The Challis messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1912-current, 1925-03-18
Town Square in Basseterre, St. Kits.

|
| prepared by the National Geographic 81
ciety. Washington. d. c.
Americas Riviera" the old SPANS
main, including the shores of the /.
lands and mainland of the Caribbean
Is peaceful land now, but only fey
centuries ago 1t was the paradise O
pirates. The Sixteenth century pr
vateers and pirates-fearless erratit
adventurous spirits = though the
turned the Caribbean waters into
veritable Spanish cockpit, at the sam
time discovered lands, developed tn
art Of seamanship, and added great.
to the worId's knowledge Of natura
history and geography.
Shortly after the discovery Of Amer
lea, Spain, at the height of her power
claimed all of this domain as hel
own, and trespassers were regarded
as pirates. Though the richest hall
Of Europe was then emptying gold into
the Golfers of Aragon and CASTLE, 1t Is
estimated that one-thlrd of the impe-
rial revenue came from Spanish colo
MES in the New world
But Spain was not permitted to es-
tablish her sway In the Western hemi-
sphere unchallenged. Both England
and France were puissant rivals.
With the English seamen of the
Sixteenth century, who were gentle
men adventures swearing allegiance
to Elizabeth, came French corsairs,
Dutch zeerovers, and nondescript
bands of smugglers slavers, traders
AID privateers to infest the West In
dies.
This motley crew was followed by
buccaneers in the Seventeenth cen
fury. and by ordinary pirates in the
AS a consequence, there Is scarcely
an island among the hundreds In the
Caribbean that has not It's story of
these early Adventures, and many bits
If land reveal today definite marks
If their handiwork. There is not a
stretch of coast 20 miles in length
which does not have Its story Of
)uried treasure
Buccaneers Were Tolerated.
There was practically no colony In
he island-dotted Caribbean which had
ny scruples against allowing buc-
aneers to build, fit out, or repair their
essels In its harbors. Tortuga, off the
I0rthern coast of Haiti, and Jamaica
1ere veritable pirate strongholds,
5hile Martinique, Curacao. st. Kits,
nd Barbados befriended them and en-
outraged their trade
The home governments Of France,
,ngland and the Netherlands found
good policy to countenance the buc
aneers and to wink at some of their |
ctivities. The council Of Jamaica
ven went so far in 1866 as to emu
lerate in its minutes IL good reasons
)r granting commissions to pri-
ateers; for, this august body said,
ley furnished the island with neces-
Try commodities at easy rates, bring
lg them coin, bullion, cocoa, log
God, indigo, and cochineal helped
Dor planters by buying the provisions
icy had for sale; furnished work for
lrious kinds of artisans; brought
ayes to cultivate the plantations;
FINISHED navy for the island; and
ten. in intercepting Spanish mes
ges, furnished the governor of the
lony with valuable Information.
The nursery of all the English and
-ench colonies in the West Indies
as st. Christopher, or st. Kits, as
Is now often called one of the
.eward Islands. half way between
,rto Rico and Dominica. 1t was dis
vered by Columbus on his second
ynge to America and called by him '
ter the saint whose name the great '
himself bore. {
Though today almost every avail
lie inch of its deep and fertile soil
cultivated. st. Kits Is poverty
lcken. owing to overpopulation. Its 9
square miles are encircled by S
nd road. and the heart of the
md is made up OF series OF peaks
,ken by Wild ridges and ravines.
Itch eliminate In n great qulescent /
cano towering more than 1000 feet a
ove the sea, In whose crater there O
J peaceful lake. q
70 place can claim fuller measure p
pirate lore than Tortuga. small c
ind located opposite Port de Paix. k
the northern coast Of Hnti. 1t II
heavily wooded, rugged, and sparse o
inhabited, and for those who are Il
GRANT OF Its past there Is nothing II
tut 1t to arouse curiosity; but to u
Sc who know Its history 1t Is an n
hanted Isle. for 1t Is alleged to N
tain more buried treasure than any re