The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1906-09-13
THE ISLE OF PINES.
Interesting and instructive Letter About
This Gem OF the West India
Islands.
BY A FORMER FULTON COUNTY BOY.
Los INDIOS. ISLE OF PINES.
Orgsf rNsntL.

IN the West Indies, | have seen
and learned more than | could
get on twenty ream Of pal er.
In this descriptive sketch, [ will
give you a short narrative of
Treasure Island history. Proba.
bly, no one spot IN the word has
been before the reading purlc IN
the last six months more than
this "Gem of the Caribbean. "
Most people have heard of this
country, far away, little thinking
that it is at their very doors.
"Presto;" and VIC are there with
the warm waters of the south
seas tapping the coral reef and
palm grown shores of Isla DePino.
trlnged cocoanut sprays with nut
clusters at their base, broad ba.
mana leaves sheltering great
lunches of fruit, tangles of grace
tul ferns, clumps of supple bam-
boo, lauced leaved mango trees
heavy with purple and gold dellc
ousness-these and hundred
more delight the tourist and
charm the artist.
MID tie silence of ETERNAL sum
mer, thousands of beautiful plum
aged birds dart here and there
amongst the thick green foliage
chief Of which is the noisy parrot.
They remind one of a room full of
ladies all trying to speak at once
and the result ca1 easily be I'M
agined. "Repose, "peaCe" and
"quiet" are Pinero watch words.
1t is lazy, happy climate; and
from the slow sailing clouds to
the swing of the palms, nature
moves languidly. But the peo.
pie are fai from oelne idle dream
ers. Most of them are wide
awake, twentieth century Amer
leans, and are making splendid
progress in domestic pursuits,
and a still greater struggle for
national existence.
The people of the south coast
live near the sea, and like most all
southern people, are generous
to a fault always happy, smll.
log, and of fine physique, and al.
most all English des cent. Houses
are only used to sleep in-so
much do they live out of doors; and
people may well live out OF doors
where the thermometer ranges
from 60 to 90 degrees tempered
by the cool sail zephyrs Of the
surrounding balmy seas. From
the sou thwes5 stretches out the
long arm of protecting coral reef
that makes Siguena Bay-a haven
IN which in olden days the Bucan-
eer found rendezvous.
The Rio De Los lndlos :. liver
upon which our hustling Ameri-
can town of same name is built,
empties into this spacious harbor
which is large enough to hold all
the war ships of Uncle Sam s Ma
Wy.
We hope to see the day when
this deep water bay will be great
com merclal harbor. Upon enter
ing this harbor one sees the lofty
mountains or Canada rising alrily
into a blue sky that has all the
suggestiveness of a fair country.
The story has been told ttat in
an earlier generationltwas known
as the "Isle of Pirates. " A time
when there tloated upon the bos-
ON of these tropical seas great
fleets of slow sailing galleons-
carved, gilded, and painted
crawling centipede like across
the face of the water, protected
only by war galleys. A ship
would lag from the rest of the
fleet, and from behind some frlng-
ed headland load of half naked
cut throats-white, black and yei-
low-would dash upon the fated
ship and mid the rattle of mus.
ket shots, the crack of fire locks
and pistols, yells, curses and jeers,
they would swarm headlong over
the rails and upon the oecks of
| the galleon to finish what they
had begun. So these treasures
OF gold and silver and pearls that
We're gathered in by Spain were
snatched trop her again by the
tcontiaued next week.