220 



RECREATION. 



A WINTER TRIP TO JAMAICA. — A GRACEFUL BRIDGE. 



The hunter there takes a pig, ties it 

 at the edge of some water known to 

 be the haunt of the 'gator, and then, 

 secreting himself, waits for the game 

 to come after the bait. Presently 

 the saurian comes slowly to the sur- 

 face, some distance from the shore, 

 puts his nose and eyes out-sniffs and 

 looks. Seeing the porker, and no 

 one else being in sight, he swims 

 slowly to land. As soon as he 

 emerges from the wafer, the shooter 

 loads him up with buckshot. Then 

 he takes his 'gator and his pig and 

 returns home. This method requires 

 a good deal of patience, and does not 

 furnish any great amount of excite- 

 ment. We stayed long enough to 

 bag two 'gators. 



We spent another day fishing, in a 

 creek, for mountain mullet, and en- 

 joyed the sport immensely. This is 

 one of the finest fishes I have ever 

 eaten. They are very shy, and it re- 

 quires an expert fisherman to capture 

 them. 



Land turtles are also plentiful on 

 the island, but their capture was not 

 sufficiently interesting to induce me 



to look for them. I preferred bird 

 shooting to any of the other sports. 



The native blacks are a queer, 

 picturesque people. Their habits 

 are exceedingly primitive, and their 

 wants few and simple. They have 

 little use for wheels, preferring to 

 pack everything on donkeys, or on 

 their own heads or backs. 



On a country road, or in a city 

 street, you will often meet the women 

 leading their patient little beasts, 

 bearing great panniers laden with 

 vegetables, fruit or firewood — all 

 headed for the market place. 



The roads on the island are gener- 

 ally smooth and hard, affording the 

 most delightful drives everywhere. 

 At one point of our explorations, we 

 crossed the most beautiful stream of 

 the island, on a queer, yet graceful, 

 old stone bridge, of one span. A 

 mile lower, at an expansion of the 

 stream, is a novel and primitive ferry, 

 for foot passengers only. 



•The climate in that part of the 

 island called the Santa Cruz District, 

 is delightful. The air is almost en- 

 tirely free from humidity, and the 



