332 ( i i.a and pobto mco 



have caused greal distress among the black Laborers, who 

 arc unable to obtain holdings of their own, and in 1896 

 there were serious riots. 



St. Kilts is known as the mother colony of the ( 'aribbees. 

 Here were founded the firstFrench and English set I Lements, 

 and from this point the southern islands were gradually 

 peopled. The island was named St. Christopher by < lolum- 

 bus, but when it came into the possession of the English 

 its name was changed to St. Kitts. The aboriginal name 

 was Lia Minga. The Spaniards did not settle the island; 

 the English were the first to take possession, and they 

 were followed shortly afterward by the French. At first 

 the English and French divided the opposite ends between 

 them, and the respective domains were marked by cactus 

 hedges. Later the island underwent various attacks from 

 the Spaniards and bucaneers, and suffered by warfare 

 between the French and the English. In 1690 the English 

 settlers, aided by the forces of their country brought in for 

 the purpose, expelled the French. At present St. Kitts 

 and Nevis form one British presidency under a single ad- 

 ministration. 



Nevis, from a distance, appears, as said by Hearn, to be 

 "floating like a cloud on the purplish dark edge of the 

 sea." As one approaches, " the cloud shape enlarges and 

 heightens, without changing contour, into a wonderful 

 island." " Its outlines begin to sharpen, with faintest 

 pencilings of color. Shadowy valleys appear, spectral hol- 

 lows, phantom slopes of pallid blue or green. The appari- 

 tion is so like a mirage that it is difficult to persuade one's 

 self that one is looking at real land that it is not a dream. 

 It seems to have shaped itself suddenly out of the glowing 

 haze." It is a superb cone rising sheer from the sea to a 

 height of 3460 feet, and flanked by secondary crests. 



This little island is one of the most charming and pic- 

 turesque of all the Lesser Antilles. Although it is not in 

 the regular route of steamers, it is reached by a half -hour's 

 sail from St. Kitts. It was originally named Nievis by 



