The largest of the islands is St. Croix. It is about twenty-one miles in length and from four to fourteen miles in width. Rich and fertile, its soil produces chiefly sugar, a product capable of still further industrial development. The principal difficulty encountered is in obtaining good water. There is but one stream on the island, and except for the water from this stream the people must depend on rain water stored during the rainy season. One of the first duties that we have before us is the boring of artesian wells, as all the islands are in great need of good water for drinking and commercial purposes. [Illustration: COVERED WALK Christiansted, St. Croix] There is a primitive sugar mill on the island of St. Croix that is owned by Danes. One of the owners told me that the day the islands were transferred to the United States the negro employees formed a union and struck. They lost no time in availing themselves of the advantages that organized labor enjoys in a great republic. The seat of government of this island is Christiansted, a town of about 4500 people. It is a neat, substantial little place, with covered colonnades extending through the business section of the town. These covered passageways enable one to walk about without being exposed to the rays of a tropical sun. [Illustration: “GOVERNMENT HILL,” CHARLOTTE AMALIE Showing Administration Building (upper right-hand) and Governor’s House (flying American flag)] It was from Frederiksted, the chief port of St. Croix, that Alexander Hamilton came to America. Born on the island of St. Nevis, his mother died when he was still an infant. He was then sent to an aunt who lived on St. Croix, and it was there that he gave evidence of the brilliant mind that in later years made him one of the most conspicuous figures in American history. It is a strange coincidence that over a hundred years after Hamilton left St. Croix it should come into possession of the nation he served so brilliantly. What might George Washington, “The Father of his Country,” say if he could know that the birthplace of the young West Indian attorney, to whom he looked for legal counsel, was now part of the great republic in whose establishment each of them had such an important share? [Illustration: From “The Virgin Islands,” by Luther K. Zabriskie, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, Publishers PANORAMIC VIEW SHOWING PLANTATION ON THE ISLAND OF ST. CROIX] [Illustration: PLOUGHING ON ST. CROIX] There is but one paved highway on St. Croix, and that extends from Christiansted to Frederiksted at the west end of the island. A macadam road twenty-one miles in length connects the two towns, and over this highway passes practically all the traffic on the island. Here we see a curious procession of natives driving all kinds of queer vehicles drawn by diminutive ponies or donkeys.