The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1885-03-04
SEEING THE WEST INDIES.
Jomaiea--The Blue Mountains and shs
Caribbean Sea.

The next morning early we were in sight
Of the beautiful mountains of Jamaica, still
higher and of finer outlines than those OF
Hayt. This whole region is certainly the
chosen abode of beauty. 1t is constant
surprise to feel the warmth and delicious
softness of the air, to see the brilliant sky,
and to watch the succession of verdure-clad
mountains on these exquisitely picturesque
islands, which are perpetually caressed by
the restless sea on whose bosom they are
set. 1t is painful surprise, though, to see
that such enchanting natural loneliness has
become the home of such an unsatisfactory
phase of human life. The ship comes to
anchor before the town of Kingston, land
ing at the foot of plain which slopes
downward from the magnificent hills to a
blue and shining sea. As soon rs you dis.
embark you find the streets filthy, lined
with wretched novels and poorly built
houses, the black inhabitants, dirty, with
torn clothes, lounging along the streets, yet
laughing and contented in the midst of dirt
and degradation. Even the white people
who have lived here long, seem to have be-
come affected with the prevailing spirit or
to be unable to cope with it, for they are
contented to have such disorder around
them rs they would never have submitted
to in their native countries. No one expects
to have orders exactly carried out or any.
thing done at the time set. At the best
| hotel, universally so considered, the food is
wretched the tablecloth dirty, the company
extremely Mixed and the walters seem &c
get along as well as they can without brains
The whole appearance of the city and its in.
habitants is depressing. You wonder if such
forlorn condition of affairs is the neces-
sary result of life in q hot climate, or
whether it may be owing to errors of gov
eminent, or to the reputed exhaustion of
the soil of Jamaica and consequent decay of
the islands prosperity, or even to the enor-
nous preponderence of the black race. For
here, as in the other islands, white faces are
ihe exception the mass CT the population
IRE black, with certain proportion of col
ored people, rs those of mixed blood are
called. On the whole island, by the las,
census, there were 4,432 whites, 100, 94e
colored people, and AL, 1856 blacks. What.
ever the cause may be, the result is repel-
lent, and the aspect of humanity here does
ell it can to Offset the attractiyeness of the
land.
But that attraetiyeness, at any rate in the
winter season, is wonderfully great After
few days at tho best hotel, we decided
that, in order to spend winter in Jamaica
with any comfort, it would BIO necessary to
keep house, and SO went to look at furnish.
ed houses in the mountains back of Kings
ton. To do this we had first to drive to the
foothills, and then go on horseback over
the narrow blidle paths which led to the
summit of the mountains. We wound about
through the mountain gorges, thickly plant.
ed with broad-leaved bananas and occa-
sional orange groves. Perched above them
ON the steep sides we saw solitary negro
huts, thutched with palm, and with sides
woven of rude wicker work. had read SO
| often of travellers who felt thrill of de-
| light at the first sight of tropical vegetation,
that | had come to distrust them, and was
amazed to find that there really was some
| thing thrilling in the sight of even such
tippiSuA NSboettioh W We buW tuut
| day. There were myriads of hibiscus shrubs
with glowing scarlet blossoms, poinsettias
waved across the WY like red flags, purple
passion flowers twined along the path, and
strange orchids and ferns nodded from its
sides. Long, thin cacti crawled oyer the
rocks like green snakes, and near then
grew immense clusters of pink begonia,
which the boy with us called rock bush. II
was not that the vegetation, at least in the
part of the mountains which we traversed,
was denser or finer than in some damp
Northern forest, or the flowers more plenti-
full, but that they were either new or that
such as we are accustomed to see cherished
in lighthouses here grow wild.
After passing for two hours through seem
cry of the widest aud most picturesque
beauty we finally reached the summit,
where the view was superb The mountain.
below us looked like an angry ocean, and
beyond them we saw Kingston harbor and
tho Caribbean Sea. In spite of all the
practical drawbacks to living here, it is
quite mistaken theory that either an artist
or a botanlst has completed his education il
he has not been to Jamaica.