Your search within this document for 'general' resulted in 131 matching pages.
 
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“...CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. General Information. . . . i II. More General Information . . 15 III. The Bermudas . . . . , 43 IV. The Bahamas . . . 63 V. Barbados..........................74 VI. Trinidad and Tobago . . . 113 VII. The Windward Islands . .. . 153 VIII. The Leeward Islands . . . 199 IX. Jamaica and its Dependencies . . 255 X. The French West Indies . . . 305 XI. The Virgin Islands of the United States..........................321 XII. Porto Rico.......................332 XIII. The Dutch West Indies . . . 339 XIV. Cuba ....... 344 XV. Haiti and Santo Domingo . . . 365 XVI. British Guiana and British Honduras 371 XVII. The Spanish Main ... . 400 XVIII. The Panama Canal . ; 417 XIX. Some West Indian Industries . . 434 XX. Concluding Remarks .... 448 APPENDIX I. Steamship Communication . . . 452 II. Dollars and Sterling Tables . . 466 Index . .........................467 ix...”
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“...THE POCKET GUIDE TO THE WEST INDIES Chapter I GENERAL INFORMATION The West Indies : Their Position and Names : Geology : Climate : Health : Food and Beverages : Meals : Ex- penses : Money : Banks : Insurance Policies : Amuse- ments and Sport: Roads and Motoring. The West Indies consist of a chain of islands varying in size from 44,178 square miles, the area of Cuba, to small islets of only a few acres in extent, which stretch in a curve from Florida to the northern coast of South America. Beginning at the north-west with the Bahamas, they end at the south-east with Trinidad, off the coast of Venezuela. They owe their name to the fact that Columbus when he first sighted them believed that he had reached India by a western route, as he had for long hoped to do. The name Antilles, which is also given to the islands, is said to be derived from Antilla, or Antiglia, a mythical land which was believed to exist in the west, and is placed on ancient charts about two hundred leagues to the westward...”
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“...GENERAL INFORMATION 3 as the Caribbean Andes, which at the beginning of the Tertiary Period formed a connecting link between North and South America. It is claimed that this has been proved by the discovery in Georgia and Carolina of the fossilised remains of animals which still exist in South America, by the similarity of the tribal habits and customs of the Indians of Guiana to those of the North American Indians, and by traces found in Guadeloupe of the Megatherium, a prehistoric animal which could never have existed within the narrow limits of a com- paratively small island. At this period the position of the present Isthmus of Panama was probably occupied by a group of islands, of which one at least—now repre- sented by Ancon Hill, overlooking Panama City—was of volcanic origin. It is believed that when the Isthmus of Panama was formed the land was much higher than it is at present, borings made by the Canal engineers having shown the existence of old channels of the Rio Grande and...”
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“...GENERAL INFORMATION 5 suffered from a hurricane in 1899, had previously enjoyed immunity for upwards of one hundred years. Volcanic eruptions are fortunately confined to the Montagne Pelée in Martinique and the Soufrière in St. Vincent, both of which had been quiescent for very many years prior to the outburst of 1902, and are now peacefully sleeping again ; and seismic movements are generally so slight as to be scarcely noticeable. During January, February, and March, the north-east trade- winds blow with great regularity, rendering those months particularly pleasant, and, speaking generally, year in and year out, the favourable features of the West Indian climate far outnumber the bad. HEALTH. There are well-qualified physicians in each of the West Indian islands, British Guiana, and British Honduras, besides efficient Government medical services. Indeed, throughout the West Indies there is no lack of medical men; but tourists who adopt the usual precautions as to diet and mode of living...”
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“...GENERAL INFORMATION 7 mutandis, are claimed for labba and black creek water in British Guiana, and for pigeon peas in Montserrat. Conchs are a favourite article of diet in the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands. In the Bahamas they are so plentiful that the people bom there are nicknamed “ Conchs.” Land-crabs make delicious eating, but care should be taken to ascertain that they have been brought up in clean surroundings. In Trini- dad, Grenada, and Antigua especially, the small oysters which adhere to the roots of the mangrove trees fonn a novelty, and should be asked for; while in British Guiana it would be rank heresy to ignore the famous “pepper-pot.” The ingredients of this savoury dish are: Pork cut into small pieces and fried until brown, a partially roasted fowl also cut up, an onion, a dozen shallots, and a few dry chillies, stirred well in a large earthenware pipkin, locally called a buck-pot. To this is added a sauce consisting of two tablespoonfuls of moist sugar, one...”
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“...GENERAL INFORMATION 9 comer should guard against the tendency to increase the quantity consumed which inevitably results from a rising thermometer. The water in the principal towns is, as a rule, quite drinkable; but itls bestto beonthe safe side and to insist upon its being boded or filtered. This is usually done by means of a Barbados drip- stone,” a large block of coral rock hollowed into a con- venient shape through which the water drips into a receptacle below. Light wines or whisky and soda m moderation are perhaps the safest drinks m the tropics; while for abstainers, lemonade, ginger-ale, kola and similar concoctions can always be obtained; and lime squashes will be found infinitely preferable to the more familiar lemon squash. Among other bever- ages peculiar to the West Indies are pimento dram and falemum, while the old-time sangaree also has its devotees. The latter, which is very refreshing, consists of wine, water (perhaps), sugar, nutmeg, a slice of lime, and an abundance...”
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“...GENERAL INFORMATION - it of buggies, horses, motor-cars (in the larger places), boats, and trains; but the tourist will be on the safe side if he estimates his expenses on shore at from £i ios. ($7.20) to £2 ($9.60) a day, without taking into consideration what he may spend on those delightful “ curios ” and souvenirs, the purchase of which for friends at home is one of the pleasures of travel. MONEY. Visitors are recommended to carry letters of credit from their bankers, which will be honoured throughout the West Indies. British silver is the cur- rency in the British West Indies; but British and American gold is negotiable. Gold doubloons—the old "pieces of eight” of the days of the buccaneers —were finally withdrawn from circulation all over the British West Indies in June, 1908. Public accounts are, as a rule, shown in sterling ; but as banking and private accounts are mainly kept in dollars and cents, and as much trading is conducted on this basis, a table for comparing the relative...”
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“...collection bills of exchange, and conducts general banking business connected with the West Indies. It also affords banking facilities between the West Indies and Canada through its agents in the Dominion, the Bank of Montreal. The Bank of Nova Scotia (established 1832. Capital authorised, $15,000,000; paid up, $10,000,000 ; reserve fund, $19,500,000. Head office, Halifax, N.S.; General Manager’s office, Toronto; London office, 108, Old Broad Street, E.C. 2. Branches throughout Canada and Newfoundland, and in the principal cities of the United States). Ten branches in Jamaica (Kingston, Mandeville, Savanna-la-Mar, Black River, Montego Bay, St. Ann’s Bay, Port Maria, Port Antonio, Spanish Town, and Morant Bay); eight in Cuba (Cama- guey, Cienfuegos, Havana—four offices, Manzanillo and Santiago de Cuba); two in Porto Rico (Fajardo and San Juan), and three in the Dominican Republic (Santo Domingo, San Pedro de Macoris, and Santiago de los Caballeros). A general banking business is done, and particular...”
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“...GENERAL INFORMATION 13 (Havana), Jamaica (Kingston), and Trinidad (Port of SPKSURAN0E POLICIES. Intending visitors to the West Indies whose lives are insured should arrange for their policies to be made valid outside the United Kingdom, Canada, or the United States, as the case may be, if these are not already world-wide. AMUSEMENTS AND SPORT. There is no lack of amusements and sport provided for visitors to the West Indies, and the opportunities for indulging in them are dealt with under the heading “Sport” in the suc- ceeding chapters. The favourite games are lawn-tennis, croquet, golf, and cricket, and, in the islands under American influence, baseball. There are ample faculties for bathing and dancing, whilst in comparatively recent years motoring has added greatly to the pleasures of a visit to the tropics. Picnics, formerly called maroon parties ” in the West Indies, are also popular. Fishing, both in sea and river, and to a lesser extent shooting, can also be enjoyed. For filing...”
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“...Chapter II MORE GENERAL INFORMATION Steamship Routes : Outfit: The Laundry : Passports : The Voyage : The Time : Tables of Distances : The Customs : Books : Telegraphic Communication : Postal Services: Population: Religion: Freemasonry: Language. STEAMSHIP ROUTES. A list of Steamship Com- panies whose steamers touch at West Indian ports will be found in Appendix I. The facilities for reaching the West Indies, whether from the United Kingdom, Europe, Canada, the United States, or South America, are good, and there are more or less frequent oppor- tunities for getting from island to island by steamer, sloop, or schooner. Unless compelled to do so by the stress of circumstances, tourists will do well to avoid the two last-named means of communication, which are uncertain, and often involve considerable discomfort. As a general rule, the only sleeping accommodation on such vessels is in what is called a “ dog hutch,” a sort of elongated chicken-coop chained to the deck, and generally infested...”
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“...MORE GENERAL INFORMATION 17 Ladies should take their usual thin summer dresses, but shun openwork blouses, which are a source of great attraction to mosquitoes, and, owing to the action of the sun, give the wearer the appearance of being tattooed when she appears in evening dress. Dresses and parasols made of glacé silk, chiffon, or taffeta should also be left at home, as they suffer in the tropics. So, too, should sequin dresses, as the sequins yield to the great heat and become unpleasantly sticky. Articles of pongee or of soft washing silk are, on the other hand, recommended. A light dinner-gown and one or more ordinary evening dresses should form part of the outfit. Wool or silk should always be worn next the skin. Silk stockings are preferable to cotton, and two pairs of the former worn at the same time are said to be impervious to mosquitoes. Light wraps should be provided as pro- tection against chills in the evenings and heavier ones for travel by sea. For night attire, a material...”
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“...MORE GENERAL INFORMATION 19 I Though passports are no longer required everywhere in I the West Indies, the adoption of this course may save much irritation and inconvenience during the voyage. THE VOYAGE. The delights of a sea voyage have I often been described, and no visitor to the Caribbean ■who commits his impressions to paper on his return ■ fail? to expatiate regarding the familiar scenes and ■amusements on ship-board, such as the daily “ sweep ” Ion the run of the ship, the parade of the crew on Sunday, ■ the fiddles on the tables in rough weather, leading in- ievitably to reference to the concerts, the fancy balls, land so on, which make the fortnight between England land Barbados, and between Avonmouth and Jamaica, land the shorter journeys between Canada and the ■United States and the West Indies pass so pleasantly ! for the traveller who takes Kingsley’s advice, and in ■respect of his fellow:passengers is "To their faults a little blind ; And to their virtues very kind. I, Two...”
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“...MORE GENERAL INFORMATION 21 I to the summit of the crater (donkeys can be hired). Also \ to Povocao, whence the ascent to Furnas can be made i by carriage or donkey in about two hours. The best hotels in Ponta Delgada are Brown’s Hotel, i at the back of the town, and Acoriano Hotel, near the ilanding-stage. After passing the Azores, awnings are put out, and the I first touch of the tropics begins to make itself felt; cooler igarments are donned, and the officers of the ship appear | in white suits. Soon the Sargasso Sea is entered, and (tourists will note, probably for the first time, the remark- : able Gulf weed, which floats in a vast eddy or central pool | of the Atlantic between the Gulf Stream and the equatorial ■current. It was on entering this sea that the crew of ■Columbus’ ships very nearly mutinied, believing that the (vessels had reached land, and were on the verge of run- t ning on the rocks, though really the ocean is here fully four miles deep. The origin of the weed is not...”
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“...MORE GENERAL INFORMATION 23 knots and read of the discomforts with which their for- bears had to put up. Jeaffreson took leave of his friends at Billingsgate, was rowed down to Gravesend on February 16th, 1675-6, and went aboard the “ Jacob and Mary, a vessell of about a hundred and fifty tunns, 14 or 16 gunns, and a square steame.” This was on Thursday, and on Sunday she anchored in the Downs, “ where we went ashoar; but the wind in two or three dayes promessing faire,” she proceeded on her way, only to put in at Plymouth on the following Saturday, the 26th, “ the windes being contrary,” and compelling her to ride at anchor for “ tenne dayes.” On March 6th, “ the winde comeing about to the north-east,” she “ again hoisted sayle and stood out to sea. . . . The tenth day .it blew hard which made a verry rough and hollow sea, which raked us fore and aft, breaking some- tymes over our quarter; in which great seas, our shipp’s crew concluded, that our little leakie companion ” (a small vessel...”
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“...MORE GENERAL INFORMATION 25 The sun rises over London some four or five hours before it rises over the West Indies, and so, going west, the hands of the clock have to be put back every day, while on the eastern voyage they are put forward. The time is checked at midday from the position of the sun by means of the sextant. When the weather is too cloudy for observations the position of the ship is defined by what is called “ dead reckoning ”—that is to say, a calculation based on the distance traversed since the last reckoning was made. The actual difference of solar time in the West Indies compared with that in London is given below ; but since 1911 standard time has been adopted in the British West Indies. In the Lesser Antilles this is four hours, in the Bahamas and Jamaica five hours, and in British Honduras six hours slow of Greenwich. Thus when it is noon in London it is 8 a.m. in Barbados and 7 A.M. in Jamaica. SOLAR TIME IN THE WEST INDIES Barbados . Demerara . Jamaica St. Thomas...”
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“...MORE GENERAL INFORMATION 27 AMERICA—BAHAMAS AND BERMUDA New York Miami J 700 I Bermuda | 187 | Bahamas New York NEW YORK—WEST INDIES New York Bahamas Cuba 1435 St. Thomas 967 1528 2246 '*'479 35 St. Croix £020 150 119 | St. Kitts 1279 718 I Porto Rico For distances beyond St. Kitts see Intercolonial Route. St. John, N.B. CANADA—WEST INDIES Halifax, N.S. Bahamas Jamaica 665" “ 283 Halifax, N.S. 135* 1043 760 Bermuda 2247 1968 1685 925 | St. Kitts 2912 896 1561 B. Honduras For distances beyond St. Kitts see Intercolonial Route. CUSTOMS. Personal baggage is exempt from duty in the West Indies, and the customs officials in British Guiana, British Honduras, and all the islands, whatever their nationality may be, are courteous and considerate. There is unfortunately a remarkable absence of uniform- ity about the customs’ duties, each island having its own tariff, which includes specific duties on certain articles, and a general ad valorem duty—that is to say, a duty of a certain fixed sum...”
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“...of the places visited. The more it is studied beforehand, the more fascinating and enjoyable does the tom: become. Many books have been written about the West Indies; but most of the older works are now, unfortunately, out of print. They can, however, generally be seen at the West India Committee Rooms, the Royal Colonial Institute, or the British Museum. The following list in- cludes the volumes which should prove most useful and interesting to those contemplating a visit to the West Indies. General “ Nouveau Voyage aux lies de 1’Amerique.” * By Père Labat, 1722. “ The History, Civil and Commercial, of the British Colonies in the West Indies.” * By Bryan Edwards, 1793. " Chronological History of the West Indies." * 3 vols. By Capt. 'ihomas Southey, 1827. “ A History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus.” * By Washington Irving. London : Cassell and Company, Ltd., 1828. " ihe West Indies and the Spanish Main.” * By Anthony Trollope. London : Chapman and Hall, 1839. " The Cruise...”
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“...MORE GENERAL INFORMATION 29 Progress.” By Algernon Aspinall. London: Sir Isaac Pit- man and Sons, 19x2. . . „ " West Indian Tales of Old.” By Algernon Aspinall. London : Duckworth and Co., 1912. " West Indies and Guiana.” Six lectures written for the Visual Instruction Committee of the Colonial Office. By Algernon Aspinall. London, 1914. '* Islands.” By Sir Arthur E. Shipley, G.B.E., F.R.S. London: Martin Hopkinson and Co., 1924. “ The Handbook of the British West Indies, British Guiana and British Honduras.” By Algernon Aspinall, C.M.G., C.B.E. London : The West India Committee. " The Colonial Office List.” London: Waterlow and Son, Ltd. „ •• Report by the Hon. E. F. L. Wood, M.P. (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies), on his visit to the West Indies and British Guiana, 1921-22 ” [Cmd. 1679] H.M. Stationery Office. Bahamas “ Sketches of Summerland.” By G. J. H. Northcroft, 1912. ■* The Land of the Pink Pearl.” By L. D. Powles, 1888. " A History of the Bahamas House...”
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“...MORE GENERAL INFORMATION 31 if " Historic Jamaica.” By Frank Cundall, F.S.A. London : The West India Committee, 1915. j; " Jamaica in 1924 : A Handbook of Information for Intending Settlers and Visitors.” By Frank Cundall, F.S.A. The Insti- tute of Jamaica. London : H. Sotheran and Co. Trinidad 1 " At Last." By Charles Kingsley. London: Macmillan and Co., 1871. L " Trinidad." * By L. A. A. de Verteuil. London : Cassell and Co., 1884 (2nd edition). " The Sea Fish of Trinidad.” By Harry Vincent. Port of I Spain, 1910. " The Handbook of Trinidad and Tobago.” By Lieut.-Col. J. H. Collens, V.D. Port of Spain: Government Printing Office, 1912. I " Trinidad and Tobago Year Book.” By C. B. Franklin. Port of Spain : Franklin’s Electric Printery (annual). Tobago "A History of Tobago.” By H. T. Woodcock, 1867. " Handbook of Tobago : Hints to Settlers.” By Lieut.-Col. J. H. Collens, V.D. Port of Spain: Government Printing I Office, 1912. Grenada " The Grenada Handbook, Directory and Almanac.” London...”
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“...T. Atwood, 1791. ' “ Dominica, Illustrated and described.” * By the Hon. H. A. Alford Nicholls, C.M.G. “ Notes on Dominica.” By S. Grieve. London : A. and C. Black, 1906. . ' St. Kitts-Nevis " A Young Squire of the Seventeenth Century." * By J. C. Jeaffreson. London: 1878. " Natural History of Nevis.” * By Rev. William Smith. *745- “ A Handbook of St. Kitts-Nevis.” By Katharine Janet Burdon. London : The West India Committee, 1920. Virgin Islands ** The Virgin Islands, B.W.I.” A Handbook of General Information. 1912. By D. C. Fishlock. Obtainable at the West India Committee Rooms. Cuba " Cuba Past and Present.” By R. Davey. London, 1898. “ The War in Cuba.” By J. B. Atkins. London, 1899. " The Rough Riders.” By Theodore Roosevelt. London, 1899- . I Porto Rico “ Porto Rico: Its Conditions and Possibilities.” By W. Dinwiddie. London, 1899. “ Report on the Island of Porto Rico, its Population, etc.” By H. K. Carroll. Washington. Haiti j " Hayti, or the Black Republic.” By Spencer St. John...”