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“...CONTENTS
CHA'- PAGE
I. General Information . . i
C II. General Information (coni.) . 27
. III. Barbados . . . . *57
\ IV. British Guiana . . . . 78
V. Jamaica * . . , 100
^ VI. Trinidad.........................
\ VII. Tobago . - _ rj2
^VIII. Grenada......................jgj
IX. St. Vincent . -173
■ X. St. Lucia....................X88
< XI. Antigua.........................
f XII. St. Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla,
Montserrat . . . .216
^ XIII. Dominica . .
- .................234
XIV. The Virgin Islands, Guade-
loupe, Martinique . . 246
« A...”
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“...LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
De Grasse delivering his Sword to
Rodney . . .
!-'■ Codrington College, Barbados .
|—- Cabbage Palms at Codrington College
A Typical Street in Bridgetown,
Barbados . . . . .
A Handsome Ceiling at Lord’s Castle,
Barbados.....................
In the Botanic Gardens, British Guiana
A Street in Georgetown, British Guiana
All that remains of Kyk-over-al,
British Guiana ....
A Maid-of-All-Work ....
An Arecuna Indian Child .
The Famous Shark Papers
The Entrance to Nelson’s Quarters,
Port Royal, Jamaica .
The Rodney Memorial, Spanish Town,
Jamaica......................
Government House, Trinidad
II The Savannah and Queen’s Park,
Trinidad
[--'''The Maraval Road, Trinidad
L-'"Climbing a Cocoa-nut Palm
The Pitch Lake at La Brea, Trinidad
The Promontory of St. George’s,
Grenada . . . .
xi
Frontispiece
To face p. 56
n 56 A
99 57 , X
99 57 $ X
99 96
99 96
99 97
99 116 > x
99 116 S X
99 117
99 128
99 129
99 129
X
99 99 IS°\x 150
99 151 \Ma
99 172
99 172...”
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“...Laborie, St. Lucia . . . . To face i>. 17 3
Kingstown, St. Vincent It 173
A Street in St. John’s, Antigua . It 212
A Typical Market Scene . ft 212
The Dockyard, English Harbour, Antigua '» 213
Camelford’s Anchor, English Harbour, Antigua . *. ft 213
Brimstone Hill, St. Kitts ft 240
Roseau, Dominica, from the Sea ft 240
A Typical Valley in Dominica . ft 241
Bidding our Friends “ Good-bye ” ft ■ 241
LIST OF MAPS AND TABLES MAPS The West Indies PAGE
Barbados ...... 64
A Topographicall Description and Admeasure- ment of the Yland of Barbados (An old Map, 1673) 72
British Guiana 80
Jamaica 112
Trinidad . • . . . . . 144
Tobago, Grenada, St. Vincent, &c. . 160
St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Kitts and Dominica Nevis, 208
TABLES Dollars and Sterling Tables . End of book
Some Information about the British West Indies . . . JJ It
Tariff of Cable Charges per Word ft ft...”
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“...d voyage, which
occupies about eightweeks, cost £38. Steamers:
St. Jan, St. Croix, ana St. 1 nomas (3500 tons each).
A fully-qualified medical officer and a stewardess are
carried on each oi tne steamers, t he cabins are
situated amidships on the main and upper decks.
Fares from London :— ’
Hotels.
Single
St. Thomas £17 10 o
Dominica } '^l8 » •
Return
£33 10 o
£35 to o
Barbados
Trinidad \
Demerara /
Single
o 0
£30 00
Return
£36 o o
£38 0 o
The Hamburg-American Line have arranged for two
cruises in the Moltke (13,000 tons) from New York to
the West Indies and Spanish Main, on January 17
and February 19, 1910.
In Barbados the Crane Hotel has been reopened
(Pension 8s. 4d. to 10s. 6d. per day) and the Crane
House Hotel closed. In British Guiana Mrs. Forbes’s
lodgings are closed, but good accommodation can be
obtained at Mrs. Stephenson’s in Main Street. The
following hotels anrl boarding houses in Jamaica
should be removed from the list on pages 107-109:
Myrtle Bank, Park Lodge, Harrison,...”
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“...THE WEST INDIAN SEASON 1909-10
These will be found to have undergone improve- Means of
ment in several respects. In the larger colonies ance.Cy”
lilUtur-cars are increasingly used, and motor services .
nave been established between New Amsterdam and ƒ
the Corentyne in British Guiana and between
Bridgetown and Speightstown in Barbados. A
steamer now runs on Tuesdays and Saturdays, in
connection with the trains at San Fernando, Trinidad,
to Cedros and Icacos, calling at La Brea and Brighton
for the Pitch Lake, and returning the same day; and
on Sundays and Thursdays returning on the follow-
ing day. Trains run between Port of Spain and
Tacarigua at short intervals throughout the day, and
thrice a day to the termini at San Fernando, Princes-
town, Tabaquite and Sangre Grande. At the last-
named place a swift motor bus service connects with
each train, conveying passengers to and from the
beautiful stretch of coco-nut-lined and fóam-swept
beach of Manzanilla eight Piiles away.
Several of the...”
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“...Finances.
Popula-
tion.
THE WEST INDIAN SEASON 1909-10
From the table given below it will be seen that the
West Indies continue to advance on the path of
prosperity:
Revenue Expendi ture. Imports. Exports.
£ 1 £ £
Barbados . . ƒ 1906-7 204,704 186,016 1,192,328 932,966
1 1907-8 209,8l8 188,296 1,271,530 1,690,808 935,256
British Guiana ƒ 1906-7 535,746 514,053 1,843,105
\ 1907-8 548,293 520,046 1,765,359 2,261,469 I,7H,543
Jamaica. . . ƒ 1906-7 887,228 828,115 1,992,007
1 1907-8 1,022,390 884,243 2,914,000 2,376,000
Trinidad and ƒ 1906-7 765,272 810,474 3,120,717 2,872,325
Tobago . . . \ 1907-8 871,201 71,786 781,038 3,374,824 3,907,503
Grenada. . . ƒ1906-7 70,379 223,449 210,149
1 1907-8 79,871 68,383 288,665 78,008 96,554 417,299
St. Vincent. . ƒ1906-7 \ 1907-8 26,031 28,465 24,650 24,653 83,755 94,265
St. Lucia . . f1906-7 60,OZ2 60,293 242,469 220,313
1 1907-8 67,351 64,840 310,309 264,401 95,971
Antigua . . . ƒ1906-7 44,175 45,207 132,763
1 1907-8 50,620 46,968 168,396...”
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“...prevailing north-easterly winds, the Windward
Islands, and the four large islands comprising
the Greater Antilles, the Leeward Islands, from
their more sheltered position. Tourists should,
however, disabuse their minds of this classifica-
tion, which no longer holds good, the terms
Windward and Leeward being now applied to
two quite different groups of British islands, to
which reference is made below.
The British West Indian Islands are divided
into six groups of colonies:—(i) the Bahamas,
(2) Barbados, (3) Jamaica, with Turks and Caicos
Islands, and the Caymans, (4) Trinidad and
Tobago, (5) the Windward Islands, including
St Lucia, St. Vincent, Grenada and the Grena-
dines, and (6) the Leeward Islands, comprising
Antigua, with Barbuda and Redonda, St. Kitts,
Nevis and Anguilla, Montserrat, Dominica and
the Virgin Islands. The colonies of British
Guiana on the mainland of South America and
British Honduras in Central America are also
generally considered part of the British West
Indies, owing...”
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“...visitors should on no account
expose themselves to the direct rays of the
noonday sun. A thorough wetting by the rain
should be guarded against, and chills at sun-
down avoided. Of late years, the sanitary ar-
rangements in the West Indies have undergone
substantial improvement, with the result that out-
breaks of yellow fever are of extremely rare_ occur-
rence, and they seldom, if ever, occur in the
winter months. Malaria of a mild form is met
within most of the islands in the summer months
—Barbados being a notable exception—but new-
comers are not as a rule susceptible to it until
they have resided for at least ten or twelve months
in the West Indies, and tourists therefore need
feel no apprehension on this score. The West
Indies are remarkably free from infectious diseases
common in temperate climes, and also from those
ailments which are commonly associated in the
mind and body with an English winter. Many
private houses and several hotels have swimming-
baths, and in most residences...”
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“...pre-
sent decided features of novelty. Beef and mutton
find their places on the board, though, owing to
the climate, they are as a rule tough, except in the
larger islands, in which supplies from the United
States are obtainable. Chicken and guinea-fowl
figure extensively on the menu, but, beyond these,
a tropical table differs materially from one at
home. This is chiefly the case in so far as
concerns the fish and vegetables. Of the former
there are the flying-fish—the dish par excellence
of Barbados, and very good it is, too—snapper,
snook, mullet and grouper, all of which are
deservedly popular. Among the vegetables are
yams—floury and soft to the palate—sweet pota-
toes, tannias, eddoes, ochros—the pods of which,
cooked like asparagus, are excellent—plantains,
delicious when fried, cassava, Indian corn, papaw,
pigeon peas, to mention a few only, while a
capital salad is made from the heart of the lofty
cabbage palm (Oreodoxa oleracea). It is, how-
ever, at dessert that the greatest surprises...”
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“...perfection. Oranges while actually green are
exquisite, and the tangerine variety is infinitely
better than any ever seen at home. The grafted
mangoes, for which Jamaica is especially famous,
are exquisitely delicate in flavour, while a sound
Antigua pine-apple is something to dream about.
It is not long before the visitor makes the ac-
quaintance of some of the following fruits, which
are among the most popular in the West Indies:
custard, mammee and star apples, bread-fruit,
bread-nuts, cashews, Barbados cherries, citrons,
granadillas (the fruit of the passion flower), guavas,
limes, mangoes, melons, Avocado pears, pome-
granates, sapodillas, shaddocks, and sour sops.
In Trinidad, the small oysters which adhere to
the roots of the mangrove trees form 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...”
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“...before the midday meal, though an
appetiser before dinner, which may take the form
of a cocktail or a “ swizzle,” is recommended.
The latter is made from gin, whisky, brandy,
or vermuth, which is mixed in a jug with bitters,
grated ice, and a modicum of sugar, and frothed
up with a swizzle stick, the latter being the stem
of a plant with radiating roots, apparently pro-
vided by nature for this special purpose, which
is made to revolve backwards and forwards be-
tween the palms of the hands. In Barbados the
great appetiser is a swizzle known as “ green
bitters,” the basis of which is wormwood.
“Coffee” is the first meal of the day in the
West Indies. It connotes a cup of the beverage
from which its name is taken, or of tea or other
liquid refreshment, whatever be its nature, which
is served with toast and butter at the early hour
of 6 a.m. Breakfast is somewhat of a movable
feast. It may be put on the table at any time
between 10 and 12.30, according to the locality,
and it will be found to...”
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“...all negotiable. Public accounts are
as a rule shown in sterling j 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 relative values of
dollars and cents and j£ s. d. is given at the end
of the book.
Banks. The Colonial Bank (capital, ^2,000,000; paid
up, £600,000 ; reserve fund, ^15 0,000. Lon-
don address, 13 Bishopsgate Street Within, E.C.;
New York address, 82 Wall Street) has branches
in Antigua, Barbados, British Guiana (Berbice
and Demerara), Dominica, Grenada (brancfT'at
St. George’s and an agent at Grenville), Jamaica
(branch at Kingston, sub-branch at Montego Bay,
and agents at Falmouth and Savanna-la-Mar), St.
Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Thomas, St. Vincent, and
Trinidad (branch at Port of Spain, and agent
at San Fernando). The Bank issues letters of
credit, drafts on demand, and telegraphic
transfers on the branches, receives for collection
bills of exchange, and conducts general banking
business...”
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“...circumstances permit. The route
then followed is Barbados, Trinidad, La Guayra (for
Caracas), Puerto Colombia, Carthagena, Colon,
Jamaica, and New York, the same ports being
touched at in the reverse order on the return
journey. In conjunction with the Cunard Steam-
ship Company, the company affords an alternative
, route to and from Jamaica via New York in
twelve days for ^11 (first cabin in Royal Mail
Steam Packet Co.’s steamer, and second cabin in
Cunard Steamship Co.’s steamer). Barbados is
the junction for intercolonial steamers, and pas-
sengers and mails are transhipped there for St.
Vincent, Grenada, and Georgetown, Demerara
(British Guiana) in the south fortnightly, and St.
Lucia, Martinique, Dominica, Montserrat, Antigua,
Nevis and St. Kitts in the north once a month.
Besides the intercolonial steamers of about 2000
tons, there are smaller vessels plying (a) round
Dominica, (b) between Dominica, Martinique,
St. Lucia, and- Barbados fortnightly, (c) round...”
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“...Jl Col. X. Col. 2. Ser- vants.
Antigua . . . Barbados . . Demerara . Dominica Grenada . . . Jamaica . La Guayra . New York . . Martinique . Montserrat . Nevis .... St. Kitts . . . St. Lucia . . St. Vincent . . Tobago . Trinidad . . . 'S ■g $ 3 'S 'S 3 'Êfè 3 iS 'g ■sfs Barbados
3915 1 3831 I 203 1 Trinidad
-4355 I 4171 I 543...”
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“...16 GUIDE TO THE WEST INDIES
NORTHERN ISLANDS ROUTE
Barbados
118 | St. Lucia
163 j 45 I Martinique
212 I 94 1 49 I Dominica
321 j 203 j 158 j 109 | Montserrat
358 I 240 I iqs I 146 I 37 I Antigua
407 I 289 j 244 I iqs I 86 I 49 1 Nevis
WINDWARD ISLANDS AND DEMERARA ROUTE
Barbados
97 1 St. Vincent
181 1 | 84 | Grenada
561 I 464 1 380 1 Demerara______________________
pieet;—West Indian transatlantic steamers:
Atrato, 5347 tons; Orinoco, 4572 tons; Trent,
5525 tons; Tagus, 5545 tons, and La Plata,
4464 tons. Intercolonial steamers: Eden, 2145
tons; Esk, 2145 tons, and Solent, 1908 tons.
Coasting steamers: Arno, 607 tons; Spey, 470
tons; Yare, 299 tons; Taw, 180 tons; Tees, 180
tons, and Wear, 180 tons.
From The Imperial Direct West India Mail Service
Bristol. q0 jfj (Elder, Dempster & Co., Colonial House,
Liverpool, London and Bristol), Avonmouth (Bris-
tol) to Turks Island and Kingston, Jamaica, fort-
nightly. Length of voyage, ten to twelve days.
Fares: Saloon, single, ^18 to ^25 ; return...”
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“...London to Demerara and Berbice.
Fares, ^17, ios. and ^20.
The Direct Line (Prentice, Service & Hender-
son, 175 West George Street, Glasgow), and The
London Line (Scrutton, Sons & Co., 9 Grace-
church Street, London, E.C.), London to British
Guiana and all the West Indian Islands. Fares :
Barbados, Demerara, and Trinidad, ^17, ios.;
Antigua, Berbice (British Guiana), Dominica,
Montserrat, Nevis, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Vin-
cent, and Tobago, ^20; Antigua, Nevis or St.
Kitts, by steamer direct to St. Kitts, ^17, ios.
The Harrison Line (Richard Bulman & Co., From
of Mersey Chambers, Liverpool). Cargo steamers LlverP°°1-
from Liverpool to Barbados, Trinidad, and Belize
(British Honduras). Fares : Barbados and Trini-
dad» 7> ios.; Belize, ^25.
Frederick Leyland Co. (1900) Ltd. (27 James...”
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“...18 GUIDE TO THE WEST INDIES
From
France.
Street, Liverpool). Regular sailings from Liverpool
to Barbados, Trinidad, La Guayra, Puerto Cabello,
Curasao, Santa Marta and Cartagena; also to St.
Thomas, Puerto Colombia, Colon, and Kingston
(Jamaica). Fares: Barbados and Trinidad,
^17,10s.; Kingston, ^20; and St. Thomas, ^16
(including first-class railway fare from London to
Liverpool).
The Liverpool Line (Booker Bros., McConnell
and Co. Ltd., 77 The Albany, Liverpool). First-
class cargo steamers of this line sail from Liverpool
to Demerara (British Guiana) direct every three
weeks. They have accommodation for a limited
number of cabin passengers.
Compagnie Générale Transatlantique. The vessels
of this company leave St. Nazaire, France, on 9th
of each month and touch at the following ports :—
Dates. Dates.
Out. Home.
Arrive. Depart. Arrive. Depart, j
St. Nazaire 9 Colon 3
Pointe-è.-Pitre . 20 21 Cartagena . . 4 4
(Guadeloupe) Basseterre 21 21 Savanilla 5 5
(Guadeloupe) Fort-de-France...”
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“...Canada-
which is under contract with the Canadian
Government, sail from St. John, New Brunswick,
and Halifax, N.S., every twelve days, on the fol-
lowing routes alternately:—
Ports of Call. Distance. Time.
Halifax to Bermuda. 800 miles 72 hours
Bermuda to St. Kitts 925 .» 86 ,,
St. Kitts to Antigua . 60 ,, 6 ,,
Antigua to Dominica 123 ,, 12 1,
Dominica to Barbados 170 ,, IS
Barbados to Trinidad 210 ,, 20 ,,
Trinidad to Demerara 36° >> 36 ..
Total . .
Halifax to Bermuda 800 ,, 72 ,,
Bermuda to Montserrat . 970 »• 90 ,,
Montserrat to St. Lucia . 175 >> 17 ,,
St. Lucia to St. Vincent . 56 >> 6 „
St. Vincent to Barbados . 97 m IO , |
Barbados to Trinidad 210 ,, 20 „
Trinidad to Demerara 360 .1 36
Total 2668...”
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“...22 GUIDE TO THE WEST INDIES
Fares: Halifax to St. Kitts, Antigua, Montserrat,
Dominica, St. Lucia, or St. Vincent, first cabin,
single, $50 (;£io, 8s. 4d.), return, $90 G£i8,15s.);
second cabin, single, $35 (£7, 5s- i°d.), return,
$60 (;£i2, ios.); to Barbados, first cabin, single,
$55 (;£ii, 9s. 2d.), return, $100 (^20, 16s. 8d.);
second cabin, single, $40 (^8, 6s. 8d ), return,
$70 (^14, ns. 8d.); to Trinidad, first cabin,
single, $60(^12, ios.),return, $110(^22,18s. 4d.);
second cabin, single, $40 (£&, 6s. 8d.), return,
$70 (£14, ns. 8d.), and to Demerara, first
cabin, single, $75 (^15, 12s. 6d.), return, $130
(^27, is. 8d.); second cabin, single, $50
(£10, 8s. 4d), return, $80 (^16, 13s. 4d.). Deck
cabins, $5 extra each berth. Children under
twelve, half rate; under eight, quarter fare; one
child under three, free. First cabin passengers
are allowed 20 cubic feet of baggage, second, 15
feet of baggage free, excess being charged for at
is. per cubic foot.
The steamers running on the...”
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“...1357
tons; Barnstaple, 1356 tons, and seventy-four
others.
The Quebec Steamship Company, Ltd. (A.
Emilius Outerbridge & Co., 29 Broadway, New
York). The steamers of this line, which was
started more than twenty-five years ago under
contract with Guzman Blanco, President of
Venezuela, for a service between New York,
La Guayra, and Puerto Rico, sail from New
York to St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. Kitts, St.
Martin’s, Antigua, Guadeloupe, Montserrat, Domi-
nica, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Barbados,
and Demerara. The voyage from New York to...”
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