Evening star., 1898-07-23

go - tAdkAyAMl temperate zone, ull-
| Mxc~ANS der distinctive appel
| ,eE>sSNSSN~lSs lations and say this
| is spring. this winter
! and this is glorious summer, still there is
| well-recognized difference between them.
| Nature in the tropics is a veritable wanton,
| for, having no real winter to contend with,
| having no frost, no snow, she has only rain
and sun to interfere with as well as to pro-
mote vegetable growth and the develop
| ment of animal life.
| AS a rule throughout the West Indies the
| first three months of the year are decidedly
| the best for travelling and for out-of-door
! occupations. The days are hot but endur-
| able, the nights cool and storms are
| infrequent. With April and May gentle
| showers are ushered in, which stimulate
| the growth of plants that have been set out
| in anticipation OF these rains. The negro
| farmer sets out his eddoe, banana and
| plantain shoots, and buries in the earth his
yams, sweet potatoes, etc, which form the
| staples of the provision grounds" Roses
| bloom the year round, but there is a per-
| cept1Dle increase in blossoms and fra
| grance; the beautiful frangipanni expands
| its pink and white whorls upon bare stems,
| and fills the air with its perfume. About
| the honey-scented flowers of the palms.
| lines and acaciae the bees and butterflies
| cluster in fiuttering clouds, while the hum
| ming bird darts from tree to flower his
| coat Of burning mail glowing like a gem.
Month for Flowers.
| June is the month for flowers, with
! US of the north. and It is not unusual to
| see whole forest starred with blossoms,
| as you sail along the coast Of some island,
| \. distance sufficient to mass the tree
| tops into one vast sea or plain of verdure.
July usually brings an increase of rains.
| especially in the mountainous islands, and
| sends the mercury in the thermometer up
| ward few degrees; but even in this mid
| summer month the heat is not uncomfort-
! able and sunstrokes rarely, If ever. occur.
| July however, is the month Set down in
the calendar as that in which the ''hurri-
| cane season. begins, and from the 25th
| Of this month until the same day in Octo-
| Der 1t Is we'll to be prepared for blow.
| Bpt August is the recognized month for
| hurricanes, and deep anxiety is felt; not
less IN September, the sun approaches
| the line and the equinoctial storm is due.
sun, the hurricane season will not allow
| itself to be ''crbbed cabined and con-
| fined within the limits of three short
months, and skips along whenever its
| bilthe fancy takes 1t. having a way of
| turning up at most UNEXPECTED seasons
| instances being on record of terrible hur-
| ricahes IN december, and at least one big
| storm OF tornado as early in the year as
! the month of March. But as October
draws on the suspense of the West Indians
gives place to feeling of relief and when
| the great rains of the autumnal equinox
| Set In all fear subsidies and they give
er,tn entniseives up TO the somewhat equivocal
enjoyment of season of torrential rains
Ihe last three months of the wear are
| rainy ones, as rule, cooler and more en-
Joyapie than the others but in these, also,
| more endemic levers are prevalent than in
the others.
hurricanes Are Expected
The life Of the West Indian thermometer
IT be mentioned in p,.r;,,r L..
| sish and uneventful as that of a govsrn
| ment clerk. The regularity with which 81
| performs its allotted task is at first SIR
| prisng to a visitor from the north as tts
oalIy range is scarcely more than ten de-
| erees-say, from 20 in the morning to SO
| at noon and 16 at dusk. And even a hurrf-
| cane partakes Of this well-ordered svstan,
Except for the occasionally erratic stor,ns
| that nave been mentioned). 1t rarely falls
| 10 come on schedule time and is not often
unexpected In fact, after the people of
| these Islands have prepared for it. bv hunt
| Ing some hole or cellar into which tbe,,
crawl, with barometer, a stock of cane
juice and food for the day or ntght-if
Wnen they emerge, they do not find the
| roo1s OF their dwellings have come off they
are somewhat disappointed. For the hur-
rlcane and the earthquake are two things
| on which they pride themselves as in a
| SeHse peculiar TO their insular domains
earthquakes are the most frequent, it has
been observed. In the first three months of
| the year, SO that the inha abtants of these
ISLANDS have something disquieting on hand
| pretty much all the time
| The hurricane season. was recognized
as regular institution many years ago by
the government OF the Danish West Indies
tSaint Ihomas. Saint John and Santa CRUZ,
| winch appointed the 25th of July as day
OF humiiiation and prayer and the 25th of
october as one of Thanksgiving Observa-
tions extending through many years. in St
Ihomas. show that during period of some
| one hundred and
mas been visited by devastating hurricanes
! at least ten times. The hurricane is very
erralc In Its course. and, while an island
| lying in its path might be entirely 0evas-
| tated, another not far away might escape
without a wreck. Sir r. II. Schomburgk
| an eminent British explorer who spent
| many years in the West Indies land who
| by the way, discovered the Victoria Repia) .
| found recorded. during a period of 3J0
years. from 1892 to 1915. 127 hurricanes and
destructive gales OF this number one oc-
Cured In March. four in June, eleven in
! July, forty in August. twenty-eight in Sep
ten1ber and two in December. Thirteen of
| the number had no date recorded.
Where They Are Worst.
| Some years are more fateful than Others
and perhaps. indeed, there may be cycles
| Of hurricanes, which, II we could deter
mine them, might be of infinite benefit to
commerce and shipping. At all events the
establishment in the West Indies of sta
ttons connected with our own signal SER
vice will be Of inestimable service to man
kind. and perhaps to a solution of the mys-
terry.
While Cuba Jamaica and San Domingo
come within the hurricane radius, Porto
Rico and st. Thomas, together with the
| islands of the Lesser Antilles, suffer much
more than the Greater Antilles, as a whole.
The natives of these islands had a name
| for the hurricane. from which the English
word is derived, namely, "ouragan," which
has come to us through the Spanish ''hur-
acan" They stood in great fear of these
"ouraganes," and, though they made long
voyages In their small canoes or dugouts,
they took good care not to venture far at
sea during the continuance of the hurri-
cane season.
The logs of vessels visiting the West
Indies are full of references to the hurrt-
| cane, as. for instance. this from Danish
packet:
Game to anchor in ST. Thomas and land
ed the mails Here the hurricane of the
I'd instant seems to haye concentrated all
Its force and fury, for the harbor and town
We're scene that battles all description.
Thirty-six ships and vessels totally wreck
ed all around the harbor, among which
about dozen had sunk or eapsized at their
opnhor <NSe