:;.")S CUBA AND POHTO RICO 



of the Caribbees, the Pitons, al the southern end of St. 



Lucia, are the most remarkable. These are two immense 

 pointed peaks which rise from the sea-level like great 

 dragons' teeth to 2720 and 2680 feet respectively, seeming 

 as vertical as the peaks of the Matterhorn. Their slopes 

 are fully sixty degrees, and they are covered densely by 

 vegetation. These peculiar forms are not craters, but may 

 be old volcanic stocks. The beautiful coves and bays are 

 also very picturesque ; dense forests, fertile valleys, ver- 

 dant plains, frowning precipices, lively rivers, and deep 

 ravines, the whole covered by a perfect mass of deciduous 

 vegetation, make up the wonderful landscape. 



The vegetation and climate are very similar to those of 

 Martinique. In fact, St. Lucia, Martinique, Dominica, 

 Basse-Terre (Guadeloupe), and Montserrat are all so much 

 alike in configuration, climate, and vegetation, that I can- 

 not recall a single distinguishing feature on any of them. 

 They constitute the summits of a continuous mountain 

 a great sierra made up of the same masses of old volcanic 

 tuffs and basalts, just as one of the long sierras of our 

 Southwest deserts would appear if its lower passes were 

 flooded. 



St. Lucia, like Dominica and Martinique, is a French 

 island which has several times passed into English pos- 

 session, finally becoming a permanent holding of the Eng- 

 lish after the imperial wars, on account of its excellent 

 harbor. It is now under the general government of the 

 Windward Islands, with a local legislative council, and is 

 the strictest pattern of a crown colony, which has the 

 usual excellent administrative features, accompanied by 

 high taxation and economic decay. There are thirty- 

 seven primary schools in the island, but a great drawback 

 to educational progress is the French patois spoken by the 

 natives. 



The soil, like that of all the other Caribbees, is rich 

 beyond description ; one third of the island is covered with 

 superb forests, inhabited, like those of Martinique, by the 



