Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1897-04-03

of lizards, green
and brown. in agreeable confirmation
Of the propinquity OF the equator, says
a writer in the Century. Round about
this hotel and its environments we
wandered till lunch was ready; there
were oranges, bananas and several 9TH
er fruits which / do not specify only
because / am still unable to recollect
their names. AS for their favor, can
only say that do not care much for 1t
as yet; there was one that tasted like
butter and another that had the
consistency of cream cheese and
the taste of strawberry jam. On
the whole, the flavor of these
southern products strikes the northern
visitor as insipid and too sweet, and
makes one understand why English
men always banker after curries and
the like sharp condiments in the trop-
les, but no doubt we are sophisticated
and wrong and ought to like what
seems to us insipidity. Meanwhile the
oranges, bananas and pineapples are
all much better here than they ever are
after enduring export. AS for the
breadfruit and yams, Of which we al
so had specimens, they are mixture
of the potato and the sweet potato and
are less captivating than either. Ihey
have almost no taste at all and
should suppose that one finally would
come to regard them in much the same
light as bread, something usefully fill
ing but without character enough to
inspire either ioathing or devotion.
With the aid of sauces and grayies.
however. they go down very well.
The bill of = re included, likewise, the
fish which was good and meat which
was not very good; 1t has to be eaten
too soon after killing TO have lost
its toughness. But one does not ex-
meet TO eat much meat down here;
yegetarians are in their element in the
| tropics. especially that superior order
of them who favor that part of the
vegetable kingdom which grows above
| ground. The country women, VINO
walk fifteen or twenty miles day in
| the sun with burdens on their heads
| which sometimes weigh not less than
! fifty pounds, and who are never in the
| least tired--these ladies, ii appears,
live ON fruit and yams only and find
| them all-suficient diet. After dinner
| went into a barber-shop and sub
| mitted myself to the ministrations OF
| an artist there. The shop was ar the
/ rear of the little structure which bore
| the sign: the front part of it, If re-
| member right, was devoted in part to
1 the sale of tobacco. On three sides OF
the room were windows protected by
wooden gratings painted red and blue
| through them / saw bits of intense
/ blue sky and green fronds of palm. On
| n wall lust outside the sash lizard
ran and hoped and the eternal buzz
| yard alighted on corner of ROOF
within my range of vision. Close be-
side me young darby with counte'
nance OF illimitable amiability laborec
assiduously ON an instrument in the
nature of hand-organ, but the works
were In full view and in the opinion
OF several bystanders seemed TO We
In interest with the tunes. This music
took the place of the traditional bar
hers conversation, though that aisS
was abundantly available on demand
and was. indeed, carried on with mucl
yiyacity between the various employs
and some visitors who appeared t.
have come In for that purpose. l
sounded like a mixture of Italian ant
| French and may have been Jamaican
popular English, for aught | know.
could not understand it. / accepte'
all these details as being typicall
tropical; but, on the other hand, tn
chair in which / sat was made Il
Rochester, n. "; on the wall was
large Autograph of Brooklyn bridg
and a portrait of President Cleveland
Electricity, too, has got to Kingsto
and the wires run through the branche
of the mangoes and palms. The hous
in which / have taken UP my abode
fitted throughout with electric bell
but / am happy to add that none {
|, them works. In one Of the large
, shops. think, there is an elevator, th
only one on the island. On this islam
the white people look out of plac
; That fact, so far as ] can judge, is II
moral OF the story here. The islam
belongs to the colored folk and I'll
, | others are being gradually crowde
out. The proportion is already abo'
thirty to one against the latter al
while the colored race goes on mu
: tiplying, the whites are packing the
trunks and moving out. Is this NOV
/, ment to be arrested or not? dou
whether 1t will be arrested by Il
q English. Workmen imported from Il
/. states do not succeed here; that is, thu
die in two years from rum. The cooli
do admirably but they cannot be t
final solution OF the problem. Perha
the best thing we can do is to becor