Show ean r r mtr HU J Romance I I I 4 w d. d S S. S YS w I I Little Saba In the Caribbean I Prepared b by the National Geographic Society Washington D. D Cl ct INCE the dawn n of American history history his his- SINCE S tory the Caribbean that sapphire sapphire sap sap- and emerald sea ea which creams to white upon the sands of ot the magic magle Islands Hi that at it II from the eastern coast of ol Florida to I the eastern shores ot of Venezuela has been the scene of at romantic and i cataclysmic life Beneath flaming tropical skies and heavy blU scudding clouds Io earthquakes have tumbled tumble parts of these palm palm- fringed d Islands blonds into the hungry waters waters wa Wl volcanoes have spouted fire upon stricken panic-stricken and powerless pO natives i great navigators and early geographers braved Its hidden bidden shoals and ond treacherous I ous reefs and buccaneers hiding like IlLe wolves In their lairs among the countless count count less excellent harbors which the Islands afford once were wont t. t tn spring upon the laden gold-laden Spanish galleons carry off oft their booty to some I lonely island l retreat and there divide the loot to be spent in riot aud and dol tie do- l bane anch In the cities clUes of the Main Across the to routes where once the wealth of the lucus Iuca was borne to Spain went American men and materials for fUI forone forone one olle of the most stupendous engineer engineering ing undertakings in the history of man the man the canal Whether they were used by the old od freebooters as rendezvous and aud bases for their nefarious works or whether hether the they have iune lain lazily beneath the tropic sun sun fun the stages for only the most few Island proper activities there are In the Caribbean waters that do not have on an Interest for the present present-da tru traveler veler Off OIT the southeastern tip of the St. St Kitts lies 1105 Nevis where Alexander Hamilton was ns born and ond where Horatio Nelson was married and to the northwest northwest north north- west of It lie the Dutch Dutch- owned Dutch St. St and quaint little Saba The he latter barely bluely five miles In diameter looks from the sea as if It It were uninhabited unla- unla habited but tucked away inside the cone of Its single volcanic mountain n a seafaring people have built their toy tov and roofed red town with white walled houses bouse which with a characteristic Dutch Duch mental quirk they thel have bave named Bottom Bott Up and down the sides aides of f the mountain to the sea they are content eon con n- n tent to run several everal U times time a day dart to engage In fishing i V leland islands The waters In la the vicinity of ot t tt the Virgin Islands Island from the Ume of sir Francis Drake were ere frequented by bl sea Se rovers ers of every class alS and description Because of the numerous islands In Inthe Inthe inthe the gro group group p Columbus Columbu when he be sirs them on St. St Ursula's day named them after otter her virgins The Virgins lie less than 60 ro mites east of ot Porto Rico lUco The three cipal Islands St. St Thomas St. St Join John end and St. St Croix as well as ns man many of t tn til 00 or more lesser lessor units of the grout are plainly visible from the dick deck f t fun t tan un an approaching steamer Life Lift was turbulent in St. St mas In III Inthe tho the days clays when Edward Idward Teat Teal drone III Ms his lean leun tilled filled with wall l hult if- if naked cutthroats cutthroats black white curl l yellow yellow Into Into the pretty r at Charlotte Amalie built his castle rustle on ou one of Its hills bills and scoured the Bras as asfor for tor the slow moving carved and gilded Spanish galleons which were hauling the wealth of the Indies to Spain One of the chief points of Interest in the picturesque little town of Charlotte Amalie now officially St. St Thomas which has one of the be best harbors harbora to w be found in Caribbean waters waters wa wa- wa ter Is II the co cattle castle of this redoubtable king of his kind known in the sphere of his influence as nB As a matter of fact his queer qUler castle looks more like au an exotic erotic species of 01 windmill with Its Its arms arms lopped otTo oil Not all the Virgin islands are ore named after atter the saints There is la Tortola the Isle of the Turtle Dove and Corda Gorda Gor Cor- da the Fat Virgie and the Drowned Island because It contains contains con con- a vast Tast lagoon known as III go pond one of ot the few v places where this bird of such gorgeous plumage Is to be found south of the Bahamas Is skirted on Its III northern shores by br a n narrow band bond of coral known ns fiS Horseshoe boe reef reel making the approach to the Island one of the most dangerous along the whole Atlantic Countless proud bulls have been crushed on Its lis jagged edge fdge It was this island that put an end to 0 the pirating of Prince Rupert of the Rhine who left Idt Ireland in 18 16 to light for tor the English king In the col col- onles and that sheltered Sir Francis 1 I Drake brake rake In the bay named In lils Ills honor when he was on the lookout for th the tho galleons of Spain Port Royal Is I. Submerged On Jamaica Port was the favorite fa base of the Ule pirates But nut one will look now new In vain aln for the bustling old d port In 1692 1002 In the midst of ot an earthquake It was vas swallowed up by bythe bythe bythe the sea sa When the water is calm the encrusted ruins of the old town may Inay be se seen n beneath the water wolter event even t toay and ond the natives still regale the visitor with stories of phantom ships that t are ore trying to make the port One Interesting relic remains however however however how how- ever in l Tort Fort ort Charles a stiff sUIT oid old veteran vet vet- eran of sun faded bricks Some of the officers officers' quarters and a paved court so 60 white that It dazzles are still standing Flower Dower gardens now encircle its walls its gun gUll embrasures are hl hidden dw by bushes the birds haunt Its crannies and the lizards s crawl lazily o cr Its parapets Horatio Nelson Nelson Nel son was stationed nt at the fort in 1771 1779 when he hens was ns twenty-one twenty years of age and the pa paved pa od platform which was Known affectionately tely as his quarterdeck quarter deck may stilt still be seen peen Across the magnIficent harbor from Port Koyal lies I Kingston the capital of Jamaica and one of the most important important im im- ports In the West vest Indies Its lis foundations were laid by Port lort Royal noyal sur survivors Ivors Havana which rose to Importance ns os a convenient con port of at call for ships passing through the Florida straits strolls bound for Mexico was frequently attacked at at- tucked tacked and looted Santiago's harbor barbor that nI mo magnificent cent bottle bottle with a neck of less than COO feet sheltered pirate ships while their owners tortured the city's inhabitants and ancl extorted enormous enormous enor enor- sums from them Baracoa Cienfuegos Clen Clen- fuegos and Trinidad the last named one of the earliest fortified cities dUes Inthe in inthe inthe the New V e World were the scenes of desperate combats Just 23 years after atter Its discovery pirates began to harass Porto lorto Rico Illco where Ponce de Leon Impressed by bl Its Ita rugged scenic beauty had bael built at San San Juan bl his Casa Blanca manra which together together together to to- gether w with Ith the old cathedral In which his bones are burled buried may be seen to to- day dar French shortly afterward afterward after atter ward sacked the ot s San o German I and aDd the Indians Indiana ate the governor One of the mo most t Important old ok ports of ot the Spanish Main was Porto Hello Bello on the Isthmus of P Panama De Despite the fact that Porto Bello has hili one of the tile best harbors on the Caribbean west of Cartagena it plays pays an Inconspicuous Incon incon- role today due In some measure measure wa meas meas- ure to the fact tact that It is exceedingly unhealthful This condition however though hundreds of ot men succumbed j yearly early did not serve serre to diminish its IlS importance in early corly days das Old aId Panama and Morgan Old OM Panama founded In l 1518 1513 18 was the metropolis of the Isthmus then as new is today It was probably probably ably the richest place Ilace In all America since It was the market for the whole of the west coast as well as ns for the spices and silks of the Orient and It kept in touch with the towns along the east coast through the Chagres Charres It held against numerous attacks at attacks rl river r. r tacks until 1071 1671 when the notorious Henry Morgan destroyed it This lad of Wales vales born of ot good was in Bristol parentage and shipped to Barbados to be sold sod as 88 asa asa a bondsman When he had served his where be he time he sailed for Jamaica Joined the buccaneers and aDd his ability as a leader was Immediately In 10 1670 after a series of successes he was Will able to collect more than 2000 fighting lighting men and 31 37 vessels at Tortuga by simply letting Jetting it be known that he be some stronghold on Intended invading the mainland They set sail for Santa Catalina old Providence o oft off the coast of Costa Rica nico the convict stan sta sta- for outlaws from Panama in order to secure suitable conquered guides for forthe forthe forthe the Journey conquered by nine stratagem this island with Its Ita fortresses Morgan sent a body of to take the castle eastle at Chagres men to Panama which would leave lea the way clear which was one of ot the The rhe castle nearly Impregnable fortresses of most at nt the mouth of the Chagres Cha lay ley its time miles southwest of gres river rl a few Colon harbor u. u |