A. E. Verrill — The Bermuda Islands. 



443 



occasion, at least, they saved a large number of the colonists from 

 starvation (1615). But the birds were killed and robbed so reck- 

 lessly and cruelly that they were soon exterminated and no relics of 

 them remain now, except in the name of the island. Capt. John 

 Smith, in his General History of Virginia, ed. of 1629, states that 

 the egg-birds and cahows were all gone, even at that time. 



The sand flats that border this island on both sides are, at low- 

 tide, excellent localities for collecting numerous varieties of marine 

 animals that inhabit such sandy places in shallow water. A few 

 Mangroves and Blackjack trees grow here along the shore, close to 

 the road. (See plate lxxiv, fig. 1.) 



St. George's is a quaint old town with many very narrow and 

 crooked streets and odd-looking buildings, many of them very old. 

 It is said that the narrowness of the streets (fig. 16) is due to their 

 having been laid out before horses and carts were introduced here. 

 During the first fifty years of the colony, all the highways were 

 required to be only 12 feet wide for the same reason. The old St. 

 George Hotel, facing the square, is said to be one of the oldest 

 buildings on the islands. Its great beams of hewn cedar, some of 

 them about 14 inches square, are still sound, though the building is 

 supposed to be over 200 years old. 



Figure 16. — Ancient Narrow Street in St. George's. 



It looks much more like some old town of southern Europe than 

 like anything American. It was the first place settled on the 

 islands, in 1612, and was the capital for about 200 years. It is 

 partly situated along the water front of a commodious harbor and 



