The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1881-09-29
Life in the Bahamas.


ANYBODY who wishes to survey the
most picturesque aspect of Nassua life
should visit the quays between seven
and eight o'clock in the morning.
Then there is great hustle at the
market-place, where the fishermen
bring in the nights catch, and remark
able varieties of strange creatures of
the deep. glowing with prismatic hues,
are tumbled out upon the planks.
Grotesque old women display their
little stock of fruit and vegetables. No
one seems to possess more than few
cents worth; but if their business is not
Intensive it is conducted with amazing
Slubility. A little pile of cocoanuts, a
mall basket of oranges, and bunch of
ananas, will be enough to furnish a
tall Of the better class; while the
smaller dealers set forth penny
salads, consisting of half an onion and
two or three minute fig-tomatoes, ar
ranged in piece of cocoanut-shell, with
maybe a sprig of some savory herb.
Here is tray of shelled peas; there
4 dozen or so of wretched Irish potatoes,
quite put out of countenanceN by a
mighty yam. An armful of crooked
sticks-the fiotsam of the reefs-is
offered for fire-wood, a commodity OF
which there is but small consumption
In a town where nearly all of the houses
are built without chimneys. At every
turn there are supplies of sugar-cane,
cut into lengths convenient for chewing.
Almost everybody has a piece; the
Nassau negro must be wretched, indeed,
who cannot afford himself this luxury,
II - ;o 60 10 Of of = IL,
cabins along the roads. Close by the
market is the mooring place of the
sponge-fishers; on a neighboring wharf
is the Sponge Exchange, where the
product Of the fishery is sorted in heaps
according to quality; and there are ware
houses on Bay street where it is packed
in bales for expectation. The sponge is
obtained in various parts of the BAHIA
ma waters, some of it by divers, some
with the aid of grappling-hooks, and it
undergoes preliminary publication be-
fore it is brought into port-a necessary
prscaution, for the smell of a fresh
sponge is not nice. The boats of the
spongers are not pleasant to look at.
Most of them are shabby, sloppy, and
dirty to the last degree. The negro
crew is generally large one in proper
tion to the size of the vessel. There is
Q dreadful little cabin at the stern, and
smidships on deck is an open box filled
with sand and stones as fireplace OF
cooks galley. have noticed pig on
board these vessels; but | cannot de-
eide whether he sails as a passenger
or as scullion. Perhaps the captain
takes him along for the sake of his
company.
Nothing is more amusing in the mar.
ket-place and on the adjacent quays and
streets than the costumes of the women
Three-quarters of the population are
black, and the crowd in all public re
sorts is almost exclusively black. The
women in the town have q strong taste
for finery, and for many of them the
market becomes a place of fashionable
assembly. Their broad straw hats ART
lined with white lawn, wreathet
with pink flowers and bits of gay ribbon
and tipped up jauntily behind. The
gown of muslin or thin calico il, brigh
in color, clean, well fitting. amply
fiounced and ruflled, and in m Ost case
it expands behind into long :weepin.
train. But when the dusky w;arer ha
added to this dress pretty necktie an,
, |
personal decoration comes to prema
ture stop. The gown is short in front
and below it appear bare feet, or else
pair of ragged boots, badly broken q
the toes and invariably cut down at th,
heels; they are kept on with difficulty
and reduce the gait to clati ering sor
of scuffle. so that in the movement of
crowd of women there is peculiar an,
altogether comical resonance. Sh
=, who can show a proper good" pair O
shoes is proud indeed. l met youn
lady Of color yesterday who had lace
her Oxford ties with rose ribbon, fin
ished off with large bows; an it is need
less to add that her skirts were not pei
) mitted to hide these luxuries from til
public eye.
Out of town the apparel Of the colorc
people is by no means so elaborate
G Women half cover their shrun
shanks with a single scanty petticoa
and throw over their bodies Il wretche
( garment of character and colo
equally impossible to define. The dres
4 of the men consists almost UNIVERSAL
y of rags, and very little OF them. mt
+, an old negro who wore, besides pant,
- looms, the sleeves and yoke of blu
: shirt without any body. the tattered T,
e mains hanging like fringe across h
chest and shoulder blades. Except fC
Appearances sake / should think
e might as well have worn no shirt at al
4 On the same road | encountered
young gentleman of about fifteen year
= who carried burdun on his head. an
, wore a doubled-breasted waistco
With nothing whatever below it. I'll
:. weather, in this delectable isle, whel
a the summer lasts all winter long, CO..
tinues to be very like the northern Jun
, 1t is true that the general disturban,
of the elements which has veXed bo
Is hemispheres this season has not bee
o without some influence even in Nassu
81 but the deviations from the norm
warmth and sunshine have not be,
great. The thermometer of late h
stood three or four degrees below
customary mark, but it has been
IN steady as ever, almost invariab
:. recording seventy or seventy-ol
10 degrees at breakfast time, and sevent
J. three or seventy-four at dinner, whi
~ is certainly a comfortable and geni
:, temperature. A day and half of ia
l. was followed by day of wind-squa
re and there have been several days
alternate sunshine and cloud. L
u people af Nassau call these days of b
I'd weather, l wonder what they wou
i think of our weather at home-Ct
" NeO York Tribune.
T.-a,o Pa, fI,a UTavo-v