coun- tries where the people devote themselves most heartily to agricultural pursuits. In support of this axiom he might well cite Barbados, for nowhere else in the world are to be found more diligent planters or 142 DOWN THE ISLANDS. fairer plantations. The island was settled by active, enterprising pioneers, sturdy English yeomen who set a value on land in propor- tion as it was fertile, not because it happened to abound in grand or peaceful scenery ; preferring to see their real estate spread out flat, or rolling in gentle undulations promoting drainage. They cared little for a country all set up on edge, or tumbled about in pict- uresque confusion, no matter how grand or magnificent the landscape might be ; setting little store by mountains and other geological phe- nomena and laughed to scorn the idea of crossing the seas to colo- nize picturesque parts of the earth, just as they would have scouted the idea of keeping their ledgers in blank verse, or corresponding with their factors in Spenserian stanzas. In their opinion land was created to be ploughed, not sketched or rhymed about ; they set high value on farming-land that could be fenced or hedged in, and mortgaged — soil promising such abundant harvests that any banker would be glad to make liberal advances on the standing crops. Having chosen and settled in Birnshire, they presently began to cultivate sugar- cane, to the neglect of all other growing things, year after year put- ting all their eggs into one basket — grandfather, father, son, grandson, pulling down their sugar-works and building greater, mortgaging, get- ting advances, until, by the manumission of their blacks as some will tell you, or the competition of beetroot sugar as all do tell you, their once prosperous island, a little island of which they formerly boasted that it paid its own way, became so reduced in circumstances that it now finds great difficulty in making both ends meet. Barbados was the last of the British West Indian islands to be affected by the decline in the price of sugar. The energy of its planters is tireless ; no improvements in the methods of cultivating cane are left by them untried ; they promptly experiment with new and costly machinery, expend vast sums of money in keeping up with the times, plant all varieties of cane, plough deeper and deeper, test the value of every sort of fertilizers — indeed, by the lavish use of guano, phosphates, mucks, and marls, in some places they have ARRIVAL AT BARBADOS. 143 burned out the land, killing, by what proved to be mistaken kindness, the goose that was expected to lay golden eggs. The product of sugar on the island increased from 24,777 hogsheads in 1845 to 39,290 in 1855, rose to 47,209 in 1865, reached 65,000 in 1875, and the record for nine months of 1884 shows a yield of 59,000 hogs- heads, with the last quarter of that year still to be heard from by the compiler of my statistics. What Barbadian energy, imported fertilizers, and improved sugar- machinery were able to accomplish during the last twelvemonth I am unable to state ; but this I do know : If the dismal forebodings of the planters, factors, and shippers of sugar I met in Bridgetown have, since I paid my visit to that town in the year of which I am now writing, found their fulfilment, then is Barbados to-day beyond doubt poorer by thousands of pounds sterling than before the crops of 1885 -86 were planted. "What wonder, then, that at the time of my visit to their island I found the Barbadians in a fever of excitement and indignation be- cause the English Government had, shortly before, refused to accept a proposition (made by President Arthur's Administration) to the effect (the Senate of the United States concurring) that all the raw sugar grown in the British "West Indies should be admitted free into American ports, in consideration of the removal of duties on one hundred and fifty various articles of export from the States into the Caribbean Islands ? To say that the Barbadians were provoked at the action of the mother country would be to put the matter very mildly. They were, in truth, as "mad as marabunta hornets." This swarm of human bees neglected their regular business of gathering sugar from every ripening cane-piece, and fell to talking politics and politi- cal economy with the earnestness and righteous wrath of men whose liberties and pockets are in danger. Nevertheless and notwith- standing their anger (and it was hot) at the shabby treatment they had received at the hands of the home government, the Barbadians remained royally loyal to the English Crown, standing ready to back 144 DOWN THE ISLANDS. England against Russia, if war over the Afghan boundary question should finally be declared ; for at the time of which I am writing (April, 1885) it seemed as if the British Lion and the Russian Bear were no longer to be kept from rending one another in pieces, if ever they met near the gates of Herat. The plucky Bims lost no time in assuring Great Britain of their loyalty, and determination to see her through her difficulties. As in the time of Charles II. their roy- alist ancestors sent a humble address to that monarch, bidding him be of good cheer and stout of heart, reminding him, in his exile, that all was not lost, for, although all the world might be against him, Barbados was ever at his back, so on that very same day, when the Russian and English fleets arrived at Norfolk in Virginia, and were supposed to be watching one another with hostile purpose, in- tending to settle the Afghan question out of hand, within sight of American shores, a cablegram was sent from Bridgetown, as I know from trustworthy hearsay, to Yictoria's Government, containing brave words of encouragement and hope. We had scarcely cast anchor in Carlisle Bay before the bumboat people had surrounded the ship with so great an assemblage of small craft that it were useless to try to tell their number as it would be to count the flies in a sugar-house. But among the many surrounding little vessels, one demands, and shall receive, particular mention and detailed description. Reader, let me interest you for a few moments in the rehearsal of a truly polychromatic incident of my visit to the waters that wash the leeward coast of this mighty colony. In the stern-sheets of a barge painted blue without and yellow within, on cushions covered with red and orange fabrics, of more or less costly material and cunning workmanship, there sat in state a buxom dame — a washerlady of color, we at first imagined her to be. So portly and so plump was she, that it required the counterbalance of a huge chunk of coraline in the bow of her boat to keep it steady on even keel. She was so black, so shiny, her oily cheeks glistened in the sunlight, imaging dim outlines of her surroundings, like pictures seen in pol- ARRIVAL AT BARBADOS. 145 ished patent leather. When a sailor in a red flannel shirt approached her closely, coming between the sun and her nobility, she seemed to reflect a blush. Her bandanna, wrapped in many, well-starched folds, was gorgeous ; her gown, flowered over with bewildering and exuber- ant patterns of brilliant coloring, was so resplendent that it was tor- ment to observe her, all so gaudy, in the full blaze of a tropical sun- light. The eye craved a fragment of black bottle or smoked glass. I was reminded of Lucas and his astonishment over Martine's de- scription of the apparel of Sganarelle in " Le medecin malgre lui." " Un habit jaune et vart ! C'est done le medecin des perroquets." We light-minded Barracoutans, who had scoffed at the pretensions of the Southern Cross to be regarded as a constellation of more than ordinary candle-power, irreverently dubbed the colored lady the " Parrot Queen ; " then, waxing more impertinent, called her " Aunt Polly." We watched her as two hatless, shoeless, almost half-clothed darky boys rowed her boat in a bee-ime for the foot of the Barra- couta's companion-ladder. As she came toward the ship the flotilla of small boats divided, even as the waters of the Red Sea rolled back on either hand at the approach of the hosts of Israel, and Aunt Polly passed unchallenged through the midst of the fleet, having as much deference paid her as if she had been the Collector of the Port. We wondered, and did her such reverence as became her quality, made obeisance, and said no more about parrots and smoked glass. Her majesty's barge, bumping against the foot of the ladder, brought up all standing, with a jounce that set Aunt Polly a-shaking like a bowlful of jelly. When she recovered from the shock and settled down, she perpetrated a smile — one vast, substantial smile, then a series of Fezziwiggian smiles, each more gracious, more open, more expan- sive, and much more elaborate than any I had ever before basked in. In her hand she held a bunch of wands stripped of their bark ; each wand was about eighteen inches long and as large round as a lead- pencil ; and all were tied with colored ribbons, which held them firmly together as Roman fasces are bound. The gesture was suggestively 10 146 DOWN THE ISLANDS. regal, and withal condescending, and yet I hesitated to approach the royal barge to touch the tip of the waving sceptre ; my republican spirit recoiled from the thought that I might, perhaps, be expected to perform the further ceremony of kissing hands, as I had read Victoria's Ministers are expected to do when receiving their ministerial port- folios. I instantly made up my mind to accept no office, garter, or trumpery decoration whatsoever, no matter for what services or under what circumstances soever it might be offered. The purser, seeing my puzzled look, gave a knowing wink, and uttered the word " swizzle- stick." Aunt Polly, singling me out as worthy of her attention, ad- dressed me in a plaintive, beseeching tone. " Do buy ! Bes' swizzle-sticks, dear massa ! made 'em my own se'f, an' I know yo' won' 'fuse me. I'm a poo' woman, an' I on'y wan' jist a leetle money to keep me till I die. It won' be long, my love, my dove ! fo' I has to go to heaben very soon." (It did seem more than likely that, in the event of her earthly ties being severed, she would rise, balloon-like, and flutter away in that direction.) " On'y one shillin' for a whole bunch. I'd give 'em to dear massa ef I could 'ford it." Here followed much more of the same sort of sugary persuasion that we, in less genial Northern climates, call taffy, and Aunt Polly, passing all belief for volubility, ran on, crying her wares, entreating, scolding at times, at times pathetically appealing to us in our charity to bestow upon her the wherewithal to eke out the few remaining days of her earthly pilgrimage. She was eloquent, earnest, tireless, hope- ful, despairing, by turns. She brandished the swizzle-sticks, now to attract our attention, anon to wave off such boatmen as approached too near her person, again to prod those that let their boats bump against her barge. At last, she realized her fondest hopes. A gal- lant Barracoutan, opening his heart and his pocket-book, descended to the foot of the ladder and, in consideration of a goodly lump sum then and there to Aunt Polly in hand paid, became the owner of swizzle- sticks in number sufficient to swizzle all the swizzles that were to be ARRIVAL AT BARBADOS. 147 swizzled at the Ice House in our honor that memorable afternoon. Aunt Polly's mission to the Barracouta being crowned with success she departed, waving us adieu, with a hand so black, so large and plump, it seemed as if her farewell was imprinted in our memories in the inkiest, heaviest, fullest-displayed type, and in capitals. We rev- erently signalled her our farewells, as she was rowed shoreward, the magnificence of her many colors blending and softening as she left us farther and farther behind. When she faded out of sight, and finally disappeared in the distance, I closed my aching eyes to rest them. I still beheld bright phantasmagoria dancing before my vision, as if I had gazed all too long at the glories of the setting sun. When I next opened my eyes, it was to examine, for the first time, a genuine Bim- shire swizzle-stick, which the purchaser of Aunt Polly's assortment held before me for my inspection and enlightenment. Knowing from what I had heard on every side, in all the islands, admitted by all men, that the Ice House of Bridgetown was, of all places, the very place at which to pursue any investigations into the mysteries of swizzle, I joined a party of Barracoutans who delayed not in the order of their going, stopping not to bargain with the boatmen nor to cheapen the price of ferriage to the shore, but set off at once for the land, some in blue boats, some in yellow boats or red, others in boats of many colors. In the two miles, free-for-all, straightaway race from the ship to the landing-place, which then and there ensued, it is of record that the gallant Barracoutan who had cleared out Aunt Polly's stock-in-trade came in an easy winner by many lengths. When the rest of the party reached the Ice House in search of swizzle, they found that he had been there for some time ; indeed, there was unmistakable, uncorked evidence that he had already been there twice. CHAPTER XIII. WALKS IN BRIDGETOWN. A Favored People. — Statistics of Population. — Sugar, Molasses, Rum.— Street Scenes in Bridgetown.— The Ice Establishment.— War News.— New Old Friends. —Bar- badian Sociability. —A Well-ordered Hostelry. It was Abraham Lincoln who quaintly said to one who spoke slight- ingly of the mass of his fellow-citizens, deprecating the respect that great man paid to what the speaker called " popular clamor," " The Lord must love the common people, he made so many of them." By this same token the Barbadians are a highly favored nation, there is such a multitude of them ; in fact, when the limited area of their snug island is taken into consideration, their number is phe- nomenal. How so many human beings can find room to live and have their being, to say nothing of moving about, on so small a subdi- vision of this wide world, is a problem that cannot fail to awaken the astonishment of even the most confirmed and hardened statistician. It is as surprising as it is undoubtedly true, that Barbados is the most densely populated region on the earth. This island, with an area of 106,000 acres, contains a population of over 175,000 sonls; that is to say, an average of no less than one thousand and fifty -four persons to each of its one hundred and sixty-six square miles of terri- tory. The Chinese province of Kiang-su, which I at one time igno- rantly imagined to be the most uncomfortably crowded district under the sun, contains but eight hundred and fifty moon-eyed Celestials to the square mile, while East Flanders, in Belgium, the most thickly populated province in Europe, can boast of only seven hundred and WALKS IN BRIDGETOWN. 149 five inhabitants to the square mile. Coming nearer home, West- chester County, New York, with a territory three times as large, sup- ports only four-sevenths as many people as are packed upon this thronged, man-ridden Caribbee ; and, finally, if the Empire State were as thickly settled as is Barbados, the Governor of that common- wealth would be called upon to administer the affairs of no less than sixty millions of New Yorkers. Notwithstanding Barbados is so closely packed that her citizens would seem to be justified, if they saw fit to do so, in hanging up, upon the face of cliffs confronting the sea and at all eligible landing-places, notices to the effect that there was standing-room only on their island, each successive census shows an increase in the sum total, as is proven by the following figures taken from government reports. In 1861 the number of Barbadians was 152, 727 ; in 1871, 162,042 ; in 1881, 171,860. Assuming that the average rate of increase noted for the twenty years above given has been maintained during the past five years, there are to-day no less than 175,000 persons, black and white, upon the island. Of this number less than nine per cent. (15,600) are Creoles of European descent, while the remaining 90-f per cent, (say, 159,000) are of pure African or mixed blood. It is a significant fact that dur- ing the decade 1871 to 1881, when the white population decreased more than three per cent. (506), the black and colored races in- creased more than eight per. cent. (11,324). I leave it to statisti- cians who delight in elaborate calculations, to foretell the precise year when, if the ratio of loss and gain in the census of the two races re- mains unchanged, the genus Man, species Caucasian, will finally dis- appear from Barbados. Is it foreordained that the descendants of the race once held in bondage shall, in the fulness of time, occupy the land of their taskmasters ? O year of Jubilee ! What wonder that the better class of negroes of Barbados, being compelled by circumstances to lead an active and industrious life, dili- gently care for themselves, provide for their hungry little ones, and so, gaining in self-respect, are proud to put on the appearance of prosper- 150 DO*WN THE ISLANDS. ity, bear themselves more jauntily, and, as is to be expected, think themselves of greater importance and dignity than their listless, happy-go-lucky, unambitious neighbors on the other English islands ? No doubt, by nature they are as indolent as their brethren of St. Lucia or Dominica ; nevertheless, they earn their daily bread by the sweat of their brows. There is no alternative but this — if they will not work, neither shall they eat ; for in Barbados there are no groves of bread- fruit-trees and cocoa-palms, no plantations of cassava, yams, and plan- tains, no fruits nor vegetables growing wild on uncultivated lands or on unploughed hill-sides, as is the case in the islands mentioned, to supply food at all seasons of the year, to any who may list to put forth his hand, pluck, and eat, and be satisfied. The mighty host of common people of this colony must needs work for their living, day by day. That they do work, right lustily and with intelligent good- will, anyone who has visited Sugar Island can truthfully, and will, if he be a man of heart and unbliuded by pride of race, gladly bear witness. The first impression that a foreigner gets when he lands at Bridge- town is, that he has come to a busy, prosperous city, dedicated to com- merce and merchandising, founded and peopled by an enterprising race of traffickers, who devote themselves to buying and selling, and getting gain. And, indeed, such is the truth. For generations these citizens of no mean city have increased in riches by shipping continu- ally, to all parts of the world, incredible quantities of sugar, molasses, and rum ; in which commerce they have been more successful, and have become wealthier, than their neighbors. Circumstances that have conspired to interrupt the prosperity of other colonies have been of slight or no detriment to the inhabitants of Bridgetown, or, for that matter, to the people of Barbados at large. Their island has never been conquered since their ancestors acquired it by purchase of the Caribs (the year after Peter Minuit bought Manahatta), and dur- ing all the years when wars and rumors of war disturbed the peace of every other island in the Caribbean Archipelago, Barbados was never WALKS IN BRIDGETOWN. 151 the object of attack, her planters meanwhile profiting roundly by the misfortunes which overtook the Antiguans and Kittefonians, for the destruction of the estates of the latter greatly enhanced the value of the Barbadians' sugar. Barbados, moreover, suffered least from the effects of the emancipation of the negroes in 1834, and the conse- quent disturbance of the labor market. She soonest recovered from what little temporary disarrangement of her mode of carrying on her industries she may have experienced at the time, and, of all the West Indies, most readily conformed to the new regime, beginning at once to adjust herself to the changed social condition of her lately freed host of laborers. Until within the past few years this colony has flourished greatly ; her people have enjoyed the fullest measure of prosperity and worldly happiness. Now ? Now it is different. The price of sugar has fallen. To say that the sky has fallen, that the eternal bottom has dropped out, would convey but a slight idea of what the decline in the price of sugar signifies to the Barbadians. Tell a Newcastle man that his coal mines are exhausted, a Mississippi planter that cotton is no longer king, and one will get some notion of how a Bim receives the an- nouncement that henceforth beetroot is to sweeten the tea and coffee of grown folks, and ruin the teeth of the little ones, in all parts of the world. To a Barbadian, sugar is everything ; without it he is nothing, nobody. He knows not either to plant, cultivate, or harvest any other crop. Indigo ? Cotton ? He gave up bothering with both, gen- erations ago. Tobacco ? He long since weeded out the rank weed, so exhausting to the soil — even to the soil of his fertile island. Rice? Maize ? Go to ! Your Barbadian is a planter, not a farmer ; he owns an estate, and does not work on a farm. Plant corn, forsooth ! As well plant beetroot, and be done with it. And yet, beetroot contains from two to four per cent, more saccharine matter than sugar-cane, and of late years its cultivation has been encouraged and stimulated in certain European countries (Germany and France, in particular) by the payment of government bounties to all farmers who may plant it. 152 DOWN THE ISLANDS. At one time, millions of acres of land in Western Europe were given up to the growing of madder, a plant from which the base of almost every color used by dyers is obtainable. Since the discovery of ani- line dyes, the madder industry, no longer profitable to anyone, has been neglected ; moreover, as the soil that yielded the largest crops of that plant was found to favor the growth of the subsidized beetroot, it is not to be wondered at that, in a few years, the profits of the sugar- cane planters of the West Indies — indeed, of planters in all parts of the world (including our own Louisiana) — vanished into thin air with the smoke vomited from the chimneys of their sugar-houses. Of the total annual product of sugar in all parts of the earth — an almost in- credible quantity of sweetness, by the by — nearly one-half is, in these latter days, manufactured from beetroot, grown in various parts of the world. Sugar-cane has other competitors in the substance called glucose, which is procured from starch, and yields, in turn, various compounds termed saccharates ; as well as saccharose, distilled from coal-tar, and these cheap products have, in many ways, superseded cane-sugar, and have served still further to reduce the price of that commodity. A century ago it was said that Barbados could produce more sugar than all the people of Europe could consume — could pay for, would be a more accurate way of putting it — for Brillat-Savarin states that, in his early days, sugar was sold in the shops of Paris for the equivalent of four shillings sterling a pound. He mentions a cer- tain M. Delacroix who used to grumble at the high price he had to pay for that luxury. "Ah!" he would say, in his gentle way, " if ever it should come to be sold at a shilling, I shall never drink water without sugar in it." The price rapidly fell to lower figures, for the author of Physiologie du Gout records that, after the peace of 1783, sugar was to be had for a shilling the pound, and he good-naturedly expresses the hope that his old acquaintance might still be alive, and able to satisfy his craving for eau sucree. The MM. Delacroix of our day can buy five or six pounds of sugar for a shilling, and the Bar- badians bewail the impending ruin of their islaud ; they call on Eng- WALES Iff BRIDGETOWN. 153 land to help them in their competition with all Europe — sugar-cane versus beetroot ! They appeal to Gladstone and Salisbury in turn ; but these gentlemen, immersed in a sea of affairs — Continental and international affairs, Indian and Irish questions, Eastern problems — have no time to listen to the moans of the planters, echoing faintly from afar across the Atlantic. It is said the white people are gradually withdrawing from the island, and the statistics I have given lend color to this statement. It is true that some of the planters have already given up their estates, and returned to England to live upon whatever they may have laid up for a rainy day. Numbers of the younger men have emigrated to other countries, to try to make their way in the world ; some have come to the United States, and, my word for it, our country receives no braver, more resolute, or success-compelling recruits than these fair- spoken, quick-witted Bims. But enough of statistics ! I have done for the present with blue- books, government reports, and such dry-as-dust material ; I will get on witK my description of Bridgetown, where, as I have said, I landed in the presence of a great cloud, a black crowd, of witnesses, an in- numerable company of Barbadians of African descent, who volun- teered, en masse, to render any service under the sun that might be worth a tip ; I had only to name what I desired, and the whole popu- lace then in sight were ready to do my bidding. A dozen or more darkies offered to conduct me to different hotels, of which there are several in Bridgetown. A score of grinning blacks desired me to fol- low them to the station of the Barbados Bailway Company, for Bim- shire boasts the only railway in the Caribbee Islands — a railway im- ported from England. Not an American railroad, with locomotives, cars, baggage-cars, and conductors, but an English railway, mark you, with engines, carriages, luggage-vans, and guards. On this railway, goods-trains are shunted at the stations ; there are no freight-trains to switch at depots. Its engines squeal and screech, are painted green, are without bells or cow-catchers, and would look perfectly natural 154 DOWN THE ISLANDS. and at home at Lime Street or Euston Square. The Barbados Rail- way, which is about twenty-five miles long, is controlled by a board of directors, it is true ; but they elect a chairman, not a president, and, to have it as British as can be, the present chairman is an English knight (or, perhaps, a baronet) ; to wit, Sir George Chambers, who consults with the company's solicitors, not lawyers, please finally to observe. No doubt, if I had made my wants and wishes known to my colored brethren, squads, gangs, relays, hosts of them, would have been only too glad to show me where the cars of the Bridgetown Tramway Company (need I say the B. T. Co. is limited ?) ran for the convenience of passengers. I should not have had to ask twice for a guide to the General Hospital (founded in 1840), or for some one to conduct me to the offices of the "Water-works Company, where, should Thursday, the regular day of meeting, be packet day, the directors meet on Friday ; or to the Barbados Savings Bank, which has a branch office in Speightstown, where a venerable archdeacon of the Church of England occupies the position of official manager. No doubt I could have had the escort of a carriageful of colored persons, had I desired their company and paid their fares, to Codrington Col- lege, whereof the Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of Barbados is the ex officio visitor, and where certain graduates of the 'Varsities on the banks of the Cam and the Isis occupy chairs of divinity, medicine, classics, and mathematics. The occupant of the last-named chair, as was to be expected, is a Cantab, of St. John's, of no less distinction than senior qptime. The president of Codrington College, the right reverend the visitor aforesaid, has associated with him in the local council regulating the affairs of this academic institution three honor- ables, to wit : The Colonial Secretary, the Attorney-General, and the Speaker of the Assembly, as well as the Chancellor of the Diocese, the Archdeacon of Barbados, and the Rector of St. John's — al]f of them, by virtue of their rank, intrusted with the educational interests of this seat of learning. To them is joined one gentleman who has no initial handle to his name, nor even the complimentary tail-piece WALKS IN BRIDGETOWN. 155 of esquire. He figures in the list of local councillors by his own name, and a good name it is — John Griffith. I mean no disrespect to Mr. Griffith's associates, nor do I intend to flatter that gentleman at their expense ; I only desire to call attention to what appears to be the fact, that because he is John Griffith he is deemed worthy to be councillor. There were numerous colored folk on all the street corners — yes, in the middle of the streets and between the corners — in short, every- where, in hopes of loose coin, willing to point out any public building I desired to see — to show me the Nelson Monument, which stands in the midst of a public place called, if I remember aright, Tra- falgar Square. Be that its name or no, this open space contains a greater curiosity than may be seen within the walls of the British Museum ; namely, a banyan-tree of great age and remarkable girth and size. I should not have been compelled to ask twice where the gas-works that supply the town with light were situated, had I wished to visit the only institution of the kind in the Windward Islands, for the darkies were ever ready to answer my beck and call. I politely de- clined all guidance, took heed of no directions, wagged my head in determined negation, made as if I heard not, and, like the deaf adder that stoppeth its ears, I listened not to the voices of the chattering, suggesting, good-humored people who ran at my heels as if I were a figure-of-fun or juggler, likely to juggle and perform wonders at any street corner and without previous advertisement. I held the even tenor of my way in the wake of certain jovial, drouthy, hungry, news-seeking Anglo-Barbadians, and, without let or hinderance, by following my good masters, who followed their noses, I came, in due course of time and inevitably, to the Ice House — the Ice Establish- ment, close by the door of which the Salmagundian afterward sat while making the accompanying sketch. The gentlemen turned into the historic institution, and I, following at a respectful distance, entered after them with modest face. We 156 DOWN THE ISLANDS. joined a group of citizens gathered around a bulletin-board, on which were exhibited certain cablegrams, containing, in a few words, the gist of London news, flashed via New York at the close of business the preceding day. Ignoring the commercial reports and sugar-quotations (of which there were many — all of them, no doubt, of great impor- tance to the Bims), I read with lively interest the " war news," as the latest intelligence concerning the apparently inevitable outbreak of hostilities in Central Asia was prematurely called by valiant islanders obviously eager for the fray. One long message announcing the .'/ simultaneous arrival of Russian and English war-ships in American waters seemed in some indefinite way calculated to involve me per- sonally in a possible international complication ; therefore I resolved that, in the event of my opinion, as an American citizen, on the East- ern question being asked for, any time that day, either to maintain a diplomatic silence, or, in view of the disorganized condition of the American Navy, to take refuge in such inoffensive statements as seemed to be suggested by the American doctrine of non-interference in foreign affairs. A gentleman who expressed his disgust with the lack of stiffness of Gladstone's backbone, charging that statesman WALKS. IN BRID GETO WN. 157 with having gone wrong in the knees, declared that the Yankees would side with Russia, not because the Yankees at large believed Russia to be in the right, but because political parties in the States truckled to the Irish vote. On the other hand, his opponent, who relied on the length of Mr. Gladstone's head, and foretold the annihi- lation of Russia, stoutly maintained that the Americans would " stick up for England," and in support of this opinion quoted the words of an American naval officer who had, on one memorable occasion, been heard to declare that blood was thicker than water. This episode of the bulletin- board serves to show that the sentiments of the Barba- dians, concerning all matters affecting the welfare of England, are but. an epitome — a pocket-edition, so to speak — of the sentiments of the 1 English themselves. Of this there can be no doubt, Barbadian loyv alty gives out no uncertain sound, and this whole matter may be. summed up poetically as follows : " They change their sky, but not their mind, Who o'er the sea a dwelling find." One of the gentlemen whom I had followed from the landing to; the Ice House, after eying me for a moment, said : *' Had I not the pleasure of seeing you on the Barracouta when I called on my old friend the captain, this morning ? " I told him that nothing was likelier, as I was one of the captain's! through passengers. After a few more pleasant words and an ex- change of cards, we became better acquainted, and my good friend presented me to his jovial associates, stating that I was an old friend of the captain of the Barracouta, and a good friend of his. "Without, pausing to give me time to make my manners, the gentleman, whose kindness to me I shall not lightly forget, said : " Gentlemen, I have just asked our good friend to join us upstairs." He had not, it is true, asked me in so many words, but meeting as we did necessarily implied that I was expected to join, and so, without further ado, upstairs we went, my old friend and I (the oldest friend; 158 DOWN THE ISLANDS. I had in Bridgetown) in the lead, with all my very good friends following close behind. What we did when we reached an upper chamber, spacious, high, and lighted by wide windows — all opened, to admit the balmy trade-wind — and had taken seats in a hall with tables set about with easy-chairs ; where the clinking of glasses fell pleas- antly upon the ear amid the sound of popping corks, the gurgling and fizzing of flagons and round-bellied or tapering bottles ; where there was a grateful, appetizing odor of cooking ; how I made merry with my friends and became as one of them, ate and drank, and talked of Bimshire and the Afghan boundary, of England, of the islands I had seen, and of those I was to see ; how I learned of the excellence and healthf ulness of sugar-cane, of the unwholesome qualities of beetroot ; what questions I asked concerning my friends' affairs, what inquiries concerning my own land and people I had to answer — all these things I have no space nor time to tell. I can only leave it to the imag- ination of my readers to picture the scene, to guess the tenth of all that was said and done. Only this I must record, bearing my testi- mony with gladness, and fearing not to be gainsaid, I found the Bar- badians graduates in the science of hospitality, masters of the art of entertaining, genial and sociable by instinct, self-possessed, courteous, and polite, as a result of early training ; in argument, fortiter in re, in listening and asking questions, suaviter in modo. Having but little in the way of public amusements to distract them, passing their lives far from the madding crowd, dependent on their own ingenuity to devise means of recreation, having much leisure time while the crops are growing, seeing the same people day by day, it will not be surprising if the Barbadians often find the days long and their sur- roundings monotonous. Therefore, being quick-witted and well edu- cated, accounting nothing that concerns mankind of little or no interest to them, these islanders read with avidity a wonderful number of books, read deliberately, critically, and with discrimination. Having abundant opportunity for consideration, and taking counsel with them- selves and one another, their thoughts crystallize into well-digested WALKS IN BRIDGETOWN. 159 opinions ; moreover, being given to debating and arguing, as men who live remote from the great world are apt to discuss and reason, they polish their opinions by conversation. Therefore the stranger lis- tens with pleased surprise to the terse, well-balanced sentences, the well-turned phrases, they from time to time let fall in the full flow of ordinary discussion. Having abundant time in their isolation to discuss any subject at great length, they accord a patient hearing to their opponents, expecting to be heard in turn ; and yet there is noth- ing pedantic or heavy in the atmosphere of their social gatherings. On the contrary, the Barbadians talk as intelligent, thinking men used to talk in London coffee-houses and drawing-rooms one hundred years ago, in the days when the leading events of the times were discussed, the news of the day verified, its probability carefully weighed, its sig- nificance pondered, or, as I may say, sorted, indexed, and filed away in the pigeon-holes of memory, all carefully collated for future reference. So our forefathers conversed in the days of infrequent news-letters, when the result of the Battle of Waterloo, for instance, was borne be- neath the wings of carrier-pigeons flying to London. That was before the days of morning papers, with early and late editions full of news which may be highly true, if important — with afternoon editions, like caramel candy, fresh every hour ; before the days of extras, news- tickers, and all the maddening devices of that devil, the child of neces- sity, to prevent mankind from finding time to think ; before the inven- tion of interviewers, who scruple not to ring a man up in the still small hours to ask him questions of less importance, forsooth, to mankind than Dundreary's problem — " If you had a brother, do you think he would like cheese ? " We New Yorkers, Londoners, Parisians, indeed, shoot folly as she flies. The Barbadians, with enviable deliberation, like the much ridiculed grouse-shooting Frenchman, can afford to wait until " she shall stand still one leetle moment." And the swizzles ! Yes, the swizzles ! I shall discourse of them on board the Barracouta while voyaging to Demerara, for which port we sailed the day following that I have 160 DOWN THE ISLANDS. been writing about. Likewise of the pepper-pot, of which I partook with my Barbadian friends, at short intervals, as I lingered almost too long in their delightful company, with one eye on the Ice House clock, fearing to overstay my time, in my heart regretting the approach of the moment when I must continue on my tour of sight-seeing. The Ice House at Bridgetown ! — there one can read, talk, eat, drink, buy a needle or an anchor, see the workings of the ingenious machine which turns out enough ice daily to furnish a long, thick slide for the jeunesse doree of Barbados, if by chance any of the youthful Bims should yearn to practise the art of wearing out their Sunday-go-to- meeting shoes in the enjoyment of the pastime which Mr. Samuel Weller called " keep the pot a-boiling." In addition to the restaurant and cafe of the Ice establishment, there are twenty or more sleeping-rooms, all most comfortably fur- nished, delightfully clean, and, what is particularly noteworthy, are rented at half the price one would be compelled to pay for worse accommodation in the best hotels in either Long Branch or Saratoga. I have spoken of the Barbados Railway. It runs across tho island to the Atlantic coast to two little towns, known respectively by the names of Bathsheba and Bath ; to these watering-places the qual- ity of the island resort during certain seasons of the year to enjoy the fine surf-bathing. About half-way from Bridgetown to these fashionable resorts the railway passes close to Bagged Point Light- house, standing on a bold promontory that juts far out into the At- lantic, thence onward the scenery reminds one of the coast of York- shire in the neighborhood of Flamborough Head and Scarborough. I have not space to describe this wild and wave-worn shore ; it is well worth the journey to view it from the railway, and the trip from the city to the terminus of the road and return may be made in less than four hours. Barbados is really the only place in the Caribbees, unless we also except Port of Spain in Trinidad, where there is comfortable hotel accommodation, and where a traveller may abide in ease and comfort WALKS /iV" BRIDGETOWN. 161 in a well-appointed inn ; and although the island is wanting in all the grandeur of mountains and magnificent scenery, there is much to amuse the sojourner and occupy his mind, so that one may readily spend a week or more in this interesting place, and, when ready to depart, wonder how quickly the days have come and gone. It will not be the fault of the good people of Bimshire if, when the time comes to say farewell, the visitor's heart is not touched with sadness as he bids good-by to a host of friends. 1 1 v - I Park in Barbados. CHAPTER XIV. THE TIP-END OF A CONTINENT. Bound for South America. — Pepper-pot. — An Apothecary's Prescription. — Surinam. — Equatorial Holland. — Dikes and Windmills. — Statistical Gleanings. — An Ameri- can Market Building. — The Shipping Laws of 1798. TEAMING out of Carlisle Bay late in the afternoon, shortly before sunset we lost sight of land, the Barracouta being then on a south- southeast course, bound for George- town, in the province of Deme- rara, British Guiana. The ship bowled merrily along, riding an easy swell, rolling before the trade- wind that carried a black plume of smoke from the funnel directly over the steamer's stern, where it hung over her wake long after she had passed far onward, out on the ocean. The sea sparkled in the moonlight and murmured as pleasantly as the waters of the North Atlantic in the calmest day of summer, or, for that matter, as the billows of the South Pacific at Christmas-time ; for, although it is not always May on shore or on the sea, it is nevertheless forever mid summer some place beneath the stars all the long year round. And now, before I take up the story of our further cruising, let me redeem two promises rashly made at the end of my last chapter ; namely, to tell what a pepper-pot is, and how to brew a swizzle. THE TIP-END OF A CONTINENT. 163 Imprimis : Pepper-pot. In order to reproduce this surprising invention, which bears witness to the delicate and ingenious gastro- nomic perceptions of the Bims, one must first procure an earthen jar or Connarhee pot of generous proportions and comfortable rotundity of form, not necessarily outwardly decorative or ornate ; there is to be that within which passeth show — therefore it is only of the first im- portance to have the inner glaze of this chosen vessel without a flaw. This great crater must needs stand firmly on a broad and solid bot- tom, so that, should it experience even an earthquake's thrill (as is by no means unlikely in some of these islands), it shall cling to its base and greet the sunrise still. From the lower part its contour should bulge, in aldermanic outline, in fair upward and outward curves to its equator ; thence fall away in full, rounding lines, con- tracting and shrinking to a thick-set, apoplectic neck. Into the jaws of its yawning mouth there must be fitted a cover, carefully and judgematically notched, to fit the handle of fork or spoon of large size and long reach by which to fish up the snacks and tid-bits that will, when all is properly concocted, float inside. All the year round the pepper-pot must stand, day and night, on the sideboard, or on a special table provided for the purpose in the dining-hall, and small praise to the housewife who fails, at all hours, in all seasons, to keep it well stocked for the delectation of all comers. So much I know, by reason of personal observation and gratifying experience gained in the Ice Establishment at Barbados, as well as from my grateful remembrance of no less well-prepared pepper-pots of which I partook, in season and out of season, in sundry private houses I had aforetime visited in my travels among the Caribbees. How to fill a pepper-pot I learned the night after leaving Bridgetown, when we Barracoutans had turned in, as was our custom, on deck. Before I slept I overheard a shipmate tell his chum how, according to his re- membrance of what he had that day heard, the Barbadians prepared their pepper-pot. I listened attentively to the recital, intending, bright and early next morning, to enter the gist of his account in 164 DOWN THE ISLANDS. my log, for meet it was that I should set it down. From my note- book, therefore, I am able to copy the following extract verbatim, adding nothing and keeping nothing back. " I say, old man, that pepper-pot isn't half bad. I went in for such a lot of it — regular blow-out, by Jove ! Awfully decent chaps. One of 'em told me how to make one. Get a lot of peppers, cayenne, bird's-eye peppers, long, round, all kinds, green, red, yellow, such a jolly lot of 'em. Cut 'em all up. Makes my eyes water to think of it d'ye know ! — I say, did you go in for it? " A pause, and inaudible remark by the " old man." " Then you put this mess in a stone pot. Then, by Jove ! fellow didn't say — I forgot to ask if yon cooked it — ask him on return trip — then you put in vinegar and catsup and spices, all that sort of thing — dash of bitters. ISTo ; that's swizzle. By Jove ! I say, did you go in for swizzle ? " A very long pause ; audible snore by the "old man." "Then you take any blessed thing left over from dinner or breakfast, chop, leg of fowl, sausage, bacon (forget whether he said fish) — anything left of something too good to throw away or give to beggars, don't you know. Tomatoes, pickles, all that lot. Only fancy ! Any time you feel peckish — there you are. It's always going on, is pepper-pot ; you never wash the blooming thing out ; keeps for years. Decent old chappy that. Said it was good for dyspepsia and that sort o' thing ; only trouble is, you eat such a lot of it." To this formula I must needs add that casareep is a necessary and all-important ingredient of a right pepper-pot. Altogether, and under the peculiarly hospitable circumstances of his acquiring the knowledge how to concoct this "West Indian olla podrida, my ship- mate was not far out of the way. From his sketch of it, it will be seen that pepper-pot is a perennial free lunch, a perpetual zakooshka, a la Husse, a never-failing meal between meals ; for, as my fellow-traveller said, it goes on forever, like the brook in the song, or a Chinese drama, and I can testify it is palatable. Moreover, if you are lined like a salamander you can eat such a lot of it, notwithstanding its THE TIP-END OF A CONTINENT. 165 blistering, peppery qualities, and in the day ye eat thereof ye shall not surely nor necessarily die. Secundo : Solely for the benefit, behoof, and instruction of such of my readers, and only such, as hardly ever prescribe for themselves any compound or decoction that has not previously been recommended as a palliative, if not as a certain cure, by somebody's medical adviser at some time or other, under some certain circumstances, or other uncer- tain circumstances, I will set forth the recipe for putting up swizzle according to the formula that, no doubt, would have been written out for me (had I asked for it) by any apothecary in Biin shire. 3-ss. it o.r. Spfs: red! jur>ipe.ns Wcc-. C^i*; angos-tara& Sac-eft.-. aP6. S aca : Citroni s fim.ei*. J\q,uOi-.at]d: carbon. - . (ScRasejapil See: ad fi'fi: Sig: PermuEfioYi in die. - , in. u.r\o gaulf: aff'er/ ,_ A Medical Recipe. And now to proceed with the account of our cruise. In the geo- graphical nature of things the account of a trip to Georgetown, Brit- ish Guiana, is not properly to be included in the story of a cruise down the islands, for the voyage from Barbados thither is a wide di- version from the main line of travel, either up or down the Caribbean Archipelago. Therefore, no matter how sorely I may be tempted to venture upon a description of the scenery, and to record some of the facts concerning the manners and customs of the inhabitants of the northern extremity of South America, I find little warrant in the title of my book for wandering so far from my text. I am, however, some what consoled by the reflection that one cannot be expected to form very accurate or adequate ideas of South America by landing at the tip-end of that continent — at the city of Georgetown, at the mouth of 166 DOWN THE ISLANDS. the Demerara River — especially as our ship tarried there only long enough to discharge a moderate quantity of freight receive in re- turn part of a cargo of sugar, and then, after rescuing certain of our fellow-passengers from the unavoidable hospitalities of festive citizens, departed for Trinidad, whence we set out on our return voyage, resum- ing our delightful experience of cruising among the glories of the Windward Islands. Nevertheless, I must needs show by what a roundabout way we travelled from Barbados, via Georgetown, to Port of Spain. Forty hours after her departure from Barbados the Barracouta stopped within half a cable's length of the light-ship, anchored off the bar at the mouth of the Demerara River, ten miles from land. Halt- ing just long enough to take a pilot, she then proceeded on her jour- ney, carefully picking her way up the channel, worn in the bottom of the sea by the mighty flood that at all times of the year is poured down by this great river. Shortly after eight o'clock in the morn- ing we cast anchor in mid-stream, in front of Georgetown, the capital of the province to which the river the steamer had entered gives its name. British Guiana lies in the northeast of South America, and is bounded by Venezuela, Brazil, Dutch Guiana, and the Atlantic Ocean. It has a coast-line of two hundred and eighty miles, "an area of seventy-six thousand square miles, of which," says the author of " Her Majesty's Colonies," " there are about eighty-three thousand acres under cultivation." According to another statement, which is con- tained in a blue-book printed in 1884, by order of the government of the colony, there were on June 30th in that year over seventy-nine thousand five hundred acres planted with sugar-cane, over two thou- sand five hundred and fifty with plantains ; and devoted to other cul- tivation, cattle-farms, etc., more than sixty-five thousand acres. Again I say it is wonderful how little accurate information, or rather how much contradictory information, is to be obtained from books concerning Her Majesty's colonies in the West Indian Islands. TEE TIP-END OF A CONTINENT. 167 The inward boundaries of British Guiana are undefined, for the colony extends from the ocean to an unexplored and almost unexplorable wilderness of forests, jungles, cane-brakes— inhabited by brutish, if not savage, races of men, infested by reptiles and wild beasts, swarming with pestilential flying things that make living or travelling in the in- terior of Guiana a torment not lightly to be endured by white men. It is estimated that the three provinces contain a total area of sixty- six million acres, an extent of country a little larger than the States of ]STew Jersey and New York combined. So little is known about the wild lands of this great back country that, notwithstanding the belief in the existence of valuable mines of gold and silver within their confines, no well organized plan of exploration or geological survey has as yet been undertaken, although it is vaguely hinted that numerous prospectors are wandering about the land in search of treas- ures, many of them only to find lonely graves — if buried their bodies ever shall be, where the vultures and other carrion birds may not come at them in horrid banqueting. The total population of British Guiana may be set down in round numbers at 265,000 souls ; of this number about 65,000 are either natives of Hindustan or their descendants, 4,393 of Chinese ances- try — the great majority of the people being Africans or colored Cre- oles. Of the aborigines of this part of the world, careful guessing puts their aggregate at 7,656. As these folks are nomadic by nature, inhabiting the vast, trackless forests remote from civilization, it is not practicable to obtain any correct tale of them. An idea of the woful state of ignorance of the inhabitants may be formed from the last census-reports, which state that 77,396 can, and 174,790 can- not read. Why wonder at this condition of affairs? The Afri- cans and Asiatics have no ambition to distinguish between their right hand and their left, they are not taught, and, for that matter, being regarded only as labor-saving beings cheaper to operate than machinery, have no need to know more than how to work for and not to steal from white men. The affairs of this colony are man- 168 DOWN THE ISLANDS. aged by a governor, who is appointed by the Queen of England un- der royal sign manual and signet. Judging from the condition of affairs in British Guiana, the happy-go-lucky life of the people, the simplicity of their agricultural pursuits, their lack of energy and en- terprise in exploring and developing the resources of the country, the peaceful disposition of neighboring nations — in short, the general quietude, not to say stagnation of industries and commercial pursuits — his excellency enjoys an immunity from cares of state and troublous politics. For these reasons we may regard him as a pleasantly settled and happy man, with nothing to do but to save all or spend all, of a salary of £5,000, to which is added £2,400 for contingencies, all paid from the colonial revenue. The liberality of the British Crown in disbursing the money of its colonial subjects may well be marvelled at, by Americans. Each citizen of the United States, assuming it to be within bounds to say there are fifty millions of them, contributes annu- ally, of his or her hard-gotten gains, the sum of one-tenth of a cent to support their President in a state of luxury which permits of his sleeping, taking his meals, and occasionally visiting his family and entertaining his and the nation's guests at one end of a hall in the Executive Mansion, where are the so-called private apartments, from which he sallies forth every morning for a walk to the other end of the building, where is his place of business — an admirable ar- rangement, enabling us to boast that our chief magistrate lives over his shop. Each citizen of British Guiana, and we have seen that there are about two hundred and sixty thousand of them, contributes nine-tenths of a cent to the maintenance of a governor chosen for them by the mother countiy. This executive resides in a Govern- ment House, excellently equipped, and receives a salary equal to three- quarters of the sum now paid to President Cleveland for services rendered by the latter to a country the daily revenue of which nearly equals the total annual revenue of the colony in question. The gov- ernment secretary receives a stipend of like amount with that paid to THE TIP-END OF A CONTINENT. 169 the Secretary of State of our munificent Republic. The comparative condition of the people of the two countries would not seem to warrant Native Indian of British Guiana. such economy on the part of the United States — a country in which it is difficult to obtain laborers willing to work for one dollar a day — 170 DOWN THE ISLANDS. whereas in British Guiana twenty -five cents jper diem is considered ex- cessive wages, rarely demanded even by the most intelligent and able- bodied workmen. But I have a natural reluctance to deal with such common-place every-day matters ; it troubles me to turn over the pages of blue-books and census-reports ; they are uninteresting reading to me — moreover, I fear to weary my readers with arrays of facts and fig- ures, deductions and conclusions. I have to admit frankly that I paid little attention to all these things when cruising down the islands; I had gone a-pleasuring, was seeking amusement, and therefore took little thought of political economy or questions relating to the pros- perity and welfare of mankind at large, being content to see the best side of things, wishing in my heart that everybody had reason, and was willing, to thank their good fortune that things were no worse than I saw them. The reasons that induced the Dutchmen (who colonized this part of the world as early as the year 1580) to take possession of the region they named Surinam are not far to seek. Except for a marked con- trast in vegetation and a wide difference of climate, the Netherlands in all other respects resembles Surinam as closely as a country crowded with thrifty Dutchmen can be said to resemble a land inhabited by spadeless, ploughless, trouserless savages, contented to dwell in prime- val forests ; lazy barbarians, who had never seen a windmill or a flagon of schnapps until the representatives of their High Mightinesses set their muddled brains a-whirling at the sight of the one, and stole away their wits and fertile territory by teaching them the taste of the other. The coast of Surinam is marshy and sea- worn — the currents of its rivers are as sluggish and mud-stained as the waters of the Amstel or the Maas. The waves of the Atlantic, for miles out from the low, level shore, are as thick and oozy as the sickly broth of the German Ocean along tide-water mark or the margin of the Zuyder Zee. What wonder, then, that as naturally as a Kanaka baby takes to salt- water, the Dutch established themselves in this equatorial Holland, where they fell to work digging ditches, raising dikes, intrenching THE TIP-END OF A CONTINENT. 171 themselves behind earthworks to renew the never-ending battle of their race — the struggle against the invasion of the sea, disputing the question of riparian rights with the Atlantic Ocean itself. The Dutch colonists drove ploughs where Caribs had formerly paddled canoes, and in the fulness of time raised crops of sugar-cane on acres once overgrown with sedge and sea-weed. Doubtless, when Ten-This and Yan T'other could walk along the level tops of their dikes for miles and miles, or travel by canal from house to house, be- holding a score or more windmills in every direction, the trans- planted Hollanders felt as much at home in Surinam, all the year round, as he did in the Low Countries any piping-hot day in mid- summer. And so the Rip Yan So-and-sos and "Woutter Yan What's- his-names smoked their pipes, quaffed their schnapps, until the Eng- lish and French entered into a conspiracy and took, each of them, one-third of the Dutchman's colony, establishing themselves unin- vited in his vicinity, becoming his self-elected neighbors ; the former planting sugar to the northwest of Surinam, in British Guiana, the latter founding a penal colony to the southeast, in Cayenne. The English changed the name of the largest city in their possession from Stabroek to Georgetown (as they aforetime had changed the name of my native city from New Amsterdam to New York), but were content with Anglicizing the spelling of the name of the second town of importance, writing it down New Amsterdam, the name it bears to-day. When we arrived at Georgetown I lost no time in going ashore, the Doctor accompanying me. We both carried valises packed with in- definite raiment, describable as enough for two nights. For the first time since leaving New York we were to sleep in beds instead of on ship's deck, under mosquito-nets instead of beneath a canvas awning. The steamer, which we left in mid-stream, was presently to be made fast to a wharf, and the Doctor, sniffing suspicion of malaria in the air tainted by the filth floating by the docks, decreed that all those who would take his advice should take lodging at some convenient hostelry in the 172 DOWN THE ISLANDS. centre of the town, beyond the miasmatic influences of the oozy river. We landed from a small boat at a dock near an extensive, well-con- structed, iron market-building, lately erected by an American firm which, I was informed, had underbid a number of English iron- workers in a competition for the contract. Thinks I to myself, "If iron market-houses, why not iron ships ? " and was gratified, as was the Doctor, for so he confessed to me, to know that we Americans could compete in some things with the so-called pauper labor of Europe — in the manufacture of markets, for instance ; but I must confess our inmost souls were not strangely thrilled by a feeling of patriotic pride over the discovery. Had we seen the star-spangled banner fluttering in this foreign port from the flag-staff of the American iron-clad market-house we could, neverthe- less, complacently and without undue exultation, have entered the commodious, light, and airy building (well stocked with fruits and all manner of comestibles) and there, under the American flag, have driven bargains (as, in fact, we did) with coal-black British subjects for oranges, limes, pines, and mangoes, as many as we could get for a Queen's shilling. Had we, the Doctor and I, however, at any time, in any harbor, during our voyage down the islands, beheld a goodly, staunch, and sea-worthy ship hoist the American flag in the place of honor at the main peak or taffrail flag- staff, thus proudly proclaiming her native, or even her naturalized, American register — had we, I say, beheld so gratifying a spectacle, one so soothing to our pride as sea- going Americans, we certainly should have been tempted to treat one another to swizzle, concocted, as the Doctor prescribes it, with the spts. red. junzperis bacc. left out. So we hope to be tempted some day, when our countrymen insist on the repeal of the musty, absurd, aggravating, shipping laws of 1798 — statutes that have driven more American ships from the high seas than a fleet of Alabamas could, without let or hinderance, destroy in a decade. CHAPTER XV. DEMERARA. Georgetown.— Its Hindu Citizens.— The Tower Hotel.— A Meteorological Digression.— A Hindu Belle.— Her Face and her Fortune.— A Street Idyl. — Victoria Begia. Georgetown lies pleasantly on the east bank of the Demerara Eiver. Its northern suburbs extend almost to the sea-wall, over which, during northerly storms, the spray dashes, oftentimes sprinkling the gardens planted close to its landward foundations. The town is regularly laid out in squares ; those streets running at right angles to the river stretch inland a mile or more, to the margins of sugar-estates that extend for leagues to the east- ward. To the south, from the ends of the streets that run parallel to the Demerara, cane-pieces spread over thousands and thousands of acres of country, as flat and plain as a barn-floor. All the soil is a rich, alluvial deposit, as fer- tile as the fat loam of the Delta of the Nile, as black and deep, as 174 DOWN THE ISLANDS. easily broken by plough or harrow or cleared of stubble, and there is never a stone in a thousand acres to throw at a browsing cow, if one made so bold as to invade the patches of young and tender sugar- cane. The streets of the city are clean and tidy, and all the vicinage has a prosperous, well-to-do appearance. Most of the houses are built of wood painted white, with green blinds ; many of them stand de- tached in gardens enclosed by railings and picket-fences. George- town looks as a thrifty, well-ordered New England town would look (can anyone picture the transformation ?) if shaded by palms instead of elms, with an endless variety of tropical trees, shrubs, ferns, flow- ers, vines, and fruits growing in profusion around the dwellings. The most interesting objects of curiosity in Georgetown are its inhabitants, especially the host of Hindu coolies, laboring people, all imported under government contract from Hindustan, bound as apprentices used to be, articled to work on the sugar-estates for a term of five years at least. At the end of five years they are free to do as they please, but may bind themselves for a further like term, at the end of which, all who are disposed to return home are entitled to a free passage to their native land. If they do not wish to serve a second articled term, they may remain in British Guiana to work as other laborers work ; that is to say, whenever they may feel inclined to earn twelve or fifteen pence a day, as the negroes are free to work if they choose — as the Chinese do work, wherever they can get em- ployment. The total number of Asiatics in British Guiana is about sixty-five thousand ; the Hindus outnumber the Chinese in the proportion often to one, but all, or nearly all, of both races not born in South America, owe their importation into this part of the world to the demand for cheaper labor that arose when the price of sugar was forced down by the competition of other cane-growing countries, and the abnormally stimulated cultivation of beetroot sugar in Europe. Eor a time the low cost of cooly labor enabled the Demerara planters to make a profit on their crops ; after a time the supply of sugar exceeded the DEMEBARA. 175 demand for it in the markets of the world, and again the cry went up, " Cheaper labor, more coolies." This clamor for lower-priced muscle and brawn is but another version of the old, old story that may be summarized as follows : Bad times, financial panics, high rates of interest, foreclosures, failures. The remedy : Cheaper labor, more coolies. In other words, mutatis mutandis — more greenbacks, un- limited shinplasters, trade-dollars. Inflation in another form — brandy for the drunkard. The Doctor and I speedily arrived at the Tower Hotel, being pre- ceded from the landing-stage by two darkies who bore our portman- teaus on the tops of their woolly heads. The sanitary condition of the Tower was satisfactory to my companion. The welcome of mine host, the hospitable aspect of the dining- and smoking-rooms were agreeable to me — both of us were attracted by the comfortable ap- pearance of the bed-chambers, and more especially by the promise of unlimited fresh water, to be had in spray or shower at any time, night or day, in well-ordered bath-rooms, situated on every floor of the hotel. We registered our names, became landsmen again, board- ers, not passengers — landlubbers, if you will — after our sea-life of nearly two weeks, and in a short time all our fellow-passengers joined us, and lodged at the hotel. All the year round, at Georgetown, the thermometer averages over 90° F., as might be expected at a city built within six degrees of the equator ; but not even in the height of summer is the weather as un- comfortable as the climate of New York during the heated terms of July and August. I have this statement from our captain, and he is unimpeachable authority on any of the multitudinous subjects whereof he has reason or desire to be informed. The information he cannot give concerning the climate along the regular route of the Barracouta is not to be gained by poring over almanacs. He visits Demerara, on an average, ten times a year. During the summer months he wears a straw hat when he takes his walks ashore at either end of his ocean lane ; his thermometer abides steadily in the nineties, all the way up 176 DOWN THE ISLANDS. or down the islands, at New York as well as at Georgetown. In the winter months, between November and March, the captain may be said, meteorologically speaking, to have a lively time of it. The tempera- ture of Demerara remains at summer heat, it is true ; it is the eccen- tricity of the climate of New York that causes all his trouble and up- sets all his weatherwise theories. How is a man, even a far-seeing, judgematical mariner like our gallant captain, to keep run of the read- ings of a thermometer that varies 100° F. during a passage no longer than from Sandy Hook to Fastnet Rock ? How, indeed ? And yet that is precisely what the Barracouta's thermometer does, on many of her voyages, going or coming, between her dock on the East River and her wharf on the Demerara. It is no exaggeration to say that the captain's winter experience is fairly illustrated as follows : His friends who bid him good-by in New York wish him bon voyage over a piping-hot toddy, warn him to button up pea-jacket, great-coat, and ulster (he will need all three, at one and the same time, out at sea beyond the Hook), they advise him to keep out of the draught, go to bed early, and so get rid of the cold he caught when standing on the bridge, as he piloted the Barracouta into New York Harbor. In two weeks from that time his friends who welcome him at the George- town Club invite him to take an iced swizzle, give him a fan, place a chair for him by the window, tell him to unbutton his waistcoat, keep out of the sun, put witch-hazel on his sun-blisters, take a cold shower- bath, leave his windows and doors open at night, to the end that he may recover from the evil effects of standing in the sun on the bridge while piloting the Barracouta into Demerara River. So it goes, or rather so he goes, from New York to Demerara, from ten degrees below zero in the sun to ninety-five above in the shade, from chilblains to sunstroke, ulster to duster, from bare and leafless trees, frozen and lifeless meadows, to waving groves of palm and ripening cane-pieces — down to South America with fifteen thousand barrels of flour, up to North America with one thousand five hundred hogsheads of sugar. After a dainty breakfast the Doctor and I went each his own way, DEMERARA. 177 to saunter about the town and see the sights. I have only space to extract from my note-book the accounts of such of my adventures as I think may be of most interest to my readers, and, first of all, I ask their attention to a sketch of a typical woman of an ancient race (see Frontispiece). Strolling along the shady side of a wide and busy street, I overtook a young girl. I should have passed her, had I not slack- ened my gait when I came within a few steps of her ; and, walking softly, measuring my paces by hers, followed behind the unknown wayfarer — respectfully and at a proper distance — to study and admire her costume, which was so neatly fitted to her slight and charming figure, so tastefully disposed, draped in such dainty folds and graceful gatherings, that the wearer of it made a most attractive picture. Her little feet were bare ; nevertheless she trod firmly, stepping lightly, with graceful poise, walking as only those women can walk who, all their lives innocent of high-heeled boots, learned to balance hric-d-brao on their heads when they were little, doll-cuddling girls. From time to time the maiden stopped to gaze into the shop-windows, viewing with eager, sparkling eyes the wonders, so attractive to her, displayed by drapers and dealers in fashionable stuffs. When she halted thus to feast her soul I passed ahead of her ; then halting, waited till she, in turn, passed me again. In this way I was enabled to inspect, with approving criticism, the object of my admiration from tip to toe, and from every point of view. In time I made a mental catalogue of the bewildering items of her apparel and orna- ments, taking memoranda that would enable an ingenious artist to paint from my description a full-length picture of her. Need I say I felt exceedingly diffident while following the young lady about the streets, and hesitated long before I ventured to open my note-book for the purpose of jotting down details of her word- picture I feared I might else forget. She caught me looking at her, and smiled quizzically, as if she found me grotesque or outlandish in appearance. Nevertheless she smiled, and I, taking heart of grace, whipped out my log and jotted down : "Teeth, regular, white " — and 178 DOWN THE ISLANDS. then, in admiration of her, I noted down as follows, as if I were fill- ing the blank spaces in her passport: "Mouth, small and regular; lips, full and pouting ; head, gracefully poised ; face (mark this note, made in her gentle presence) — face, beautiful, oval, Grecian in type ; nose, delicate, straight, finely chiselled (the last two words I must have cribbed from Ouida, one of whose intensest productions I had read on the voyage from Barbados) ; ears, small, well shaped, and well put on * hair, glossy, raven-black, straight and long, braided carefully with dexterous fingers, and tied at the ends with orange ribbons ; hands, small, and covered with rings." And now, alas ! I must con- fess it — this Aryan kinswoman of mine was as brown as any Hindu cooly girl in Georgetown, and all of her East Indian sisters are as dusky as richest rosewood, as brown and dark as rarest mahogany. She was not a daughter of Ham nor child of Shem, but, like my- self, a descendant of Father Japhet, a pure-blooded Hindu, albeit of low caste. . . . " A form Of heavenly mould ; a gait like Parvate's, Eyes like a hind's in love-time, face so fair Words cannot paint its spell. " Except for her sable color she might have served for a study of a Caucasian beauty, for the model of a Grecian Psyche, an Italian conta- dina, a Gretchen, an English boarding-school miss, a freshwoman of Vassar. In her "finely chiselled nose " she wore a gold ring more than two inches in diameter. To keep this ornament from rudely meddling with her pouting lips, she fastened it back beside her cheek by means of a silver thread looped over her ear. She had four ear-rings in each ear — one, a large device of gold, hooked through the customary pierc- ing in the lobe ; the smaller three hanging in the outer rim. About her neck were coiled full half a score of necklaces of beaten silver, and pendent therefrom were numerous coins and charms of quaint devices. Upon her head there rested a silver coronet, from which small pieces of money, gold and silver, and some curious medallions, hung down DEMERABA. 179 upon her smooth brown brow. On every one of her eight taper fingers she wore two or more rings, and on each of her wee thumbs not less than half a dozen. There was such a mass of bracelets, ban- gles, and circlets around her wrists, I am within bounds when I say that three or four pounds in weight of sterling silver had been perma- nently withdrawn from circulation to be beaten and moulded for her ornamentation and adornment. Above her elbows, broad silver bands encircled her shapely arms, and tightly round her dark and silk-soft waist she had clasped a girdle, made by linking silver half-crowns and Spanish dollars together, all of which were fastened firmly to a broad belt of red leather. My reader may now suppose that at last my catalogue of the metal- work with which this young Hindoo lady was weighted down, as if encased in armor, is completed. Not so, however ; for on each and every unpinched toe of both her dusty, travel-stained, little feet there shone a gay, silver ring — wished on perhaps (romantic fancy !), by her own true love, who doubtless worshipped the very ground she trod upon. Nor will the list of this maiden's jewels be completed until I am per- mitted to mention that she wore massive golden, or gold-plated, anklets, so broad and heavy, so solid in appearance, that the astonished beholder might well wonder how she managed to walk and step so lightly. She wore a sleeveless jacket of red India silk, trimmed with narrow braids of gold lace. About her head was wrapped a veil of white, woven gauze, delicately embroidered with colored thread and fringed with knotted silk. The loose flowing continuations of this veil were wrapped and wreathed, festooned and garlanded, around her lissome form ; but no man hath wit enough to tell, and no woman who has not practised the art from her cradle up can show, how gracefully and with what surprising dexterity this Hindoo girl managed the streamers of light cotton fabric. Deftly she controlled the fluttering, misty length, now coiling it turban-shape upon her head, now binding it about her face to shield her from the sun, or, perhaps, the too inquisi- tive gaze of passers-by. At times she hid her bare arms in its many 180 DOWN THE ISLANDS. folds, or. wreathing it about her neck, drew the ends around her waist ; at times she looped it in front or knotted it behind her, and all this she did so easily, without apparent effort, and withal so uncon- sciously, it seemed as if she had but to wish the drifting cloud to wrap about and infold her, float behind or around her, and it obeyed, being governed by a breath, a sigh. The veil is to a Hindu girl what a fan is to a senorita of Castile. Deprive a Spanish beauty of her fan, the coolie belle of her veil, and both are ill at ease. They seem not to know what to to do with their hands ; they forget their airs and graces and coquettish ways ; their toilet is incomplete and lacking in expression ; the maids themselves are like birds with clipped wings. I shall not attempt to describe how ethereal and sprite-like the coolie girl appeared to me ; I was bewildered and bewitched as she tangled, entwined, interwove, and untwisted, yard upon }^ard of deli- cate film, all floating around her like a cloud of spray. Her skirts were of India muslin, soft and clinging, unflounced, and quite the reverse of trailing. All round about her lower borders were decora- tions of bright colors, embroidered with flowery brede of silken needle-work, and from beneath these scant phylacteries her little Hindu toes, all covered with rings, crept in and out like wee black mice in coats of silver mail. So soft were all her blended colorings, veiled in misty flutterings of cotton and fine silk, she lives in my memory, growing " in brightness, wearing her brilliant garment, the leader of the days, shining, gold-colored, lovely to behold — Ushas, Goddess of the Dawn." I lost sight at last of this Oriental vision ; I do not choose to remember that she disappeared in mortal fashion, by prosaically turning a corner of the street — I prefer to indulge the fancy that she entered her private cloud, as Olympian goddesses of old were wont to do, and so was wafted away by the gentlest and floweriest of gales. Later in the day, after I had recovered from the ecstasy and fever of regret at losing sight of the Hindu beauty, I was driven three miles from town to one of the most extensive sugar-estates in Demerara — A COOLY "WOMAN. DEMERARA. 181 in fact, in the world, where, in harvest- time, there are nearly three thousand coolies employed. I saw at this place sugar-crushing, boiling, drying, refining apparatus and distilling machinery of enormous cost, remarkable size, and bewildering intricacy of construction. All these mechanical wonders, the stupendous engines, the whirling, roaring, and clanging machinery, were as nothing in comparison with the aston- ishing exhibition that was revealed to me when, prompted by listless curiosity, I wandered a short distance from the sugar-house to look s / Leaves of the "Victoria Regia." over a low stone wall, and gazed down into an oozy ditch where the water was stagnant, covered with green weeds, and concealed by float- ing scum. There, in this unwholesome quagmire, I beheld a score, yes, full twenty score, of water-lilies in bloom. Never had I be- held so wonderful a show. I had seen the flower but once before, when having read in a London newspaper of one rare specimen in full bloom at Sydenham I set out forthwith to see it ; paid a shilling for a cab to the railway station, bought a first-class return ticket, 182 DOWN TEE ISLANDS. for I was going in state to see the queen of flowers. I gave willingly (I would have paid double) the entrance-fee to the Crystal Palace, and struggled through a crowd of sight-seers surrounding a fountain where the wonderful lily was blooming in all its splendor. When I obtained a short peep of it, I beheld for the first time in my life the Victoria regia • to see which in full bloom, people flocked in crowds from London as they would have flocked to listen to the last-dis- covered and best advertised prima donna, or to stare at the Queen her- self touch off the fireworks by electricity. And there, in a filthy ditch, near Georgetown in South America, were hundreds of the wonderful flowers, and I had only by chance caught sight of them, so little were they prized by people accustomed to the daily view of them. It is true, in Demerara the white folks would travel miles to stare at a heather-bell or an English snow-drop, could one be seen growing in any garden in the colony ; as for the great lilies, they were to be found in any fever-breeding slough. CHAPTER XVI. ISLAND OF TRINIDAD. The North Coast.— The Dragon's Mouths.— Gulf of Paria.— Port of Spain.— The Street-cleaning Department. — A Chapter of Horrors. — The Environs of Port of Spain. HE voyage from Demerara to Trinidad was un- eventful, the sea was calm, the wind favorable. We sighted Galera Point, the northeastern promontory of the great island, at sunrise the morning after we sailed from Georgetown ; in three hours the steamer ran up to the per- pendicular cliffs and rounded peaks, and as she held on a westerly course, close inshore, gave us a grand and won-, : *. /_ derful view of the ^-4 v ^l! -.. northern coast-line of forest-covered hills, the highest Hindu Barber. of them being Mount Tucutche (3,100 feet), rising abruptly backward from crags and precipices, towering, in picturesque confusion, many fathoms above a line of seething breakers. At intervals, nestling snugly on the mar- gin of narrow bays, under the shadows of the cliffs, were to be seen little fishing-settlements from which frail dug-out canoes, manned by ■ darkies, ventured out to sea a league or more beyond the steamer's , '^^ a "' , --^fe* '%^ V? ,je swept over the cities, and in the commercial quarters of Port au Prince it w 7 ould be difficult to find any houses which existed in 1863. "Agriculture in the plains is also deteriorating. . . . For- eigners are withdrawing from the republic, and capital is following them. . . . The best of the colored people are also leaving. " In spite of all the civilizing elements around them, there is a dis- tinct tendency to sink into the state of an African tribe. " Voudoo worship and cannibalism are practised. Had I listened to the testimony of many experienced residents, I should have de- scribed rites at which dozens f of human victims were sacrificed at a * He was for upward of that time British Consul in the island. f The italics are mine. — The Atjthok. 218 DOWN THE ISLANDS. time. ... It may be suggested that I am referring to the past. On the contrary, I am informed that at present cannibalism is more rampant than ever. . . . " the masses, ignorant, and deeply tainted with fetich- worship. . . . The fetich-dances were forbidden by decree. . . . That decree has been since repealed * and high officers now attend these meetings, and distribute money and applaud the most frantic excesses." These extracts from Sir Spenser St. John's account of the island of Hayti show, on what is doubtless unimpeachable authority, the pres- ent state of the Black Republic — they indicate the condition of society, and throw a lurid light on the picture of a community rapidly sink- ing to the level of the barbarous tribes lately made known to the civ- ilized world by the discoveries of Livingstone and Stanley. Now, I do not believe that the negro inhabitants of the Caribbean Islands will ever, of necessity, fall into the quagmire into which their neighbors the Haytians have been betrayed by ignorance and supersti- tion — but they are in danger of gradually and unconsciously wandering far from the civilized highways, so that in time many of the results of that enlightenment which is beginning to dawn upon their race may be counteracted by the natural tendency of mankind to retrograde when left to their own devices unstimulated by worthy ambition, un- guided by the teachings of Christianity. Nor do I believe that the black people in question will ever again, as in the days of their slavery, rise in revolt against the authority of the whites — although the expe- rience of the island of Santa Cruz but a few years ago throws a doubt on this hopeful view of things — but I do believe that, just as the whites of Hayti were driven from that country by the fury of the negroes, so will the British Creoles in due time, lose their hold on the manage- ment of affairs in the English colonies, for the reason that they will continue to decrease in number — unless, as I have pointed out, some * The italics are mine. — The Author. TEE FUTURE OF TEE COLORED RACES. 219 now unforeseen cause shall arise to stimulate a renewal of their immi- gration to this part of the world — until the handful of them remain- ing will, by reason of their fewness, have no voice in the ordering of public matters. This peaceful extermination of the white race seems to be as inevitable, from the causes I have named, as the banishment of the French Creoles from Hayti. The assumption by the colored people of the "Windward Islands of the reins of such a government as they may know how to establish will, it goes without saying, not in all likelihood be marked by the scenes of frightful disorder or bloodshed which characterized the in- surrection in Hayti. The Caribbean negroes are free — were set free by the voluntary act of their masters — and since their emancipation, much — a surprising deal — has been done to better their condition, to educate them, to tempt them to live industrious, law-abiding, contented lives. Schools have been established, churches endowed, equal political rights have been accorded them ; their ambition has been stimulated by throwing open to them the road to political preferment, a certain sort of social equality has been yielded to them, their complaints/ have received consideration, their suggestions as to changes in the laws of the land have had attention — in many instances have been acted upon. In a word, to sum up, the whites have attempted nobly to do their duty by their black brethren, and, as a rule, the negroes have deserved the ef- forts made in their behalf. Nevertheless, the day may come when the descendants of the slaves of old will have so increased in numbers, and when the children of their old masters have either left the islands or failed to keep up their proportionate increase of the population, that there shall be no good and sufficient reason why the black man shall not say to the remnant of Anglo-creoles : " Stand aside, and see how we can make laws for your guidance and regulation, as you have, all these years, made laws for us — with our consent, it is true. We knew not how to do better, or as well, may be; nevertheless, we intend to make the experiment." 220 DOWN THE ISLANDS. What will happen in those days? What will become of all these islands, teeming with population ? Has fifty years of wise intent in the matter of law-making by Great Britain, interfered with, often, by sentimental nursing and coddling by Exeter Hall enthusiasts, fitted the negro for the struggle? Has he been put into such thorough training as will enable him to secure a place, even, in the race of civilization ? Is he strong enough to contend in the arena of politics, to hold up his end of the world ? I fear not. He may not sink as low as the Haytians have ; he will, in all probability, descend a long way in that direction. He may not become once more thoroughly Africanized ; he certainly will not be Anglicized — Americanized, if you will. Withdraw all, or nearly all, the cultivated, educated people from Lancashire, deprive that community of the services of its learned, scientific men, its college-bred clergymen, lawyers, doctors, engineers, its great merchants, bankers, capitalists, skilful farmers — in short, its brain-power — and it needs no prophet to foretell that, in less than fifty years, the women mill-hands would, if they had them to cook, be found cooking their Irish potatoes on the sites of the cotton-mills. And yet in Lancashire the mill-hands (and many spinners and weavers have risen from the ranks and have built mills and sat in Parliament) have at least two stimulants to work : Hunger and cold. Food is not to be had by anyone strolling in the forests where fruits ripen all the year round ; and the bitter weather makes clothing a necessity. The Caribbean darkies (except on the island of Barbados, where there are no forests and wild fruits) can sustain life existing from hand to mouth, without the necessity of daily labor. As for clothing — it is summer all the long year round. Again the question : What is to become of all these people ? It would be well for the Haytians — it would be their chance of re- demption — well for the bodies and the souls of them, if some strong foreign power, or a committee of powers (if I may use the term), would take the island under its protection, and, in a spirit of enlightenment, regulate, or insist upon the Haytians themselves regulating, their TEE FUTURE OF THE COLORED RAGES. 221 affairs in accordance with the laws of Christianity and humanity. The presence of a fleet in their harbors, a few soldiers, a constabu- lary stationed in a few central positions, would encourage the few brave hearts that do not even yet despair of their republic to make an effort to check the Africanizing of the island — a brighter day might dawn for its people, and in due time it might enter into the minds of some of the less barbarous of them that it would be well to build a school, a church. Then would begin a new era ; from that day the regeneration of le pays de harbares would be assured. If this is not done, one may not foretell the ultimate state of degradation into which the people of Hayti shall fall, and one shrinks from prophesying the decadence of the black people of the Windward Islands. One hears much talk in the Caribbees about annexation to the United States — constantly it is said the United States ought to take Hayti, and re- store peace and prosperity to that island. In my humble opinion, the United States want neither the one nor the other. As for the Caribbees, John Bull is, on the whole, doing fairly well (except in the matter of free trade) with them. As for Hayti, perhaps the time is near at hand when Uncle Sam will be com- pelled to say to its people : "I don't want you — we have undigested Americans enough at home without acquiring possession of such a precious lot of foreigners as you seem to be — but I don't mind taking you by the ears and setting you right, only in the interests of peace and quietness. I have my eye on you, so behave yourselves. When I have taught you better manners you can again manage your own concerns ; until then, I propose to play policeman, if no one else offers to do the job." The Haytians undoubtedly need foreign intervention — the protec- tion of some strong power — they are amenable to no argument but that of force, and, like the guests at Hans Breitman's party, will, in all human probability, continue to fight with table-legs till the con- stable makes them stop. CHAPTER XIX. GRENADA. Discovery of Grenada and Tobago. — Description of the Former.— St. George's Harbor. — A Romantic Town. — The " Yaws." — A Ride Inland. — Beasts of Burden. — Cocoa and Cocoa-planting. — Bread-fruit. ERY sea-worn and shattered, on the fourteenth day of LUgust in the year 1498 the little fleet of Columbus weighed anchor a the Gulf of Paria. After inconsiderable difficulty, owing to the clumsiness of the rig and model of vessels at the mercy of baffling winds and uncertain cur- rents, the expedition stood out through the Dragon's Mouths into the open The salmagundi gets a •• Tip - wa ter where the Atlantic meets the Caribbean Sea. From the deck of the admiral's ship, after it was clear of the land, there were to be seen, albeit somewhat indistinctly, toward the north and east, two islands, to which Columbus gave the names, Asuncion and Concepcion. They are the islands now known, that one farthest to the east, as Tobago; the other, directly north- ward of the Dragon's Mouths, Grenada. Steering to the westward from Trinidad, along the shore thereafter to be called the Spanish GRENADA. 223 Main, Columbus soon lost sight of the two islands, and there is no record of his ever having laid eyes on either of them again. Just at sunset the Barracouta steamed out to sea, and laid her course toward the north ; when it was dark, for the first time in all our cruise, we beheld the Southern Cross rising astern of us. We were homeward bound. Thereafter we sailed in quest of the North Star, which, however, did not show above the ocean until we had voyaged northward beyond the islands I have already described and those I have still to tell about. Grenada, extending north and south about eighteen and one-half miles, is seven and one-half miles in width at its widest part. The whole surface of the island is rugged — hills heaped on hills; the highest point, Mount St. Catherine, rises 2,750 feet above sea-level ; from it spurs and foot-hills project outward on all sides, to shores in many places formed of perpendicular cliffs overhanging the ocean. The mountains are of volcanic formation, their tops forestrgrown, the valleys between them exceedingly fertile. There are numerous hot springs and several craters of extinct volcanoes; one of these forms a basin, or, rather, a large lake, two and one-half miles in cir- cumference, almost in the heart of Grenada, more than two thousand feet above tide-mark. Toward the eastern part the land sinks, at first abruptly, from the forests on the hill-tops, then in gradual slope to the shore ; but it can- not be said there is anywhere a plain or level savannah of great extent. The island is well watered by a score of streams, of sufficient flow to turn mills for grinding corn and crushing cane. The climate, although tempered by the sea-breezes, is hotter than that of the other Carib- bees ; nevertheless, Grenada is a healthy place, as the average mortality of white inhabitants, which is considerably less than in others of the islands, abundantly proves. The annual rainfall is sixty-five inches, and the island is not often visited by hurricanes, although of these disasters several have, at long intervals, worked considerable damage. Since 1640, the date of the first-recorded cyclone, none of them, 224 DOWN THE ISLANDS. however, was as violent as many that have occurred in St. Vincent, Barbados, or others of the Windward Islands. Grenada lies between 11° 58' and 12° 30' north latitude and 61° 20' and 61° 35' west longitude, has an area of 88,320 acres, or one hundred and thirty-eight square miles, and contains a population of 42,000, consisting of a few whites, and several thousand Hindu and Chinese coolies. The great majority of the people, fully four-fifths of them, are of African descent. The chief towns of Grenada are St. George, where is a remarkable harbor, a quaint, secure anchorage, which I will presently try to picture to the minds of my readers ; St. Mark's, or, as it was called in the old French days, Grand Pauvre; St. Patrick's ; St. Andrew's, once Charlottetown. There is also a small harbor on the south coast, named, in honor of the patron saint of Wales, St. David's Harbor. There is no town of importance near this latter roadstead — I only make mention of it to show that St. Taffy receives no less homage than the worshipful Knights of the Thistle, the Rose, and the Shamrock. Through the night our vessel held her way toward her desired haven — I slept in peace until the level rays of the rising sun, darting through the open door of the smoking-room, awakened me. Slipping my feet into slippers, wrapping a light rug around me, for it was a breezy morning, I stepped out on deck and strolled forward. The watch on the forecastle had just lowered the great lantern from the fore-rigging, a quartermaster was dowsing the glims of the side-lights. The operation of washing decks was progressing — mops, buckets, and squeegees, all working their way slowly but relentlessly aft, threatened the dislodgement of my fellow-passengers who slept under the awning on the after-deck. I nodded to the officer on the bridge, took a look at the compass amidships, where the binnacle-lights were still blink- ing ineffectually, and found we were running almost due north. Grenada was in sight. The soil of the southern extremity of the island is not so fertile nor so highly cultivated as in other parts of the island, the shore is GRENADA. 225 scantily wooded, and there are but few shrubs or plantations of fruit- trees near the coast. At the time of which I am writing — at the end of the long dry season — the grass was brown and crisp ; under duller skies, in a colder climate, veiled in fogs and mists, the landscape would have appeared desolate, but, in the golden tropical sunlight, Grenada presented a picture of green forests and gold and purple groves. Two hours after sunrise the steamer was abreast of the entrance Fort St. George, Grenada. to the harbor of St. George; then, turn- ing toward the land, she sought an entrance in- to the oddest, quaintest, land-locked anchorage it has ever been my fortune to behold. When we were half a mile from shore we stopped to take a pilot; and much need there was of one, for, so far as I could discover, there was no fair-way into the mysteri- ous haven that hid itself amid a confusion of crags and precipices, where no man could guess there was a refuge for even the smallest fishing-smack. I was reminded of the approach to the harbor at the 15 226 DOWN THE ISLANDS. mouth of the River Dart in South Devon. For, just as that little port seemed to me to have been especially planned by nature for the comfort and safe retreat of smugglers and other suspicious marine characters, so did the harbor of St. George appear, to my delighted eyes, as a romantic and secret resort for piratical craft. Indeed, the sight of it conjured up the spirits of all the blood-thirsty villains of whose wild doings, in old times, all along the Spanish Main, I had aforetime read in the works of a host of spinners of sailors' yarns. At the entrance to the harbor, on the northern side of it, extending along the crest of a bold promontory, are the well-preserved walls and battlements of an old fortification, a stronghold founded, probably, by Spanish conquistadores, added to by their French successors to the pos- session of the island, strengthened, in turn, by British soldiers and sailors who have, except at short intervals, kept watch and ward over it for wellnigh a century and a half. Had Victor Hugo ever visited St. George, he would, beyond doubt, have made it the scene of an amphibious romance, if I may use that term to describe the class of tales of which " Les Travailleurs de la Mer " is the perfect exemplar. Dumas the elder would doubtless have woven its mysterious history into the wonderful fabric of a story of a Caribbean Monte Cristo, and, my word for it, the author of " Treasure Island," if it ever should be his good fortune to gaze upon the weird beauty of this sea-side lake, will be tempted to write another delightful book for the perusal of all good " boys from sixteen to sixty years of age." This will he certainly so, just for the pleasure it will give him to romance about it, to wonder at it, to people it with pirates and mutineers — and all the host of delightful villains he can call at will from the vasty deep of his imagination. The harbor of St. George is situated in a crater — long since extinct, as may well be supposed — seeing that it is filled fathoms deep, yes, a hundred fathoms in its deepest part, with sea-water, which enters through a narrow breach in the western wall, long ages ago undermined and thrown GRENADA. 227 down by the ceaseless beating of the waves. Imagine a mountain-lake, of perhaps one thousand acres in extent, of very irregular margin, tropical vegetation fringing it round about and completely encircling it, except where a little town stretches along the shore for a few hun- dred yards. Imagine great hills rising on all sides from the white beach of such a lake — such a lake as one sees in the most inaccessible parts of the Adirondack Mountains — the water transparent to a depth of ten, twenty, forty fathoms, reflecting overhanging palms in the perfectly quiet, unruffled mirror, mangroves growing in shallow places by the brooks, on the slopes cocoa-groves and plantations of bread- fruit-trees ; on the summits of the hills the blackening walls of fortifi- cations, which in old days were capable of preventing all attempts to take the island out of the catalogue of English colonies — imagine, if you can, such a place — it is the harbor of St. George. How the pilot who had her in charge got the Barracouta through the secret en- trance, a pathway scarcely a cable's length in width, I do not know. When the ship did safely anchor inside the sea-wall, which opened before her to close again (for so it seemed) when she had passed in, I ceased to wonder by what way she had entered, and " fell into admira- tion," as an old writer, describing this self-same harbor, puts it, " by what hidden passage we would win out to sea again." Completely land-locked were we, as if the ship had been launched in a mountain- tarn, hemmed in by grand hills, there to remain until dismantled by time, never to toss on old ocean again. Never did the Barracouta look so large, such an infinite deal of ship to such a diminutive amount of sea-room. She would have had more space to manoeuvre in many of the great docks at Liverpool. When she lay broadside to the water-front of the little town, a biscuit-toss from a row of small two-story warehouses, the steamer, by comparison, assumed perfectly gigantic proportions. The picture seemed out of drawing; one was reminded of the queer woodcuts in ancient books, wherein are figured the arrival of ships at islands less in size than the ships themselves, where dwell sav- 228 DOWN THE ISLANDS. ages as tall as palms, who oppose the landing of sailors the height of the mainmasts of the caravels or galleons they come in. The town contains a population of about five thousand souls, who have builded their quaint habitations under the crest, on one side of the submerged crater, like swallows that have made their nests in the chimney of a deserted dwelling. The houses extend upward over a high ridge, a rocky isthmus that connects the promontory on the sum- mit of which is Fort St. George, with the inland heights called Hospi- tal Hill. The thoroughfares, climbing at right angles to the quay, ascend a steep grade, and the dwellings on the streets parallel to the sea-wall overtop those in front of them, and this again serves to remind one of Dartmouth in England. On the hill-crest stands the parish church, commanding an extensive view over the harbor on one side, and on the other, far out to sea. The promontory on which is Fort St. George, when viewed from the Hospital Hill, resembles Monaco in miniature. The fort, once strong and well garrisoned, is now left in the keeping of a few militia-men ; the cannon, of ancient make, have nearly all been dismounted — -the few still remaining are rusty and time-worn. The ditch enclosing the fortress is filled with debris, choked with weeds, the parapet is broken down in places, and the face of bastion, ravelin, and curtain- wall are moss-grown — all hidden by beautiful greenery. From the parapet I looked out upon the sea. Between the foot of the ramparts and the margin of the water stands a hospital — a place of retreat, say, rather, of imprisonment, for unfortunate beings attacked by a frightful disease known as the yaws. This malady was undoubtedly imported from Africa in the slave- ships, if, indeed, it did not originate in the holds of those floating charnel-houses. It is, to a certain degree, contagious ; its virus may be carried from an infected to a healthy person by the common fly, but like all filth-diseases (of which leprosy, also prevalent among the Creoles of African or Asiatic descent, is one"), it is easily guarded against, contaminating only those whose brutish habits and unclean GRENADA. 229 manner of living expose them to its horrible defilement. It is heredi- tary, and in such cases practically incurable, although by rigorous treatment its symptoms may be ameliorated and (doubtful blessing) the life of the miserable patient prolonged indefinitely. I shall dwell no longer on this disgusting subject; I only mention it in order to give credit to the charity of the people of Grenada for attempting, so far as lies in their power, to alleviate the sufferings of their unfortunate fellow-creatures for whose reception this and other hospitals have been erected — lazar-houses, in which all who enter are closely confined, perfectly isolated, God help them ! leaving all hope of re-entering the world behind. Landward from the fort the town lies spread out like a map. Behind the houses rise Richmond Heights, along the brow of which extends a line of fortifications of great size, connected, it is said, with Fort St. George by an underground gallery spacious enough to permit the passage of troops. Half-way up the slope, between the town and the fortress, stands Government House, surrounded by a garden, and commanding a magnificent view. Up to this official resi- dence a broad, smooth avenue winds from the landing, as w T e found when, according to the hospitable custom of the good people of every port in these islands at which it was our fortune to touch, we were put into carriages, early in the afternoon, and sent off on a drive. As- cending the hill, we passed close by Government House, an attractive- looking country-mansion, substantially built, and charming in all its surroundings. There was an air of luxury, not to say magnificence, about this dwelling that, in our eyes, served to magnify the importance of the office held by its occupant, the Governor of the Windward Isl- ands. For, be it remembered, St. George is now the seat of government, Grenada being no longer a dependency of Barbados, as was the case until recent times. I must confess that at first we were not disposed to accord his excellency very high rank among the world's great ones, but when we had seen his country-palace, surrounded by luxuriant gardens and fair pleasances, and learned that, besides being eomfort- 230 DOWN THE ISLANDS. ably lodged, as we saw, and sumptuously " found," as we could well believe, Ins excellency receives a salary double that paid to the Gov- ernor of New York State, we esteemed him highly, and were prepared to make humble obeisance should he show himself to us as we passed before his gates. Truly, it may be unprofitable vexation of spirit to follow the calling of a sugar-planter in any of these Caribbees — but to be governor, that is quite another thing. Let me interpolate here that, since my visit to Grenada, that island, as well as St. Yincent, St. Lucia, and Tobago, were constituted in 1885 into the " Government of the Windward Islands," and Walter Joseph Kendall, Esquire, was appointed first governor. He is assisted in the cares of his office by an executive council and a legislative council, ap- pointed by the governor, with the approval of Her Majesty of Eng- land. There is also a supreme court to which appeals lie, composed of the chief justices of each of the islands named above. From these few statistics, it will be learned that the machinery of government is kept in good running order. It is somewhat cumbersome, perhaps — the gov- erning power is obviously so much greater than would seem reasonably necessary to carry on so small a government. The simile suggests itself of a forty-ton engine drawing a street car ; nevertheless, it must be a great source of gratification to the people of this community to know that it does not lie in the mouth of any American to reproach them for acting in a niggardly spirit toward Her Majesty's appointee, and those with him, set in authority over them. Beyond Government House we proceeded seven or eight miles into the heart of a country resembling the interior of Martinique, ex- cept that the forests are not so dense, and, owing to the greater dry- ness of the climate, the vegetation is less rank, and the trees are of smaller girth and stature. The principal product of Grenada is now, and has for years been, cocoa, or, as it is often spelled, " cacao." The cocoa-tree was intro- duced into the island in early times, either from Mexico or the neigh- boring coast of South America; most likely from Trinidad. The soil GRENADA. 231 and climate of Grenada are particularly favorable to its growth and perfect development, as is shown by the fact that in some places there are to be seen trees more than one hundred years old, as I was told, still bearing vigorously and giving promise of crops for years to come. The cultivation of cocoa is increasing rapidly ; year by year land is cleared, and laid out in groves. In 1865 the shipment of this staple amounted to one million and a quarter pounds, in 1875 to more than three million pounds, and in 1885 to between five and six millions. In addition to cocoa-planting the planters pay considerable attention to the cultivation of spices, and it is said that an experiment made in growing the tea-plant has encouraged enterprising people to persist in further trial. Grenada is beyond doubt the great fruit-producing Garibbee — there we had better oranges, mangoes, and bananas than at any other place. In the matter of pineapples, however, Antigua, in my estimation, may be said to carry off the palm, as does Montserrat so far as the quality of limes is concerned. On our drive we passed through many fine cocoatieres — not groves of cocoa-palms upon which grow the cocoa-nuts, be it noted ; these latter, called by botanists Cocos micifera, are tall and stately trees, with grand crowns of broad, arching leaves. The cocoa-trees bearing the pods containing the beans which, being roasted, ground, and mixed with sugar and arrowroot or starch, form the base of chocolate, were named by Linnaeus Theobroma (food for gods). A man who plants a cocoa- tree has to exercise considerable patience before he can begin to profit by his experiment. These plants take several years to reach the fruit- bearing stage of their development. At first requiring careful watch- ing and tender care, they must, moreover, be set in the shade of some other trees, to protect them from the scorching of the sun. The cocoa- tree resembles somewhat a quince-tree in the crookedness of its stem and the irregular growth of its branches ; it frequently attains a height of twenty-five or thirty feet, the leaves at first having the appearance of mulberry-leaves, changing, as the season advances, from green to all shades of purple and gold, crimson, scarlet, or rich hues of brown. 232 DOWN THE ISLANDS. After it lias grown to its full size and begins to bear, the cocoa-tree re- quires but little care, continuing to yield an abundance of fruit for fifty, or, in some instances, as I have already said, for a hundred years. The pods containing the beans are oval in shape, about four inches in length, and when ripe are variegated in color — some golden brown, speckled, or mottled with crimson, others red and purple, flecked with green and yellow. They grow not only on twigs pendent from the branches of the tree, as do pears and apples, but also hang by flexible stems to the trunk of the tree and to the longer boughs, looking, for all the world, as if fastened on by wires, like bonbonnieres to Christmas-trees. The beans, when stripped of the pods and dried in the sun, resem- ble burnt almonds in size and color. Each pod contains from twenty to thirty beans, all neatly fitted into five regularly shaped compartments. In the parts of the island we visited during our drive, there were to be seen many bread-fruit-trees {Artocarjjus incisa), growing in all their beauty. In shape, foliage, and especially in rich and varied shades, the green of its leaves contrasting sharply with the mellow brown of the fruit itself, this wonderful, wide-spreading tree is very pleasant to the sight, overshadowing the houses and protecting flocks and herds from the heat of noonday. The bread-fruit is said to have been introduced from the islands of the South Pacific in the middle of the last century. It is related that the ship Bounty, celebrated in the history of mutineers, was loaded with plants intended for importation into the Caribbees when that vessel made her last memorable voyage, whereof who has not read the exciting story ? This transplantation of the bread-fruit was brought about by West Indian planters, who saw in the native bread of the South Sea Islands a supply of cheap food for hungry field-hands on their sugar-estates. The climate of the Caribbees "was found to be perfectly suited to its growth ; it flourishes there as vigorously as in its native islands, growing to a height of forty or fifty feet, with shapely trunks, putting forth branches twenty feet or more above the ground, throwing out many boughs, all thickly covered with broad, glossy GRENADA. 233 leaves of dark green, from ten to fifteen inches in length. The ripe fruit is oval or nearly round, of the size of a child's head, and is covered with a rough rind, with lozenge-shaped divisions like a pineapple ; when young it is bright green, gradually becoming brown or of an olive hue, until fully ripe, when it assumes a deep yellow, the color of guinea gold. When over-ripe this globe contains a watery, yellow pulp of spongy matter, unpleasant to the taste ; at an earlier stage it is mealy, and of a consistency resembling fresh bread. If properly baked or roasted, and nicely browned, it is very nutritious, but somewhat in- sipid and sweetish to the taste, lacking salt. The cooked fruit will keep for weeks. The tree produces two or three crops a year in some of the islands (St. Yincent and Grenada notably, where it is most used by the negroes) and edible pulp may be had for eight or nine months of the twelve. From the fibre of the inner bark of this tree is made a coarse, serviceable cloth ; its gum is used to calk boats ; the wood is soft and light, of a beautiful greenish yellow when first cut, becoming a rich mahogany color when seasoned. The bread-fruit-tree requires no care — it grows wild, in the valleys and on the hill-sides, by the road, in gar- dens, and in open meadows. While describing the cocoa- and the bread-fruit-tree I have made a wide departure from my account of our ride to the interior of Gre- nada ; for that reason the story of our journey must needs be made the subject of another chapter. CHAPTER XX. DRIVE THROUGH GRENADA. A Wonderful Procession. — A Curious Orchestra of Silent Reeds. — "Gib me sixpence, an I tell you."— Morne des Sauteurs. — Historical Notes. — French Conquest of Gre- nada. — Its Capture by the English. — A Plague of Ants. ^.EENADA is not an island of ^=k sugar-plantations, as is Barba- dos ; the planters have turned their attention, as we have seen, and very wisely, to the cultivation of other staples, notably cocoa ; probably for this reason, the sugar-estates we saw were by no means as well ordered or equipped with machinery as those on other islands. This greatly contributes to the picturesque effect of the scenery. Instead of unsightly chimneys belching clouds of smoke, engine and boiler sheds, ugly, matter-of-fact nuisances, there are frequently to be seen vine-draped windmills, with out- stretched sails, looming large against the sky. Thatched storehouses there are, and farm-buildings, all lending a quaint beauty to the land- A Mount. DRIVE THROUGH GRENADA. 235 scape, although they may not bear witness to the enterprise and pros- perity of their owners. Many of the methods of cultivating the land and harvesting the crops are primitive, the implements in common use being by no means of improved patterns. There are few carts ; such as we saw were drawn by the most motley of teams — a horse and an ass, or either one of them and an ox, being often seen yoked together. At one place on the road we overtook the oddest imaginable procession — indeed, it was, out of all whooping, strange and marvellous. Reader, can you imagine a caravan of walking haycocks ? Birnam wood on its historic march to Dunsinane would have presented a no more astounding spectacle than the one I am now about to describe. "We saw — rubbed our eyes, looked again — we still beheld, proceeding leisurely before us, up an incline in the highway a row of moving masses of sugar-cane. Had we come upon a procession of men as trees walking, we would not have been more startled, or, for a time at least, mystified. The single file of the odd parade kept on the even tenor of its way ; the lower side of the masses of cane scraped along the ground, raising no incon- siderable amount of dust, and leaving a trail which gave the middle of the road the appearance of having been lightly touched by a sweeping machine. Until we had passed the hindermost cane-stack we could discover no motive power ; nor could we guess how or by what means it progressed. When we obtained a front view of it, we became aware of the enormous ears and meek face of a diminutive ass peering out of the midst of the immense bundle of green. A more ridiculous sight than that presented by a donkey playing the part of needle in a bottle of hay has not been seen since the days of Balaam. We wondered, first, how the patient beast could stagger along under such a prepos- terous load ; then we marvelled how so grand a superstructure could have been heaped up, built, and balanced on so small a foundation, as if a pyramid had been stood upon its apex — the beast resembled an owl in a green- wood -tree, the cane-stack being sufficiently large to fill one corner of a large barn. Each half-dozen of the bundles was in 236 DOWN THE ISLANDS. charge of a darky, who walked in front of his charge with lofty step, as proud as the keeper of the Akhoond of Swat's private elephants. Upon closer investigation, we found that each of the jacks and jennies had, firmly strapped upon their sweating backs by means of girths and broad surcingles, compassing them amidships and fore and aft, an ungainly saddle of huge dimensions, to either side of which were fastened two strong arms of wood. Into these the cane was laid paral- lel to the ass' vertebra, so that the stalks projected forward of its nose, and rearward as far as its outstretched tail might reach. In this way a bundle was built up until a broad platform was raised level with the tips of the beast's ears ; upon this more cane was placed at right angles, higher again, from stem to stern. When all was reared and finally built, the mass was bound and strapped together, fastened to the ass by straw-ropes or liana-withes, so that, necessarily, in the event of this strange burden being carried away by the force of a hurricane, the ass must needs go with it, whirling through space, to the astonishment of all good folks who have never seen the cow jump over the moon. When these cane-bundles had been conveyed from the field to the crushing-mill and Sir Ass was lightened of his load, he stood meekly gazing, in an attitude of utter despair, seemingly be- wildered and put to shame by the incomprehensible absurdity of the practical joke that had been played upon him. Almost every darky we met, either going or coming, was munch- ing sugar-cane, different-sized pieces of which they carried in their hands or balanced on their heads when for a moment their owners' attention was called away from the sweet employment of feasting upon the same. When feeding, some darkies sucked away at an end of the cane as if engaged in playing upon a flageolet or other per- pendicular reed instrument ; others gnawed the side as if it were a piccolo, flute, or wry-necked fife. The effect was strange, not to say ridiculous ; one could not help imagining the whole population of the rural districts of Grenada to be a race of pastoral musicianers en- gaged in playing imaginary music, softly practising "sweet ditties of DRIVE THROUGH GRENADA. 237 no tone." " Heard melodies are sweet," but the linked sweetness of those unheard symphonies, long-drawn out, were doubtless more de- lectable to, and more to the taste of, this simple folk, who gathered sweetness all the day from every ripening cane-piece. As we passed by one of the largest cocoa-groves, I desired to possess and carry away some of the cocoa-pods of the brightest color- ing. To that end, I offered a sixpence to a small boy who sat list- lessly by the way-side, " fly-gobbling " in the sunshine, if he would gather half a dozen of the coveted fruit from a tree growing by the roadside, outside of the stone wall shutting in a cocoatiere from the public highway. The tree was on the way-side ; therefore I im- agined its fruit, like the apples on trees growing outside of fences along our Northern roads, was the property of any passer-by. I was unable to induce the youngster to serve me in this matter, although the bribe equalled half a day's wages of a full-grown Grenadian field- hand. I afterward learned that whoever picks cocoa-pods, whether growing in enclosures or on the wayside, runs the risk of fine and im- prisonment. Cocoa-beans readily pass for money in this and other islands where they are staple ; and, to prevent picking and stealing, fines are imposed, and imprisonment is meted out to any person, es- pecially any black person, caught gathering the pods, or having any of them in his possession without being able to show a clear and un- doubted title to them. We saw teak- and mahogany-trees, some of considerable size, and doubtless of great value ; in the gardens there were nutmegs, cloves, and Other spices ; there were limes, sappodiilas, mangoes, citrons — not one of all the fruits and flowers to be seen in other islands was wanting. There were oranges galore, to be had for sixpence, for a penny, for nothing, save the trouble of plucking them, and none that we tasted in all our wanderings were juicier or more fragrant. There were coffee- plants, but not in such abundance as at Martinique. As for the palms, a botanist, if so minded, might have made a catalogue of all the varieties to be found in all the Caribbees ; the voyageur was there in greater numbers, growing more luxuriantly 238 DOWN THE ISLANDS. than elsewhere ; the season, being more advanced in this than in more Northern islands, displayed more flowers in full bloom, more ripening fruits, the aspect of the country was more tropical, bearing testimony to a richer summer. " But I don't love your cat'logue style — do you ? As if to sell off natur' by vendoo. 'Nuff sed." We were enchanted by all we saw, and in our enthusiasm unani- mously declared it would be useless to travel farther in search of a more fascinating or as beautiful an Eden. "When the humming- bird declares which of all the flowers he sips in the long summer- time is loveliest and sweetest to his taste, then will travellers in this fairy-land be able to declare which of the Lesser Antilles most charms his senses and easiest wins his heart. When we returned to town the Doctor and I strolled up the prin- cipal street, over the ridge, past the church — an ancient building after the style of English parish churches of one hundred and fifty years ago — a nd, descending a steep lane, came to a market-place on the four sides of which are rows of low stone dwellings roofed with tiles. Under the trees sat women selling cassava — casada, they pronounced it. Others had small heaps of charcoal piled in front of them, a few handf uls in each heap ; some dealt in plantains, cocoa-nuts, or fruit. The entire stock-in-trade of these sellers was so insignificant, the traffickers themselves so simple in manner and seemingly so indifferent, in their good-for-nothing laziness, whether they sold or not — for they stared at us, not impudently, but in respectful wonderment at our out- landish appearance — they reminded one more of overgrown children j)laying market than grown folks trying to make a living by trade. We saw no buyers, and were not solicited to purchase. We wondered if they ever sold anything, or could make change for a sixpence. All of them, however, besought us to give them a dime, a sixpence, a DRIVE THROUGH GRENADA. 239 penny, something " to buy bread " — all had that formula on their tongues' end, " to buy bread " — even those who had cassava bread for sale. So ran the word from mouth to mouth along the line : " Beg yo' a dime, sah ; " "I should like yo' ter gib me a penny, massa ; " "Dear massa, I would take sixpence if yo' be so good " — and ever in cho- rus the refrain, " To buy bread." One old crone, who sat in the shade of a mango-tree, more vehe- mently than all the rest of her sisters lifted up her voice, exhorting us to be charitable. On the ground before her lay a bunch of plantains, old, faded, and shrivelled, as uninviting as the beldam herself ; charcoal had she, also, as black as her face ; and six or seven yams that had served her for play-marketing for many days. From time to time this woe- begone old aunty cried to us : " Beg yo' a penny ! Beg yo' a penny, massa ! For de lub of heaben ! See de old cripple! See de loss I hab to mourn ! One foot gone ! Massa', don' pass by, beg you a penny ! " Sure enough the poor creature had / ' 1 but one foot ; of this she afforded us ; Molasses. abundant proof, flourishing her mis- fortune before us, flaunting her woe in our faces. We stopped before her ; she displayed her remaining foot and both her ankles for our inspection — they were part of her stock-in-trade. I thought it chari- table to buy something of her, and accordingly priced each of the articles she had for sale, and found I could close out, all and sundry, 240 DOWN THE ISLANDS. her interest in the market for an insignificant sum. The Doctor asked : " Aunty, how did you lose your foot 1 n As promptly as she had named to me the price of her comestibles, she made re- " Gib me sixpence, an' I tell yo' how I loss me foot." There is little space to manoeuvre a ship of the size of the Barra- couta in the harbor of St. George ; therefore, when we were ready to sail a hawser was made fast ashore, and, by using the steam capstan on board the steamer, the vessel's bow was gradually swung round, as she went slowly ahead, and in a few minutes we passed through the narrow breach in the sea-wall of the crater. At four o'clock in the afternoon we were clear of the land. Shortly after the pilot left us we discovered, far ahead of us, the most southerly of the Grenadines, for so is called the archipelago stretching from Grenada to the southern point of the island of St. Vincent. An hour later we were abreast of the most northwesterly point of Grenada, a rugged promontory called Morne des Sauteurs — the Place of the Leapers. A grim, unholy legend haunts about these crags, a story of ruth- less conquest, of merciless pursuit, of mad struggle to escape ; here in 1650 the French invaders from Martinique, under the lead of Du Par- quet, found a band of one hundred Caribs, escaped from the indis- criminate massacre by their .enemies who sought to drive them from the island. The white men fell upon the savages, killed such as made any resistance or effort to defend themselves, put nearly one- half of the band to the sword, and drove the rest to the verge of the precipice. There the Caribs made a last desperate stand. They were again overpowered, and the luckless remnant threw themselves head- long down the cliff, preferring to be dashed to pieces on the rocks or perish miserably in the sea to being taken alive and sold into slavery by their relentless foemen. In this way M. Du Parquet (then Govern- or of Martinique) obliged the Caribs, " out of a consideration of their own concernments, grounded principally on the great advantages they DRIVE THROUGH GRENADA. 241 received from the neighborhood of the French, to leave them [the French, forsooth] quietly possessed of " Grenada. ThisDu Parquet was a nephew of M. D'Esnambuc who in 1623, as we have seen, colonized St. Christopher ; the expedition which he led against Grenada from Martinique' numbered about two hundred and fifty men. Of the success of this invasion of the island by European Christians, the Morne des Sauteurs stands an accusing monument — a monument to refined cruelty and inhuman lust. Before the coming of the French, an old historian says : " The na- tives are gentle and mild in manners . . . have many villages, where they live pleasantly and without disturbance ; they are a hos- pitable race, and supply strangers that come near their coasts with the bread of the country" (cassava) ; " they readily barter their possessions for such trinkets as are offered to them." According to Du Tertre, the French under Du Parquet gave the Caribs some knives, hatchets, and a large quantity of glass beads, besides two bottles of brandy for the chief himself ; " and thus," proudly boasts this reverend father, " the island was fairly ceded by the natives themselves to the French nation in lawful purchase." This Du Tertre was an adventurous priest ; he shared all the perils of the colonizing Frenchmen, administered the sacrament to the soldiers of Du Parquet when they embarked on their expedition to Grenada ; and again, when they landed on that devoted island, where they erected a cross on the shore they had taken posses- sion of in the name of His Majesty of France, it was Du Tertre who compelled the wondering heathen to kneel down before this emblem of divine love and compassion for mankind, scourging them to their knees to listen in terror while the white strangers, who until then had been reverenced as gods by the simple folk, offered up the mockery of a prayer to Almighty God, beseeching him to put the heathen under his feet, especially supplicating the just and merciful Creator to vouchsafe his favor while they beguiled the unsuspecting Caribs out of their possessions. Du Parquet, being compelled temporarily to re- turn to Martinique, turned the command of his forces in Grenada over 16 242 DOWN TEE ISLANDS. to one of his captains, Le Compte by name, a valiant soldier, espe- cially lauded by Du Tertre as a man of remarkable " clemency and humanity." The Caribs did not long remain in ignorance of the treachery, prac- tised upon them by the French, whereby they had been defrauded of their birthright and deprived of the land of their ancestors. They pro- tested against the iniquitous bargain into the making of which they had been betrayed ; but they appealed in vain to their rapacious and unjust invaders, and when driven to desperation, they declared war eight months after the arrival of the Europeans on their island. The Commander-in-chief returned from Martinique, the army under Le Compte was re-enforced, and a fearful struggle ensued, during which the French attempted, and very nearly succeeded in their effort, to ex- terminate the natives. This war really came to an end for want of combatants shortly after the horrible episode I have related of the Place of the Leapers. Among other atrocities of which the historian Du Tertre makes mention is the story of a Carib girl, twelve or thir- teen years of age, who was taken prisoner, and claimed by two French officers as their individual share of the booty. Their dispute led to blows, and, the quarrel being taken up by their respective commands, the discipline of the camp being disturbed ; a third officer, for the sake of peace and quietness, ended the matter by shooting the girl through the head. When the Caribs, save and excepting a few who escaped to inaccessible mountain-strongholds, had been put to the sword, the white men rooted up their plantations, burnt their villages, and returned to Martinique, Men joyeux, to sing Te Deum over the success of their crusade, chanting masses for the souls of their victims, who, ac- cording to Du Tertre, were slain for the glory of God and his church. In this lamentable fashion perished the Caribs of Grenada ; by these methods of warfare a jewel was added to the crown of France. Davies, in his "History of the West Indies," closes his account of the conquest of this island in words which plainly indicate that he was not DRIVE THROUGH GRENADA. 243 unmindful of the quick retort that might be made to his countrymen of Antigua were he to reproach the French with having acted cruelly in their conquests. He says : . . . " And if it be objected to the French that they forced the natural inhabitants out of St. Christopher, Guadeloupe, . . . Martinique, and other islands, it may be said that the French at first only proposed no other design than the edification and instruc- tion of those barbarians, and if they have been forced to use a severe hand and treat them as enemies, the Caribs were the first aggressors." When the French had exterminated the Caribs and possessed their lands, they fell into a dispute over the division of the spoils. A civil war ensued, which raged with great fury for several years. Peace was ultimately restored, and the colony flourished under French rule for more than a century, until 1762, when it was captured by the English, who, by the terms of a treaty made at the end of the follow- ing year, were confirmed in their possession of it. Grenada was, however, retaken by the French in 1779, and that nation continued to hold it until 1783, when it was finally ceded to Great Britain by the treaty of Amiens. The years succeeding the restoration of the British to their holding of the island were years of terrible disaster. Yellow fever broke out in the towns, and, before the pestilence had abated its fury, hundreds of colonists fell victims to its attack. This visitation was followed by another no less disastrous to the prosperity of Grenada — a plague of ants similar to that which a few years before had devastated Marti- nique. These pests, originally introduced into the islands from Africa in the slave-ships, multiplied with such marvellous rapidity that in a short time they completely overran the country, destroying the crops, devouring every living green thing. Bryan Edwards says of the in- calculable damage worked by them in Grenada : " I have seen the roads colored by them for miles together ; they destroyed nearly every sugar-plantation in the island, and were par- 244 DOWN THE ISLANDS. ticularly destructive of the lime, lemon, and orange-trees ; they did not, indeed, feed upon the trees or the cane, but the damage was done by their boring around the roots of the vegetation unfavorably affected by them. They fed on carcasses of dead animals, fish, and birds ; they destroyed vermin, like rats, agouti, and attacked the poultry and small stock. All attempts to exterminate them, or even check their ravages, were useless, although a reward of £20,000 was offered to the discoverer of any practical method of destroying them. The planters, in despair, had been almost driven into abandoning the cultivation of sugar-cane, and the people of the island were reduced to great distress and were in desperate straits, when this calamity, which had baffled all their care and skill, was removed by the destruction of their towns and houses, the almost total annihilation of the results of years of cultiva- tion and industry, by a frightful hurricane, by the violence of which heavy pieces of artillery were removed from their places, and houses and sugar-works levelled with the ground ... or torn out by the roots. The deluge of rain by which this tempest was accompanied flooded the fields and valleys, and thus, it is imagined, the principal destruction of these ants must have been effected." The people of Grenada were destined to sup full of horrors ; theirs seemed a land to hastening ills a prey, for scarcely had prosperity begun to dawn upon them, when the inhabitants of this plague-stricken island were visited by a more horrible trial than had yet befallen them. " The spirit of the French "Revolution sowed anarchy and civil war in their midst, and the consequences were most disastrous to the peace and welfare of the colony ; the reign of terror which ensued almost depopulated the island, and it was not until after the beginning of the present century that Grenada began to recover from all the accumulation of horrors that had for so long brooded over the island and threatened to reduce it to an uninhabited wilderness." But I will find place to say more concerning this epoch in the history of the Caribbees when I come, in proper turn, to write of the island of St. Lucia. DRIVE THROUGH GRENADA. 245 At sunset the Barracouta was off the north end of Grenada, hold- ing an east-northeast course, bound again for Barbados. In the short twilight we passed close to one of the Grenadines, an uninhabited rock called London Bridge and leaving it astern held on our way, under the silent stars, out on the Atlantic Ocean. CHAPTER XXI. ST. LUCIA. Its Settlement. — Carib Wars. — Struggle between English and French for its Possession. — The Gibraltar of the West Indies. — Warfare for a Century and a Half. — Rodney. — Sir John Moore. — Final Cession of the Island to Great Britain. On our second visit to Barbados we remained but an hour or two, leaving that island late on the day after our departure from Grenada. The following morning as the sun arose behind us, we were close to St. Lucia. Coasting around the northern promontories of the isl- and, we headed toward the south, and presently ran into smooth water under the lee of the mountains. On our left hand, extending as far as the eye could reach, the shore-line rose grandly from the sea. In general appearance the island of St. Lucia resembles Dominica ; it presents the same succession of peaks and promontories, of gentle slope and steep acclivity. A grander or more romantic landscape than that presented by the wide-sweeping view may not be imagined — it is incomparably beautiful. What wonder that two mighty nations contended for the possession of St. Lucia, as the Greeks and Trojans waged war for the guardianship of fair Helen of old ? Of all the Windward Islands, St. Lucia is the most interesting to the student of history — to those who delight in the story of battles upon land or on the sea. This Caribbee, so little known to the pres- ent generation, so rarely heard of, of so little commercial impor- tance nowadays, was, for a century and a half, the scene of continu- ous warfare, of a ceaseless contest waged for its possession — " England against all the world in arms.'" Time after time her soldiers carried ST. LUOIA. 247 the ocean-fortress by storm ; year by year her fleets engaged either in its capture or defence. As often as St. Lucia was wrested from the French by force of arms, just so often was it restored to them by the terms of treaties of peace, and then the struggle began anew, always to end in the discomfiture of the nation which regained the island by diplomacy, inevitably to lose it when hard knocks were to be given or received. In the history of this little island there is material for an epic, ready to the hand of him who shall receive inspiration to sing of all the wars and mighty conflicts carried on for ages on and near its historic shores. In the year 1605, as I have elsewhere recorded, the English ship Olive Blossom arrived at Barbados, and, sailing thence on her voy- age to the Spanish Main, touched at St. Lucia. Her master, Captain Cataline, took possession of the island in the name of King James I. of England. In compliance with their own request, sixty-seven colo- nists were set on shore with their dunnage and a few stores, then the Olive Blossom continued on her voyage. In less than two months after the landing of these adventurous white men the Caribs descended upon the English settlement, and all the colonists who were not mas- sacred in the first attack were driven from the island. In 1635 the King of France, with free and easy and right royal munificence, " made grant to Messieurs Latine and Du Plessis" — the latter, judging by his name, may have been a favored kinsman of Cardinal Richelieu — " of all" — all — "the unoccupied lands in America " — not in North America, mark you, nor yet in South America — but in all parts of America, from Cape Horn to — well, as far north as there is land, beyond the farthest north of Greely. The French king was playing Don Magnifico — his gift was princely — all unoccupied lands then discovered, or thereafter to be discovered, in half of the world ! The two favored grantees modestly selected the island of Martinique as their place of residence, leaving the Caribs, for a time at least, in peaceable possession of St. Lucia. In 1639 a company of English settlers, under the rights sup- posed to have been acquired by England by reason of the attempted 248 DOWN THE ISLANDS. colonization of the island thirty-four years before, ignoring altogether the grant by the French king, above mentioned, landed on St. Lucia, claiming it as a British possession, regardless of the protests of the natives, and began the establishment of a colony. Scarcely had they laid the foundations of their settlements when the Caribs, stirred to hostility by the French of Martinique, or out- raged by an attempt to carry oft' some of their countrymen into slavery, fell upon the English, and served them as they had served their pre- decessors in 1605, massacring all they could lay their hands upon, and expelling the survivors from the island. In 1642 the King of France, persistently assuming a right to sovereignty over St. Lucia, ceded it by edict to the French West India Company, together with " all his other possessions in America." In 1650 this corporation made a sale of St. Lucia, together with the island of Grenada, to Messieurs Houel and Du Parquet for the sum of forty-one thousand livres, that is to say, one thousand six hundred and sixty pounds sterling, which may have been a fair price — probably all the island was worth — seeing that but twenty -four years before Peter Minuit had purchased Manhattan Island from the Indians for sixty guilders. In the following year M. Du Parquet was appointed governor of his firm's assets. He erected a fort on St. Lucia, and founded a settle- ment of forty colonists, whom he sent to the West Indies under the command of one Chouselan. This deputy governor had married a Carib woman, and was therefore supposed to possess great influence with the natives. The death of Chouselan was followed two years later by that of M. Du Parquet himself, and for a time the colonists were kept in a state of continual alarm, either by the threatened or active hostility of the warlike savages. In 1660 a treaty was concluded between the French and English on the one hand and the Caribs on the other, whereby it was covenanted and agreed, that the natives should abandon all claim to the Lesser Antilles in consideration of the promise made to them that they, in ST. LUCIA. 249 turn, should be left in peaceable possession of the islands of St. Vin- cent and Dominica. The Caribs found themselves in a similar pre- dicament to a surprised wayfarer who, beset by two lusty rogues, is permitted to retain his brass spectacles in consideration of his deliv- ering up forthwith a well-filled wallet and his golden snuffbox. This treaty of peace, as may well be imagined, did not continue long invio- late, for the parties of the first part, ignoring entirely the high con- tracting parties of the second part, began to contend with one another for the possession of St. Lucia, and this warfare between France and England continued almost uninterruptedly for one hundred and sixty years. Some idea of the importance of St. Lucia as a military and naval station may be gathered from the fact that both nations never hesi- tated to make vast sacrifices of troops and treasure for its capture or in its defence. Many years after the time of which I have been writing a French governor of the island, in a report made to the first Napoleon, asserted it had always been the intention of France to make St. Lucia the capi- tal of the Antilles, the chief of her possessions in the "West Indies, " the Gibraltar of the Gulf of Mexcio." Admiral Eodney, in a let- ter written by him in 1772 to the Earl of Sandwich, makes use of the following language : " I had lately the honor to present to your lordship a copy of a letter I thought it my duty to send to the king's minister, . . . pointing out the great consequence of retaining some of the conquered islands, particularly Martinique or St. Lucia ; and though, at that time, I preferred the retention of Martinique, I am now fully convinced that St. Lucia is of more consequence to Britain. . . Either of these islands in the hands of Great Britain must, while she remains a great maritime power, make her sovereign of the "West In- dies." The inhabitants of Barbados had long been plotting the capture of St. Lucia, and in 1664 (this was the year that Peter Stuyvesant surrendered New Amsterdam to Colonel Nicholls) they invaded the 250 DOWN THE ISLANDS. island, and fought a bloody engagement with the French, in which the latter were defeated. The Barbadians took possession of St. Lucia, and held it for three years until, by the Treaty of Breda, it was awarded to France, and the exiled Frenchmen quickly re-established themselves in their old settlements. What the English had gained by the sword, France retook by a stroke of the pen. Notwithstanding the terms of this treaty the English made frequent attempts at recapture, and as often as war broke out between France and England St. Lucia became the scene of outrage and slaughter. In the many battles fought for its possession the English usually had the best of it, but France in the end always secured the advantage when the claims of the two na- tions were adjusted by treaty. In 1728 forces of both nations occupied strong positions in the isl- and, and their commanders agreed, in order to avoid further effusion of blood, to consider St. Lucia neutral territory until the pretensions of their respective countries had been definitely settled by the statesmen at home. Thereupon both parties withdrew from the island. By the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748 the neutrality of St. Lucia was rec- ognized by the home governments, but, as usual, little attention was paid to the decision by either the French or English settlers of Marti- nique or Barbados, for disregarding all treaties and agreements, they continually attempted to take advantage of one another, at all times and in all manners, lawfully or unlawfully. On the renewal of hostilities between France and England in 1756, Martinique was captured by British forces under General Monckton, operating in conjunction with a fleet commanded by Admiral Rodney. St. Lucia as usual, was retaken by the English, and remained under British rule until 1763, when, by the terms of the Treaty of Paris, a division was made of the neutral islands, and it once more fell into the hands of the French, who took immediate steps to establish their authority permanently on the island. They laid the foundation of a colonial government upon a scale of imposing grandeur, establish- ing themselves more securely than ever before, and were prepared, ST. LUCIA. - 251 as they thought, for any emergency, when the war broke out afresh in 1778. At once England devoted all the resources at her command in a desperate attempt to drive her old enemies out of St. Lucia. It was at this time Rodney wrote the letter to the Earl of Sandwich from which I have quoted. His suggestions, it is needless to say, were promptly acted upon by the home government of the day. Orders were issued to Sir Henry Clinton, then in command of the British forces at New York, to send an expedition to the West Indies. On the same day on which the fleet under Admiral Rodney left Sandy Hook, a French fleet under Count d'Estaing sailed from Boston for the same destination. The " two squadrons sailed in parallel and not far distant courses" toward the Caribbean island, but the British out-sailed their adversaries, and joined the fleet already on the station under the com- mand of Admiral Barrington. In December, 1T78, the British vessels entered the bay at Grand Cul-de-sac, the troops effecting a landing with- out meeting any resistance from the French, who had shut themselves up in their fortifications. Early in the following year a. bloody battle was fought at the Vigie, a fortress commanding Castries Harbor. The French were defeated, and Count d'Estaing sailed away, leav- ing St. Lucia in the possession of the English, who fortified themselves so strongly upon the island that in after years, under Rodney, Hood, and other great sailors, they bore down on their enemies the French, the Dutch, the Spaniards, in every part of the Caribbean Sea, pursu- ing their fleets, capturing their convoys, storming their forts, and blockading their ports. In 1782 Rodney's fleet, one division of which was commanded by Sir Samuel Hood, set sail from Castries Harbor in pursuit of the French squadrons of Count De Grasse, the English overtaking their enemies on the sea between Dominica and Guade- loupe. At seven o'clock in the morning of April 12th was fought one of the bloodiest and most obstinately contested naval battles ever waged between rivals. Rodney almost annihilated the French squadrons, gaining a signal victory, capturing the flag-ship Yille de Paris, and taking the French 252 DOWN TUB ISLANDS. admiral prisoner. Thus he saved to England her possessions in the West Indies, ruined the naval power of France, and gave the finishing blow to the war, thereby encouraging Great Britain to insist upon less humiliating terms of peace than she otherwise would have been able to obtain, for although, by the Treaty of Versailles, which was signed January 20th of the following year, England lost her thirteen North American colonies, in other respects she was able, by reason of .Rod- ney's victory, to dictate her own terms. For this service to his country Rodney was elevated to the peer- age ; received a pension of two thousand pounds for himself and his heirs ; had the distinguished honor of sitting to Sir Joshua [Reynolds for his portrait, and when he died, ten years afterward, was rewarded with a monument in St. Paul's Cathedral. Under the terms of the treaty spoken of above, England, having received back several of her more ancient colonies, once more gave up St. Lucia and in 1784 that island passed again under French rule. Grenada also having been restored to Great Britain, her French gov- ernor was transferred to Castries, where he did not long continue in peaceful possession of his office, for, at the outbreak of the French Revo- lution, the people of St. Lucia raised the tricolor on Morne Fortune and drove him away from the island. All work on the sugar-estates was stopped ; the planters deserted their properties ; " the negroes armed, and discussed the rights of man." " The Revolutionary National Convention declared the negroes, in deed and fact, ' men and brothers,' conferring upon St. Lucia the dis- tinguished title ' the Faithful.' The spirit of anarchy infected the neighboring islands, Martinique and Guadeloupe, and the reign of terror which ensued was no less marked by frightful atrocities and frenzied license than it was in the cities and towns of France. 1 ' The Direc- toire appointed General Ricord Governor of St. Lucia. Historians with one accord denounce him as a blood-thirsty tyrant, a fit associate of Marat and Robespierre. Be that as it may, for one act, and prob- ably for that one act alone, and it is enough, he deserves the com- ST. LUCIA. 253 mendation of his fellow-men. He arrived in St. Lucia on February 3, 1793 ; and on February 4, 1794, abolished negro slavery throughout the French Antilles, forty years before Great Britain purchased the free- dom of her slaves in the West Indies and elsewhere throughout the world, by paying therefor nearly twenty million pounds sterling. It was, moreover, sixty-nine years before Lincoln declared the abolition of slavery in the United States. What wonder the French Revolution was regarded by the negroes of St. Lucia as indeed their day of jubilee ? Why should they not have hailed Ricord as their friend and liberator ? The war, which had again broken out between England and France, raged with redoubled fury. On March 20, 1794, Sir John Jervis, af- terward Earl St. Vincent, captured Martinique, and eight days later H. R. II. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, the father of Queen Yictoria, raised the British flag on Morne Fortune. By this act St. Lucia once more became a British colony. The re-establishment of slavery was coincident with the return of the English to the island, or, to put it more accurately, the English ignored entirely the terms of the procla- mation of emancipation of Citizen Ricord, treating it as if it had never been issued. The freed insurgent slaves retreated to the forests and mountain- fastnesses, and being joined by the remnant of the revolutionary French soldiers, continued, to wage a harassing guerilla warfare for many months against the British soldiery. Toward the close of the year 1794 Robespierre sent Citizen Yictor Hughes from France as commissioner to Guadeloupe, while Citizen Goyraud was sent in command of an expedition to St. Lucia. So sud- denly was Goyraud's movement executed that, within a few days, with the exception of two forts, the island was entirely in possession of the French. In April, 1795, the English, having been re-enforced, gained a tem- porary advantage over the enemy, but were finally defeated, and in June driven from the island, being compelled to retreat in such hot 254 DOWN THE ISLANDS. haste that they left behind them some of their women and children, who were well treated by their captors, and shortly afterward sent to Martinique under a flag of truce. Later in the same year the Repub- licans fitted out, at St. Lucia, an expedition against St. Vincent, and nearly succeeded in driving the English off that island. In December Victor Hughes followed up his success by invading Martinique, which, as we have seen, was at that time in the possession of the English, who, but for the timely arrival of re- enforcements, would have been compelled to evacuate the island. Early in 1796 Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercrombie arrived at St. Lucia with an army of nearly twelve thousand men. The Re- publicans, under Citizen Goyraud, numbering but two thousand, shut themselves up in Morne Fortune, overlooking the bay of Castries. A division of the English forces under Brigadier- afterward Lieutenant- General Sir John Moore, effected a landing at Longueville Bay, a short distance along the coast from Castries. In the desperate fight- ing which ensued that hero carried himself right gallantly, as was his wont. After several sanguinary engagements, in which Moore distin- guished himself by leading his troops into the thickest of the fight, the Republican forces — consisting almost entirely of negroes, who fought bravely and desperately, as men are apt to fight when the reward of success is freedom and the penalty of defeat slavery — were over- powered, and surrendered as prisoners of war. It is admitted by Breen, the historian of St. Lucia, that in all previous wars the ne- groes had stood aloof, taking no part with either Frenchmen or Eng- lishmen. They had no interest in the issue of the struggle for the possession of St. Lucia ; with whichever party the victory finally rested, they were sure to remain slaves. "What if the regular labor on the plantations was interrupted by the wars that had raged for generation after generation, the negroes had no interest in the property destroyed, nor title to the land. They neither lost nor gained anything, when their masters, were they French or English, were driven away. In war-time the negroes became, for the time ST. LUCIA. 255 being, their own masters, with no man to drive them into the fields to work. But when the miscreant Hughes and his fellow-cutthroat Goy- raud (as Breen delights to call them) proclaimed the negroes free, de- claring that they might remain freemen if they themselves dared to defend their freedom ; when the blacks recognized the fact that the English were bent on restoring the ancient order of things, is it any wonder they nobly dared, and fought like fiends incarnate ? ; ■ Breen says : " They fought with brutal fury and threw otlall com- punctions of humanity ? " which probably is the, historian's , way of saying they fought like Scots at Bannockburn. • Had : he been writ- ing in these later days he might perhaps have likened the^r struggle for freedom to the fight to the death waged -, by the Boers but a few years ago in the 'Transvaal. To the negroes of St. Lucia the French Revolution had a significance it possessed for no othei\clas8 of -men that babbled of liberty, fraternity, and equality. The jargon ! about "the rights of man" was no. empty shibboleth to them— the rev- olution had declared them free, and to their limited understand- ings all other forms of so-called civilized government ljieant \slavery-. Would that so gallant a soldier, so gentle a hero as Sir. John Moore, had been engaged in a more noble and, doubtless to him, a more congenial duty than, that of restoring slavery in the island of St^. Lucia ! ' ■ - ; . : _ UL -•>.- In the midst of all the horrors of the French Revolution, in all the long catalogue of crimes committed in the name of liberty, the fact that, for a time at least, the black men in the French islands were act- ually free, shines out almost the sole good deed in a world of wicked- ness; What wonder that the slave eagerly reached out to grasp the fair blossom of liberty, even if it grew and was nourished on a dung- hill. - - : , . . .':•:,:-..; . ■; ; Sir John Moore took possession, of the forts, and English rule was restored in St. Lucia. The old order of things was re-established— the negroes were again enslaved. The gallant soldier was appointed gov- 256 DOWN THE ISLANDS. ernor of St. Lucia, and Abercrombie, sailing away shortly after, re- duced St. Vincent and Grenada to English rule. Notwithstanding all this fighting and all the bloody, dearly bought victories, when the Treaty of Amiens was signed, on March 27, 1802, St. Lucia was returned to France as of little value. In the war which was concluded by this treaty, England had taken Tobago, Mar- tinique, St. Lucia, Grenada, and part of San Domingo from France ; Trinidad from Spain ; Guiana, Curayoa, and St. Eustatius from the Dutch — besides many other places all over the world ; all of which, with the exception of Trinidad and Ceylon, were restored by the Treaty of Amiens to their former possessors. Sir John Moore's duties as governor of St. Lucia, although little to his liking, were performed with perfect conscientiousness and humanity. The towns and fortresses alone were in the possession of his troops, while the mountain-strongholds were held by bands of armed negroes, to whom were joined many French prisoners who, hav- ing been taken during the war, had escaped from the prisons. These refugees, called the Brigands, were armed by agents of the Na- tional Assembly of France, and commanded by a Frenchman named La Croix, who styled himself, " Commandant l'Armee Francoise dans les Bois." Some idea of the hatred of the negroes for the English, whom they looked upon as their re-enslavers, may be gathered from a letter written about this time by Sir John Moore to his father, in which he says, " Their hatred to us and attachment to the Republic is great." Before Sir John sailed to Europe, broken in health by the cli- mate and the effect of his services in the army, he had succeeded, in a measure, in subduing the French army in the woods, and had re- stored peace to the much-vexed island. He returned to England in 1797, and, twelve years afterward, the Forty-second Highlanders, the regiment he had led in the hand-to-hand fighting on the hill-sides and amid the forests of St. Lucia, received his last order to charge, but a few minutes before a cannon-ball shot him from his horse on the bat- tle-field of Corunna. ST. LUCIA. 257 On September 29, 1802, Admiral Yillaret, under the terms of the Treaty of Amiens, took over the island in the name of the First Consul Bonaparte. Slavery, which had been restored by the English, was maintained by the then existing government of France, and the negroes of the French Antilles lived to regret the days of the Direc- toire of Robespierre and his sans culotte lieutenants Hughes and Goyraud. The peace ratified by the Treaty of Amiens was broken before the end of fifteen months; the war began again, the West Indies once more becoming the battle-ground, and St. Lucia, as usual, the first object of attack. On June 19, 1803, Commodore Samuel Hood sailed from Barba- dos to St. Lucia, arriving at that island two days later. The French, under General Noques, shut themselves up in Morne Fortune. The English bravely stormed the works at the point of the bayonet, and capt- ured them after a short resistance. On June 26th General Grinfield, in command of the English forces, appointed Brigadier-General Robert Brereton to the governorship of St. Lucia ; and that island, after a struggle for its possession that had lasted, as I have said, more than one hundred and fifty years, finally became a British colony. 17 CHAPTER XXII. ASHORE AT ST. LUCIA. Geography of St. Lucia. — Port Castries. — Soufriere Bay and Town. — Diving Darkies. — Electioneering. — Creole Ponies. — The Sulphur Mountain. — A Trip along the Shore.— The Pitons. St. Lucia, which lies in 13° 50' north latitude, 60° 58' west longi- tude, twenty-four miles southeast of Martinique and twenty-one miles to the northward of St. Vincent, is forty-two miles in length and twenty at its greatest breadth ; it has a coast-line of one hundred and fifty miles and a surface of one hundred and fifty thousand acres, being, with the exception of Guadeloupe and Trinidad, the largest of the Lesser Antilles. It is well watered by numerous streams, flowing to the sea from the Monies, as the high peaks are called. In the rainy season these water-courses, swollen by the floods descending from the steeps, overflow their banks, working wide damage in the valle} T s and lowlands. According to the census of 1881, the population of the island was between thirty-eight and thirty-nine thousand. There are several excellent anchorages in the many bays that in- dent the coast, both on the windward and leeward sides of the island ; but those to the windward are difficult of approach, and for that reason, as in the other Caribbees, the trade of the colony is carried on at the ports on the west or leeward coast. As the Barracouta approached the northeastern extremity of St. Lucia (as described in the beginning of the last chapter), she passed close to Pigeon Island, a high cliff detached a few hundred yards ASHORE AT ST. LUCIA. 259 from the mainland, from which advanced position Admiral Rodney was wont to observe the French fleet as it manoeuvred under the shores of Martinique. When the English were in possession of H. M. Sloop-of-war Diamond Rock, communication by means of a signal- code was kept up across the twenty or more miles of intervening ocean. Running southward along the coast for some miles, we came to the entrance of the port of Castries, a narrow passage one-third of a mile in width, between the headlands of Tapion and the Vigie. This fair- way gives access to one of the safest and most commodious harbors in the, Caribbees, called Le Carenage until 1785, when the French re- named it in honor of Marshal de Castries, the colonial minister of that day. The National Assembly, with its rage for changing names and overturning the established order of things, forbade the use of this latter name of aristocratic origin, declared that Carenage the har- bor should thenceforth and forever be called ; but the British, when they came into possession of it, restored the old title, and as Castries it is known in our times. This anchorage is considered one of the best in the "West Indies, and, on this account, is used by the Royal Mail steamers as a coaling station. On the southern side of Castries a river enters the bay ; beyond it rise the heights of Morne Fortune, crowned with ancient fortresses now crumbling into ruin, albeit once the scene of terrific assault and desperate defence. At this place is the seat of government, now presided over by an administrator (a deputy of the Go vernor-in -chief of the British Windward Islands), assisted by an executive council and a legislature, all selected as the Queen may direct. We did not remain long at Castries, but started down the coast, pass- ing Grand Cul-de-sac, a noble bay where the English troops, under Sir John Moore, effected a landing a few days before the memorable attack on the French fortress on Morne Fortune, and, soon after leaving this behind, we came in sight of the Pitons des Canaries, towering aloft three thousand feet a short distance from the coast. Beyond these, to 260 DOWN THE ISLANDS. the south, are to be seen the still more wonderful sugar-loaf Pitons, overlooking the southwestern part of the island, and visible in clear weather miles and miles at sea. In an hour we were anchored in Soufriere Bay, the town of the same name being the second in importance and size in St. Lucia. It is needless to say that the steamer was at once surrounded by a flotilla of small boats, the usual parade of ferrymen, fruit-sellers, washerwomen and miscellaneous darkies taking place promptly on our arrival before the settlement. There were numerous darky boys, as at Barbados and Martinique, in small boats of their own building, who immedi- ately, and all uninvited, cast off their shirts and trousers and appeared in bathing costumes of startling scantiness, announcing themselves ready to dive to the bottom of the sea, should we see fit to tempt them by throwing a sixpence overboard. I dropped a small coin into the water and was amused to see several small boys disappear headlong from the small boats in waiting. I could make out the lithe forms, of the swimmers assuming beneath the water the color of antique bronze, as the lads cleft the waves obliquely and downward, with remarkable rapidity, propelling themselves by lusty strokes. Down, down they went, growing greener and greener until they looked like great frogs ; in fact, they were as much at home in the water. Twenty feet below the surface of the sea one of them reached the coin, made a cup of his outstretched hands, caught it, transferred it to his mouth, as- sumed an upright attitude, gave a few vigorous kicks, and came to the surface with the buoyancy of a cork. Having rid himself of a mouthful or two of water, he took the money from his cheek, held it aloft, and immediately began clamoring to be again induced to dive by further casting of sixpences into the sea. So quickly had all this been done that, had we not been watching him closely, we could not have believed the youngster had had time to catch the sixpence before it reached the bottom ; but there he was, ready to dive again, his companions meanwhile swimming around him, jabbering away in some unearthly gibberish, presumably exhorting ASHORE AT ST. LUCIA. 261 him to the performance of that ceremony known to the youth of New England as " going snucks." We tried the effect of other sixpences and no matter whether the darkies dived for them from the boats, or merely turned heels up in the water and swam downward after the coins, or whether we dropped the pieces softly into the water or fired them with force edgewise into it, there was a splash, a darky disappeared for a few seconds, and then popped up again, to begin gabbling to his fellows and to us with a volubility passing all belief. Such was the gift of gab of these boys that I imagined they might be able to converse with their fellows, holding caucuses, while seated on the coral rock at the bottom of the sea, fathoms deep among the sea- weed. When we had anchored in front of Soufriere I was rowed to the beach by two of the diving boys, who, when out of the water, wear nothing but the flimsiest excuse for a pair of trousers ; the older of them mounted the crown of a straw hat, brimless and frayed at the edges. The boat in which I ventured to embark was a leaky pirogue, long, narrow, shallow, as crank and upsettable as a racing-shell, as difficult to balance as a bicycle. But the little men at the oars and their smaller companion at the rudder ferried me safely, and watching their chance, put the dugout at the waves rolling toward the beach as if we were riding at a stiffish jump and, thank fortune ! with a leap and a scramble, we were ashore. I found the rest of the party, who had been landed in a sugar-lighter, safe and dry upon the sands, under the shadow of great trees that overhang the line of breakers. We were surrounded by a troop of negroes, who inspected us from top to toe, making audible remarks concerning our appearance, apparel, and gen- eral get-up. We evidently inspired them with feelings akin to those with which the unsophisticated public of remote isolated villages re- gard the showman and lady-riders of a travelling circus on a triennial visit to their out-of- the- world neighborhood. The darkies were respectful in manner — by no means impudent or obtrusive, only curious — and gazed at us as ruminating cattle gaze at 262 DOWN THE ISLANDS. strangers to their barn-yard. We spoke to some of them, and invari- ably received good-natured replies. I chucked one coal-black mite un- der its chubby chin ; it crowed, doubled up its fists, and grinned spaci- ously, showing two white teeth that sparkled in the sunshine. I have always laid the flattering unction to my soul that had my nomination as an alderman of Soufriere been sprung at that moment upon the as- semblage I should have been chosen to that office by acclamation, with- out the necessity of primary, convention, or more formal election. Standing under the trees, evidently too lazy to run or walk away, were a number of sorry nags, drowsily enjoying the shade and the sea- breeze, as well as an occasional breaker that rushed up the strand to cool their shoeless, cracked, wayworn hoofs. The Creole horses are not sightly ; they do not show the marks of breeding or of careful grooming ; they are folorn, contemplative, weary, careworn beasts, diminutive, and, not to put too fine a point upon it, decidedly cadaverous and loose-jointed. They are doubtless the degenerate descendants of a race of horses long without a " record," and with no ambition or ability to lower it, even had tradition be- queathed one to them. Nevertheless, these equine tramps — plebeians, if you will — can shuffle along for a great distance, daily travelling over the parched and dusty roads, or scrambling far over the hills between sunrise and sunset. All that their patient riders (and they must needs be very patient) have to do is to give their mounts plenty of rein and — time, especially the latter, for whips and spurs have no more effect upon the speed of these beasts than so much teamster profanity had upon the gait of an old-time army-mule. They have an uncomfortable way of stumbling while going down-hill, are indifferent on which side of them you mount or dismount, or, for the matter of that, over which end. They scrape up a great dust as they amble along ; and ascribe, if they can think or reason at all, any beating or spurring you may ad- minister to them to your hereditary spirit of cruelty to dumb animals, and not to any desire or necessity on your part to hasten their advance. Their gait is nondescript — they trot, amble, rack, gallop, walk ; in ASHORE AT ST. LUCIA. 263 short, do everything but run, therefore, as may well be imagined, it is a combination of aggravation and soreness to mount and ride upon these raw-boned beasts. The Creole pony I had, on my visit to the Soufriere of St. Lucia, was the most remarkable animal I have ever bestrode. I tried to study its habits and gain a clear notion of its action while passing over the ground ; it seemed, from where I sat on its back clinging on as best I might, to trot or amble so far as its forelegs were concerned, while its hind-legs were apparently saunter- ing along with a gentle, gliding motion, reminding one of the steps of the deux temps waltz. These humble creatures are persevering, plodding, industrious, and business-like — if you will possess your soul in peace, keep your seat when they stumble, they will carry you to your journey's end, all in due time. Near the spot where we landed, a group of negroes were collected round two fishing-boats, newly come to shore, after a most successful catch during the preceding night. In each pirogue were quantities of gaudy-colored fish ; one specimen, in particular, attracted my atten- tion. Its head and tail, and along its back, was a rich purple, the belly and fins of deep orange. 1 asked its name, but received only the indefinite, unsatisfactory information from the fishermen, in chorus : " Its a kinder bright fish, massa." I afterward knew it to be the fish called the parrot. There were mullet and red snapper, grooper and flying-fish, all as gorgeous as the flowers and gay-colored leaves everywhere to be seen in the forests. Along the beach were crowds of negroes, but few of them were engaged in any work. They lolled about on the sand, squatting in the shade in picturesque groups, chatting, laughing, meantime slyly watching us, wondering, no doubt, what we outland- ish people could find that was quaint or extraordinary in their appear- ance. No place is more beautiful in all the Caribbees than this beach in front of Soufriere, St. Lucia. There one can stand in the deep, 264 DOWN THE ISLANDS. cool shade of grand trees to watch the glowing sea, and hear the rus- tling of the breeze in the tree-tops answer the splashing of the waves on the sand in a dreamy, lulling whisper that seems to coax one into forgetting that ever, in any place, could there be storm and troubled waters. The town of Soufriere, with a population of one thousand two hundred or one thousand five hundred souls, is an ex- ceedingly quaint, theatrical-looking village. There is an unreal, stagy aspect to all its purlieus and surrounding scenery. It seemed to me like the scene for the enactment of a romantic drama — I do not know if it would strike other people so ; that, however, was the im- pression it made on my mind, and as I walked about its streets I felt as if I were one of the chorus in "Zampa," or a supernumerary in a grand spectacle representing Fairyland-by-the-Sea, and was tempted from corner to corner, up and down sketchy streets, glimpsing all kinds of bits, that aroused the undeveloped artist within me, as I peeped down odd lanes, narrow, crooked, choked with wonderful weeds and gorgeous flowers. From the town a road ascends the hills winding round the face of the cliffs, until the great Pitons are insight, and thence turning in- land, ascends the steeps a mile or more and finally arrives at the verge of the crater of La Soufriere, the sulphur mountain. Up this road we climbed, some on foot, some mounted on Creole ponies, some on asses. A motley crowd were we, and jovial. When we came to a turn in the road from which the Pitons were visible, we halted to admire the magnificence of the view and breathe the invigorating trade-wind, which swept through the cleft between them and the inland peaks. Across a beautiful bay, a mile in width, the Lesser Piton rose from the water ; symmetrical, magnificent, towering three thousand feet in the air, a perfect sugar-loaf in form, warranting that description of it more perfectly than any mountain I have ever looked upon. Beyond it, partially concealed by this northernmost Pillar of Hercules, the Grand Piton )^ >s from the sea to a greater height. The Lesser Piton is, or „vppears to be, twice the height of its base-line ; so boldly ASHORE AT ST. LUCIA. 265 does it rear itself aloft, and we could readily well believe that the foot of man had never been, nor is ever likely to be, set upon its mar- vellous pinnacle. The sight of its immensity is bewildering, its iso- lation from other hills magnifies it inconceivably, the stupendous mass of it overpowers the imagination. While you gaze at its summit in- tently, as the clouds rapidly drift just above the dizziest height, the monstrous rock seems to be toppling over into the sea and about to fall in maddening confusion to fill unfathomable depths with a world of ruin. Grand as is this sight of the Pitons, the view of them we had later in the day surpasses it as the grandeur of a storm at sea, when witnessed from the land, is surpassed by the nearer view of the war of waters from the deck of a tossing ship. Continuing on our way, our road led us inland, across cane-pieces through plantations, then, entering a valley, twined along the hill-side high above a stream which came tumbling down from the witch's cauldron we were on our way to see. After a rough ride we came to the verge of a yawning gulf, a mile or more in circumference, whose sides rose perpendicularly ; in fact, almost overhung the dismal abyss, at the bottom of which, two or three hundred feet below us, we could see many springs boiling amid rocks that looked like the ruins of ancient lime-kilns. Issuing from these pits were clouds of fetid steam, noisome exhalations, causing the destruction of vegetation near the pits, and blackening the rocks on which it condensed. It was a most uncanny sort of place, desolate, infernal in aspect, and to the leeward of this Avernus the grass and blighted vegetation for a long distance all around were discolored and stained, which gave them the appearance of lying continually under the shadow of a dense cloud ; a stench issued from the depths, and fumes of sulphur infected the air. Near it trees there were none, and the stream that ran from it was inky black, even the birds shunned the neighborhood, and yet, down in the bottom of it we beheld the cabins of negroes, who no doubt had propitiated the hobgoblins, the brats of old Jumbie himself, who are said to infest this antechamber of a chapel of Beelzebub. 266 DOWN THE ISLANDS. The bottom of this crater is about one thousand feet above the sea, and entrance to it is only to be gained by ascending the banks of the stream that flows from it through a narrow gorge, or by descending a steep circuitous path leading downward on its seaward side. We did not care to explore the nethermost pitfall, and so, after hovering about its margin for a time, like shuddering ghosts upon the dismal shore of Acheron, we retraced our steps to town, where we arrived consider- ably shaken by our ride, uncomfortably hot, but congratulating our- Return from Soufriere. selves that we had performed our duty as sight-seers who were deter- mined to leave no natural curiosity in any of the Caribbees unvisited, providing time served to reach them. Once upon a time these sulphur springs were much resorted to by invalids who had faith in the heal- ing properties of the water ; at present they are not used, except by a few inhabitants of the island. After resting a while at a little inn near the parish church we went on board the Barracouta and anchor being promptly weighed, we ASHORE AT ST. LUCIA. 267 steamed slowly southward, towing a number of lighters alongside, which were to be employed in bringing sugar from several places where nu- merous hogsheads were waiting for us. These lighters, or pirogues, as they are called, are modelled as the Caribs modelled their war-canoes, in which they made remarkable voyages, in days long gone by, carrying destruction far and wide, until the mere mention of their name struck terror to the hearts of the less venturesome natives of all the northern islands of the Caribbean Sea. Most of the craft that we saw had been hollowed by fire and axe out of the trunks of mighty trees ; they were, in short, enormous dugouts, similar in shape to those one constantly sees in the backwoods of North America, built up all round with bulwarks of stout planks, which rise a foot or more above the sides of the natural wood and were braced at intervals on the inside, and otherwise strengthened to resist the dashing of the waves. Sometimes a clumsy mast, upon which an ill-fitting sail is set, is stepped in the bow of the pirogue. It is surprising with what speed the poorly equipped craft get over the water ; they are shallow, with hardly any keel, and sag to leeward like cat-boats with their centre-boards raised. In such loose- join ted craft as these, however, the reckless fishermen of the island venture far from land, and fearlessly sail from one island to the other — some- times passing several days at sea. "We dropped anchor again off a small village called Malgre-tous, almost at the foot of the Lesser Piton. The lighters were sent ashore and returned, each bringing off several hogsheads of sugar. "When all the cargo was on board we rounded the base of the Piton, entering a bay extending inward between the two gigantic sugar-loaf mountains. On either hand, as we steamed slowly into the gulf, which is about one and a half miles wide, the Pitons stand like the pillars of a great gateway, the hills between them sink backward in a vast amphitheatre almost circular in form, and a perfect crescent of white sand divides the sea from thickets of shrubs and manchineel trees that fringe the foothills. Higher up a savannah of cane-pieces occupies all the middle slope. 268 DOWN THE ISLANDS. As far up the hill-sides as the soil can by any means be cultivated, there are plantations ; then the forests clothe all the steeps, and vast mountains rise in the background. On the left hand, as one looks into the bay, midway up the ascent, between the sea and the forest, is a planter's house — and near it are the sugar-houses and other out- buildings, partly hidden by foliage. Before this dwelling a smooth lawn spreads its rich greensward down almost to the margin of the sea. On the right hand, at the edge of the forest, is a quaint and picturesque collection of bamboo huts, thatched with dried leaves A Planter's House. of sugar-cane and plantain, reminding me of the pictures of African villages to be seen in the illustrated editions of books of travel. As our ship la}' in the peaceful harbor, midway between the Pitons, upon looking landward, the illusion came in upon the mind that we were looking from the stage into the auditorium of a titanic theatre. From the mountain-peaks on either side, high overhead, the sky hung like the vault of a proscenium arch ; before us the embrace of the Colos- seum swept in a mighty concave, the terraces rising, one above the other, up to the crowning parapet of serried crags and pinnacles. ASHORE AT ST. LUCIA. 269 A stop of less than an hour sufficed to stow away our cargo ; then once more we held on southward, coasting around the foot of the Grand Piton, and came to a small harbor known by the ill-sounding name of Drunkard's Bay, so called because a tipsy captain and his befuddled crew ran their ship against the face of the towering cliffs and sank her. Down among the dead men almost instantaneously went she, to the bottom of the waters that meet and flow, hundreds of fathoms deep, at the foot of the Grand Piton. Opposite to where we waited for the lighters to make their double journey, shoreward and back, high above the sea, was another Afri- can village such as I have already described. We could see the foot- path that led up to it, winding up the steep ascent, and from time to time descried the villagers passing and repassing on their way from the plantations below to their little hamlet on the cliffs. The boat's crew from Soufriere experienced more difficulty in pulling from the ship to the shore and back again than at our other stopping-places ; for, when we had passed the base of the Grand Piton, at the south- western extremity of the island, the ship ran out from the lee of the land, where the sea was disturbed by the full force of the trade-wind, which at this time of the day blows more strongly than at any other. I doubt if the most skilful crew of Canadian boatmen, or fishermen of our own coast, could have succeeded in reaching the shore with one of the empty pirogues. I am certain they could not have made the trip from the shore to the ship with a cargo of hogsheads which sank the rickety craft until they took water over the gunwales fore and aft. With skill and precision the pirogues were managed, and manfully did their crews labor at the heavy sweeps, so that in a surprisingly short time we had stowed away all the sugar that was ready to be shipped. Then, once more taking our attendant fleet in tow, we started northward along the coast until we came to Soufriere Bay, at which place we parted company with the boatmen, who must have been utterly exhausted by their long day's labor. CHAPTER XXIII. MONTSERRAT. To Montserrat via Sundry other Islands. — Irish Darkies. — General Description. — Plymouth. — The Swarm of Beggars. — "Glad I'se alibe, sah. " — A Heartless Flir- tation. — The Author's Experience with an Unknown Fruit. ROCEEDING on our journey, we set sail from St. Pierre, Martinique, for the island of Antigua. Next morning we were sail- ing along the west coast of Guadeloupe, having passed Dominica in the night and the Saints after sunrise. We held our course far out from the coast of Guadeloupe, the largest of all the Caribbees, except Trinidad, and were therefore unable to form any satisfactory idea of the island. For hours we coasted along it, enjoying a sweeping view of its shore, wondering at the height of its peaks, of which La Sou- friere is grandest — being nearly, if not quite, as tall as Mount Diablo- tin in Dominica. Late in the day we passed the northern limit of Guadeloupe, and having altered our course passed between it and the southern headlands of Montserrat, and so continuing on, as night advanced and through the night, at sunrise we were once more anchored in the outer harbor of St. John's, Antigua. Here we re- mained for two days, the first being the Sabbath, wherein no manner of work was done ; the second day was occupied in taking on board a quantity of sugar. We went ashore both days, and on both days MONTSEBEAT. 271 were visited on board the ship by friends who had entertained us during our recent visit to the island. We also renewed our acquaint- ance with pineapples and green-turtle, for the quality of both of which Antigua takes precedence of all the other islands it was our fortune to visit during our cruise. At nightfall, two days after our arrival, we started once more, tak- ing a southwesterly course, and at sunrise the next morning arrived under the lee of Montserrat, an island famed for lime-orchards and the darkies who call themselves, the Saints preserve us .'! by Irish names, speaking, it is said, a jargon in which, there lurks a flavor of the brogue. I must confess, however, in this latter respect I was dis- appointed, being unable to detect it, although the people lack not in other characteristics of the folk of the Emerald Isle— notably a certain honeyed essence of the blarney-stone, that is particularly noticeable when offering their wares or when approaching us in mock humility to beg a sixpence. Montserrat is in 16° 42' north latitude, 62° 13' west longitude, is nine miles in length, six in width from east to west, and contains about thirty-five square miles according to one authority, or thirty thousand acres according to another, of which ten or twelve thousand acres are said to be under cultivation. The island lies twenty-six miles southwest of Antigua, forty miles northwest of Guadeloupe, thirty miles southeast of Nevis. Eedonda stands in the sea between it and the latter island, but nearer by a number of miles to Montserrat. The surface of Montserrat is very rugged, and the soil is not of great fertility ; its windward side is bold, of a wild and bar- ren aspect, while the leeward shore slopes gently to the sea, being laid out in many plantations of cane and lime-orchards. The highest peak, La Soufriere, at the south end of Montserrat, is over three thousand feet in height ; Centre Hill rises two thousand four hundred and fifty feet in the heart of the colony ; and Silver Hill, in the north, towers nearly one thousand three hundred feet above the sea. The climate of Montserrat is considered very healthy, the island, as one is informed on every hand, being often called the Montpellier 272 DOWN THE ISLANDS. of the West Indies. The daily average temperature is 80°, and the range of the thermometer for the year from 72° to 85° Fahrenheit, but the heat is never oppressive, even in the summer months. The annual rainfall is about eighty inches. Montserrat is rarely visited by hurricanes, being in this respect as fortunate as Martinique. It is of volcanic formation, and the rock upon which it is founded is rich in iron and sulphur. In those parts susceptible of cultivation the soil is rich, producing any kind of crop grown in the Windward Islands ; but no industries are engaged in to any extent except sugar-growing and the cultivation of limes. In 1870 the population was under nine thousand ; now it is esti- mated to be considerably over eleven thousand. The affairs of Montserrat, which forms part of the colony of the Leeward Islands, are administered by a president, who also acts as treasurer, district magistrate, and commissioner of the supreme court. The total exports from the island amount to £32,000, more than half of which goes to other countries than Great Britain and her colonies — principally to the United States. The imports are £25,000, mostly from the United Kingdom and Canada. Montserrat was discovered by Columbus, on Sunday, November 10th, in the year 1493. The admiral gave it this name because he fancied it bore a resemblance to a mountain in Spain, on which is situ- ated the monastery where, twenty-nine years after the discovery of the Caribbees, Ignatius Loyola hung up his arms, no longer needed since his wounding at Pampeluna, and from which retreat he set out on his pilgrimage to Rome and the Holy Land. The island was originally settled by " wild Irish," as was also An- guilla ; it became a British colony in 1632, was twice captured by the French, first in 1664, when it remained in their possession four years, and again in 1782 ; two years later it was finally restored to England. The principal town of Montserrat is Plymouth, situated on the southwest side of the island. Before this capital the Barracouta cast anchor about nine o'clock in the morning of as lovely a day as ever "PENNY FO' DE BABY, PLEASE." MONTSERRAT. 273 smiled upon a beautiful landscape. Having gone ashore in the cutter, I landed with other passengers at a small wooden pier projecting a Hundred feet or so from the beach in front of the centre of the town, and w T alked shoreward, closely examined by and examining the people I met, until I finally came to the Water Street, the Strand of this seaport. On your right hand as you enter the town is a small fortifica- tion, which doubtless served its purpose by preventing the landing of smugglers and other lawless characters who infested these islands in times gone by ; now crumbling to ruins, it adds, in no inconsiderable degree, to the picturesque appearance of the approach to Plymouth from the sea. Before we had entered the town-limits we were beset by a swarm of the most persistent, tireless, but withal good-natured and apparently light-hearted beggars we had ever fallen among. There were young, middle-aged, and old beggars, male and female, black, brown, and yellow, some in rags and some in tags, but none in velvet gowns ; nevertheless, in very truth the dogs of the vicinity had much need to bark, for the beggars had not only come to town, they had come to stay ; they possessed and infested the place, were at home in it and at their ease, and were not to be driven out, warned off, moved on, run in, exorcised, laid, or charmed away. They gab- bled like parrots, tormented you like mosquitoes, swarmed about you as the birds of the air swarmed about the three white baskets on the head of the chief baker unto Pharaoh. " Beg you a penny, sixpence, massa." " Beg you a penny." " I'm de one dat saw, spoke to, pointed at, touched you (as the case may have been) first." "I see you come from the ship, dear massa." " Beg you a penny." " I'se old, or young, has a baby, loss me husban', is sick, was sick, can't work, cut me han', is hungry." " Give me a penny to buy bread— to give to me mudder — for the chil'en — for me own se'f, for charity, for the lub of Heaben " — for any reason, for all reasons, for no reason. "Beg you a penny — just one." "Look at me ! pity me," and so on, up and down the gamut, from A to Izzard, 18 274 DOWN THE ISLANDS. in solo, duet, in chorus, crescendo, diminuendo, staccato, fortissimo, pianissimo, and always and at all times very much the reverse of non tropjpo. One is soon driven to the end of one's wits, bewildered, maddened, at one time longing to have the whole host arrested on a charge of mendicancy and obstructing the public thoroughfares, or interfering with the wheels of commerce. Then, in despair at the idea of drawing an indictment against the majority of the population of an apparently thriving and civilized town, one frowns, gesticulates, but all to no purpose. The Salmagundian, who accompanied me, threatened one lusty beggar with, I know not what, dire and dreadful punishment if his demands for alms were continued. Immediately the offender thus singled out was beset by a fellow-tramp, who or- dered him to be off and about his (entirely imaginary) business. " Get away from da ; don' you hear the gentleman a-taaken to yo' ? Go away, now ; he bodder to deaf wi' yo'." Then, as if conscious that he had merited well of my companion, to whose aid he had come all uninvited, this second " black son of thun- der," for so the Salmagundian called his latest foe, at once, in a man- ner calculated to take away one's breath, besought the privilege of " begging a dime." This was too much, even for the best-natured of men. The artist lunged wildly all around him, but especially in the direc- tion of tramp No. 2 ; rather, it must be said, in the manner of a man fighting a blue-bottle or a bumblebee, or as one who, with equal prac- tical result, beateth the air, than in the style of an expert in the so- called manly art, and all to no purpose, although the Salmagundian had it in his heart to slay seven at a blow, like the valiant tailor of the fairy tale. The offender, however, fell back, to judge by his looks, more in sorrow than in anger, and, going aside, leaned over the rail of the wharf and gazed sadly out to sea. Some time afterward, when we happened to pass near him, as he still looked sadly seaward, while whistling a plaintive tune, the Salmagundian called bravely to him : " Why are you whistling, my man ? " In the twinkling of an eye MONTSERRAT. 275 came the answer, like the lightning-thrust of a rapier under the fifth rib: " When I see you, massa, I mus' whistle ; I'se so glad I'm alibe, sah ! " Then it was the artist's turn to gaze sadly out to sea, but the rest of the party seemed to enjoy themselves heartily. I have elsewhere spoken of the quantities of fruit wherewith the Barracoutans were wont to regale themselves at all seasons when opportunity offered ; indeed, for that matter, when there was appar- ently no opportunity we went out of our way to make one. Scramble for a Copper. No matter what the time of day or night, whether before meals or afterward, we purchased fruit, begged it of the ship's steward, bor- rowed it of one another, and I confess, at this distance of time and from the owners of the stolen goods, that when ashore some of our company, as they passed orchards or plantations, helped themselves without due regard being paid to the fact whether the fruit were grown on private property or along the public margin of the queen's high-way. Refusing to experiment with nothing in the shape of fruit, we tasted and tried for ourselves all that came in our way, could be reached, or acquired by purchase or begging. This recklessness in 276 DOWN TEE ISLANDS. the matter of assimilating fruit cost me dear on one memorable oc- casion, as I shall now relate ; for as my somewhat remote ancestor Adam fell a willing victim to the beguilement of Eve, so did I, being tempted of woman, yield to my curiosity and in- ordinate desire to taste a fruit that was pleasant to the sight and ap- peared to be good for food. Reader, it fell out in this fashion. I had possessed myself of the en- tire stock-in-trade of a sprightly, lo- quacious damsel of Montserrat, who greeted me with charming frankness as I stood on the wharf waiting for the ship's boat to take me off to the Barracouta, then about to sail. The temptress was neatly dressed in a scrupulously clean, well-fitting gown of gay-colored cotton stuff. On her head was poised a tin bucket contain- ing a fruit to me unknown. Some were of rich golden yellow, some brill- iant red — all about the size of large pears and of the same shape. She was a most picturesque and shapely person, and I could not forbear pay- ing her the homage of frequent re- spectful and admiring glances. She carried herself erect and moved with the grace of an actress of the Theatre Francaise, and was engaged in a most pronounced and heartless flirtation with one of the Barracouta's boat- The Seller of Cashews. MONTSERBAT. 277 men, whose acquaintance she had made that morning, and who was performing for her delectation a weird and agile dance, with woven paces and with waving arms, shuffling his feet upon the rough tim- bers of the wharf in such utter disregard of splinters and badly driven nails as would have made the performance a dangerous one for any unshod white man to indulge in. In utter recklessness he rivalled one of the clan McTavish absorbed in the performance of a sword-dance, winding up by bringing the liberal dimensions of the sole of his foot down with a bang that would have reminded a St. Louis editor of the foot-fall of a Chicago girl. The young lady, evi- dently deeply impressed with the sincere admiration with which she had inspired her latest victim, informed him, when he had made an end, that she would "just ask de capt'n when he come asho' if you is a workin'-man sure of a job an' kin s'port a wife." Then, lowering her basket of fruit from her head, she approached me to make offer of her wares. "Please buy, my good massa; give me two shillin' for all dem — I pick 'em myself. Give me two small shillin' — two small shillin', dear massa, an' I'll buy a handkerchief and keep it for your sake." I must confess I most ungallantly, faute de mieux, demurred at the price. " Oh ! bless you, no, dear massa ; two shillin', just small ones — you would love to give me three shillin' ; and I will buy a handkerchief and keep it for my dear massa. I will — true ! an' show it to you when you come back." I murmured, helplessly, something about not being able to carry the fruit on board. " I send dis man to carry dem," indicating her dancing boatman. " He go wid you. Do take dem, please ; I be so dis'p'inted if you don', and I give you my nice pail ; I wouldn't like you to refuse." What could I do ? ' Obviously nothing, except to pay her two shil- lings, two " small shillings ; " a fair enough bargain, seeing that her boatman was included in the purchase. 278 DOWN TEE ISLANDS. Reader, I thus became the possessor of half a bushel of cashew- fruit, and inherited an attending train of distressing circumstances that has perfectly cured me forever of acting as a sampler of strange fruits, even were I to receive the same from the fair hands of Mother Eve herself, instead of from a queen-like West Indian fruit-seller, whose graceful walk proclaimed a goddess, as black and shining as my patent-leather boots. The dancing boatman took the fruit on board the Barracouta, and, in the presence of a crowd of my curious fellow-passengers, my troub- les began. The cashew, as I have said, is like a pear in shape ; a quince would describe it better. On the bottom of it there grows a nut, the size, shape, and color of a kidney-bean. The pulp of the fruit is yellow in color, like that of a greengage, and exceedingly juicy. The taste of it is gratefully acid, good to quench thirst, and, as I afterward learned from an ancient book found in the library of a West Indian friend, " good for the stomach, as also in swoonings and faintings." " The Caribs make an intoxicating drink of it, but if it fall on any linen it makes a red stain therein, which continues till such time as the tree brings forth new flowers." Another chronicler of the quali- ties of the wondrous fruit asserts that in the stains " are bred divers worms that may not be destroyed although the linen be buried in the earth." After I had finished my experiment, several of my pocket- handkerchiefs looked as if they had been used during a prolonged and dangerous surgical operation. I have, however, watched in vain for the appearance of " divers worms," so that part of the statement may be taken cum grano. Of one thing I am " jolly well certain," as an English passenger on the Barracouta asserted, had I known what direful consequences were to follow my eating the brown nut of the cashew, I should for days have been a happier if not a wiser man ; for, not content with swallowing the fruit, which is delicious and whole- some, I must needs bite into one of the nuts. I bit but once, barety piercing its tough, chestnut-like shell. What the consequences were MONTSEBBAT. 279 my readers may faintly imagine, if I again quote from the ancient botanist : " Ye nut yields a caustic oyl which, taken sparingly, warms and extremely fortifies the stomach — it is successfully used to mollify, nay, to eat away corns and the callousness of the feet." For several days, during which the skin came off my lips, tongue, gums, and the roof of my mouth, my favorite food was cracked ice, and it was pleas- ant to sit in the shade and allow the fresh, bracing trade-wind to blow down my throat. I do not wonder that the Caribs made their war-canoes out of the trunk of the cashew-tree, that teredoes, or ship-worms, even when driven to desperation by the pangs of hunger, refuse to eat any part of it, and that " vermin will not be able to harm clothes if they be kept in a chest made of the wood." In his " Natural History of Nevis " the Rev. William Cambridge Smith makes the following extraordinary statement, to wit : " When our West Indian young Ladies fancy themselves too much tanned with the scorching Rays of the Sun, they gently scrape off the thin outside Skin of the Stone, and then rub their Faces all over with the Stone. Their Faces do immediately swell, grow black, and the Skin thus poisoned will, in five or six Days come entirely off the Face in large Fleaks, so that they cannot appear in Publicke under a full Fort- night by which time their new Skin looks as fair as the Skin of a young Child." What fair penitent made confession of this secret of her boudoir to the reverend historian ? His statement is given for what it ought to be worth ; but as it is founded on the word of one, and only one, professional beauty of his flock, the only " Lady who owned that she herself had tried it and had found the whole Opera- tion exceedingly painful," we may give the benefit of the doubt to the fair sex of 1745, the year Mr. Smith's book was published, and dismiss the statement as unworthy of belief. And yet, in the words of the somewhat credulous parson, "Alas ! what will not Pride" (with a big P) " attempt." As there is no poison without its antidote, the effect of the caustic, blistering oil of the cashew is, to a great degree, counter- 280 DOWN THE ISLANDS. acted, if not entirely neutralized, by the use of a strong solution of bi- carbonate of soda. While I was experimenting with these apples of Sodom the Bar- racouta had weighed anchor and steamed to the north end of Mont- serrat, on her journey to the island of Nevis. A Pirogue. CHAPTER XXIV. NEVIS. St. Mary-the-Round. — Nevis. — Its Geography and General Appearance. — Charlestown, its Capital. — Its Hot Springs. — An Ancient Hotel and Ancient Guardian. — Lord Nelson's Marriage in Nevis. — Alexander Hamilton. Between Montserrat and I^evis, ten miles from the former and eighteen miles southeast from the latter, there rises, six hundred feet from the sea, a rock, barren of trees, but beautified by mosses, lichens, parasitic plants, and vines that cling in the crevices and scars on its precipitous sides or planted on narrow ledges where the sea- fowl build their nests. This rock can be seen for more than thirty miles from the deck of a ship. Like Dia- mond Bock near Marti- nique, and Ship Rock be- tween St. Thomas and Santa Cruz, its sides are precipitous ; the water all around is exceedingly deep — only on the west side of it is there an anchorage, in ten or twelve fathoms. To the south, close to it, a small islet shows above the sea ; well named, in consideration of its shape, The Pinnacle. Redona is uninhabited, except from time : to time by people from the neighbor- ing islands, who visit it for the purpose of procuring sea-birds' eggs, and who win their way to the top by means of a wire rope one end of Sail Rock. 282 DOWN THE ISLANDS. which is fastened aloft. Santa Maria de la Redonda (St. Mary-the- Round) was named by Columbus the same day he discovered An- tigua and the other islands lying in full sight of the sea-girt crag. To give us a view of it nearer at hand, the Barracouta turned some- what easterly out of her straight course to Nevis and we sailed close to the western rampart of Redonda, thus affording an impressive sight of its vast proportions and everlasting walls. Redonda. In the glorious light of mid-afternoon the great dome at times put on a sheen of bronze and silver, at times the whole compass of it ap- peared to glisten like amethyst and ' ; sea-green colour'd beryl," then, as we sailed away from it, a haze enwrapped it in a robe of azure beset with jewels; as it took the form and likeness of a sunset cloud when night came on, the great globe itself dissolved like an unsub- stantial pageant, faded, leaving not a rack behind. NEVIS. 283 Early in the evening we anchored in the roadstead in front of Charlestown, the capital and chief seaport of Nevis. At sunrise the next morning our vessel lay about half a mile from shore, and the island showed, in all its grandeur, a wonderful mountain, 3,200 feet or, according to some, 3,596 feet in height, rising majesti- cally into the heavens — fortunately for us, clear of clouds and mists — towering away into the blue sky. Nevis is nearly circular in form, containing about 32,000 acres, says the author of "Her Majesty's Colonies," 24,640 acres being given as correct by the compiler of the "West Indies Directory ; of these, 16,- 000 according to the first, and 6,000 according to the latter, authority are capable of being cultivated. I incline to accept the figures given in the first-named work; they are taken from the useful and well- arranged Almanac of the Leeward Islands, compiled by the editor of the Dominican, a journal published in Roseau, the capital of Domin- ica. I give the two estimates to illustrate, what I have before pointed out, how difficult it is to get accurate information concerning the Windward Islands, even from sources that might well be supposed to be authoritative and accurate. I have seen it stated that in the beginning of this century there were over four thousand whites resident in this colony ; now there are comparatively few families of them left. Once upon a time the total population of the island was not far from twenty thousand — it is now under twelve thousand, including, perhaps, three or four hundred coolies. Formerly, Nevis had a government separate from St. Kitt's ; at present it is joined politically to that island, and sends two members to the joint council. Charlestown lies upon the margin of an extensive bay at the foot of the mountain. There are in it a court-house and other public build- ings ; it is a sleepy, silent place, where little business is transacted, and many of the buildings remain locked from day to day ; the town is emptied of its folk on week-days as well as on Sabbaths and high- davs. 284 DOWN THE ISLANDS. A party of gentlemen landed from the Barracouta and set out for a short walk of less than half a mile to the Hot Spring of Nevis, so celebrated in times past. Presently we came to where a brook crossed the main road, and just beyond it a lane led us a few paces into a thicket of trees and shrubbery. The land falls northward to the edge of the burn we had crossed ; a girdle of brushwood, a hedge of prickly-pear and aloes, overgrown with jasmine- vines, encloses a forsaken garden, " Where the weeds grow green from the graves of its roses." The lane is choked and stifled by a tangle of vegetation, and within the walls of this waste place — " So long have the gray, bare walks lain guestless, Through branches and briers if a man make way, He shall find no life but the sea-winds, restless Night and day." On the left hand, on a bank overlooking the garden, there stands a massive ruin, of fair proportions ; the thick and well joined walls have resisted the shock of earthquakes, but the roof has fallen, save in places where it has been clumsily propped up to delay, for a few years, its ultimate destruction. On the tops of the masonry, in chinks and crevices, and on the window-sills are air-plants ; here and there the stones are colored by bright mosses and lichens, and the whole pile has a venerable, weather-beaten appearance which is most picturesque and legend-inspiring. It is the ruin of an ancient hostlery, built nearly a century ago. To this grand establishment used to resort a gay company of pleasure- seekers, and such as desired to make trial of the healing waters which boil up in the midst of the garden. Long ago Nevis was the Bath, the Buxton, of the Caribbees, and to it annually came the youth and beauty, crabbed and gouty old age, the valetudinarians of the "West Indian fashionable world. In those days sugar was king ; his courtiers, the planters, derived the income of nabobs from innumer- able grand estates. Nevis was also one of the principal slave-markets NEVI8. 285 of the Windward Islands; consequently, in the days before steam- power, emancipation, and, greatest leveller of all, beetroot-sugar, there were abundant wealth, luxury, and a high degree of magnificence- at the court of King Sugar, whose summer-palace the old ruin used to be. Here there were laughing and music, and pomp and splendor — here came Dives and his sons and daughters, eligible young gentle- men and sweet damsels with sugary expectations — here there were dancing, and flirting, and love-making, and, what was more to the purpose, match-making ; young folks went away one season engaged, to return the next on their wedding-trips. Here was enacted the fashionable comedy which in England is played, summer after sum- mer, at Bath, Tunbridge Wells, and other spas. I like to indulge the fancy that, all in due time, to this resort came the Swartzes from St. Kitt's. Reader, do you recall the name ? You surely must remem- ber Miss Swartz, the rich, woolly-haired heiress from St. Kitt's, who, on the day Miss Amelia Sedley left the establishment, of which Miss Barbara Pinkerton, in a letter dated " The Mall, Chiswick, June 15, 18 — ," informs us that it " had been honoured by the presence of The Great Lexicographer and the patronage of the admirable Mrs. Chapone, " was in such a passion of tears, they were obliged to send for Dr. Floss, and half tipsify her " (the heiress aforesaid) " with sal volatile." Of course you remember the heiress of St. Kitt's, " who paid double," and was therefore permitted, on the occasion of her schoolmate's de- parture, to indulge in such luxury of grief as was only allowed to parlor boarders at the establishment in question. You remember her. Well, when I wandered over the old hotel in Nevis and rambled about the paths of the forsaken garden, I could not, for the life of me, help wondering how long after the departure of Miss Amelia (dear Amelia, I had almost called her, for I always despised George Osborne, no less than 1 ultimately came to envy William Dobbin) — I say, I won- dered how long (after the day Miss Becky Sharp actually flung the copy of Johnson's "Dixonary," presented to that young person by Miss Pinkerton, back into Miss Pinkerton's gardens) before Miss 286 DOWN THE ISLANDS. Swartz, having realized, in the matter of embroidery, geography, black-board, and deportment, the fondest wishes of all her rich rela- tives in the Caribbees, returned to the sugar-estate of her family in St. Kitt's. Doubtless when, "endowed with every accomplishment so requisite for a young lady of fashion," she finally rejoined her opulent family — doubtless, I say, she was carried off by proud papa and match- making mamma, the very next season, to Nevis. There, tender-hearted creature that she was, Miss Swartz fell obediently in love with the young man of her parents' choice. There with him she wandered up and down the shaded paths, listening to the cooing of the wood-pigeons, and vowed, by the constant light of the Southern Cross, to be true to him forever ; there she enjoyed the odor of orange-blossoms, that sweetiy prophesied her wedded happiness, and wore flowers of dainty jasmine in her hair or nearer her heart — while her gallant from Bar- bados, or, may be, from Trinidad, a fine young man, made verses to her eyes or raven hair, after the manner of eligible suitors of a gen- eration or two ago. All this did she, while papa played whist with the governor, or the general in command of His Majesty's forces, or the admiral, or a stray nobleman from the old country ; mamma, meanwhile, gossiping with the elegant dames, who congratulated her upon her daughter's happiness, wondering in their hearts, never- theless, what young Sugarly " could see in that Swartz girl to ad- mire." In old times, in its palmy days, Nevis was the rendezvous of the English squadrons and the headquarters, during certain seasons, of the general in command of the British army in that part of the world. Officers' wives resided there, in order to be near their husbands, and in this way there was added to the company frequenting the spa a goodly host of fair ladies and well-born dames — what wonder, then, that the hotel was very grand, spacious, and well built, containing all the then modern conveniences, and was, moreover, the centre of fashion, the court of his mightiness, King Sugar. The hotel, squarely and solidly built, two hundred feet in length by one hundred in width, was sev- NEVIS. 287 eral stories high, and was surrounded, on each floor, by verandas upon which gave wide windows. The ceilings were more than twenty feet in height, and the chambers approached grandeur in proportions ; a wide hall opened through the middle of it, and flights of easy stairs led from story to story. The glory of it has departed — its verandas have fallen, its windows and casements have long since been used as fire- wood, the stairs are broken, the roof admits the rain in many an open- ing chink. It is a picture of desolation and decay — one's footsteps echo dismally through the empty habitations ; it certainly is the abode of bats and owls — and may be suspected, even by the most prosaic imagination, of being the resort of ghosts. We clambered up to its back door, and were startled by the apparition of a very ancient col- ored man, as grizzly as Charon, as wrinkled as Father Time himself ; for a moment our imagination ran away with us and we expected him to vanish from our sight — and should not have been surprised had he wrung his hands in ghostly despair as he disappeared into the gloomy ruins. It was no spirit, however, but a colored man of flesh and blood. He awaited our approach, bowing impressively, but so stiffly, so painfully, that we almost expected to hear him creak and crackle like old parchment, and felt relieved when we saw him stand erect again. He spoke to us in a voice that sounded like an echo of the years by -gone : " Good-marnin', gentlemen, good-marnin' ! Walk inside — glad to see you — come in, look at de old place — look out for de flo' — de beams is strong, but some of de bo'rds is rather old. Dey hasn't left much of de wood-work — dey stole de windows and de doors. Dey would have took de stairs an' de roof, sir — de stairs an' de roof — but some years pas' dey stop 'em." " Who stopped them ? " I asked. " De owner of de proppity, massa — de owner. De las' thing dey stole was de ceilin' of de billiard- room. Dat was de billiard- room," pointing to a part of the building of which there were but walls standing. " Der was a fine billiard-room in dose days, and de 288 DOWN THE ISLANDS. other buildings you see was de coach-houses, and dis is de ciste'n. Listen ! de flo' is holler." " How old is this hotel ? " I inquired. " It was built when I was three year old, sir." " How old are you ? " " Don't know for sure, massa ; de hotel was built in eighteen hun- d'ed an' sev'n. Long time, dat ! " " Then you must be going on eighty-one years of age," I vent- ured. " Don't know, sir ; de hotel was built when I was three year old. How much you make it ? " " Eighty-one years," I said. " Shouldn't wonder, massa ! can't remember when I was barn, but de hotel was built three year after dat. It's wonderful old." According to the testimony of this old man, the Grand Hotel of Nevis was built in that year during which were laid the foundations of the old City Hall in my native town, New York. The old janitor evidently took a great pride in pointing out all the parts of the hotel that, long ago, had been so grand and comfortable. Here was the ball-room, here the dining-hall — that old tumble-down out-building had been the kitchen. Down the bank in front of the main structure had been an Italian garden, with its rose- and flower- beds, its ferneries and stucco statuary. Yonder was the dry and cracked basin of a pond once swarming with gold-fish — near the wine-cellar were the ruins of a turtle-crawl — at the side door was a moss-grown stone block where the young ladies mounted their ponies, and gayly rode away. Down in the ravine through which flows the little stream, concealed in a thicket of tamarind- and mango-trees, was the bath- house, a substantial building, two stories in height — the upper floor a toilet-room, clean, but bare of furniture ; in the lower story was the hot bath — a great tank, twenty by thirty feet in size, filled with crystal-clear water of a temperature of about 100° Fahrenheit. Procuring towels from the ancient guardian, we disrobed and de- NEVIS. 289 scended into the inviting water ; and for the space of an hour or more enjoyed one of the greatest luxuries to be had for love or money in the West Indies. The water is soft and soothing in its effect — warm enough to cause one to set foot in it gingerly ; it is remarkably clear, holds in solution a little sulphur, possesses a property that renders the Church where Nelson is alleged to have been married. use of soap unnecessary, and is very mollifying to the skin. It is said to be good for rheumatism, gouty complaints, and cutaneous dis- orders, and is used with great benefit by a few visitors. When we had bathed to our hearts' content, there stole over us a delightful sensation of restfulness ; upon me, at least, there came a 19 290 DOWN THE ISLANDS. most delicious exposition of sleep, to which I yielded for a few mo- ments. I then set off down the lane to the high-road, where I found a carriage waiting to convey the Salmagundian and myself a mile and a half farther up the hill, to a little church in which it is incorrectly alleged that Admiral Nelson was married to the widow of Dr. Nisbet, on March 11, 1787. This lady was the daughter of a Mr. Herbert, who was in those days President of Nevis. The chapel stands on the left-hand side of the road as you go up the mountain, shaded by trees, in the midst of an untidy graveyard. The building has by no means a church-like appearance ; indeed, when we first caught sight of it we mistook it for a spacious, well-built sugar-house, and were disappointed sadly in the aspect of all its sur- roundings. In the vestry of this sacred building there is to be seen an old book containing the parish records, in which there is an entry to the effect that the marriage of Admiral Nelson was solemnized on the day above mentioned. That is all. Neither of the high contracting par- ties signed the memorandum — it cannot be called a contract of mar- riage ; and I have no doubt it was written some time after the marriage had taken place by some layman who had access to the vestry, for there is no evidence that the entry was made by either rector, curate, or clerk of the parish, nor by anyone with legal authority to attest its validity. Asa matter of fact, the admiral was married very qui- etly, not to say privately, in a house some distance from the church. Therefore, we who had come so far, expecting to see the autograph of the great sailor-man and his ill-fated bride, were much disappointed. We were well repaid, however, for our pilgrimage, when we gazed upon the magnificent view to be had from the front of the chapel, and returned to town satisfied with our visit to the neighborhood in which the ceremony is alleged to have taken place. Nevis is the birthplace of that American who, unless it be George Washington himself, or, in later days, Lincoln, or Grant, rendered a more conspicuous service to the United States than any man who NEVIS. 291 has ever devoted his life to the cause and advancement of American liberty — a great orator, a talented lawyer, a good soldier, " master of every field he entered," the ablest political teacher of his day, the man whom John Marshall ranks next to Washington — Alexander Hamilton : the deviser and establisher of his country's government, the precocious youth who " penned the first draft of the Constitution of the United States, who urged and secured its adoption by the origi- nal States, living long enough to see the nation to which he gave polit- ical stability submitting itself in entire respect and confidence to the declarations of the phrases of the remarkable document which, had it not been for his study and foreknowledge, would have taxed the skill of the wisest of all his contemporaries to formulate." Beyond all perad venture, this native of Nevis was one of the greatest men who ever first saw the light in the western hemisphere. What man ever addressed himself to a grander labor than the invention of a form of government for an already great nation ? what man ever brought to his self-imposed task greater abilities and more remarkable talents ? Is it any wonder, then, that when Americans set foot on the shores of Nevis they are inspired with feelings of reverence. According to the most reliable authority on the subject, Alexander Hamilton was born on the eleventh day of January, 1757, of Scottish parentage, on the island of Nevis. His father died while he was yet a child ; his mother did not long survive her husband, leaving her boy an orphan in indigent circumstances. This statement, however, is contradicted in some quarters, for it is asserted that in 1737 the father of the great statesman left Nevis to settle in the United States, taking with him his son, who already began to give evidence of the possession of remarkable talents. The latter record is not fact — the truth is, Alexander remained in the West Indies until the year 1772, when he bade a final adieu to Nevis and sailed for Boston, where he arrived in the month of October. Thence he went to New York, where in his sixteenth year, as he himself tells us, he entered King's (now Columbia) College, having given up his idea, previously 292 DOWN THE ISLANDS. conceived, of studying at Princeton, because at the latter institution he would have been obliged to measure his advance in learning by the progress of his class from year to year, whereas at the former he was permitted to go through the course of study as rapidly as he could, without regard to classes or his fellow-students. In less than five years from the time he arrived in America, Hamilton had risen from the command of a company of artillery, which he had re- cruited under commission from the State of New York, to be a lieu- tenant-colonel on Washington's staff ; being then only in his twentieth year. There is no need to follow the career of this remarkable man — the history of his after-life is too well known to need rehearsal here ; the honor and renown which attach to the name of Alexander Hamilton are as enduring as the grand mountain of his native island. Most in- teresting to me, of all places in the West Indies, was the fair land that gave my great compatriot birth. A drive around Nevis is a most enjoyable jaunt, not alone because the country through which one passes is lovely beyond all description, but also because, for two-thirds of the way, the road runs in full view of the mighty hills of St. Christopher. The varied panorama thus exposed to view is one of the grandest in all the Caribbees. We left Nevis at four o'clock, and at sundown on the same day the Barracouta was once more at anchor in front of the town of Basseterre. CHAPTER XXV. THE CONCLUSION OF THE WHOLE MATTER. Aleck and Anthony, the Crew of the Captain's Gig. — How Aleck "loss his mudder." — From Basseterre to Sandy Point. — A Historic Coach. — View from North End of St. Kitt's. — Home Again. Our cruising amid the Caribbees is at an end. There remains but little more for me to say concerning our delightful experiences in the "Windward Islands. When the sun went down on the day whereof I am writing, our good ship had left far behind her the most northerly of the islands of which, in the foregoing pages, I have attempted to give a description. And now, before we say good-by to them, I desire to pay the fit- ting tribute of respectful mention to two brave hearts of oak who, on many occasions, and in many ways, earned the good wishes of all the passengers on board the Barracouta. Reader, let me introduce to you two of my friends — faithful fellows, both of them — kind-hearted, good- natured watermen, as handy a couple with a pair of oars or in the man- agement of a ship's boat as one may meet in a voyage around the world. Aleck and Anthony! citizens of St. Christopher by birth; there- fore Englishmen, and, as they both will tell you, loyal subjects of Her Majesty Queen Victoria — sailor-men by instinct, able-bodied seamen by training and instinctive knowledge of ship-craft. These two colored friends of mine ship on board the Barracouta each and every trip of that vessel down the islands, and immediately fall into the regular rou- tine of their employment as crew of the captain's gig. Anthony is inclined to be grave and taciturn — respectfully silent, 294 DOWN THE ISLANDS. not morose. In some sort he looks up to Aleck, in whose manner and appearance there is a power of dignity, indicative of a character self- reliant, scrupulous in the prompt and careful performance of duty. Moreover, Aleck has been longer at sea, is the older of the two, sits nearest the captain, pulls the stroke-oar, takes his orders direct from the commander, and is admitted to receive from high and authorita- tive sources much information which he is expected to keep to himself and upon which he acts at his discretion. Aleck is captain of the cap- tain's gig, and Anthony is his crew — therefore the latter pays his superior officer such deference as is due his exalted station. When Aleck says, " Push off," push off it is ; when he says, " Make fast," fast it is made by Anthony ; and when Anthony takes a turn and belays, it is fast bind fast find. Aleck sings, all at the proper time, with a rich bass voice, and Anthony joins in the chorus in perfect tune and with admirable discretion. On occasion Aleck whistles, keeping time by patting on his knees, while Anthony dances industriously, as in duty bound. They twain sleep, eat, work together ; they dress alike, think and speak alike, are inseparable, night and day. One might read- ily believe they had exchanged consciences — they know one another "t'rough and t'rough," as they will frequently assure you ; they enjoy or suffer all things in common, and each of them, so to speak, is the deputy of the other. One day I said to Aleck : " "What makes you so quiet this morning, Aleck ? " The " stroke " shifted uneasily in his seat, smiled faintly, but said nothing. Anthony, pulling lustily at the bow-oar, ventured, in behalf of his companion : "He loss his ole mudder ! " and no more was said, either good or bad, at that time. That evening, finding Aleck, for a wonder, alone on deck, I asked him, gently : " When did your mother die, Aleck ? " " She didn' die," he answered, softly ; " she was drown', massa." " Long ago ? " THE CONCLUSION OF THE WHOLE MATTER. 295 " Few years aback, sir." Then, after a long pause, during which he leaned over the taffrail, gazing out to sea, Aleck continued : " Dat ole mudder was a heabenly woman, massa ! " While I was waiting an opportunity to follow up my inquiries, Anthony appeared from below, saying, as he joined us : " Why don' you come f o' yo' grub, Aleck ? " " I was t'inkin'," replied the other ; " I go now," and, turning to depart, he inquired lightly, " Yo' lef ' any, Ant'ny ? " " Fo' sure I has, Aleck, an' what's mo', yo' know no fellow take yo' share an' me 'roun', old maan. You know dat, Aleck, don' yo' ? " " I know dat, Ant'ny, t'rough an' t'rough, else I wouldn' 'gage yo'." "Ef I s'posed yo' don' know dat, Aleck, jes' so, I wouldn' ship wid yo', would I ? " " Not as my fren', Ant'ny." And Aleck went below to get his share of the grub. Anthony, as I ha^e said, was not ordinarily free of speech — in- deed, he was a man of very few words ; but when Aleck happened to be the subject of conversation he seemed to become inspired to say his say in an impressive, epigrammatic fashion, therefore he replied promptly to my questions : "Anthony, how was Aleck's mother drowned? When was it? Where was she ? " " In Aleck's boat, massa, ober yaander — crassin' de narr's 'tween Neevis an' de p'int o' St. Kitt's. Poor maan, dat what he considerin' when yo' ast him why he so quiet dis maarnin'? Seen Aleck dat way befo', sir. He was good to dat ole mudder. Yo' ast him, he tell yo' — he tol' me many's da time — ' My mudder heabenly woman, Ant'ny.' Aleck comin' from Neevis, sir, bringin' his ole mudder — squall struck his boat an' capsize her. His mudder so ole she 'most dead already befo' dat, an' de col' waater stun her — she sink right dere. Aleck swin, sir — yo' eber see dat maan swin, massa ? He swin jus' so long's any other maan waalk, an' wid his clo'es aan ; dat aall same to him, sir. He lef his boat— de win' carry it away, he neber seen dat 296 DOWN THE ISLANDS. p'rogue sence, no mo' — Aleck lef his boat and fish-nets an' aall, ev'ry- t'ing, an' take his mudder in liis arms an' swin wid her, so easy : ' Jes' like,' he say, ' Ant'ny,' ses he — ' jes' like dat ole wench take me in her arms and waalk wid me when I was smaall chile.' So Aleck tol' me, hundred times, sir. De sea was powerful an' free, an' de waves splash ober his mudder's face. Aleck not able to hoi' her head high-d- enough out de waater. He tell me he try very hard. Yo' see, Aleck, he de stronges' maan in St. Kitt's, but he can't hoi' his mudder's head so high an' swin at de same time. He tell her not be 'feerd, an' she promise, an' lie still an' quiet, wid Aleck taalkin' cheer words aall de time. Dat was a mighty day in de sea ; Aleck tell me he never see de waves rollin' like dat day, and when he look fo' de sho' he can't only see de highes' hills. ' Ant'ny,' Aleck say to me when he tell me 'bout dat time, ' Ant'ny, dem waves was de wildes' I eber seen, an' de sho' look too far to get dere.' But he say he kep' swinnin' an' strug- glin' till mos' all de life went outer his mouf. Birmby he so tired he can't sceercly float, but he kep' sayin' — ' Ef I don' get dere, de ole mudder will be drown',' an' she lie so still in his arms he don' mind her — but de sea was powerful and wicked. Birmby his feet teched, an' he waalked asho', jes' if he been drunk, staggerin' and faallin', an' drop his mudder on de san' an' faall down side of her ; den he say he aaful sick, de swinnin' an' de saalt waater he swaller make him so. Soon he craal where his mudder was, an', marster, de old wench was dead — dead, massa ! and Aleck didn't know it, for de po', feeble woman die in his arms befo' he reach de Ian'. Den Aleck say he cried, sir. He cry now when he tell about it." After a pause of several minutes, Anthony continued : " Dat's one reason why I like to 'gage wid Aleck — he done dat good deed, an' he must be an hones' maan. Dat's what I t'ink fo' sert'n true." At the end of this recital Anthony became silent, remaining mo- tionless, looking seaward, until I could find voice to ask him : " How far did Aleck have to swim, Anthony ? " THE CONCLUSION OF THE WHOLE MATTER. 297 " Aleck say a mile and a half, sir. Some people see him from de sho', but dey had no boat to help him when dey saw his boat was loss ; dey say it's more dan two miles — but Aleck, he don' make no fuss about dat, he jes' say : ' It was far'd enough dat day, Ant'ny. Tank God, it is'n' too far to bring dat po' old corpse asho' ; dat dead mudder was all I had, boy,' he ses, ' an' I glad I didn' lose dat.' Dat what Aleck say, sir." When Aleck came on deck again, chewing the last bite of his sup- per, there was something very touching in Anthony's manner as he greeted his chum, something almost tender in the inquiry : " Did yo' get yo' share, Aleck ? " And in Aleck's reply : " Sure 'nough, I did ; dey don' forget dere's two of us, do dey, Ant'ny ? " The Barracouta was to sail from Basseterre early in the forenoon, and run up the coast of the island, to remain the rest of the day at Sandy Point taking sugar ; thence, when her cargo was completed, she was to take her departure for New York. A number of her passen- gers decided to drive to Sandy Point, and rejoin the ship at that port. Accordingly, we set out on our trip about noon, taking the high-road that leaves Basseterre from its northern limits and follows the coast- line all along the leeward side of St. Christopher. About a mile on our journey we came to a little cemetery, within the enclosing wall of which, close by the way-side, there stands an obelisk — a monolith — ten or twelve feet in height, lately erected in memory of two hundred and thirty-three citizens of Basseterre who lost their lives during a fearful hurricane which visited the island in 1880. This cyclone crossed St. Kitt's from the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean Sea, bearing with it a water-spout which burst upon the summit of Monkey Hill, a sharp-crested, saddle-back mountain, eight hundred feet high, which stands about half a mile inland of the town. The volume of water discharged by this cloud-burst was almost incredible ; it tore the trees from the hill-top and sides, wrenching 298 DOWN THE ISLANDS. them out of the earth as if they had been so many weeds ; it washed down an amount of gravel and soil, rocks and bowlders, the measure of which can only be approximately guessed when one is told that the public square in the midst of Basseterre was buried from three to six feet deep under rubbish and detritus and the ruins of houses swept along by the resistless torrent. No one who has not seen the effect of a West Indian hurricane under like conditions can imagine, much less describe, the horror of such a visitation. I shall make no attempt to depict the terrible results of that night in 1880, for the storm burst in all its fury about midnight. Who can imagine the madness of the people, the awful wreck and utter ruin worked in a few minutes ? The inhabitants who lost their lives were washed out to sea ; in many cases their bodies were mangled beyond all recognition. Aleck happened to be at home when the catastrophe occurred, and that brave-hearted man, of whose courage there can be no manner of doubt, in reply to my inquiry as to his experience at the time, with characteristic direct- ness and simplicity, said : "Don' remember anything, massa, 'bout it, 'cept it jes' happen. Didn't seem any use praying, an' I'd been glaad if I'd been dead; peared 's if the people what died soones' was de bes' off." Midway between Basseterre and Sandy Point we passed through the village of Old Road — made quite a royal progress, in fact, being greeted by the respectful salutations of its darky populace, or such of it as was not then — it being the hour of noonday leisure — at work in the cane-pieces. Still farther along the highway we came in sight of Brimstone Hill — a great crag that stands apart from, and in front of, the main range of the Connarhee Hills, commanding a wide view of the coast toward the north and south. Its irregular summits are crowned with massive fortifications, greater in extent than the battle- ments of Edinburgh Castle. Worn and weather-beaten are the ram- parts and curtain-walls ; except in the strongest glare of sunlight, one can scarcely distinguish whether they are the work of man or were raised by volcanic forces, their vast proportions resembling the es- THE CONCLUSION OF THE WHOLE MATTER. 299 carpment of a huge natural rock, all blackened and scorched by the smoke of subterranean fires. This stronghold was built in the days long ago, when the British and French possessed the island in common. We came into view of Sandy Point early in the afternoon, and there lying at anchor before that little seaport was the Barracouta, receiving the last of her cargo of sugar. Nowhere in the West In- dies is the business of loading and unloading freight managed with greater promptness and despatch, and at no place in all our voyaging were we received with greater cordiality and good-nature than were shown to us by the gentleman who had charge, for aught I could see, of all the commerce of the neighborhood. lie lost no time in placing his office and his good offices at our disposal, and also introduced us to the owner of one of the largest estates in the northern part of St. Kitt's. This gentleman, in turn, invited us to drive with him in his family carriage, which lie had brought into town that morning early, giving orders that it be held in readiness for us whenever we saw fit to make use of it. And now, reader, let me interest you for a moment in the descrip- tion of a coach with a very remarkable history — an English landau, built in the style prevailing a quarter of a century ago, spacious in its accommodations, albeit somewhat cumbersome in appointments and of clumsy design. It would have been more than a load for any but its well-fed, slow-going team of English cobs. The conventional Lon- don alderman, his wife, and family might have disposed themselves within it in comfort, finding abundant room laterally, with no danger of being overcrowded or jounced against each other. Properly em- blazoned, gilded, draped, and decorated, it would have served the Lord Mayor on state occasions. Altogether, it was a fine coach, it was im- pressive — I may say, majestic. Its doors were wide ; Mr. Alderman would have had no difficulty in entering in thereat, notwithstanding all the complications which arise from attending a Lord Mayor's din- ner, and Mrs. Alderman could readily have been squeezed into it, 300 DOWN THE ISLANDS. even bad she been arrayed in a full panoply of hoops, such as ladies wore in the. days when the coach was new. When the Alabama was scouring the seas, this coach was built in England for the still unterri- fied President of the Southern Confederacy. I can well imagine it to have cost in the neighborhood of five or six hundred thousand dol- lars in Confederate paper-money ; that is to say, about seven or eight hundred pounds sterling, to put the figures in more concrete and tangible form. When it received its last coat of varnish, and was ready for service, it started out on its travels, having for its objec- tive point the coach-house of Mr. Jefferson Davis, then installed in office at Richmond, Va. It was attempted, so the story of its ad- ventures goes, to run it through the blockade at Charleston, or some other port then under the supervision of Uncle Sam's blockading squad- ron. Failing to enter its desired haven, the vehicle was carried to Nassau in the Bahama Islands, whence an attempt was made to set it ashore in some harbor not named to me by the chronicler of its wanderings ; again headed off, it finally landed at St. Thomas, where it remained until the end of the war between the States. At St. Thomas it was sold at auction for the account and at the risk of whom it might concern, and in this way directly or, in time, indirectly came into the possession of the gentleman to whose courtesy we owed the pleasure of a ride in it, what time I visited St. Kitt's, twenty years and more after the close of the late unpleasantness in North America. We proceeded in this historic conveyance for several miles along the road, gradually trending toward the northeast and east, until we came to the most northerly point of St. Kitt's. The outline of the shore at that place is almost semicircular, extending out to sea in a regular, graceful curve, to the edge of a wall of rocks which in some places rises a hundred feet or more above tide-level. Seven or eight miles away, St. Eustatius stands in the foreground of the mighty picture, appearing to the west of Statia ; beyond the latter Saba rises to view, while St. Bartholomew is to be plainly seen, as is also St. Martin. THE CONCLUSION OF THE WHOLE MATTER. 301 All of these islands I have fully described in the opening chapters of this book, and therefore have no need to say more of them here and now, except to mention that, of all views looking seaward, the panorama spread out before us as we stood on the northern verge of St. Christo- pher is grander and more inspiring than any other of like kind we beheld in the Caribbees. It is a view no one visiting St. Christopher should fail to behold, at no matter what trouble or expenditure of time. In the enjoyment of it the minutes sped away unnoticed ; at length, however, we were compelled to hasten back to Sandy Point, whence, after bidding a farewell to our kind entertainers and friends, we set sail in the Barracouta on our homeward voyage to Kew York. So we left the islands of unending summer and perpetual har- vest, where fruits ripen and flowers are blooming every month of the twelve — the islands of palms and spice-trees, of orange-groves and cane-piece — and, all in good time, in health and happiness, came to the country of early winter and belated spring, of pine and fir-tree, of frost and snow-drift, storm and bitter cold — for so we left it when we sailed away in early April ; but, coming home again, one fair May-day, we knew it for the land of snow-drop and of dog-wood, of bobolink and oriole. And now, reader, before I take my leave of you, wishing you all the good that you yourself can wish, bear me witness that I dedicate this first book of mine to the dear lady who, with loving patience, taught me my alphabet, and showed me how to hold a pen — My Mothee. Dr. FIELD'S TRAVELS By Rev. HENRY M. FIELD, D.D. From the Lakes of Killarney to the Golden Horn, . . $2.00 From Egypt to Japan, . 2.00 On the Desert, . . . 2.00 Among the Holy Hills. With a map, . . . $1.50 The Greek Islands, and Turkey after the War. With illustra- tions and maps, . . . 1.50 The Set, Five Volumes, CrownSvo, in a Box, $9.00. I.-FROM THE LAKES OF KILLARNEY TO THE. GOLDEN HORN. From THE LONDON TIMES. " As we all know, it is not necessary for a man to discover a new country in order to write an interesting book of travel. He may traverse the most beaten track in Europe, and yet if he can describe what he has seen with freshness and originality, he will succeed in engaging our atten- tion. We do not go far with Dr. Field before finding out that he is a traveller of this sort." II.-FROM EGYPT TO JAPAN. From Prof. ROSWELL D. HITCHCOCK, D.D., LL.D. "In this second volume, Dr. Field, I think, has surpassed himself in the first, and this is saying a good deal. In both volumes the editorial instinct and habit are conspicuous. Dr. Prime has said that an editor should have six senses, the sixth being, a "sense of the interesting: " Dr. Field has this to perfection. ..." * III.-ON THE DESERT. WITS A. BRIEF REVIEW OF RECENT EVENTS IN EGYPT. An account of ajourney in the track of the Israelites along the Red Sea, among the peaks of Sinai, through the Desert of the Wandering, and up to the Promised Land. From the NEW YORK HERALD. ' ' There is not an uninteresting chapter in the book. It is entertaining throughout. It deDicts men and countries in a picturesque and thoughtful manner, and is likely to meet with as much favor as the author's former capital books of travel." IV.-AMONG THE HOLY HILLS. A description of the sacred localities of Palestine by a veteran traveller. The interest of the Holy Land above all others, is that here was spent the most wonderful life that ever was lived on the earth ; and the purpose of the journey, to which this book is indebted, is to trace that life from its beginning among its native hills and to follow closely in the footsteps of our Lord not merely m the streets of Jerusalem, but through Samaria and Galilee, along the lake shore and on tne mountain side, V.-THE GREEK ISLANDS AND TURKEY AFTER THE WAR. From a Letter from Dr. HOWARD CROSBY. "It fully sustains the high reputation which the author has won from his preceding books of ZJt\ r . bel > Ve th ^- the Ver ^ 1 of , P° sterit y will put Dr. Field's name first in the list of Ameri- can travel writers. His graceful style, his thorough mastery of language, his graphic picturing i^truftiv? r 1adi n ng.^ ^ referenCes t0 his sound conclusions, make 'mosf fa^cina^ngaTd " It is the best of all works on the Island of Greece, and on Turkey and Asia Minor." "If there were any best among Dr. Field's works of travel, weTh/ulTf^lh^X'tas'this." — The Critic. JOHN BULL AND HIS ISLAND. One Volume, 12mo, paper, 50 cents ; cloth, $1 .00. This -witty and incisive book on England, by an anonymous French author, is the sensa* Hon of the moment in Paris, London, and America. The British press and public have been compelled to laugh over the admirable cleverness of the study, even while they protested ; and the fairer critics have recognized the striking truth and merit of the more serious criti- cism which forms no insignificant t>art of it. THE RUSSIANS AT THE GATES OF HERAT. By CHARLES MARVIN, Principal authority of the English press on the Central Asia Dispute. Illustrated with portraits and maps. Paper, 50 cts.; cloth, $1 .00. Army Life in Russia. B> F. V. GREENE, Lieutenant of Engineers, United States Army. Late Millitary Attache to the U. S. Legation in St. Petersburg, and author of "The Russian Army and its Campaigns in Turkey in 1877-78." One Volume, 12m o. Xew Edition, $1.25. "The sketches are excellently well done, graphic, evidently not exaggerated, and very read- able. It is a book that will be read with pleasure, and one that contains a great deal of infor- mation." — Hartford Courant. "This volume is in every way an admirable picture of army life in Russia. It is clear, con- cise, discriminating, and often very picturesque. The author, besides possessing an excellent style, is extremely modest, and there are very few books of travel in which the first person is kept so absolutely in the background." — International Review. THE SNAKE DANCE OF THE MOQUI S OF AR IZONA. Being a Narrative of a Journey from Santa Fe, New Mexico, to the villages of the Moqui Indians of Arizona, with a Description of the Manners and Customs of this Peculiar People. By John G. Bourke, Captain Third U. S. Cavalry. One volume, crown 8vo, with more than thirty plates, many of them beautifully colored. $5.00. While Captain Bourke's narrative presents an extraordinarily interesting narration of adven- ture, its importance should be emphasized as an original contribution to the literature bearing upon the manners, customs, and religions of a peculiar and historic people, who have lived in Mexico and Arizona since the Spaniards first entered this portion of the country, in the middle of the sixteenth century. Captain Bourke was the first white man to witness many of the curious and picturesque customs of the Moqui Indians, particularly the famous Snake Dance. "The work forms a valuable contribution to the study of native American ethnology, while its vivid descriptions of weird scenes, stirring incidents of travel, and characteristic anecdotes, culminating with the accounts of the tablet and snake dances, generally written in a plain un- affected style, make it very agreeable reading." — The London Academy. BY THE SAME AUTHOR. AN APACHE CAMPAIGN IN THE SIERRA MADRE. One Volume, 12mo, paper, 50 cents; cloth, $1.00, " 1 think Mr. QualtrougVs Book very valuable to every young officer , to yachtsmen, and to all who follow the sea. The material is carefully prepared, well arranged, and very useful to all interested in maritime matters.'''' — C. R. P. Rodgers, Rear-Admiral. THE SAILOR'S HANDY BOOK YACHTSMAN'S MANUAL. By E. F. QUALTROUGH, Master U. S. Navy. With Colored Plates, and many Illustrations. I vol., square 16mo, 620 pages. Blue roan, red edges. PRICE, *3.50. The American naval service and merchant marine, and that very large class of Americans who are interested in yachting or in some form of seamanship, have hitherto lacked one con- venience — almost a necessity, indeed. There has been no one book which, not aiming to replace abstruse scientific and theoretical treatises on seamanship, should bring together in a convenient form the really practical knowledge necessary for a sailor ; which should give him, immediately at hand, a compendium of those thousand details prompt and thorough acquaintance with which makes the difference between the good and the incompetent seaman. This want Lieutenant Qualtrough, of the United States Navy, has now filled by a book which is the most exhaustive and practical that could be planned. BY THE SAME AUTHOR. THE BOAT SAILER'S MANUAL A complete treatise on the management of sailing boats of all kinds, and under all conditions of weather, containing also concise descriptions of the various rigs in general use, at home and abroad, directions for handling, sailing canoes, and " The Rudiments of Cutter and Sloop Sailing." 1 vol.. square 16mo. Blue roan, orange edges. With numerous plates and illustrations . Price, $2.00, net. THE AMERICA'S CUP. HOW IT WAS WON BY THE YACHT AMERICA IN 1851, AND HOW IT HAS BEEN SINCE DEFENDED. By Capt. ROLAND F. COFFIN, Author of "Sailors' Yarns," "Archibald the Cat," "How Old Wiggins Wore Ship," Etc., Etc. 1 vol., 12mo. With Illustrations. Paper, 50c. Cloth, $1.00. A history of all the races since 1851 for the possession of the trophy, the emblem of the yachting supremacy of the world — commonly called the Queen's Cup — with an account of the English yachts Genesta and Galatea, entered for the races to be sailed in September, 1885, for the possession of this most coveted prize. Also descriptions of the yachts Priscilla and Puritan. There are twelve full-page illustrations from drawings by Frederick S. Cozzens, an engraving of the cup, and a reproduction of John Leech's cartoon published in London Punch after the remarkable victory of the America in 1851. THE MOST ATTRACTIVE WORK OK YACHTING EVEIt ISSUED. AMERICAN YACHTS. Plates by FREDERICK S. COZZENS. Text by J. D. J. KELLEY, Lieut. U. S. N. LIST OF SUBJECTS: I. The Early Racers. II. Sandy Hook to the Needles — 1866. III. An Old Rendezvous — New London. IV. Off Brenton's Reef. V. Rounding the Light Ship. VI. The Finish off Staten Island— 1870. VII. In the Narrows— A Black Squall. VIII. Running Out— New Bedford. IX. Off Soundings — A Smoky Sou'wester. X. Robbins Reef — Sunset. XI. Around the Cape — Marblehead. XII. Over the Cape May Course — 1873. XIII. By Sou'west Spit. XIV. Moonlight on Nantucket Shoals. XV. Lying-To off George's Banks. XVI. A Stern Chase and a Long One — 1876. XVII. A Breezy Day Outside. XVIII. Crossing the Line — New York Bay. XIX. Minot's Ledge Light. XX. For the America's Cup— 1881 — The Start. XXI. A Misty Morning— Drifting. XXII. In Down East Waters— Boston Bay. XXIII. Before the Wind— Newport, 1883. XXIV. Under the Palisades. XXV. Ice Boating on the Hudson. XXVI. Signal Chart. *** Sold exclusively by subscription. Edition limited. No order taken except for tht complete work. [From the CINCINNATI COMMERCIAL.] " Scribner's ' Campaigns of the Civil War'' are probably the ablest and most striding account of the late war that has yet been written. Choosing the flower of military authors, the publishers have assigned to each the task of writing the history of the events he knew most about. Thus, both accuracy and a life-like freshness have been secured.'' The Campaigns of the Civil War. 13 VOLUMES, CLOTH. WITH MAPS AND PLANS. Price, per volume, $1.00; per Set, $12. 50. A series of volumes, contributed by a number of leading actors in and students of the great conflict of i86i-'65, with a view to bringing together, for the first time, a full and authoritative military history of the suppression of the Rebellion. The volumes are duodecimos of about 250 pages each, illustrated by maps and plans prepared under the direction of the authors. I. — The Outbreak of Rebellion. By John G. Nicolay. A preliminary volume, describing the opening of the war, and covering the period from the election of Lincoln to the end of the first battle of Bull Run. II.— Froni Fort Henry to Corinth. By the Hon. M. F. Force. The narrative of events in the West from the Summer of 1861 to May, 1862 ; covering the capture of Forts Henry and Donelson, the Battle of Shiloh, etc., etc. III. — The Peninsula. By Alexander S. Webb, LL.D. The history of McClellan's Peninsula Campaign, from his appointment to the end of the Seven Days' Fight. IV The Army under Pope. By John C. Roies. From the appointment of Pope to command the Army of Virginia, to the appointment of McClellan to the general command in September, 1862. V. — The Antietam and Fredericksburg. By Gen. Francis Winthrop Palfrey. From the appointment of McClellan to the general command, September, 1862, to the end of the battle of Fredericksburg. VI. — Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. By Gen. Abner Doubleday. From the appointment of Hooker, through the campaigns of Chancellorsville and Gettys- burg, to the retreat of Lee after the latter battle. ATI.— The Army of the Cumberland. By Gen. Henry M. Cist. From the formation of the Army of the Cumberland to the end of the battles at Chatta- nooga, November, 1863. VIII. — The Mississippi. By Lieut. Francis Vinton Greene. An account of the operations— especially at Vicksburgand Port Hudson — by which the Miss- issippi River and its shores were restored to the control of the Union. IX.— Atlanta. By the Hon. Jacob D. Cox. From Sherman's first advance into Georgia in May, 1S64, to the beginning of the March to the Sea. X. — The March to the Sea — Franklin and Nashville. By the Hon. Jacob D. Cox. From the beginning of the March to the Sea to the surrender of Johnston— including also the operations of Thomas in Tennessee. XI.— The Shenandoah Valley in 1864. The Campaign of Sheridan. By George E. Pond. XII.— The Virginia Campaign of '64 and '65. The Army of the Potomac and the Army of the James. By Andrew A. Humphreys. XIII Statistical Record of the Armies of the United States. By Frederick Phisterer. This Record includes the figures of the quotas and men actually furnished by all States; a list of all organizations mustered into the U. S. service ; the strength of the army at various periods ; its organization in armies, corps, etc.; the divisions of the country into departments, etc.; chronological list of all engagements, with the losses in each ; tabulated statements of all losses in the war, with the causes of death, etc.; full lists of all general officers, and an immense amount of other valuable statistical matter relating to the War. THE NAVY IN THE CIVIL WAR. In three volumes, 12mo, uniform with " The Campaigns of the Civil War. With Maps and Plans. Price, per volume, . . . $1.00. I. — The Blockade and the Cruisers. By Professor J. Russell Soley, U. S. Navy. II. — The Atlantic Coast. — By Rear-Admiral Daniel Ammen, U. S. Navy. III. — The Gulf and Inland Waters. By Commander A. T. Mahan, U. S. Navy. SCRIBNER'S GUIDE-BOOKS. The Index Guide New Edition. 1887. Leather Binding. TO TRAVEL AND ART-STUDY IN EUROPE. By LAFAYETTE C. LOOMIS, A.M. With Plans and Catalogues of the Chief Art Galleries, Maps, Tables of Routes, and 160 Illustrations. One Volume, 1 6mo, 600 Pages, $3.50. In condensing into one volume what Baedeker could hardly comprise in nine, and Murray in fifteen. Professor Loomis has accomplished a herculean labor, which his countrymen should not be slow to recognize. With characteristic good sense, he has given only brief reference to routes, hotels, and cost, devoting his space to history, mythology, and art. He has met the work with a discrimination and intelligence which can hardly be too highly praised. "Only words of praise can be spoken of this work." "The best and completest." " By all odds the best Guide I have ever seen." "And something better than a guide-book." "Almost a triumph of genius in bookmaking." PART I. — Scenery, Art, History, Legends, and Myths, including descriptions of places, buildings, monuments, works of art, and the historical facts, legends, and myths connected with these. Part II. — Plans and Catalogues of the Art Galleries of Europe. Part III. — Maps, Tables, and Directions for all leading Routes of Travel. THE MEXICAN GUIDE. NEW EDITION FOM 1887. By THOMAS A. JANVIER. One Volume, 16mo. With large folded maps. Leather, net, $2.50. The Mexican Guide has received the official endorsement of the Mexican Government (see extract from the Diario Oficial below), the warm commendation of the newspaper press of Mexico and the United States, the substantial approval of the travelling public. It is the only- practical, accurate guide-book to Mexico. " The Mexican Guide, written in English and destined for the use of travellers who visit Mexico, is a book that merits especial commendation because of the fullness and exactness of the facts which it presents, and the judgment and care shown in its preparation. The book is acccompanied by a map of the City of Mexico, and one of its environs, both exact and useful. We recommend the purchase of this guide." AN IDYL OF THE SUMMER ISLANDS. BERMUDA. By JULIA C. R. DORR. With Map. One Volume, 12mo, $1.25, " A delicious book in its bright descriptions of a sunny land, where winter snow and frost are never known. There is very little of hard, dry description in the volume, but there is much of accurate information deftly conveyed in a bright, off-hand manner, and the whole work is so permeated by a sympathetic feeling and comprehension for that which is most fascinating in Ber- mudian life, that we get a vivid impression of naturalness from the reading of its pages." — Boston Saturday Evening Gazette. A NOTEWORTHY BOOK. Our Arctic Province. ALASKA AND THE SEAL ISLANDS. By HENRY W. ELLIOTT. Illustrated by Drawings from Nature, by the Author, and Maps. One Volume, 8vo, $4.50. Mr. Elliott has for many years been connected with the Smithsonian Institution at Washington. A scientist and a naturalist, his book on Alaska, besides being of the utmost interest to the general reader, is of great value and importance as a contribution to scientific research. The author has spent six or seven years in studying Alaska and its people, travelling from the most southerly point of the province to the most northerly, along the coast, and among the islands extending 300 miles to the west. His treatment of the seal interests is particularly full, and of especial moment in view of the fact that the contract between the United States and the Alaska Seal Company, which supplies the world with seal- skins, will soon lapse, and the subject is certain to come up prominently in Government affairs. The natives and the Alaskan life Mr. Elliott writes of as one who knows his subject intimately. The illustrations, of which there are about a hundred, are engraved from the author's original draw- ings and water-color paintings. There has scarcely been a book published on Arctic travel so vivid Philadelphia and picturesque in treatment, and so clear and definite in the infor- Record. mation which it furnishes, as this work by Mr. Elliott. . . . It is an effective and really wonderful record of travel and exploration. Other books may still be written about Alaska, but it is not easy to N. Y. jfournal understand how any of them can exceed this one in interest, or in of Commerce. any way shake its authority as an accurate guide to "Our Arctic Province." A book that is a work ; not a sportsman's pastime, but a scientist's Boston Literary treatise ; not a history, not a mere description, not a narrative of ad- World. venture ; but a carefully studied, thoroughly assimilated, intelligently written, attractively illustrated exposition of Alaska. Nothing so complete and satisfactory has ever before appeared in Chicago print in this country as this absorbingly interesting and minutely Herald. accurate account of the great Alaskan Seal Islands, and the book must now be regarded as the standard authority on " Our Arctic Province." JVew York ^" ew D0 °^ s on Alaska contain so much that has real value and posi- Times t ' ve mterest as tn ' s - It is an accumulation of very vital facts about that country set forth in an exact and yet attractive manner. A standard, comprehensive work, whose scientific accuracy is be- Boston yond question, and whose graphic descriptions and vital interpreta- Traveller tions of the resources of Alaska hold the reader with something of the charm of a romance. . . . The book is certainly one of the most valuable contributions to contemporary literature. Duo Years in n>e Judglg. The Experiences of a Hunter and Naturalist in India, Ceylon, the Malay Peninsula, and Borneo. By WILLIAM T. HORNADAY, Chief Taxidermist U. S. National Museum. One vol,, 8vo, pp. xxii. 512, two folding maps and 51 illustrations. Price, THE EXPEDITION AND ITS OBJECT. THE author relates the experiences of a hunter and naturalist in India, Ceylon, the Malay Peninsula, and Borneo ; and certainly no richer hunting-ground could be found anywhere else in the world. Mr. Hornaday is chief taxidermist in the United States National Museum. He was formerly connected with Professor Ward's Natural Science Museum of Rochester, N. Y., and his expedition to the East was in the interests of that establishment. While his book is in some respects like such works as those which Du Chaillu and Sir Samuel W. Baker have written to delight and interest a multitude of readers, he has imparted a vast amount of information, a large part of which is new and of the great- est moment to the naturalist. Mr. Hornaday started from New York in 1876. From England he went finally south to India, arriving at Bombay ; he went across country to Benares; from here he made an expedition to the north to Cawnpore and Agra. From Benares he worked his way to Calcutta, journeyed down the Bay of Bengal to Madras ; southward again, he made a complete cir- cuit of Ceylon, than to the Malay Peninsula, and finally to Borneo, where his adventures with the orangutan were met, ending his two years of fruit- ful and entirely successful search. The illustrations are many, and most of them are taken from Mr. Hornaday's own sketches. Though it may seem to be stating much, it certainly may be truly said that a more inter- esting book of travel and adventures was never published. "Decidedly the most interesting and instructive book of travel and adventure in the East Indies it has ever been our good fortune to read." — Baltimore News. " An entertaining volume. . . . The author has proved his ability to write a good book of travel." — Morning Post (London). " To the naturalist, Mr. Hornaday's book cannot but be as deeply interesting as to the sportsman and traveller. ... It deserved to be distinguished from among the mass of books of sporting adventure." — Melbourne Argus. " One of the most entertaining and instructive books of its kind that has been published." — San Francisco Post. AN AMERICAN FOUR-IN-HAND IN BRITAIN. By ANDREW CARNEGIE. 1 Vol., small quarto, $3.00. Cheap Edition, yellow paper cover, 25 cents. The book gives a lively account of the author's famous drive with a party of friends on a coach through England and Scotland. The trip was originally suggested by Mr. Black's novel, "The Strange Adventures of a Phaeton," and extended from Brighton to Inverness, a distance of more than eight hundred miles, which was accomplished in about seven weeks. Mr. Carnegie is an enter- taining and agreeable writer, and this record of his novel journey makes a most delightful and read- able book. Uniform with the small quarto edition of AN AMERICAN FOUR-IN-HAND IN BRITAIN. ROUND THE WORLD By ANDREW CARNEGIE. 1 Vol., small quarto, S>2.50. Mr. Carnegie's J'our-in-lland in Britain was one of the brightest and most popular books of the season. His new volume, as it has a wider scope, has also a more comprehensive interest and value. Buoyant, keen, joyous, and practical, the author sets down without reserve or affectation, just the impressions that made themselves most vividly felt at the moment, and the rapid flow of the narrative fairly enchains the reader's attention. Sailing from San Francisco to Japan on his course round the world, the largei part of Mr. Car- negie's book is taken up with the description of Eastern lands, and it forms a real addition to the literature of travel. TRIUMPHANT DEMOCRACY; OR, FIFTY YEARS' MARCH OF THE REPUBLIC. By ANDREW CARNEGIE. 1 Vol., 8vo. Price, .*2.00. This work will open the eyes of the masses to the wonderful advancement — physical, moral, po- litical, and intellectual — of the United States during the last half century, an advancement either little understood or willfully misrepresented in Europe. Though various causes have contributed to this unexampled rate of progress, the principal one, in Mr. Carnegie's opinion, is the fundamental fact of the equality of the citizen in the Republic. CHRONICLE OF THE COACH CHARING CROSS TO ILFRACOMBE. By JOHN DENISON CHAMPLIN, Jr. Illustrated by Edward E. Cliicliester. 1 vol., 12mo. New Edition, $1.35. "The book takes us into the old and out-of-the-way places of which we have heard less, and in which we are more interested because of their old-time and eventful histories, their quaint buildings, customs, and people, their charming scenery and their poetic legends. The company is merry, wise, and observant ; harmless and witty jest and repartee abound, and all these find in Mr. Champlin a lively and intelligent chronicler." — Chicago Interior. " The Prince of Story-Tellers" — London Times. THE WORKS OF JULES VERNE. THE COMPLETE AND AUTHORIZED EDITIONS. The following works of M. JULES VERNE are published by Messrs. Charles Scribner's Sons, by arrangement with Messrs. Sampson Low & Co., of London, in accordance with the right ceded to them by MM. Hetzel & Co., the publishers of M. Verne's works in the original French edition. These volumes contain all the illustrations of the French edition, and are the only complete and authorized books of M. Jules Verne published in this country. In a New and Uniform Edition. 9 vols., Svo. With over 750 full-page Illustrations. Price, per set in a box, $17.50. Michael Strogoff ; or, the Courier of A Journey to the Center of the the Czar $2.00 A Floating City and the Blockade Runners 2-00 Hf.ctor Servadac 200 Dick Sands 2.00 Earth $2.00 From the Earth to the Moon. . . 2.00 The Steam House. 2 vols, in one. 2.00 The Giant Raft. 2 vols, in one. . 2.00 The Mysterious Island. 3 vols, in one. 2.50 JULES VERNE'S GREA TEST WORK. THE EXPLORATION OF THE WORLD. Three volumes, Svo, extra cloth, with 100 full-page engravings in each. Price, per volume, .... ....... $2.50 The work includes three divisions, each in one volume complete in itself. I. Famous Travels and Travellers. II. The Great Navigators. III. The Explorers of the Nineteenth Century. Each volume in the series is very fully illustrated with full-page engravings by French artists of note ; and the volume of " FAMOUS TRAVELS " is made still more interesting by many fac-similes from the original prints in old voyages, atlases, etc. " Even if truth were not stranger than fiction, to the healthful mind it ought to be far more fascinating. Such works as this are not only entertaining and informing, but their whole atmos- phere is bracing. They are as much better than sentimental heart histories or imaginary per- sonal experiences as a day in the open air is better than a day in a close and crowded apartment." —N. Y. Observer. BAYARD TAYLOR'S LIBRARY OF TRAVEL. Six Volumes, 12mo. Each with many Illustrations. SOLD SEPARATELY. PER VOLUME, $1.25. A NEW EDITION, IN ATTRACTIVE BINDING, OF THIS ENTERTAINING SERIES IS NOW ISSUED. Each volume is complete in itself, and contains, first, a brief preliminary sketch of the country to which it is devoted ; next, such an outline of previous explorations as may be necessary to explain what has been achieved by later ones ; and finally, a con- densation of one or more of the most important narratives of recent travel, accom- panied with illustrations of the scenery, architecture, and life of the races, drawn only from the most authentic sources. Japan in our Day. Central Asia. Travels in Arabia. The Lake Region of Central Africa. Travels in South Africa. Siam, the Land of the White Elephant, Complete Sets, 6 Volumes (in a box), $6.00. "The most remarkable book ever produced upon the subject of Arctic explorations."— JOURNAL OF COMMERCE, Three Years of Arctic Service. AN ACCOUNT OP THE LADY FRANKLIN BAY EXPEDITION OF 1881-84, AND THE ATTAINMENT OF THE FARTHEST NORTH. The first full and authorized account of the most important and successful Arctic Exploration ever made. MAGNIFICENTLY ILLUSTRATED WITH OVER ISO ENGRAVINGS, MAPS, AND CHARTS. By Lieutenant A. W. GREELY, U.S.A. Commanding the Expedition. This book contains Lieutenant Greely's story of an expedition which reached the most northerly point ever attained: and of an experience tliat stands alone in Arctic annals. Apart from the narrative of extraordinary suffering and final rescue which appears here, the fact that no one else ever passed the same length of time so far within the Arctic circle gives to the account the value and interest ol observations absolutely new. Lieutenant Greely's training, attainments, and above all the long study of Arctic matters and the Polar question which first led him to seek this service, all qualified him to make and to record these observations: and his book will be found to give his experience with a simple directness that makes the story the more absorbing, and with no detention of the reader over useless comment. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION. TTJiTO VOLUMES. Ij-A-IRGKE Q,TT7!lETO. PRICES AND STYLES OF BINDING. Extra Cloth, per volume, . . . $5 00 I Half Morocco, Gilt, per volume, . . $8 00 Sheep, Marbled Edges, per volume, . 6 00 I Full Morocco, Gilt, per volume, . . 10 00 SOLD ONLY BY SUBSCRIPTION THROUGH AUTHORIZED AGENTS. Delivered to any part of the United States free of charge. THE RESCUE OF GREELY. — BY- Commander W. S. SCHLEY, U. S. N., and Prof. J. RUSSELL SO LEY, U. S. N. WITH MAPS AND NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS. 1 Vol., 8vo, New Edition, $2.00. Now that the story of the relief of Greely and his party is fully told, it turns out to be one of the most stirring and absorbing chapters in Arctic annals. The two disastrous attempts made in previous years, to the disappointment of the whole people, were enough to show that the rescue was not a matter of simply sailing up to Cape Sabine and back; there was some reason besides "luck" why two expeditions ended in disaster, and why the Navy finally accomplished what had been twice tried by others. The simplicity and modesty of Captain Schley's and Mr. Soley's narrative do not hide from any reader what this reason really was. % ■■■■■■■ HBSRRn ■1 HI iiS.™,L , f congress 001581 4 773 7 MM ■1 i Hl , ' |i 'i : 'fe ■■■ ■■H Hi V:..." ESSSfira mm RnHHuHr ■ ^t"f •t HH Ml i ■ ■■ '■;:>:■' ■?.«!! ■ Bawl ■■ ■ ■■ ■!■■■ • . -ilff^JHw ■■■ I . M HI HI