THE DAILY BRITISH WHIG, MONDAY, MARCH 17, 1913. ™ og Winter Gruises-Sungy Southern Seas PAGE TWELVE. To suggest a Winter Cruise in the Smethyst seas of the beautiful Ameri can Riviera, the delectable West Io- dies, gives a delightful thrill of an. ticipation to the most loyal subject of the Frost King, for, tyrant that he is all who live under his sway must bow in mute Scknowledgment before the mantle of white, emblem of his reigm, abd the ruddy driven blasts that pro- ~ claim his coming and blight all nature With their icy touch, ° Yet, not far afield, the gorgeous fslands of the Caribbian, a veritable riot of color amid the luxuriant brilli- of tropicai vegetation, smile an i ready welcom~ to the wayfarer from climes less favored hy nature, And it is uot only as a great winter ~ playground tbat these islands hold © our attention, but also as the scene of many romantic adventures during the centuries that followed the discovery "and settlement of the New World. "It was to Columbus and the horde that followed ©n his heels, the gate Way, not to & new continent with Its " Bldden possibilities of a great world- {power to be, but to El Derado, that mythical land of fabulous wealth that stirred the hearts of many a brave and 'bold soldier of fortune to deed of daring and danger untold. It was to 'these islands and the Spanish Main (4 \ rr ED 2 -_-- = ----- - -- 5 Lc & TAMAICA = DER ~~ capes and seascapes are not easily cliffs as the train slowly weds its way forgotten. Tropical loveliness abounds upwards, and an everchanging panor- everywhere, but particularly along the amg of remarkable beauty 1s unfolded banks of the Rie Cobre and in the/from height to height, until, thousands Castleton Gardens, and only the know- of feet below ws, the sen and sky are ledge that this is still the threshold of merged in one. Caracas, while almost the tropics spurs us on! Following Kingston comes Panama, and its big ditch now nearing com- pletion, Words are inadequate to de! scribe this colossal engineering feat, | which must be seen to be appreciated. terest him in the street life in Havana, the busy shops along the Rue Obispo and' O'Reilley with thelr irresistible appeal to the purse strings. At Santiago, too, is the famous Morro Castle, which protected Cer vera's fleet before the fateful dash that was one of the culminating events of ithe Spanish-American waf, and San Juan 1fill, where the Americans won la- memorable victory over the Spanish troops. In Jamalca, a busy English colony, having important relations with Can- ada and the United States, the general atmosphere of "something doing" is A ed ener rig Suffice it to say, there isjno feeling of (disappointment with theimagaitude of the work when first viewed, as is often the case when a long anticipated wish is 1ealized. Much mightfbe said of the dauntiess soldiers of fortune, who made the Isthmus the stage for many to take toll of the early treasure, only to fall prey to the avarice of these bold adventurers, but time and space deeds and misdeeds. The water: will Soon be turned into the big ditch,jand many of the marvels of man's in- a great contrast with the easy nonchal that the Buccaneers held indisputed title for many a year, and their his tory unfolds a tale in which the names of such arch rogues in the gentle art ot as Teach, otherwise Black Cumberiand, gowetime Earl , Capt. Kidd and their ike, are interniingled with those of Diego, 'Cortes, Balboa, Pizarro, Pouce de Peon, Sir Walter Raleigh, and many _mnother picturesque gentieman of for tune who had much to do with the dis Sovery and early settlement of this iS region. . "The first authentic record of a white #ettlement in the New World is the Colony established by Columbus on the Berth shore of Saute Domingo, in 493, and called Isabella in honor of 'Spain's reigning Queen. On the south fe at Santa Domingo, the town, Is reputed tomb of Columbus and, net established before reason doubt there Is quite as much evi for as against the site. hd 80 their bistory has been made, (of it writien'in blood, but the ot beauty of their tropical love. rémains unchanged, and the customs of bygone days have Ite yielded to the onward bh of an umromanmtic, if very fal, civilization. the life of the languorous An. forever hidden from view, tence, until to-day it is of with all the "sang froid" of{!mportant islands, commercially, in , and while the commercial in| the archipelago. of their performances,,and were want are' all. too short to chronicle their™ genuity and skill in-conquerdag nature Leaving jon the equator, has a temperate cli- jmate, due to its great altitude. The icity has much to interest but, like so many of the tropical cities of our Pan-jHearn, in nis charming sketches gath- tance dispels some of the illusions of| "Five Years In the French West In- {its fairly well-kept streets. Then|dies." It was from the harbor of Fort {comes Trinidad, another English pos-/de France, the principal city, that |session. Port of Spain, the capitalfCount de Grasse, set sail with his fleet and commercial cejitre, Is an important|to meet Rodney on the memorable distributing cen®fé of cocoa and sugar, |tWelfth of April, 1782. While La Brea, forty miles south of it| Continuing along the Leeward group and also included in. the itineraries, /andther of the English possessions, provides much of the asphalt that is|Barbadoes, * commands attention, amiliar to us In many of our streets,|Bridgetown, the capital, is one of the {American neighbors, closer acquain-lered together under the prosaic title | Like Jamaica, the tropical beauty Trinidad is beyond description, except by some master of word imagery like) ii ih 1: bit Coolie wom Bwi an Vie of the Panama Canal and the Lock Gates. of his malignity. Turning back for » moment to contemplate St. Thomas, . We are reminded of pur nursery tales, for there, on the summit of a hill aver. looking the harbor is Black Beard's Castle. In private life this Prince of Pirates was one Edward 1 each; but he preferred to wear the more pictur €Sque title, the mention of which struck terror io the heaft of many an Otherwise dauntless mariner in the early years of the eighteenth century, His end was an almost inhuman ex hibition of his brutal ce drage, for it is said he was wounded ¢we niy-five times by bullets and cultas thrusts in a hand to hand encounter, before his huge bulk succumbed to the wounds, Leaving Porto Ric 0, Nassau, in the Bahamas, and Bermuda, complete a circuit of nearly 6,500 wiles, and either of these charming English pos Sessions, oo well known to need more thas mention, offers an opportunity to extend the sojourn in the verdant Isles of the Caribbeah, for away from the Jceclad regions of less favored zones. It is, indeed, a regiongthat may aptly be described as the people's winter playground, and at our very doors. Bolivar. Jguare & (athédral Caracas 2 i. el