-19- 
St. Thomas. 
1894 
February 33 Clear, with strong steady trade wind. Warm on shore 
in the middle of the day but at no time really uncomfortable. 
With Dr. Riley I landed at about 9 A. M. We walked about 
through the streets, visited the market, did some shopping, 
drove to Bluebeard* s Castle (whence we had a fine view of 
the harbor and the town) and finally dined at the Hotel du 
Commerce. 
The town is very neat and picturesque, the archi¬ 
tecture of the Moorish type. There are many beautiful shade 
trees along the streets and in the yards and gardens, but 
I had my first glimpse of wild tropical vegetation on the 
hillside which we ascended on the way to the castle. It 
was more grotesque, more unreal, more artificial, and less 
beautiful than I had anticipated. The land, however, has 
been parched by the long winter drought and many of the trees 
were practically leafless. The shrubs and lesser plants 
were nearly all spine-y or thorny. Over the mountain sides 
the trees grow sparsely and but few of them exceed 20 to 30 
feet in height. At a distance the coloring of these 
mountain slopes is chiefly pale brownish or straw-color, 
dotted here and there with yellowish green and a very little 
deep green. We are told that after the first rains the 
coloring is chiefly green. As it is now, it reoalled to 
Dr. Riley Arizona and, indeed, was scarcely less parched 
and arid-looking. 
Along the water front the palms (cocoanut, royal and 
a few date palms) made a belt of deep shining green. We saw 
