Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1866-12-14
Correspondence Of the Free Press. |
NO. II.
From the West Indies.
ST. GROIN, Nov. 10.

trees skirtiug the shore, Is sery striking Bu
as We did not 60 ashore can not particulariIe
There were dozen Of Us intending to 20 to St
Crcix, and it vas quite an object to get over t.
that island, thirty 60 forty miles south Of ST
Thomas, as quickly as possible. The only con
yeyarce Is by means Of small schCoBers which
pass to and iTo, mostly for ireightiug and
market purposes and with very limited accom-
moiation for passengers, usually; moreover,
they make their voyages in the night unless they
/ get hecalmcd, when they may be a night and day
or even twice as long on the water. We heard
that enc, deemed much the lest Of all, was in
the port and se depuiel onc Of cur number 70
look up the captain and propose special tiip
for cur accommodation. lie seen came On board,
tall frank-lookirg. well dressed intelligent
black man, With the Whole hearing Of q gentle
manly man of bu,iness-an appearance which
was fully made good by an that We saw and
heard of him afterwards. We s5Cu closed a bar
gain and by noon were under weigh for our
/ destinst The weather vas fine, the breeze
pretty strong, but the schooner was s,iG and On
the whole very comfortable, and We all agreed
that the run was a delightful one we dii not
get into the harlor Of Christiausiad. till after
dark, and darkness comes on in these
with quickness after sun down which is al
most startling. \ boat took Us on shore under
ch rye OF government officer and we were
landed On the Kings Little wharf. CNo sailing
vessel OF steamer Is alloEei to come TO the wharf
to land passengers or freight from another island
or distant port-ail must be brought ashore 10
row boats or lighters says the King of
Denmark and so 1t must tc.) Our baggage,
save what light things We could carry in our
hands, had TO remain on board according 20
regulation. till the next morning A. we were
We soon found ourselves in quarters for the
night and next lay a, On early hour found an .
cur things &;- at the Custom House fr iuspec- F..
ton. The process was CONDUCTED by youag
Danish soldier, and was not rigorous or uurll-
sonable in any particular. 4 pocket pistol be-
longing to one Of the juniors Of the party hal 70
he reserved for the determination Of a higher
authority The little pistol went through all
the steps and was restored % the owner in about
@ week, which, considering the slow pace AT
which men and things move in this b.. climate.
vas as el,lg l- could reasonably have been
expected.
Our silence he5e h-, been TO lr.,t 90 jas.i-
.y US IN giving much more than fr-, imprss-
lions ,t ias place. aud its surroundings, of tle
people aaI their lclcs of lf- ana tu..u.--.
The pao, Clrisiiarsiaslf, is TIE chief one Of the
s,aud-has a5og, 5000 inhabitants ofal. ages
lnI description, is s,,uatel o. irregular ground
Using from lie edge OF beautiful lay ou The
iiaks OF sharp irregular hills. IL Ge North
aest Of US on toe bay are plantations. 90 estates
IS they seem &c be called here, Of great beauty,
IS seen from our chamber virloEs Long
.ows Of cocoa nut palms are s-en waving .a tle
wind ,hgir Ie-dulaus branches. ana cane Cells
nd fiu'' trees III CUT tle sc.rs ia some I'fc5s
be cultivated estates reach ..a.-e ie Oh, r.g 81
he hills, ,f which ihe 'ghe., iu s. q, ..e from
bout $50 feet Go $50 fet high pa ihe right
& cur view litrle islaa1 callsl Protestant iav.
ccnr.ei by romlu,ic pile Of tarl.a1s king
se halfio-t ari half dwelling house. shuts 20
ar sgh, iu that quarter. Ju a pIoa..a,.ry
Ittlo way beyond is q light house, which serves .
@ guide vessels coming into tie harbor. About
mile from the bottom Of the bay, there
.retchcs across 70 from cast 90 west coral ltef.
lightly curved in form, So that the hay inside
{ il Is shaped much like moon Of the first
.uar,er five or six days Oh. Outside cf this
reef the water deereus rapidly and whenever
here is any wind, or motion Of the waves from
eswarj, the surf bl caks on the rect in a most
eautIful manner Suddenly q white line OF /
oam appears, gradually stretching cut so that Q
; looks Ike a long living creature, this perhsTs
hasei by another, and tha, by another, aud SO
u, some long and some shor;.-the whole fas- c
iusting the eye with the never falling beauty
+ the appearance. The grey blue ocsan appears
n the outside and within the reef the water
ENG mostly shallow-say !athom to a faihom
nd a half deep, except ia the harbor proper On
be Northeast side and near the tortuous en-
rance 5brough the reef, where the vessels draw
ng eighteen 10 twenty feet Of water can ride
5 free from the violence Of winds and waves.
During the hurricane which causel 50 much
lsmage, some weeks ago. in some the Islands,
his island was unhurt. The report is that
larily ever any damage comes to it from the
so much dreaded on other Islands.
santa Cruz appears to lie just outside of the
weep which those des,ructiye blows take in
heir course. During the late hurricane, the
people say that the surf broke on the reef and
shot into the air to a height and with a volume
# stupendOus magnifcence.
Whether the color Of the water in the bay is
,aused by sea grass or some other character Of
the bottom-on which point I am uncertain
the fact is that broad stripes and patches Of
beautiful green varying in shape and dimensions
from hour to hour and blending with the neutral
hue Of the rest of the water produce beautiful
effect, taken with the surroundings, rarely
aqualled and perhaps nowhere surpassed.
\ small fort, from which we are sslutel with
q morning gun at 4. NJ, and an evening gun
at P NJ, guards the harbor AMI little Gus
tom-house is near the landing. Danish soldiers
are seen here and there (there are understand
only about 125 kept here, under command Ofa
major) to do duty at the fort and at the govern
ment buildings. These buildings have pretty /
substantial looking appearance and are kept in
good order. |
Some Of cur party had an interview with /
the Governor of the island few days ago. He |
received us in the official apartments Of the /,
Government house. We being introduced by |
appointment by the American Consul Of the !
place The Governor received Us very court
eously, and couversed affsblY with US for half
hour or more. He is a middle aged gentleman ei !
coOd>appearsnce, and speaks the English langu-
age imperfectly. He is Of course Dane, and is
~ his intercourse