Our steamer was fairly beleaguered by shoals of small canoes with natives on board, who offered for sale any quantity of the most various and beautiful little denizens of the surrounding country. Any naturalist who should spend a short time here, might, with the assistance of the Indians, who seem to be both zealous and apt collectors, get together an extensive and most valuable zoological and botanical collection. Carthagena indeed presents in particular great advantages for the shipment to Europe alive of the more interesting
animals. These steamers do not take much above a fortnight hence to England, and if dispatched about May or June, the animals would sustain but little detriment from the change to a European climate at that season. Thus on the present voyage of the Medway there were numbers of animals and chests of plants in full bloom, consigned to various museums and private collections in England.
On 30th June we anchored in the small but delightful harbour of St. Thomas, with bright green hills forming a picturesque back-ground, relieved by the white houses of the inhabitants picturesquely grouped along their slopes.
St. Thomas had changed little from what I remembered it at my previous visit in 1855. At the last census it had 15,000 inhabitants, and its trade is visibly increasing. It is, however, extremely difficult to get at the statistics of the annual amount of shipping here, as there is no toll-house, and the Danish Government publishes no official information as to the general trade. According to a German merchant long resident here, the number of foreign ships of all nations entering and leaving the port amounts to 860 annually, of coasters about 3500, while the annual value of merchandise so transshipped is about 6,000,000 dollars. One very remarkable trade is that in ice, which reaches the enormous amount of 1000 tons annually, chiefly for distribution among the adjoining islands, by far the largest proportion of which comes from Boston, where it is worth 20 dollars per ton, and at St. Thomas 80 dollars per ton, or 3 1⁄2 cents per lb. One may
conceive that the entire ice-trade to the West Indies, South America, China, the Malay Archipelago, and the East Indies is in the hands of the keen North Americans, who evince a capacity for making a genial use of a natural phenomenon, which a less speculative race of men associate with the idea of cold, discomfort, and stagnation of intercourse.
M. A. Rüse, a wealthy chemist and zealous naturalist, by whom as by other German residents I was most kindly received, has acquired much distinction from his profound acquaintance with the lower animals of the West Indies, of which he possesses a small but valuable collection, chiefly of the Fauna of the islands of St. Thomas, Ste. Croix and Trinidad, and was so exceedingly courteous as to present me with duplicates of several of the most interesting. M. Krebs, merchant, and M. Kjaer harbour-master, also in their hours of relaxation gave me much valuable information on kindred topics, the latter gentleman farther presenting me with specimens from an excellent collection he had formed of petrifactions.
What, however, afforded me the sincerest satisfaction on the occasion of my present visit to St. Thomas, was the striking examples of industry, intelligence, and social comfort of the negro population. Of all nations among whom this curse of slavery has been implanted, the Danes have best comprehended how practically to solve the difficult problem of emancipation. The number of slaves in Danish colonies was at all times very small, and their manumission consequently more easy.
Nevertheless the mode adopted in getting rid of the evil is deserving of attention and imitation. The duty of labouring does not cease with the means of compelling it. Slaves emancipated by the Danish Government may spend the wages they receive for their labour at their own discretion, and are permitted to change masters at pleasure, but they cannot quit their former employer till they have found a fresh one. The rate of wages at St. Thomas is pretty high, and the black population, who form the largest contingent of the labouring population, not only finds constant occupation, but is remarkably well paid besides. The negroes on this island are, however, very handy and quick, thanks to the constant intercourse with foreign nations. Many of them speak several languages fluently, and a German traveller who visits the island for the first time is apt to be not a little surprised at finding himself addressed in his mother-tongue by a swarthy son of Africa.
Our departure was fixed for 1st July. The various mail steamers which had been expected from the different ports of the West Indies and the eastern coast of Central America, had all arrived. The fine and comfortable but old and slow steamer Magdalena was to leave for Europe at noon. Suddenly a sailing vessel came in like a Job's comforter, with the intelligence that the splendid new steamer Paramatta, which was about due with the mails from England, had on her first voyage gone ashore on the Anegada shoal near the island of Virgin Gorda, 60 nautical miles from St. Thomas, and with her
40 passengers, and a valuable cargo, was in need of instant relief. This intelligence again delayed our departure. It was at first determined to send off every disposable steamer to the scene of the disaster, and to detain the Magdalena, till full particulars of the mischance had been obtained, for transmission to the directors in London. Afterwards it was arranged that the Magdalena should proceed to the spot where the Paramatta was lying nearly high and dry, to assist if possible in floating the ship off the reef.