New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-09-22
AMONG THE BAHAMAS.
sPoNGING, DANCING AND FLIRTING.


| This surprising statement has just been made 10y
Bahama Bron, and seems be true to the letter as
regards many Of the Inhabitants OF these EeSs as
| / have met. The principal given for pre-
ferrng the starsand stripes to the of ST. An
drew and st. George are the facts that all nut an
nfntesma fraction Of the trade of the group Is with
the United States, and that the present Government
exacts excessively heavy duties articles imported
! into the Bahamas from "Tbe states" Annexation
by the Union would, Of course. entirely do away WIN
such duties. which, under the present schedule, arc
! particularly tho necessarles of life. On
flour, for instance, there IS, told, tax OF III
| shings (S2 so per barrel. The sum IS levied
on every 900 feet Of pine lumber, and quarter OF
that amount Is levied OH every 1000 shingles. From
the commercial point of view there the strongest
| reasons why the islanders should wish annexation;
and the other hand there is no strong restraining
feeling OF loyalty to the Crown for the reason that
under the sleepy rule Of the colonial pauiarchs no
efforts worthy of remembrance have been made to
stimulate industry foster patriotism, or introduce im
proycments. OF mauufao turing, there Is nothing III
the northern Bahamas and consequently this sec ton
of the group must in order to comply with the enact
| mens of the Government, pay certain American
manufactured products duties ranging from 10 TO 50
per cent Under the present dIspensaton smuggling
| is Inevitable However this last statement is not
| supposed to interest " The Village
The Village is branch from the parent trunk at
|
and east 1t is out-ofthe-way settlement of sixty
| seventy souls, and has a history Tor, rather, a
| lack of history dating back to the Cos For many
years previous the rocky slope which the settle
mcnt struggles had been favorite location for tenn
pOrary camps, It possessed an abundant supply OF
| fresh water, and fruits were unusually abundant IN
its vicinity. During the American Civil War ex-
! tensve sponge beds discovered within few
miles Of the place and Of the more enterpriSing
Uhis word is used with a comparative meaning in this
| instance) spirits at Elbow Cay conceive che idea
Of moving their families hither. The idea was carried
| out and few cabins built, most Of which are
stll standing and picturesque affairs partly OF
| weather beaten wood and partly Of composition OF
shell and al limestone. The roofs matched WIFE
| palmetto straw" I'm the African manner by native
| Africans from the Congo who about twenty years
ago saved from Spanish SLAYER wrecked OIL
! Abaco. The thatchlng is justly considered wonderful
! by the inhabitants. " Hit his has handsome hunder-
meath has ha carpet says ancient sponger hand
! hit shets hOut rain hand shine like ha vail"
Those who hunt for dialects would fancy that they
! had bagged interesting game should they study the
| language used in this quarter of the globe The
| language IS the English of the Strand, plus Job lot
| Of corrupt Spanish cockney torn away from be-
loved Lunnun, and by freak OF fate baniShed to
| Abaco or Elbow Cay, would find instant consolation
! when the first native he met addressed him. The
language of these keys IS the fixed portion Of the
cocliney tongue, minus few dlOms and some OF
| the more obscure words. The VS. and VS. are inter
! changed with thoroughness which would have salts
fled sam Weller the his are applied or cut oil in
accordance with the most approved cockney rules
| aim IS evolved into ing" and boodyS and
! boOmin's add their SAVIOR to the salt
so clear is the Bahama water that sponge fishers
! BY looking through alfsuDmcrged pail with glass
bottom distinctly those forms of marine plant
| life which exist as far as seventy feet below inc
surface of the The spOnges which are selected
by the Of the spOnglng schoOners are those
which grow from twelve TO thirtytve feet below the
surface and pulled from their beds on the coral
rocks by hooks at the ends Of poles called cranes,
varying in length from fifteen to thirty eight feet
The living spouges differ widely from the light dainty,
evolved products which druggists suspend in Their
show windows and sell at dollar each. They are
malodOrOus Shiny, elastic repulSlve articles, soft ana
slippery and resemble nothing so much as pieces OF
raw liver In color they range from neutral purple
through brown to a dark gray. The sponge Is, Of
course partly animal, but much more vegetable.
| The animal part consists of curious mysterious
creatures which inhabit the cells of the sponge and
enjoy life while the affair attached to the lotion
| of the sea Bat when the sponge is torn from the
coral by the prOngs of the and brought to the
deck Of the the little animals fall upon evil
DAYS The maDy.ceed animal plant is wathed.
rubbed cleaned and dried. Long before the manipu-
latlon is finished the Shiny little protocol are washed
and rubbed of their cells and give up the ghost
When the drying is complete the sponges are strung
upon cords, twelve or thirteen of them making a
strand' They are then washed down with buckets
Of salt water, morning and night, until week be-
| fore they are taken to the Sponge Exchange at
| Nassau dur.ug which week they ale subjected to a
final curing process. IN case, however, that 1t Is
known that an interval of several weeks Will elapse
before the schooner sails for Nassau the strands are
deposited in craws," submerged store houses made
| IN The form OF a sockade with a covering of tropical
twigs which at high tide is just awash After a
cargo las been sold at the Exchange the roots OF the
! suonges are cut away and any cells which contain
| coral sand are carefully cut Ou. The spongeS are
then trimmed and pressed for eXporatiOn-
There are about fifteen varieties Of sponge in
the Bahamas not including the land species.
Inc grass sponge is coarse suingy
affair not unlike wire grass, and the wiIe7 is like
unto it. Tho cup is peculiar growth generally
fine and delicate and has cavity I'm the centre which
make, it resemble the domestic article from which it
takes its name. The WOOL particularly the lambs
WOOL is delicate in texture, but strong, and not
| ordinarily as compressble the yellow" The
| hedgehog Is tough among sponges. The glover
| is a swell in than one sense. Other varieties
| are the bouquet and the " silk.' About 100000
strand, are annually sold in Nassau, and the annual
trade I'm sponges in the Bahamas amounts to about
S25O,OOO spongng is the occupation of about 1000
| BahamlanS
sponges are moro plentiful than cloth in The VII
LACE and are made to perform many Of the functions
of cotton and woollen cloths. They are used TO clean
| culinary utensils and to remove sand or dust. They
also make excellent mOps and towels. AS bonnet
decoration unique specimen Of the cup variety IS
przed by damsels of The Village. Yellow" Sponges
are made into cushions and pillows. sponge as
largo as bushe basket IS often used as upholstery
| for a chair ON the stern seat of a boat Where tho
article is 50 common it is naturally extremely cheap,
TO prove which statement will mention that bought
| this morning a strand Of twelve fnc specimens for
! one shilling nine pence, or forty-two cents. dozen
| similar spongcs bought at a dozen drug stores on
Broadway Slxth-aye would take at least 30 out OF
| my pocket, and probably Sl2.
Some idea Of the isolation Of this little nest may be
obtained when it is stated that 1t has no mail con.
| ,oction with he outer world. I'D within a year