Smyrna times., 1903-12-02
JAMAICA'S MYSTERY.
THE FINGER OF FATE IN THE FALL
OF HER CAPITALS.


History of Her Ruined Cities-TwO
of Them VaniShed Utterly From on
the Face of the Earth.
There exists in Jamaica, in the West
Indies, a universal superstition that a
curse rests upon any town chosen to be
its capital. Since 1909, when the first
chief city was founded, no fewer than
three capitals have been ruined in mys-
terious and tragic ways. Two have
vanished utterly from the face of the
earth. Some of the more superstitious
of the cOlOnists, broOding over the
strange history of their country, fear
that Kingston, the present capital,
city of 10000 inhabitants, will share
the fate of its predecessors.
The first capital was Sevilla Nueva
(New Seville), otherwise called Seville
d'Oro (the Golden Seville), on account
of its marvellous wealth. 1t was found
ed by Don Juan d'Esquivel and Diego,
a son of Christopher Columbus. In a
few years 1t became the greatest Span
ish city in the new world. Thither
flOcked the blue blOoded but impecuni-
Gus mobiles of CASTLE, eager to rebuild
their family fortunes at the expense of
the poor Arawak.
Cathedrals, palaces and mOnasteries,
rivaling those of Spain in splendor,
were erected. The marble streets were
crowded with gayly clad cOurtiers and
Indian slaves, who tOiled for them and
brought them tribute from mine and
jungle.
Then, in a night, the city vanished,
and no one can tell today what hap
pened to it. No survivors and no rec
ords were left behind to tell the tale.
Today one can see, buried in tropical
jungle, mile of marble pavement and
a few broken columns and arches.
Nothing else remains of the Golden
Seville, once so prosperous and splen-
did, except q few contradictory ma
tive traditions. These traditions va
riously ascribe the destruction of the
city and it's inhabitants to a mutiny OF
the oppressed Indians, an earthquake,
a sudden visitation of millions of red
ants ard an attack by French buc-
cancers. The very memory of what
was once the greatest city OF the new
world has almost perished. Even in
Jamaica few people know anything
about the Golden Seville.
The Spaniards made Saint Jago de la
Vega, now called Spanish Town, their
second capital. Time and again it was
devastated by hurricane and plague,
harassed by Indian revolts or ransack-
ed by adventurous picarOOns. Gradu-
| ally it sank from its high estate until
now it is merely a squalid village.
When the English conquered the is
land they made Port Royal their real
capital, though Spanish Town remain
ed for some time the official seat OF
| government. The emporium of the In
dies and the Spanish main, the market
for the i'll gotten gains of 10000 buc
] cancers, Port Royal soon became the
richest and wickedest city of the new
world. At the height of its splendoT
and its vice it was destroyed within
| the space of two minutes by an earth
| quake.
''The ground opening in Severa
Places at once" wrote an eyewitness
in 1862, a few days after the catastro
phe, SWALLOWED up Multitudes of PeO
pie together, whole Streets sinking un
der water with Men. Women and Chill
dren in them; and those Houses whicl
but just now appeared the Fairest ant
Loftiest in these Parts and might VII
with the Finest Buildings in the WOrlC
were in a moment Sunk in the Earth
and nothing to be seen of them; sucl
Crying. such Shrieking and Mourning
l never heard, nor could anything Il
my Opinion appear more Terrible t
the Eye of Man. Here a Company o
People Swallowed up at once; there
whole Street tumbling down, and i
Another Place the Trembling Fart
opening her RavenOus Jaws, let in til
Merciless Sea, so that this Town is bC
> come a Heap of Ruins. Several PEI
3 pie were Swallowed up of the Eartl
+ when, the Sea breaking in before til
} Earth could Close, they were washe
: up again and Miraculously saved frol
: Perishing. Others the Earth receive
r up to their Necks, and then Close
: upon them and squeezed them
Death, with their Heads above Groun,
many of which the Dogs Eat; Multi
tudes of People Floating up and dow
e having no Burial The Burying Pla'
$ at the Palisades is quite DestrOye
It the Dead Bodies being washed out
t their Graves, their TOmbs beat
n Pieces and they floating up and dow
It it is sad to think how we have Su
Z fered.
Il '"The Earth hath still fits of Shakin
o with very much Thunder and LigI
p ning and dreadful Weather; yet til
( had so little effect upon some Peep
b here that the very same Night tn,
II were at their Old Trade of Drinkil
It and Swearing; breaking up Wal
D. houses; Pillaging and Stealing fro
s. their NeighbOrs, even while the Fart
4 quake lasted, and several of them we
'e destroyed in the very Act; and indie
is this Place has been one of the Lude
nj T. -