Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1899-11-23
TORRID DEMERARA
HARRIS DOESN'T WANT TO 40
TO A HOTTER PLACE.


ish duiana.--very Mixed PopuIa
ton, with Small Per Cent of Whites
--City Below Sea Level. -Beauti
full Flower Gardens.--A Big Colony
of fiindus Does the Work.
sells Prov Turned Homeward.
About 49, north latitude, on the
way directly north from British Gui
ana, S. A. Of you can discover by
your Biographies where that Is
DEAR FRIENDS; | believe | wrote
YOU last from Barbados, en- route Il
Demerara. Since then | have been there
and am on my return. This is Sunday
| forenoon, Oct. 90, as near as we can
make 1t at sea and we will be in the
harbOT of Bridgetown. Barbados, late
this evening. There | will stop off for
three or four weeks, and the purser OF
the good ship Fontabelle will take this
letter along to America. | expect IL
will reach New York in about ten days
and will arrive at the office of publica-
ton in about two weeks. Mailing IA
ciities in these islands are ''catch as
catch cam and the first steamer going
anywhere near in the direction in
which the mail is addressed will take
il and help it along.
This is Sunday at sea, not much like
that of a Vermont village. or course
there are no religious services and in
fine weather the crew take a sort of a
'day of, which is the only recogni-
ton Of the day Every day in the
week they are up at go or a. M.
washing down the decks, cleaning,
scrubbing and putting everything in
exact "ship shape The Sunday Is
spent in loating, telling stories, read
ing, mending clothes and attending TO
the little details of personal life, 10
which they cannot ordinarily turn their
attention. lis pleasant sight The
ship is bounding along over the long
swells in the sunlight, the passengers
and crew are disposed in hooks and
corners around the ship wherever the
fancy strikes them and the scene 10 a
landsman is one of the most interest
ing imaginable. 1t would take a
volume to tell the story in detail of life
at sea. That is not my principal OBJ
ject and | will not attempt il.
We left Barbadoes, going south,
Monday evening and arrived of the
Demerara light ship at daylight Friday
morning. The light ship is about Y
miles outside the harbor OF Demerara,
and all between is shoal water The
Demerara, Orinoco and other of the
great South American rivers which
drain into tie sea in this vicinity dis
color the sea for miles out with vel !
low mud. A bad bar at the mouth of. |
or off the Demerara river, renders nav
igation yely difficult and sometimes
Demerara, on the north coast of Brit
ish Guiana, is about 8 l-2o north of
The equator and the line itself is only a |
days travel away. Your geography |
will tell You il you care to look at it.
hat the republic of Venezuela comes
first on the north coast OF South Amer /
Ca, then British, Dutch and French
Guiana, in that order, and then the
great republic of Brazil Demerara
: the colonial capital and seaport of
British Guiana, Surinam of Dutch
1uiana and Cayenne of French Gut
ina. OF Cayenne is Devils Island. of
which YOU may have heard in con.
lection with Dreyfus. Ever hear of
| person named Dreyfus The island
5 not far distant and | hope to get
Iround there and call on it before
eturn.
As write | am wondering what
our idea is of country under the
'quator. Do you imagine it a land of
sun, of erocodiles. cobras and
ropical swamps? Very likely. did
nee. Thus far can only give YOU
ny experience of British Guiana. a
province of the geographical size Of
fermont, whose middle and lower half
5 on the equator. II is all equator
lere. We are supposed TO he imme-
lately under the burning line of fire.
But how about it? In cool breeze in
he shade the thermometer will proba-
'ly stand at So. In the shade where
here is no breeze, ten degrees hotter.
Although you may not feel uncomfor-
able, the perspiration win run in
treams. In the sun-oh We gods -
anywhere from 12e7 to 40 : The sun
listers, scorches, prostrates. No one
kept the dark-skinned natives at
empts to walk any distance in the sun. l
brisk walk of two blocks has come
lear doing me up. 1t is so through /
ut the islands and the first thing q
isitor has to learn is to move moder- !
tely and keep out of the sun as much c
S possible. {
The population of British Guiana is. 5
\ round numbers, 27s, 900. OF these 7
here are (now wonder) 105.O 600 Hin ]
us, or coolies, l04, 900 negroes of all {
hades, quite large number of aborl0- il
nal Indians, 1000 Portuguese. 5000 ]
'hlnese, good sprinkling of Japa- v
csc, Australians, Irish, French. Dutch d
zen and somewhere in the vicinity of 5
900 real and actual whites. Think v
| only 1000 or less OF .swhite foIssr v
population of nearly S00.0 OOl II Fl
mt exactly white mans country
l don't know, however. WHY il n
Duldnt be made more of a "white =
lan's country than it is. OF course a !,
new conner has to be acclimated and l.
ccommodate himself to the condi- :,
ons, climate and otherwise, but This !,
one, Demerara would be an ideal res !,
lence. The OOnuiafinn of tIa .;.- y