"Lieutenant Haines, commanding the marines of the 'Dixie,' landed and hoisted the Stars and Stripes over the custom-house at the port of Ponce, the onlookers cheering most heartily. After that, Lieutenant Murdoch and Surgeon Heiskell rode to the city, three miles distant, where the people fairly went wild with joy, dancing and shouting, 'Viva los Americanos. Viva Puerto Rico libre.'"
"Sensible folks I think they were to be so glad to get away from Spain and into the United States," remarked Ned, with a pleased smile.
"Yes, I think they were," said GrandmaElsie, "for it was gaining liberty—freedom from most oppressive tyranny."
She had begun her talk to the two children alone, but now quite a group had gathered about them—Dr. Harold Travilla and Grace Raymond, Chester and Lucilla Dinsmore and Mrs. Evelyn Raymond.
"I am very desirous to see Porto Rico," said Harold. "It must be a garden spot—fertile and beautiful. As we draw near it I mean to be on the lookout for El Yunque."
"What's that, uncle?" asked Ned.
"The highest point of land on the island, nearly four thousand feet high. The meaning of the name is the anvil."
"Porto Rico being in the torrid zone, it must have a very hot climate. The weather must have been very oppressive for our troops—taking it in the height of summer," remarked Grace.
"Yes," said Grandma Elsie; "but the climate is more agreeable than that of Cubaor of many places farther north, because of the land breezes that prevail, coming from both north and south."
"It is a beautiful and delightful island," remarked Harold. "I have often thought I should, some day, pay it a visit."
"Are we likely to land there?" asked his mother.
"I do not know, mother," he answered; "but I presume the Captain will say that shall be just as his passengers wish."
"Yes, I am sure father will say we may all do exactly as we please," said Lucilla; "go ashore, or stay quietly on the yacht while others go and return."
"It cannot be now the delightful place to visit that it was before the hurricane of last August," remarked Chester.
"No," said Grandma Elsie, "and I think I, for one, do not care to land on the island until they have had more time to recover from the fearful effects of that terrible storm."
"What mischief did it do, grandma?"asked Ned; "were there houses destroyed and people killed?"
"Yes; a great many," she answered, with a sigh. "I have read that in one district it was estimated that the damage done to houses and crops would reach nine hundred thousand in gold, and that in the valley of the Rio de Grande over a thousand persons disappeared, and were supposed to have been drowned by the sudden rise and overflow of the river."
"And you, mother, I know gave liberally to help repair the damages," said Harold.
"I was better able than many others who may have been quite as willing," she responded, "and I think I can do still more, if I find the need is still urgent."
"Yes, mother dear, you seem always ready and glad to help any one who needs it," said Harold, giving her a look full of proud, loving admiration.
Captain Raymond had drawn near the group just in time to hear Harold's last remark.
"Quite true, Harold," he said, "but who is to be the happy recipient of mother's bounty this time?"
"We were talking of the losses of the unfortunate Porto Ricans in last August's fearful storm," replied Harold. "Mother, as you know, has already given help, and expresses herself as ready to do more if it is needed."
"And will do it, I know," said the Captain.
"I hope, though, that my dear grandma wont give everything away and have nothing left for herself," said Elsie Raymond, with a loving look up into Grandma Elsie's face.
"I should not like to have her do that either," the Captain said, with a smile. "But the Bible tells us, 'He that hath pity upon the poor, lendeth unto the Lord, and that which he hath given will he pay him again.'"
"A promise that none of us need be afraid to trust," said Grandma Elsie, with a happy look and smile. "Do you think of visiting any part of the island, Captain?"
"That shall be as my passengers wish," he replied; "we can consider the matter and talk it over while on our way there. My present plan is to go directly to San Juan. We may stay some hours or days there, those going ashore who wish, the others remaining on the vessel. We may make the circuit of the island, entirely or in part, keeping near enough to the land to get a pretty good view of its beauties."
"Will this be your first visit to Porto Rico, Captain?" queried Chester.
"No, I paid it a flying visit some years ago; and then went up the mountains to Caguas and visited the dark cave of Aguas Buenas."
"Did it pay?" asked Chester.
"Hardly. The outside journey, though difficult, did pay, but the darkness of the cave, the multitudes of bats flying in your face, and the danger of the guides' torches going out, leaving you unable to find your way to the opening, make the expedition anything but safe or pleasant. I shall never venturein there again or advise any friend to do so."
"Are you going to take us to Cuba, too, papa?" asked Elsie.
"If my passengers wish to go there."
"Oh, I think they will; this one does, anyhow," laughed the little girl.
"Don't you think it would be pleasanter to visit it after it has had time to recover from the war?" asked Lucilla.
"Perhaps papa will bring us a second time after that?" Elsie said, with a smile up into his face.
"That is quite possible," he answered, returning the smile.
"Please, papa, tell us something about Cuba now, won't you?" pleaded Ned.
"Very willingly, if you all care to hear it," returned the Captain, and a general assent being given, he went on: "I think much of it you will all understand better, if told you while looking upon the scenes where it occurred. However, since you wish it, I shall tell at least a part of the story now.
"Doubtless, you all know that Cuba was discovered by Columbus on October 28, 1492. He said of it at one time: 'It is the most beautiful land that eyes ever beheld'; at another: 'Its waters are filled with excellent ports, its rivers are magnificent and profound'; and yet again, 'As far as the day surpasses night in brightness and splendor, it surpasses all other countries.'
"He found it beautiful not only along the shore where he first landed, but in the interior also; flowers, fruits, maize and cotton in their abundance showed the fertility of the soil. And it was inhabited by a peaceful people who gave him and his men a glad welcome, imagining them to be superior beings, and little dreaming how they were to suffer at their hands. Columbus describes them as tall and straight, like the natives of North America, of tawny complexion, and gentle disposition, being easy to influence by their masters. They were a naturally indolent race, which was not strange, considering how easy it was for them to have a comfortable living withvery little exertion; there were abundance of wild fruits, and corn and cotton could be raised with little exertion; abundance of fish could be easily obtained from the waters, and if they wanted meat, a little animal resembling a rat in appearance, but tasting like a rabbit, could be had for the hunting. So it would seem they lived easy, contented and peaceful lives; and why should the Spaniards think they had a right to rob and enslave them."
"Why indeed," exclaimed Lucilla. "The Indians—if able to do so—would have had just as good a right to go over to Spain and enslave them."
"But with the Spaniards might made right," said Chester.
"But there were only a few Spaniards with Columbus and a very great many natives on these islands," remarked little Elsie, in a puzzled tone. "I wonder they didn't kill the Spaniards as soon as they began trying to make slaves of them."
"At first," said her father, "they took theSpaniards to be a race of superior beings, and gladly welcomed them to their shores. It would, doubtless, have been easy for them to crush that handful of worn-out men, and no doubt they would if they could have foreseen what their conduct toward them would be; but they mistook them for friends, and treated them as such. One cazique gave them a grand reception and feasted them amid songs and their rude music. Games, dancing and singing followed, then they were conducted to separate lodges and each provided with a cotton hammock, that proved a delightful couch to pass the night upon."
"And the Spaniards took all that kindness at the hands of those poor things and repaid them with the basest robbery and cruelty," exclaimed Elsie.
"Yes," said her father; "they even repaid that most generous hospitality by seizing some of the youngest, strongest and most beautiful of their entertainers and carrying them to Spain, where they were paraded beforethe vulgar gaze of the jeering crowd, then sold into slavery.
"One of their venerable caziques gave to Columbus, when he came the second time to the island, a basket of luscious fruit, saying to him, as he did so: 'Whether you are divinities or mortal men, we know not. You have come into these countries with a force, against which, were we inclined to resist, it would be folly. We are all, therefore, at your mercy; but if you are men, subject to morality, like ourselves, you cannot be unapprised that after this life there is another, wherein a very different portion is allotted to good and bad men. If, then, you expect to die, and believe, with us, that every one is to be rewarded in a future state according to his conduct in the present, you will do no hurt to those who do none to you.'"
"That old chief was certainly a very wise man for a heathen," remarked Chester.
"And how strange that the Spaniards could treat so shamefully such innocent and friendly people," said Evelyn.
"Yes," exclaimed Lucilla, "I think we may all be thankful that there is no Spanish blood in us."
"Which fact makes us the more to be blamed if we indulge in oppression and cruelty," said her father.
"Papa, did that old king live long enough to see how very cruel the Spaniards were to his people?" asked Elsie.
"That I cannot tell," replied the Captain, "but by the time another ten years had passed by, the natives of Cuba had learned that the love of the Spaniards for gold was too great ever to be satisfied, and that they themselves could not be safe with the Spaniards there; they were so alarmed that when Diego Columbus sent an armed force of three hundred men to begin to colonize Cuba, they resisted their landing. But they, the Indians, were only naked savages with frail spears and wooden swords, while the invading foes were old-world warriors who had been trained on many a hard-fought battlefield, armed with deadly weapons, protected byplate armor, and having bloodhounds to help in their cruel attempt to rob and subjugate the rightful owners of the soil. So they succeeded in their wicked designs; hundreds of those poor Indians were killed in cold blood, others spared to slavery worse than death. From being free men they became slaves to one of the most cruel and tyrannical races of the world. And they were not only abused there on their own island, but hundreds of them were taken to Europe and sold for slaves in the markets of Seville. That was to raise money to pay the expenses of their captors."
"Why," exclaimed Ned, "the Spaniards treated them as if they were just animals, instead of people."
"Papa, were they—the Indians—heathen?" asked Elsie.
"They had no images or altars, no temples, but they believed in a future existence and in a god living above the blue-domed sky," replied the Captain. "But they knew nothing of Jesus and the way of salvation,and it seems the Spaniards did not tell them of Him or give them the Bible."
"No," said Grandma Elsie, "Rome did not allow them the Bible for themselves."
"Are there a good many wild flowers in Cuba, papa?" asked Elsie.
"Yes; a great many, and of every color and tint imaginable—flowers growing wild in the woods. The foliage of the trees is scarcely less beautiful, and their tops are alive with birds of gayly-colored plumage. I have been speaking of wild, uncultivated land. The scene is even more inviting where man has been at work transforming the wildwood into cultivated fields; he has fenced them off with stone walls, which have warm russet-brown tints and are covered here and there with vines and creepers bearing bright flowers. The walks and avenues are bordered with orange-trees in blossom and fruit at the same time, both looking lovely in their setting of deep green leaves. But you have seen such in Louisiana."
"Yes, papa, and they are beautiful," saidElsie. "There must be a great deal worth seeing in Cuba, but I'll not care to land on it if you older people don't want to."
"Well, we will leave that question to be decided in the future," the Captain said, smiling down into the bright little face.
"I think I have read," said Evelyn, "that Columbus at first thought Cuba not an island but a part of the mainland?"
"Yes," replied the Captain, "but the natives assured him that it was an island; on his second trip, however, in 1494, he reiterated his previous belief and called the land Juana, after Juan, the son of Ferdinand and Isabella. Afterward he changed it to Fernandina, in honor of Ferdinand; still later to Santiago, the name of the patron saint of Spain, after that to Ave Maria. But the name Cuba clung to the island and was never lost.
"The Indians there were a peaceable race. They called themselves Ciboneyes. They had nine independent caciques, and, as I believe I have already told you, they believed in asupreme being and the immortality of the soul."
"Really, they seem to me to have been more Christian than the Spaniards who came and robbed them of their lands and their liberty," said Evelyn.
The"Dolphin" and her passengers and crew reached Porto Rico in safety, having made the voyage without detention or mishap. The yacht lay in the harbor of San Juan for nearly a week, while its passengers made various little excursions here and there to points of interest upon the island. Then the yacht made its circuit, keeping near enough to the shore for a good view of the land, in which all were greatly interested—especially in those parts where there had been some fighting with the Spaniards in the late war.
"Now, father, you are going to take us to Santiago next, are you not?" asked Lucilla, as they steamed away from the Porto Rican coast.
"Yes," he replied, "I am satisfied that you all take a particular interest in that place, feeling that you would like to see the sceneof the naval battle and perhaps to look from a distance upon some of the places where there was fighting on land."
"It will be interesting," said little Elsie, "but, oh, how glad I am that the fighting is all over!"
"As I am," said her father; "but if it wasn't, I should not think of taking my family and friends to the scene."
"That was a big battle," said Ned. "I'm glad I'm going to see the place of the fight; though I'd rather see Manila and its bay, because Brother Max had a share in that fight. Uncle Harold, you came pretty near having a share in the Santiago one, didn't you?"
"I was near enough to be in sight of some of it," said Harold; "though not so near as to some of the fighting on the land."
"That must have been a very exciting time for you and your fellows," remarked Mr. Lilburn.
"It was, indeed; there was slaughter enough on land," said Harold; "and though we were pretty confident that victory wouldperch upon our banners in the sea fight, we could not hope it would prove so nearly bloodless for our side."
"The sea fight?"
"Yes; that on the land was harder on our fellows, particularly because our unreasonable Congressmen had failed to furnish for them the smokeless powder and Mauser bullets that gave so great an advantage to the Spaniards."
"Yes, indeed," said the Captain, "that absolute freedom from smoke made it impossible to tell exactly whence came those stinging darts that struck men down, and the great penetrating power of the Mauser bullet made them doubly deadly. They would cut through a palm-tree without losing anything of their force, and, in several instances, two or more men were struck down by one and the same missile."
"It was very sad that that gallant young soldier, Captain Capron, was killed by that first volley," remarked Violet.
"Yes," said her mother, "I rememberreading the account of his death, and that he came of a family of soldiers; that his father, engaged with his battery before the Spanish lines, left it for a brief time and came over to where the body of his son lay on the rank grass, and, looking for a moment on the still features, stooped and kissed the dead face, saying, 'Well done, boy, well done.' That was all, and he went back to the battle."
"Yes, mother," said Harold, in moved tones, "my heart aches yet when I think of that poor, bereaved but brave father. Ah, war is a dreadful thing, even when undertaken from the good motive which influenced our people, who felt so much sympathy for the poor, abused Cubans."
"The Americans are, as a rule, kind-hearted folk," remarked Mr. Lilburn, "and I doubt if there are any troops in the world superior to them in action; not even those of my own land."
"No," said the Captain, "they were brave fellows and good fighters, having seen service in our Northwest and Southwest, on theprairies, among the mountains and on the Mexican frontier, so that war was no new thing to them, and they went about it calmly even in so unaccustomed a place as a tropical forest."
"Papa, that Captain Capron wasn't instantly killed by that Mauser bullet, was he?" asked Grace.
"No; he was struck down early in the action and knew that his wound was mortal, but he called to a man near him to give him the rifle that lay by the side of a dead soldier; then, propped up against a tree, he fired at the enemy with it until his strength failed, when he fell forward to die."
"What a brave fellow! It is dreadful to have such men killed," said Grace, her voice trembling with emotion.
"Another man, Private Heffener, also fought leaning against a tree until he bled to death," said Harold. "Then there was Trooper Rowland, a cowboy from New Mexico, who was shot through the lungs early in that fight. He said nothing about it, but kepthis place on the firing-line till Roosevelt noticed the blood on his shirt and sent him to the hospital. He was soon back again and seeing him Colonel Roosevelt said, 'I thought I sent you to the hospital.' 'Yes, sir; you did,' replied Rowland, 'but I didn't see that they could do much for me there, so I came back.' He stayed there until the fight ended. Then he went again to the hospital. Upon examining him the doctors decided that he must be sent back to the States, with which decision he was greatly disgusted. That night he got possession of his rifle and pack, slipped out of the hospital, made his way back to his command and stayed there."
"Perhaps," said Grandma Elsie, "you have not all read Marshall's experiences then and there. It happens that I have just been re-reading an extract which has interested me greatly. Let me read it aloud that you may all have the benefit of it. It is a description of the scene in the field hospital where badly wounded men lay crowded togetherawaiting their turns under the surgeon's knife. Shall I read it?"
There was a universal note of assent from her hearers, and she began.
"There is one incident of the day which shines out in my memory above all others now, as I lie in a New York hospital, writing. It occurred at the field hospital. About a dozen of us were lying there. A continual chorus of moans rose through the tree-branches overhead. The surgeons, with hands and bared arms dripping, and clothes literally saturated, with blood, were straining every nerve to prepare the wounded for the journey down to Siboney. Behind me lay Captain McClintock, with his lower leg-bones literally ground to powder. He bore his pain as gallantly as he had led his men, and that is saying much. I think Major Brodie was also there. It was a doleful group. Amputation and death stared its members in their gloomy faces.
"Suddenly, a voice started softly:
'My country, 'tis of thee,Sweet land of liberty,Of thee I sing.'
'My country, 'tis of thee,Sweet land of liberty,Of thee I sing.'
"Other voices took it up:
'Land where my fathers died,Land of the Pilgrims' pride——'
'Land where my fathers died,Land of the Pilgrims' pride——'
"The quivering, quavering chorus, punctuated by groans and made spasmodic by pain, trembled up from that little group of wounded Americans in the midst of the Cuban solitude—the pluckiest, most heartfelt song that human beings ever sang. There was one voice that did not quite keep up with the others. It was so weak that I did not hear it until all the rest had finished with the line:
'Let Freedom ring.'
'Let Freedom ring.'
"Then, halting, struggling, faint, it repeated slowly:
'Land—of—the—Pilgrims'—pride,Let Freedom——'
'Land—of—the—Pilgrims'—pride,Let Freedom——'
"The last word was a woeful cry. One more son had died as died the fathers."
There was a moment's pause when Grandma Elsie had finished reading, and there were tears in the eyes of many of her hearers.
It was Harold who broke the silence.
"That battle of Guasimas was a complete victory for our forces, but dearly paid for," he said; "of the nine hundred and sixty-four men engaged, sixteen were killed and fifty-two wounded; thirty-four of the wounded and eight of the killed were Rough Riders."
"And a scarcity of doctors seems to have caused great suffering to our wounded men," Grandma Elsie said, with a sigh.
"Yes; there were too few of us," said Harold, "and, through somebody's blundering, needed supplies were also scarce. I think our men were wonderfully patient, and it is hard to forgive those whose carelessness and inefficiency caused them so much unnecessary suffering."
"Yes, it is," said his mother; "war is adreadful thing. How the people of beleaguered Santiago suffered during the siege, and especially when they were sent out of it that they might escape the bombardment. Think of eighteen to twenty thousand having to take refuge in that little town, El Caney, foul with the effluvium from unburied mules and horses, and even human victims of the battle; houses so crowded that they could not even lie down on the floors, but had to pass their nights sitting on them; and food so scarce that one small biscuit sold for two dollars, and seven dollars was refused for a chicken."
"It was dreadful, dreadful indeed!" said Mrs. Lilburn.
"Yet not so bad as it would have been to let Spain continue her outrageous cruelty to the poor Cubans," said Evelyn.
"No," said Lucilla, "I should be sorry, indeed, to have to render up the account that Weyler and the rest of them will in the Judgment Day."
"I think he is worse than a savage," sighedMrs. Lilburn. "I should think if he had any heart or conscience he would never be able to enjoy a morsel of food for thinking of the multitude of poor creatures—men, women and children—he has starved to death."
Ourfriends were favored with pleasant weather on their voyage from Porto Rico to Cuba. All were gathered upon deck when they came in sight of "The Pearl (or Queen) of the Antillies," "The Ever-faithful Isle," as the Spaniards were wont to call it, and they gazed upon it with keen interest; an interest that deepened as they drew near the scene of Schley's victory over the Spanish fleet.
Captain Raymond and Dr. Harold Travilla, being the only ones of their number who had visited the locality before, explained the whereabouts of each American vessel, when, on that Sunday morning of July third, that cloud of smoke told the watchers on the American ships that the enemy was coming out.
Every one in the little company had heard the battle described; therefore, a very brief account, accompanying the pointing out of the progress of different vessels during the fight, and where each of the Spanish ones came to her end, was all that was needed.
While they looked and talked, the "Dolphin" moved slowly along that they might get a view of every part of the scene of action on that day of naval victory in the cause of the down-trodden and oppressed Cubans.
That accomplished, they returned to the neighborhood of Santiago, and entering the narrow channel which gives entrance to its bay, passed on into and around that, gazing on the steep hills that come down to the water's edge, on Morro and the remains of earthworks and batteries.
They did not care to go into the city, but steamed out into the sea again and made the circuit of the island, keeping near enough to the shore to get a pretty good view of most of the places they cared to see—traveling by day and anchoring at night.
"Having completed the circuit of Cuba, where do we go next, Captain?" asked Mr. Dinsmore, as the party sat on deck in the evening of the day on which they had completed their trip around the island.
"If it suits the wishes of all my passengers, we will go down to Jamaica, pay a little visit there, pass on in a southeasterly direction to Trinidad, then perhaps to Brazil," Captain Raymond said, in reply, then asked to hear what each one present thought of the plan.
Every one seemed well pleased, and it was decided that they should start the next morning for Jamaica. The vessel was moving the next morning before many of her passengers were out of their berths. Elsie Raymond noticed it as soon as she woke, and hastened with her toilet that she might join her father on deck. She was always glad to be with him, and she wanted to see whatever they might pass on their way across the sea to Jamaica. The sun was shining, but it was still early when she reached the deck, where shefound both her father and eldest sister. Both greeted her with smiles and caresses.
"Almost as early a bird as your sister Lu," the Captain said, patting the rosy cheek and smiling down into the bright eyes looking up so lovingly into his.
"Yes, papa, I want to see all I can on the way to Jamaica. Will we get there to-day?"
"I think we will if the 'Dolphin' does her work according to her usual fashion. But what do you know about Jamaica, the island we are bound for?"
"Not so very much, papa—only—she belongs to England, doesn't she, papa?"
"Yes. Her name means 'land of wood and water,' and she lies about ninety miles to the south of Cuba."
"Is she a very big island, papa?"
"Nearly as large as our State of Tennessee. Crossing it from east to west is a heavily-timbered ridge called the Blue Mountains, and there are many streams of water which flow from them down to the shores. None of them is navigable, however, exceptthe Black River, which affords a passage for small craft for thirty miles into the interior."
"Shall we find a good harbor for our 'Dolphin,' father?" asked Lucilla.
"Yes, indeed! Excellent harbors are everywhere to be found. The best is a deep, capacious basin in the southeast quarter of the island. It washes the most spacious and fertile of the plains between the hill country and the coast. Around this inlet and within a few miles of each other are all the towns of any considerable size—Spanish Town, Port Royal, and Kingston."
"Is it a very hot place, papa?" asked the little girl.
"On the coast; but much cooler up on those mountains I spoke of. The climate is said to be very healthful, and many invalids go there from our United States."
"They have earthquakes there sometimes, have they not, father?" asked Lucilla.
"They are not quite unheard of," he replied; "in 1692 there was one which almostoverwhelmed Port Royal; but that being more than two hundred years ago, need not, I think, add much to our anxieties in visiting the island."
"That's a long, long time," said Elsie, thoughtfully, "so I hope they won't have one while we are there. Is it a fertile island, papa? I hope they have plenty of good fruits."
"They have fruits of both tropical and temperate climates; they have spices, vanilla and many kinds of food plants; they have sugar and coffee; they export sugar, rum, pineapples and other fruits; also cocoa, ginger, pimento and logwood and cochineal."
"It does seem to be very fruitful," said Elsie. "Have they railroads and telegraphs, papa?"
"Two hundred miles of railroad and seven hundred of telegraph. There are coast batteries, a volunteer force and a British garrison; and there are churches and schools."
"Oh, all that seems very nice! I hope we will have as good a time there as we had at Bermuda."
"I hope so, daughter," he said. "Ah, here come the rest of our little family and your Uncle Harold."
Affectionate good-mornings were exchanged; then the talk ran on the subject uppermost in all their minds—Jamaica, and what its attractions were likely to be for them.
"I have been thinking," said Harold, "that some spot on the central heights may prove a pleasant and beneficial place for some weeks' sojourn for all of us, the ailing ones in particular."
At that moment his mother joined them and he broached the same idea to her.
"If we find a pleasant and comfortable lodging place I am willing to try it," she replied, in her usual cheery tones.
At that moment came the call to breakfast; speedily responded to by all the passengers.Appetites and viands were alike good and the chat was cheerful and lively.
The weather was clear and warm enough to make the deck, where a gentle breeze could be felt, the most agreeable lounging-place, as well as the best, for enjoying the view of the sea and any passing vessel.
As usual, the children presently found their way to their Grandma Elsie's side and asked for a story or some information concerning the island toward which they were journeying.
"You know something about it, I suppose?" she said, inquiringly.
"Yes, ma'am; papa was telling me this morning about the mountains and towns, and harbors, and fruits and other things that they raise," said Elsie; "but there wasn't time for him to tell everything; so won't you please tell us something of its history?"
"Yes, dear; grandma is always glad to give you both pleasure and information. Jamaica was discovered by Columbus duringhis second voyage, in 1494. The Spaniards took possession of it in 1509."
"Had they any right to, grandma?" asked Ned.
"No, no more than the Indians would have had to cross the ocean to Europe and take possession of their country. And the Spaniards not only robbed the Indians of their lands but abused them so cruelly that it is said that in fifty years the native population had entirely disappeared. In 1655 the British took the island from Spain, and some years later it was ceded to England by the treaty of Madrid in 1670."
"And does England own it yet, grandma?" asked Elsie.
"Yes; there has been some fighting on the island—trouble between the whites and the negroes—but things are going smoothly now."
"So that we may hope to have a good time there, I suppose," said Ned.
"Yes, I think we may," replied his grandma. "But haven't we had a good time in allour journeying about old ocean and her islands?"
To that question both children answered with a hearty, "Yes indeed, grandma."
Thenext morning found the "Dolphin" lying quietly at anchor in the harbor in the inlet around which are the principal towns of the island—Spanish Town, Port Royal and Kingston.
All were well enough to enjoy little excursions about the island, in carriages or cars, and some weeks were spent by them in the mountains, all finding the air there very pleasant and the invalids evidently gaining in health and strength.
The change had been a rest to them all, but early in March they were glad to return to the yacht and set sail for Trinidad, which they had decided should be their next halting place. It was a pleasant morning and, as usual, old and young were gathered upon the deck, the two children near their grandmother.
"Grandma," said Elsie, "I suppose you know all about Trinidad, where papa is taking us now, and if it won't trouble you to do so, I'd like very much to have you tell Ned and me about it."
"I shall not feel it any trouble to do so, little granddaughter," was the smiling rejoinder, "and if you and Ned grow weary of the subject before I am through, you have only to say so and I will stop.
"Trinidad is the most southerly of the West India Islands and belongs to Great Britain. It was first discovered by Columbus in 1498 and given the name of Trinidad by him, because three mountain summits were first seen from the masthead. But it was not until 1532 that a permanent settlement was made there. In 1595 its chief town, San Josede Oruha, was burned by Sir Walter Raleigh; but the island continued in Spain's possession till 1797, when it fell into the hands of the British and it was made theirs by treaty in 1802."
"How large is it, grandma?" asked Ned.
"About fifty miles long and from thirty to thirty-five wide. It is very near to Venezuela, separated from it by the Gulf of Paria, and the extreme points on the west coast are only the one thirteen and the other nine miles from it. The channel to the north is called the Dragon's Mouth; it is the deepest; the southern channel is shallow, owing to the deposits brought down by the Orinoco, and the gulf, too, is growing more shallow from the same cause."
"Are there mountains, grandma?" asked Ned.
"Yes; mountains not so high as those on some of the other Caribbean islands; they extend along the northern coast from east to west; they have forests of stately trees and along their lower edges overhanging mangroves, dipping into the sea. There is a double-peaked mountain called Tamana, and from it one can look down upon the lovely and fertile valleys and plains of the other part of the island. There are some tolerably large rivers and several good harbors."
"Are there towns on it, grandma?" asked Ned.
"Yes; the chief one, called Port of Spain, is one of the finest towns in the West Indies. It was first built of wood, and was burned down in 1808, but has since been rebuilt of stone found in the neighborhood. The streets are long, wide, clean, well paved and shaded with trees.
"San Fernando is the name of another town, and there are, besides, two or three pretty villages. Near one of them, called La Brea, is a pitch lake composed of bituminous matter floating on fresh water."
"I don't think I'd want to take a sail on it," said Elsie. "Trinidad is a warm place, isn't it, grandma?"
"Yes; the climate is hot and moist; it is said to be the hottest of the West India islands."
"Then I'm glad it is winter now when we are going there."
"Yes; I think winter is the best season for paying a visit there," said her grandma.
"I suppose we are going to one of the towns," said Ned. "Aren't we, papa?" as his father drew near.
"Yes, to the capital, called Port of Spain. I was there some years ago. Shall I tell you about it?"
"Oh, yes sir! please do," answered both children, and a number of the grown people drew near to listen.
"It is a rather large place, having some thirty or forty thousand inhabitants. Outside of the town is a large park, where there are villas belonging to people in good circumstances. They are pleasant, comfortable-looking dwellings with porches and porticoes, gardens in front or lawns with many varieties of trees—bread-fruit, oranges, mangoes, pawpaws—making a pleasant shade and bearing delightful fruits; and there is a great abundance of flowers."
"All that sounds very pleasant, Captain," said Mr. Lilburn, "but I fear there must be some unpleasant things to encounter."
"Mosquitoes, for instance?" queried the Captain. "Yes, I remember Froude's description of one that he says he killed and examined through a glass. Bewick, with the inspiration of genius, had drawn his exact likeness as the devil—a long black stroke for a body, a nick for a neck, horns on the head, and a beak for a mouth, spindle arms, and longer spindle legs, two pointed wings and a tail. He goes on to say that he had been warned to be on the lookout for scorpions, centipedes, jiggers, and land crabs, which would bite him if he walked slipperless over the floor in the dark. Of those he met none; but the mosquito of Trinidad was enough by himself, being, for malice, mockery, and venom of tooth and trumpet, without a match in the world."
"Dear me, papa, how can anybody live there?" exclaimed Grace.
"Froude speaks of seeking safety in tobacco-smoke," replied her father, with a quizzical smile. "You might do that; or try the only other means of safety mentioned byhim—hiding behind the lace curtains with which every bed is provided."
"But we can't stay in bed all the time, papa," exclaimed Elsie.
"No, but most of the time when you are out of bed you keep off the mosquitoes with a fan."
"And if we find them quite unendurable we can sail away from Trinidad," said Violet.
"Perhaps we are coming to the island at a better time of the year than Froude did, as regards the mosquito plague," remarked Grandma Elsie.
"Ah, mother, I am afraid they are bad and troublesome all the year round in these warm regions," said Harold.
"But we can take refuge behind nets a great deal of the time while we are in the mosquito country, and hurry home when we tire of that," remarked Violet.
"Ah, that is a comfortable thought," said Mr. Lilburn. "And we are fortunate people in having such homes as ours to return to."
"Yes, we can all say amen to that," said Chester, and Lucilla started the singing of "Home, Sweet Home," all the others joining in with feeling.
The next morning found the "Dolphin" lying quietly in the harbor of the Port of Spain in the great shallow lake known as the Gulf of Paria, and soon after breakfast all went ashore to visit the city.
They enjoyed walking about the wide, shaded streets, and park, gazing with great interest upon the strange and beautiful trees, shrubs and flowers; there were bread-fruit trees, pawpaws, mangoes and oranges, and large and beautiful flowers of many colors. Some of our friends had read Froude's account of the place and wanted to visit it.
From there they went to the Botanical Gardens and were delighted with the variety of trees and plants entirely new to them.
Before entering the place, the young people were warned not to taste any of the strange fruits, and Grandma Elsie and the Captain kept watch over them lest the warningshould be forgotten or unheeded; though Elsie was never known to disobey father or mother, and it was a rare thing, indeed, for Ned to do so. They were much interested in all they saw, the glen full of nutmeg trees among the rest; they were from thirty to forty feet high, with leaves of brilliant green, something like the leaves of an orange, folded one over the other, and their lowest branches swept the ground. There were so many strange and beautiful trees, plants and flowers to be seen and admired that our friends spent more than an hour in those gardens.
Then they hired conveyances and drove about wherever they thought the most attractive scenes were to be found. They were interested in the cabins of the negroes spread along the road on either side and overhung with trees—tamarinds, bread-fruit, orange, limes, citrons, plantains and calabash trees; out of the last named they make their cups and water-jugs.
There were cocoa-bushes, too, loaded withpurple or yellow pods; there were yams in the garden, cows in the paddocks also; so that it was evident that abundance of good, nourishing, appetizing food was provided them with very little exertion on their part.
Captain Raymond and his party spent some weeks in Trinidad and its harbor—usually passing the night aboard the "Dolphin"—traveling about the island in cars or carriages, visiting all the interesting spots, going up into the mountains and enjoying the view from thence of the lovely, fertile valleys and plains. Then they sailed around the island and anchored again in the harbor of Port of Spain for the night and to consider and decide upon their next movement.
"Shall we go up the Orinoco?" asked the Captain, addressing the company, as all sat together on the deck.
There was a moment of silence, each waiting for the others to speak, then Mr. Dinsmore said: "Give us your views on the subject, Captain. Is there much to attract usthere? To interest and instruct? I am really afraid that is a part of my geography in which I am rather rusty."
"It is one of the great rivers of South America," said the Captain. "It rises in one of the chief mountain chains of Guiana. It is a crooked stream—flowing west-south-west, then south-west, then north-west, then north-north-east and after that in an eastward direction to its mouth. The head of uninterrupted navigation is seven hundred and seventy-seven miles from its mouth. Above that point there are cataracts.
"It has a great many branches, being joined, it is said, by four hundred and thirty-six rivers and upward of two thousand streams; so it drains an area of from two hundred and fifty thousand to six hundred and fifty thousand square miles, as variously estimated. It begins to form its delta one hundred and thirty miles from its mouth, by throwing off a branch which flows northward into the Atlantic. It has several navigablemouths, and the main stream is divided by a line of islands, into two channels, each two miles wide. The river is four miles wide at Bolivar, a town more than two hundred and fifty miles from the mouth of the river, which is there three hundred and ninety feet deep."
"Why, it's a grand, big river," said Chester. "Much obliged for the information, Captain. I had forgotten, if I ever knew, that it was so large, and with its many tributaries drained so large a territory."
"And do you wish to visit it—or a part of it?" queried the Captain. "How is it with you, Cousins Annis and Ronald?"
"I am willing—indeed, should prefer—to leave the decision to other members of our party," replied Mrs. Lilburn, and her husband expressed the same wish to let others decide the question.
"What do you say, Grandma Dinsmore?" asked Violet. "I think you look as if you would rather not go."
"And that is how I feel—thinking of themosquitoes," returned the old lady, with a slight laugh.
"They certainly are very objectionable," said the Captain. "I can't say that I am at all desirous to try them myself. And I doubt if they are more scarce on the Amazon than on the Orinoco. One traveler there tells us, 'At night it was quite impossible to sleep for mosquitoes; they fell upon us by myriads, and without much piping came straight to our faces as thick as raindrops in a shower. The men crowded into the cabins and tried to expel them by smoke from burnt rags, but it was of little avail, though we were half suffocated by the operation.'"
"That certainly does not sound very encouraging, my dear," said Violet.
"The Amazon is a grand river, I know," said Harold, "but it would not pay to visit it under so great a drawback to one's comfort; and I am very sure encountering such pests would be by no means beneficial to any one of my patients."
"And this one of your patients would notbe willing to encounter them, even if such were the prescription of her physician," remarked Grace, in a lively tone.
"Nor would this older one," added Grandma Elsie, in playful tones.
"Then we will consider the Orinoco as tabooed," said the Captain; "and I suppose we shall have to treat the Amazon in the same way, as it was at a place upon its banks that one of the writers I just quoted had his most unpleasant experience with the mosquitoes."
"Well, my dear, if there is a difference of opinion and choice among us—some preferring scenery even with mosquitoes, others no scenery unless it could be had without mosquitoes—suppose we divide our forces—one set land and the other remain on board and journey on up the river."
"Ah! and which set will you join, little wife?" he asked, with playful look and tone.
"Whichever one my husband belongs to," she answered. "Man and wife are not to be separated."
"Suppose we take a vote on the question and settle it at once," said Lucilla.
"A good plan, I think," said Harold.
"Yes," assented the Captain. "Cousins Annis and Ronald, please give us your wishes in regard to rivers and mosquitoes."
"I admire the rivers, but not the mosquitoes, and would rather do without both than have both," laughed Annis, and her husband added, "And my sentiments on the subject coincide exactly with those of my wife."
Then the question went round the circle, and it appeared that every one thought a sight of the great rivers and the scenery on their banks would be too dearly purchased by venturing in among the clouds of blood-thirsty mosquitoes.
"I'm glad," exclaimed Ned; "for I'm not a bit fond of mosquitoes; especially not of having them take their meals off me. But I'd like to see those big rivers. Papa, won't you tell us something about the Amazon?"
"Yes," said the Captain; "it has two othernames—Maranon and Orellana. It is a very large river and has a big mouth—one hundred and fifty miles wide, and the tide enters there and goes up the stream five hundred miles.
"From the wide mouth of the Amazon, where it empties into the ocean, its water can be distinguished from the other—that of the ocean—for fifty leagues. The Amazon is so large and has so many tributaries that it drains two million, five hundred square miles of country. The Amazon is the king of rivers. It rises in the western range of the Andes, and is little better than a mountain torrent till it has burst through the gorges of the eastern range of the chain, where it is overhung by peaks that tower thousands of feet above its bed. But within three hundred miles from the Pacific is a branch, Huallagais, large enough and deep enough for steamers, and a few miles farther down the Amazon is navigable for vessels drawing five feet; and it grows deeper and deeper and more and more available for large vessels asit rolls on toward the ocean. The outlet of this mighty river is a feeder of the Gulf Stream. It is only since 1867 that the navigation of the Amazon has been open, but now regular lines of steamers ply between its mouth and Yurimaguas on the Huallaga."
"Are there not many and important exports sent down the Amazon?" asked Mr. Dinsmore.
"There are, indeed," replied the Captain, "and the fauna of the waters have proved wonderful. Agassiz found there, in five months, thirteen hundred species of fish, nearly a thousand of them new, and about twenty new genera. The Vacca marina, the largest fish inhabiting fresh waters, and the Acara, which carries its young in its mouth, when there is danger, are the denizens of the Amazon."
"Oh," exclaimed Elsie, "I'd like to see that fish with its babies in its mouth."
"And I should be very sorry to have to carry my children in that way—even if therelative sizes of my mouth and children made it possible," said her mother.
"Brazil's a big country, isn't it, papa?" asked Ned.
"Yes," said his father; "about as large as the United States would be without Alaska."
"Did Columbus discover it, and the Spaniards settle it, papa?" he asked.
"In the year 1500 a companion of Columbus landed at Cape Augustine, near Pernambuco, and from there sailed along the coast as far as the Orinoco," replied the Captain. "In the same year another Portuguese commander, driven to the Brazilian coast by adverse winds, landed, and taking possession in the name of his monarch named the country Terra da Vera Crux. The first permanent settlement was made by the Portuguese in 1531 on the island of St. Vincent. Many settlements were made and abandoned, because of the hostility of the natives and the lack of means, and a Huguenot colony, established on the bay of Rio de Janeiro, in 1555, was broken up by the Portuguese in1567 when they founded the present capital, Rio de Janeiro.
"But it is hardly worth while to rehearse all the history of the various attempts to take possession of Brazil—attempts made by Dutch, Portuguese and Spanish. French invasion of Portugal, in 1807, caused the royal family to flee to Brazil, and it became the royal seat of government until 1821, when Dom John VI. went back to Portugal, leaving his eldest son, Dom Pedro, as Prince Regent.
"The independence of Brazil was proclaimed September 7, 1822; and on October 12th, he was crowned emperor as Dom Pedro I. He was arbitrary, and that made him so unpopular that he found it best to abdicate, which he did in 1831 in favor of his son, then only a child. That boy was crowned in 1841, at the age of fifteen, as Dom Pedro II."
"Gold is to be found in Brazil, is it not, papa?" asked Grace.
"Yes," he said, "that country is rich inminerals and precious stones. Gold, always accompanied with silver, is found in many of the provinces, and in Minas-Geraes is especially abundant, and in that and two other of the provinces, diamonds are found; and the opal, amethyst, emerald, ruby, sapphire, tourmaline, topaz and other precious stones are more or less common."
"Petroleum also is obtained in one or two of the provinces, and there are valuable phosphate deposits on some of the islands," remarked Mr. Dinsmore, as the Captain paused, as if he had finished what he had to say in reply to Grace's question.
"Papa," asked Ned, "are there lions and tigers and monkeys in the woods?"
"There are dangerous wild beasts—the jaguar being the most common and formidable. And there are other wild, some of them dangerous, beasts—the tiger cat, red wolf, tapir, wild hog, Brazilian dog, or wild fox, capybara or water hog, paca, three species of deer, armadillos, sloths, ant-eaters, oppossums, coatis, water-rats, otters and porcupines.Squirrels, hares and rabbits are plentiful. There are many species of monkeys, too, and several kinds of bats—vampires among them. On the southern plains, large herds of wild horses are to be found. Indeed, Brazil can boast a long list of animals. One writer says that he found five hundred species of birds in the Amazon valley alone, about thirty distinct species of parrots and twenty varieties of humming-birds. The largest birds are the ouira, a large eagle; the rhea, or American ostrich; and the cariama. Along the coasts or in the forest are to be found frigate birds, snowy herons, toucans, ducks, wild peacocks, turkeys, geese and pigeons. Among the smaller birds are the oriole, whippoorwill and the uraponga, or bell bird."
"Those would be pleasant enough to meet," said Violet, "but there are plenty of most unpleasant creatures—snakes, for instance."
"Yes," assented the Captain; "there are many serpents; the most venomous are thejararaca and the rattlesnake. The boa-constrictor and anaconda grow very large, and there are at least three species of cobra noted as dangerous. There are many alligators, turtles and lizards. The rivers, lakes and coast-waters literally swarm with fish. Agassiz found nearly two thousand species, many of them such as are highly esteemed for food."
"And they have big mosquitoes, too, you have told us, papa," said Elsie. "Many other bugs, too, I suppose?"
"Yes; big beetles, scorpions and spiders, many kinds of bees, sand-flies and musical crickets, destructive ants, the cochineal insect and the pium, a tiny insect whose bite is poisonous and sometimes dangerous."
"Please tell us about the woods, papa," said Ned.
"Yes; the forests of the Amazon valley are said to be the largest in the world, having fully four hundred species of trees. In marshy places and along streams reeds,grasses and water plants grow in tangled masses, and in the forests the trees crowd each other and are draped with parasitic vines. Along the coasts mangroves, mangoes, cocoas, dwarf palms, and the Brazil-wood are noticeable. In one of the southern provinces more than forty different kinds of trees are valuable for timber. On the Amazon and its branches there are an almost innumerable variety of valuable trees; among them the itauba or stonewood, so named for its durability; the cassia, the cinnamon-tree, the banana, the lime, the myrtle, the guava, the jacaranda or rosewood, the Brazilian bread-fruit, whose large seeds are used for food, and many others too numerous to mention; among them the large and lofty cotton-tree, the tall white-trunked seringa or rubber-tree, which furnishes the gum of commerce, and the three or four hundred species of palms. One of those is called the carnaubu palm; it is probably the most valuable, for every part of it is useful, from the wax of its leaves to its edible pith. Another is thepiassaba palm, whose bark is clothed with a loose fiber used for coarse textile fabrics and for brooms."
"Why, papa, that's a very useful tree," was little Elsie's comment upon that bit of information. "Are there fruits and flowers in those forests, papa?" she asked.
"Yes; those I have already mentioned, with figs, custard-apples and oranges. Some European fruits—olives, grapes and water-melons of fine flavor are cultivated in Brazil."
"If it wasn't for the fierce wild animals and snakes, it would be a nice country to live in, I think," she said; "but taking everything into consideration I very much prefer our own country."
"Ah, is that so? Who shall say that you won't change your mind after a few weeks spent in Brazil?" returned her father, with an amused look.
"You wouldn't want me to, I know, papa," she returned, with a pleasant little laugh, "for I am very sure you want your childrento love their own country better than any other in the world."
"Yes, my child, I do," he said. Then turning to his older passengers and addressing them in general, "I think," he said, "if it is agreeable to you all, we will make a little stop at Pará, the maritime emporium of the Amazon. I presume you would all like to see that city?"
All seemed pleased with the idea, and it was presently settled that that should be their next stopping-place. They all enjoyed their life upon the yacht, but an occasional halt and visit to the shore made an agreeable variety.