Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1910-01-21
LETTER FROM COL. HALE.
Pot Of Syliu, T. uidat- h. ". l.
Janua-, 1. 1910.
Friend Bishop

sound of sleigh bells, melodies m the
av.,,pg All of Northern Vermont aud
can seq the whirling snow flakes, he
ing piled in drifts along the highways
aud in the streets of Island Pond 10y the
shrieking wintry winds; aud do not
forget. that in all probability you have
escaped from the outside storm and are
sitting by the open fireplace with It's
cheering blaze, seeing visions ana
dreaming dreams, or enjoying the com
partnership OF friends aud loved ones
Surely, would not be guilty Of AN un-
friendly intrusion; hut say, friend don I
Won want to take little trip with us to-
day? Imagine it is the "king's Birth
day, a legal holiday in Trinidad.
We are called at six in the morning
to make preparations for visit to the
Bocas. A lunch of coffee or cocoa, eggs
and toast, aud bacon if you wish, with
oranges aud bananas, and then we help
supply the lunch basket, filling one oI
large dimensions with sandwiches, eggs
| cold chicken, olives, cheese, guaya leilN'
etc. and at 7.45 We take the tram cars
at the Savannah for the wharf where We
find the small steamer, Here, (Which
means "The Land of the llummlmg
Bird. AS Trinidad was called Toy the
natives many years ago., waiting Tor
the hour of departure, 5 II. a motley
crowd of Young and old and all the be
tyeens, of all colors, soon fills the decks
the whistle sounds it note of warning
and we steam slowly out into the waters
of the gulf of Paria. Hundreds OF
small craft hug the shores and dot TIA"
inner harhor, while farther out numer-
Gus ships and schoouers are anchored,
taking or discharging cargo. Flags OF
different nations fly at the mast heads
making it, in a sense, meeting place
| of the nations, but we see no StaTS dh'
Stripes being kissed by these tropi'
breeZes. Our manufacturers seek the
markets of the world for their surplus
products, but have to depend on torelgl
ships to transport the same, The Eng
rish ships are in gala attire, and TIN
J. voice of flags and steamers from prov
t to stern, is loyalty to the King aud tn
great empire over which he rules.
Steaming slowly out among this muI
u titude of craft, we point north am
westward. The great dome of the SIX
- is cloudless, aud the hot rays of the ST.
{ here on the deck, induce the mercury i
the thermometer to rise to 80 degrees
a condition not quite unbearahIe, 70
slightly cooling br1ezes moderate tn
condition. We few Americans, sittiu
under the awning, can but fluid some er
tertainment i'll the crowd 10y which "
are surrounded and jostled. The face
- black, white, etc. the costumes i'll a
=" STYLES and colors; the languages Spoken
English, French, Spanish, Illndoo, Chin
ese, Patois, etc, is to us an iniransIa'
- able volume of tn, thoughts of laugh
- ing childhood, hopeful youth, and NOR
~ fully appreciatve maturity. We PEI
; haps may be permitted the freedom c
=. saying but little while the many are 5
vouble.
To our right the city suburbs hecom
more scattered, and the landscape of tn
sharply defined valleys aud the uplitte
hills and mountains, mostly covere
with dense forests from ocean level t
" highest summit, form picture almoS
impossible of word description. Tn
different shades of green, indicate her
and there fields of sugar cane, groves o
cocoanut trees, more extensive coco
, estates, patches of grass or ground pro
seen with tie glass, sometimes with til
eye, the little bamboo matched hut o
the poor tiller of the soil, and occasion
ally the more pretentious homes of tn
sugar or cocoa planter, with drying
houses and factories and then tn
stretches of native forests, not yet wed
> ded to the intelligence of man, wit
" their great variety of vegetation, loft
trees with gigantic trunks, round whic
" myriad vines wind and twist and climb
and along whose wide spread branches
> wonderful parasite growth catches tn
> refreshing rains and thrives in the sun
light, or is the nesting place of birds 0
= the home of reptiles, aud the under
growth is so dense that passage is mad
" possible only by the use of the knife an,
cutlass, defty used by native hands.
We pass in sight of the Leper Asylum
where the government supports abou
two hundred of these unfortunates. w,
' pass the Bay of Chagnaramas where
large dry dock opens its hosptable arm
= to the disabled shipping of the world fo
a substantial fee We pass the deten
tlou island, where unhappy and impa
tient travellers from some plague in
- tected part or country are obliged tc
pass few days in safe seclusion, befor,
the city gates can open to receive then
d with open arms. In the midst of al
j. this grand panorama nearby, we turn oc