Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-04-04

| when a sugar cane has gone through the
grinding mill OF a darkey, there is little or
| no Juice lett.
The Governors house stands on slight
eminence, but the highest point of this is
land is not apparently over 100 or 200 feet,
and like all the other buildings is made of
| the soft coral limestone which is sawed out
of blocks from a quarry in the town. The
| house is a spacious and oid-fashioned struc-
ture suited to the climate, with broad steps
rising TO a deep porch, and all window open
ing shaded with jalousies or Venetian
blinds. Beautiful tropical plants and flow
ers abound, and the red hybiscus especially
| is resplendent in surroundings of the
deepest green. The flowers of this plant
are here more than three inches in diameter.
The English Governors Career.
Sir Ambrose Shea, the English Governor
of the Bahamas, is a gentleman who was
formerly a merchant in Newfoundland and
was appointed Governor of that province,
which as vet is not a part of the Dominion
of Canada for local reasons, but the New
fouudlanders objected so strongly to Sir
Ambrose that he was sent to Nassau In
stead. The ground of the objection seems
| TO have been that Sir Ambrose Shea had
always lived among them and was charged
with having been guilty of offensive Catho-
lie partisanship, even before he was an
Office holder. He was not to be tolerated by
the Protestant Newfoundlanders, who were
in the majority, but by the active support
of lord Denbigb, one of the few English
Catholic peers, and few others, he was pro-
vided for as Governor of the Bahama
Islands and performs the light and pleasant
functions at good salary, to his own COM
fort and the satisfaction OF the few perma-
nent inhabitants.
He has exerred considerable influence in
attracting attention to the planting of
"sisal" upon the thousands of waste acres of
barren rock. Sisal looks like the century
plant, or aloe, and there are already several
thousand acres in a healthul state OF
growth, The use of the "sisal" plant is to
make fiber, which is to be twisted into
binder twine and other ropes not requiring
the high tensile strength OF the MANILA
rope, the latter being made from the fiber of
the stalk of the "mesa textiles" species
of banana tree. Already the sisal is used
by overshrewd ropemakerssas an adulterant
or substitute for the MANILA in making
rope, but simple test, that of burning
piece, is sufficient to detect the presence of
sisal, it yielding white ssh and the MANILA
q black one.
1t is, I believe, another variety OF this
sisal plant from which the West Indians
and Mexicans make the intoxicating drink
called pulque, which later on in Mexico
expect also to personally investigate and pos
sibly tell you OF its effects, if pleasant. Two
priests on the island, one a Father Organ,
and also Protestant clergyman, have, I
learn, been also active in planting sisal on
the lands which have been cleared of the
light growth of pine, which has been used
10 make charcoal.
Propagating the Sisal
The young shoots of the sissl are stuck on
the soft rock, which has been broken up a
little in spots by means of a crowbar, and
some leaf mold gathered round it to protect
the new plant, and when started it sends its
rootlets out through the porous rock to find
its food. In three or four years it is ready
to part with soma of its rough spiDes an
nually. which are beaten or crushed, and
about 30 per cent or less of the inner fiber
comes out in tenacious threads, which are
woven and twisted into twine.
Two sons by a former marriage of Mr..
Chamberlain, the English NJ. P. who mar
ried Miss Endicott, have just purchased one
or two entire islands of the Bahama group
and intend to plant all in sisal. The sissl
and cocoanut plantations present very
pretty sight in a drive across the islands;
but if some energetic Yankee would take up
the cultivation of winter vegetables here
lney WOulU gOOu rtLuru. lTSb Oh ali
they would probably, with their ingenuity
for machinery, utilize a heavy steam
power crusher instead of the crowbar
with which to put the soft limestone into q
pulveriZed condition on the surface in
which it will remain, and If half be true
of what is told here of the wonderful growth
of vegetables, there ought to be dollars in 1t
for persons who will go at it with the busi-
ness tact and energy that prevails with the
Northern market gardener. Northwestern
farming land is cheap, cheaper than the
Government land of the United Statee, or
rather the soft porous rock-there is no land,
strictly speaking. An old negro lady was
pulling a luxuriant growth of tropical
plants from a walled garden as passed,
leaving an unsightly surface of lava-like
solid rock. L asked her what she was doing.
"I'se weedin' de gardin, massa," but the
weeds look nice and the rock looks bare. "I
gives de weeds to de mule and de goat, and
more comes in a week OF two
Kongos in a Dispute
Taking a cruise near Adelaide, an
African village about 16 miles from Nassau,
after getting out through the surf into the
open sea, in a whale boat, whose captain
was Kongo negro, and the crew three native,
stalwart descendants of Africa, I soon OBJ
served there was a siumbering sentiment of
mutiny toward the Kongo captain, who ac-
cused one of the esailors-"Sam"-of 'grum-
lin" Sam replied: 'Ps not grumlin; 1
say nolin now, but we's gwine to settle wid
you when you'se done wild de white man."
''You is grumlin," said the captain, mot
loud, but wild you face pulled down black
and l won't stan it and we's gwine to settle
it right now and l kin tell you, Sam, you'se
no gemmen, else you'd say right out what's
de malta wild you." "Yes, is gemmen; I
knows when l is gemmen. You'se no gem
men yousef to call me shout for de grapplin
when Use shoutin wild two lungs and I
knows how loud man kin shout wild two
lungs as goods you."
mo you do'an, Sam, no you do'an.
You'se no gemmen when you &C so. 1 want
you ketch de grapplin to keep de ship ofn
de rocks. You a gemmen in yea'hs, but
you a chile at de bres when you &C so.
knows what ails you, Sam, You'se tired; you
want res an you'se goin to get res. You'se
been sailin wild me in dis here whale-ship
fer fo' yeas, and knowd dis mawnin you
didn't want to come nohow an why didn't
you say so like a gemmen. In dis yere
high win you'se got to shout when Use
cap'n an you knows it !"
As they all had long knives in their belts
/ was glad l also had a 3S-caliber revolver
at hand in case OF emergency, but, like most
of their Ouarrels, it was chiefly in words;
but Sans eyes flashed fire as he sullenly
but loudly replied to the captain of the
whaleboat that doubtless never saw whale,
and after the wind and war subsidized the
captain informed me he could get away
wild Sam any day, and that "dese 'Merican
Nassau niggers were not much good any
mo-; dey didn't want TO work." and be-
lieved the captain. w. II. DAILY.