It is
quite a place. It occupies a short block for length. The market
has a roof; the sides and ends are open and the stalls are made
of cement. A few stragglers remained with odds and ends of
oranges, bananas, limes (4 for 5 cents), lemons, potatoes,
peppers and things of that sort.
WATER SHORTAGE
Probably the biggest problem for Charlotte Amalie is that of good
water, particularly drinking water. It is scarce and during the
dry season, very scarce. Mr. Maguire told me drilling for wells
is out of the question. They are either dry, or salt water. St.
Thomas has no lakes, natural ponds, rivers or streams. It is even
said that women sometimes wash their hair in the ever-present
Coca-Cola. As a result of the water shortage, large patches of
steep mountainside are cemented with water catches at the bottom
for the rains when they do come.
All the police, the woman behind the window at the post office
and the school children were Negroes, neatly dressed. No race
problem here that I could see. A very few women carried loads
balanced on their heads. When the ship docked about five or six
rowboats of boys gathered on the bay side. The idea was to throw
pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters down and they would dive for
them.
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