> ^^ l" 



Photograph by William H. Rau 



native; washerwomen oe st. croix 



its manufacture. All of the islands have 

 a striking variety of vegetation, 1,200 

 species having been counted on St. 

 Thomas, and a proportionate number on 

 St. John and St. Croix. The plantain, 

 banana, sapodilla, bell apple, orange, 

 mango, and lemon thrive. Sugar-cane 

 flourishes when cultivated according to 

 modern standards. 



Communication between St. Thomas 

 and St. John is maintained by several 

 sloops. One of these has a history of 

 more than a century in active service. It 

 is the Vigilant, which has been, in turn, 

 pirate, slave trader, and man-o'-war. 

 Now she is a prosaic dispatch boat, carry- 

 ing mail and cargo between the several 

 islands. 



ST. CROIX THE LARGEST 



St. Croix is the largest, richest, and 

 most populous of the three islands. It 

 lies 40 miles south-southeast of St. 

 Thomas, has an area of 84.25 square 

 miles, and a population of approximately 

 20,000. It has much rich sugar land, 



more than 16,000 acres being devoted to 

 that crop. It is purely agricultural, with 

 a fine tropical climate, excellent scenery, 

 good roads, and hospitable people. Here, 

 as in the other islands, one hears perhaps 

 more English spoken than any other 

 tongue. The Danes have never attempted 

 to interfere with the native preference 

 for English and have never made Danish 

 compulsory in the schools. 



The island is perhaps more like "United 

 States" than any other territory in the 

 West Indian group. Before the days of 

 Bermuda's ascendency as a winter resort, 

 and of Palm Beach, the Riviera, and 

 other places, many fashionable Ameri- 

 cans journeyed to St. Croix to escape the 

 cold. Also the children of the prominent 

 families of St. Croix came to the United 

 States to study, for the St. Croix planter 

 admired America and her straight-from- 

 the-shoulder way of doing things. 



There are two towns in St. Croix — 

 Christiansted and Fredericksted. The 

 former is the seat of government, pos- 

 sessing - the largest government house in 



95 



