Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-08-27
In the Bermudas
National Geographic Society Bullet,


The Bermuda islands suggest the adven-
lures of Robinson Crusoe in their colonization
and present in their later chronology a curious
parallel to United States history, with the
events consistently predated by a number OF
years.
A principal group Of the British West In
dies, some Englishmen suggest the Bermudas
should be coded to the United States in part
payment OF the American war loans to Great
Britain.
The Robinson Crusoe comparison obtrudes
because the island was discovered and later
settled, as the direct result of shipwrecks and
the settlers had to build themselves bark to
set sail again. AS for the anticipation of Amer
lean history, on miniature scale, it may be
noted that the colonization took place seven
years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth,
Mass. that witches were burned, Quakers
were prosecuted and miscreants were ducked
before similar occurrences are recorded in New
England; and that slavery was abolished in 1884
The Bermudians protested long before 1776
against the mother countrys rule, until the is
land prisoners were over full, but relief came, in
their case, not through declaration of free
dom, but by the accession of Cromwell.
But the essential point of contact Of the
American with the Bermudian arises from the
all but forgotten fact that, while the immortal
Lafayette CALAMITY helped the colonies conclude
their way of independence, the Bermudians sup
Piled the ammunition to begin it.
SO acute was the need for powder in 1775
that George Washington wrote to the COVER
nor OF Rhode Island that mo quantity, how
ever small, is beneath notice" Learning that
there was store in Bermuda, and that the is
landers were anxious to have the embargo
lifted on shipment of food supplies from the
colonies, Washington addressed letter to the
people of the island, who had shown them
selves sympathetic with American revolution
lists. promising them ample supply of pro-
" md tta~ &c o..
friendship which the grateful citizens of free
country can bestow on its brethren and bene-
factors" if they would make this ammunition
available for the Continental army.
The powder had been procured and with it
the Continental army compelled the British to
evacuate Boston
Not only the sale Of the powder but the fact
that Bermuda allowed the coonists to have
salt, so incensed the governor of Bermuda
that he upbraided the citizens for treason and
feelings ran SO high that he was removed. His
successor was native of Salem, Mass, whose
loyalty to the mother country was such that he
gave up large estates in the colonies rather than
join the revoutionists He was connected
both by blood and by marriage with the Win
throp family. Under his rule the islands full al
legiance to England was restored.
He was succeeded by Henry Hamilton dur
ing whose administration the town of Hamilton
was founded and named for him. This town
has population of less than 5000.
Hamilton is on Main island, or Bermuda,
while St. George, the former capital, is on the
island of that name. There are more than 800
small islands in the Bermudas group of which
only score are inhabited The total popula-
ton of the islands in 1916 was little more than
10000, of whom about one-third were white
Bermuda suffered, during the war, by the ces-
sation OF the American tourist patronage which
had doubled the entire island population in
preceding seasons.
The Bermudas attracted visitors because of
their mild climate, which knew no frosts, and
by their scenic beauty. The evergreen islands
are clustered with exotic plants of numerous
variety, their roadways are "bejeweled and
scented" with sweet smelling flowers, their
shores are penetrated by crystalline coral pools,
and the waters about are noted for their ever
changing and vivid color.
The islands lie off the coast of North Caro-
lima about as far as Cleveland is from New
York, and at about the same latitude as Char
lesion, Fort Worth and San Diego. They are
677 miles from New York.
Juan Bermudez, sailing from Spain to Cuba
in 1915, with a cargo of hogs discovered the is
lands when storm blew him to their shores
Apparently he left some of his hogs there, for
later visitors found the animals on the island
From him the islands were named and thus
originated the hog money" coins stamped
with a hog one side and ship on the
other, which still are preserved in various COL
lections. The islands were settled through the
efforts of Sir George Somers, who became i'm
pressed with their fertility and beauty during
sojourn enforced by the wreckage of the ship
which was carrying him to Virginia.