Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-02-26
SEEING THE WEST INDIES.
Blue Mountains and
the Caribbean

We had been spending a few days
at st. Kits. writes Kingston CORE
spondent of the New York Sun. and
then took the intercolonial English
mail steamer to st. Thomas, on our
way to Jamaica. The ship was sig
nailed after dark. We went down to
the custom house, and, until it was
time to go on board, waited IN the
midst of a crowd of negroes, Geek
reaches, and travellers just landed.
Among the travellers was one old lady
who alone would have filed the Gus
tom house. She had lost a trunk, she
had missed an umbrella, her husband
had proved most incompetent in the
management of the luggage, and the
one refrain to all these complaints was
that they arranged all these things
much better at Antigua Afterward
we heard that III leaving the snip she
had met with as many difficulties as
she encountered on reaching the
shore.
BY midday of the following day we
were anchored off ST. Thomas, and
here we remained on the ship for sew
eral days, waiting for the small
steamer direct from Southampton,
England, to take us on our way. We
were very comfortable on the Esk, the
lntercolOnial steamer, but the Don,
the English ship on which we after
ward embarked, was q great contrast
to her. We met on the latter with
poorer food, worse accommodations
and more miserable service than we
encountered anywhere else on the
journey.
The hills of st. Thomas are not SO
striking as those of some other islands
IN the West Indies, but they are still
sufficiently picturesque, and the sitU-
alton Of the town is quite peculiar. 1t
is built on three low hills which lie
side by side along the waters edge
Behind them is the higher range
which runs through the island. The
three hills are SO steep that you can
see each honse distinctly as il mounts
above It's neighbors; and at night,
when they are lit up, the three gilt
tering pyramids have fairy-lke
effect.
We left st. Thomas on Monday af-
ternoon, and sarly on Tuesday Morn
Tag were sailing past the shores Of
Haytl. When we came on deck
we had reached the western coast. Its
mountains were higher than we had
previously seen. and the range more
continuous and sleeper toward the
sea. About midday we came to Port
au-Prince, and very impressive was
the sail up the noble bay on which it
stands. The appearance Of Hayti is
SO full of charms, and natural re-
sources, according to the guide-books,
SO rich and varied, one can not help
wondering that the white race should
have INDUCED the cruelty and stupid
ity which caused it to fall into the
hands Of an inferior race.
Although the beauty of the ap-
proach to PortaU-Prince can scarcely
be surpassed, the appearance of the
place itself IS most uDattractive. a
few boats put out from it to bring
some passengers on board; one
brought oranges and bananas for sale,
a dilapidated lighter took some boxes
ashore, passengers and boatmen being
all alike jet black, and all their APP
polntments alike inadequate and
wretched. Having left boxes and
mail, we started again for Jamaica
and watched the mountains of
Hayti grow dim behind us with
vague regret.
Next morning early we were ia sight
of the equally beautiful mountains of
Jamaica, still higher and of finer
outlines than those of Hayti. This
whole region is certainly the chosen
abode of beauty. It is a constant
surprise to feel the warmth and de-
Hcious sOftness of the air, to see the
brilliant sky, and to watch the sue
ccssion of verdure clad mountains on
these exquisitely picturesque islands,
which are perpetually earessed by the
restless sea on whose bosom they are
set. 1t is 8 painful surprise, though,
to see that such enchanting natural
loyeliness has become the home of
an unsatisfactory phase of human
life. The ship comes to anchor be-
fore the town of Kingston, landing
at the foot of a plain which slopes
downward from the magnificent hills
TO blue and shining sea. As soon
as you disembark you find the streets
filthy, lined with wretched novels
and poorly-built houses, the black in
habitants, dirty, with torn clothes,
Longing along the streets,
yet laughing and contented
IN the midst of dirt and degradation.
Even the white people who have lived
here long seem tc have become affect
ed with the prevailing spirit Or to be
unable to cope with it, for they are
contented to have such disorder around
them as they would never have sub
mitted to In their native countries.
No one expects to have orders exactly
carried out or anything done at the
time set. At the best hotel, univer-
sally so considered, the food is wretch
ed, the tablecloth dirty, the company
extremely naked, and the walters
seem to get along as we'll as they can
without brains. The whole appear
ance of the city and It's inhabitants is
depressing. You wonder if such a
forlorn condition of affairs is the ne