The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1902-03-06
THE DANISH WEST INDIES
r.souyces of Uncle Samuel's Newest Pos
sessions Island Society. The SAINT of

CHARLOTTE AMALIA, st. Thomas
d. February 4, 1902. This historic
.. uauSe name was bestowed by the
.... Turing their brief occupancy of
uu wears a self-conscious air of
..- seen better days. Time was
.. uanotte Amalia was the entire
tul Vie products of the northern
.-, Off south America, as well as of
Ulco. Haiti, Sante Domingo and all
NudNard Islands. In later years
lthants of those ports discovered
u.,antage of going direct to Europe
ae nited States for their goods,
trade of this port suddenly de-
After the abolition of slavery
81 Thomas, which had hither-
covered with cane-helds, pro
.o more sugar, the emancipated
absolutely refusing to do any
the plantations and docking
towns to become burden and
TO the comparatively small
U If whites in the population.
so fertile that it is a favorte
stick fence-post into the
md tomorrow you have tree
a lew years the island, for lack
wilton. became almost a sterile
Ill the eyes of the freed blacks
u labor carried with it tie
slavery, perhaps naturally
and to this day the same
prevails among them st.
fortunes revived a little with
vii war: but another crushing
0tuNed with the removal of the
Mail Steamship Company's head
to Barbados.
... there is no loss without some
gain. This long continued bust
preston leaves plenty of open
nj energetic Americans, and
w4o get here ahead of the coming
need not fear to embark in any
.. .} rade or manufacture At pres
re is almost no competition, and
lure viii be abundant demand,
III this. but III adjacent islands.
sure, the bulk of West Indian
ttIon is not exactly what the aver
AmerlCan would choose for con-
society-being mainly negroes,
ftoes and creoles: but the new
should bring his society along in
3y of wife and children, and wait
good time thai is surely at hand
4Is own race will predominate
is now sprinkling of English,
.a German and Danish residents.
to say, the Danes, so long own
tine island. are the fewest and
Is about the only language not
ere. The present Danish gov
rs his mansion on one of the
.-auI hilI-sIopes overlooking Char
Amalia. and there are many hand
soljdly built private houses -
by the way. rent for about one
r,f The prices that prevail i'll New
and Washington. genial climate
VA IN" one company of Danish
are quaTtered on st. Thomas
Danish Warship is usually in the
There ale plenty of schools
English and Danish are taught
these coming Americans viii find
tum for improvement. Consider
& the island has belonged to Den
almost since It's first discovery.
ly short intervals of French and
occupancy, it is curious that
n-lish language should prevail in
sue and society and be taught
Fely in the schools.
-nWn of Charlotte Amalia is as
.7t clean as pin; buildings solid,
rs strong; streets we'll macadam-
nj sidewalks in excellent order
cutters are laid along all the
While big stone quits, as they
lied, have been built to carry
am streams down to the harbor.
are number OF Stores" some
-m showing considerable stocks of
DDS. provisions, drugs, etc, and
tppear to be prospering Their
al customers are from the numer-
ps that come here to coal: pas
-- generally going ashore to pick
venlrs, and crews replenishing
arders. Remembering that up
+ one hundred thousand tons of
taken from the island every year
te men-of-war of all nations, to say
Ag of mail steamers and trading
-s S., you will realize that the streets
uops are always thronged.
N street, which runs along the sea
"hole length of the town, is the
Ht eyel bit of ground in Charlotte
}iaAa all the rest being on a sharp
lj'' the cross streets seeking speedy
H.ag places in nearby ravines and
nils. Life here is always diverting.
Us of men in the streets converse
such vehemence and gesticulate so
that you momentarily expect to
knife plunged into somebody's
but it is only the local way of
lng the affairs of the day, AMI
ty the grinning disputants saun-
To renew he fracaC with tho