Daily Yellowstone journal., 1888-03-18
IMPRESSIONS OF NASSAU.
An Island of Intending summer Not Fai
Away-Tbe Lazy Inhabitants.

Nassau is ore of the smallest of the
Bahama islands, covering a length Of
twenty miles by an average of five miles
in width. The city is built, facing the
north, upon the slope of a ridge, running
west to east, and nearly 100 feet at its
highest. The soil is thin, the island con-
sisting of an old coral reef, elevated grad
ually from the ocean, and during that
period subjected to the action of the
waves, leaving it honeycombed and
pocketed. This rock is compact, of sand
made from d~isintegrated corals, yellow
ish creamy in color and soft in texture,
SO that it is quarried by saving and CHS
cling, becoming considerably harder by
exposure. The surface of the rock is
covered with loose pieces, exceedingly
irregular in form. Over this is a very
little soil.
The streets are graded through this
natural rock, with natural cutters and
walks. The streets at right angles to the
water front cross the ridge generally
through deep cuts in the natural rock in
order 10 lessen the grade. The dwellings
Of the better sort are square or oblong
square, seldom more than two stories
high, with low ceilings and low pyra-
midical roofs. These houses are always
surrounded on at least two sides with
broad verandas, closed in with Stats to
keep out the light. For this reason the
houses appear larger than they are.
Dormer windows abound. The house
colors are stone, light yellow, cream; the
blinds are brown or green. High stone
walls, with broken glass bottles cemclted
into the ridges, inclose the houses and
gardens: ornamented openwork gate
ways afford a glimpse within.
The c~ocoanut, the royal the palmetto
and the silver leaf palms abound. The
giant Cuba. or silk cotton tree, oleanders
of large size, o a~maryAids, with
the many species of the citrus family,
hang up their yellow fruit against the
sun. The russell ~japodilla just coming into
fullness adds a special charm to its back
ground of dark green waxy leaves. The
vegetation seems rather sub-tropicai than
thoroughly tropical. This results not
from want Of heat, may be, but need Of
soil.
The city of Nassau is extremely pct
urcsque with the quaint narrow streets,
white. deep cutters cut from living rock,
large dwellings, with the lower or street
story. for warehouse or shop. the outside
stairways and balconies? Every building
has some special individuality about it
which adds much to the sum total Of the
charm one finds in quietly roaming round
the streets.
Here it is literally always afternoon.
No one works. Ask a question and it
will be answered the day after to-mor.
row. The few shops open about break.
fast time, and are then shut up during
that meal, and breakfast time is not
early. / went into a wholesale store at
noon time. The one clerk was fast
asleep in his chair. and ] left him undis-
turbed. The blacks, seemingly twenty
to one of the whites, sit lounging, CAB
bling, chatting, talking loud and laugh
ing. but | have not seen one at work.
The English majesty of law is thor
oughly respected here. The principal
crimes-profanity. jawing and SANDER
are among the colorsd races, and they
enjoy defending themselves at law.
Shops close at ) p. m. Saturday is a
half holiday and Sunday a Puritanical
one.
Back of Nassau proper. over the ridge
and down on TO lower levels swarm the
colored people. Their small garden
pieces are walled in with the loose pieces
of coral rock. Their cabins are small,
with one or may be two rooms, Of rock
or coral, palmetto matched. The gar
dens are bare, h~oneycombed coral rock,
where with q crowbar the banana, the
cocoanut or maize is planted, They are
unkempt, unthrifty, dirty; but every
where kind mother nature covers the
garden walls with lichens and the con-
v~olvulus, and the great lobed leaves Of
the bread fruit, the alumna and the
palms give 10 the eye an ever varying,
an ever entirely satisfying picture.
These cabins Of the colored people Jour
Inheritance from Spanish cruelty liter
ally swarm with children. The ira
ditIonal stair of from five 10 twelve little
pickaninnies is found in every cabin.
.'Massa, glib me copper for bread!' They
are inveterate beggars. They say they
can't get work, or if they do get any but
little is paid-twenty-fye TO fifty cents a
day. The truth is, there is no desire,
perhaps no incentive, TO work, no ambi-
ton 10 satisfy. Hunger is easily satisfied
by fruit, sweet potato, vans and fish.
But little fruit is exported, and that from
the outlying islands, not from here.
Sponge fishing is the one industry which
here is active.
For the climate, | would judge we had
in the United States no spot equal to this
for intending summer For people adj
vnnoed in life who desire TO avoid our
winters, for tired brain workers, for
cases Of low vitality, for the beginning of
throat and lung troubles, ! should say
Nassau is the lace.-Fred Stearns in
Detroit Free Press.