r. Besides being mouldy, it was dotted with insects, of an
unsightly appearance and unsavory flavor. The quality of the beef was,
if possible, worse than that of the bread, and we had no other kinds of
provisions. Before we arrived at St. Bartholomew the water began to give
signs of impurity. The casks, stowed in the half-deck, had been filled
through a molasses hose. In all likelihood, the hose had not been
cleansed, and the saccharine property of the molasses mingling with the
water in that hot climate had caused a fermentation, the effect of
which was nauseous to the taste and unpleasant to the eye. We consoled
ourselves, however, with the idea that the passage would be a short one,
only a few days, and that better provisions would be furnished when we
reached St. Bartholomew.

The Island of St. Bartholomew is a mountainous rock, three or four miles
in diameter, with here and there a few patches of verdure, but destitute
of trees or cultivated lands. The inhabitants are dependent on the
neighboring islands, and importations from distant countries, for the
means of sustaining life. Even water for drinking and culinary purposes
is brought from St. Martin, Nevis, or St. Kitts. It has a snug harbor on
the western side, easy of access, in which many vessels can lie safely
moored, excepting in a hurricane. Indeed, there is hardly a harbor in
the Windward Islands, north of Grenada, where a vessel can be secure
during the hurricane months. These tempests, when blowing from any
quarter, seem to defy all the efforts of man to withstand their
violence; twist the ships from their anchors, force them on the reefs
or drive them out to sea, sometimes without ballast or the fraction of a
crew.

It may appear singular that St. Bartholomew, with no productions
whatever, and lying almost in the midst of the most fertile and
productive of the Windward Islands, should nevertheless have been a
place of great trade, and at certain times the most important depot for
merchandise in those islands. St. Bartholomew has belonged to Sweden
during the whole of the present century; and Sweden having been
occasionally exempted form the wars waged against each other by England
and France, this island, of no intrinsic value in itself, became a
sort of neutral ground; a port where all nations could meet on friendly
terms; where traders belonging to England, France, the United States,
or other powers, could deposit or sell their goods, purchase West In