JAMAICA AS IT IS, 1903
[Illustration: ISLAND PRODUCTS, SUGAR, BANANAS, COCOA-NUTS.
_Frontispiece._]
JAMAICA AS IT IS,
1903
BY
B. PULLEN-BURRY
AUTHOR OF “NOBLY WON,” “THE PURITAN’S CURSE,” ETC.
ILLUSTRATED
LONDON
T. FISHER UNWIN
PATERNOSTER SQUARE
1903
[_All rights reserved._]
“There are two oriflammes; which shall we plant on the furthest
islands?—the one that floats in heavenly fire, or that which hangs heavy
with foul tissue of terrestrial gold?”
—RUSKIN.
PREFACE.
In presenting this work to the British public it is proposed to bring
before the notice of those unacquainted with the charms of tropical
scenery some of the features which tend to make one of our oldest
colonies, Jamaica, a delightful winter resort.
At present, it is visited mostly by Americans, because of its easy
accessibility from New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. Their unanimous
verdict is that there is no lovelier spot under the sun than this gem of
the Antilles set in the midst of the waters of the Caribbean Sea.
The historical interest is sufficient to attract the student, while the
artistic sense is constantly charmed by the exquisite colouring of the
tropical seas, the delicious green of the waving cane-fields, the lofty
mountains with their ofttimes mist-wreathed summits.
The illustrations of island scenery are by Dr Witney of East Street,
Kingston, Jamaica.
In compiling this book the writer is indebted to the courtesy of Mr
Frank Cundall, who placed the old histories of the colony, which are kept
in the Jamaica Institute, at her disposal; also to the Archbishop of the
West Indies for the information His Grace was good enough to give her,
concerning the Disestablishment of the Church of England in Jamaica.
B. PULLEN-BURRY.
CONTENTS
PAGE
CHAPTER I
MANDEVILLE—JAMAICA NOT NEAR THE VOLCANOES—BOOKS ON THE WEST INDIES 1
CHAPTER II
THE DIRECT LINE—THE LAZINESS OF THE NEGRO—FELLOW-PASSENGERS ON THE
_PORT ANTONIO_ 7
CHAPTER III
THE KESWICK DELEGATES—MISS SARAH WALKER—HAYTIAN CANNIBALISM 15
CHAPTER IV
THE BLACK UNDER BRITISH RULE—THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA AND SUITE 26
CHAPTER V
LAND SWALLOWS—TURKS ISLANDS—AN EARTHQUAKE SHOCK—CONSTANT SPRING
HOTEL 31
CHAPTER VI
SUITABLE CLOTHING—PEDESTRIANS IN JAMAICA—SELF-HELP SOCIETY 46
CHAPTER VII
DOMINICA’S FLOURISHING CONDITION—SCOTCH DINNER—TROPICAL VEGETATION 58
CHAPTER VIII
SAVINGS BANKS—KESWICK VIEWS—SPANISH TOWN 67
CHAPTER IX
THE ROYAL MAIL COMPANY—THE “MUMPISH MELANCHOLY” OF JAMAICA 77
CHAPTER X
THE _CUISINE_ ON THE _E——_.—THE ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF DOMINICA 87
CHAPTER XI
DR GRAY ON YELLOW FEVER—MONT PELÉE—THE RED CARIBS OF DOMINICA 95
CHAPTER XII
DRIVES AND COUNTRY LIFE AT MANDEVILLE—NEGROES AND FUNERAL CUSTOMS 107
CHAPTER XIII
MY VISIT TO A PEN—ARAWAK REMAINS—LEGEND OF THE COTTON-TREE 123
CHAPTER XIV
OBEAHISM AND COFFEE-PLANTING 133
CHAPTER XV
COCKPIT COUNTRY—THE MAROONS 146
CHAPTER XVI
INDIAN CATTLE AT MONTPELIER—PALMER MONUMENT IN MONTEGO BAY
PARISH CHURCH—AMERICANS 167
CHAPTER XVII
DESCRIPTION OF ROSE HALL—SUGAR—THE EXPENSE OF WORKING AN ESTATE
A CENTURY AGO—BANANA CULTIVATION 179
CHAPTER XVIII
MONEAGUE HOTEL—THE TROUBLES OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 190
CHAPTER XIX
WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN JAMAICA—A BREAKDOWN ON THE RAILWAY—PORT
ANTONIO—CHESTER VALE 201
CHAPTER XX
THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND IN JAMAICA—ITS DISESTABLISHMENT, ITS
INCREASED ACTIVITY AND DEVELOPMENT 212
CHAPTER XXI
SIR HENRY MORGAN—LORD RODNEY—EDUCATION IN JAMAICA—CAPTAIN BAKER
ON THE BRIGHT PROSPECTS OF JAMAICA 230
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
ISLAND PRODUCTS, SUGAR, BANANAS, COCOA-NUTS _Frontispiece_
GROUP OF NATIVES _To face page_ 26
FRUIT STEAMER ON ITS WEEKLY ROUND ” 50
GARDEN AT MYRTLE BANK HOTEL ” 69
ROAD NEAR KINGSTON ” 109
FACSIMILE OF RECEIPT FOR SLAVE GIRL ” 152
OLD-FASHIONED SUGAR MILL ” 184
COCOA-NUT GROVE ” 199
PORT ANTONIO ” 206
[Illustration: JAMAICA
_Stanford’s Geographical Estabᵗ._]
JAMAICA AS IT IS, 1903
CHAPTER I
MANDEVILLE—JAMAICA NOT NEAR THE VOLCANOES—BOOKS ON THE WEST INDIES
Mandeville, _1st January 1903_.—“Our horizon is not limited by the things
of time. The expectation we entertain of a future life tends to make us
view things in their true proportion.”
These sentences were uttered last Sunday morning by the Assistant-Bishop
of Jamaica at the Parish Church of the little inland town of Mandeville,
of which he is also Rector.
The occasion which called forth his eloquent sermon upon the future life
was the death of Dr Temple, the late Archbishop of Canterbury.
The choice and scholarly English spoken by the Bishop, together with
the breadth of thought which characterised his views, riveted my
attention. Looking round at the mixed congregation of whites and blacks,
I noted that the preacher had equally gained the attention of the dusky
worshippers.
I wondered how much they understood of what he said, and what they really
looked for in the life to come, for the creed must be simple if these
grown-up children are to learn and digest it. I am told that a place
where golden crowns will be placed upon their heads, harps in their
hands, if they behave properly, appeals to their imagination, as do white
robes to their sense of what constitutes decorous clothing for so great
an occasion. One can also imagine that the old-fashioned doctrine of
hell-fire would not be without efficacy as a check upon the habits of the
black when he inclines to revert to his former type.
Although the negro is naturally argumentative and litigious, it will be
many years before his brain adapts itself to the study of the deep things
of theological casuistry.
One could scarcely expect him to grapple with the subtleties of the
thirty-nine Articles, or, as I have irreverently heard them called, “the
forty stripes save one,” in his present evolutionary state of development.
My lot having fallen to me in a house overrun with Americans, the
dignified language of that morning’s sermon, and the sonorous tones of
the preacher, had come as balm to my afflicted ears.
If the virility, energy, and business capacities of our friends across
the Atlantic are of world-wide fame, so, honesty compels me to say, are
their bragging and their boasting. When one is the only Briton amongst a
crowd of Yankees, the discordant nasal voices in which they discuss food
and dollars from morning till night is apt to get on one’s nerves.
However, I did not come to Jamaica to write about Americans. I am glad
they visit this island in search of health, and bring their much-prized
dollars with them for the good of the Commonwealth.
Two months have scarcely passed since I left my native shores. Hosts
of new experiences, fresh sensations and interests have filled up the
intervening weeks.
I had intended to write a diary; instead, I have made some progress
down that path which is said to be paved with good intentions. They say
of the natives of these latitudes that “they were born tired, grew up
tired, and have been tired ever since.” I cannot truthfully say that of
myself, although the enervating climate tries the strongest when they
feel tropical heat for the first time. Energies which were rampant in
the temperate zone find the end of their tether very soon under Jamaican
skies. Perhaps this is why the island is said to be beneficial to persons
suffering from overdone nerves. They must rest in the middle of the day;
the heat is too great for any real exertion. I have not had much time to
take notes, but as I propose staying four weeks in this quiet spot, I
intend to gather together the mental fragments at present lying scattered
about in that organ, which, for want of better knowledge, I designate my
brain-pan, and piece them together into something which may be of use to
people contemplating a visit to Jamaica. And I cannot help thinking if it
were more generally known in England how easy it is to take such a trip,
and how much there is to reward one for the trouble, many persons would
be only too desirous of becoming acquainted with this lovely island.
When I told friends that I intended to visit Jamaica this winter I was
amused at the hazy notion prevailing, even amongst the well-educated, not
only as to its geographical position, but regarding life in general as it
is lived out here.
One lady said to me, “I call it flying in the face of Providence to go so
near those horrid volcanoes.” I meekly explained that Jamaica lay several
hundred miles away, but she went on to say, “Well! I read in the papers
the other day that an American geologist says that the Pelée catastrophe
is only the beginning of the end. Sooner or later all the West Indies
will go.”
There is no doubt that this feeling exists in some circles in England,
and I think the sooner accurate knowledge replaces panic-stricken
ignorance the better will it be for the colonists here, and for English
people obliged to escape from the rigours of a northern winter.
It is well to know what to see in this part of the world. Several persons
have said to me, both in England and in Jamaica, that they could find
no guide-book to tell them how to set about taking the trip to the West
Indies. I felt this want myself, and enquired at Cook’s office if Herr
Bædecker had found his way out here yet. He has not. Nor do I mean to
forestall that conscientious and most useful Teuton. Still less do I
intend to write a guide-book to Jamaica. All I propose doing is to
enlighten intending visitors to these parts as to the best things to see.
Very probably the greater part of them will belong to my sex. If they can
have patience as I chat about persons, and tell my own experiences in my
own way, they may learn things which may prove useful.
So far, I am charmed with the glorious vegetation of the tropics. There
are places in this island more enchanting than any descriptions of
fairyland ever penned.
Professor Haddon of Cambridge had told me before leaving England that the
three most beautiful islands in the world were Java, Ceylon, and Jamaica.
Having never been to the east, or nearer the tropics on land than Assouan
in Egypt in the northern hemisphere, and Auckland in New Zealand in
the southern, my first sight of the exuberance and prolific growth of
tropical flora was like the opening of a new and attractive three-volume
novel.
I am still at the first volume, and I shall only get to the end of the
third when I have explored some of the Blue Mountain scenery, which,
being admittedly the best thing in Jamaica, I am, in the spirit of the
schoolboy who is promised cake after bread and butter, leaving to the
last.
There is one small guide-book to the island which I have found out
here, written by an American. It is entitled “Side Trips in Jamaica,”
by Mary F. Bradford, Boston and New York, Sherwood Publishing Company,
and is already in its third edition. The booklet certainly carries out
the object for which it was compiled, namely, to supply the need of a
practical guide for tourists. There are a series of trips given for those
making only a short tour, and a brief account of the historical and
physical features of the island, its agriculture and government. But what
is even more useful, it contains reliable information regarding trains,
hotels, boarding-houses, distances, and expenses in general.
The books most generally read by visitors to these islands are
Kingsley’s “At Last,” and Froude’s “West Indies,” but people find them
disappointing, and say the former greatly overrated the islands. Of
course, unless one is a naturalist, or, as the Americans designate that
calling, a “bug-hunter,” one can scarcely share the ecstasies of an
expert in that branch of science. Again in these days of universal travel
we cannot all visit at Government Houses, and have horses and carriages
placed at our disposal. Here, one is more or less dependent upon one’s
own efforts, for there have not been sufficient tourists to these islands
to establish any system of coaches, and one must hire one’s own buggy
and horse. Moreover, since the West Indies have fallen upon evil times,
one hesitates before accepting proffered hospitality. Years ago things
were not so; travellers were few and far between, the prosperity of the
sugar-planter was proverbial, but the old order has changed owing to the
decline of the sugar trade. The spirit may be, and is indeed willing, but
the purse-strings are limited.