2 BAHAMAN TRIP 



with its spreading horizontal branches and buttressed trunk. The 

 silk-cotton trees that have leaves show but few flowers, and the flower- 

 ing branches are leafless. The trees that have flowers are one mass 

 of buds. Although the silk-cotton tree is a native of more southerly 

 islands, it flourishes on New Providence and is quite common about 

 Nassau, as is also the beautiful "flamboyant tree" {Poinciana regia), 

 from Madagascar. The latter has a dome of finely dissected, fernlike 

 foliage, amid which, at the time of our arrival, hung the curious brown 

 pods, two feet or more in length. On Andros, in June, the Poincianas 

 were a mass of scarlet flower clusters, and as the leaves were not yet 

 developed, the dome of flaming scarlet could be distinguished several 

 miles from shore. 



Almost all the inhabitants of New Providence live in Nassau and 

 its environs, there being only a few small negro settlements on other 

 parts of the island. In Nassau itself, said to have a population of 

 about fourteen thousand, probably five-sixths of the inhabitants are 

 negroes. These live principally in the suburbs known as Grant's 

 Town, Bainville, and Fox Hill. Here their huts are close together 

 and are generally surrounded by little gardens of cocoanuts, orange 

 trees, and bananas. These Bahaman gardens look strange to North- 

 ern eyes, for the vegetation apparently springs from bare coral rock. 

 The surface, however, is much weathered and very irregular, and the 

 scanty soil and leaf-mould that collects in the holes is sufficient to 

 support the luxuriant vegetation." 



The chief boast of the people of Nassau is their climate, and after 

 our six months' sojourn we concurred in their opinion that most of 

 the time it was as nearly perfect as a climate could be. While we were 

 on New Providence, the average temperature was about 75 degrees, 

 from which point it seldom varied. From records kept by my husband 

 on Andros, the greatest heat was recorded at Lisbon Creek on June 

 23, when it was 86 degrees indoors and 125 degrees in the sun. We 

 had one "norther" while on New Providence, when the wind blew a 

 gale for several days, raising a heavy surf on Hog Island and Salt Cay. 

 The waves broke over the latter in places where it was thirty feet in 

 height. This was the only storm of any account experienced during 

 the entire trip. During the first four months there was very little 

 rain. Later in the year heavy showers were frequent, although there 

 was rarely a day on which the sun did not shine for a time, at least. 



