248 I N A G U A 



certain of her colonials, a very high type and Mr. J. V. Malone, 

 appointed administrator of Inagua after the uprising, was 

 typical of the men that make England's far-flung empire pos- 

 sible. Like the Ericksons he placed a considerable amount of 

 affection into the affairs of his island. 



There was another surprise. My old acquaintances the 

 Daxons had prospered. Religion had become good business. I 

 met them both the morning after my arrival. Thomas was ar- 

 rayed in a magnificent yellow suit with half-inch stripes run- 

 ning the length of it and a white "lion hunter's hat." David 

 looked equally sublime in a race-track check of mail order 

 origin purchased via the out-island schooner. Thomas had 

 reached the imposing position of "Bishop of Haiti" and, as he 

 gravely assured me, no longer had to work. Late one evening 

 I strolled down to their church building and listened outside, 

 hoping to hear another sermon about "de blessin" but was dis- 

 appointed, for the service was ingeniously devised to make 

 the collection as convenient and as pleasant as possible. This 

 was achieved by permitting the congregation to dance and 

 clap around the pews in company to the boom of drums and 

 the rattle of gourds. Everyone was having a grand time and 

 the file was arranged to pass the collection box each time 

 around. An occasional rattle of coppers denoted the success 

 of the scheme. The old sincerity of the Daxons seemed lack- 

 ing. There was no question, however, of the whole-hearted 

 and evident enjoyment of the congregation. They appeared to 

 fully appreciate the privilege of dancing in church. 



Once beyond the settlement and the tiny sphere of influence 

 of the energetic Ericksons, the island remained as it had been 

 since Columbus found the New World. Steeped in briUiant 

 sunshine, blasted by the wind, it appeared exactly as I had left 

 it. When I contemplated the hunt for the nesting place of the 

 flamingo my hopes sank. Somewhere in the 800 square miles 



