[7 J WORK OF STEAMER ALBATROSS. 611 



about exhausted, salt became the leading product. From 1840 to 1852 

 there was exported from Rum Cay between 100,000 and 250,000 bushels 

 of salt yearly, reaching the highest production in 1852. The prices, paid 

 on delivery on board generally cash down, ranged from 10 to 15 cents 

 a bushel; 10 cents, was considered fair profit, 12 cents very good, and 15 

 cents extra. In November, 1853, a severe hurricane struck the island 

 and caused great damage. The sea broke into the reservoir of the salt 

 pond, injured the canals and wharves, and gave the salt business a set- 

 back from which it never fully recovered. During the Crimean war, 

 1854-'56, prices went up to 25 cents a bushel. The demand exceeded 

 the supply, for the damage inflicted by the 1853 hurricane limited the 

 production. Since that time the output of salt has gradually decreased, 

 and is now small, the shipment of a cargo being an event. This decline 

 of production was due to various causes, foremost among which were 

 competition, sharply pressed, and the protective tariff placed on salt 

 by the United States. Early in the fifties the salt ponds at Inagua and 

 Fortune Islands were taken hold of by enterprising men who com- 

 manded capital. Superior facilities for loading and quicker dispatch 

 were promised to vessels and great pains taken to secure charters in 

 the United States and at St. Thomas (at that time a noted port of call 

 for West India traders who were in search of homeward bound cargoes). 

 This turned the trade into a new channel. Then the United States 

 tariff on salt cut the price down so low that profit on the industry was 

 impossible. With the loss of this trade the population decreased, peo- 

 ple leaving the island to search for employment. In 1850 the popula- 

 tion was about 800, of whom 35 were whites. At present it is about 

 350, of whom 3 are whites. The inhabitants are as a whole an indus- 

 trious, law-abiding people. Their deliberate methods of labor are at 

 times aggravating to foreigners, yet they are capable of long-continued 

 and severe effort and will work faithfully when sure of fair wages and 

 certain pay. At plodding, steady labor they do not excel, a trait more 

 the effect of climate than anything else. In the season of salt raking 

 and the loading of vessels their quick, cheerful mode of work cannot be 

 surpassed. The strong hold the salt industry had on the laboring class 

 was due to the fact that the main work was done in large companies 

 with song and excitement, the returns were prompt and distributed 

 almost at once, whilst there were long periods when the laborer was 

 at liberty to enjoy his ease m a fine climate and work as he pleased on 

 his own little holding. Emancipation was disastrous to the proprietors, 

 but shows a strong balance in its favor in the comparative happiness and 

 comfort it has given to the colored people. Even those who mourn 

 most over the decadence of the Bahamas must admit that it has proved 

 to be the greatest good to the greatest number. At Rum Cay all busi- 

 ness is in the hands of the blacks, several of whom show marked ability, 

 integrity, and intelligence. There are several churches and a public 

 school, where the rudiments of an* English education are taught. The 



