The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-06-07
HOME LIFE IN ST. PIERRE.
A Martinique Girls story of Her
Former HOme-D. SOmmers HOwe's
Recent Visit to the Island.

From the New York Tribune.
The eyes of a pretty Martinique girl
were heavy with tears while she talked
with a Tribune reporter yesterday of
her former home in St. Pierre and of
her many friends who were there at
the time of the disaster. The cOlored
maid, crowned with a brilliant hued
bandana, who had answered the bell at
the door of the handsome apartment,
is a native of st. Pierre, and one
glance at her sad face from which
every ray Of hope had died told the
story of a mothers broken heart, for
the wOmans children as well as all her
kindred persisted in the desolated city.
The young mistress father, an agent
for leading trading company of this
city, sailed for the home country on the
Dixie, which left on Wednesday, to look
for friends and care for interests
there.
The young woman and her sisters,
like most white girls in Martinique, re-
ceiVed their education in Europe. The
convent school, the girl explained, adj
mitted all applicants, negro as we'll as
white children, and as the social lines
are rigidly drawn in Martinique, white
people in rare instances patronized the
school. The speaker recalled many in
teresting habits and incidents of Mar
Unique home life.
I'VE were never apprehensive of dan
ger. from the mountain" she said. Tn
deed. we never even thought of it as
a volcano. TO us it was always the
mountain on the side of which grew
such luXuriant verdure as no one can
realize until he has seen it. The lake
in the crater was the favorite resort
/ Fsn.- 10
and camped around it. Women and
girls seldom visited the crater because
of the steep and difficult climb as one
neared the summit.
THE drive from st. Pierre to our
summer home at Morne Rouge was a
delightful one. Along parts of the way
big sugar cane plantations waved their
silky arms in the breeze. At TrOis
Points, a village on the way, barefooted
women wearing big hats, which they
woVe from palm leaves, were always to
be seen washing their clothes in the
| river. The river bed was covered with
| huge powders which the washers use
| in place of WashboardS, standing in the
| river and Shaping the garments on the
| stones with a rigor that would have
insured destruction to the fabric had
the process been applied by uninitiated
hands. Out of the palm leaves the wo-
men also made kitchen fans, which
| served them in place of bellows to en-
courage their fires.
The Jardin des Plates was a beauti-
full place, but it was infested with
snakes, as are the forests of the island.
Visitors had to look out for them.
There were beautiful ferns in Martin
| ique, but l always noticed that where
they were most luxuriant snakes were
the most numerous. No one thinks of
a a.
| do here, because of the serpents. Beau
tiful orchids and other lovely wild
flowers grow in the forests. The
orchids are usually found in inacces-
| sible places, difficult even for the ma
tives to reach. The country surround
ing Trois Points is especially wild and
picturesque.
Among the attractive sights of st.
Pierre was the early morning market,
to which country women brought their
produce in big wooden trays on their
heads. and from which women buyers
took home their purchases in the same
| fashion. The wooden head tray was,
| too, the laundress's only vehicle when
| she called for and delivered her GUS
toners wash. The women dressed in
the most brilliant hues obtainable.
"At Fonds Core, outside of the city,
it was a picturesque sight to see the
fishermen bringing in their big nets in
| the early morning. A great variety of
| excellent fish was plentiful in Martin
ique, and it was sure to be fresh, for
| it could not be kept from one day to
| another on account of the climate. Ice
was expensive, but was used by the
white people. An ice making plant was
one of the enterprises of st. Pierre.
People of Martinique are early ri
sers. The colored population starts for
market by o'clock, and the white pc
| pie are awake and ready for their first
coffee by o'clock Many people drink
cocoanut water, which is said to have
the virtues of vichy, the first thing in
| the morning. The cocOanutS are pro-
cured by the little negroes who climb
the trees for the fruit and deliver it
fresh to their patrons when the water
is cool and sparkling. The jellylike
| pulp of the young cocoanut is great
delicacy. The dry nut, in the condition
| it is received here, is grated and made
into a delicious ice cream.
Breakfast is, as a rule, served be-
tween and s o'clock, and usually con-
sists of cocoa or chocolate, with
bread or biscuit and butter. The mid
day repast at noon is the
heart meal of the day, and
there is always a fish course, a
meat course, vegetables and a dessert
of fruit in one form or another. A
lighter meal is served at p. m, at
which there is always a meat soup, a
vegetable or two and q dessert. Pas
tries in the shape of pies and buildings
are little used. There is a wealth of
fruit Some of the vegetables COM
mon in the North, such as asparagus
and artichokes, are much smaller when
grown in Martinique, but others are
| larger The cucumber, for instance,
which attains a giant size in the is
lands. would hardly be recognized here.
! Concombres farcis sausages is a IA
Vorite dish. The big cucumbers are
| peeled, the seeds are removed, and the
] cavities left are filled with sausages,
| then the cucumber is cooked in butter
| much in the fashion of a pot roast. 1t
is sliced when served at the table. Gu
| cumbers are also used for salads.
! Apricots are a different fruit from
| those common here. A story is told
of a man in Martinique, stranger to
the country. who amazed his servant
| by sending for a half dozen apricots.
He was surprised to receive six unfa-
| miliar fruits. each about the size Of a
| melon. frequent method of serving
/ the apricot is TO slice IL and serve IL
/ with wine and sugar. Liquors are
made from the seeds of the sapote ana
| from the vanilla bean. The chadec is
| much like the grapefruit but bigger.
/ There are two varieties one. with "a
l white pulp. rs sour. and the other. with
| "a pink pulp. is sweet. The skin is
l sryatalized and used as "a conserve.
| There are many sorts OF oranges, nes