New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-01-15
A REGION OF GREED.
AMoxG THE BAHAMA wREcKERs

i Seoucu
| 10 the Gulf ports, the Spanish Main snd tho West
| indies know won tho many dangers TO which they
| are cxrssd In passing tho bahamas, whesher ~
| the oun Stream or on the side Of tho OCEAN Tho
NAVIGATION among and those coral islands 70 -
perilom - in any part OF tho world; ana "roc~'
until tho British Government erootod tho pre~Sns n
| lighthouses were OF almost weekly occurrence No
traIly swrcckng" before tho existing laws for iss
| regulation came into forco, was one OF the chief
| sources of employment and income to the poor In
hsbltanfs Of these poor islands. To this DAY the
wreckng passion Ut Is no less), strong among thcm
and many arc tho curses lowed at tho lighthouses
and buoys many the regrets for tho good old days
before Government medded Win tho most houii9ni"e
| industry of the colony
| In ono OF my cruises among tho bahamas, was
| fortunate enough to have as captain OF my little
schooner a fine old quadroon, man whom ono could
trust implicitly In most matters, and the best seaman
! In tho colony according to common report Ono DAY
Z discovered that Captain Hume had been wrecker,
and many were the tales he told Of the antclight-
| house days, He confessed with air Of pridc
rather than any thing else that he himself had used
1 false lights as decoys score Of times, and his old
eyes twnked he recounted the booty he had stolen
| from the captains cabin Of many a inc ship. At
that time lighthouse was building on one OF tho
| windward Islands Of the group, and Captain Hume
| astonishcd me ono day by saying that as soon as
the light should be In working order he would throw
up his ship, and mako Robnsons Island his residence
| for q month or two, for there would DO plenty OF
| wrecks around there. I asked how that could be,
| whom the light would warning. "Wel,
sir,s he replied you know how they do these things
| Tho Government sends notice to all other govern
| mens that tho light will be working Oh such ana
such date and the notice Is printed that all the
captains may read It. But these blank idiots never
read the notices. and when new lights up, there's
plenty Of fun to be had round about IT. for tho foos
mistake It for some other one, and so out OF their
| reckoning, and he rubbed his hands ard again de-
| clared that there would be fine business doing at
| Roblnson's Island before long
Tho Blmni Islands, among tho smallest members
Of the group, lie in exceptionally favorable posi-
| zion for wrcckng. They are on inc hor'n "oS'
edpe of the Great Bahama Bank, within milc OF tho
Gulf Stream on the trade route of tho Gull ports.
| The extent Of the traffic along this route may DO
imagined from the fact that, even Win Inc ilhi.o"
horizon afforded by coral island, one vessel Is hardy
out Of sight passing along the Gulf stream Oeioro
| another appears And in addition to the coast
traffic European ships frequently taAe short cut
| through tho Bahamas, passing between the BANK
| and the Island of Grand Bahama, and emerging Oh
the Gulf Stream not far from the Bimnls No Wohuef
the Blmini people are loud In their cu'ses ot 'ho
tyrannAca government which erected the three neigh
boring lighthouses deprived them OF their lawful
| prey, as they consider 1t.
| had long Intended 10 pay visit TO tho Bimins,
and circumstances which occurred In tho fall OF 1856
| brought my wishes TO fulfment. largo BRUSH
steamer the Juliet loaded with railroad iron ior
New Orleans was wrecked the Gingerbread GROUND,
some forty miles from tho Bminis, her cargo having
shifted during storm and affected the compass, so
that tho captain lest his bearings. Captain and crew
| saved themselves in tho boats, and finally reached
| Blmni. After making arrangements for salvage
OF the cargo and as he thought, securing that the
| cabin furniture and other private property shoua
lot stolen the captain proceeded TO Nassau 10 s'an
his trial in the wreckng Court, leaving officers ana
men at Bimnl. From them heard the story OF tho
wreck and having found two friends to accompany
| mo, we set off TO for ourselves among other
| things how the vrecking industry conducted
| At high noon on a brolling day the little trading
| steamer Lizzie Henderson," bound for Key west
and Tampa, lay to off Alice Town, the ehici seltle-
ment of the Bimins and soon boat came aionsslue,
when VIC and our baggage were quickly transferred
to It, and gliding through the clear water approaehco
the entrance of the harbor which IS formed by the
lagoon between the two islands On the smaller north
ern island are the settlements, the southern tho
plantations of tho people. charming picture greeted
u. on entering harpor. Inc low-iylhg lahu Win
groves of cocoa-nut palms ovcrshadowing tho houses
of the settlement the broad lagoon with It's varying
| tInts of green opening here and there to tho sea;
| the clumps of mangrovcs, weird and uncahhy-
! looking along the shores; the white sails OF tho
little plantation boatsall formed picture OF tropeai
| scenery perfect In Its way Hau u NOV pocn luz
the civilized appearance Of many of the houses anu
their inhabitants, would have had little difhcuity
n imagining oneself among the coral islands OF tho
| South Seas.
| house was soon engaged for tho party and
while Pie owners vacated it, we sailed out under
| the cocoanut palms, delightng in their ccol shade
but watchful for falling nuts, to make orr hrst OK
| ploratlon Of the island. To our astonlsbment We
saw scarcely halfa dozen men in the whole settle
| ha n nj n n
On inauiring the reason found that the men wero
all at the wreck of the Juliet with their sebooners
Women and children manned the boats, and did all tho
| work in the fields, and got along very we'll sono
| amusing scenes occasionally witnessed, as lor
instance when a psntaton-boat ran ashore on one
of the shoals In the lagoon and the amazon In charge
| .rt rushed the boat of, and
| then Jumped In again. When stormy weather set
I'm a few days later the returned and the settle
ment took on a more normal appearance
| Many Of the houses, VIC found, were much moro
| comfortably furnished than usual; there were mo
Iamns. nicely panelled doors, with brass or nicho
! handles to them, book-shelvcs and so iorth bu'
a moments inspection made the meaning Oh TINS
quite cear All had been taken nom wreck 'nc
| doors were cabin doors, the bookshclves had once
| bean swinging bottIc-racbs, the very stops OF The
| h,uscs bad come from some companion way inc
bouse VIC rented fur ishcd of the host examples
NJ tb,s novel and impressive methods OF iurnishins
| hut the church was best Of ALL handsome pulpit
had been formed out Of cabin-wanscoting some Oh
the lamus had once swung in the sacrilegious amos-
hor, ~ trading schooner altar, altar-rails, read
! ing desk. choir rests, everything showed evidence
Of a nautical origin To all appearance this might
have been tho original Bahamian church where the
parson stopped his prayers on hearing the ]oyiu
cry "A wrccki wrcck' and, surphoe hy'ns III
tho wind led the race the scene Of the catastrophe
,r. storv "a told Of other ocacs also tue chances
are that It is true In some of the cases.
Tho chic. Officer carpenter and steward OF the
Inlet were still at Bmin TO take charge of the ships
stores cabin furniture plate, clothes and other pr
| vats property as It from tho wreck Shortly
before our arrival they had sent OF the crew twenty
$3.50 mi