Word: hispaniola
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...Saturday, the capital was tense but calm. There were reports of demonstrations in Cap Haitien, the second largest city, and the Dominican Republic, which lies east of Haiti on the island of Hispaniola, was nervously monitoring the volatile situation. While Duvalier was still in Haiti, there were serious questions about whether the President-for-Life would be President for long...
...traditional Haitian black swine, raised on the island of Hispaniola since the 15th century, was a singularly hardy species; it was a cross between Spanish hogs brought over after the voyages of Christopher Columbus and indigenous wild boars. The 70-lb. pig could run swiftly and forage for itself. Indeed, so voracious was its appetite for waste that Haitians did not need outhouses: their pigs kept the neighborhood clean and disease-free. The hogs also rooted in the soil in search of tubers and root-destroying worms, thereby helping turn the earth for planting, ridding crops of insect pests...
...These islands were named but largely ignored by the Spanish because they offered little promise of quick riches; for the most part, they have scant rainfall and thin soil. Thus they were generally spared the excesses of European rivalry that devastated rich plantation colonies like Jamaica, Trinidad, Cuba and Hispaniola. They also have escaped exploitation. They cannot be reached by direct flight from the U.S. or Europe, and they closely regulate development of any kind...
Columbus, greeted by the peaceful Arawaks on Hispaniola, was immediately warned about the man-eating Caribs on nearby islands. The conquistadors reported that the Aztecs butchered victims, ate the flesh and fed the entrails to zoo animals. Henry Morton Stanley said he was beset on all sides by savage cannibals during his famous trek through Africa to find Livingstone. Margaret Mead wrote about the man-eating Mundugumor of New Guinea. There is only one thing wrong with all these reports: they come second or third hand, and are probably false. That is the surprising thesis of a new book called...
Though its course across Hispaniola weakened the storm, David was still packing winds of 90 m.p.h. and more when it passed over the eastern tip of Cuba and headed straight for Florida's southeast coast. Governor Robert Graham ordered the evacuation of low-lying areas, and as many as 300,000 people headed for higher ground, including 15,000 from the Keys alone. Public buses carried senior citizens from Miami Beach to stormproof shelters, while animals at Crandon Park Zoo in Key Biscayne were trucked to safety. There were sudden shortages of candles and flashlights and other household items...