CHAPTER XII.
Our friends were favored with pleasant weather on their voyage fromPorto Rico to Cuba. All were gathered upon deck when they came in sightof "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 keeninterest; an interest that deepened as they drew near the scene ofSchley's victory over the Spanish fleet.
Captain Raymond and Dr. Harold Travilla, being the only ones of theirnumber who had visited the locality before, explained the whereaboutsof each American vessel, when, on that Sunday morning of July third,that cloud of smoke told the watchers on the American ships that theenemy was coming out.
Every one in the little company had heard the battle described;therefore, a very brief account, accompanying the pointing out of theprogress of different vessels during the fight, and where each of theSpanish ones came to her end, was all that was needed.
While they looked and talked, the "Dolphin" moved slowly along thatthey might get a view of every part of the scene of action on that dayof naval victory in the cause of the down-trodden and oppressed Cubans.
That accomplished, they returned to the neighborhood of Santiago, andentering the narrow channel which gives entrance to its bay, passed oninto and around that, gazing on the steep hills that come down to thewater'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 seaagain and made the circuit of the island, keeping near enough to theshore to get a pretty good view of most of the places they cared tosee--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 dayon which they had completed their trip around the island.
"If it suits the wishes of all my passengers, we will go down toJamaica, pay a little visit there, pass on in a southeasterly directionto 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 shouldstart the next morning for Jamaica. The vessel was moving the nextmorning before many of her passengers were out of their berths. ElsieRaymond noticed it as soon as she woke, and hastened with her toiletthat she might join her father on deck. She was always glad to bewith him, and she wanted to see whatever they might pass on their wayacross the sea to Jamaica. The sun was shining, but it was still earlywhen she reached the deck, where she found both her father and eldestsister. Both greeted her with smiles and caresses.
"Almost as early a bird as your sister Lu," the Captain said, pattingthe rosy cheek and smiling down into the bright eyes looking up solovingly into his.
"Yes, papa, I want to see all I can on the way to Jamaica. Will we getthere to-day?"
"I think we will if the 'Dolphin' does her work according to her usualfashion. But what do you know about Jamaica, the island we are boundfor?"
"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 aboutninety 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 towest is a heavily-timbered ridge called the Blue Mountains, and thereare many streams of water which flow from them down to the shores. Noneof them is navigable, however, except the Black River, which affords apassage 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 bestis a deep, capacious basin in the southeast quarter of the island. Itwashes the most spacious and fertile of the plains between the hillcountry and the coast. Around this inlet and within a few miles of eachother are all the towns of any considerable size--Spanish Town, PortRoyal, 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. Theclimate is said to be very healthful, and many invalids go there fromour United States."
"They have earthquakes there sometimes, have they not, father?" askedLucilla.
"They are not quite unheard of," he replied; "in 1692 there was onewhich almost overwhelmed Port Royal; but that being more than twohundred years ago, need not, I think, add much to our anxieties invisiting the island."
"That's a long, long time," said Elsie, thoughtfully, "so I hope theywon't have one while we are there. Is it a fertile island, papa? I hopethey have plenty of good fruits."
"They have fruits of both tropical and temperate climates; they havespices, vanilla and many kinds of food plants; they have sugar andcoffee; they export sugar, rum, pineapples and other fruits; alsococoa, ginger, pimento and logwood and cochineal."
"It does seem to be very fruitful," said Elsie. "Have they railroadsand telegraphs, papa?"
"Two hundred miles of railroad and seven hundred of telegraph. Thereare coast batteries, a volunteer force and a British garrison; andthere are churches and schools."
"Oh, all that seems very nice! I hope we will have as good a time thereas we had at Bermuda."
"I hope so, daughter," he said. "Ah, here come the rest of our littlefamily and your Uncle Harold."
Affectionate good-mornings were exchanged; then the talk ran on thesubject uppermost in all their minds--Jamaica, and what its attractionswere likely to be for them.
"I have been thinking," said Harold, "that some spot on the centralheights 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 toher.
"If we find a pleasant and comfortable lodging place I am willing totry it," she replied, in her usual cheery tones.
At that moment came the call to breakfast; speedily responded to by allthe passengers. Appetites and viands were alike good and the chat wascheerful and lively.
The weather was clear and warm enough to make the deck, where a gentlebreeze could be felt, the most agreeable lounging-place, as well as thebest, for enjoying the view of the sea and any passing vessel.
As usual, the children presently found their way to their GrandmaElsie's side and asked for a story or some information concerning theisland 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 andtowns, and harbors, and fruits and other things that they raise," saidElsie; "but there wasn't time for him to tell everything; so won't youplease tell us something of its history?"
"Yes, dear; grandma is always glad to give you both pleasure andinformation. Jamaica was discovered by Columbus during his secondvoyage, 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 toEurope and take possession of their country. And the Spaniards notonly robbed the Indians of their lands but abused them so cruelly thatit is said that in fifty years the native population had entirelydisappeared. In 1655 the British took the island from Spain, and someyears 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 thewhites 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 goodtime in all our journeying about old ocean and her islands?"
To that question both children answered with a hearty, "Yes indeed,grandma."
Elsie's Winter Trip Page 12