A WINTER TRIP TO JAMAICA. 





drawn by a pair of wiry little nags, 

 corresponding to our Texas mus- 

 tangs. These took us over a good 

 road, at a rapid gait, six miles to our 

 destination. The " great house," or 

 proprietor's residence, stands on a 

 hill. It is one-storied, with high 

 ceiling, allowing ample space for 

 ventilation. The kitchen and ser- 

 vants' apartments are in a separate 

 building across the courtyard. The 

 mill is under the hill, and is over- 

 looked by the foreman's house, which 

 is on another hill opposite. 



This plantation of 4,000 acres pro- 

 duces a fine grade of rum, which is 

 contracted for before it is made, and 

 on its production the proprietor de- 

 pends for his principal revenue, as 

 sugar-growing on the island is not a 

 profitable industry. 



Thanks to the well-known hospi- 

 tality of the people, our visit was one 

 of intense pleasure and interest. 

 With a view to gratifying our love of 

 sport, our genial host arranged a 

 shooting expedition to the Bread-nut 

 valley, so called on account of the 

 large number of trees there, bearing 

 that name. These, growing to a 

 height of 100 feet or more, are 

 crowned with leaves and berries, 

 forming a breakfast table for the 

 wild pigeons, which flock to their 

 morning meal in great numbers. 



Starting about five o'clock, a shorl 

 ride placed us in the grove, and we 

 awa'.ted their coming. A good shot 

 will easily bag a dozen brace in an 

 hour. The ringtail pigeon is said to 

 be the finest of all. They are pi.. 

 tected by law four months in the 

 year, and although the mop .111 



animal imported into the island from 

 India, to kill rats has thinned the 

 birds out along the coast, yet in the 

 interior they are plentiful. 



Other varieties of the pigeon 

 family found here are the lapwing, 

 white belly, ringtail, blur pigeon, 

 pea dove and blue dove. Then there 

 are quails, pheasants, parrots, paro- 

 quets, hopping dicks and glass-eyes. 



After enjoying the shooting for an 

 hour, we lunched beside a beautiful 

 waterfall, and then returned to the 

 great house. 



On a certain windy morning, we 

 started for a swamp, expecting that 

 a previous " Norther " had driven 

 over from Florida, as usual, flocks oi 

 wild ducks, plover, etc. We found 

 these, as well as snipe, abundant, but 

 not having a retriever, we only bag- 

 ged about a dozen. 



Another day was spent in alligator 

 hunting. These saurians are small 

 in Jamaica, and the method ol sh< 

 ing them there differs from that ot 

 any other country I have been in. 



A WINTER TRIP TO JAMAICA.— LOCAL TRANSPORTATION COMPANIES. 



