The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-11-18
AMERICANS IN THE WEST INDIES.
English Live I'm the Tropics and Seem
TO Flourish.

Julian Hawthorne, in Golfers Weekly.
Can we live in the tropics permanently.
and yet retain our native characteristics of
energy and ability? To settle that question,
statistics are needed. And they must be
extensive statistics, for isolated instances
are of no value 1 may recite my own ex-
perience, however While was in the West
indies did quite as much physical and
mental work as during any other similar pc
ROD In my life, and was sensible of no
ammunition in energy. L walked about ten
miles day, took other exercise for an hour
or two and wrote from three to six hours
or more daily. / was well in health all the
time, with the exception of one illness re-
sulting from poisoning. and one from eating
unr1pe fruit. But against this record must
be set the facts that I have always been
active of habit and healthy, and that while
in the island I lived at an elevation Of
never less than a thousand feet above the
hlgh-Water mark. knew now 70 take
care of myself" and never committed any
indiscretion; I ate lightly, and drank moth
ing in the way of liquors. l was advised to
keep out of the sun, but to this caution L
paid little attention, and, my blood and di-
gestion being good, / never suffered from
will get i'll in the tropics, it is more difficult
70 get We'll again than it is in the north;
there seems to be nothing to catch hold OF,
TO pull yourself up; nothing to brace your
self against; your tendency is to slip down,
further and further 1t is then (and only
then in my eXperience) that you become
conscious of that languor of the tropics Of
which one hears so much.
My sojourn limited to three years.
L
that I might have deteriorated; but it is at
least as possible that I might have held my
own or even improved: One of the strong
est young Americans have ever known had
been living there ten years or more when
arrived the tropics certainly did not hurt
him; and his residence was not on the hills,
but down in Kingston itself He was
model athlete and indefatigable at his pro-
fessiOn-dentistry. He could not have been
better or more efficient had ne lived in
Dakota, New Hampshire, Southern Cali
fornia or wherever else the climate is
healthy and stimulating. / also knew num-
for the most part, who also lived in the city
and had done so for thirty years or more;
they were all hearty and healthy men, never
i'll. But it must be admitted that the men
earlier settlers did not have very robust
appearance; they were pale and Soft-lo0k-
ing and lacked stature and sturdtness.
Again, the officers and men of the regiments
who were stationed there, and whose term
was two or three years were not all IN good
condition: but / found that. as regards the
officers at least, the reason of their i'll condl-
ton could usually be aScribed to the fact
that they ate and drank the same as they
had done in LondOn cocktails, beer, WHISKY
and wines, and plenty OF meat Will not 90 IN
the troDics, no matter who you are. But
many of these officers were active and alert
and took care of themselves; and they never
complained of the climate. They may not
have liked it as we'll as that of England
suppose no Englishman could do that, or he
would not admit it if he could. On the other
hand my observation dispOses me to believe
that Americans do better than Englishmen
in tropical countries. They have no heat like
in England. and the Thermometer ap-
pears to affect them more than 1t does our
people, especially our Southerners. The most
dangerous foe that either they or we have
to contend with is drink; there is strong
obvious reasons; and II 1t is yielded to the
consequences are always bad.