Little or nothing grows on the island of St. Thomas, and from
an agricultural standpoint it offers but few opportunities. Its
inhabitants, aside from about two hundred whites, are all negroes. The
Danes were unable to teach them their language, and practically all
speak English with that peculiar drawl that has become familiar to us
in Jamaica and other islands in the West Indies. The blacks welcome
the coming of Uncle Sam. They look upon us as a Santa Claus, who will
bring them untold blessings and wealth beyond their dreams. They are
a simple, childlike people, with bodies of men and women but with the
intellect of the average child.
_Charlotte Amalie_
Charlotte Amalie is a clean little town with regular streets, and
buildings built of stone and brick faced with cement. The Danes are a
cleanly, orderly people, and this is evident in the appearance of the
towns on the islands.
[Illustration: OLD DANISH FORT, ST. THOMAS HARBOR]
Hurricanes are frequent, and at times do great damage. A storm of
several years ago unroofed many of the houses, tore down palm trees and
destroyed most of the foliage. Traces of the hurricane may still be
seen, but its effect is gradually being obliterated.
Many steamers have been wrecked on these islands. Among numerous
sailors stranded on St. Thomas was a Frenchman named Louis Monsanto.
He founded on the shore of Krum Bay what he calls the graveyard of
ships. Lying about are several odd figureheads that once adorned the
bows of lost boats. Each has its story of thrilling escapes and tragic
loss of life to awe the listener.
Marines now police the island, and to them has been entrusted the task
of restoring order, mounting guns for the protection of the harbor, and
firmly establishing American rule.
[Illustration: VIRGIN ISLAND TAXI-CAB AND EXPRESS SERVICE]
_An Island Bluebeard_
These islands were once infested by pirates; in Charlotte Amalie
we see Bluebeard’s and Blackbeard’s castles. An English pirate who
married a woman from Charlotte Amalie went away on one of his piratical
expeditions, entrusting to his wife a small box which he told her not
to open unless he did not return in six months. After two months,
woman’s curiosity got the better of her and she opened the box. She
found therein just seven letters, but they were seven compromising
letters written by women of Charlotte Amalie. She did not kill her
husband, instead she invited the women to an afternoon tea at her home
and poisoned all seven. So, you see it was not, in this case, the man
who was the “bluebeard,” but the wife--a sort of bluebearded lady. She
was arrested, tried and convicted, and was condemned to be burned at
the stake. The eventful day arrived. Fagots were piled high about her,
the torch was about to be applied, when the pirate ship appeared in the
harbor, the pirate and his crew came ashore, and the wife was rescued.
Then she sailed away with her husband, and they “lived happily ever
after.”
[Illustration: ENTRANCE OF THE GRAND HOTEL, CHARLOTTE AMALIE
From “The Virgin Islands of the United States of America,” by Luther K.
Zabriskie, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, Publishers]
_St. John and St. Croix_
The smallest of the inhabited islands is St. John. The few people
living there are employed in picking bay leaves. The bay tree thrives
on the island, and the oil obtained from its leaf is used in the making
of bay rum.
The largest of the islands is St. Croix. It is about twenty-one miles
in length and from four to fourteen miles in width. Rich and fertile,
its soil produces chiefly sugar, a product capable of still further
industrial development. The principal difficulty encountered is in
obtaining good water. There is but one stream on the island, and except
for the water from this stream the people must depend on rain water
stored during the rainy season. One of the first duties that we have
before us is the boring of artesian wells, as all the islands are in
great need of good water for drinking and commercial purposes.
[Illustration: COVERED WALK