Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-01-03
Its Value for a Harbor and Strategic
Purposes.
SOMETHING ABOUT TIE PEOPLE
Stirred Into Activity by the Span
ish-American War.
A BLUE B E A ID STORY

|
as. a community of less than 10 900 people
is waiting with more or less indifference
| but some curiosity to find out whether in
| the near future they are to haul down the
| Danish flag and raise the stars and stripes
| in it's place. This island of the Virgin group
is so far out in the Atlantic ocean that it
| serves as a key to the widely extended
| groups of islands which form a sort of
| chain from the South American coast to
| Florida In the shores of this little island
| is a harbor sharply indented, well protect
| ed from the sea by its narrow entrance and
| from the winds all sides by steep hills
| The community this island is largely
| Danish, though it may be said that at least
! six languages current as a medium of
! exchange between the inhabitants and those
| who may visit them. Being Danish, the
| town is well built, clean lady's par
| lor, quaint in its architecture and quainter
| in the customs of its pc pie. Should Den
| mark agree to sell this island to the United
| States for the reported of II DOC, 900
| kroner, less than S4,0O0,000, we will Sc
| cure what has been considered for four
| centuries the best refuge for storm-driven
| ships and the best bass of military opera
| tions between the Bahamas and the South
| American coast. 1t was in the sixteenth
| century that two pirates chose the harbor
| of St. Thomas as their place of residence
and rendezvous. One Of these pirates was
| Bluebeard and the other Blackboard, and
the two small round castles, which We're
| probably considered magnificent structures
in that day. still stand, adding to the pic
| turesqueness of this most picturesque town.
| The RIuebeard Story.
| Local tradition varies somewhat with the
| Bluebeard story of the modern fairy book.
| 1t agrees that Bluebeard's wife was a sister
| of Blackboard, but it puts the burden of
| crime upon the lady rather than upon the
pirate. The story goes in ST. Thomas that
when these two pirates agreed to settle on
| the island they divided the land between
! them and maintained separate fleets of YES
sells for their p.ratical operations, combin
| ing only to meet some enemy of unusual
| strength or to sack some town well defend
| ed. BluebeardS wife was of a jealous dis
| position. and seven ladies of the village be-
| tween the two castles incurred her enmity
| as being rivals in the affections of her hus-
| band. and she promptly poisoned them all.
| Bluebeard appears to have been just man
according to this local tradition. and he
| prop sed to punish his wife by nfticting the
death penalty. and it was then that Sister
| Ann climbed to the ramparts of the castle
and waved the signal of distress that Black
beard. her brother, might intercede.
| 1t must have been rough ride for Black
| beard from his castle to that of his brother
! in-law. for three hills interviewed and upon
| these three hills are built the present town
| of st Thomas, with its white-walled houses
and red-tied roofs. In the earlier days of
| this community it was most prosperous.
| There was rarely a time when the flags of
half dozen nations were not represented
| upon the shipping in the little harbor. The
| limited agricultural area of the island was
| titled to its utmost The warehouses of the
city overlooked with the wealth OF the
! tropics Merchants and traders, ship own
erS and slave dealers amassed fortunes with
rapidity and ease. Then came the destruc-
| ton of the slave trade. the rivalry of Ha-
| vana San Juan and other West Indian
| ports and a terrible drought. which contin-
| ung for a number of years, destroyed all
vestfge of agriculture upon the island.
| SIumber and Awakening.
The ships grew fewer day by day COM
| merce languished. and finally ST. Thomas
| became but the refuge for occasional tramp
trading ships or storm driven vessels, and
the regular stopping place Of but one or
two transoceanic steamers. The warehouses
emptied themselves, the great firms of
former days either failed or retired from
business, and but for a handful of sailors
| or an occasional tourist the community
might have slept the day around many
times during the year without disturbing
| the ordinary course of events. Then came
| the war between Spain and the United
| States during which st. Thomas was a
neutral port International law says that
| only one vessel of a belligerent shall enter
| such port at time, which was a serious
| inconvenience to the fleets of the United
States constantly passing back and forth
through the West Indian waters.
| Before the Spanish-American war the
quiet Of the harbor had only been disturbed
by salute 20 the Danish flag fired from
the guns Of an occasional Warshn visiting
| that part of the world. The quiet of the
town was so marked that the evening and
| morning gun from the little fort on the hill
| divided the day into two distinct periods
| This gun is fired at o'clock in the evening
and . O'Clock in the morning. For why no
one knows, for the salute Is relic of slay-
| cry days Before freedom came to the black
| men they were compelled to live outside of
| the city limits. The o'clock gun was a
| signal for them all to go to their homes
the 8 o'clock gun for them to return to the
| city for their labors. When the blacks were
| freed and lived where they pleased there
was no longer need for this morning and
evening gun. but it had become such a
| habit that it's maintenance is an item in the
regular annual budget to this day.
The Morning and Evening Gun,
The inhabitants still remember with a
| shudder period not very long ago when
| the government out of powder and the
| gun was no longer fired. At first the peo-
pie, accustomed they were to retiring by
| the O'Clock salute, wandered through the
| streets. restlessly seeking some cause for
| their wakefulness. When finally exhausted
by their wanderings they fell asleep. it was
| to let the early hours of the day slip by I'M
| needed, because no O'Clock gun awoke
| them to their labors. The community could
not stand this innovation long. and petit
| toned the Danish government to resume
! the morning and evening salute, which was
| DONE and life in St. Thomas again pursued
| the even tenor of its way
During the recent war the navy of the
| United States passed through this harbnr
| Of st. Thomas single file, as fast as the
| courtesy Of International law would allow.
| Once within the little harbor. the great guns
| from the war vessels would speak their sa-
lutte to the Danish flag, awaiting the answer
| from the fort above, which was soon forth
| coming. Then came the salute to the Amer
| lean consul, gentleman Of color, who bore
| his honors during that exciting period with
| evident satisfaction and unequaled dignity
| and ceremony. 1t was a noisy time for the
| people Of st. Thomas, for the hills around |
| the harbor gave back the echoes Of the guns |
until they were repeated a hundred times