The Bahamas^ Old and New 109 



more. I wrote Jim and asked if he would be willing to tell 

 the story of what he and his family have done with Inagua. 

 Here it is: — 



West India Chemicals, Limited 

 Matthewtown, Inagua, Bahamas 



February /^, ip^^ 

 Dr. Thomas Barbour, 

 M. C Z., 



Harvard University, 

 Cambridge, Massachusetts. 



Dear Uncle Tommie: 



Sorry to have had to delay this but the pressure of 

 work has been considerable and time has just not been 

 available. You asked for an account of the changes 

 which have taken place here since your last visit and 

 I will try to give you a rough picture of what we have 

 had to contend with and what developments have 

 taken place. 



You were quite familiar with the physical aspect 

 of the town as it existed upon our arrival. To go with 

 the picture of an almost nonexistent standard of liv- 

 ing, we found the usual accompanying lawlessness, 

 an attitude which was shared by practically all in- 

 dividuals of the local population. Everyone was gath- 

 ered more or less tightly under the leadership of three 

 or four individuals who tried to hold local superiority 

 by means of an apathetic sort of gang warfare. The 

 one business was that of stevedoring on steamers ply- 

 ing to South America and Europe. As Matthewtown 

 was a port of call for several steamers each week, there 



