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National Geographic : 1936 Feb
Contents
BAHAMA HOLIDAY Photograph by Fred Armbrister SAILORS ALL, SINCE THE FIRST SLAVERS KIDNAPED THEM FROM THE COASTS OF AFRICA How like an old carved figurehead seems the man on the bobstay, ready to catch the buoy! Many Bahama natives are proud of their family trees, and know from which African tribe they are descended. At a church fair in Nassau a few old women entertained the author by talking and singing in their ancient African dialects. wooden shutter that guards against both bright sunlight and hard winds. It was the Spaniards who introduced sugar cane and limes; yams came from Africa; mangoes from India, and the shad dock from China. Avocados came by way of Cuba; guavas from Jamaica, and the genipap from Trinidad. Yet the Bahamas are not among those lush, legendary isles with native fruits so plentiful that one may "kick his breakfast off the trees." Agricul ture is sadly neglected. "The sea is to blame," people say. "Its fish, conchs, and crabs are too easy to get." In spite of easy-going ways and surface playground aspects, Nassau enjoys a cul tural life not readily apparent to transients. Here is a newspaper which one family has owned and published, without inter ruption, for an even century. In an attractive octagonal structure, built as a prison, the Public Library has been housed since 1879 (see page 226). Into this edifice pours a constant stream of black children as well as white patrons to enjoy the 10,000 books and the reading tables carrying periodicals from the Eng lish-speaking world. All over the islands are churches of many faiths; the singing of hymns is a common pastime. Nassau is still the seat of a bishopric. The church of St. Agnes, at Grant's Town, is of special interest. In it is an old oaken lectern brought from St. Giles, Oxford, where lessons were read from it by Gladstone and other distin guished Englishmen. It is a long way from Nassau to some of the Out Islands. But everywhere there is good order and respect for authority. To these scattered British subjects, Nas sau, the capital, though many never saw it, is a world center of beauty, wealth, and culture. 245
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