Islands 



Hy \V I L L 1 A M H 1% 10 B V] 



Curator of Hirds. Xcw York Zo<>lof;i<'al Soi-ii'ty, and Director of tlie 'Propical Kcscarcli Station 



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Til 1 h r i CO so ven-k'a,nue 

 hoots Olio could stride from 

 the coast of the United 

 States and wiili a dozen stops reaeli 

 British (iiiiana drv-sliod. From an 

 aviator's seat, the chain of West Indies, 

 Windward, and Leeward islands curves 

 gracefully southward. ]ik(> stepping- 

 stones across a Japanese stream. If, 

 corresponding to this annihilation of 

 space, we could abbreviate minutes, 

 hours, and days as in a moving picture 

 film, we might have the edifying spec- 

 tacle of our steamer's trip reduced to a 

 succession of loops, ricocheting from 

 island after island, as a stone skijis 

 along the surface of the water, sliding 

 along those dotted lines which are so 

 characteristic a feature of coasts in our 

 school geographies, and coming to rest 

 at last with a splash in the muddy cur- 

 rent off the Georgetown stelling. 



Our steamer is preferable to the 

 seven-league trip, for we thereby omit 

 the big, cumbersome West Indies. It 

 is a curious fact that any land project- 

 ing above the surface of the water is in- 

 teresting and exciting in inverse ratio to 

 its size. The endless New Jersey shore 

 moves one not at all, while the single 

 volcanic cone of Nevis brings thrills and 

 emotions ; Cuba is wearisome as one 

 steams slowly past headland after head- 

 land, while Sombrero — a veritable 

 oceanic speck of dust — stimulates the 

 imagination to the highest pitch. It 

 seems as if our ego enlarges as our im- 

 mediate terrestrial cosmos diminishes. 

 In studying the birds of the endless 

 jungles of the South American conti- 

 nent my interest never flags, yet it never 

 quite attains the nth power of enthu- 

 siasm which accompanies the thought of 



I lie |)ossil)ility of locating every nest on 

 St. 'i'liomas. This love of small islands 

 must savor of the joy of possible com- 

 ]i]eteness in achievement, plus a king's 

 sensations, plus some of those of Adam ! 

 Any guidebook will give the area, 

 population, amusements, best hotels (or 

 the least objectionable ones), summary 

 of history, and the more important ex- 

 ports. But no one has ever attempted to 

 tell of the soul of these islands — or even 

 of the individuality of each, which is 

 very real and very distinct. Some day 

 this will be done, and the telling will be 

 very wonderful, and will use up most of 

 the superlatives in our language. For 

 my part I may only search my memory 

 for some little unimportant scenes 

 which live again when the name of the 

 island is spoken — and string these at 

 random on pages, like the chains of lit- 

 tle scarlet and black sea beans which 

 glisten in the fingers of the nogresses, 

 held up in hope of sale from their leaky 

 boats, rocking on the liquid emerald 

 around the steamer. 



St. Thomas, or How I Was Taught 

 TO Catch Lizards by a Dan- 

 ish "Flapper" 



Nearly a week had passed since we 

 began to exchange a sleety winter for 

 the velvety tropics, to traverse the lati- 

 tude spectrum of ocean from drab-gray 

 to living turquoise. As on every trip, 

 it was early morning when the long 

 undulating profile of St. Thomas reared 

 itself lazily from the sea, and almost at 

 once flocks of great-winged booby gan- 

 nets began to wheel and veer around 

 the ship, banking in a way to make an 

 aviator's blood leap. 



From a dusky monochrome the land 



^ This preliminary publication of the third cliapter of Jitnfih' Peace, soon to appear from tlie press of 

 Henry Holt & Co., is granted tlirough the courtesy of tlio Autlior and pu})lisliers. 



453 



