The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1911-07-06
VENEZUELA TO BANGOR.
The British Schooner Willena Gertrude
Makes 1000 Mile Run in 20 Days.

| Bangor Commercial June 2Sth.l
Few sailing vessels will arrive in Ban
gor this year that will come from more
distant point than the Nova Scotia
schooner, Willena Gertrude, which came
direct from the little salt island off the
coast of Venezuela, Buen Ayre, lader
with Is, $40 bushels of crude salt. The
voyage of approximately 1900 miles
was made in 20 days, and two-thirds of
this distance, from Buen Ayre to Cape
Hatteras, was made in eight days, but
after the graveyard of the Atlantic was
reached, contrary winds prevailed and II
days were consumed in this lap of the
voyage.
The Willena Gertrude has been cruis-
ing around the West Indies during the
past winter, transporting pitch pine
from Florida to Trinidad and other places
in that part of the world. In the early
spring she was up St. Mary's river, in
Florida, where alligators of lengths from
six inches to eight feet disported them
selves around the banks of the river.
In May the Gertrude arrived at Buen
Ayre Island, which is composed of low,
flat marshy lands, in places below the
level of the sea. The inhabitants are
very black and are said to be mixed
Dutch, French, Spanish and negro.
They wear only single garment, ex-
tending from the shoulder to the knee.
Their food is simple consisting of meal
boiled and coffee, of which thew drink
large quantities. They live in frame
work huts covered with seaweed, and
sleep almost on the bare ground. Liz
ards of a variety which changes hue ac-
cording to the color of the surroundings.
infest the novels and are not given a
thought by the inhabitants. The lizards
are from two to eight inches long and
resemble small crocodiles.
From the sea, Buen Avre presents
dazzling white spectacle resembling salt
ice, and as far as one can see. The
marshes are opened to the sea by cutting
canals and water to the depth of four
inches flooded in. The canals are then
closed from the sea, and, under the ter
rltlc heat of the equatorial sun, which in
the summer and spring is almost unbear-
able to the northerner, this water evapo-
rates in about two months and LAYER of
salt is left behind. The salt varies in
the nature of the crystals, some the size
of white bean and others larger.
The native women are mostly employ
ed in digging up this salt and are paid 20
cents day. They pile the salt in heaps
by the roadside until ship comes to
load and the men then wheel the salt
from the piles to lighters of six tons
capacity, which take their burden to the
ship anchored 100 yards from the shore.
The natives are extremely happy and
sing constantly at their work Arriving
at the ship, the bags in which the salt is
contained, 40 pounds, are thrown from
the lighter to the ships rail and from the
rail to the hatch, where it is placed in
barrels and then thrown in bulk into the
hold. Two men are at the barrel all the
time to tally the measure and the limit
of the English used by the natives is
"barrel'' and ''tally."
The men are paid 40 cents day, and
the overseers informed Capt Smith that
the women are better workers, although
they receive but half the wages. The
women do not come aboard ship, how
ever, and the men are without competi-
rion in loading the vessel
The Willena Gertrude cleared Wednes-
day noon for Parrsboro, N. S., from
which port she and her skipper, Capt.
w. H. Smith, hail. This is her first voy-
age into Bangor.