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“...TO THE WEST INDIES
And the sun went down, and the stars came out far over the
summer sea,
But never a moment ceased the fight of the one and the fifty-
three.
Ship after ship, the whole night long, their high-built galleons
came,
Ship after ship, the whole night long, with her battle-thunder
and flame.
Here it was that Sir Richard, shot through the body
and through the head, having been carried by the stately
Spanish men to their flagship, said :
I have fought for Queen and Faith like a valiant man and
true: . . .
With a joyful spirit I Sir Richard Grenville die!
The Azores consist of three distinct groups of islands,
which are connected by wireless telegraphy. To the
south-east are St. Michael’s and Sta. Maria; in the
centre, Fayal, Pico, Sao Jorge, Terceira, and Graciosa,
and to the north-west, Flores and Corvo. The most
important trade centre is Ponta Delgada (the sharp
point), the capital of St. Michael’s, the principal island.
This town, which for size ranks third amongst the cities...”
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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
39
! large influx of Royalists at the time of the Common-
| wealth. Many English gentlemen, Royalist officers and
■ divines, were sent out to the island and sold as slaves,
I and it is on record that a number changed hands at a
■ price of 1,500 lb. of sugar per man ! Their descendants,
. known as “ mean whites ” and “ red legs,” are still
: found there. At the close of the American Revolution
i many loyalists emigrated from America to the West
I Indies with their slaves. Jamaica and the Bahamas
1 were particularly favoured, and it is estimated that the
\ latter islands gained from 6,000 and 7,000 new inhabi-
I tants between June, 1783, and April, 1785, from this
I source. Even the ubiquitous Teuton is not omitted
jfrom the fist of those who have helped to populate
\ the islands, for in 1840 Mr. King imported twenty-nine
‘Germans into St. Lucia. Syrians are also found in
, Jamaica and several other islands. They go out at
j their own expense and become pedlars, many...”
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“...Shark’s
Hole, another interesting cave over which the road
■èse^s, and proceeding farther one comes to the famous
■valsingham Caves, which well repay a visit. It was
itWalsingham that Ireland’s poet, Tom Moore, resided
Pr a few months when he was Registrar of the Vice-
■dmiralty Court. A fascimile of his house was erected
K Wembley to accommodate the Bermuda exhibits at
the British Empire Exhibition of 1924 and 1925. Tom
lloore did not remain long in the islands, but delegated
Ks duties to another man. The poet’s calabash tree
is also pointed out to visitors. Near the house are the
ieamington Caves, and a little farther on the Crystal
Paves, perhaps the finest in the island. In the same
Neighbourhood there are also the scarcely less famous...”
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“...
1J hours by carriage from Bridgetown) stands at a short
distance from the edge of a cliff 824 feet high, which com-
mands an extensive view of the coral-fringed Windward
Coast. In the churchyard is pointed out the tomb of
Ferdinando Paleologus, descendant of the last Greek
Christian Emperors of that name, who were driven from
Constantinople by the Turks. He was the son of Theo-
dora Paleologus (who was buried at Llandulph in Corn-
wall) by his wife, Mary Balls, and he was successively
vestry-man, sidesman, churchwarden, and trustee of St.
John’s Church in the seventeenth century. The tradi-
tion of the death and burial of a Greek prince in Cornwall
was for many years current in Barbados ; and when the
Church of St. John was destroyed by the hurricane of
1831, the coffin of Ferdinando Paleologus was discovered
in the vault of Sir Peter Colleton under the organ loft....”
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“...POCKET GUIDE TO THE WEST INDIES
surmounted with battlements. The walls are immensely j
thick, and well calculated to withstand hurricanes. In
1831 the outside of the house was being repaired when it
was struck by the terrific cyclone of August nth, and i
though the scaffolding was carried off by force of the
wind and deposited in the mill-yard of the Three Houses
Estate, three miles away, the building was uninjured.
The chief features of the interior are the handsome j
ceilings in plaster-work. A man named Warren was
brought out to do the work in the old slavery days as a
militiaman, when the planters were bound by law to
leaven their holding of blacks with a certain number of
white men. But though he is generally credited with
it he really did very little, the bulk being done by one
Charles Rutter, whose son was recently employed to
repair the ceilings. The work took Rutter and Randals, \
who was also brought out, three and a half years to!
complete. At the end of the long drawing-room and;...”
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“...(population 773), the capital of
Tobago, formerly called Fort Louis, is situated at the
south of the island, about eight miles from the south-
west point. The only other town is Plymouth, really only
a village (population 763), on the north side, five miles
from Scarborough. The principal villages are Roxburgh
in the Windward district and Moriah in the northern.
Around the coast there are many excellent bays, most of
which are well sheltered and afford safe anchorage with
deep soundings. Indeed, Man-o’-War Bay, a very
spacious harbour, is said to be capable of affording shelter
to the whple of the British fleet! What is most wanted
for Tobago is the introduction of capital and labour ;
given that, there should be no reason why this beautiful
island should not regain a large portion at least of its
former prosperity. A hopeful feature is the number of
new settlers from the mother country who have acquired
plantations in different parts of the island. Grenadians,
too, after selling their cocoa...”
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“...152 POCKET GUIDE TO THE WEST INDIES
once the home of an old hermit named Mitchell, who was
marooned upon it. The descendants of the fowls which
he kept are still to be found in the island in their wild
state.
The scenery on the north side of the island is very
imposing. Man-o’-War Bay, on the shore of which is the
village of Charlotteville, nestling at the foot of the hills,
should be visited. A minor inlet bears the suggestive
name of Pirate’s Bay. From Charlotteville a bridle
track runs west to Castara, which is linked by driving
roads to Plymouth and Scarborough.
Writing of Tobago in 1683, Captain John Poyntz said:
Thou art here presented with The Present Prospect of the
Island of Tobago, about forty Leagues distant from Barbadoes ;
but far excelling that Island, and indeed any other of the
Caribbee-Islands, in the Fertility and Richness of the Soil,
and in the Commodiousness of its Bays and Harbors : and it
is no paradox to affirm. That though it lies more south, the Air
is as Cool...”
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“...founded the colony. The settlers, who
were at first well received, soon quarrelled with the Caribs;
but with the aid .of reinforcements from Martinique, the Indians
were exterminated. On the northern coast the Mome des
Sauteurs is still shown, where many of the Caribs leapt into the
sea in order to escape from their enemies. Du Parquet, now
in full possession of the island, did not find it profitable, and so
in 1656 he sold it to Count de Cerillac for about ^1,890. The
latter appointed as Governor a man “ of brutal manners,” who
oppressed the colonists to such an extent that he was tried and
condemned to be hanged. By pleading that he was of noble
origin he managed, however, to get the sentence altered to one
of beheading, but no skilful executioner being available, he was
at last shot at the Summit of the hill on the Grand Etang road.
De Cerillac sold the island in 1664 to the French West India
Company, and on the dissolution of that organisation at the
end of the year 1674 it passed to the French...”
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“...was exchanged among us ; we all
1 knew an attack from that quarter must fail of success, which
I would not only prolong our misery, but endanger our lives.
I The door was opened; two men appeared with hammers to
I take the prisoners out of stocks. Those who were not in con-
I finement were ordered to go out. ... He (Fédon) began the
I bloody massacre in presence of his wife and daughters, who
I remained there, unfeeling spectators of his horrid barbarity.
I He gave the word Feu himself to every man as soon as he came
I out; and, of fifty-one prisoners, only Parson M’Mahon, Mr. Kerr,
I and myself were saved.
At Charlotte Town, or Gouyave (population 1,927), on
I the leeward coast, about twelve miles to the north of
I'St. George’s by road, or a journey of ij hours by motor-
I boat or one hour by motor-car (see page 158), a flourishing
I system of peasant proprietorship can be seen in operation.
I Attempts have been made in the other islands to settle
I the people on the land, but nowhere have...”
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“...shore of an open bay. Eight
miles farther is Sauteors (pron. Soteers ; population 960),
reached by motor-boat in three or four hours or in two
hours by motor-car. It is of interest as being the scene
of the massacre of Carib Indians, of whom a number,
pursued by the French under Le Compte, rushed up a
narrow and difficult path known to them alone, and
threw themselves over the edge of a cliff (Le Mome des
Sauteurs, or The Leapers’ Hill) overlooking the bay,
in 1650. The French, who only lost one man, then set
fire to the cottages and rooted up the provisions of the
Caribs, and, having destroyed or taken away everything' I
belonging to them, returned, as Du Tertre naïvely |
describes it, “bien joyeux.” From Sauteurs Lakes [i
Antoine and Levera, which occupy the craters of extinct |j
volcanoes, can be visited.
Those interested in antiquities can inspect stones I
sculptured by the Caribs at Mount Rich in St. Patrick’s |
Parish, and near the town of Victoria.
Grenville, or La Baye (population...”
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“...from the Government Rest House on Bellevue
North (980 feet) comprising St. Vincent on the north and
Grenada on the south, 68 miles apart with the exquisite
archipelago of the Grenadines lying in between.
ST. LUCIA
" Statio hand malefida carinis."
The Colony’s Motto.
St. Lucia, which lies in latitude 130 50' N. and longitude
6o° 58' W., about 20 miles to the south of Martinique and
30 miles to the north-east of St. Vincent, has a total area
of 233 square miles, being rather larger than the Isle of
Man. Its greatest length is 28 miles, its greatest
breadth 14 miles, and its population 51,505. St. Lucia
is volcanic, and consequently very mountainous. The
scenery throughout the island is truly magnificent.
The main range of mountains, of an average height of
I 500 feet, runs north and south nearly the whole
length of the island, buttressed by numerous ridges
branching off from it, gradually sloping down to the
sea on either side, and leaving narrow fertile valleys
between them. The flattest parts...”
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“...Peaks, which form prominent landmarks on the leeward
coast. Some writers have stated that the Gros Piton
resembles the main peak of the Canigou, near Arles in the
Pyrenees; but unlike the St. Lucia peaks, that mountain
is quite destitute of verdure and rises to a far greater
height. The Gros Piton is certainly not unlike the Pic
du Midi. It is said to be 2,619 feet high, the Petit Piton
2,461 feet. The Gros Piton is comparatively easy to
ascend, but until 1878, the smaller Piton was unconquered
by man. In that year, however, a M. Lompré succeeded
in gaining its summit, and it was ascended in 1885 by
Mr. Charles de Brettes, who two years later conducted the
then Chief Justice, Dr. John W. Carrington, and a party
to the summit. The start was made from the western
extremity, which was reached by clambering over the
rocks. The party began the ascent at 6.22 a.m. and at
7.15 reached the Grande Ravine, a deep gorge running
into the mountain. Thence the line of march lay more
along the side of the...”
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“...Baijer, Ashton Warner, Major-
General George W. Ramsay, and Patrick Kirvan, the
perpetrator of many amusing “ bulls,” whose gravestone
was inscribed " By his discretion this tomb was erected.
The churchyard is entered by iron gates, those at the
south being flanked by pillars on which are metal figures
representing St. John the Baptist and his namesake the
Evangelist. They were intended for Dominica, but the Is
French vessel in which they were being conveyed to that
island was captured by a British man-of-war, which
brought them to Antigua, where they have since re-
mained. They are now known to the blacks as Adam
aiThe roof of the cathedral is partly maintained at the
expense of the Government, who use it to collect rain-
water, which is stored in a large cistern. The cathedral
possesses some interesting and valuable plate, notable...”
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“...the old days
by a chain boom. It is divided from Falmouth Harbour,
which is next to it, by a narrow isthmus, and with very
little trouble the two might be made one magnificent
harbour, which could easily be defended by forts on the
high hilla surrounding it. On the summit of Monks Hill,
which overlooks Falmouth, stand the remains of Great
George Fort, which covered ten acres and mounted,
according to Luffman, “ forty-eight pounders, said to be
the identical gnus taken out of the Fourdriaunt * man-
of-war, taken some years since in these seas.” It was
erected as a place of refuge for women and children in
Cagp of siege. The works were begun in 1689 and com-
pleted in 1705. The military cemetery, which like others
ui the West Indies is badly cared for, is of interest. The
iort is now used as a signal station.
Ships now very rarely visit English Harbour ; and the
dockyard, with its group of yellow, two-storied barracks
and stores with red roofs, though trim and tidy, is
deserted. For many...”
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“...at Sandy Point, but the defenders plied their heavy
cannon and mortars with such effect that the town was
soon destroyed. Batteries were multiplied on batteries
all round the hill; by day and night they cannonaded
and bombarded the garrison, and the fire of twenty-three
pieces of heavy cannon and twenty-four large mortars
was concentrated on a spot of ground not exceeding 200
yards in diameter. Small wonder that the garrison, who
displayed the greatest fortitude and patience, and lost
only one man through desertion, were compelled to
capitulate, which they did on February 13th. They were
accorded honours of war in the fullest sense, and every
condition proposed, whether in favour of the garrison or
the island of St. Kitts, was agreed to. The men of the
1st Battalion of the Royal Scots and the flank companies
of the 15th Regiment now the East Riding, Yorkshire
Regiment, were sent to England pending their exchange,
and the Marquis de Bouillé with his wonted magnanimity
absolved by a particular...”
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“...NEVIS
227
With losse of Noble bloud the Illustrious Name,
Of A Commander Create in Acts of Fame.
Trayn'd from his youth in’Armes, his Courage bold
Attempted braue Exploites, and Vncontrold
By fortunes fiercest frownes, hee still gaue forth
Large Narratiues of Military worth.
Written with his sword’s poynt but what is man
midst of his glory and who can
this Life A moment since that bee
by Sea and Land so longe kept free
mortal strokes at length did yeeld
ace) to conquering Death the field.
FINE CORONAT.
,St. Thomas is the parish church of Old Road.
Every visitor to St. Kitts should endeavour to see the
sister island of Nevis, Which can be reached by motor-
launch.
NEVIS
Nelson’s Island
The island of Nevis (Nievis, or Mevis, as it used to be
called in the old days) is separated from St. Kitts by a
narrow strait only two miles wide, but from Basseterre,
St. Kitts, to Charlestown, the capital of Nevis, the dis-
tance is 13 miles. The area of Nevis, which is situated
I between latitudes 170...”
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“...Leprosie, and that one of the same
persons now, or lately dwelt at Woolwich neere the River of
Thames, by whom the truth may be knowne, if any man desire
to be further satisfied therein. As for my own experience,
although it was not much, yet the effects that I found it work
both in my selfe, and other of my company in two dayes space,
doe cause me to conceive the best of it. For at my coming
thither, I was grievously vexed with an extreme cough, which
I much feared would turne me to great harme, but bathing in
the Bath, and drinking ther water, I was speedily cured ; and
ever since that time I have found the state of my body (I give
God thankes for it) farre exceeding what it was before, in strength
and health.
Again, in 1672 Richard Blome wrote of the springs as
being “ much frequented for the curing of the several
distempers of the Body of Man.” The Rev. Mr. Smith,
in his “ Natural History of Nevis,” 1745» tells how it
cured a negro boy of leprosy. “ Indeed, all distempered
People, both...”
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“...250 POCKET GUIDE TO THE WEST INDIES
the Virgin Islands were situated, he replied that he could i
only say they were a long way from the Isle of Man ! *
This was substantially correct.
Geographically the Virgin Islands consist of a group of t
islands and islets which lies in latitude i8° 27' N. and 1
longitude 64° 39' W., about 60 miles to the eastward of r
Porto Rico. The British Islands in this group include |
Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada, Jost van Dyke, Peter’s a
Island, and Salt Island, besides numerous small islets,
which have a total area of 58 square miles and a population ii
of 5,082, or 87-6 to the square mile, and form the a
“ Virgin Islands,” a Presidency of the Leeward Islands. 1
The United States own St. Thomas, St. John, and St. a
Croix, which comprise the “ Virgin Islands of the 1
United States ” (see page 321), and also. Bieques, or c
Crab Island, and Culebra, the two islands nearest to I
Porto Rico ; but it is doubtful whether these can p
properly be included in the Virgin...”
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“...bare, without any trees.”
Anegada (population 459), the “ inundated ” island,
is the most northerly of the Lesser Antilles. It has an
area of 13 square miles and a population of 300. Som-
brero (population 5)—known to generations of sailors
as Spanish Hat, owing to its peculiar shape—is a bare
rock rising from the sea to a height of 40 feet in the
channel dividing the Virgin Islands from the other
Leeward Islands, to neither of which it belongs at
present, though it is British. An English man-of-war’s
man named Jeffery was marooned on this island in 1807
by his commander, one Captain Lake, as a punishment.
Jeffery sustained life for eight days on a few limpets and
rainwater, and was then saved by an American vessel on
December 13th, 1807. He received £600 compensation
from the British Government and Captain Lake was
court martialled and dismissed the service. Jeffery
afterwards exhibited himself in London. Sombrero
was once leased to a company which exported phosphates
of lime, but the lease...”
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