The Republican journal., 1896-04-23

,.rIUf ID station In the West Indies Now treat
.s4. nrr.
lespoudence of The journal.
.-.~ SANTA LUCIA, March 5th.
N4-distracted Cuba, the island
lportance Just now in the West
. rtta Lucia, which England has
..,Ited into a second Gibraltar.
ID. 4g sweep of islands which
wavering semi. circle from
n coast to the mouth of the
lies in portion of the
miles, midway between Mar
i Barbados. about . miles
,. 5.,r 1t is only a few hours
he Danish group TO Santa
u. therefore, being so near as
r We determined to take peep
lN lortltications. Going on board
...a. p the harbor of ChriStianstoed
evening, daybreak found us peace
l.aued in the loveliest little bay in
les aJ between the twin options in
r,. 4. stres town Ne words can do
+. The fantastic grandeur of Santa
,l a. seen from the ocean. The island
lf, 40 miles long by half as wide,
leater part of it mountainous and
7-eD With dense forests. Most strik-
/ s.l extraordinary among the crazy
.u- peaks tossed everywhere in the
'e, infusion are the two Pitons,
mile apart, towering straight up
fae sea 5000 feet, wooded and
D g-etn to their spire-like submits.
3. tranquil blue water between them is
suits l1roor; beyond its shining beach
r t White town climbing the slopes
s rpuvely clean and bright in the
C.H- sunshine, Gn reality it is the
and dirtiest burg to be found in
ufo ng Journey; behind it hills upon
. lack with forests, rise to the
- ~utfeiere-a region of mystery
rat4eS-, shrouded in gray clouds and
,- dn, silhouetted sharply against
.a"uy blue of the sky.
0.4.N many options in the West
.e- use the French called all conf
nat name: but these of Santa
" The Pitons, par excellence.
.tndicular sides, clothed tc the
.. Geen OF whose vividness those
en- only the forests OF the tenn
can form no conception, have
.- "r scaled by mortal man; unless
u4 story, which is told and be-
lac islanders, is true: During
". when this little territory was the
bloody wars between France
0I. 60of Admiral Rodney Eng
D. Ho figured here about the year
elmined, on wager, to plant the
Ho- upon the tallest Piton-one
SLIDING perhaps $50 feet higher than
.r sing for ladders the flower
and creepers that entwine the
pg shrubs, they began the as
"May enough. But all the narrow
aSrS, even the branches of the
's we've garrisoned by an enemy Oh
f" -lY had not reckoned, more to be
oNt 'A3u the whole Armee Francaise
'Ae 1"-lo brigands of the forests-the
'19te 'el-de lance, the deadliest serpent
1rfl. which seems to cherish an i'm
d ap,c dtred for man and beast and to
4 Np' Tor victims. Beneath the VIC
s 'sHnghts of these snakes, man
'r' pam lropped dead on some narrow
''. '' rock, or rolled down the cliffs in
le sta Only one sailor reached the
4'!A'' Il cay young lieutenant named
F, "Ao was seen from shipboard to
'" tA" nion Jack in triumph above
bead and then fall to the ground.
wy nobody returned was mystery to
Watching comrades, until second de-
'1'otnt was sent out to investigate, and
IgA back the gruesome account. min
'"uie Of their own number. The
0'HlnaDie reptile, which the French
iN'o ier-de- lance and the English call
''-l'i snake, whose scientific appel
.''l IS CTastedocephalus lanceolatus-
' SVaims the upper heights and for
''iIIhdes of Santa Lucia, and no
.''''''e mas been found for his poison.
''''IeSnake is harmless plaything in
np"2son for it at least gives notice of
"senllons to strike, and prompt am-
'''9 ot the wounded part and free
Wy "-lskey generally saves the victim S
a" to this day the grim fact re-
'' nag everybody bitten by the ''iron
uies most horrible death, decom-
'.''N setting in and the flesh falling
1i't BONES almost before breath has
-'' oody Strange to say, this par
''aI serpent is found upon none of
sands but Santa Lucia, Martinique
'u"daioupe. His nearest habitat is
'''"' on the north eastern coast of
-, ''N america, and the mystery is how he
''e '' be on the islands at all. If it is
'S some insist, that the Caribbees
'l.ce part of the main continent and
~ i,'H Shakeship travelled by land to the
p''ces which he now infests in such
rS' Do9fS' why did he skip the nearer
l''' Trinidad, the nearest, is as
ply OF them AZ TralapJ ,,oc of ,n,,