CHAPTER I. 

 INTRODUCTORY. 



The Island, ns Posri'ioN and Si/k. 



The Danish West Indian island of St. Croix, or Santa Cruz, lies in the 

 northeast corner of the Caribbean Sea. 1 1 has an elonifjated form, stretching 

 Ironi east-northeast to west-southwest and measures a Irille over 22 English 

 miles in length, while its greatest breadth is only about si.x miles. Its area is 

 abcjut 80 English sq. miles, say three fourths the size of the Isle of Wight or 

 a little over one third of the size of Bornholm. 



It is the largest of the three Danish West Indian Islands, St. Thomas 

 containing about 23 English s(|. miles and St. .lohn 20- miles. Cumparing it 

 with a few of the smaller liritish islands in these seas we find that it is about 

 half the size (jf Barbadoes, three fourths the size of Antigua and a little over 

 the size of St. Kitts. 



TiiK SriiMARiNE Santa Ckiz. 



When we examine a chart of the island shewing the soundings around its 

 shores, we lind that while it rises rather abrLiptIv from the sea on the north- 

 west and west, it is bordered on all other sides by an extensive bank, nn which 

 the depth of water only at a few points along the edges exceeds 20 fathoms, 

 and is commonly very much less, and from which the descent into the deep sea 

 is steep, though not so steep as in the northwest. This bank, which on the 

 map is enclosed by the 100 fathom line, and is at least as extensive as the island 

 itself, may be looked upon as a sort of submarine Santa Cruz, and the study 

 (){ it, as we shall see later, throws a Hood of light on the story of the building 

 up of the island. 



I'-QRM 01^ TIIK IS[-.'\ND. 



TiiE Westeun' Oblong. 



The .Xeck. 



TiiE ICastern Trungle. 



