Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1903-04-03
UNI,fR Ills MATSTYS
FLAG.
In a Quaint Land anu Amid a
Quaint People AN Immacu-
late City in White Negro
Money Divers, Etc.

ouoiut CupiC- ~ IL iiiliiIttCu
late City in White NEGRO
e Money Divers, Etc.
; (star Correspondence OF the Speeta -or.)
AS We steamed into the harbor oil
Nassau, | observed that every face
! WAS bending over the ships railing
d not the sad. sick faces Of the day be
o fore. but faces wfeathed in smiles
that ever aud anon broke forth into
y peals of laughter This was meta
morphosls that was scarce prepared
e for. The matter was, however. soon ex
+ planned to my abundant satisfaction
and amnseInent-a number of Ma
tive negro boys, with cloths grit about
their loins had come out to meet us
f and there in the placid clear waters
thew were swimming about the steam
> er like SO many ducks, and clamorine
for money, which the passengers were
j throwing to them The water was
, deep, but clear as that OF spring
, branch, and it was no end of fun to
watch the pickaniuies dive to the bot
tom and scrap over pennies and dimes
that the passengers tossed over
board In the Bahamas every white
man is called Chief" by the negro ma
tives, 50 they shouted "Chief throw a
penny" Chief throw a nickle," see
Niger dive and dive they would,
most expertly-so fast indeed that th e
money was often caught before it
reached the bottom. | had big old
fashioned copper and catching the eve
of one of the boys, threw it with all my
strength into the 25-foot water Three
of the plckaninies dived after it, but the
piece was thrown with such vigor that
it reached the bottom ahead of the
divers We could see the three boys
as they sen ilie'tfOr IT'S possession. Tney
kicked, scratched and bit at each
other, till the ships company were con-
vulsed with laughter. But bye and
bye the one knocked out the other two
and securing the money, rose to the
surface all smiles with the copper
VIII oh he held alOft in his hand to prove
his victory. These little rascals are
amphibious. or nearly so, for they live
under water longer than any human
| beings you ever heard of, and are pro
| fessiOnal divers and SWimmers-diving
quick as didappers, and swimming about
under water with their eyes wide open
like fish. They seldom lose piece of
money, for after the vessel has passed
they go back over the track and sink
ing to the bottom of the harbor, like
submarine animals, they crawl around
with their eyes open till they find every
piece. When on the surface they can
walk around in deep water with their
head, shoulders and arms above water
with the most unconcerned ease imag.
inacle. These negro divers are among
the interesting sights OF the Bahia |
mas and amuse the tourists, probably |
more than any other one thing.
A sTRANH LAND AND A QUAINT
PEOPLE.
At the wharf we were subjected to the !
disagreeable necessity of having our |
little belongings gone throughwith by |
custom house official, the which |
having been done, we were at liberty |
to roam in a foreign land and under n
foreign fag-that of his majesty King
Edward VII of England. Amid a
new people and strange scenes we sal
lied forth in search of our boarding
house, one that had been recommend
ed and the best one on the islands. 1t
was large grayish stucco building,
with big side yard. enclosed by an
eight foot stone wall. There was
little gate to enter, through which only
one person at time could go, and
there was a bell to ring before we got
to the door. All this was TO secure
privacy and to better safeguard that
highly valued privilege, the broad
double decked Veranda that ran around
two sides of the house, was carefully /
screened by closed window shutters
that reached from the banister railing
to the ceiling of the pOrticO, a typical
Nassau house, thousands of which
may be seen throughout the city II
If there is one thing the Bahamas
guard more zealously than another, it
is the seclusion of the home life. w it'll {
In doors all is warmth and cordiality
among the members of the family and |
10 the stranger within their gates, but 6
all is cold and forbidding. {
Little attention is paid to the external |
adornment OF house. Old fashioned, /
Justly, they present an unattractive a
appearance from the street, but in I
his no one cares for public admlra I
ion. All effort is centered on making
he home attractive within. There We a
ind handsomely furnished apartments, a
lower gardens, music and that de- h
ightful sociability that goes to make f
lOme life charming. In color and q
lesign the Nassau residences are uni |,
orm, the buildings being covered with
light gray stucco and white trim
nings, or if built of wood the houses
re painted to correspond in color and
fleet. There is therefore no variety
t design, the houses simply varying a
n size. Around these, whether palace a
r hovel, is the Indispensable stone
Iall. The streets, both sidewalk and d
OadWay, are paved with white CO. tt
lent clay that becomes hard after ex- o
osure to the sun. Thus it is that I
assau is an immaculate city, with it's v
'hlte buildings, white streets and t,
'hlte walls, trying to the eye, but
Everything in sight is white
I'VE the population, fve-sixths of
hich are black, the other sixth arel
imposed of English, Scotch and some .,
paniSh, who constitute the ruling &
ass land who govern the islands with ~ ~
ut the consent of the blacks. VI
THE STRENUOUS LIFE Ie
There is no strenuous life in the d,
there is no occasion for 1t. vi
verything goes easy. The people m
AXE living without continuous hi
ork and the climate breeds Incidence.
t o'clock in the morning the city III
wakes to it's work, and at about or 6 cl
the afternoon it shuts up shop for -
10 day-this program prevails for 9 II
onths in the year and then the popu-
ton, 30 to speak, take three months
st. 1T is conducive to long life and
appiness,' said a native gentleman
me one day, "Whyyou Americans X
'ntinued he. with your boosted civi
alton, live on each others misfor-
mes and mistakes. You go through pa
Q in mad rush for wealth, never
opplng to enjoy what you have &C
but ever grasping for other z