History of the World/History of the World (Bureau Development, Inc.)(1992).BIN/dp/0030/00303.txt

Text File | 1992-10-11 | 16KB | 272 lines

$Unique_ID{how00303}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Australia And The Islands Of The Sea
Chapter XVI.  The Bermudas And The Bahamas.}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Larkin, Dunton}
$Affiliation{}
$Subject{islands
water
hundred
feet
miles
long
group
house
nassau
bahamas}
$Date{}
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Title:       Australia And The Islands Of The Sea
Author:      Larkin, Dunton

Chapter XVI.  The Bermudas And The Bahamas.

     Nearly six hundred miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, off the coast of
North Carolina, lies a group of islands occupying an area about eighteen miles
long by six wide.  They number as many as there are days in a year, and lie in
the form of the letter J.  Three hundred and sixty of them are small, being
nothing but rocky islets.  Of the remaining five, the largest is Long Island,
or Great Bermuda, and on this the capital, Hamilton, is situated.  With a
single exception, these larger islands are connected with one another by
bridges.  The group is surrounded on all sides but the east by formidable
coral reefs, nearly all under water, and extending in some places ten miles
from the islands.

     The Bermudas belong to England, and, with the exception of Gibraltar and
Malta, are her most strongly fortified hold.  Indeed, this is the rendezvous
for the British fleet in this part of the world, and here are stored up vast
quantities of arms and ammunition.  In Godet's history it is said that,
"Bermuda, conjointly with Halifax, holds in check the whole Atlantic coast of
the United States, upon which nature has bestowed no equivalent for naval
purposes; and also controls the West Indies, the Gulf of Mexico, and the south
coasts of the United States." Strangers are not allowed inside the forts, but
there is no law against their climbing the heights and making all the outside
observations that they wish.

     This is a land of white houses.  No other color is to be seen.  They are
all built of the native white stone of coral formation, which underlies every
foot of soil.  When first quarried, this stone is so soft that it may be cut
with a knife, but it hardens with exposure to the air. When a Bermudan wishes
to build himself a house, all he has to do is to buy a piece of land, scrape
off a foot or two of soil, and behold!  there lies his quarry ready to his
hand.

     By means of a saw, the stone is cut into pieces two feet long by one foot
in breadth and in thickness.  Then it is piled up so as to admit of the free
circulation of the air.  The place excavated forms the cellar, already walled
and floored.  When the blocks of stone are dry, the builder proceeds with the
erection of his house.  Thin, flat slabs of the same material form the roof.
The houses, even including the roof, are frequently whitewashed on the
outside, and contrast strongly with the deep-green verdure by which they are
surrounded.  There are no shanties, as there are in the rest of the world;
and, though there is no great accumulation of wealth, extreme poverty appears
to be unknown.

     The islands are very fertile, and with ordinary cultivation will yield
two crops of potatoes in a year.  No climate in the world is better adapted
for beets, potatoes, onions, and tomatoes.  Of barley, oats, and corn, two and
sometimes three crops may be raised in a year.  Tropical fruits, and also
those of more northern latitudes, are to be found.  There are strawberries and
peaches, oranges and lemons, bananas and mulberries.

     One of the conspicuous trees of the island is the flaming star, which has
great star-shaped flowers of fiery red.  Another is the monkey tree. No one
knows why it received such a name, unless it is because no monkey could
possibly climb it, its massive trunk being thickly set with short, sharp
thorns.  The oleander grows everywhere, and the great straggling bushes are so
covered with bright blossoms as to give a decided character to the landscape.

     There are but few birds that make their home in these islands throughout
the entire year.  One of these is the bluebird.  Another is the scarlet
grosbeak, noted for the brilliancy of his plumage and the sweetness of his
song.  Besides these there are the ground doves - tiny creatures clad in quiet
gray and as demure as their color.

     The population, consisting of about fifteen thousand people, is composed
of whites, free blacks, and mulattoes.  All classes seem to lack the energy
which is so characteristic of the people of the United States. The work is
done mostly by the negroes, and they can live well by working three days in
the week.  Working seems to be the exception, and doing nothing the rule, in
this favored clime.  It is said that when the south wind blows, everybody
feels lazy, - and the south wind is very prevalent.

     The government is vested in a Governor, an Executive Council of six
members, and a Legislative Council of nine members - all appointed by the
Crown, and a House of Assembly of thirty-six members, returned by the nine
parishes.

     The lighthouse on Gibbs Hill is the pride of the Bermudas.  It is on the
southern point of Long Island, and six miles from Hamilton.  Let us make a
visit to this famous light.  Driving down Front Street, we pass the Parliament
House, the Public Library, and Pembroke Hall with its group of royal palms.
Then, rounding the harbor, the way leads through Paget and Warwick streets
into Southampton, past fine country mansions and cozy cottages, with here and
there a glimpse of the sea.

     When we leave the main road to ascend the hill, we pass a ruined house
which looks canny and unreal amid the splendid verdure.  But we press steadily
up the hill, which is next to the highest point on the islands, and, when we
have reached the top, we are only two hundred and forty-five feet above the
water level.

     The lighthouse is a massive tower of stone, filled in with concrete, and
is one hundred and thirty feet high.  From the deck of a ship, forty feet
above the water, the light may be seen thirty-three miles away.  It is a
revolving one, and is among the largest and most powerful in the world.

     Although the tower is so lofty, the ascent is not difficult.  The view
from the gallery is magnificent beyond description.  We can see all the
islands of the group, and what specks they are in the middle of the great
waste of waters!  The exquisite coloring, the ethereal softness of the
ever-changing tints of sea and sky, the purple of the reefs fading into the
palest amethyst, - all this must be seen to be appreciated.

     To the east, south, and west lies the boundless expanse of ocean.  To the
north is the Great Sound, studded with innumerable islands and skirted by the
fair, green shores of the larger islands dotted with white houses half hidden
in the foliage.  And away beyond it all, the mysterious glory of the mighty
waves blends with the still more mysterious glory of the sky.

     The Bahamas form a group of about five hundred islands and rocky islets,
lying northeast of Cuba and east of the coast of Florida.  They constitute the
most northern division of the West Indies Islands.  The Gulf Stream passes
between them and the mainland.  They have an entire length of about six
hundred miles, extending from the Grand Bahama in latitude 27 Degrees 30
Minutes to Mouchoir Bank in latitude 21 Degrees. They belong to Great Britain.

     The discovery and early history of the Bahamas is of especial interest to
the American people.  San Salvador, or Cat Island, of this group, was the
first land discovered by Columbus on his earliest voyage, in 1492.  At this
period the larger of the islands were densely inhabited by a mild and
inoffensive race of Indians.  They were of fine form, and many of them had
handsome features.  Their hair was coarse, and they wore it cut short, except
a little at the back of the head which was left long and never cut.  They were
in the habit of painting the body, or only a part of it, white, black, red, or
any other color that suited their fancy. They were quick, intelligent, of good
demeanor, and were kindly disposed toward the white men.

     The later treatment of this people by the Spaniards was utterly
barbarous.  "Their lands and goods were first taken from them.  Their persons
were next seized, under the text that 'the heathen are given as an
inheritance.' The Spaniards with appalling atrocity proceeded to act towards
these unfortunates as if they did not belong to the human race. It was one
unspeakable outrage, one unutterable ruin, without discrimination of age or
sex.  They who died not under the lash in a tropical sun, died in the darkness
of the mine." In fourteen years the inhabitants of the Bahamas, numbering
about forty thousand persons, were totally exterminated.

     The islands remained uninhabited for nearly one hundred and fifty years,
when they were colonized by the English, who were afterward expelled by the
Spanish.  Subsequently, a change of masters occurred again and again; but,
finally, the Bahamas were ceded to Great Britain in 1783.

     They extend from Great Bahama to the Caicos group, a distance of about
six hundred miles.  The principal islands are Great Bahama, Great and Little
Abaco, Andros, New Providence, San Salvador, Harbor, Watling, Long, and
Crooked Islands.  The entire area is about fifty-five hundred square miles,
and the population forty-eight thousand.  Nassau, on the island of New
Providence, is the capital.  The legislature consists of a Governor and
Council appointed by the crown, and a House of Assembly. Education is under
the management of a board of education.

     Generally speaking, the islands are long and narrow, and present a flat
appearance.  Their soil is well adapted to the growth of various kinds of
fruit.  Of the whole group not more than twelve or fourteen are inhabited, and
some of the largest are altogether uninhabited or but thinly peopled; while
others again are mostly unexplored.  Though generally sterile, some of the
islands produce oranges, limes, lemons, esculent vegetables, and maize for the
consumption of the inhabitants, and some cotton for exportation.  The wild
vegetation consists of mahogany, lignum-vitae, pigeon, alum, and dyewoods,
with an entangled underbrush. In the more southern islands there are salt
ponds of great value, the cultivation of which is increasing constantly.

     The city of Nassau is built on the north shore of the island of New
Providence and has a population of about eleven thousand, one fifth of whom
are white.  The principal part of the city was built many years ago, and many
of the streets are named after members of the royal family in England, as
George, Frederick, and Cumberland streets.

     The harbor of Nassau is a good one, its natural breakwater being formed
by Hog Island, which lies about half a mile from shore.  The chief entrance is
at the west end, where the water is deep enough to admit vessels drawing
seventeen feet of water.  The town is built on sloping ground, rising to an
elevation of about ninety feet and fronting the harbor.  Each house has its
own garden, in which grow all sorts of creepers laden with blossoms of every
color, besides a wealth of roses, jasmine, hibiscus, and double oleanders.
The streets are bordered by stately palms, graceful bananas, and tall cocoanut
trees, beside countless others which grow only in tropical climes.

     Bay Street, which is the principal business street, runs along the edge
of the harbor.  Starting from this one, streets run up to the top of the hill
where the Government House, the Royal Victoria Hotel, and other notable
buildings are situated.  In a small space, near the center of Bay Street, is a
park devoted to the court of justice and other public buildings.

     The white people live in the city proper, the negro population living
apart in the suburbs, chief of which are Delancy Town, Bain's, and Grant's
Town.  Still farther away are Fox Hill and Adelaide, both of which were
settled in the first place by rescued African slaves.  The market of Nassau is
largely supplied with vegetables and fruit by the women of these places, who
travel into the city every morning, carrying their products neatly arranged in
baskets or trays upon their heads.  Children often accompany their mothers,
and carry palmetto thatch or leaves which are split into narrow pieces and
woven into hats.

     There are many places in New Providence worth visiting.  About seven
miles southwest of Nassau are two small lakes, Killarney and Cunningham, which
are separated by the Blue Hills range.  The surface of each is dotted with
beautiful little mangrove islands.  Their water is shallow and brackish, and
rises and falls with the tide.  This peculiarity is noticeable in nearly all
the ponds and lakes in the Bahama Islands.  There is no stagnant water here.

     The Mermaid's Pool, of fresh water, in the southern part of New
Providence, about half a mile from the coast, is situated in a perfectly level
plain and has no banks.  It is one hundred and fifty feet in diameter and
sixty-five in depth.  The water comes "to the very brim," and "it has a depth
of forty feet at the very edge, which is the more remarkable as the adjacent
sea is so shallow that it would be necessary to go five miles from the shore
before a depth equal to that of the pool is reached."

     But the most remarkable lake is known as "Waterloo, or the Lake of Fire."
It is an artificial lake, within a short distance of Nassau, and is one
thousand feet long by three hundred broad.  It was constructed for the purpose
of storing turtles.  The bed is cut out of coral rock, and it is connected
with the sea by a narrow ditch.  When the gate is open, the water in the lake
rises and falls with the tide.  It is a phosphorescent lake, and "the
phosphorescence is so powerful that the effect of it is unsurpassed in any
other part of the world." The changing of the water never destroys the
phosphorescence.  No adequate explanation of the phenomenon has ever been
made.  The best time to visit this lake is at night.  The light caused by the
dip of the oars is sufficient to enable one to read coarse print.  "Whenever a
boat travels through the water, there is of course a cutting of water at the
bow, and an eddy left just behind the stern.  At Waterloo, that cut water and
eddy are of flaming fire.  The lake is full of fish, and as the boat moves
along frightened fish dart about on all sides, leaving fiery trails behind
them.  Now and then a turtle is disturbed, and, as he moves along, he looks
like a revolving sun.  As the more distant fish move about, they form little
vapory clouds of fire, flashing and darting about on the surface like northern
lights."

     The Blue Hills reach an altitude of nearly one hundred and twenty feet.
They are noted for the many caves found in them, which were doubtless the
final resort for the unfortunate Indians when pursued by the Spaniards and
their bloodhounds.

     The sponge fishery is the most important industry of Nassau, and a large
number of men and vessels are engaged in it.  All the sponges of the Bahamas
are taken to the Nassau market, which is a large, open building, long and
narrow, and with no side walls.  On the arrival of a vessel her cargo is
sorted into piles three or four feet high.  Each pile is labeled as belonging
to a certain owner.  Several vessels arrive every day.  At nine in the morning
the market is opened, and the sponge dealers assemble and look over the
different piles, estimating and setting down the value of each.  These
estimates are handed to a clerk, who at the end of the day announces the
highest bidder on each lot.

     The Bahamas enjoy an extremely fine climate, serene and temperate. Frost
and extreme heat are unknown.  There is no snow, hail, or northwest wind.  For
many years they have been popular as a health resort, and invalids from all
parts of the world flock thither.