The Republican journal., 1902-03-20

are only two towns on the island
Christianstoed and Frederickstoed. the
former with population of about six
thousand, the latter with half that
number. Both are strongly fortified
after a queer old fashion that might
have been useful few centuries ago
Nowadays neither town is known by its
name, but one is called ''Bassan," or
'Basse End" the other "West End
Christianstoed was formerly place of
wealth and great resort, but visitors
are now SO rare that the tumble down
building near the wharf which bears
the sign board of hotel, has been long
closed. The great beauty of the
antlquated town is its ample foliage:
all its pink and yellow houses are en-
| powered in splendid trees and its garden
walls and hedge-rows overrun with
roses, jasmine, honeysuckle anda vine
whose blossoms look like the sprays of
pink coral The arcades which front
the public buildings and give them such
stately aspect when seen from ship
board in the harbor, prove on close in
spection to be shabby and crumbling to
decay: the streets are unpaved and
irregular, negro cabins squalid and COM
fortress.
When you read in some northern
newspaper that fire, or a hurricane.
has swept away several hundred houses
in a West India town, you are liable
to receive wrong impression about
the magnitude of the loss The negro
houses generally are the frailest kind
of cane and wooden structures. set up
on four posts. or few loose stones.
There is no floor but the earth. no glass
IN the windows, often no opening in
them but a door. and the roofs are a
thatch of dried grass or palm leaves
that burn like finder when ignited.
Each house has only one room, or two
at the most. but they are used merely
to sleep in, or as a shelter from the
rain. At night so many persons huddle
in that the wonder is how all can lie
down, though packed "heads and
points" like sardines in box. By day
the family lives out of doors entirely.
cooking and eating in the open air.
One of the most delightful features
of st. Croix is the number of excellent
roads, nearly all of them between rows
OF splendid cocoa palms. Over one of
these we drove to Frederickstoed or
West End" in queer carry-all drawn
by three mules harnessed abreast. on
one of which road the darkey driver.
Flowers of all colors and spicy odors
adorn the roadsides of Santa Cruz,
froR crimson and yellow cacti with
wicked splnes, to delicate white Jas
mine and fragrant heliotrope The ba-
mana tree. with its huge clusters of
fruit and cone-hke purple blossoms.
tiourishes everywhere, and cocoanuts
galore may be had for the picking. Ma
ture has provided for the thirst that is
sure to atfiict one in these sunny islands
by hanging goblets of delicious nectar
on the Astounding palms. There is al
ways a grinnlng darkey at hand who is
delighted for penny or two to shin up
the tall, smooth, telegraph pole-like
trunk and bring down few of the
giant nuts. You open one end of the
cocoanut with your pen knife-or pick
a hole IN it with a hat-pin if you are
woman; lift up the green globe to
proper angle and let the cool beverage
glide gently down your throat. At first
you will say it is too sweet. and that it
tastes like condensed milk diluted: but
you are sure to want more and more of
1t, and presently find yourself able to
dispose of the contents of several CO.
coanuts at sitting. By that time if
you have come here as an invalid. YOU
have fallen so deeply in love with the
isles of Eternal summer that you are
ready to uproot the home ties and re-
plant them here.
FANNIE B. WARD.