246 I N A G U A 



the harvesting of sea salt as its basis. Inagua was chosen because 

 of its highly saline sea water and because of the brilliant year- 

 round sunlight and sweeping trade winds which are necessary 

 for the evaporation of the brine. From the very beginning 

 they were faced with tremendous obstacles. The old salt beds 

 had to be completely reconditioned, ruined houses had to be 

 repaired and made livable, a machine shop had to be installed 

 —one of their expensive loading trucks fell into the sea while 

 being transported from ship to shore and had to be salvaged 

 from the depths— laborers had to be trained and educated to 

 the new scheme of things, and a power station created out of 

 thin air— a considerable task for seven pairs of hands even as 

 hardworking as those of the Ericksons and their colleagues. 

 The mechanical difficulties were conquered step by step but 

 the Ericksons reckoned without one condition— the accumu- 

 lated poisons of years of monotonous insularity. 



The Inaguans, some of them, had slipped too far down the 

 scale of decay and degeneration. In spite of the revivifying 

 and clean energy of the Ericksons, the smouldering tide of dis- 

 content and frustrations swelled into dangerous proportions 

 and burst into flame, first against the island's newly appointed 

 commissioner who was wounded with a shotgun and then 

 against the Ericksons who came to his rescue. They were be- 

 sieged in their home and their new machine shop and several 

 other buildings were burned. One employee was killed and 

 Jim Erickson was shot. They made a break for the boats to 

 stop a passing ship and drifted all the way to Cuba when their 

 engine broke down. In one brief hour all their efforts went 

 up in smoke. 



Undaunted they began all over again and a new order has 

 come to Inagua. The old resentments are fairly well burned 

 out and a new cheerfulness is beginning to make itself ap- 

 parent. If the Ericksons are given half a chance Mathewtown 



