Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-07-02

4
| and Dutch is most pronounced. and, In
fact. the prevailing speech is a patois call
| cd the 'Papiamento,' which is structHrally
| Spanish, with an overlay of Dutch. little
| English. some African, and perhaps a few
aboriginal words. In illustration. the
| writer may mention that one day, being
out with a native negro hunting, he saw a
! very pretty plant having 4 soft silken
| fringe, and asked his guide the name OF it.
| ESQ Sc llama barba de yoong man." he
answered-"They call it young mans
| beard his reply being composed Of five
Spanish and two barbarously mutilated
| English words. Papiamerto is a patcis
| or language in its nascent state, not yet
| crystallized. Any one speaking Spanish
mental to ones speech to condescend to
| speak patois, and hence should be
avoided.
| Curious Patois.
Both Dutch and English, as well as sper-
| !sh and French are spoken here in their
purity, but the speech of the negroes is the
| papiamento These last are most numer-
| Gus, and comprise the greater portion of
the 3OWO inhabitants of Curacao. It Is a
| lcrg tina since slavery existed here, and
the blacks have been shiftless and also
| so prolific that poverty is we'll nigh uni
versal. 1t is the only disease endemic in
the island. the islanders claim; but It is
deadly. When the slaves were emanci-
pated. about thirty-five years ago .heir
owners received $50 a head for every ono
manumitted, but today he is worth scarce
| ly more than his food and clothing The
1alr average wage of a day laborer is an
English shilling. or quarter" and skill
| ed iabor goes begging at twice that
amount The natives are honest and hard
working. and have so good a reputation
mat they are in some demand outside rs
sallcIs As the steamers of the. RED D
Line touch here coming and going. on
the venezuelan voyage, their crews are re-
1nforced by gangs of Curacaoans every
liSr hnre
Guayra and Puerto CabelIo where the ma
tives are unrelia BILE
The land throughout the island is very
Ioor, even sterile. as there are no streams
or springs and the people depend for water
upon the 1nfrequent rains. 1t is yery tan
talizing to the native to see the phosphate
rock, SO rich in the elements of fertility
being transported to other lands and vet
unavailable at home. Wherever water can
be had, vegetation is abundant, luxuriant
as In few private gardens, where it has
purely tropic cast
All the tropic fruits may be grown here
such as pines, paw-paws mangos guavas
soursops and custard apples all the citrus
family; and the island is locally noted
along the Spanish Main, for it's "nisperos''
or sapadillos The nispero tree grows Wig
orously in the stony soil Of Curacao and
Its green bulk is refreshing sight in this
dry and barren country.
Scanty Vegetation.
The dry fields are chiefly covered with
cactus and spiny shrubs which are SO much
prettfer at distance than near at hand,
and, as the vegetation is scanty, so is the
fauna. Sailing up the inland lagoon, you
may find lizards and iguanas, herons and
other water birds, basking on it's shores,
and on the old plantations rabbits turtle
doves, troupials, curew and humming birds
The ''hummers'' and the troupials dart by
on green and golden wings, and light up the
shade of understanding silk-cottons and
nisperos.
The government of this little Dutch Para
disc Is paternal and beneficent-so far as
its poverty will allow it to be-and the gov
erning classes are housed in spacious build
ings OF Hollandesque architecture, modified
to suit climatic conditions. One should see
and visit the old forts and the fortress on
the Hill. the church. the synagogue, the
Masonic lodge, and the government build
inSs, as well as ramble through the various
streets. There good roads throughout
the island, and a one-jackass tramcar
makes an hourly trip around the Schardo
and through the Pietermaay. The motive
power consists of donkey 0lot much lar
ger than Harlem goat, and anent tram
car and donkey they tell story in PETER
maay, which is supposed to reflect upon
the intelligence of a small party of ladies
who visited here not many years ago. 1t
seems they walked ashore from the gang
plank, and seeing the end of the
tram they stepped aboard. The dash
that they did not see the motor, and when
the car began to move they were filled with
wonder and delight. They made the circuit
of the lagoon. and the car came back to its
original starting place, where fares were
collected by a small black boy. How
lovely it all was they exclaimed ecstati-
cally; what most charming ride! And
to think such bit of place as this
should have an electric carr
"Und all der dime, said the Dutchman
who related the story to the writer dot
poy vos on der vront sead of der 'elegdric
gar und punching init sdick dot leetle
yackass!''
In the Capital.
There is hardly room for car to run be-
tween the buildings on either side of the
main street of the town, and from the bal
comics of some of the principal buildings
their occupants can shake hands across,
as in some Castilian cities. But Curacao
is free port and business is often brisk.
One vast bookstore here, the Liberia b.
tancourt,' is said to supply the whole of
Venezuela and the north coast of South
America with Spanish books. A deal of
the business here is also contraband, ami
smugglers flourish as along the Mexican
border. You can buy pure Hollands for
three dollars a case that never felt the
touch of customs official nor saw his frown,
and as for the beverage which bears the
islands name, Curacao made in Holland
from orange peel imported from other isles
and taken back here again, it is the favor
lite tipple.
The Dutch still control the wholesale
trade, it is said. but the retail is mainly
III the hands of Jews. The one bonanza
other than the phosphate business is that
pontoon bridge, and it should be cause
for American congratulation to know that
1t was built by down-east Yankee, Cap
tain Smith, our consul at Curacao. He is
a living witness to the benelicent climate
of this island, for he came here an invalid
many years ago and soon recovered suffi-
GENTLY to establish a fiourishing ice BUSH
ness which he still conducts. But his great
achievement and the monument to his in
ventiveness Is the pontoon bridge which
spans the Skattegatt. Before he construct
ed it those who wished to cross the lagoon
were absolutely dependent upon the negro
boatmen. nearly two hundred in number
who charged for ferriage five Dutch cop
pers, equal to penny or two cents Amer
lean money. Now the toll on the bridge is
but two cents (American) for quality
people, and only copper for those who go
barefoot.
Once Resort for Pirates.
AS to the inha bitants of Curacao. it IS
surprising to find people resident here
many years, and families descended from
the first conquerors, who have preserved
that freshness of complexion for which
the Dutch at home are noted. There is
MIA r,-ho fhaxr