The Washington times., 1920-05-04
CHATTER III
ns~sk Rsaer ana Bsec.aeer.

nSUsk Htaer ana bueeaneer-
III was not easy 20 md time for
GheGardon during the rush or social
I6e. and tho only means of getting
any real rest was to run away from
Washington and everything con
nected with IT Roxana-hAlf house
boat. half steam yacht-usually aid
81 and abetted our escape She had
ttken US northward into the Gulf
Of St. Lawrence and southwark
through inland waterways to Flor
i'd and even round into the Gulf OF
Mexico. But her shallow draught
made II necessary for us to hug the
shpre. ana to pick out weather at
tHst
The spring after Rooseveirs Ae-
cession, while memories OF the
Spanish war were still fresh, we
d&tided TO make a cruise with some
fSends through the West Indies.
slipping to SEQ Americas new pos
sessions, permanent and temporary.
stpco most OF tho trip would be
ntpde In tho open ocean, Ro1ana
wuls out OF the question. 80 L. char
ttped tnstesd = yacht named W.
E$fi.-
tI4S wo sot on down che muddy Po-
I11tle tug gboAts that salufed our pasD-
Id craft Through Chesapeake
Bay Virginia rolled and tossed, and
o1t into the stormy Atlantic. That
nffht, and the next. and the next.
10, was all we could do to stay in
o0S hunks. After that the Ber-
mStdss seemed like heaven. indeed
The sun came out, the clouds drift
ed away, and the yacht steamed
srhDothly along over a glorious,
clear sea, for about us lay small
Islands covered to the waters edge
with dark green csdsrs.
Waited ~ British OnieerA
"A message from a naval vessel
ststioned there said we might come
in ~ we weren't "too fond of the
Beers" SO the Virginia proceeded
into the harbor and dropped anchor.
Presently the consul and a couple
OF officers from the British destroy
err Quail came aboard and matters
were arranged satisfactorily. After
lunching at q bit of fairyland, sup
posed to be a French restaurant
named Belterre, surrounded by giant
ferns and hanging orchids and en-
livened by monkeys and emerald
and scarlet cockatoos. we drove over
the pretty island. The scene at the
barracks was very picturesque: a
military band was playing and the
Inhabitants promenaded up and
down beneath the tropic trees,
while standing about were the big
black men Of the West Indian regi-
ment most pompous in their brill
liant red and gold zouaye jackets
and turbans. In the intervals OF
the music there came from across
the straits the sound Of Boer pris-
oners singing some old folksong.
On the different islands there
were said to be five thousand war
ca,ptives, many small boys and old
mon among them. Some were mt
even Beers at all-one was man
from East Boston. Heaven only
knows how he happened to be taken
in. a South African war!
From all accounts they were
TREATED well, and given just the
same rations as the British soldiers
They lived In tents and did their
own cooking and washing. and in
that gentle climate could not suf-
fer. Some did a little wood-carv-
inE, making canes and ornaments
for sale, but the things they sold
were hardly artistic.
The English were extremely strict
about allowing outsiders to speak
tot Or even see them, forbidding our
guest John Coolidge, to go any
where near, although he had been
in, Pretoria and had letters from
/ ord Miner thanking him for his
services. One day, however, we
did go over to an island to have
tea with some officers, and got a
glimpse, though at distance, OF
the Beers. They looked rather
shabby, and were anything but clean
in, their habits. The close super
vision they were under had result
ed. in a minimum of escapes, only
one. man of the entire lot having
maAaged to get away.
The remainder of our time In
Bermuda was spent in drives and
pienics, a luncheon at Admiralty
House, a tea on board the Quail.
and a wonderful day at St George.
Ins the DEVILS Hole, an enchant-
ing. pool stocked with strange