An English physician, long resident in the islands, styles St. Croix, “The Garden of the West Indies, on account of its superior cultivation, its beautiful homes and its fertility.” He says, “Its scenery is extremely varied. To the lovers of dark gloomy hills and large waste lagoons, the eastern part of the island offers many attractions. A rich, fruitful valley occupies the central and most southerly portion of the island. A drive through this, upon the splendid road that runs from Christiansted to Frederiksted, a distance of fifteen miles, will amply reward anyone who cares for picturesque scenery. On each side are cocoanut trees, sometimes varied by the areca palm. Between these and behind them may be seen sugar-fields, perhaps full of undulating cane ready for cutting. A manager’s house peeps out from a dark clump of mango and tamarind trees. Hard by is the negro laborers’ village. Cultivated to their very tops are many of the hills. A windmill here and there, and a glimpse now and then of the sea, complete a landscape not often seen outside of the tropics, and not often seen outside of St. Croix.”
PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR. VOL. 6. No. 13. SERIAL No. 161
COPYRIGHT, 1918, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.
PHOTOGRAPH BY E. M. NEWMAN
COUNTRY ROAD. ST. CROIX. VIRGIN ISLANDS
THE VIRGIN ISLANDS
The People
SIX
The people of the Virgin Islands, in the words of one who knows them well, “are intelligent, agreeable, and well-informed, and many of them are educated and refined, though to a great extent deprived of broadening influences through their isolation. They are peaceful and industrious, and crimes of violence are unknown, but they have needed capital for the development of their resources and incentive. From the standpoint of one who has lived in the islands, I am frank to state that the ‘negro problem’ here will hardly be the problem—difficult of solution—which at first glance it seems to be; for while most of the leading merchants, tradesmen and minor officials are men in whose veins runs colored blood, they are often more courteous and considerate than those of white skin occupying similar position in America. Hospitality and good cheer abound everywhere, and the prevailing atmosphere is one of cheerfulness, now further stimulated by reason of the transfer to the United States. Class distinction rather than color distinction exists.