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DESCRIPTION OF ST. JOHN'S.
A great many small vessels belonging to Antigua were sunk during the gale, and many poor mortals that night found— " Their death in the rushing blast, Their grave in the yawning sea."
CHAPTER XVIII. Description of the town of St. John's, the capital of Antigua—Situation —Arrangement of the streets—Hucksters—Houses—Springs—Small shops—Stores of the retail dealers—Grog-shops—Merchants'stores and lumber yards—Definition of lumber—Auction sales—Scotch Row and Scotchmen—Incongruous display of goods—Fire in 1797—Ruins —Fire in 1841—Its devastations. ST. JOHN'S, the capital of Antigua, is situated on the west side of the island, and contains about 979 houses. It is
built upon a slight declivity, and commands a beautiful view of the harbour, which is one of the prettiest in the West Indies. The town, which is well arranged, covers a space of about 150 acres of land ; most of the streets are wide and well-kept, and intersect each other at right angles—the principal ones running in a straight line down to the sea. There is one peculiarity attending the construction of these streets, which is, that there are no causeways ; and consequently, the pedestrian traveller has to elbow his way amid trucks and handbarrows, gigs, carriages, and horsemen, droves of cattle, or cargoes of mules, just landed from other countries, cattle-carts, or moving houses. At the corners of the different streets are seated hucksters, (black or coloured women;)* some with their shallow trays, containing cakes of all descriptions, parched ground nuts, (the arachis hypogœa,) sugar-cakes, and other confections, and varieties of fruits and vegetables ; others have piles of cottons, coloured calicoes, bright-tinted handkerchiefs, &c, * The whites, or Buckra's, as they are called in the West Indies, however indigent in circumstances, pride prohibits them from engaging in such industrious pursuits.