File:Our search for a wilderness; an account of two ornithological expeditions to Venezuela and to British Guiana (1910) (14750108454).jpg

Identifier: oursearchforwild00nile (find matches)
Title: Our search for a wilderness; an account of two ornithological expeditions to Venezuela and to British Guiana
Year: 1910 (1910s)
Authors: Niles, Blair Beebe, William, 1877-1962
Subjects: Natural history Birds
Publisher: New York, H. Holt and company

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when the inhabitants arearoused to a sense of the opportunities which they are throw-ing away, it will become a famous tourist resort; awakeningthe country to new life and bringing shekels to (he coffersof its merchants. Hotels and mosquitoes are the two keysto the situation the one to be acquired, the other banished.When this is done, the many popular winter resorts willbe hard put to it to retain their lucrative migrants fromthe North. The inhabitants of Georgetown have oneregrettable failing — an unreasoning fear and dread oftheir own country. They cling to their narrow strip ofcoastal territory, where they work and play, live and die,many of them without ever having been five miles away GEORGETOWN. 113 from the sea. The majority of the inhabitants of FrenchGuiana are convicts, chained for life to their prisons; herethe good people of British Guiana bind themselves withimaginary bonds and picture their wonderful land as teem-ing with serpents and heaven-knows-what other terrors.
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Fig. 57. Street in Georgetown. Another unfortunate failing is the firm conviction of some ofthe influential citizens that there is no truth in the mosquitotheory as a cause of malaria and yellow fever. A distinguished English scientist, recently sent to inves-tigate yellow fever in Barbados and British Guiana, washolding up as an example to the citizens of Georgetown theBarbadian custom of keeping fishes in their water cisterns;explaining that the fishes devoured the mosquito larva and H4 OUR SEARCH FOR A WILDERNESS. thus kept down the number of mosquitoes. A Barbadianwho chanced to be in the audience interrupted the scientistby saying, Oh, but that is not the reason they put fishesin the cisterns. It is to make sure the water has not beenpoisoned by some enemy ! Until the mosquito is exterminated in Georgetown thetourist will prefer to go elsewhere, even though that be to aless beautiful spot.

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