Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1902-07-26

oyershadowlng top, dropping its
branches nearly tu the ground, occupies
very large space; but, unlike the
banyans Of the Orient, Il has only one
trunk. Its pendants, which after the
manner of their kind reach down IRON
the limbs and take root, becoming
trunks with tropical rapidly, the latter
putting forth offshOots which speedily
become other trunks and so ON, are
carefully cut as soon as they appear or
otherwise the tree would presently oc-
cupy the entire park, II not the whole
town,
The narrow streets Of Basse-Terre are
lined with two-story houses the better
ones having the lower story OF stone
with balconies built out on the second
aoor the width OF the sidewalk. All
the people OF consequence, without ex-
ception. live In the nelghborhood OF
Berkeley Square; as You go beyond, the
houses rapidly deteriorate, until on the
outskirts Of the town only wretched
cabins are seen, perched UP on stakes
three feet above ground. the space un-
derneath filled with mud filth and rub
bish, I'm which black babies, black pigs
and NANCY dogs wallow together. ono
OF the side streets seems 90 be given
over exclusively 10 the laundry bust
ness the newly-washed clothes spread
out on stones between the buildings to
bleach I'm the hot sun. The population
Of Basse.Terre II estimated at 1000, and
that OF the island $4,000, not more than
1000 being white.
Everything In ST. Kits looks tropical
and queer I'm foreign eyes--not only the
trees and flowers, and the strange fruits
expected for sale, but the people them.
selves are as distinctly un-Englsh as II
Is possible TO imagine. Gaudily tur-
baned negresses preambulate the
streets, balancing all sorts Of merchan-
disc on their heads, from bloody liver
blackened with flies TO delicate sweet
meats OF their own manufacture. The
graceful, swinging stride Of these bur
den bearers is In agreeable contrast to
the lettering gait Of the colored ladies
you are constantly meeting, who 90
minclng along with indescrlbable airs
on absurdly hgh-heeled French slip
pers, Universally worn without stock
ings), their bodies pinched by French
corsets and heads disilgured by floWery
French mllInery-or rather the "crea-
tions" Of the mlllner are disilgured but
their broad -nosed, thick-llpped counte-.
nances. II one must choose between
classes, give us the low-down, un-
taught and unpretendlng daughters, OF
Ham every time, instead OF their sis.
tiers who have acquired thin veneer OF
white folks ways The laborlng wo-
men OF ST. Kits are picturesque crea-
lures, under their jaunty turbans IN all
the coors Of the rainbow and their
loose white gowns Qow-necked Mother
Hubbardsl caught up half way to the
knees by a sash tied tightly around the
hips. The negro women greatly out
number the men in the streets-perhaps
because so many of the men are at
work on plantations. They speak sort
OF monkey gibberish, impossible to UNI
derstand by those unfamiliar with the
patos one might call II Basse-Terred
English were not puns in such bad
taste, The island blacks appear to be
a good-natured, well hammered lot--the
men invariably touching their ragged
hats and the women bowling and show
ing all their iyories to the passing
stranger; but there are enough OF them
TO annhilate the white residents In the
twlnkllng Of an eye should they take II
into their heads to do So There are no
regular troops here IN these times OF
peace-only one company Of volunteer
cavalry, consisting of n few men who
I'm sudden emergency. The police are
all black, but clean, well-dressed and
civil enough. Their pay is Sl2 month,
extraordinary wages In Basse-Terre.
Men workers on the plantations receive
% cents a day; women workers, 20
cents; roustabouts, (also flood blooded
blacks, or nearly SOY, are sometimes
paid as high as 50 cents a day, but
their Jobs are intermttant The more
genteel Of the colored race carry on the
affairs of the island. filling the clerk
Ships and the offices, teaching the
schools, printing and editing the only
newspaper and performing all the me-
chanical labor. Though nearly all the
black folk are shouting lethodlsts, II Is
said that very few Of them are regular
" married by the church. II costs 30
shillings TO pay the parson-more than
a months wages; and therefore such an
extravaganza Is not TO be thought of. |
They have a simple ceremony Of their |
own, which to them is sacred, and / |
am told that Il Is seldom violated, You |
meet plenty Of small samboes and |
Dinahs in the streets wearing nothing |
but "a holiday look"-an1 maybe a |
string Of beads for modesty's sake. But |
when arrived at q certain age they must |
all go 10 school, for education Is corr
pulsory, after a fashion, in st. Kits |
We dropped in at one Of the colored |
primary schools, and were surprised 10 /
see how neatly and tastefully all the |
children were dressed, considering their
parents scanty wages. There were |
two female teachers, tcolored) one Of |
them armed with a club the other with
n wicked looking strap; and from these
premises we argued that the path OF
learning IS not altogether flowery for
Hams Kittsonian descendants.