0mmmMMM}my.-'..': Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from The Library of Congress http://www.archive.org/details/buckralandOOwill BUCKRA" LA/ND.... >«5 >«< R96I - / iO 'A v. y. i i BucKRA" Land TWO WEEKS IN JAMAICA. Details of a Voyage to the West Indies, Day by Day., and a Tour of Jamaica, Step by Step. WITH APPENDIX BY ALLAN ERIC. 'jr*^e*i - Member of THE/iNsijiTUTE of jIamaica. Boston, 1 896. 0%^ a ^ ■ \ .W1^ COPYRIGHT 1896, DY C. V.'« WILLIS. ^ / 5^^ PREFACE. (^OE years it has been my ambition to write a book of travel. From r childliood, foreign countries have had a great fascination for me, especially tropical lands. The narrative contained in this book is the result of my second visit to that beautiful West Indian Isle, Jamaica. The chaptei-s have been published in serial form, and now, in sending them out collectively, I can only hope that those who read them may find pleasure in so doing, as I found in writing them. More I cannot wish them, for they cannot experience the ecstacies that I enjoyed while traveling amid the scenes that I have endeavored to describe. The reader may wondei- at the title of this book— "Buckra" Landy "Buckra" is a word used very commonly by the black people of Jamai- ca, and probably it originally meant "white man."" It is generally used by the black people in addressing a wliite nian-or in greeting the trav- eler. TiiK Author. Boston Press Club, 14 Boswortli St., Fcbiuiiiy 25, 1896. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Southward Bound.— A Storm at Sea.— Ocean Waves.— The Sea of Sar- ragossa.— The Land-fall of Columbus.— In the Bahama Sea.— Along the coast of Cuba.— In the Caribbean.— Jamaica, Ho ! CHAPTER II. Passing 'the Customs' Inspectors.— Riding Through the Jamaica Vil- lage by Moonlight.— Many Strange Sounds.— Morning Vista from the Verandah. — Scenes Near a Tropical Town. CHAPTER III. We Continue Our Walk Along the Beautiful Road.— The Jamaica Child- ren.— Wonderful Trees.— The Cocoanut Palm. CHAPTER IV. An Inspection of Jamaica Railway Extension. — The Peasantry, Men and Women, Their Homes and Mode of Life. CHAPTER V. We Walk Along a Pleasant Road. — Guava and Cassava Growing. — Water Cocoanuts. — Scenes in and About Port Antonio. — The Mar- kets. CHAPTER VI. An Interesting Walk. — Mangi-ove Swamps. — Myriads of Crabs and Lizards. — Beneath Almond Trees by the Shore.— Off for St. Ann's Bay. CHAPTER VII. Over the Blue Mountains.— A Wonderful Experience.— Mountain Vil- lages.— Coffee and Pimento Plantations.— Mt. Diabolo.— On the Railway. — Arrival at Kingston. CHAPTER VIII. Around Kingston.- Curious Sights.— Commercial Importance of the City.— Port Royal.— The Soldiers of the West Indian Regiment.— Obtrusive Hack-Drivers. ' CHAPTER IX. By Carriage Over the Mountains.— The Environs of Kingston.— Con- stant Spring Sugar Plantation.— The Grand Aqueduct.— Along the AVag Water River.— Grand Mountain Scenery.— Strange Sights.— Castleton Gardens.— Noisy Bull Frogs.— Anuatto Bay. CHAPTER X. Arrival of the Coastal Steamer.— Interesting and Novel Scenes.— With a Dusky Boatload of Passengers We Embark for Along the Coast. —A Close Call.— Arrival at Port Antonio.— Tropical Rain.— A Car- riage Awaits Us.— "Home Again.*" CHAPTER XI. Golden Vale Banana Plantation.- Coolie Laborers.— Cutting Bananas. Fording the Rio Grande.— Women Washing in the River.— Guavas and Calabashes. — A Horseback Ride over a Precipitous Path. CHAPTER XII. Banana Plantations.- How the Fruit is Cultivated.— Cutting the Fruit. — Hauling to the Wharf. — Loading for Shipment. CHAPTER XIII. Leaving Port Antonio.— Visit to Port Maria.— Along the Coast.- Port Morant and Morant Bay. — Loading the Steamer. — Novel Sights. — Homeward Bound. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. View in Port Autouio, Frontispiece. Under the Palms. In a Jamaica Forest. Cocoaunt Palms. Overseer's House on a Plantation. Jamaica Laborer's Hut. Kingston Harbor Front. Screw Palm, Public Gardens, Kingston. Mill on a Sugar Plantation. A Ruined Aqueduct. A Banana Tree. Loading Bananas at Port Antonio. CHAPTER I. Southward Bound. — A Storm at Sea. — Ocean Waves. — The Sea of Sarragossa. — The Land-fall of Columbus. — In the Bahama Sea. — Along the Coast of Cuba. — In the Caribbean. — Jamaica, Ho! p; )T last, my dream of five years to revisit Jamaica, was about to be realized, and this time my wife was to share with me the wonders and the beauties of the "Isle of Springs." It was Wednesday afternoon, October 2, 1895, that we stood on board the steamship Brookline, of the Boston Fruit Company's fleet. The boilers were hoarsely blow- ing off steam, the ensign fluttered from the taftrail staft", and the United States mail flag floated from the fore. The lines were cast oft", the plank was hauled ashore, and waving adieu to friends on the wharf, we backed out of the dock, swung around, and the engines began to pulsate, and (hrob and throb, until we entered the har])or of Voit Antonio in that land of i)ahns — the Princess of the Antilles. We had scarcely ihopijed the pilot outside Boston Light when Cap- 12 'Buchra Land. tain Anderson gave orders to batten down the hatehesi and be ready for heavy weather. It seemed that before leaving Boston, cable re- ports had been received telling about a tornado which had been raising havoc in the Bahamas, finally centering over ^Tassua. and was sup- posed to be working north, following the course of the Gulf Stream. But we passed Highland Light and rounded Cape Cod without exper- iencing any uncomfortable weather. Early Thursday the weatlier was very comfortable, no rougher than might ordinarily be expected in the Gulf Stream — but later in the day, the sky was partly cloudy, the sea was very high and the Brookline rolled heavily. About noon on Friday the barometer began to fall rai)idly and the Captain decided to change his course, and pass further to the west- ward, nearer (ape Hatteras, and try to go around the approaching tornado which was folloAving the Gulf Stream north, so as to allow it to go to the eastward of us, thus avoiding a direct encounter with it. Thus we went nearly one hundred miles out of the direct course, only catching the extreme edge of the storm. In again laying the steam- er's course for the Bahamas, we necessarily lecrossed the Gulf Stream^ or nearly twice instead of once during the voyage. The stream at that point is about two hundred miles wide. During Saturday we saw some splendid examples of ocean waves, and I attempted to photograph some of them. Saturday afternoon we sighted a full rigged ship with all sails set, bound north. She dis- played her colors, evidently wishing to be reported. Sunday morning dawned cloudless ; and when we went on deck we found ourselves steaming across a "painted ocean," in the literal sense of the word. It was now very warm, and awnings had been stretched over the upper deck, and we found the very thinnest clothing the most comfortable. The breeze was soft and balmy, and the ocean a deep, crystal blue, of a hue never seen except in these southern latitudes, owing to the remarkable reflection of the sky — but more to the ex- treme depth of the water. Myriads of flying fish rose in flocks from the water and fluttered away on both sides of the ship as we steamed through the Saragossa sea, thinking of the memorable day when Col- 'Buckra Land. i }• umbus' ship first plunged her bow into this tangled ocean meadow and the sailors were ready for mutiny, fearing hidden shoals. This Sara- gossa weed has not. a:* some fancy, anything to do with the Gulf Stream. Thrust away to the south by the great ocean river, it lies in a vast eddy or central pool of the Atlantic between the Gulf Stream and the Equatorial current; and here it revolves. It is a genus by itself : it is ocean-born, and long ages have passed since it lost its habit of groAving on the rocky sea-bottom. Forever floating, it feeds among its branches whole families of crabs, cuttle-fish and mollusks which, like the plant itself, are found in no other part of the world. Before us now, due south, we follow the health-giving sunbeams of the tropics, into the tranquil waters of the South Atlantic and the Caribbean ; the flying fish skimming from sea to sea, dip their wings ever and anon and plume themselves for further flights. At 12 o'clock, Monday, we sighted Watliug"s Island, or San Salvador, the first land in the New World seen by Columbus ; we ploughed a tranquil sea, whose surface was like a beautiful mirror, stretching away on all sides of us, meeting the western, eastern and northern horizons with a sharply defined line, and melting away into the southern sky in a soft azure veil. Not a ripple disturbed the tranquil surface of the Bahama Sea, disturbed only by long, slow, lazy undulations. The sun set in a flood of glorious light, a veritable tropical sunset, Avhich called all the passengers to the steamer's rail, where they stood wrapped in admiration. As is peculiar to these southern latitudes, the dipping of the golden ball beneath the horizon was followed almost immediately by darkness, there being no twilight in the tropics ; and we sat long under the awnings on the deck, luxuriating in the soft, balmy evening air as the steamer noiselessly glided through almost the very track followed by the caravels of Columbus more than four hun- dred years ago. The moon soon rose, shedding a flood of mellow light over the calm sea. The orb of night here loses its silver, so famed in Northern song and story, and shines in these lower latitudes with a soft, golden light. Just as the sun was setting we passed close by Crooked Island, on* .y^ 13mkra Land. of the beautiful verdant Bahama Islands, covered with palms and •other tropical trees, with white walled houses glistening amid the green. From the northern end of the island, extending far out into the sea, there is a long, low coral reef, over which, even in this quiet sea, the surf broke in a long fleece of foam. Near the southern end -of Crooked Island, connected with it by a low coral reef, is Bird Rock, a tiny coral "cay," on which stands a tall lighthouse tower, whose Jjright light was soon flashing far astern. The only events of the day, so gloriously ended, was the passing of a ea. The Atlantic lay far to the north, and we entered the AVindward — or Mono — passage, up which the strong trade wind blows, with the green, lofty mountains of Hayti, the famed turbulent negro j-epublic, dimly outlined against the eastern sky. When we came on deck it was just sunrise, and the early morning l)eams falling upon the fair Island of Cuba, covered by a mantle of tropical verdure, caused it to light up with the combined shades of green, gold and purple. Wonderful light effects were produced, and 'Buck r a Laud. i^ superb coloring enveloyted the fair isle as in a veil of oriental splendor. One curious eftect noticed is the shadow of the clouds that drift over the land. They cast sharply defined shadow spots on the island, which move along like some ever-changing dark patches of vegetation. This is never seen in the North, and is caused by the vertical rays of the sun upon the clouds. We are now steaming through Spanish waters, the scene of the halt- ing of numerous steamers by the Spanish gunboats that patrol this end of the Cuban coast, on the lookout for filibustering expeditions and shipments of arras and supplies in aid of the insurgents. God speed the cause of the Cuban patriots 1 They will win their in- dependence as they deserve to do, and damnable Spanish rule (another name for oppression when applied in the Spanish sense) will soon be at an end. Nearly all day we steam along the Cuban shore, so near that we can see the trees and even the grass without the aid of a glass. The near shore of this end of Cuba has a parched, barren appearance, the red- dish soil showing through the scant vegetation, but beyond, :;mong the thickly wooded mountains, alluvial valleys are seen Avhcre flourish rich plantations of bananas and cocoanuts. Just in on the northeast side, only a few miles away, lies the city of Baracoa; and the port of Yumuri, 1)0th famed as points of banana .shipment. It is on this end of the island, on the north and south sides that most ot the l)auanas grown in Cuba are produced. As we round the end ol the island, the lofty land continues to rise out of the sea, stretching away to the Avest for more than eight hundred miles. What a colossal island, and what wealth under any other than an accursed Spanish supervision I The immediate shore consists of perpendicular shelves and tt'i races of volcanic rocks and beetling clifls, with many dark caverns extend- ing far under the shore— washed by the ceaseless beating of the sea. Toward noon, as we steam along shore, the island appears to be divided, and the mountains are separated by a low, level stretch of country. Here is the most productive sugar district in Cuba. We left the Windward passage near noon, and entered the Caribbean if 6 'Buckra Land. -sea. It was then that we realized most fully that Ave were iu the tro- pics. Little clouds, anon, would come rapidly up from the east, and it would rain warm, tepid rain, as it rains nowhere except in the i;ropics. But only for a few moments, when the sun would burst forth as brightly as ever, and tiny rainbows would appear, first on one side and then on the other. One particularly beautiful bow called all hands to the rail in an ecstacy of delight. It was close by the steamer, and no longer than the Brookline, and both ends touched the water but a few feet away. Remembering the fable-legend that a pot of gold is supposed to be buried where the end of a rainbow touches the earth, my wife made the pretty remark fchat there must be two sunken Span- ish galleons here, laden with gold doubloons. Late in the afternoon tlie mountains of Jamaica loomed up directly ahead, clothed with luxuriant verdure from foot to crest, the latter showing many sharp outlines and peaks. Viewed from any point, Jamaica, in point of scenery and verdure, is surpassed by no island in the world. Its volcanic origin gives a grandeur and sharpness to the outlines of the mountains wliich is quite unique ; terrace after terrace of mountains upon mountains, clothed with banana, palm, orange and lime trees, rent here and there by fissures caused by the floods of the tropical rains, extend from the seashore to the Blue Mountains. 'I'he moon arose out of the tropical waters, glanced across the blue <"aribbean, and shot its silver an-ow upon the Princess of the Antilles. The breeze blowing from the land brought with it a spicy, aromatic odor. Lights gleamed amid the veidure along shore and far up on the moun- tain sides, marking the habitations of the people ; and as one might imagine, amid the sensations of approaching some beautiful dream- land, we steamed iu, by the red light on Folly Point, by the coral reef, and into the beautiful harbor of Port Antonio, the Jamaica headquar- tei-s of the Boston Fruit ( o., the lights of this flourishing, busy Jamaica town, the greatest banana shipping port in the world— made so by Massachusetts and Boston enterprise and capital— glittering about us -on shore. Our voyage, so pleasant, so wonderful, was at an end, and it was not 'Buckra Land. ij without a pano; of regret that Ave heard the rattle of the chain as it spun through the liawse hole, as the anchor plunged to the bottom, and the Brookliue, her engines silent, swung around, and we waited a few moments oft' shore for the health and customs offlcers to come along- side. "^^ CHAPTER II. Passing the Customs' Inspectors.— Riding Through the Jamaica Village by Moonlight. — Many Strange Sounds. — Morn- ing Vista from the Verandah. — Scenes near a Tropical Town. Y^NEVER shall we forget that pleasant voyage, or our regret at Ay leaving the Brookline, which had been i^o homelike and pleas- ant. To the Boston Fruit (.'ouipany must be given the credit of most carefully providing for the comfort and pleasure of its passen- gers, and of surrounding them with every comfort and every neces- sary luxury. From the time one sets foot on board he is most care- fully cared for and his wants almost anticipated. The table is always attractively spread and filled with a good variety of well- prepared food. The staterooms are large, well ventilated, neat and pleasant, with luxurious berths and a couch beside. Each has running water and a patent wash bowl. The saloon is large with a high ceiling, handsomely decorated and furnished, Avith comfortable chairs and divans. The steamers are provided each with two large bath rooms — one for ladies and one for gentlemen — with hot water and cold Kea tmtery so one may enjoy bathing in sea water throughout the voyage. On the hurricane deck there is a large, pleasant smoking room, with couches, chairs and tables, and a broad stairway leads to it from the saloon. As soon as warm latitudes are reached awnings are stretched over the deck, which makes the voyage most delightful. The steamers, below 'Buckra Land. ig aud on deck, are scrupulously neat and clean. Unlike most transpor- tation companies the Boston Fruit Company does not lose all interes- in its passengers the moment they are landed at the port of destination, but during- their stay in the neighborhood of their estates they extend such fi-ee hospitality as was never equalled. But to return to the close of the voyage. As soon as the Brookline was made fast to the wharf we found that we were not to be without a cordial welcome, for my good friend E. B. Hopkins came on board with a hearty liaud,-s1iake, aud as we went down the gang-plank Mr. Joshua Baker, also of the Company, welcomed us once more to the Isle of Springs. A carnage was waiting to take us to the Titchfield House, which Avas to Ije our home while in Port Antonio. Our baggage had meanwhile been sent ashoie, and with my proverbial good nature I opened it cheerfully, not without some feeling of pride at my exten- sive outtit, which had cost me quite a number of large, white American dollars — only to have the courteous Inspector of her Majesty's Customs, Mr. Murray, after examining it, remark that I could pass, as there seemed to be '•nothing of extraordinary value." However, I forgive him, as it might have been worse. Then we drove away through the narrow, crooked, and to me fami- liar streets of Port Antonio, toward "the house." It A\ as a beautiful moonlight evening, and the soft tropical sky was thickly studded Avith stars, which shone with a brightness and splendor unknown in the north. The moon shone upon the glistening, gently swaying leaves of the palm trees, casting soft shadows upon the white houses beneath. Nocturnal insects filled the ear with strange ai'd almost countless sounds as we rolled up the hill and the carriage stopped before the house so familiar to me as the spot whei-e I had passed so many jjleasant hours five years ago — and it seemed almost like getting home again. Indeed I shall not soon forget the delight whidi 1 tVlt as I realized that I was really once more among the scenes that, loi- live long years, had remain(!d pictured in my mind as a dream rather than an actual reality. We were given a large, ph-asant room, and amid tlic novel 20 'Buckra Land. sounds, the soft imirmur of the breeze through the pahns, the hum of insects, interjected now and then by one particularly noisy cricket, which makes a sound for all the world like the click of the shears in the hands of a barber, we were soon in another dreamland. The next morning we were early astir. Our room opened diiectly upon the wide verandah, and my wife lost no time in going out to ob- tain lier first view of the tropics. The picture which lay spread out before us from the verandah that bright morning was one which can never be forgotten, and one beyond the power of tongue or pen to descril>e. The house itself stands in the rear of a garden filled with beautiful tropical shrubs, many colored crotons and other plants, while at one end there is a spreading almond tree, and near the other a beau- tiful Royal palm. Directly in front of the house, across the road, are seveiiil tall cocoanut palms, while immediately in fiont there are several mango trees and a beautiful, spreading tamarind and giant white and pink oleanders, almost trees in size. Away to the left, half a mile or so distant, the blue Caribbean stretclied away, glorious in the bright sunlight, the foregiound dotted l)y those ever i)resent grace- ful trees, the cocoanut palms. 'J'o the light beyond the village, the tall peaks of the verdant Blue Mountains loomed grandly up, with light flet-cy clouds of vapor float- ing al)out their sunuuits and the passes of tlie range. Great buzzards, or "John Crows," with great red heads and large beaks, and wrinkled red necks, sailed overhead or perched upon the leaves of the palm trees or the corrugated iron roofs of the houses — sometimes standing with one great wing extended straight out fiom the body while the other remained folded, keeping this strange position as long as we watched them and I do not know how much longer — for what reason only the John Crows know. But they are most useful birds, great scavengers feeding ui)on carrion and scraps, contributing to the health of this beautiful country. Immediately after breakfast we went out first of all, for a walk — to view leisurely the beauties around us. We walked down through the village and followed a lovely road which was a favo)ite walk of Tiuckra LaiiJ. 21 mine Avhon here before. It leads in a southerlj^ direction, and is the road to Red Hassel and Golden Vale plantations, erosiJins of former leaves. The leaves are in a cluster at the toj) of the tree, curving (lo\vnA\ard, and are from twelve to thirty feet in length. The trunk of the cocoa- nut tree, when full grown, averages from sixty to one hundred fi'Ot high. The nuts grow in short racemes, which bear, in favorable local- ities, from five to fifteen nuts, and ten to twelve of these racemes in difterent stages may be seen at once on a tree, about eighty or one 26 'Buckra Land. hundred nuts being its ordinary annual yield, though on the road above described we saw near the Boston Fruit t'o's Red Hassel banana planta- tion, cocoanut trees which could not have had less than two hundred nuts on each. A cocoanut tree bears in from seven to eight years from the germin- ating of the nut, and continues producing from seventy to eighty years — sometimes for a century. It defies storms and hurricanes, and its grace- ful form, with its evergreen foliage, towering above all other trees, with its leaves swayed to and ft-o by every breeze, makes it a conspicuous feature, not only along the coast, but in localities not far inland. In developing a cocoanut plantation, land is selected as near the sea as possible, for the cocoanut tree flourishes best near salt water. The planting is done by taking the young sprouts, or germinated nuts, and placing them in holes dug in the ground, about twenty or twenty-flve feet apart each way. The plantation then needs but little attention. It begins to bear nuts in from seven to eight years. When the nuts are ripe they are gathered by the natives, who climb the tree, going up, as it were, "on all fours," clasping their arms al)out the trunk, and cling- ing with their toes to the knots left by previous leaves. Reaching the top the native sits astride the bases of the great leaves at the crown, selects those nuts that are ripe and throws them to the ground. The blossom of the cocoanut palm is very beautiful, and a peculiar work of Nature's art. Appearing at the base of the long ragged leaves, it is a long, pod-like sheath, green in color, standing erect until its own weight causes it to bend downward, where it hangs until the stems it incloses, which are to bear the nuts, are sutticiently matured to proceed in their growth without further protection. When this outer covering splits, it reveals a cluster of ragged stems, upon each of which will be found miniatuie cocoanuts, Avhich require about fourteen months to mature and ripen. The cocoanut palm is certainly one of the most useful trees on the globe— and as the voyager enters the tropics, he is first made aware that he is in the region of romance, by the cocoanut palms. There are other palm trees, too, in Jamaica, among which is the oil palm (in limited numbers), called "macca fat"" by the people there, the '^Kckra Land. 27 ■word *Mii:ieca" iudicatiug- the great thorns which grow on the trunk, and "fat," of course referring to the oil which the tree produces ; and ■occasionally a Royal palm, and in the more elevated country, cabbage •.-and sago palms are quite plentiful. -#=- CHAPTER IV. An Inspection of Jamaica Railway Extension. — The Peasantry^, Men and Women, Their Homes and Mode of Life. T TigUTH a double-buggy, a pair of horses and a driver, geneixnijily \J\y placed at our disposal by the Boston Fruit Co., we started one^ inoruiug to inspect the new extension of the Jamaica Kailway, wliich connects Port Antonio with Kingston, via Annato Hay — first stopping to inspect the ice-nialiing plant where, by means of the most motient, and improved machinery, and tlie '^ammonia process," pure artificial ice, as clear as crystal, is rapidly manufactured beneath an eternal trop- ical sun. Not only is it a blessing, but a luxury greatly appreciated, especially by visitors from the cool north. AVe passed the Port Antonio station and terminus of the extension — a tasteful structure erected by the American contractors. Where the station stands was formerly a reeking moras. The land Mas drained, filled in with l)roken stone, as indeed, was the case with the entire ter- minal property of the railway. Skirting the extensive and magnificent Bound Brook cocoanut estate of the Boston Fruit Co., and pausing for- a short stroll beneath the palms bj^ the shore, we drove along the line, watching the operations of cutting, grading, filling in, and landing of construction materials on the spot. Along the way we found rnucli to>. interest us in many strange tropical trees, plants and flowers. Banana trees grew almost everywhere by the roadside, their l)road, long shining- leaves gently waving in the soft breeze. As we skirted the side of a 'Buckra Laud. ig precipitous liill intu wliich the railway line has been (.■ut, we had a most maji'nifii'eut view of the Caribbean, and of the coast to the westward. The openiuji; of this extension to the railway brings to Port Antonio, as the most business-like place on the island, the additional presti.ne whic-h it deserves: and particularly is it a lioon to visitors from the United States who tiiid it most desirable to go from liostou, landing at Port Antonio; they ;'.re now able to go to Kingston, passing enroute through the "garden" districts of the island and the maguirtcent scenery of the ]>lue Mountains, skirting the shore for miles — now close to the water and, anon, clinging to an almost perpendicular mountain side. along which the road v, inds like a tiny white silk thread, dashing over viaducts spanning lagoons or coves of the sea. or over rushing moun- tain streams — every now and then i)lunging into a tunnel beneath the verdant mountains covered with tropical gi'cen. This extension begin-^ at a point Jiine miles northeast of l>og Walk, above Kingston, and runs to Port Antonio, via Annato Bay, a distance of 46 miles, and was cairied out by an American lirm: it is very heavy, having 24 tunnels, i'lii- line runs through llie fruit regions of .lamaica, and the hauling of that produce will constitute much of the tratlic of the line. The original .lamaica Railway ("o. \\as incorporated in 1843 to build a line from Kingston to Spanish Town, 12 miles. This was opened for traffic in November. 1854, and an extension to Old Harbor. 11 miles dista.nt, was opened on July 1. 1869. In 1877 the 'jtovernmeut of .Jamaica bought the line from the controlling comi)any and made nniny iinprovenients in road bed and e(piipment. The permanent way was relaid and ballasted, steel rails were substiiuled for iron, old woodcji bridges and draws were replaced by 29 bridges with concrete abutments and wing walh. and wrought iron suijerstructures, and six new arches were l)uilt of concrete. Five new stations w(>re also liuili . In Deeem- ber, 1881. a contract was given out for the extension of tlie line fi-oin Old Harbor to Porus. iM 1-2 miles, and in ibe following .January the work of construction l.egan. This line was oiiened for traflic in 3Iarch. 1885. The branch from Spanish Town to Kwarton, 14 1-2 miles, was afterwards built and opejunl in August, 1885. JO 'Buckra Land. In 1889 the West India Improvement Company was formed to pur- <;hase the raihvaj' from the Government of Jamaica, and on January 1, 1S90, the company formally took possession. 'I'he w ork of extending the line was inniiediately begun, and in January, 1891, the line was opened for traffic 12 1-2 miles from Porus, and in March, 1892, trains were running on 18 more miles. In 1894 the laihvay was finished to Moutego Bay. The main line from Kingston tre required and many arch culverts. The bridges and viaducts are of *teel, and the masonry of English Portland cement. All the stone for ballasting this road is the soft, calcareous rock l)roken by the women— and nearly all of it, as well as the grading materials, was carried and distribvited along the line by the women, in tiays and baskets upon their heads. 1 cannot omit to mention somewhat at length the people of Jamaica— the common people, or peasants, if I may make use of the latter term lu this connection. I refer to the laboring people, as we met them whenever wo travelled along the roads and in the little villages. These people arc very simple in their habits and mode of life, the country l)eople living in small huts, made of poles driven into the earth, a few inches ai)art. the intervening spaces being interwoven with cane. The roof is conical in shape, made of bamboo and thatched with palm or plantain leaves, 'i'hese people have a peculiar custom in connection with the erection of a new dwelling, which is an important event with them. After a site for a new abode has been selected, which is sreuer- ally located in or near a grove of trees, poles are driven down a few feet apart into the ground. The four walls of the prospective dwelling generally take the form of nearly a perfect square. After the poles are f a violin and the beating of a drum in the hands of black musicians, the festivities sometimes lasting until the palm-covered mountains begin to glow with the first rays of the early morning sun : varying the enter- tainjuent by feasting, upon the water of the green cocoanut, etc., with some yams and phnitJiins roasted in the embers of the jubilee fiie. it is a strange sight. The peasant woman is deserving of special consideration. Her house- hold cares are few, for her home consists of a simple roof of a few feet square, thatched witli ])alm and plantain leaves, but sometMues all sides are left open. The little homes of the laboring people arc sometimes in communities of two or three houses, again in villages of a s«'ore or more; but more often, perhaps, singly. A few simple dishes, a rougli bench or two suflice to furnish these homes. Such a thing as a cooking or any other stove is unknown and not included in the wants of the woman who presides over one of these humble home*, for in this climate of perpetual summer no artificial heat is ever rerjuired. .mkI all simple cooking is done in the open air. Two forked sticks drivt'ii into the ground behind the hut, a bamboo laid across from which an inm pot is suspended, answers all requirements. With a few stones sli<> con- structs a circular inclosure beneath the pot, lights a fiie of sticks which j2 "Buckra Land, she picks up and brings; on her head, and boils the yams, which form a staple article of diet ; while a few plantains and bread-fruits roast in the ashes at the edge of the fire. Without the dusky woman the "pro- vision ground" or vegetable garden about the huts would be overgrown with weeds. She plants the yams and trains the vines up the poles, keeps the patch of plantains and bananas free from weeds, and sees that nothing retards the growth of the stalks of sugar cane that are always growing by the doorway. Not only this, but she earns an honest shilling or sixpence breaking stone with which to macadamize the roads ; and the traveller, as he rides along, sees dozens of women sitting upon heaps of the white calcareous stone peculiar to the isbmd. The Jamaica uuiles and the black women ha\c - that they can neither place them there nor remove them without help; and when a party of women stop to rest, as they often do, they hel)) one another lift the loads ui)on their heads and take them ott" again. Whenever we met a party of women they invariably stopped while we i)assed. and gave us a graceful I'ourtesy — after which they would resume their rapid, pecul- iar walk. These women invariably possess elegant figures of Xature's best develoi)ment. They are unimpeded by an over-supply of clothing, which consists of a simi)le skirt, caught up half way to the knee, and fastened just below the waist by a cord tied around the body. m:iking a large putt' of the surplus goods gathered l)elow tlic waisi. They go barefoot, are as straight as arrows, perfectly ereci. and walk with a peculiar graceful, swinging motion which is due to (lie fact that owing 'Buck I'd Land. ^^ 'tw the eustoin of carrying loads upon their heads, they do not move the iKHiy above the hips, in walking; and their carriage is easy ;tnd lithe. How these women are able to keep the enormous load perfectly bal- ainiid upon their heads is a constant source of w'onder to the traveller — for the}- will turn their heads and look from side to side, talk and laugh, and even chew sugar-cane without disturbing the equilibrium of their 4o:ids. The extreme!? to which the practice of carrying everything upon the head is carried, is often highly amusing, and in the villages I have seen women going rapidly along the street with a cup and saucer, a cake •of .••oaj). and even a spool of cotton thread upon their heads, while tlieir hands were swinging along by their sides, unemployed. I )ri\ing through the country we often came to a little stream which flowed across the road, and here would l)e a numl)er of women washing *'lothes. With their skirts tucked up Hl)ont their hijis, they stand by the «tlge of the stream and force the dirt from the clothes by laying them ■on flat stones and beating them with flat wooden paddles ; then the vlothes are spread out on the grass, or roclcs. or hung upon some bushes mear In- to dvv. CHAPTER V. We Walk Along a Pleasant Road. — Guava and Cassava Grow- ing. — Water Cocoanuts. — Scenes in and About Port Antonio. — The Markets. ©XE aftenioou we walked along the road leadiug out toward Goldei* Vale banana plantation — my wife wishing to take photographs of some unique seenes along this wonderful road. So we left the car- riage behind that day and started along on foot. Stopping to rest beneath the shade of some banana trees, and feeling hot and thirsty, we- saw a little black girl coming along the road with a tray of "water- cocoanuts" on her head. The "water-oocoanuf is thoroughly typical of the tropics. It is the gieen, unripe nut, when its interior contains- little but pure, limpid water, which is (juite cool, very refreshing and delicious. Clinging to the interior of the shell there is a thin layer of white .jelly, which may be scooped out with a spoon. It has a delicate- flavor, though it is so rich that I could eat but very little at a time with- out feeling a sickish sensation. The natives gather these greten, or '•water cocoanuts," and with the machete cut ofi" most of the husk — leaving it white, and oblong in shape. With the nuichete, that indis- pensable companion of every black, one end of the nut is clipped oft^ — just enough to make a small hole, perhaps an inch in diameter, in the end of the shell. Then place the lips around the orifice, tip back your head and shut your eyes, and allow this delicious refreshing nectar toh "Buckra Land. ^^ gurgle down your throat. This little black girl Caine along, and slop- ing her, I asked the price of the nuts. "Two fo' quattie. sah." "Two for what y" "Quattie." I did not know how much a "quattie" was, so I took from my pocket a handful of change — perhaps ten shillings in silver and the colonial nickel cuius— and held them toward her and asked her to pick out a "quattie." Her eyes bulged as they rested upon this, to her probably, untold wealth (but to me, alas), for she uttered a subdued "o 0!" and picked out a penny ha'penny, equivalent to three cents. Taking the tray from her head she selected two lai-ge nuts and handed them to me. I asked her if she had a machete. "Com" arn mai-sa — man down road wi' cutlass," she replied. We followed her along the road for a few rods till we came to where a black man was working on the edge of the Red Hassel banana plan- tation. The little girl, in the native jargon, solicited his services in cutting the ends oft" the cocoanuts, and taking each, he held It in one hand, dexterously, at one blow clipped oft" the end and passed it to us. After we had drunk as much as we could— for in a good-sized nut there is more water than niost people would care to drink at one time — the black man took them and sjjlit them longitudinally with his machete. One of them I gave to him, and from the two halves of the other we scooped out the delicate, white jelly. The black n)an seemed to con- sider himself well paid for his trouble and ate the Jelly with great apparent satisfaction ; but I gavucii recollections, with so nmch pleasure as to this wonderful liiic. lli*.' most varied journey to be made in Jamaica. The road winds among the mountains, turning and twisting about, this way and that, of tent ime.« doubling upon itself so that, looking down the mountains one luiiulred or two hundred feet below, we could frequently see the very section of road over which we had passed two or three miles back. For tlie tirst few miles the road passes through the most beautiful country, grand mountain scenery, deep ravines and magniticeiit gorges, and »'vory- whore the richest, densest and most varied of tropical vegetation, .-ome of the rich intervale lands being almost entirely covered Ity the grc.it yam vines. All along the way coflee trees grew beside the road, some- times oecuring in dense thickets, with the green and red-ripe coflee berries. How strange it seemed, to be riding through a country where cofle*' grew beside the road likealders, in our own country. Hcrcand there we ^ 'Buckra Land. saw native thatched huts often standing among the palms and banana trees far below the road, or perched high up on the side of a mountain. In some places the road ran along the face of a mountain, which towered far above us, so high that we could see its top only by leaning ■out of the coach, and, beginning from the very edge of the road, on the other side, we looked down for hundreds of feet upon a rich inter- vale, while beyond stretched the savannas covered with grass occu- pied by "pens," on which fine cattle and sheep were grazing. Presently 1 shall speak more particularly of the ''pens." Our first «top was at Lime Savanna, a pretty mountain village, with several stores and other places of business, and a post office and telegraph otfiee. We stopped here only a few minutes, to leave and take the mail, and tlien started on up the mountain range. From tins point, on to the next station, is the great pimento-growing district of the island; and iiow, on both sides of the road we saw beautiful pimento trees, some of medium size and others monstrous trees, lofty, rather spreading, and with gnarled, furrowed trunks — the bark of the trunks and large branches being a very light drab, some almost white. The pimento tree is not one of the most spreading trees until it becomes very old — when often the expanse of its branches from side to side covers a large are'A.. The crop had been gathered, but here and there we saw a tree with benies on it, some ripe and some unripe, and on one tree, too hi^h up to be reached, I saw a cluster of blossoms. In one place, for fully half a mile, we were passing a pimento estate of great trees, which stretched away for a mile, like an immense orchard. At one point after we had reached a high altitude we could, by look- ing back, see the Caribbean in the distance, a broad expanse of beauti- ful water — and the intensity of the blue cannot possibly be imagined by one who has not seen it. It was a sight never to be forgotten, and aiot, 1 am sure, surpassed on the face of the globe. As we progressed toward the top of the range, the character of the vegetation changed remarkably. Ah! How wonderful, what an experience, riding through those tropical mountains in the interior of the most southern of the West India Islands ! Now the cocoanut palms 'Buckra Land. 49 t)ecome much less numerous, and now one was rarely seen. Instead, the cabbage-palm became more plentiful, and the sour orange trees very numerous, nearly all tilled with green and golden fruit, and once ana while a lime tree was seen — or, by some swiftly flowing stream, an avocado pear loaded with the great tear-shaped fruit. We could have almost imagined that we were riding through a section of New England, had it not been for the tropical trees, here and there. But the aspect of the country differed widely from that on the coast, fi-om a dense, thoroughly tropical vegetation to sub-tropical. Now and then, as we passed a high bank, we would hear a grunt, a scrambling in the bush, and one of the Jamaica wild-pigs, or half-wild, would poke his nose out and take a look at us, and then scurry away into the bush. On either hand the rich pens, or stock farms, rolled away over the mountain table-lands, and a substantial stone mansion nestled amono- splendid trees, with broad grounds and magnificent approaches and gate-ways. Our next stop was Claremont, an important mountain town, situated nearly at the top of Blue Mountain range. It is a pretty village, too, with luxurious residences, and several large stores. Here we stopped to change mails, and to change mules and coaches, iind we purchased some refreshments. We again started, after a stop of about half an hour, still clhnbing up hill. But we were nearly at the crest of the range, and would soon begin the sect nd half of the journey which would be all the way down hill. At this altitude, as we rolled across the level savannas, we saw great clumps and vast stretches of the cruel Spanish dagger plants, wliidi would average ])erhaps from two feet to ten feet high ; and great ])rickly pears and cacti. Now and then we met men, women and iliildren with loads upon their heads, and little burros with monstrous loads of guinea grass upon their backs; while anon, women were seen at work ui)on the roads. At one point we passed what was perhaps the most magnificent sight on the route — a coffee plantation, mostly of young trees, but some in Ix'aring; and some coolies were to be seen scattered through the plan- tation picking the berries. This was one of the famed plantations of ^o 'Buckra Land. Blue Mountaiu coflTee. The trees are planted regularly, beneath grove* of large forest trees, for the coffee tree cannot endure the full force of the hot tropical sun, and requires a moderate shade. With regard to coftee in the Blue Mountains, it is the finest grown in the world, and a large percentage of the crop is annually contracted for by Deliuonico, the world famous restaurateur of New York. Con- cerning coftee planting, a man, we will say, commences by planting, after felling and clearing a hundred acres, and obtains his first return in five years. The establishing and up-keep at this period, including the building of a house, putting up works :md machinery, cost $70,000, and he has, of course, to live until the trees begin to bear. Consider- able capital is therefore required. The second hundred acres will cost about !Si45,000, and the third about .$35,000. The return to be expected from the three hundred acres is estimated at 20 per cent, on capital outlav For any one possessing ample means and energy, there is no more healthy, profitable or pleasant life than coftee planting in tUe beautiful climate of the Blue Mountains of Jamaica. Suo"ar was, of course, once the principal staple of Jamaica, but since emancipation the industry has fallen oft', and its place has been more than taken by fruit cultivation. This is now a large item of export, valued at $2,000,000, out of a total value of $8,791),030, sugar amount- ing to §1,200,000. Cofiee is a yearly increasing article of export^ amounting annually to $1,700,000. The great market of the Unitwi States takes nearly all the sugar, the whole of the fruit and half the coftee. The bananas and oranges, being of a perisha))le character^ naturally go the nearest market — the United States. The "pens" are large sweeps of guinea-grass and common pasture, on which live stock graze and are reared. Throughout the island abont 370,000 acres of land are devoted to grazing, and allowing four acres of land per head, there must be about 00,000 head of cattle scattei-ed throuo-hout the island. The beef in Jamaica may be a little hard, havino- to be eaten so soon after being killed, but it is nutritious, deli- cate and juicy. The pens are much more manageable than the enormous open ranches of South America. They range from 800 to 2000 acres. From an Oiifiiniil Photograph. <)VKKsi:i:i;"s iiorsi-; un a im.anta tion. 'Biickra Land. 5/ Our uext stop was at Moueague. It is the largest and most iiuijortaut, as well as the prettiest, village in the interior of Jamaica. It is an important commercial centre for the productions of the interior, and there are several large buying stations there. The village is laid out in beautiful streets, with one handsome main street running laterally- through the town. The stores and other places of business are large and well stocked. This is a famous station for securing teams and carriages by inivellers, and is connected with all parts of the island by telegraph. The dwellings are charming houses, constructed with due regard to this l)eautiful climate. The cliiiuite among the Blue Mountains is in- describably lieautiful, never hot, always soft and invigorating, with clear, pure air. The coacli stopped at the postolKce. Nearby was a crowd of school children playing and the people were going about their usual vocations, leisurely, easily and hixuri(Misly, as everything is done in this tropical garden. Leaving Moneague, we passed the towering peak of Mt. Diabolo, and passed some of the grandest and most splendid mountain scenery. Mt. Diabolo rose toward the clouds directly abOA-e us, and seemed to be ready to topple over ou us; while far below, stretching away to the souththward, lay the beautiful plain known as St. Thomas-in-ye- Vale where some wonderful clouds and atmospheric eftects are seen. Sometimes the whole vast plain resembles a sheet of water. Frecpiently we saw, on the edge of a pen, a circular watering hole or basin, shaped like an inverted cone, with its apex tilled with water, down the slope of which the cattle went to drink, the tei ra-ioUa color of the earth around the liole conti-astiiig wonderlully with the vivid green of the grassy savanna. For some miles, before the road began to descend the range, the mules became very slow, and desi)ite all the vigorous belaboring of their tough hides l)y the driver, they could rarely be inthucd to go faster than a walk. Bui now they bail no alternative, for the coach iiiiiililed along of its own iiioiiicnimn. aliiiosl. and we dashed along, often on the 52 '^uckra Land. very edge of the great precipices, making us hold on and catch our breaths ; but all such places are protected by solid walls of masonry built along the road — which must be accorded a place among the most magnificent pieces of engineering in the world. The driver guided the mules skillfully, and handled the coach with the brake. In Jamaica are found some' of the finest and most skillful drivers in the Avorld. Every- thing had to give way to the Royal Mail, and when teams met the stage they made haste to rein out while Her Majesty's mail rattled past. We rapidly covered the last half of the journey, and rolled across the edge of St. Thomas-in-ye-Vale, and pulled up at the postoflice at Ewarton, one of the termini of the Januiica Railway. Though we had so greatly enjoyed our ride over the mountains, Ave were not sorry to leave the stage, and we walked the few rods to the railway station. Here I telegraphed friends in Kingston, about forty miles away, and pur- chased our tickets. While we we were waiting a young colored woman, barefoot, but otherwise "rigged out to kill'" came slapping into the station, and carefully dusting her feet with her skirt, proceeded to put on a pair of pink stockings, and a pair of patent leather slippers. Approaching my wife she said: ''Missis, will you please gib me a pin — the tie has come off ma shoe."' My wife handed her a paper containing both white and black pins, and she selected several black pins, which she evidently regarded as great curiosities. The little station • stands in the midst of a grove of cocoanut palms. It is a light, airy affair, open on all sides, with a wide portico at one end. 'i'he little train stood on the track a short distance aAvay, ready to back down for the passengers. The cars are of the English style, very light, with skeleton spoked wheels and fitted with compartments. A running board extends along the sides of each car, along which the conductor came after we started, putting his head through the window, and taking our tickets. The engine is also tiny, though the road is standard gauge ; and it stood blowing oft' steam furiously, the black engineer and fireman lounging lazily in the cab. Soon the engine was coupled to the cars and the train backed 'Buck r a Land. 5^ down 10 the station. The shrill whistle began to blow and blew steadi- Ij" for about two minutes before the train started. There is no bell on the engine. Soon we were seated in our eompartuient, and the hour of starting had arrived. The conductor blew a small whistle ; the engine answered with a shrill blast, and away we rattled over this curious West Indian road, winding among the green hills, over high viaducts, past groves of palms and fields of cane, banana and plantain plantations, every now and then seeing a great beehive-like structure fully as large as a bushel basket, perched high upon some great tree — the homes of tlie tree, or nest-building ants. We stopped at frequent stations almost hidden among the cocoanut trees, and at one of these, the last stop before we entered the first of the many tunnels, we heard the sound of feet on the roof of the car, and were somewhat amused when we saw a lamp put down through the roof. Away again we sped, half of the time going at a tremendous rate by the force of gravity alone, until we saw the blue Caribbean spread out before us, stretching away but a day"s steaming to South America — and the Palisados, and the sand spit on which stands the famous city of Port Royal. Soon we reached the curious city of Kingston, and succeeded in fighting our way through the crowd of yelling, obtrusive, lying, aggravating, man-eating hack drivers, taking a carriage to the Park Lodge Hotel. CHAPTER VIII. Around Kingston. — Curious Sights. — Commercial Importance of the City. — Port Royal. — The Soldiers of the West India Regiment.— Obtrusive Hack -Drivers. ;0W wonderful it seemed to us as we rode through the streets of the quaint and curious old AVest Indian city of Kingston ; yet to me these scenes were all familiar, and it seemed like getting home again, the experiencing and reviving of old scenes and former associations, the memory of which, during five years since I passed out by the Palisados and Fort Augusta, had remained like a pleasant dream to me. The novelty of our position on the Western Hemisphere was fascina- ting. To the north rose the mountains of Jamaica ; still further to the north lay the great island of Cuba — and then, farther still to the north the Gulf of Mexico and Florida — while our other Southern States were so far noj'th froui us as not to be thought of in connection Avith "south." The states of Mexico lay far to the north — and so did the Yucatan peninsula, and the Bay of Campeche. Due west of us but a day-s sail, was the Republic of Honduras and the mountains of Central America. At the Park Lodge Hotel we were surrounded by typical southern luxury, for this is one of the most famous hotels in the West Indies. It stands in the midst of spacious grounds, filled with tropical trees, palm and tamarind ; great cacti, gorgeous crotons, great oleanders and many other beautiful flowers, while in fi'ont of the house in the centre of the grounds, a fountain plays from year's end to year's end. The From an Original Pliotograpli. JAMAICA l.AP.OKKK's IIUT. ^uckra Land. ^^ hotel is a cool, airy, spacious structure, with wiile verandahs, easy chair«i and settees, a long dining room Avith polished floor, spacious, luxuriously furnished parlors, and comfortable sleeping rooms. Out-' side the main house are wings filled with rooms and baths, connected with the main house by covered walks over which trumpet vines creep. No fires are ever required in this land of never-ending summer. Pro- ducts peculiar to the tropics appeared upon the tables. There is no hurry and none is desired. Coffee and toast are brought to j'our room early in the morning. You breakfast at nine o'clock, lunch at one, and dine at seven. There is no rush, no hubbub, no confusion, such as we all know but too well in Northern hotels. Tliat evening we spent on the verandah, and in the gardens of the hotel. There were many guests besides ourselves, the ladies dressed in white or other light fabrics, and the gentlemen all in southern costume. Our old friend, Mr. George Levy, honored by his country and by the journalistic profession throughout the world, came to the hotel that evening to liid us a double welcome. The next morning I came down early, and requested my breakfast in advance of the others, as I wished to go down town to write some letters to catch the mail to NeAv York, and to keep several engagements — though during the remainder of our stay I did as the others did, and came strolling down stairs in a leisurely manner aliout 8 o'clock. The traveller in Jamaica who tries to expedite things has a contract on his hands that he cannot carry out. Kingston is a (£uaint and curious old, dusty city — a strange combina- tion of the Spanish and old English style. The streets are narrow but (piite regularly laid out, and straight. The buildings in the principal l)usiness sections, which include Harbor, Port IJoyal, King, Church, Queen and adjacent streets, are built, some of wood, and some stone and some of brick, and there are in Kingston places of business, warehouses and stores that would do credit to a larger Northern city. Kingston holds an important place in the commerce of the world, and a vast amount of heavj' commerce is carried on from this port. Its water- front teems with shipping and there are always here steamers and 56 'Buckra Land. Siiiling vesssels from all parts of the world — and the Eoyal Mail steam- ers from England come in here on their way around to the different ports of the West Indies, Barbados and the Leeward and Windward Islands, and Central and South America. Vast quantities of merchandise, products of the island, are shipped from Kingston — logwood, fruit and pimento, and the imports consist of manufactured and food products from Europe and America. There is nothing more interesting than to walk about the streets of Kingston and observe the people going about in their every daj' life. Vehicles of all kinds are seen in the streets, stylish turnouts, from the equipages of the Governor to those of the citizens, mule carts and drays, donkeys and burros, people on horseback, and the ever-present hacks, whose di-ivers are the most obtrusive and most offensive hack drivers on earth. Men, women and children of the poorer classes go about the streets barefoot, and while walking through one of the outskirts of the city one forenoon we saw a boy, perhaps ten or twelve years old, who had nothing on except some made-over clothes from the tirst suit that Adam wore — which, in order not to be misunderstood, antedated the celebi*ated fig leaf. As we walked about, observing the scenes around us, Ave suddenly turned into Harbor street, and as we glanced along that thoroughfare our eyes met the most glorious vision that ever mortal man beheld. High above the tops of the buildings, at the end of a slender staff, floating and waving, and undulating, was the Stars and Stripes, the flag of our own country, of the Great Republic of the North, the United States of America. Kingston covers a portion of the Plain of Ligunea and is situated be- tween the foot of the mountains and the Caribbean — and almost on the sea level. The sewers are similar to those of New Orleans, and are merely shallow conduits open to the surface, which, every morning, are "flushed" by letting water into them from the city water system, which flows along the ditch by the sides of the streets, all over the citj*, across the streets, compelling the pedestrian to perform some acrobatic leaps in getting about. The city of Kingston is well cared From an Original Photognipli. KINUSTON HAK'l'.Oi; I'KONT. 'Buck r a Land, yy for, and the streets are kept scrupulously clean, and while the water is flowing all the tilth and matter usually found in a city's streets is swept into the ditches and carried down into the harbor. At the time of ou? visit, however, a modern system of sewers was being put in — but for reasons of mj'^ own, not wishing to criticise the engineers, I venture to predict that the old system will outlive the new. Kiuffston harbor is one of the finest in the world. It is shut in from the Caribbean by a long coral reef covered tvith cocoanut palms, called the Palisados, which leaves only a narrow entrance. Opposite Kingston, at the entrance of the harbor, stands the famed city of Fort Eoyal, whose predecessor of unsavory reputation was destroyed by an earth- quake more than two centuries ago — and the waters of Kingston harbor now cover its former site. Relics of the old city can now be seen in the rooms of the Institute of Jamaica. Port Royal is a famous British naval station, and above Kingston, quartered in barracks upon the side of the mountains, are maintained English troops. Port Royal and its out stations, Rocky Point, Apost- les, Battery, and Fort Augusta, constitute the "harbor defences"" of Jamaica, and Port Royal itself is the key and the chief. The military authorities have of late years been engaged in improving the defences of Port Royal, including the construction of new batteries for rifled guns. In addition to this the Royal Engineers have a small submarine mining establishment fitted with tanks, steam Launch, boats, and elect- rical apparatus. The garrison itself is small in number but would be readily augmented on an emergency arising. At half-past eleven o'clock on the the morning of the 17th of -hine 1692, the town was shaken by a tremendous eartlKjuake. Whole streets with their inhabitants were swallowed up by the opening of the earth. The ruins of old Port Royal are even yet visible in clear weather from the surface of the waters under which they lie, and relics are often procured by divers on exploring the ruins. After the earthquake new houses were erected and the i)lace, under the privateering system of the time, began again to flourish; l)ut in the beginning of the year 1703 a fire broke out and in a few hours the whole town was in flames. ^8 'Buckra Land. With the exception of the royal forts and magazines not a building was left. Periods of prosperity and reverses followed each other every few decades until July 13th, 1816, when fire again completely desolated the place. Since the occurrence of this fire the town has ceased to be a commercial centre and Port Royal is now of importance only as a naval station and a military garrison. The dockyard contains the official residence of the commodore and his staff'. It is equipped with a well-found machine shop, where steam engines and the machinery of war ships are almost constantly being repaired. I'ort Royal has always been considered important as a naval station. As recently as the American war and the French occupation of Mexico the fleet on the North American and West Indian station numbered some twenty-five ships, a goodly portion of which were constantly calling at Port Royal to coal, to obtain fresh provisions, and to refit ; the Archduke Maximilian on his way to Mexico was met there by eleven ships-of-war. The most variegated visions of the streets of Kingston are the soldiers of the West Indian regiment. They are giants in statue, black as ink, and wearing uniforms which set them oft" and agree with their complexions. We wished to purchase some curios of native work, and for that purpose visited the Woman's Self Help. There we found many beautiful and curious objects, and would have nuide a large pur- chase instead of the small one which we did, if the prices asked had not been so fabulous as to be utterly ridiculous for articles, the raw material for which was not worth a farthing. But we were, a little later, enlightened concerning this, and were informed that it was the time it took to make them, wliich was charged for — wliich was the first intimation we had received tliat any great valuation was placed on time in Jamaica. We visited the Public Gardens, which are very fine indeed, extensive, and well laid out. They are filled with many beautiful tropical plants and trees, among the most wonderful l)eing the great banyan tree, which 'Biichra Liiid. 59 sends down rocsts "mtothe ground from its bvauches, and so spreads «ver an ininiense area, large enough for a great mass-meeting to be held beneath the shade; and tall, graceful thatch-palms, scn-ew palms and many curious forms of trees ; while in the centre of these gardens there is an innnense basin of water in which the lovely water-hyacinths bloomed in profusion. There are many beautiful residences in Kingston, and, driving along, though the traveller may be gazing upon some unattractive, high, dusty wall, if he were to step through the door of the wall, he would find himself in the mid^t of charming grounds, gardens and lawns, made beautiful with rare tropical plants, with the great sumptuous house and wide veraudhas, typically luxurious Southern surroundings, ;ind here, too, the traveller would find the truest and freest of hospitality. Kingston has electric lights and sti-eet cars, the latter drawn by mules — with black drivers and black conductors. The cars are light tri- fling affairs compared with ours, and the passenger must be provided with the little red celluloid disks bearing the name of the company, and the words "One Fare,'" which are purchased, six for one shilling, or he must pay double fare. The conductor passes around a small box with a handle, something like a ballot box, and you "vote for one" if you are single, "and vote for two" if otherwise, as the case may be — drop- ping the little i-ed "fare" into the box. If you are riding to any ■distance out of the city' say to Half Waj- Tree, or to Coiistant Spring, you have to drop in one fare for each mile We tarried in Kingston two nights and one and one half days, one evening being spent at the beautiful home and in the society of the delightful family of Mr. George Levy. Reluctantly we took our departure fi'om Kingston for we nuist reach Annatto Bay, thirty-one miles over the mountains, there to catch the Atlas steamer Adula for Port Antonio. AVe had intended to go over ^n the nuxil coach, but as that flying machine had accommodations for Ijut three passengers, and those were engaged, I was compelled to hire a team, or rather buy it, presenting it to the owner after I was done 'vith it. But we had no cause to regret that we had a team all to our- 6o 'Buckra Land. selves when the covered buggy aud a span of horses, with a skilled driver came in through the gates of Park Lodge and drew up in front of the verandah. Bidding adieu to our hostess, Mrs. Thompson, we were soon on our- way to Annato Bay, over the famed "Junction Road." -#~ CHAPTER IX. By Carriage Over the Mountains. — The Environs of Kingston. —Constant Spring Sugar Plantation.— The Great Aqueduct. — Along the Wag Water River.— Grand Mountain Scenery.— Strange Sights.— Castleton Gardens. — Noisy Bull Frogs. — Annatto Bay. •^-.-vN the afternoon we left Kingston, the sky, which had been ahnost i;ns, kincston. 'Buck r a Land. 6^ how siu'li :i iiiiiguiticeiit pioce ot road buildinj;- could have been acom- pliislied. The Govorninent telegraph line followed the road, poinetiines leaviug it to take a short cut by means of a long span over some yawn- ing gorge or ravine around the edge of which the road wound. Here and there we passed native thatched huts, some diflerent from any we had before seen, the walls being composed of interwoven canes covered with plaster, the roof l)eing of thatch a foot or two thick. \Ve were following the course of the Wag AVater river, a fairly wide, swift stream, whose roar we could hear lor nearly the entire distance from Kingston to Annatto Bay. The mountains towered above us, and in many places the load ran along a shelf simply cut in the side of the mountains, which rose for hundreds of feet above us, often almost per- pendicularly, while below we could look down into a yawning chasm, at the bottom of which flowed the foaming Wag Water. After a few hours of sevei-e rain, as it rains in Jamaica and every- where in the W'est Indies, landslides are frequent in the mountains, and often render the roads impassible for days: so, ;:s much as we regretted leaving Kingston, the premonition that the rainj^ season was about to set in, made us anxious to get over the niouilains before the roads be^- came impassable, in order not to miss the steamer homeward hound. Now and then the road spanned a gorge or the rushing \\ ag Water river itself, by a stone viaduct, or a small streani flowed across it on its way to help swell the roaring w'aters of the Wag Water. On some of the mountain sides were iiatches of yams, or "provision grounds," the surface being so nearly perpendicular that, but a single misstep by the men working there, and they would come tumbling down upon the road. Anon, looking across a mountain valley, we could see houses perched upon another steep mountain side. Once we met a mule cart loaded with a great pile of guinea gra^s. At that particular jioint. the road was nairow, with the mountains rising on one side, and a yawning chasm on the other. For us to i)ass the great load of guinea grass seemed to us almost impossible. But here came in the skill of our driver — who at once assumed the position of general-in-command, and calling upon the driver of the mule cart to draw out as near the 64 'Buckra Land. outer edge of the road as he could, our driver passed on the side next the mountain, although the great load of guinea grass completely filled the road and apparently left no place to drive by. Here and there we passed men and women, many of them returning from their day's work on the road. At one place, beside the road, there were circular baskets filled with coftee berries, just as they had been picked that day from the trees. As we descended a beautiful stretch of road, and turned around a grove of bread-fruit trees, we came to a long thatched building, where it was very evident some sort of festivities were going on. Our driver told us it was a wedding. The wedding party and guests were sitting in the early evening in front of the house, some dressed in white, others in gay i)ink, blue and scarlet dresses. Near-by, some children were anuising themselves with a sort of merry-go-round, which, though rude, was curious and showed wonderful ingenuity. It may be likened to a long gate, made of large bamboos. The gate was hung on an upright pole, in its natural position, the pole passing up through the top and bottom bars of the gate. Then the youngsters sat on either end of the lower rail,holding on to the side l)ars, and the whole was revolving with the speed of a fly-wheel, the children laughing and talking all the while. It was certainly the most exhilarating instrument of dizziness that 1 -ever saw, and I subsequently learned that it is a favorite amusement Avith Jamaica children, and that, so great is the velocity sometimes reached by this revolving ari-angement, that the upright pole gets on fire, sometimes burning ott" and dropping th6 machine, children and all. At one point we passed, beside the road, the most beautiful bread fruit tree that we had seen anywhei-e. It stood alone, outlined against the sky, and was simply loaded with the spherical fruit. We arrived at Castleton, where is located the Government Botanical Garden, in the midst of the mountains, and at a high altitude. We had now accomplished about half of our journey. We regretted that our slow progress would limit our stop iJt Castleton to a few minutes oulv. My wife was anxious to secure some fei'ns there to take back to 'Biickra Land. 65 America, ami we feared we should have to go ou without them, as an attache of the Garden whom we met on the road said the g;ates were locked for the night. But in a few minutes we met another gentleman who kindly otlered to unlock the gates, when w^e told him what we wanted and how we had been delayed. So we left the carriage while the driver was Avatering the horses, and entered the Garden. What wonders of plant life I What a wealth of the wonders of tropical vegetation, trees, shrubs and flowers, all systematically and scientifi- cally labeled. We went to the fern enclosure, where we found hun- di'eds of the most beautiful ferns for which Jamaica is so famous among them being the gold and silver ferns — the under side of the leaves being covered with a sort of pollen Avhich looks like a sprinkling of those metals. With difficulty we selected several from the tempting- array, as we could not carry them nil — and l)idding our kind host of the past few minutes good bye, we again started — on the second half of our journey. Soon after leaving Castleton the dai-kuess, the blackest of black darkness, settled around us. Still we drove along, wondering more and more at the skill of the driver in following the winding road. Nothing disturbed the stillness, which seemed to bring out the sweet balminess of this land of flowers more plainly, except the noise made by our horses" feet, and the carriage Avheels, and o'ccasionally an ejacul- ation from the driver as he urged the horses along. No\a and then the dim light from a native hut Ijeside the rojid, above us ou a mountain side or l)elow us would flicker in the darkness. Myi-iads of great West Indian fire-flies danced about, shedding great glares of soft, golden light. The driver alighted to light the side lamps of the carriage, as every vehicle in Jamaica is requii-ed to carry side lights when driven ;it night. This experience of crossing these tropical mountains in the inky blackness, amid the strange scenes, was one of the most interestino- of our travels on the island. 'I'lic novelty of our situation made it seem almost as though it were a dream, instead of a veritable reality. Suddenly, above the roaring of ibc ^^■ag AVjitcr. we heard a noise 66 'Buckra Land. which sounded ahiiost like a traiu crossing a raih-oad bridge. I askeeJ the driver what it was. "Dat, sail, is Avhat we call er 1)ull frog."' The monstrous West Indian bull frogs were serenading us, but what a wild serenade, in that wild, tropical land. Rather tired with our long ride, we at last emerged from the mooa- tains, and soon after crossed a lagoon, and were driving through the- village of Annato Bay — a place on the coast of considerable impor- tance, with numerous stores, a constabulary station, post and telegraph office, and one of the headquarters of the Boston Fruit Co. The village is surrounded by lagoons of stagnant Avater, their surfaces covered by vegetable matter, the lagoons ))eiug si)anned by line iron bridges. Before leaving Kingston I had telegraphed Mr. Kennedy, the agent of the Boston Fruit Co. at Annatto Hay, who kindly and thought- fully had some one on the lookout loi- us, and we found supper await- ing our arrival. And we were sadly in want of it, it now being eight o'clock, and we had eaten nothing since noon. I paid the driver for the team, and requested him to accept it from me as a present, regret- ting that I could not take it with me, seeing that I had bought it. I received a receipt, quite a formidable document with a revenue stamp attached; and after lingering for an individual tip, wliich. by the way- he didn't get, he regrettfully departed. I had a quiet smoke while listening to the roar of the Caribbean, and then we retired. In the morning we found it raining, but after break- fast, the rain ceasing, Mr. Kennedy kindly placed at our disjjosal a carriage and a pair of horses, and we drove along the eastward road, along the line of the railway which turus into the mountains at Annatto Hay. We drove slowly, passing some tine estates and ]>lantations of bananas and cocoanut palms, and saw groups of Avomeu along the road carrying gravel from the shore to the line of railroad under con- struction. There is one thing that the Jamaica horse knows nothing about, and that is backing. He has never been taught to back, and he who attempts to back him will find himself in trouble. I tried to turn by backing, when we started to return, but soon found my mistake, and it ^uckra Land, 6j uot imtil a mau came aloug and took the horses by the head, that I managed to get turned around. At one place beside the road, a space of several yards square was covered with a beautiful cactus, with great, maguiflcent, pale yellow blossoms, which looked like silk, some of which I gathered, together with a lobe of the plant to take home. As we drove along we saw some animals somewhat resembling the gray squirrel of Xew England run across the road behind us. There was one tiny young one. They were mongoose. The mongoose was introduced into the West Indies for the ostensible purpose of destroying the large, grey, white-bellied rat that played havoc with the gi-owing canes on the sugar-growing plantations. That it fairly achieved the object for which it was imported cannot be gain- said, but that it would ever become the universal pest that it is at the present day, and has been for the last ten years, Avas never anticipated. So long as it kept to the cane-groA\ing plantations, and ate the planters' poultry, eggs and nil young and available animal life within a reason- able distance, all went well ; but with its rapid and prolific powers of reproduction and its vagabond and roaming disposition, it in a very short time — a few years — was to be found in every part of the island, from the seashore to the tops of the loftiest range of mountains, the highest peak of which is 7360 feet above the sea level. The mongoose was introduced to destroy the cane ra<^. Though it has not exterminated these rats, it has lessened their numbers in the caue-tields and saved the sugar planters a lot of money. It was uot introduced to destroy, but it has most effectually nearly exterminated all the ground-laying and feeding I)irds, poultry, eggs of all kinds, on the .ground and in trees, including those of the land turtle; it kills young pigs, lambs and kids; eats fruits of all kinds, canes, ground provisions, fish, wild' fowl, snakes, lizards, crabs, etc. All young and tender life, animal and vegetable, is included in its daily menu.) '^ ■When'he has cleared^off the animal life and the fruit in a district, the mongoose turns'^his attention" to ground provisions, and liere again he shows the variety of his taste' and [tlie power of liis jaws. He will 68 'Buckra Land. grovel away with his paw8 until he lays bare yams, cocoas, sweet potatoes, cassava, bitter and sweet (the former, Manihot utilissiraa, poisonous in its raw, unprepared state), and other ground food tubers. Of fi-uit, he has a partiality for the banana, the various Ananas, the mango, and others, as well :is for some of the tree vegetables; for instance, the delicious akee (Cupania edulis) and alligator pear. The mongoose will likewise, when the irrigation canals are drawn oft' for cleaning, seize fish and make oft" with them. Not the least harm it has done has been the destruction of insectivorous l)irds and lizards, and the consequent increase of another nuisance, the tick. This is a subject that the Jamaica Government is bound to take up in the near future, and there is, or will be, found only one remedy — the introduc- tion, propagation and protection of insect-eating birds. The mongoose breeds about six to eight times a year, and each time there are from five to ten young ones. A busy animal is the mongoose. The mon- goose lives in the hollows of dead trees, dry walls and othei' such places. Ills activity is wonderful, and it is a ti-eat to see him leap at and secure a young fowl ; he very seldom misses the quarry, which, when secured, he proceeds to mutilate in the groin, first of all drinking the warm blood, then devouring the liver, etc. In Jamaica there was a beautiful and indigenous snake, a friend to the agriculturist, Chilobothrus inornatus, connnonly called the yellow snake, and growing to a length of six or seven feet. It is gone; love or money cannot procure a specimen, especially during the last five or six years. Another ally of the land cultivator, the ground lizard (Ameival corsalis), is gone, oi- is veiy rarely seen. While sitting at our lodgings waiting for the steamer to appear in the bay, my wife was greatly interested in watching several blacks climb- ing the cocoanut trees opposite, going up like monkejs, clinging to the knobs left by previous leaves with their toes, and reaching the crown, sitting astride the bases of the leaves, they cut the ripe cocoanuts, let- ting them fall to the ground, which they struck with a great thud. At last the whistle of the Adula sounded beyond the point, and soon she was anchored oft" Annato Bay. CHAPTER X. Arrival of the Coastal Steamer. — Interesting and Novel Scenes. — With a Dusky Boatload of Passengers We Embark for Along the Coast. — A Close Call. — Arrival at Port Antonio. — Tropical Rain. — A Carriage Awaits Us. — "Home Again." O sli.illow is the water in Annatto Bay, as in many other harbors (^ on tlie Jamaica coast, that steamers have to anchor some distance ott" shore, while everything, cargo and passengers, has to be lightered to and from the steamer in boats. These boats are wide and deep and ai-e sculled along to and from shore by blacks, with long, stout oars. While the Adula lay swinging at her anchor chain, we stood on the end of the long wooden pier and watched the novel scenes around us. The ware-houses and office of the steamship company are at the head of the pier, and around them were ])iled hundreds of tons of logwood ready for shipment. An interested and curious throng of people were gathered about, some to meet friends, others to see friends aboard, Avhile still others had not an object in view beyond standing idly aroiiid, talking, always talking, and laughing — men, women and children, of all shades, and in many and varied costumes. One black boy, perhaps a do/en years old, was clothed onlj' in a pair of old trousers, the only vestige of Axliirh re- mained being the waistband and the pockets. 70 'Buckra Land. Curious people, these. There were mauy going aboard the Adula for the various outports and Kingston, and thej^ came to the landing en- cumbered with all sorts of luggage, trunks, boxes, bags, bundles, and scarcely one did not have the inevitable pieces of sugar cane, some green cocoanuts, for no Jamaica pei-son of the class which travel as "deckers" on the coastal steamers would think for a moment of making a trip, even from one port to another, without something to eat or chew, or drink. A great crowd of children was gathered about, getting in the way of the black, bare-footed longshoremen who were getting oft' the freight to the steamer. Some blocks of ice were being taken ashore from the steamer, and in handling it, small fragments were broken oft', and each time a piece or two of ice would fall oft' there would be a great scramble and a great tussle among the children to secure the fragments of ice, the successful ones scampering oft", carrying the coveted morsel in their hands, the girls wrapping it in their skirts, each meanwhile trying to crowd a piece into his or her mouth, the capacity of the average mouth being but a trifle less than that of a port of the Adula. Finally a boat came for the passengers, and the first lot, bag and baggage, babies, sugar cane and green cocoanuts were embarked. We watched the people, while one of the boatloads was getting away. One of the women carried a bal)y, and when she was safely stored away in the boat, she proceeded to open a green cocoanut. This done she held it to the baby's lips, and the little one sipped the reft-eshing nectar. She also fed the child with something from a cup, what, we could not determine. After the baby had sipped a little of the water from the cocoanut, the mother lifted the nut to her capacious mouth, and drank the rest. It is astonishing to see how adroitly the native women will cover the end of a cocoanut with their mouths, witli never a leak as the contents gurgles down their throats. Finally our turji came, and we descended into a boat "with the rest of the niggers," so to speak, and with the purser standing in the stern, we started away for the Adula. We were soon on deck, and went forward to make ourselves comfortable, but the most of the people 'Buckra Land. yj were directed below, being "deckers," who pay only about one-third as much as first-class passengers. The last of the freight was taken aboard, the last of the boats put off for shore, the anchor was hove up, and the Adula turned outward, and we were on our way to Port Antonio — steaming close along shore, with the beautiful mountains on one side, and the blue Caribbean stretching away on the other. There was not a heavy sea, yet the disturbed condition of the weather the past two or three days caused a moderate swell. But the Adula has contracted a bad habit of pitching during her years of coasting around the island, and some of the passengei-s, both first-class and '•deckers," were rather uncomfortable. As for us, if the voyage had been longer, I can't say what our condition would have been at the end. But it was a welcome sound when the whistle of the Adula an. nounced our approach to Port Antonio. Soon the light on Folly Point flashed across our bow, and the disagreeable motion of the steamer ceased. Just as we entered the harbor it began to rain — the inaugura- shower of the rainy season — a deluge of tepid water, impossible to realize unless one has sojourned in the tropic belt in the track of the trade winds. Meanwhile the steamer was working cautiously up to the wharf — and a short cessation of the rain brought a crowd to the scene ; but in a few moments it began to pour again, causing all to scamper precipitately for shelter. Even after the steamer was made fast to the wharf, the rain continued to fall in such torrents that we could not •'o ashore for nearly half an hour, and we remained in the saloon for shelter, for the rain swept every nook and corner of the deck. Finally, when the rain had nearly ceased, we took our small hand- haggage and started down the plank : but scarcely were we past the rail when the ever thoughtful kindness of the Boston Fruit Co., always anticipating every opportunity to add to our comfort and enjoyment — was again manifest : for a man met us half way down the plank, took our baggage and led us to a covered carriage, with two horses in charge of a driver that had been sent to await the arrival of the steamer to 'J2 ^tickra Land. take us to the house dry shod ; and we were soon rattling along through the streets of Port Antonio, and up the hill to the Titchfleld House, stowed away, comfortable and dry in a closed carriage. The streets were running rivers. We were soon at "home" again, receiving a warm welcome. Indeed, our whole sojourn in Jamaica had been one series of welcomes, of hospitality, of thoughtfulness and kindness. Nothing was forgotten, everything was anticipated that would add to our pleasure — and among the many pleasant memories that we retain of that visit, none will be so long and sincerely cherished as the kindness shown us while in Port Antonio. -#- CHAPTER XI. Golden Vale Banana Plantation. — Coolie Laborers. — Cutting- Ba- nanas. — Fording- the Rio Grande. — Women Washing in the River. — Guavas and Calabashes. — A Horse- back Ride over a Precipitous Path. VRLY oDe afternoon we started in a carriage for Golden Vale banana jjlantation, which lies just beyond the Rio Grande, about six miles from Port Antonio, occupying a rich alluvial tract which, in the old days formed a great sugar plantation. These old sugar estates are now occupied by some of the finest banana plantations on the island. The road along the way was beautiful, and replete with much that was of great interest to us — and we stopped frequently to photograph some object, a native hut, a group of Avomeu, or a view which attracted us. A short distance from the Eio Grande, we reached the little ham- let of Fellowship, near which is located the banana plantation of the same name. Our driver i)ulled up as a gentleman on horseback, his face browned by the tropical sun, reined up beside the carriage and lifted his hat. The gentleman was Mr. F. A. Tlogers, in charge of tlic banana estates in the vicinity. He gave us a most cordial welcome, in a pleasant, easy manner, with that freedom of hospitality so charactti istic of Southern people. 7^ 'Buckra Land. Mr. Rogers invited us to stop at his house on our return, and meet Mrs. Rogers, and with thanks we drove on toward Golden Yale. We reached the bank of the Rio Grande, which had to be forded, there being no bridge. How familiar it was to me — the swiftly flowing river, with high bluffs covered with palms and other tropical vegetation on one side, and the broad level plantation on the other, with the banana plants stretching away almost as far as we could see, while beautiful bamboos lined the opposite river-bank. We drove into the river, and although the water was not very high at this time, it came up to the hubs of the wheels. Reaching the other 1)ank we soon turned into one of the plantation roads, and drove through avenue after avenue, each perfectly straight, with the graceful banana trees on either side. Here and there we saw coolies at work cutting the fruit, cultivating the plantation or digging up weeds between the rows. The coolie banana cutter is very expert at liis work, and he has to be, for it rec^uires long practice to cut a bunch of bananas properly and bring it to the ground without injury. The bunch of fruit as it hangs on the plant, is far above the reach of the cutter. 'J'he coolie passes around among the plants, selects a bunch of fruit which is perfectly filled out and fully developed. Then, with his machete he slashes the stem at al)out the height of his head, cutting it about half way through. The weight of the bunch of bananas at once causes the plant to bend down, and as it droops slowly downward, the coolie quickly catches hold of the stem which grows from the lower end of the bunch, at the same moment clipping the stem at the other end of the bunch from the plant with one blow of his machete. (Quickly he clips oft" the great maroon- colored plunmiet at the lower end of the stem, and as the bunch at last touches the ground it is ready to be carted to the wharf , the whole operation of cutting being accomplished in a few seconds. Anyone who has ever tried to lift a good sized bunch of bananas with one hand can well understand that the operation of cutting requires a good deal of strength, to catch the bunch with one hand and lower it to the ground without injury to the fruit, for it does not do at all to bruise the bananas in the slightest degree. 'Buckra Land. 75 The coolies are brousrht from India, with the undeistandiug that they A\nU stay live years, th 11. if they wish, they are shipped back to India. Very few, it is said, care to return. Tliey are paid 25 cents a day and their rations. Instead of using this money for comforts, for actual necessaries, it is all beaten into jewelry and worn by the women for safe keeping. Each company brings a native silversmith. A typical coolie Avoman is artistically draped with Axhat looks like a breadth of unbleached cheesecloth, one end arranged aljout the head, then gracefully twined over the shoulders and about the waist to hang down, shawl-like, partially to conceal the limbs, one cornei- falling at the side just below the left knee, and the open part crossing near the other knee. A streak of led paint adorns the parting of her straight, black hair, and a smooch of the paint is in the centre of her forehead. Her limbs are beautifully rounded, and her skin, somewhat darker than our darkest brunette, has a clear, polished appearance. She has delicate features, and is a very attractive spectacle, as she stands before us in her simple, graceful dress, silver jewelry hanging from the entire rim of each ear, a silver necklace and pendants of coins closely encircling her neck, another chain fitting more loosely, then another, and still another, until her whole chest is covered. Her arms are wound about with silver l)racelets from wrist to shoulder, silver rings on every linger, her ankles bound with very heavy silver anklets, and silver rings again on every toe. Her tiny daughter stands by her side similarly clothed in cheeseclotli and jewelry, and she is fairly bewitching, as she grace- fully touched her forehead with her little hand and salaams to us inquisitive strangers. The little boys wear tlieii- shining brown skins, with the addition of a very narrow strip of cheeseclotli about the waist and between the legs. It is astonishing to see a coolie man deftly and swiftly bind a strip, yards long, of this cheese-cloth-like material in a tui-ban around his head. The same cloth foiins his short, loose trousers, not reaching to the knees, and resembling tlie little boys' narrow bandage widened out. A dark cloth roi'"dabout jacket completes his costume. Tlie coolies, both men and women, are an undersized, gentle-looking y6 'Buckra Land. people, aud are fond .-md proud of their childreu. They were far more attractive than the native negroes. We continued our drive through the plantation until we reached the main avenue. Into this we turned. By the edge of the bananas, beside the road were rows of orange trees and of pineapple plants. Here we stopped to take a few photographs. Looking down the broad avenue of banana trees, tOAvard the south, the mountains rose in all their majestic beauty, the sun shining upon the fleecy clouds that hovered above them until they shone like silver. "VVe soon emerged from the plantation and drove toward the "great house," which stands upon a high hill overlooking the beautiful fertile valley. At the foot of the hill, beside a little stream which flows into the Rio Grande, stands a massive stone ruin, dating back to the palmy days of the Jamaica sugar kings. The once majestic structure is crumbling and decaying, and myriads of brilliant little green lizards scramble about over its vine- covered walls. Near the plantation mule sheds we left the carriage aud were welcomed l)y Mr. Melvin, the "busha" or overseer of the planta- tion, and went with him up the hill toward the "great house." It is a lovelj-, ideal spot. The great house has large, airy rooms, aud a wide balcony or verandah extends around it on a level with the upper rooms There Mr. Melvin escorted us, and while we sat upon the cool verandah and rested and cooled ourselves, we sipped cool leraouade — made from fresh lemons newly plucked from trees near by. Here, too, near the present "great house," stands a moss-covered crumbling stone ruin, once the "great house" of the Golden Vale sugar plantation. Around the home of oui- host many tropical trees and plants grew, and orange trees loaded with fruit — aud immediately in front of the house was the greatest curiosity of all, a sago palm. Across the valley, on a hillside, Avere clustered the cabins of the coolie plantntiou laborers. Taking a last look over the beautiful \\\o Grande valley and the Golden Vale estate, we descended the hill to our carriage, and bidding- good bye to (mr host, started to rpturn to F<>llowship — ai>ain fording the Rio Grande. Below the fording place, a short distance, some black women were ^Hchra Uind. jy wasliing olotheg in the river. They stood scattered along the bank, and their method of washing is this : 'I'hey dip the soapy clothes into the water, and then, laying them upon a smooth rock, they beat the clothes with a large thick wooden paddle, called a "beater." After the clothes are thoroughly cleansed, they spread them out upon the rock or bushes to dr}-. The women had their skirts caught up about their hips and their round, well shaped limbs, wet with the river water, shone like polished inaliogauy. They had with them quantities of yams, cocoa- nuts, plantaius, bread and sugar cane, and while waiting for the clothes to dry, they built a fire and prepared their dinner. We left the carriage and went down where the women were to photograph them. They seemed rather shy of the camera fearing, probably, that it would put a "bad spell" over them, and whenever I leveled the camera at them, they would move away. But one buxom young woman, more bold than the rest, showed some curiosity to examine the camera, so I showed her how to look into the ground-glass "finder," and see the tiny picture, and A\hen she saw the other woman in the picture she laughed gleefullj . Then she wanted the others to come and look into the camera. I asked this girl her name and for some time I could not understand it, but finally my wife made it out — "Miss Ann S"yer" (Sawyer). She was now anxious to have her "like- ness" taken, and took her position by the river. She wanted me to take her picture while she had her beatci- uplifted. After I had taken a couple of views. Miss S'yer, whose dress was very low in the neck and correspondingly high at the bottom, apologized for her appearance, and when I assured her that I thought her a very i)ietty girl, she laughed and said: — 'My gard, you brute" — jiud one of the others said — "wafll Jack sa\'?"' Miss \\\\\ S'yer then stepped uj) in front d' me. and said — "Ye wan' tak me Avid yeV" and when 1 pointed to my wife said that I had one girl and didn't want another, she laughed. On our waj' our driver pointed to a handsome tree near the road, a guava tree, well filled with fruit, and we gathered some which we ate as we drove along, finding them very refreshing. A short distance further along the road we came to a large calabash tree, loaded with jS ^iickra Land. the huge, hard shelled, globular calabashes — so much used by the peasantry of the tropics for making domestic utensils, which is done simply by cutting the fruit, and removing the inside. One very lai-ge calabash lay upon the ground, and we took it into the carriage. Arriving again at Fellowship, Mr. Rogers awaited us and together we went up a Aviudiug path, fringed with coleuses, azalias, crotons and many other beautiful plants that grow perfectly wild here, to the home of Mr. Rogers which stands at some distance upon the hillside. It is a perfect bower, a veritable nest, almost concealed from view before one reaches it, by trees and vines. Here we found a royal welcome await- ing us from Mrs. Rogers, and here we found a gracious hospitality which Ave shall never, never forget. Here in this beautiful abode we were made perfectly at home — and while we were gathered about the hospitable table, partaking of more of the luxuries of this tropical land than we had heretofore had the privilege of enjoying, the most acceptable among them being the delicate bread-fruit, we enjoyed the atmosphere of this lovely home, made so liy the cordiality of Mr. Rogers and the hospitality and grace of Mrs. Rogers, and by the pre- sence of their three beautiful children. Calling a servant, Mr. Rogers soon had awaiting us four saddle horses, and Mr. Rogers, Miss Pearson, a charming young ladj' from Kingston, and myself and wife, started away for a horseback ride over the mountains overlooking the Rio Grande valley. Up the steep ascent the horses climbed, scrambling over obstacles and skii-ting steep places in a path where a Northern horse would have been frantic, to say nothing of being totally unable to travel there at all. \Ninding back and forth, steadily upward, we at length reached the highest point of the elevation, when we stopped our horses beneath a grove of trees, and feasted our eyes upon the lovely panorama before and below us, the silver thread of the Rio Grande winding through the centre of the picture, which was framed by the lofty mountain peaks. A cool breeze was blowing up the valley, and the few moments we stood there to gether I shall always remember as among the happiest of my life. We started to return, and passing down the mountain we rode beneath >Ai-->. ^«. X # •mmw^j^ ifi^K* "^^^ Tf ^^Mi^^^ /^ £^la BF^J mjtk Photograph by the Author's Wife. BANANA TUKK. 'Biickra Land. yg some great trees, whose branches were laden with orcliids. llising in his saddle, Mr. Rogers gathered some of these wonderful air plants for us to take with us to America ; and in two of the bunches of orchids were found two curious nests of some tropical bird, ))oth of which I carried away to take home. At one place beside the road a ffreat orauoe tree, its branches filled full of golden fruit, lay prostrate, having been bloAvn down. But all things pleasant come to an end, as well as the unpleasant. On our return we found that our driver had given our calabash to a native, who, during our absence, had cut it, tOAvard one end, dividing it into two pieces. The shell had been cleaned, and the outside etched very skillfully in an artistic design, also the date of our visit, the only tool used being a knife. I gladly gave the artist a shilling, and we made ready to return to Port Antonio. Mr. Eogers had his own buggy made ready. In the meantime a group of coolie laborers had gathered about, and while we waited Mr. Rogers conversed with them in their native tongue, as they gathered curiously about to look at us. One of the women carried a baby, and such 'a baby ! Of all the infants in the world the strangest is the coolie infant. In every way except in size it appears as old as its parents— and this tiny ))r(n\-ii ))!tby sat bolt upright, astride its mother's hip, clad only in a short shiit and cap and demurely oazed at us with its black eyes, its tiny face being hardly larger round than a common tea cup, and scarcely a smile could we entice to the sober little face. The carriages ready, we started for Port Antonio, Mr. and xMrs. Rogers and myself in one, and my wife, Miss Pearson and Mr. Rogers- son in the othei-. Over the white road we drove, every now and then passing groups of men and women, and groups of coolie laborers, mules and bui-ros, returning from Port Antonio or from tlie day's labor. While still in the midst of these novel scenes along this tropical road, in the sweetness of the early evening we arrived at I'oit Antonio again, regretting that our sojourn in Jamaica was one dav shorter. CHAPTER XII. Banana Plantations.— How the Fruit is Cultivated.— Cutting the Fruit.— Hauling to the Wharf. — Loading for Shipment. N Jninak'ii, only one variety of the banuua is grown, and that is the yellow. The red bananas come almost wholly from Cuba, but they are not prolific, and therefore not profitable to grow. Bananas, like any other fruit, are greatly improved ))y cultivation. For example— the finest banamis that come' to this country, and those that bring the best prices, are from the Golden Grove and the Golden Vale plantations of Jamaica. Jamaica bananas are superior in quality and flavor to all others. The l)anana belongs to the lily family, and is a developed tropical lily, from which, after ages of development and growth, the seeds have been eliminated, and the fruit greatly expanded. The banana plant, being seedless, is propagated by suckers, requiring about eleven months for the plant to get its growth, and the fruit to mature. It is very prolific, and it is said that forty plants can be grown on one thousand square feet, which will bear 5000 pounds of fruit an- nually, and it is possible to grow as much as 175,000 pounds of bananas on a single acre of ground I The banana plant has a soft stalk, is from ten to eighteen feet in height, spreading out at the top in a cluster of broad leaves, which are from 15 to 20 inches wide, eight or ten feet long, and of a bright green color. The older leaves, on account of their being constantly swayed "Biickra Land. 8i by the wind, usually split ;»t intervals of two or three inches, from their edges to the mid-rib, thereby adding to theii- grace and beauty. Each plant bears only one bunch of fi'uit, which hangs with the "hands" curving upward, and at the lower end of the bunch, from a long green stem, hangs the blossom — a great heart-shaped maroon colored plum- met, about the size of an ox's heart, and mucli the same shape. We will suppose that a new plantation of bananas is to be started. The dense tropical growth of brush, trees and creepers is cut down, and when it is sufficiently dried, fire is set in several places on the wind- ward side. \ few hours ol crackling flame, and the ground is covered with a pall of gray ashes and blackened trunks, which are collected and piled for later burning. The ground is then plowed and dug up, and banana sprouts or "suckers,"' looldug like logs of wood, with a tiny sprout, are set in the rich soil. The suckers are dug either from cultivated plantations, or from where they hwxa been growing wild, are from one to four feet long, and from two to live inches in diameter, and from the small end of each peeps a little liit of green. In eight or nine months after llic planting, the plniits will have their plumes, sheltering hunchc •>; jreen fruit, wliicli are ready to cut in two or three months thereafter. On the plantations, bananas are planted fifteen feet apart each way, the rows crossing one another at right angles. Therefore, when the plants are fully grown their leaves Just aloiit meet, excluding nearly every ray of the bright tropical sun from the ground l)ciieath; this arrests evaporation, and keeps the soil at just a))out the right degree of moisture. After the shoots an- i)lanlcd they requin^ liut xcry lillle attention until the fruit is leady for cutting; but during the lirst few months a cultivator is run between the rows to keep down the weeds, which grow very rapidly in the rich, hot soil. A plantation requires to be replanted with new shoots about once in every five years, in order to maintain the highest (|uality of the fruit, as successive reproduction from the original plant deteriorates the (piality of the fruit, and decreases the size of the bunches. The fruit is cut when it is fully grown but still perfectly green. 82 "Buckra Land. When the cutting begin? an expert goes over the estate, and he is re- sponsible for the collecting of the fruit in good condition and size. I have already described the cutting of the bunches. After they are cut they are laid carefully in carts, packed with plenty of "trash" or dry banana leaves, and grass, and draAvn to the wharf where the steamer is waiting to i-eceive its cargo. The arrivals and departures of the steamers are timed exactly, and there is little or no delay in loading the fruit. All the forenoon, since early in the morning, if the steamer sails in the afternoon, and all the afternoon, it the steamer sails in the night, the plantation hands, Avitli mules and carts, are bringing the bananas in from the plantations, and on the arrival of carts at the wharf, the bananas are unloaded and sorted according to the size of the bunches ; "five hands," "seven hands," eight hands," etc., denoting the number of rows of bananas there are in each buudi. Very frequently the steamer loads at night. The great hull loom's up by the side of the wharf, the latter being covered Avith blacks, both men and women. The interior of the banana sheds on the wharf is lighted by lanterns hung about, while the wharf is illuminated by the flaring light of gaso- line burners: l)ut in Port xVntonio, the electric light is employed. The evening is cool, and the soft, tropical sky above blazes with myriads of stars. Standing about are the superintendents of the loading of the steamer. The people who pass along the bunches go to the bin desig- nated by ithe superintendent, and each picks up a bunch of bananas, the men placing the bunches upon their shoulders, and the women car- rying them upon .their heads. Then they walk accross the wharf to the steamer, where ;the bunches are passed to others, Avho stow them awav between decks. As the dusky file passes in the launches, it con- tinues around, retiring to the wharf for more, thus forming two con- tinuously moving lines, going in opposite directions, one with bananas going to the ship, and the other retiring to the sheds. ITsually the people keep [up a monotonous singing, their song being peculiar to themselves and the eftect, together with the strange and novel sur- roundings, is rather fascinating to the traveler. l.i)AI)IN(; llAXAXAS AT I'dRT ANTONIO. Ki-oiii ;iii Oii