Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1906-09-27

: WOMEN OF WEST INDIES.

From iiarpcr's Wookl,

Inc gorgeous. the fragrant" o. the I'M
prSssiVe. one wonders why nobody paints
the West Indies. At the lower ,na eli that
island chain which reaches from the
northern tropic to South America ,hore is
a workable painter paradise. Gcasra-
l~hically this paradise is known Us tn.
lesser Antilles or the CaIibbc,S l'oliti-
cally IL is under four iiags- put,t. Dan
ish. French and British. pictorially II Of
iers the utmost levclir-sss and w~ol-nisi:
intltite variety. Volcanic mountains with
rugged outlines rise from the waves and
hide their bUr,t-out craters in Low. soft.
tropical clouds. TO their sides climss the
IuNuIisnt vegetation .ostered by lava n
sea around them is OF that gorgeous and
Incredible purple peculiar to tropical
water. and over all streams Il glory OF
.ight.
Guadeloupc and Martinique. tho human
life. too. is brilliantly picturesque and in
keeping with It's getting Markrt-aay in
'iGad"loupe, is not as other market-days
IN cold and huindrum regions 1t is a
teNcl of color and light. I'hose who sell
and most OF those who buy ar nesresses,
mUIattos. or qusdroons. tall, shapoiy. and
hearing themselves like queens. Trained
almost from hahyhood to bear burdens on
Their heads. they are straight is lanccs
and they walk with jaunty grace. Their
crosses are of sAy-cohr'>i c%ot,ons. often
adorned with large figures OF brilliant
stripes. ON their head. and often around
their waists, in lou OF belts. are bright
N~indanpas. Around their necks are kerr
chiefs Of rich green. yellow. or scarlet.
Most of them wear earrings. and many
have IA barbdric skam Of metal ornaments
at the throat. The show French influence
and often French blood In the livelincss
OF their gestures. the ~raptdity of their talk.
and their "hullient Eayety. when one adj
dresses them their dark faces fash into
smiles. When they chat together there
is presently "a hurst Of eysus laughter.
But there is no us. trying to- share the
joke. We cannot understand it, however,
ver.ed in the French of Paris. Theirs is
n isatois of French mach dehAsed by Congo
associations. Its son~onaNs are siurred,
its vswels mispronsuno~N. and 1t is spok-
en- in the high pitched .ing-song Of the
West Indies.
The wares are displayed on stands ex-
;emporizcd out of boards ana boxes. in
trays OF wood or wicker, 81 on mats
many things there are which WI chreni.
cally do without yet never mis-. There are
g~listcning piles Of the eea-selt which the
poorer inslafskcrs us- IN cooking. There
are cocoa kSans in piupty. bunAi.s OF Gin
namon bark. and hong vanilla beans tied
into bundles Ike cigarettes. Chocolate is
sold in cylinders almost as corpulent as
German eau.aEes. There arc brown heaps
Of unrchncd sugar. dark and moist as
mud. Bread rolh are offered in n shape
suggesting the head. hody and tail Of a
bird. and an n%dventurer who has eaten
them assures US that they are very in
digcst'tlc, though the population eat
thereof ard live.
The little oarthenware stoves. used In
all the humblc island homes. can only
boil or stew. a feast OF baked meat. whc,,
the family INDUCES In II. must be cooked
In a bakcshop. Bread must hc bought. and
these tough little loaves have Il ready
sale.
In market are ltttle leaps OF ehe;i-ish,
the Local oyster. small and nobbN ami
the tiny local clans. Near by are the
iIsh. gorgeous as those who sell them.
They are steel-coloresi. rosy or salmon.
overshot with copper. With bronze, or with
gold. A picturesque old woman. wearing
straw hats made In these ir,ands. Is selling
punches of shining Leaves like those of
our northern Laurel. The-.a al Il lathor
when ubhed urAsr water and are used
locally IN lieu OF soap.
At three entertaining tables are little
assortincnts of things, and you can choose
among them for q centime. You can have.
for instance, on a square OF brown butch
cr-paper. a tcacupful Of ec.salt and two
balls OF blue. If that combination fails 10
allure YOU here II another: a square of
yellow soap. a tiny %cornucopia Of very
strong pcppc and 4 row of pins. or YOU
can have q box of matches, = card of thread
and two small onions. Indeed. the com
binations off"re! for q c~.ntir.c have a
wide range. and II you r.Nuse them all
you are indeed hard t. please.
The baskct-seller has the wide wicker
trays which We eesn in Nest Indian streets
on the heads OF pcddlers. and baskets of
charming design snd cslor are ~purchasab,.,
for a few centimes.
The %Iottcr's wife has anon hor terra
Gotta coiOrcd saucepan. Of familiar out
lines the tall Ne4t Indian water-cool.rs
hitherto unfamiliar. But the nlcst remark
able figure Of All 10 northern eyes il, tho
milk-seller. Tci-.d on hc: head is a deep
wooden box, and from the top OF II pro-
trude the jars. cans. and bottles which
have held divers thin;:s. Now they contain
milk which Is poldl.-I to the ,opulaco at
prices 10 suit the ,nost ris,dly economical.
1t Is stopped about. transferred from one
m!croby vessel 10 another. and all under a
tropical sun, And ys the population lives
me laughs.
Some OF tho vegetables At last look IA
miliar. There is. ~ everywhere IN the
West Indies. II great profession and varie-
~ OF edibl. .ddocs. ctssaN.t. yafns. and
sever kinds 81 swcet potato. some rec
ognizable by a northornor and others not.
Her" at" coccanuts in plenty and bananas
galore. III" large ones which como TO
northern markets and 4 small variety
known IN the English islands as a Zig. ="
Hero arc plauil!ns. largo. coarse ha-
mama which are generally sliced and fried.
and a southern eggplant dainty dressed
49, -, -, - ia A ,fL. $3.50 ---r