El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-03-11

been famous for its wild simians. the
hill behind Basse Terre. the capital, be-
ing called Monkey hill. When the
rains are on and water plentiful. mon
keys are scarce and hard to find, but
! in the dry season they have to fire.
quent water holes known to the hunter
and here they are easily shot The
natives eat them with relish. but
strangers can seldom stomach the idea
or the meat
The proverbial predatory habits and
mischievouSnesS Of monkeys cause them
| TO be nuisance to the white planters.
| and in their wrath over damaged crops
they smother any computations they
might have about killing them
When the monkeys become unac-
countabIy scarce, the natives revive
tradition that they have passed to the
island of Nevis, only few miles away,
by submarine tunnel.
Abodes OF Tradition.
Evry island in the West Indies is
| the abode of tradition, amplified his
tory and historical facts stranger than
fiction. For hundreds of years the
Caribbean sea was the haunt Of bucca-
neers, pirates, wreckers, beach combers,
free soldiers and adventures from the
four parts Of the earth, and nowhere
did they leave their impress more
strongly than on st. Thomas, the first
call for ships trading from New York
down through the Leeward and Wind
ward islands to the Demerara river in
British Guiana.
As the ship sails into the magnifi-
cent harbor at Charlotte AmaIia in st.
Thomas-the harbor so greatly coveted
by the United States before the war
with Spain-on the farthest right OF the
three hills on which the city IS built,
is seen a round tower. resembling a
truncated cone On the central hill is
another tower, very similar in appear
ance. The first is called Bluebeard's
tower and the second Blackbeard's tow
er. They are ideally situated to COM
mand the town and harbor. and tradi-
ton has 1t that they were built by the
bewhiskered pirates whose names they
bear
Bluebeard's tower still has its old
cannon and masonry defences. The
view from both is magnificent A local
historian has dispeled the Illusion by
showing that Bluebeard's tower was
originally q Danish fort.
Blackbeard's supposed structure is
not so disillusioning when its history
is examined The records show that
ii was built in troublous times by a
citizen with large ideas of protecting
himself when things happened. In
fact, he erected such formidable struc-
ture that the governor of the island
feared he might become the political
and military boss Of the town, and or
dered him to vacate.
Barbados Is English.
Barbados is the only island in the
West Indies which has remained Eng
fish from its first settlement, which
was in 1926, to the present time. II
contains 166 square mIes and supports
100000 persons, making it one OF the
most densely populated countries on the
globe This Overcrowded citizenry is
one Of the most intensely patriotic in
the world. and in all the British empire
there is no people more proud of the
fact, that they live under the British
flag.
Il am a British subject, sah.- is al
most the first statement a Barbadian
utters when he meets a stranger In a
strange land and If you look at him
GROSSLY or crook your finger at him
he hastens at once TO the British con-
sui TO tell his troubles 1t is said that
If a Barbadian. while in swimming.
sees a shark about to attack him, he
sternly utters those talismanic words,
81 am a British subject sah." and the
shark flees at once.
Although not one of the West Indies,
but a part OF the mainland of South
America. British Guiana IS generally
spoken of as If IL belonged to the island
chain This is because il is the natural
terminus of a swing through the islands
and because of It's intimate relations
with them. The Guianas are of inter-
est to Americans for several reasons.
The most important is because when
the peace of 1861 was concluded be-
tween England and the Netherlands. the |
Dutch traded New York for the settle !
ments which the governor of Barba- |
dos had founded on the Surinam river |
in what is now Dutch Guiana. TINS
tar Cd - ,-@fg -,
the history of the world.
Courtesy Of Clubs
There is great confusion of terms |
in the popular mind in regard TO Brit |
ish Guiana. The tourists and sailors !
call it Demerara- and the reader or |
hearer whose knowledge of geography /
is not detailed has little idea where it 4
is. Also the sailors do not mean De- /
merara itself but city. which again /
confuses strangers The truth is, De- !
merara is the central, smallest and |
most important of the three counties
into which the province of British !
Guiana is divided. and the port to which !
the sailors refer is Georgetown, capt.
tai of the province. situated at tie
south of the Demerara river.
One of the pleasant features of trav-
cling in the West Indies is that the
visitor who makes himself agreeable,
ard remains any length OF time. is al
most sure TO be put up at the local
club This is a courtesy not to be de-
spised, for the club is usually the cool
est and most attractive place in town
Tt is TO be regretted that at least
one club down there does not welcome
tourists with any great enthusiasm
Some months ago when large ship |
arrived and the cOurtesies OF the club
were offered to all the passengers, the
strangers showed their appreciation by
carving off many OF the clubs odds
and ends as souvenirs"
Tomorrow-The Culture of Flowers.