‘FR Te ». SEU] * b ‘ $y, se i See at f pErcod DOD nF behhtctct re erected ch Senter eed t =.» 4 EY 444 i Hee» the ie ST OMAS a wie pO x) t4 Lay 1. x) yy te , Naval and © » lin g Sta Mion. y e ri ‘ ] . YY 4 5 CHARLES EDWIN T VLOR, M.D. FRGS, Fellow. of the Royal Histo cal Society of Great Britain, Awthor of “ Leaflets ire the Danish West Indies,” * OF unaby ll,” de., co. [Aun bi RESERVED.) y x K ) ST. THO 5D. We x) Prinrep ar oN ON, Ligurnouan, 1891, a ye PID) & ‘\) dhdpapedcndbdaddpdbd hdd] Pdtatinc ott act tet OF eee be achits run —_ ads Seta wee. Yn “ a tt rz fe * sg Zt iae site Lae +8 ae ht b se ead fy Layne AR ih te nike ae on = a on B ag oa a 2 - 7 os oo ay ye in See es hy wd ay os 8 7 Ae sy te 1% vv ay SOR, Y " _y. iz oe 2 Soest i, x1 mh > 4a mF 5 My 47 i it Lge SE ste pe ~ ea Ce: ae =f Le be Fie, 8 ~& Ag twee ye ? Fistablished a A ee oS rebate 4 ‘sw ee we *) aie Ves, t a 5 1a thse) gle Do wi > oh ed i Pre 4! * = Pe iS oe 4 ¥ wey % Sf) tg ers ba J Na. b. | re we Y}' te ay iy ool 4 i aT aii ot a Fi i oe (es sy Le =F ne Soy hb ve ee Sree Fe, aa ‘ ¥ = ys ja ah a +) B, TH — us [*® i Ta Laide] “al. Re, Hi iF ie te Wciat af ‘\ a uy Ae ave i ” g shied We Py 4, Hee =~ a an | y ee yy af un oie, Choy os id i Pe {7th sae ny is “a Ne AE No) ee > bs ie " es) * (6 Bia Js . A bya! =) fi eh e clic’ vs de a, he, - my a my RN he oe awd € \Aj ve wi a ee SP. Er we SN] “ wma Al es " AS ~L WA ee ny ms, ae ye 1 Oy iy Pas whi q wi a Aes “7 es es au re co wt el) we v Ve of ei an mits 2 Var ol , fi ft > y ~ s ps Uy, ay Ni 58 i} * i4 he." Ay a * wu) SY 4y y 4, se ~ “ar ih 2 st at gue, TAIRA oo 7: i Pet me? ey ra Pe > a wa Pee Aoted # & 2 tte es ary is mtg a a he. ‘ te = “* as 7" ee i, i ra ie a re te i Ds 4s +s v2 et ST HOMAS, oi uj > ‘ i ce a rue vt 2) rey dn AS A a Sint oe . " a ae re me se ts rg) . ws ie Naval and Coaling Station. o we <* 5,3 Deis iat a ae oe ta La sent 2 as MM “at pS »e a0 oy CHARLES. EDWIN TAY OR, M.D., F.R.GS., bo SrA % ’ . bee oa Fellow of the Royal Historical Society of Great Britain, Stes . oy t My, 1 cima of “ Leafuets from.the Danish. West Iniies,” ae za PI =. Oe “Sumby Hall,” &e., be. ret Lae i a! Sul ~ ckS ha Py r Se ie > san ae tec 4th or RESERVED. ]_ oy 53 ae} ey ~y ws ee ” a* eo = cy ait Ss af rot 4 “A WOK Fra , “ ee - fe. sae =i “ es ta =) He eid 25 « noe 2 as me st. ) o meh aN “en M3 >i) 7s Lienars0 aoe er ~~ dic fe Pe \e Se he wks 4 Se Tox ae i’ ap &. a WIR ae any et Eset ad =) ae ah et ot at ati sad ar .~ fs) has ml V Lil “ = LS sa. a é i ‘ey an fe tole Fare Me ay Ad <% a r' Bi aie ane. ve re eo aye *Natoriously Rarbadoa, q” desirability: as a coaling and naval gtation, I shall now say 4 few words with regard to THE GENERAL FEELING OF THE INHABITANTS IN THE MATTER. A glance at the condition of the people themselves and the town, Charlotte Amalia. in which they live, is sufficient to show that law and order, and a certain amount of prosperity prevail. The town itself is sitdated upon three hills and pre- sents a pretty picture as seen'from the deck of a steamer or vessel in the harbour. ‘Iwo old castles, one to the east and the other to the north overlook the town and rejoicing in the ames of Bluebeard and Blackbeard, carry back the imagina- tion to the days when piracy and privateering were flourishing trades in the West Indies and the Spanish Main; aud these worthies, perhaps, walked swaggeringly along the streets of St. *® Thomas with their followers. You land —conveyed to shore by a boatman who is civil to you,,and rarely overcharges you If you have had an expe- rience of these gentry at Barbados you will at once mentally compare the difference. and wonder if your ‘black brother’ on shore is as well behaved and courteous. t And you will mot have been very long rambling about Charlotte Amalia to notice this fact and how orderly a town it is. From the trimly kept Fort. ased as a prison and police station, and the handsomely built barracks. down to the smallest building you'will be strack by the air of cleanliness. which pre- vails. All the streets are maéadawized, with gutters at each side of them, and paved with stone. ‘The three principal wa- tereourses or ‘* Guts,’’ as théy are called, are paved in the | game manner, and carry down the water from the mountains to the sea. . ‘The stores are massive,” brick. built, extend to the water’s edge some four hundred fe2t,' have iron tracks running slong- side of them for the’ carriage'of goods and are. solidity itself. There are prohably a hundred such, built, many of them ata cost of $50,000 to $60,000, apiece: Each hae its wharf for the landing of goods and some of them, powerful cranes to hoist nm as 2 e them up with. There are six churches in the town, handsome buildings, and a Synagogue picturesquely situated on one of the hills. Here the Lutheran, ‘which is the State Church, the Roman Catholic, Moravian, Israelite, Episcopalian, Dutch Re- formed atid Methodist, fraternize, as indeed all:shades of. opinion are tolerated, everyone being at liberty to think as he pleases provided he does not interfere with his neighbotir. It is Warm, but a cool breeze sweeps over the island from the east, and permits you to walk about town, where you will note how well behaved are the people and how polite they are to rare. ' Not a druakard on the streets, not a brawler nor disturber of t : meet are hlack or brown, but they belong to good natured, amiable persons quite ready to’ help you should you make an inquiry of them or require their services. Perhaps you may ‘encounter the chain gang at work. re pairing or cleaning the streets, Iyut even here they do not pre- sent the repulsive features of such like gangs in Kerope. ‘The man who drives them, carries only a small -witch in his hand, and the prisoners, the women especially. will sometimes respect fully salute you as you puss, ‘To xceount for such good order may séem difficult to any one fresh from witnessing a bloody revolutionin Hayti, or the way low] affairs sre managed in such places, unless it be the presence of a few helineted policemen walking along the streets here and there. certifying to the watchful care of a good government and Lhe proper working of one of the best police forces in the Wost Indivs; Perhaps you get acquainted with some of the families. who, whether Creole or foreign, live comfortably and happi- ly in elegautly furnished homes, surrounded by objects indi- cating their taste and refinement, Among them you will hear ventilated of course. the all absorbing topic. whelher the island % -will really change hands ur no Whether they are to he American or German. —You listen. and if you be American fou note with satisfaction that the Jeaning is decidedly towards your own beloved country, not out of politeness to you hecause you are an American, but becadse there is an undercurrent of he peace. True “many of the faces which yout e » i) rt. ° Ie, dread at the prospect of belonging ‘o Germany, which, 2n- lightened and civilized a nation as it is. yet lives under a form of government not as liberal as that of America, and may be involved in war, at any moment, with one of its powerful neigh- bours. i Perhaps it may surprise yon to find nothing but English spoken in a country of which the Danes have been masters for over 300 years, but the fact is there; the Danes themselyes become excellent Inglish scholars after a short residence, How it came about, at first, ig difficult to trace. It seems in- credible that the Mnglizh, who only held the island but a few montlis in 1801, and from 1807 to 1815, a period of eight years, could have supplanted the Danish customs and lan- guage of the country in so short a period. It seems more pro- bable that English, heiny the language of a comwercial coun- etry, and the business relations of the St. Thomians being mainly with the two great English speaking countries, Eng- land and America, the English language, as a matter of course, became gradually introduced and eventually the general me- dium of conversation among them. It is much to the credit of Denmark that in no way was there any attempt to enforce the learning of the Danish language upon the people, as is the case with many other European nations upon their colonies or other possessions. All this you will note, and you will be astonished to perceive how thoroughly Americanized are the inhabitants in their ways. They are active—‘“‘eute,’” in a matter of trade—'cuter,”’ if I may coin the word, than you will find them in many of the neighhouring islands —and ever so much more friendly and polite than in Barbadoes—I speak not from prejudice—but I have the testimony of many who have visited that *‘ favoured ’’ spot of earth—I put. it as kind- ly as [ can—that the conceit of the average “Bim’’ is intoler- able, Perhaps they did not make the acquaintance of the su- perior ‘*Bim’’; I wish they had, for I like to speak well of the West Indians, and I count as friends among the Barba- dian people some of the best hearted men [ have ever met. Whether this applies to all shades of society in Barbadoes I 10 am not prepared to say, but from personal experience I can vouch for the fact that my ‘ black brother ” of the lower class of Barbados, who has not been blessed with education sufficient to teach him that all men are not free and equal, is sadly defi- cient when placed beside my “black brother” of St. Thomas who is, at least fifty years ahead of him in respectful, courteous behaviour and intelligence. And this really applies to both sexes in this island, the very coal women whose lives are the most laborious and who, * when other people are in their beds” are ataggering along a narrow gang: way reaching to the steamer with a hundred or so of coals upon their heads—these yery coal women nore as orderly and decent a people, for the class. to which they belong, as you.would meet anywhere in the world. They have not been inaptly termed ‘‘ The Firemen of St. Thomas,” for the untiring energy which they display on the occasion of a fire. The first to rush to it with bucket in‘ hand to render assistance, they are the last to leave it until it is put out. A whole chapter might be written ou this subject, as indeed might another, speaking of the good behavior of the so called lower order of St, Thomas. CHAPTER II. A Great deal has been accomplished of late years to make the town and harbour of St. Thomas attractive, and to. induce veasels to seek its port. It was plainly seen as its commerce declined, that unless something were done in that direction, with the keen competition which menaced it from Barbados, ' that its shipping business would also fall away; so with com- mendable. energy its merchants set to work to ‘'put their house in order,” and. by reforming old abuses and offering great- er inducements, bring back some of the tide of prosperity ‘ which threatened to flow from il, . If it be considered that nearly every book published on the West Indies during the last twenty five years, has had its i vy fling at St. Thomas, that one noble authur* has said that “the place does vot look very inviting,” that another bas said “ that it is;as veritable a Dutch oven for cooking fever in, with ar veritable a drippiug pun for the poison when concocted in the tideless basin below the town as was ever invented ;” that an- otber, in a book called the “ Lesrer Antilles.” written apparent: ly for the special glorification of St. Lucia, bas repeated this atrocious slander, and that there is yet a black mark against it for insalubrity on the Admiralty books, it is no wonder that many people who have never put their foot in it, like all the authors above quoted, know very little about it. and to conceal atheir actual waut of knowledge of the place, erely repeat these observations which for many years have been, and are, espe- cially to-day, as false as they beur malice on their surface. Fortunately for the island there stands more than one hon- “est, trathful utterance concerning it, notnbly that which is to be found in the record of H. B. M.S. Challenger, iv which Dr. Thompson says ‘' After careful inquiry I am inclined to the opinion that St. Thomas bas beea very much maligned, and that it is not the undesirable nor unhealthy spot it is generally believed. There are no noxious mangrove swamps to breed malaria as in Jamaica and other placer, and receiving as it does the full strength of the ealubrious “trades,” all the year round, it possesses uoosoal advantages from o sanitary point of view. I refer to this particularly, because so much stress bas been laid upon the unhealtbiness of St ‘'bomas by its neigh- bours and particularly by Barbados, whose merciless quarantine for five months against St. Thomas for two or three cages of inild varidlu, which were promptly isolated to our fine Lazaretto, is yei remembered; as indeed are ull her attempts to cripple St. Thomas, whose natural advantages so outweigh her own; and which should it once fall into the bands of America and sapital be expended upon it to make it still moro attractive as 4 port of call and asa Ooalivg Station, would simply mean the return of a large portion of its trade and a correspond- *The Marquis of Lorne, ing decline in her own fortunes. Not that I think St Thomas will ever lose the prestige which it has always enjoyed as a place for the refitting and vepair of vessels. Even should it still continue to be a Danish dependency, it- would always pos- sess these aflyantages, as anyone who has lived there or who remains there for a sufficient length of time to examine its un- surpassed facilities in that direction, may satisfy himself. Beginning withits Lazuretto and its comfortable accommo- dation for passengers afflicted with contagious diseases, its light- house which sendsits raysfar outtosea a3a guide tothe entrance to its harbour, its enormous Floating Dock capable of receiving steamers und large vessels of over 3,000 tons, Marine slip and railway for the repaicing of smaller craft, its immense cisterns for the storage of water, for the supply of vessels, its Factory, where alinost every vonceivable kind of iron work for the re- pair of steamships can he turned out, where a shaft or boiler can be made, ora propellor repaired, or iron launches built, its steved yre’s secvive for thy louting and discharging of vessels, its Telegraph Station, its hospitals, its admirable sanitary ar- Tangements and inedival staff, its [ce house for the supply of ice to the shipping, its contractors for ship's supplies, its Ship brokers, its ship carpenters and. caulkers; and lastly the great coal wharves of Messrs, Brindsted %& Co., alongside of which large steamers drawing 27 feet can be moored and coaled day or night at the rate of 60 to 100 tons an hour. must be seen to understand how St Thomas is yet a port of great.importance and that for years to come the energy of its inhahitants will triumph over every difficulty which may present itself as an obstacle to their progress. One must pay a visit to Messrs. Broéndsted & Co’s. coal wharves at the hour of midnight, when one of the ‘United States and Brazil Mail Co's steamers is coaling, and watch the dusky figures of hundreds of women, each with a basket of coal on her head, swarming up the steamer’s side busy as bees, and ruoning back again with them empty, to be refilled; one must hear them singing their songs in a quaint minor key —see the flambeauz lighting up coals, women, overseers, officers of the ) PS . 13 steamship alongside ; one must contemplate such a scene, and then he will know the reason, why St. Thomas yet lives as a commercial centre and a coaling station, will comprehend how the stimulus to industry and commerce which this firm gives by the emplvyment of so much labour, contributes so largely to this end and how valuable.such a place would be as a coal- ing and naval station, where everything is at hand for the pur- pose, and not bare rocks—bare land, no industry, no enter- prize, as at Mole San Nicholas—and Samana Bay, where mil- lions would have to be spent to erect suitable wharves and.pre- mises, and probably millions more to. keep them, just as the , capricious nature of each of the small Republics to which ‘they belong may choose to assert itself in case of a Revolution. A number of large steamers coal at Messrs. BronpsTED & Co's wharf every month. From eight to ten thousand > tons of coal may be found piled up ina stack ata time. I have heard it said by steamship captains that this firm can coal a -steamer faster and cheaper than any other firm in the West Indies, Those who go to +t. Lucia, just now proposed as the station-of ‘the R. M. 8. P. Co., find out to their cost the differ- ence, and those who go to Barbados. where every bit of coal- ing has to be done in lighters, do the same. ; Then there is the Natural Dry Dock, just between the German Company’s wharf and tbat of Messrs, Bronpstep & Co. As if Nature had predestined St. Thomas to be the future Naval Station of such @ power as America, which must eventu- ally become mistress of these islands: there is a cove, oblong in shape, only requiring a pair of gates to make it the most perfect and commodious dry dock in the West Indies. Think of it! Only a pair of gates and the necessary appurtenances, and at the smallest expense, comparatively, there would be a Dry Dock capacious enovgh to accommodate the largest ves- se] afloat. If we add to this, that an Arsenal and store-houses could be built alongside its shores, perfectly sheltered from an enemy’s shot or shell, in.case of an attack, and I think I have retty conclusively shown the immense natural advantages which the harbour of St. Thomas possesses aboye all others in 14 a e the West Indiex.—That it could be made impregnable I have said before. More than one naval authority supports me in this Opiuion and as it would cost butlittle to fortify, that is one ad- ditional reason why St, Thomas,would be the best place for a Naval Station in the West Indies. ‘This has alao been said by Capt. N. H. Farqubar, who appears to have been interviewed by the“ New York Herald’s” reporter before the article on St. Thomas as a Naval Station appeared in its issue of 25 Sept. Oommander A. S. Barker was also said to have stated that “ There is no better place in the Weat Indies for the estublisb- ment of a naval rendezvous, and as everybody adinits that the United States should have a port of its own there, the opportu- , nity of securing St. Thomas should not be allowed to pass.” Commander C. M. Thomas:also said, after alluding to it as a small Gibraltar in itself aad its advantages and facilities for making dry docks aud stations &c. ‘‘ that his nation ought to be quick to grab the chance for securiag this valuable site.” The late Admiral Porter’s opinions as to the advantages which would accrue to the United States by having St. Thomas as a Naval Station in case of war, are too well kuown for repe- tition here, and are also quoted in the “ Herald’s” article. Unfortunately ‘the first of these gentlemen, Capt. N. H. Farquhar, thought fit to qualify his good owiaion of the island by stating, But fur the reputation which St. Thomas has for earthquakes, it would be his firat choice,’ and Onmmander A. 8. Barker to qualify his, by saying, ‘* But for that unfortunate earthquake some years ago, St. Thomas would now be in pos- session of the United States,” jeaving this, one of the chief grounds for its rejection by the;Senate in 1867, in the hands of any opponent of the scheme now, to again advance as an ac- tual fact, and one which might outweigh any nature! advantage which St. Thomas possesses, unless properly expluined. It is with this assertion, ‘“ONFORTUNATE BARTHQUAKE,” that I now propose to deal.—I¢ that really was one of the obie’ objections which the United States had against ratifying the - » ip treaty 80 nearly concluded’ between itself and Denmark with re- gard to the sale of this island in 1867, it is very strange indeed: that no particular pains were taken to ascertain how much of St, Thomas was shaken to pieces after thia great convulsion of Nature. z I was living there myself at the time, and thongh the da- mage by the tidal wave was very great; expecially. to those structures fronting the sea, the wall buildings never moved an inch, and with the exception of. a few old houses, whose sides cracked here and there, not oue of them tumbled down, as you will occasionally see gingerbread edifices in New York, which sollapse without even a shake, as wituese the calamity in that Breat city only a few weeks ago, when a whole building caved in without # note of warning to, its unfortunate inhabitants. Tam willing to confess that to feel the ground trembling under you, is far from being plengant, especially if all the tales you hear ubout its opening be true; but when, as at St. Thomas, such things never occur, nut 80 much as a tile falling {rom your roof or # wineglose from your sideboard, on the oe- casion of a “shock,” and that such no earthquake like that of 1867 has not occurred more than twice in over three hundred: years, then you wonder at pvaval officers of such experience, re- ferring to “unfortunate earthquakes,” as one of the probable reasons why the United States did not fulfil its agreement with Denmark, and become its possessor in thu year 1867. And now that I am on the-subject'of these convulaions of Nature, I, would observe that ‘both as regards hurricanes and earthquakes, St. Thomas is singulurly free from them as com- pared: with Barbados, St. Lucin, and other places—oply that of 1867, can I record during. my long residence, as being of any cousequence, and it is the ouly important one noted in its history, if I may except that which tovk place on Sunday, 9th April, 1690; so long ago as to be scarcely worth while mentioning, were it not to show how seldom they occur. With regard to the frequency of burricanes, St. Thomas bas only been visited ten times in a period covering 397 years out of nearly 140 hurricanes and severe gales which have com- rn ial ae oe r mitted more or less injury in the West Indies. They undoubt- edly do a great deal of damage to fences. crops, and the smaller wooden tenements, unroofing houses and wrecking vessels in the harbour, should its violence be sufficient to cause them to break away from their anchorage. Sometimes there will occur great losa of life when the people are taken unpre- pared, as was the case in 1867, when there was scarcely a ba- rometer in the place to indicate the coming of a storm and nearly every. house was unproyided. with bars to close up its windows securely No one expected such a calamity, for with- in the memory of the oldest inhabitant there bad not been a hurricane, On the other hand one must judge of these. visita- tions by their after effects. True, as 1 have said before, & great deal of damage is done at the time, but the seasons be- come more regular, rains fall with greater frequency and the climate hecomes more equable.. And it is wonderful how sooné the people begin to clear up and recover from the disaster; how soon everything resumes its former aspect, often improved, So much so0,. that it would seem as if no such thing had hap- pened. Who would believe, looking at St. Thomas to day, that it was subject to unfortunate earthquakes, or that a hurricane or tidal wave had ever devastated it? To my mind, andI have in the course of my early travels witnessed both; a blizzard or a tornado, such as can sweep away half a city in the United States in a few moments, are-far more formidable visitants. Change their names to hurricane or cyclone and I think Uncle Sam can beat the West Indies hollow, in such ‘matters, just as he does the world in nearly everything where natural phenome- na are concerned, I now come to another point which if not of great import- ance with regard to the adaptability of St. Thomas asa Coaling and Naval Station, has been made much of by those who are least acquainted with it —Take up any average description of the place and you will generally find it spoken of as a * barren rock,” producing nothing for the consumption of its inhabitants, or as the ‘* Herald’’ puts it, in its article of Sept 25th, “the soil is sandy and the greater part of it remains unproductive,’’ 17 9 a Now, nothing is wider from. the truth than such a statement, though | willingly absolve the writer from any wishful inten- tion to exaggerate. Most strangers, if they land on the island at-all, spend but a short time, ‘here, perhaps only a few hours, and like Mr. Froude, when he visited the West Indies, fill their note book with ‘ first impressions '’ which are not always the best and most reliable. To explore the lofty range of hills and valleys which first greet their sight would he a labour of weeks, though not an unpleasant one—as such « writer and naturalist as’ Frank Ober now U. S. Commissioner for the Chicago Exhibition. to the West Indies, would surely.attest ; for no more fertile and ‘romantic spots in the West Indies van be found up among those.same hills and valleys. And if many of the estates are out of cultivation. it must not he forgotten that slavery, with ® its usual train of evils, is the cause—for no sooner was-free- dom; proclaimed in the year 1§48,—thun the estates were de- serted, the slaves flocked into town, sought more lucrative em- ployment among the shipping, and places which had hereto- fore yielded handsome revennes to their owners fell to rack and ruin in consequence. ‘The very name of agriculture wag hateful to the slave, and the spade and the hoe but badges of a detestable servitud+, which always recalled it to his memory when he looked upon them. ; It has required years to eradicate this feeling, but now that compulsory education is beginning to exert its sway, and you cannot find apter scholars than’ many of the coloured children at the public schools, their eyes are being opened, they are be- ginning to understand that in that same soil which has heen called * dry and sandy,” there'is 9 mine of wealth, or at least enough to secure them an honest independence, and our black brothers in St. Thomas, to day are once more turning to the cultivation of smal holdings, which by easy: payments become in.a short time their own. 4 by _ An Agricultural Society formed of : influential gentlemen, merchants and planters, looks after this important scheme, and from the success which has attended its efforts, hitherto, by and n ‘18 A by we shall find St, Thomas exporting something else besides “straw bats and pearls.” Fruits and vegetables of all kinds are grown here, Coffee of an excellent quality; also tobacco can be raised. They were so, in large quantities, by the early settlers, why can if not be done again? One has only to look nt the island as it was one hundred years ego to answer that question. As fur back as 1775 there were 69 plantutious;.27 of which were of sugar cane, the rest being devoted to the raising of stock, col- tov, tobacco and other produce: Io 1792 there were 74 plan- tations, 40 in cane and 34 in cotton. Hence we may infer tha St. Thomas was not only commercially prosperous in former days, but remarkably so as an agricaltural community. A dry and sandy soil,” forsooth! Come up with me in the moun- tains, and I will show you bits of colour aud pluces clothed” with such beautiful verdure and such a variety of ferns, creep- ers and shrubs that you have rarely seen before outside of these Virgin Isles, Ou all sides will you see wonders of Na- ture’s own providing. Here a broad gut or gully, down which a tiny stream of water is trickling musically among the rocks. Tt is overhung with trees of sevéral kinds, There the morning glory and acacia bend low with last night’s showers. Birds few in species, but many in uumber, burst out into song. Tnama- rinds, palms and soursops (Anona muricata) grow here with others, as the sugar apple (Anona sguamosa). And in wild profusion trees and vines ate hidden beneath thousands of air plants and parasites, which are the most conspicuous vege- tation. A lizard rans out snd looks curiously ut you, as you step upon a twig which crackles under your feet. You look be- Jow upon the little town whose busy hum no longer greets your ears, The sea looks like glaas and is. dotted here, and there, with many a sail which seem as specks upon the. water. Hill and valley luxuriant in tropical foliage, roll beneath you. The shore lines are broken; huge rocks stand out grey and bare, alternated by lovely bays. Fieecy clouds float airily along, easting their shadows upon the lund, changing its aspect at every moment. But the noontide sun now warns you lo de- > a 19 od acend.' You do so lingeriugly, wondering where the “dry and sandy soil” is, and resolving that other walks like these. to other spots as beautiful, shall not be left untried while you are a sojourner at St.Thomas. Thisis the picturesque side of this 4¢dry and sandy rock.” Now! let us contemplate it from one aaore practical. > ‘ OHAPTER TIT. Baron Eggers, author of.a valuable work on the Flora of these iglauds, published under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, says in.1883, “that a new era of industry would open up in St. ‘Ihomas, if it were made to bear products, which would bave not only a local value, but also could be ex- ported and disposed of in the. world's markets. The palatable gulinea cora (Sorghum), which grows here with astonishing luxuriance, could toa great extent replace the now generally used coro meal.” “Coffee can also be produced as well as an eadleas variety of vegetables and tropical fruits. The large areas, which at present give no return could, however, 80 fur as they could not be used for the cultivation of vegetables or as pastures, be anade at Jeast as profitable as the more fertile areas, which are now used for other purposes, and that, without requiring so much capital to do go,” ° ‘ “On these worthless stretches of land, the valuable product known ag divi-divi (Lebidibia coriaria) which is found grow- ing wild in all the islands, mostly iu St. Thomas, can be grown in large quantities aud as thie article is worth from $60 to $70 per ton, and (he cost of cultivation is small; it would pay own- ers of such tracts of land to raise it, and if the tannin could be ‘extracted from it on the spot, the-cost of freight being saved, there would in a short time be a valuable article of export available,” “Of the fibre producing plints, there is the agave, which ne Pi grows wild in great numbers, everywhere in the island, often upon the naked rocks. The plant attains an immense size—the individual leaves often heing over eight feet long by one foot broad and weighing over fifty pounds. These leaves contain a countless number of fine, strong fibres, which make up eight to ten per cent of the total weight, and in strenuth and appear- ance are equal to the hest Manilla hemp, which they surpass in durability under water. The value of its fibre in England is trom £80 to £40 per ton.”’ : It is not within the limits of this pamphlet to speak of all the valuable plants which this eminent hotanist enumerates as growing upon the island of St, Thomas..and which by proper® cultivation and the employment of capital could be made the source of large and profitable incomes. It is sufficient to name the bark of the sea side grape ( Voccoloba) the bark of the man- o grove (Rhizophora) as other tannin producing trees growing here. And of the fibre producing varieties, a plant of the pine apple variety (Pitcairnin), the wild growing pinguin ( Brometia Pinguin) several species of corchorus from which jute is man- ufactured, the guanatail (Sunseniera quineensis), the commer- cial value of which is about $250,per-ton- ‘The cocoa palm, the wild horseradish (Moringa) the seeds of which contains a fine oil which never becomes rancid. the castor oil plant, the well known aloe, which grows wild and could easily he planted on a large scale, not to speak of a variety of plunts and spices of great commercia) value and into the detail of which space pre- cludes us, Sufficient I trust. has heen’ said to show that from such a “dry and sandy soil.” as St. Thomas is said to be com- posed of, no such enlless variety could te produced. . All that is wanted is capital—and should,.some duy, the island. pass in- to the hands of the U. 8. A as its coaling and naval station, there is not the slightest doubt. whatever, but what that import- tant element of progress will not be found wanting. ‘I'hen will many of our own small capitalists. timid to day to launch into agriculture, regret the lost opportunity,. when land was cheap and the way vlear before them, and be sorry to see the Yaukee with his proverbial ‘‘smartness’? make money out of what is a Ped now a sealed book to them. ? Having said so much of the town and island of Sr. Txo- was as illustrating its desirability as a Navan anp CoaLine Sparion as well as from an Agricultural and Commercial point of view, I shall now refer to one or two of the remarks made in the ‘‘ Heraid’s” article on this island, of the 25th Sept. It states that ‘ The British Mail Company alone lost during the hurricane and earthquake in St. Thomas in 1867 about eight million dollars worth of property, and the consequence was, that they changed their station from St. Thomas to Jamaica, expecting eventually to change. it to Antigua.” Where did the “ Herald's” reporter get this astounding piece of information from? ; The facts are these: 5 ‘bere never was a British Mail Company in St. Thomas. ~The '* Herald's" informant must mean The Royal Mail S. 8. Co., whieh certainly did not-lose eight millions of dotlars. The total damage done to town, shipping and harbour did not amount to a tenth of that sum, and that is allowing plenty for the actual loss. : The Royal Mail S.S. Co. did not leave St Thomas because of the earthquake and hurricane, nor cyclonic disturbance, as asserted by the ‘' Herald.” It continued there for eighteen years afterwards, not leaving St; Thomas till 1885—and then only because it:was made a condition by the English Govern- went, to their obtaining the subsidy from England and the subsidies from the different English islands, that they should make their headquarters at one of them. This they did at Barbados—not at .Kingston, Jamaica, as is stated in the “ Herald.” ; The only true thing in that paragraph is that-the French adopted .Martiniyue as their port of call for their steamers, but it is also true that they came back again to St. Thormus, and as if to compensate for the loss of the Royal Mail S, S. Go., which yet sends two steamers a month besides cargo boats, and retains its large Factory there, on account of the very profitable return it still gives-to them}; the American and o a Brazil $. S. Co. doubled its line of splendid steamers, and the Hamburg-American §, 8..Co, which has fifteen steamers call- ing at St. Thomas every month,:is slowly but surely monopo- lizing.the carrying trade which ‘formerly belonged to the Royal Mail S. 8S. Co., which, it is said, regrets ever having changed its itinerary, and unable to returv, owing to its contract, cou- templates moving to St. Lucia, where, at least, so it is report- ed, they will not have to complain of such treatment as they have received at the hands of Barbados. Though. how. they will fare there has yet tobe seen. The merchants of that is- land are only beginners, and without the two hundred years’ experience of St. Thomas and its natural advantages, cannot » eraeated to meet all the requirements of a first class port of call. The “ Herald” also says that, “the removal of the English and French Companies did much towards ruining the com-_ mercial importance of St. Thomas.” No such thing—more steamers call ab St. Thomas at pre- sent than there ever-did before in its palmiest days, and it is to this facility of intercourse by direct communication that St. Thomas owes the loss of eats of its commercial importance, Every island in the West Indies—every spot on the Spanish Main, which ured to seud ita purchasers to St. Thomas and ils produce, now does so direct; steamers calling almost at their doors for it. But there is every reason to believe that if a great manufacturing country-like America with its enterprising merchants, would make St. Thomas a depét for its pro- ductions, selling at such low rates as to attract purchasers who have transferred their custom elsewhere, they would return, and once more the place would recover a:portion of its former Frosperity. ‘ Given a free port for vessels to come and go, with such. moderate charges as now exist, large stocks of goods to pick and choose from, at fair prices; and: business would soop be doubled, and this, independent of the fact of its being the Na- ‘yal Station of so great and civilized a country as America. The “Herald” saya, ‘our principal exports are straw * z3 ay hats and pearls,” perhaps it alludes to the large shipments which are made from this port,of Panama hats—certainly the largust in the West Indiea—and to the valuable conch pearls whieh our fishermen now and ngain find in the crustacean of that name, but it bas forgotten to speak of the Bay Rum and Bay Oi) for whieh St. Thomas is famous throughout the civilized world, large quantities of it being exported to Ameri- ca and other places, and which:may be said to be the forerun- ner of.a host of similar manufactures in tbe future, when fresh blood is infused in this industrious community. With these few éxceptionas and one or two others of misor importance the article of the “ Herald” speaks correctly of uf, and I am glad that the errors which appear in it have givep me the opportunity of placing matters in a right light before those who are interested in the welfare of St, Thomas and who, may- abe, would like to see the star spangled banner floating over us instead of that dear old Dannebrog which for so many years in kindness and peaceful good will bas been the flag to which ynoat of us have sworn allegiance. For itis but jost to the Mother Country to say, that if cireumstances haye arisen which huve prevented her from doing all that sbe might have wisbed to further our progresy—we at any rate owe much of that we now possess, to her mild and equitable rule, to her considera- tion of our wants—anct always reasopable—and to the many good things which an impartia] examination reveals as belong- ing to her Administration, Pew would care to lose a voice in the Covncil—a say, at least, in our Government, and the man- ner of.expending the public funds, few would care to have our taxes or duties raised, without corresponding advantages, few would care to see the death penalty put in actual foree, the Reconciling Court or any of those yaluable Institutions abol- ished, which bave contributed so greatly to our civilization. Not that further privileges might not be expected from 80 great and free a nation ae America, should she ever acquire thie ialand for a Ooaling and Naval Station; not that we might not expect; to paraphrase the words of His Majesty King Christian TX in His Proclamation to the people of 5t. Thomas c wt oj and S$. John when they were about to he transferfed to the — United States in 1867, That a mighty impulse, both moral and material would be given to the happy development of the ts- lands under such a Sovereignty as that of America. —— POSTSCRIPT. Since penning the above, I amin receipt of a copy of the “New York Herald,” dated 4th October. This contains Pen and Pencil Sketches of St. Thomas, and is certainly a great improvement upon the article of Sept. 25th. Besides giving™ fair description of the place, and how advantageous it would be as a Coaling and Naval Station for the U.S. A. it, speaks favourably of its buildings, banks, schools, its form of Govern, ment and its people. It is mistaken only in saying that now and again it suffers from a water famine, This I beg leave to correct, As I have already stated, there is always a surplus of water; sufficient to supply vessels calling at the port. Taken as a whole, it is gratifying indeed to find St. Thomas figuring so prominently in the pages of one of the greatest and most ably edited newspapers of this century. St, Thomas, Oot. 27, 1891 P, AUBEGK e J SVENDSEN. . KLINGBERG KREBS & CO COMMISSION MEROHANTS, Provisions, Wines & Spirits, WHOLESALE & RETAIL. ST. THOMAS, Wye >