THE VOLCANIC CAIUBBEES 329 



Saba, from which you can sec the same flag flying over St. 

 Eustatius, or beyond it the Union .lack of England on St. 

 Kitts. The last-named governmenl also owns Nevis. 

 Then comes French Guadeloupe, from which you can see 

 English Dominica, intentionally left between ii and French 

 Martinique for the purpose <>t' severing the two French 

 colonics. From Martinique southward the others are 

 British possessions, though St. Lucia is French in popula- 

 tion and tradition. 



Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Christopher, Nevis, and Mont- 

 serral constitute the northern end of the chain, and their 

 combined area is not equal to that of any one of the live 

 centra] islands. Saba and St. Eustatius are exceptional 

 features, inasmuch as they are each fine examples of old 

 volcanic cones or craters. 



The queer little Dutch island of Saba is only five square 

 miles in area. It is a single volcanic cone rising sharply 

 out of the sea to a height of nearly twenty-eight hundred. 

 feet. The volcanic rocks of the island are not solid basalts, 

 but mostly irregularly stratified tuft's. There is said to be a 

 huge mine of pure sulphur. The landing is a rocky cove, 

 and from this one must ascend a precipitous pathway 

 known as the Ladder, consisting of steps cut in the rock, to 

 the height of eight hundred feet, in order to reach the 

 principal settlement, known as the town of Bottom, which 

 is located on the floor of the old crater. Everything has 

 to be transported up to this height on the heads of the 

 people; one hundred pounds is the ordinary load. The 

 twenty-five hundred Dutch residents forming the prin- 

 cipal population are fair-skinned, rosy-cheeked, and tow- 

 beaded, and afford an interesting example of successful 

 Qorth-European colonization in the tropics. Strange to 

 Bay, their principal occupations are seafaring and boat- 

 building. The besl and stanchesi fishing-boats of the 

 Caribbees are built in this crater and lowered down the 

 mountain-side with ropes. The timber for constructing 

 the boats must also be drawn up in a similar manner. 



