Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1902-03-08

Thomas Island, Feb 2.-What
better thing can we do, In this
history. making morning Of the
twentieth century than turn
our backs on the worn-out
v monarchlos Of the old world
WV and take a look at Uncle sam.
ueps attest acquired POSSESSIONS The
Immediate transfer Of the Danish ISL.
ands 10 the United states decided as
10 curtail our European lOur--Or az
least 10 defer its completion for a
brief study Of the conditions ana busi-
ness possibilities In the new territory,
WIN You do me the favor at The outset
tn procure good map Of the West IN.
dies, 80 that we may first gct our bear-
ings we'll IN mind? Before the Span
ish-American war comparatively few
people in the United States Mad any
idea Of the vast number ana extent Of
the islands which, set In the form OF u
rude arc. stretch from Florida ana Yu-
catan In North America to Venezuela
I'm South America 10 this day many
tulerably educated persons II asked TO
tell In q hurry whore Saba, 50 Jan,
Basse-Terre, Grenada or other OF the
lesser Islands are situated, would Ike
as not. locate them on The other slide Of
the world The far-reaching results Of
the late war win be felt In the next de-
cade, and the next, more powerfully
than now, and does n not behOpvc us
of the c0nquOring race 10 have nor
ough knowledge not only ~ lands we
have recently acquired, but OF the Qd-
iacont territories all OF which. on this
80 ktHtI
ours2 Search that cobWebhed corner
of your brain where you keep packed
away rusty nuggets Of inl0rlnntlon
gnrnered "in chldhood's happy hour
bring to Hight and dust of a few perth
nent facts. The enormous archipelago,
which forms an inyinCible barrier be-
tween the swelling pillows Of the At
lantic and the smaller basins Of the
Caribbean sea and Gulf Of Mexico
comprises. all told something over one
hundred thousand square miles Of land
and has n present population Of about
ak millions Columbus, himself had
no idea Of the magnitude Of his iind'
hut named the few Islands he saw
West Indies, because he thought that
through them had been discovered u
quick and easy passage to india You
hear them yariously spoken Of as the
Greater Antilles" the Lesser Anul-
les" the "Leeward Islands the
"wndward Islands the "Lucayoss
Islands" the VIRGIN lslands'-untll
your head whrs in trying to unsnar
the tangle. Right here the map comes
in With II before you, begin Mt the
northern end Of the archipelago ana
note that the Lucayos or Bahama ISL
ands (claimed by Great Britalnl
struggle half way up the coRst Of Flor
ida. separated from that peninsula
only by narrow strait and the Great
bahama bank. They alone number
upwnrds of 500 ana their roughly estl-
mated population Is 10000
The Greater Antilles comprise only
cuba, Porto Rico. Jamaica and Haltl,
with the smaller islands along their
coastal land area OF at least SS,WO
square miles, -,
The Lesser Antilles, disposed In the
form OF crescent the con-
yex side facing eastward are di-
yidpd into two chains known as
"The Carlbbees." trending around
Porto Rico to Trinidad the island That
produces our asphalt, Off the coast OF
Venezuela; the other lying along the
northern coast Of South America to
Lake Maracaybo including the big
Dutch island Curocoa. Early naylga-
tors called these last named the Zee
ward islands" and the other chain tho
"wlndward" but nowadays nearly all
modern charts simplify matters by
classifying an the islands above the
fifteenth degree Of north latitude as
leewards; aud those below that line
as windwards. Besides these main
groups, hundreds Of smaller Islands
and an lncalcuable number Of unnamed
islets are scattered along the shores ana
dot the 100000 cubic miles Included
within the Caribbean sea and the Gulf
OF Mexico.
The erstwhlle Danish West indies
ST. Thomas, 81 Jan aud st. CroX-be-
long to the outer, or wlndward group,
and lie only few miles, due east from
Porto Rico There Is no need OF a pilot
10 guide vessels into the beautiful har-
Dor OF 81. Thomas, nor even Of daylight
to get safely through the deep and
narrow ptrait that leads 10 It's land
locked inner waters. Steamers general
~ 20 up 20 the coallng wharf, opposite
the town Of Charlotte Amalia some.
time during the silent watches Of the |
night. and passengers are awakened by !
the guns on top Of the old red forts that |
line the strait, booming forth permits
sion for the sun 10 rise, Hurrying on
deck you are treated 10 IA glorious view
Behind YOU are the tan cliffs that stand
as d0orposts 70 81. Thomas harbor, now
yelled in fleecy portieres, with touches
Of amethyst, rose aud gold Before
you, three rounded hll-spurs trend
Gown to the sea--long ago dubbed by
sailors Fore" Mast" and "Ml2zen,"
and on their sunny slopes the quaint
old Danish town Is silhouetted against
Il background Of high, dark mountains,
us vermillion roofs and the brown cas-
ties Of long buccaneers peerlng
out from dense foliage on the right
wooded savannah sweeps gradually
upward; on The left q chain " rocks
and islets almost closes the en-
trance TO the bay whose tranquil sur
face reflects, as IN mirror. the hills
that environ II and every cloud that
Skurries over on the wings of the trade.
wind The most striking part of the
view Is Us rich coloriHg especially
when seen IN the soft golden light of
the rain showers that so frequently
dehge the island falling unexpectedly
from an apparently clear sky and as
suddenly passing away Clusters OF
freshly painted houses-pnk, green.
purple lavender, sky blue and yellow,
all with dark red roofs, are dazzling in
fha utrono ut,tltgbtt ..4t,lt. 60,