News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1899-11-22

one of ma tural cuTlositles OF the Wo1l1.
We arrived at st. Vincent, another
English island, at 1890 p. m. Mon
day and lay at anchor there until
nearly 6 p. m. Tuesday. This is a
beautiful little island of less than the
average size, but of extreme fertility
and productiveness. The harbor is
fairly good one, but an anchorage
has to be made a mile or so out. The
cargo is taken off by colored boat
men in what is known as Fighters,
a roomy old scow sculled by two men
and holding possibly eight tons of
freight. st. Lucia has the only dock
landing for large boats in the West
Indies. Passengers are transferred
TO and from the ports for whatever
they can be swindled into paying.
A shilling, "a cents, for the round trip
is the usual charge. But digress or
depress or something. The practi-
cally sole export product of st. Vim
cent is arrowroot. 1t has produced
10000 tons of sugar annually, but
the hurricane of 'SS practically wiped
out the industry and besides "mop-
ped the ground" with every tree on
the island. On the island generally
little of this, that and the other is
raised, sugar, tobacco, arrowroot,
vanilla, bay leaves, cocoa, coffee and
fruits in profusion, but of the latter
nearly the entire product is consum-
ed at home. Little or none is ex.
ported and frequently it is impOssi-
BILE to secure enough for the ships
tables. The only things we can get
enough of are oranges, bananas and
pears. These latter are about the
siz9 and shape of a muskmelon and
are served the same way. They have
rind or shell and have only taste
of mealy sweetness. With salt and
pepper they are very good.
At st. Vincent | passed few hours
ashore and was taken to the gentle
mans so ,ial club Of the city, where |
made several decidedly pleasant ac-
quaintances and passed several hot
but comfortable hours. The heat on
! the islands ranges from $50 to 90 in
the shade during most of the day,
In the sun-Well it blisters when it
hits. The town is unusually quiet
and clearly, and the decent appear
ance of the banks is very noticeable
in comparison with some of those in
the other islands. All in all it is a
very charming little town, and to be
properly appreciated should be given
at least several days. 1t is we'll
worthy of careful investigation.
We left st. Vincent at 6 p. m. Tues
day and arrived at Barbados at
about 6 the next morning after a
slow run through thunder shower
and lively sea. The island of Barba-
dOs--prOnounce it Bar ba- dos with
the accent on the second syllabl--i4
81 miles long and Ia in breadth aud
contains 166 square miles. It's pop
ulation is about 1850 to the square
mile, giving it a more dense popula-
ton than any other section of the
world outside of China. Bridgtown,
the principal port, is the largest city
of the Lesser Antilles and a scene of
busting commercial life and prosper
ity. The town is properly called the
Mercantile and Maratime Emporium
of the West Indies and its appearance
of business enterprise and activity
certainly appears to justify the term.
The island is of coral formation, and
it's highest mountain registers 1145
feet. Of The little over 100000 acres
under cultivation nearly all is devot-
ed to cane and nothing of consequence
outside Of sugar is done. The city
has fine public buildings, squares and
statues, and many really elegant pri-
vate residences. | will have more to
say of Barbados hereafter, but to-
day | must finish and post this and
continue on my way south at 4 p. m.
go from here to Demerava, British
Guiana, and may continue on to
Surinam and Cayenne.
| will not be able to mail another let
ter until | return to this place on my
way north, and then unless | stop
over | will travel north as fast as
the letter can.
Demerara, Surinam and Cayenne!
How many school teachers in Yer
mont eau tell where these places are
situated? Not one out of five | be-
lieve. Get your biographies boys
and girls and look them up.
Nearly all the islands have few
horses, but they average to weigh
about 500 and look like an old buf-
falo robe thrown over a saw-horse.
Some of the towns have what they
allege to be cab service, but the
"cab" is an object of sorrow aud re-
gret. The people mean well, and
their cabs ought not to be Laid up
against them" | have seen one
monkey and one parrot thus far. At
home in the same time | would have
seen hundred of each. They have
pigs here which cannot be told from
black-and. tan terriers except by
their hair, and the goat is frequent
and much more useful than in Ameri-
ca. The absence of electric plants for
lighting is noticeable all through the
islands, where only a villainous kero-
sene lamp is used on street corners
and after nighttal the streets ofevery