The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-12-17
LAZY MtN,y PAR4DIsR
Islands in the Caribbean Sea Where One
May Live without Working.

n. A.. or,,,,, Tyu,, D,moeraL
"On our island said MI Lomuel cooper OF
RuAtan, "a man may live very comfortably all
h,s life and without doing a single lick OF work.
To starvo there would DC Simply 'mposs'o,e'
would be like trying to drown fish. We have
no begEars and no paupI o'ass 70 ma'n'a'n
Ihero has never been niu'uei 'ne'' 10 unh no"h'
and locks are unnecessary. Some go so far as
" oia'"i u'"' p"o u staa.,,s' s-,,,o "a a,
exnggeraton. They occasionally expire VI IN
tremo old age Last year our actual mortality
60. -. ,,,.,. - ,,c, can,
was one -'ou'ui W ", oon, A., -.,.,u.. 4.
The Lazy Mans PARADISE mus skc'cn,s ue
o,,sIy i,,,,o 4. tnovn. Ruat,n Ia the largest OF
the Ave "poy Islands" little chain or key lying
a.. so,i,,o.s, ~ por, coY,ez and onlv four
. , oo - ~ n.,s.. ,rh.,, IN. ,n.
days travel from New Orleans The'r ono IN
dustry IL tho raising Of cocoanuts and altogether
,hov farm , d,u,jn that ia absolutely unique
w , ~. ,O wns,,,u Esm,snhe,e Mr. Cooper Is the
n% s T h h S HsI y. conducts es
very considerable business. Several times
year he comes TO the United States for recreation
and diversion, and he is at present in New Or.
a'u "'''''o"' ",u ~ " -, 49,. -.
leans on one OF thesc pcI'9dicai lnuns. IN con
versauon win reporter no 'oid an interesting
story Of hts island home ,,,. co @.
"Ruatan, where | live. said MI Cooper, is
some forty miles long and three miles wide IL
has population Of obon, 'hrso 10Th hons S,S PEOPLE
is In all the world more beautiful and prolific
spot The people are lazy, simply because they
stay. and there is nothing easier 10 grow. To
start grove one merely burns oil piece oil land
ana plants me nT, s IN lows rSe my , rcs 1pe'
dozen feet high and are beginning TO bear, ana
after that tho planter is fixed for lie. lie may
bid adicu 10 care. The nuts are never picked,
but as they mature they drop of, and this shower
q fruit goes on steadily month alter mSn.n al
the year around. How long a tree WI bcnI no,
that are known 10 b. over half century old and
are still d,opping their harvest Of nuts
continued Mr. Cooper all I've has to do Is TO gather
together some nuts and trade them for
, What ne w'sncs ne hulls tn them by striking
man can easily hull 5000 u day IN that manner
Roses and flowers q almost every imaginable
variety run wild from one end of Ruatnn To the
other should add, too, thu, other fruits grow
just as easily M the cocoanut and the only rea-
furnishes an easy crop Tor which there is always
a ready market We have plenty II bananas
oranges, mangoes, plunN and pineapples and
the slightest cultivation and all one has 10 do
is to pick them Vegetables are equally prolific
and our native vans easily average forty or fifty
pounds in weight A piece Of cane stuck in the
ground takes root and rcncws itself pcrenninlly
for years stranger who comes 70 the Islands
and the apathy Wf The natives thai is before the
Law feeling gets into his bIord Why don't
Won grow this9' and WHY don't Won cultivate
ihato' he asks The natives simply smile Why
not take things easy and he happya they sav.
"Thc ncYt leland 10 Ru,,gn IL Jtiilh which
has A population of about 800 and is touched
nv several steamship lines We regard the pco-
pie Of Uuila as quite ciufcd and fcverishly pro
sressiye They have several stores and a dis
tinct social sct 10 move in which on. must be we'll
youchcd Tor There is n ruod deal Of trading
from the island along the Uonduranian coast
and the owners Of The larger slonpS and schooners
make considerable money that way. hut the main
business is in rncn,nuts The frst island Of the
chain is called Iionscco and has about The same
population ma [ lila Then there arc two very
small islands -IIafbarat and Morat Bnfbarnt,
which is come three miles long is owned outright
nv my Two hrothrrs'in law Il and 4 Norrnn
whoIiyc nj | lila LISA charming snot and Years
ago was simniy tai en- nnsscSSinn III 6y nm did FIN.
glishman. an educated gentleman. about whom
Scfv little IL knnwn ue held il Inv rIpbt of uccu-
nation and his lille was conceded liz The lion.
aurnnian Government Later ON nc wanted some
monrv borrowed II uf the Morgan brnthcrs and
cave his island in pawn Nc never Maid thc debt
and nj his death The proner,y nnssed into their
possession As I said before Il is a beautiful
Mace and several capitalists from the North have