WEST INDIA ISLANDS. 



is 150 feet in diameter. The celebrated pitch- 

 lake, situated on a small peninsula, about eighty 

 feet above the level of the sea, is about a mile and 

 a half in circumference, and contains several 

 islands, while the country around is wooded to its 

 banks. The soil of Trinidad generally is good ; 

 the only barren parts being the sandy plains, and 

 even these occasionally afford pasturage for cattle. 

 The sugar-cane, coffee, and cocoa are cultivated 

 to a considerable extent, and the produce is 

 increasing very rapidly. Improved methods of 

 cultivation and of sugar-manufacture have been 

 adopted, and large numbers of coolies and other 

 labourers have been introduced, so that on the 

 whole the condition of this island may be described 

 as highly prosperous. 



The capital is Port of Spain, one of the finest 

 towns in the West Indies. There are also numer- 

 ous other sea-ports, which are gradually rising in 

 importance. 



Tobago. 



This island, about 32 miles long, and 9 broad, 

 was discovered by Columbus in 1496 ; and in 1580 

 it was taken possession of by the English. It was 

 afterwards settled by Dutch colonists ; and after 

 many takings and retakings, was ceded to Britain 

 at the peace of 1763. In 1781, Tobago was cap- 

 tured by the French, but was retaken in 1793 by 

 the British, with whom it has ever since remained. 

 It is principally composed of conical hills and 

 ridges, which in some parts reach the height of 

 1 800 feet. There are a number of small streams, 

 which, rising in the hills, water the low country 

 down to the sea. The natural harbours are 

 numerous, and several of them adapted for ships 

 of the largest class. The chief town is Scar- 

 borough, on the south-west side, about half a mile 

 from Fort King George, the principal military 

 station. The soil is rich, and the produce as 

 varied as in any of the other islands. 



Grenada and its Dependencies. 



This beautiful island, situated about sixty miles 

 from the American coast, is 25 miles long, and 

 12 at its greatest breadth, with an area of 133 

 square miles. It was discovered by Columbus in 

 1498, and was settled in 1650, by a party of 

 French from Martinique. It was taken by the 

 British in 1762 ; again retaken, but finally ceded 

 to Britain in 1783. This island is hilly, irregular, 

 and extremely picturesque. There are a number 

 of rivers, of no great importance for commercial 

 purposes, but all useful for irrigating the country. 

 Several hot springs exist ; and a fresh-water lake, 

 i\ miles in circumference, probably the crater of 

 an extinct volcano, is situated 1500 feet above the 

 level of the sea. The capital is St George, 

 situated within an amphitheatre of hills. The 

 harbour is spacious, protected on all sides from 

 hurricanes, and capable of containing 1000 ships. 

 Sugar, cocoa, and coffee are the principal pro- 

 ducts. 



The Grenadines are a group of small islands 

 lying between Grenada and St Vincent, the prin- 

 cipal ones being Becquia and Cariacou. Several 

 of these islands are inhabited, and produce sugar, 

 cotton, fruits, live-stock, &c. in great abund- 

 ance. 





St Vincent and its Dependencies. 



This is thought by some the most beautiful of 

 the Caribbean islands. It is about 24 miles long, 

 and 20 broad ; fifty-five miles west of Barbadoes, 

 and about the same distance from Grenada. It 

 was discovered by Columbus in 1498; was first 

 settled by the French ; captured by the British, 

 and retaken ; but finally ceded to this country ia 

 1783. Its character is decidedly volcanic. The 

 mountains are high and sharp at the top, with 

 deep valleys between. The soil is a strong loam 

 in the valleys, but of a more sandy nature on the 

 hilly ground. In 1812, St Vincent was visited by 

 a severe volcanic eruption, the matter from which 

 nearly covered the whole surface of the island. 

 Fifty persons lost their lives on the occasion. The 

 most celebrated object in this island is the Sou- 

 friere, a volcano, the crater of which is 3 miles in. 

 circumference, and 500 feet in depth. The cli- 

 mate is healthy ; but hurricanes are frequent, and 

 sometimes very destructive. There are eight 

 small islands adjoining to St Vincent, which are 

 cultivated, but do not merit particular mention 

 here. 



Barbadoes. 



This, the most easterly of the Caribbean islands, 

 was the first British settlement in the West 

 Indies. It is about 22 miles in length, and 14 in 

 breadth, containing an area of 106,470 acres. It 

 was colonised in 1625, Charles I. having made a 

 grant of it to the Earl of Carlisle, who encouraged 

 emigration to the island. It is generally level, 

 except in the north-east, where the hills reach the 

 height of I loo feet. It has a beautiful appearance, 

 the land being well cultivated, and the vegetation 

 luxuriant. There are a number of springs, one of 

 which casts up a bituminous matter called Bar- 

 badoes tar, and another emits a stream of sulphu- 

 retted hydrogen gas, which can be ignited. Oxen- 

 and horses are plentiful, the first being most 

 generally used for labour. Hogs and poultry are 

 also reared ; and, indeed, this island is distin- 

 guished from most of the West India colonies by 

 the quantity of provisions which are raised, the 

 inhabitants depending little upon foreign supplies. 



The capital is Bridgetown, on Carlisle Bay. 

 The climate is healthy, the heat being moderated 

 by the constant trade-winds. The island is sub- 

 ject to hurricanes, one of which, in 1780, laid 

 waste its whole extent, and destroyed 4000 lives, 

 and upwards of ,1,000,000 of property. Bar- 

 badoes is one of the most prosperous of the West 

 Indian colonies. It scarcely suffered at all from 

 the abolition of slavery, there being no unoccupied 

 ground on which the negroes could squat ; so that, 

 in order to live, they were obliged to continue to 

 work on the plantations. 



St Lucia. 



This island is about 32 miles long, and 12 

 broad. The English who first made a settlement 

 in St Lucia were completely destroyed by the 

 natives. It was again settled, and passed 

 repeatedly from the British to the French, until 

 1803, when it was finally captured by the British. 

 It is traversed from north to south by a ridge of 

 densely wooded mountains, which terminate in 

 fantastic peaks. On the west coast, there is an 



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