Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-09-02
Columbus Hoped Always to Find the
Fighting Females.
WHERE TIE NATIONS SPEAK IRISH
Montserrat a British Possession,
Where Lime Juice is Made.
IDEAL PLANTATION HOME


the Amazonas or Amazons, fierce fighting
omen, who have held man at bay for so
many centuries. They were located in
various parts of Asia, and finally in Africa,
but long after the Capitalization of the
myth into the Grecian stories of gods. he
roes and heroines the tale survived, or
rather reappeared. in the new world.
Columbus. as We know, when seeking a
| passage across to Asia. all the time
dwelling upon old-world traditions. and had
| In mind only what had been written by
! voyagers and travellers in the east In the
! Island of Cuba he sought the court of the
| Grand Khan. in Haiti the Cipango of Mar
| CO Polo. and throughout his first voyage to
| America looked for the verfication of ORR
entail fables and expected at every turn to
come across their fabulous monsters.
Near the termination of that voyage
| when in the Bay Of SANTANA, on the north
coast of Santo Domingo. he heard of some
| thing that set his blood tingling and caused
| i'm to shape his course southwark instead
| OF toward Spain and the home port. Some
| OF the Indians captured there told him of
| an island of the Caribbees that was in
nab1ted solely by women, and. taking them
ABOARD as pilots. he Steered in the drec-
ton they Indicated. resolved to add their
| discovery and conquest to the fruits of that
| memorable voyage.
| The prevailing trade winds. however
| were battling, his provisions and water ran
! short, and instead he turned about and
bore up for the Azores and Spain, taking
| along with him the unfortunate Indians.
| But he did not lose sight of the story
and when. nearly year later he set sail
from Cadiz with his fleet of seventeen
| SHIPS and caravels he was so far inhu-
enced by the reports of Caribs and Anna
IONS to be found nearer the equator than
the island he had discovered on the first
| voyage that he went several degrees far
| ther to the southwark.
| First land was made at Dominica and
| then followed Gaudeoupe. the Saintes etc.
where he saw and fought with the Caribs
| though the island inhabited by the fighting
| females he never discovered. But accord
| ing to his journal he located it as the
! Island of Madanino, which he named
| Montserrat. after mountain and mon
| aStery In old Spain. 1t was one of the dis
| appointments of his life that he failed to
| md the Amazons and he cherished all his
| life the delusion that they lived some
| where in the Caribbean sea.
Named the River for Them.
| Nearly fifty years later. or in L54O. we
| have evidence that the legend was not for
gotten, for 1t appears in the account of
that wonderful voyage made by Orellana
down the great rivers of South America
and survives in the name he bestowed-the
Amazons. Says a writer who followed him
twenty years after: "Orellana having met
during his voyage with some women of
tar stature who defended themselves from
| him and his soldiers, and opposed his ad-
vance. gave the river the name of Amazons.
because they were like similar women of
Scythia, VINO lived en- the banks of the
| great river Tanais. He had some reason
! for calling these women Amazons; yet in
many provinces of the West Indies other
| women have done the same, nor do we see
| why this river should be called the Anna
| IONS merely on account of this occurrence.
Inc most prevalent custom is to call it
| Maranon."
| So we see that not only was the Greek
myth deemed credible in Spain, but that
| some of the Spanish explorers claimed to
nave met the women of whom the Asian
| and African warriors were the prototypes
! AS the Spaniards never made a settlement
| on the Madanino or Mont serrat, the theory
that it was inhabited by Amazons was
never exploded by them. and they may be-
1eve 1t yet so far as we can tell
When successful settlement was started
by the English in the near Island of Nevis
an overflow portion went to Montserrat
allured by the rich laEds suitable for sugar
cultivation. It was the disconnected part
that left Neuvis for Montserrat, and COM
posed mainly of Irish Catholics In proof
of this. although the event occurred so far
back as 1882. may be pointed out the fact
that many of the present Inhabitants. even
the negroes, speak English with a brogue,
having an Hibernian accent perfectly de-
licous.
1t Is told of an exile from Erin, who had
concluded to seek refuge in Nontserrat,
that as the ship he was on cast anchor in
the harbor of Plymouth. the only town of
the Island, he leaned over the rail and
tered into conversation with a black bum
boatman who came out to sell his pro-
visions.
Say. Cuffee. phwat's the chancs for
Good, yer honor. if yer not afraid of
wurruk. But me names not Cuffee. an,
phase ye, it's Pat Mulvaney."
''Mulvaney? And do yez mean to say yer
Oirfsh?'
"Oi do
THE saints dayfind us. An how long
have ye8 been out here?"
"A matter NV tin year So
Tin year An yez black me hat!
May the divi fly away wild me if l liver set
fut this ould oisiand. Save me sowl.
but l TUX yez fer a nayguri
Damage by the Hurricane.
According to recent reports from the West
indies the island suffered severely from
the hurricane that devastated Porto Rico,
several hundred people having been killed
and nearly all the sugar and lime estates
destroyed. AS Montserrat is but twelve
miles in length by eight in greatest breadth.
with an area of scarcely fifty miles it
must have been a mighty mean hurricane
that could search il out and turn 1T upside
down in the twinkiing of an eye, it
were. Hitherto it has escaped the worst of
those tropical storms. probably from it's
very insignticance, and has had an envia-
bic reputation as one Of the most beautiful
as well salubrious islands owned by the
English in the Antilles.
1t has been in continuous British possess
sion for more than u hundred years. or
since 1884. and until some thirty years
ago it's people were almost exclusively de-
voted to the raising of sugar cane. About
that time some merchants having business
with the island conceived the idea of plant
ing a few Improbable estates that had
come into their possession with lime trees
Over in the adjacent island Of Dominica
a resident physician there, Doctor Imray
had made the experiment with great prom
Use of success and the physical character
iStics Of both islands were the same. Each
one consisted mainly of a mass of noun
tains thrown up from the sea. with deep |
gorges running up into the central range !
and a belt Of exceedingly fertile soil around |
the coast.
Owing to the restricted area of soil suit
able for sugar plantations they had long
since ceased to pay. one after another be- |
coming saddled with mortgage that the |
owner could not raise, and hence falling |
into the hands Of London merchants who |
had advanced money for their w~rking.
The taking up of the lime industry saved |
the little island from actual distress and |
today single firm owns more than GOO |
acres, and exports annually 10000 gallons |
OF concentrated lime juice.
The Quaker Poet Revered.
When I in Montserrat few years