CHAPTER II. 



THE ISLAND OF CURACAO. 



Friday, June 17, 1892. We were all up bright and early, keep- 

 ing a sharp lookout for the first sight of land, and about eleven 

 o'clock we saw away off on the horizon a faint blue peak which rose 

 from the sea, as we drew nearer, and finally spread out into the 

 Island of Curagao. This island, which now belongs to the Dutch, 

 is long and narrow, and lies with its longer axis N. W. and S. E. 

 It is forty miles long and about ten miles wide, and contains an area 

 of two hundred and twelve square miles. It is about fifty miles from 

 the mainland of South America, and as we rounded its northwest 

 end, and ran down its southwest coast, we saw to our right a faint 

 blue line of mountains, the peninsula of Coro. We steamed along 

 at a distance of from two to three miles from the coast for about 

 twenty-five miles, and had a good opportunity to examine the island. 

 It consists of a succession of peaks, some with a gradual slope on 

 one side and abrupt cliff on the other, others with a flat top and 

 abrupt fall on all sides. It is of coral formation, and all along the 

 coast of the northern part there are miniature cliffs of from ten to 

 twenty feet high, and at their feet long stretches of most dazzlingly 

 clean-looking sand. The waves have undermined these cliffs in a 

 number of places, making small caves along the water's edge. I 

 have never seen a more beautiful sight than the deep blue waters 

 of the Caribbean Sea breaking in waves on the smooth beaches of 

 Curagao. As the water grew shallower, the blue changed in shade 

 to the color called peacock-blue, and this closer in became a light 

 green. 



