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It is not difficult to appreciate the recent catastrophe in Oceania,
where the island of Great Sangir was partially smothered by terrific
volcanic and seismic convulsions, when one has visited the Western
Indies.
[Illustration: "WHERE LORD NELSON ENJOYED HIS HONEYMOON."]
Many of these tropic isles probably owe their present isolation, if not
their actual existence, to mighty earthquake throes in remote ages of
terrestrial history beyond the memory of man. But man's memory is not a
very extensive affair, and at best probes the past to the extent of a
mere rind of a few thousand years. For the rest he has to read the word
of God, written in fossil and stone and those wondrous arcana of Nature,
which, each in turn, yields a fragment of the secret of truth to human
intellect.
Regions that have been produced or largely modified by earthquake and
volcanic upheaval may, probably enough, vanish at any moment under like
conditions; and the island of Nevis, hard by St. Christopher, in the
West Indies, strongly suggests a possibility of such disaster. It has
always been the regular rendezvous of hurricanes and earthquakes, and it
consists practically of one vast volcanic mountain which rises abruptly
from the sea and pushes its densely-wooded sides three thousand two
hundred feet into the sky. The crater shows no particularly active
inclination at present, but it is doubtless wide awake and merely
resting, like its volcanic neighbour in St. Christopher, where the
breathing of the dormant giant can be noted through rent and rift. The
Fourth Officer of our steamship "Rhine" assured me, as we approached the
lofty dome of Nevis and gazed upon its fertile acclivities and fringe of
palms, that it would never surprise him upon his rounds to find the
place had altogether disappeared under the Caribbean Sea. He added,
according to his custom, an allusion to Columbus, and explained also
that, in the dead and gone days of Slave Traffic, Nevis was a much more
important spot than it is ever likely to become again. Then, indeed, the
island enjoyed no little prosperity and importance, being a head centre
and mart for the industry in negroes. Emancipation, however, wrecked
Nevis, together with a good many other of the Antilles.
At Montpelier, on this island, Lord Nelson enjoyed his honeymoon, but
now only a few trees and a little ruined masonry at the corner of a
sugar-cane plantation appear to mark the spot. Further, it may be
recorded, as a point in favour of the place, that it grows very
exceptional Tangerine oranges. These, to taste in perfection, should be
eaten at the turning point, before their skins grow yellow. We cannot
judge of the noble possibilities in an orange at home. I brought back a
dozen of these Nevis Tangerines with me, but I secretly suspected that,
in spite of their fine reputation, quite inferior sorts would be able to
beat them by the time they got to England; and it was so.
We stopped half-an-hour only at Charlestown, Nevis, and then proceeded
to St. Christopher, a sister isle of greater size and scope.
At Antigua, there came aboard the "Rhine" a young man who implicitly
leads us to understand that he is the most important person in the West
Indies. He is the Governor of Antigua's own clerk, and is going to St.
Christopher with a portmanteau, some walking-sticks, and a despatch-box.
It appears that his significance is gigantic, and that, though the
nominal seat of government lies at Antigua, yet the real active centre
of political administration may be found immediately under the Panama
hat of the Governor's own clerk. This he takes the trouble to explain
to us. The Governor himself is a puppet, his trusted men of resource and
portfolio-holders are the veriest fantoccini; for the Governor's own
clerk pulls the strings, frames the foreign policy, conducts, controls,
adjusts difficulties, and maintains a right balance between the parties.
This he condescends to make clear to us.
[Illustration: "THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN THE WEST INDIES."]
I ventured to ask him how many of the more important nations were
involved with the matters at present in his despatch-box; and he said
lightly, as though the concern in hand was a mere bagatelle, that only
the United States, Great Britain and Germany were occupying his
attention at the moment.
The Model Man said:
"I suppose you'll soon knock off a flea-bite like that?"
And the Governor's own clerk answered:
"Yes, I fancy so, unless any unforeseen hitch happens. Negotiations are
pending."
I liked his last sentence particularly. It smacked so strongly of miles
of red tape and months of official delay.
When we reached St. Christopher, it was currently reported that the
Governor's own clerk had simply come to settle a dispute between two
negro landowners concerning a fragment of the island rather smaller than
a table-napkin; but personally I doubt not this was a blind, under cover
of which he secretly pushed forward those pending negotiations. He
certainly had fine diplomatic instincts, and a sound view, from a
political standpoint, of the value of veracity.
When we cast out anchor off Basseterre, St. Christopher, the Treasure
hurried to me in some sorrow. He had proposed going ashore, with his
Enchantress and her mother, to show them the sights, but now, to his
dismay, he found that unforeseen official duties would keep him on the
ship during our brief sojourn here. With anxiety almost pathetic,
therefore, he entrusted the Enchantress to me, and commended her mother
to the Doctor's care. I felt the compliment, and assured him that I
would simply devote myself to her--platonically withal; but the Doctor
was not quite so hearty about her mother. However, he must behave like
a gentleman, whether he felt inclined to do so or not, which the
Treasure knew, and, therefore, felt safe.
Our party of four started straightway for a ramble in St. Kitts (as St.
Christopher is more generally called), and, upon landing, we were
happily met by a middle-aged negro, who had evidently watched our boat
from afar. He tumbled off a pile of planks, where he had been basking in
the sun, girt his indifferent raiment about him, and then, by sheer
force of character, took complete command of our contemplated
expedition. It may have been hypnotism, or some kindred mystery, but we
were unresisting children in his hands. He said: "Follow me, gem'men: me
show you ebb'ryting for nuffing: de 'tanical Garns, de prison-house, de
public buildings, de church, an' all. Dis way, dis way, ladies. Don't
listen to dem niggers; dey nobody on dis island."
[Illustration: "'FOLLOW ME, GEM'MEN!'"]
The Doctor alone fought feebly, but it was useless, and, in two minutes,
our masterful Ethiop had led us all away to see the sights.
"What's your name?" I asked.
"Jefferson, sar; ebb'rybody know Jefferson. Fus', we go to 'tanical
Garns. Here dey is."
The Botanical Gardens of Basseterre, St. Kitts, were handsome,
extensive, and well cared for. We wandered with pleasure down broad
walks, shaded by cabbage palms and palmettos, mahogany and tamarind
trees; we admired the fountain and varied foliage and blazing
flower-beds, streaked and splashed with many brilliant blossoms and
bright-leaved crotons.
"There," said the mother of the Enchantress, pointing to a handsome
lily, "is a specimen of Crinum Asiaticum."
The Doctor started as though she had used a bad word. He hates a woman
to know anything he does not, and this botanical display irritated him;
but our attention was instantly distracted by Jefferson, who, upon
hearing the lily admired, walked straight up to it and picked it.
[Illustration: "'THERE IS A SPECIMEN OF CRINUM ASIATICUM.'"]