Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-05-10
A VISIT TO ST. PIERRE.
Staff Correspondent Of The Star De
scribes Island City.

TOM u SIAN Correspondent Notes.
The morning of February we were sail
ing along the coast of Martinique. The
landscape is diversified and pleasant
mountains and hills towering up In the
background and covered with vegetation
clear to their tops. At o'clock we were
at St. Pierre. the chief city of the island
and a town of 10000 or 10000 inhabitants
There is no real harbor but merely an
open roadstead, the shore sweeping in on
a curve. and the city itself nesting at the
base of the hills down to the line of the
sea The roadstead is protected, however
the wind always comes from the other
side of the island.
Immediately on entering the roadstead
and even before the steamer had come to
anchor, We were surrounded by a swarm of
little canOe-shaped boats, in the bottom of
each of which sat boy using paddles five
or six iRcheS long in each hand. With
these paddles the boys made their little
boats fairly fly through the water. Their
costumes were the extreme of simplicity
consisting simply of a band of cloth around
the waist. Sometimes they were in their
boats and sometimes they Were in the
water or under the water. 1t was all the
same to them When a coin was thrown
into the sea. over the sides Of their little
crafts they would fall. a dozen at a time.
and one OF them was absolutely certain
TO get the coin before it reached the bottom.
Many of them dove clear under the big
steam vessel, coming up on the other side,
taking a long breath and diving again to
bob up in minute or two at their original
starting point Many of them would swim
for long distances with their heads under
the water. 1 should say that these Mar
Unique boys are among the best swimmers
and divers in the world
A Picturesque Town.
St. Pierre is an extremely picturesque lit
tie town. 1t has the appearance of extreme
solidity. houses of stone streets of stone,
the sidewalks of stone and cutters Of stone.
through which streams of pure water flow
rapidly and with an extremely cool and
musical sound The streets are narrow and
twisting and are at different levels with
many picturesque fights of stone stairs
running from one level TO the other. Here
and there old hanging iron oil lamps are
suspended across the narrow thorough
fares. Stone drinking fountains are COM
mon. and old, old shrines are fire.
quent. There is an atmosphere of old
France about the place. Down a narrow
street You hear the clash OF steel against
steel and you peep through doorway and
see pair Of dark-skinued natives fencing
with foils- French is the universal lam
guage, and the stores are filled with cheap
French goods. and many of the hats and
clothes. especially of the men, are French
of many years ago.
The inhabitants are either French or
French crossed with Indians or Negroes.
Bright colOrs predOminate everywhere, IN
tfle SKY. III tDe IO4ldSe, III the ripple OF lne
water and in the costumes of the women.
A traveller might imagine in some of the
streets that he was in the native quarter of
Cairo. Here are the same dark skins, the
same color effects and costumes, the same
air and sky. the same twisting streets .kc
same charcoal braziers.
Street Cars in the City.
There are several street cars running
through the town, their unique features
being the single mule propelling power. and
the fact that they have women conductors.
The big market is a place OF dazzling col
ors and extreme sound effectsc Everybody
in the market seems to have, Something TO
say and 10 be saying ii with extreme haste
and without any regard to whether their
neighbOrs are listening or not A consider
able portion of the market is devoted to
the selling of fish, and these Shining, bril-
liant colored inhabitants offs the sea are
brought to the market in the fishermen s
boats, which are picked up and carried
directly to the market itself.
Sugar and its manufacture into rum is
about the only thing that occupies the
There a number of big sugar manu-
factories here, although, as has been said
the entire sugar product is made into rum
and sent to France. Driving on the out
side of St Pierre one is impressed with the
magnificent palms and other tropical vegi-
tation- In the big botanical garden the
collection Of plant life is amazing. This
island has the honor. or dishonor how
ever you take il. to be the birth place of
the Empress Josephine. 1t has practically.
since its discovery. belonged TO France. and
the morality of its inhabitants is said to be
of an extremely French description.
T. c. y.