Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-11-22
Port of Kingston Will Be a
Coaling Station.
THRIFTY JAMAICANS
THESE ISLANDERS WILL DIG THE
PANAMA CANAL.
Native Negro is the Most Immune of
All Tropical Dwellers to the Deadly
Fevers Of Equatorial Regions.

Copyright, 1902, by T. jenkins Hains)
Written for The Evening Star by T. jenkins Hams.
The decision of the Navy Department to
hold the winter maneuvers of the Atlantic
and European fleets in Caribbean waters,
with Kingston as a possible coaling base,
cannot but have a decided effect upon the
relations between Jamaica and the United
States. The beautiful tropical fruit garden
with its peculiar inhabitants will play an
important part in the events of the near
future, and a naval demonstration OF a
friendly nature will surely leave favorable
impression upon the native mind.
The harbor of Kingston is naturally ono
Of the strongest in existence from the sta
tegist's point of view. The wafer Is good
and it is protected from the heavy south
erlies," making safe and comfortable an
chorage for a fleet Its formation enables
it to be fortified easily, and its position will
at once mark 1t as the key to the Cafib-
bean sea. But it is English, ard therefore
not available for landing troops or fortlfy-
ing for the war game.
Our own coalng station which 1t has
been decided upon by the Navy Department
to develop, is situated off the eastern enc
of Porto Rico, upon the little lslard 0.
Culebra. Here, of course, the greater part
of the sham fighting and searching for enc
mics will take place.
The successful elimination of the canal
negotiations will mean great ded! to the
native Jamaican. Being of West African
extraction and having been exposed to
peculiar viclssitudes of tropical climate, the
native Islander, who Is, of course, black,
has developed into tropical immune-that
Is, he is about as imperviouS to climatic
diseases as human being can be, and 1t
is for this reason principally that he will
be the power employed to dig the great
trench. 1t has been pretty well decided to
mo
man islanders can be induced to leave
their fruit growing and accept the sound
money of Uncle Sam. The state of feeling
in Jamaican politics has lately been strong
ly American. Among the overtaxed plant
ers, whose burdens have not been light,
the feeling for freedom has burst out occa-
sionally and there has been some strong
pro-American politics developed.
The Jamaican a Lover of Ships.
1t Is out of the question for a revolution
to grow, even among the most dissatisfied
of the heavily taxed fruit planters, for the
island Is one Of the best protected and po-
Heed in the world. STILL in the event of the
Panama route being chosen, complications
might arise from an exodus Of the fruit
growing negro.
Being a free man, like his brother in the
states, the Jamaican may work where he
pleases There is no law to bind him to the
plantations, as in the case of the imported
EsdSl liOidll COoIle, WHO lS pTdCtlcdlly d
slave to the English Jamaican. and heavy
draft of these men cannot but have its
effect upon the affairs Of the island
natural born sailor, the Jamaican takes
to the water and ships instnctively. He
is large of bone and usually quite slender,
being a ong-lmbed, muscular fellow, who
can work to advantage either upon YES
sells deck or upon her spars, and the very
sight of fine vessel gives him delight His
language is the hybrid developed by hav-
ing the English language pronounced by a
negro who has a leaning toward Spanish
and an acquaintanceship with his cousin
over in~Cuba. A truly tropical production
and well suited to class who look upon
work an evil
The appearance of the beautiful white
ships of the American squadrons will be
the signal for the black mountaineers to
gather in force at the seashore. If the
fruit company's ships attract hundreds,
the men-o'-war will attract thousands, and
it would take very little persuasion at this
CRATE in body.
There will be probably very little feeling
shown by outward signs, for the Jamaican
is dignified person, especially in the pres
ence of strangers. He has a dignified re-
gard also, for a uniform. All along the
hot, white streets of the island villages the
white helmets and blouses Of the guards
have created feeling of respect for order
such as is not seen anywhere in the states.
Big black men, standing as straight as rifle
barrels, patrol the streets at all hours and
although they are courteous and affable al
all times. they permit no boisterous be-
havlor. All this seems strange to the for
eigner, who, knowing the negro disposition
looks for an enthusiastic outburst. Behind
it is the strict discipline of the Jamaica
regiment differed by Englishmen.
Famous Bartlett Deep.
Being an English port of entry, Kingston
can serve only for a coaling station, but
there no shoals to be dreaded along the
shore, and some of the fleet maneuyers
may be held within plain sight from the
hill-tops, except such formations as require
many miles of sea room.
To the westward of the island is the deep
est part of the waters of the northern hemi-
sphere, the famous Bartlett Deep where it
is thousands of fathomS to the ooZe below
Along the northern coast battle ship may
run close enough to the shore for the men
aboard to hold intercourse with the natives
The rocky slopes fall quickly from pla-
teau or shelving beach to many hundred
fathoms. So steep is the coast line that
ships which have been run ashore upon the
rocks have slid off within a few days and
disappeared completely, leaving not trace
of their whereabouts in the blue depths.
And all along between the island and Cuba
is a clear sea, swept by the northeast trade
for a part of the year.
AS for the business interests ashore, they
may be said to be almost as much Ameri-
as English. The fruit companies con-
troll about all the banana land, and an
American concern alone has more than
$4,000 acres under cultivation. The enor-
nous number Of punches of this favorite
fruit shipped is astonishing. Vessels may
fly the English flag, and the ubiquitous
Scandinavian may be seen at any of the
banana ports, but the fruit goes mostly to
the United States, to be absorbed through
out the country.
Nearly all the northern ports Of Jamaica
are useless for harbors. They open mar
rowly and suddenly, with plenty Of coral
reefs to make them difficult of navigation,
and those of the less protected variety are
simply ugly anchorages, at which large
vessel cannot lie without being moored
both bow and stern. Their existence is due
to the banana trade.
| The entire population engaged in the
fruit trade is black. Not an ordinary black
but real deep Congo tinge, such as Is
found on the west coast of Africa and 1t
is only among the clerks, shippers and
office men one finds the color tightening
a little. Shoes are almost unknown, and
tourist who lately entered a house of the
better kind found a pair of corsets care
fully rolled up and tied with ribbon and
| set upon table in the parlor. They were
| exhibited as strange freak Of American
and English fashions.
Jamaican Morals Lax.
| AS might be supposed. the morals Of
| these primitive people in regard to sex are
| not conventional. Marriage is considered
an evil. The woman has to work as hard