The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-05-26
2 @44&4%%&%%&&%@%&%
! HL=FATED CITY
: OF ST. PIERRE.
=
LafCadiO Hedrn's Won
deTfuI Pen Picture.

Lafcadio Hearn. the wonderful writ
er, now living in Japan. visited the
West Indies in 1888 and painted word
picture of those tropical islands Tor
Harpers Magazine.
Hearn's charming story of what he
saw then remains today the finest de-
scription of a tropical island world that
has ever been written.
Extracts describing St. Pierre, the
people and the country, follow:
Morning a gold sunrise. The wind
has fallen. 1t is great, warm caress.
The sea is a deep indigo, the Sly
clOudless and tender blue. Martinique
looms before rs. At first it appears
all gray, a vapory gray; then il be-
comes a blush gray; then all green. It
is another of the beautiful volcanic
family: it owns the same hillshapes
with which we have already become ac-
quainted; its uppermost heights are
hooded with the familiar cloud; we
see the same gold-yellOw flames, the
same wonderful varieties of verdancy,
the same long green spurs reaching out
into the sea-doubtless formed by lava
torrents.
but all this is now repeated for US
more imposingly, more grandiOsely; il
is wrought upon a larger scale than
anything we have yet seen. The semi
circular sweep of the harbOr, dOminat-
ed by the eternal yelled summit of huge
Mont Pelee (misnamed, since it is green.
to the very clouds. from which the
land slopes down on either hand TO the
sea by gigantic undulations. is one of
the fairest sights that human eye can
gaze upon. Thus viewed, the whole ISL
"a nd oh rsr---
with streaks or shadows of darker
green here and there-glOOms Of forest
hollOws or lowering shadows of clouds.
The city of st. Pierre, on the edge of
the land, looks as if it had sided down
the entire height Of the hill behind it,
so strangely do the streets come tum-
bling down the steep in cascades of
masonry, with a red billOWing Of tiled
roofs over all, and enormous palms
peeking up through it. higher even
than the creamy white twin towers of
its antiquated cathedral
I'VE anchor in limpid blue water; the
cannon shot is echoed by a prolonged
-Clapping of mountain echoes.
I Then from the shore strange hotilla
bears down upon US. There is one boat.
two or. three canoes; but the bulk of
the craft are simply white wooden
| frames-hat-b ottomed structures made
from shipping cases or lard boxes with
I triangular ends. In all these sit naked
boys-boys between 10 and IA years of
] age-yarying in color from fine, clear
4 yellow to a deep reddish brown or
| chocolate tint. They row with two lit
/ tie fiat pieces Of wood for paddles.
clutched in each hand. and these lid
| shaped things are dipped into the water
/ on either side with absolute precision,
tn III L.
/ naked arms seemingly moved by sim
gle impulse. There is much uncOn-
/ scious grace in this padding, as well
/ as cOnsummate skill. Then all about
: the ship these ridiculous little boats be-
/ gin to describe circles, crossing and in-
| tercrOssing so closely as almost to
/ bring them into collision yet never
| touching. The boys have simply come
! out to dive for coins they expect pas
/ sengers to fling to them. All are chat
] tering creole, laughing and screaming
/ shrilly; every eye, quick and bright as
a birds, watches the faces Of the pas
sengeTs on deck. "TensiOn-lal' shrek
[ a dozen sOpTani; some passengers hand
| has descended into a money pocket
/ and all are on the alert. Through the
/ air, twirling and glittering, tumbles
4 an English shilling and drops into the
! deep water beyond the little fleet IN
/ stantly all the lads leap. scramble. top
/ pie headforemOst out of their little tubs
| and dive in pursuit. In the blue water
1 their little figures look perfectly red,
| all but the sOles of their upturned feet
/ which show quite white. Almost i'm
/ mediately they ali rise again; one holds
/ at arms length above the water the
/ recovered coin. and then puts it in his
mouth for safe keeping. These
L. Il
/ apparent effort, with the suppleness of
/ fishes. Most are decidedly e-looking
/ boys, with admirably rounded limbs
/ and delicately formed extremities. The
( best diver and fastest swimmer. how
/ ever, is a lemon cOlored lad: his slim
figure has the fluent grace of an an
| tiqUe bronze.
I'VE are ashore in st. Pierre. the
| Quaintest. queerest and prettiest withal
/ among the West Indian cities: all
/ built and stOne-fagged awnings,
iron balconies and peeked roofs of red
tile, pierced by gabled dOrmers. Most
| of the buildings are painted in a clear
pale yellow tone which contrasts de-
lightfully with the burning blue rib
/ bon of the tropical sky above: and no
street is absolutely level. Nearly all
of them climb hills, descend into hol-
lows, curve, twist and describe sud-
| den and amazing angles. There is ev-
/ erywhere a continuous chant Of run
ming water, pouring through the deep
cutters contrived between the paved
thOrOughfare and the absurd little side
walks varying in width from one to
three feet.
The architecture is very old; it is
/ seventeenth century probably. and il
reminds one a great deal Of that char
acterizing the Anticipated French quar-
ter of New Orleans. But one must
imagine New Orleans idealized by ar
tistic conception. made intensely trop-
zeal and projected audaciOusly on the
side of huge volcanic hill So steep
are the streets. descending to the har-
Dor by flights of old, messy stone steps
that, looking down them to the azure
water. you have the sensation Of gaz-
ing from cliff The town has a look
Of extraordinary sOlidity. 1t is a crea-
ton of crag; looks almost as if it had
been hewn out Of one mountain frag-
ment, instead OF having been con-
structed stone by stone. The dwellings
have walls three feet in thickness. On
one street facing the sea they are even
heavier and slope outward like ram
parts, so that the perpendicular re-
cesses Of windows and doors have the
/ appearance Of being opened between
buttresses. It may have been partly
as a precautiOn against earthquakes
and partly for the sake Of GOODNESS
that the early colonial architects built
thus. giving TO the stony city a phys
/ iOgnOmy so impressively in harmony
l with its name. the name of the Saint
Of the Rock. And everywhere rushes
mountain water cool and crystal cleal
washing the streets.
And everywhere and always
. through sunshine and shadow come;
70 you the scent of the city. the char.
acteristic odOr of St. Pierre. a pleasant
smell that reminds you in some indefn-
able way of the taste Of asparagus-