226 IOWA STUDIES IN NATURAL HISTORY 
This lack of accommodation for strangers was a serious thing 
for our party, as will be seen later. Jf as many as three 
strangers arrive simultaneously and unexpectedly at St. John’s, 
the name ‘‘Hisperanza’’ proves a delusion, as they will be in- 
formed that there is no room for them. The manager, an ex- 
cellent lady, by the way, shows no inclination to enlarge her 
business, bring apparently entirely satisfied with her perman- 
ent guests. | 
This situation in a town of nine thousand inhabitants seems 
almost incredible to the visitor from America where every town, 
even the smallest, has some sort of a hotel for the transient vis- 
itor. A moment’s reflection, however, will show that there is 
nothing unreasonable about it, as there are practically no tran- 
stents, at least none that are apt to stay over night. On 
steamer day, which comes about once a week on the average, a 
few of the passengers take a run ashore and perhaps get a meal, 
and an excellent one it must be conceded, at the Hotel Esper- 
anza, and return to the steamer before night. If anyone has 
business to transact, it can usually be attended to in a few hours 
without staying over between steamers, which would usually 
mean stopping over about two weeks. People who visit Antigua 
for social purposes usually accept the abundant hospitality of 
friends who are resident there; while officials on government 
business are delightfully provided for at Government House. 
And so there is little incentive to keep a hotel for the benefit 
of transients. In the United States, on the contrary, almost 
every town, however small, has its railroad and at least one 
train a day each way. Commercial travelers are constantly 
coming and going and there is real need for the accommoda- 
tions afforded by the ‘‘Grand Hotel,’’ ‘‘Palace Hotel,’’ or 
whatever it may be called. 
Now that the war is over the present writer sincerely hopes 
that many Americans will enjoy the really delightful exper- 
ience which would reward him should he decide to make the ac- 
quaintance of our neighbors, the Lesser Antilles. In this event, 
it would be greatly to the interest of all concerned if some sort 
of reliable hotel accommodations should be provided at Antigua, 
where the visitor would find much that is well worth while in 
the way of novel experiences. 
