Walking Back
Surviving Through Tragedy
Will Jackson
Seventy or seventy-five years ago may notseem like a long time to talk about, to one who hasn't been aroundthat long, and for those who live luxuriously, the years do seemlike fleeting moments.
But to one like me, who lived through those hard old days of wantand privation, those past years have not been a theatrical play.Death and sorrow have been my cup of tea before I can remember.
First my little sister of 18 months, and then my mother, duringmy first two and a half years of life. My paternal grandmotherpassed on by the time I was five. Next, on my eighth birthdaycame the tragedy of both of my maternal grandparents found deadon their farm; from there on the death angels have been busy,taking away dear relatives until now, when my single immediateblessing, relative wise, is my dear wife for whom I am most thankfulto my Heavenly Father.
I cherish her dearly, and she too is the very last remnant ofher close family. So, I have her, she has me, while both of usclaim God as our Wonderful Father.
All the way through life's struggles there are Red Seas to passthrough and Jordans to cross; however, the Great Creator has placedin man a spirit of endurance, to struggle right on until deathovertakes him. Even though the sun may not always be shining brightly,yet it is up there shining, and waiting for the heavy clouds toblow over.
These Islands which we call home today, were not always what theyare now. Once they were only rocks standing out there in a deepblue sea, home to no human being; but in time, a few civilisedcreatures appeared, seeking survival, and found life.
Life for them must have been a daily uncertainty during thosehopeless times in a barren land. It was barren in the sense thatthere was nothing existing as an immediate source of food; exceptfor the sea with its many creatures.
As recently as 60 to 70 years ago, there was hardly anything toset one's eyes on as a promise of a better tomorrow. Money wasthe first great problem in those days. The people had to firstof all learn how to live without cash.
The old folks had a saying: 'Necessity is the mother of inventions',which rang true on a daily routine back then. In today's world,a cashless life means existing in dreary surroundings.
In the old days life's greatest demon lay in having somethingto cook in order to eat every day, and a few rags of clothingswith which to cover those parts which could not be left exposed.Surprisingly though, the old folks -- some of them -- did seemto have some good clothes.
Clothing was often obtained from the many shipwrecks in the area.That was always the surest way of the settlers meeting their needsAlmost every housewife could sew, and girls were taught the artsat a very young age, so by the time a young lady reached the marryingage she was capable of fulfiling her duties just like her motherdid.
If the old folks had an earnest prayer to make when they lay downat nights it must have been, 'Lord send a wreck before morning'.They were real hustlers in securing bounties for themselves, andwho could blame them? Here was their best source of living.
Like the manna that fell on the children of Israel in the wilderness,even so came shipwrecks for those distressed settlers. The storycomes down the line of how along Gun Bay beach horses and donkeyswere ridden by men holding aloft on tall poles lit lanterns, givingthe impression of a ship sailing along in safe water to the shipfar out there, where the reef is very far from the shore and wasa great trap for passersby.
We may be reminded of the wreck of the ten sails. What a midyearChristmas those settlers must have had with that windfall! Therewere of course, no lighthouses around Grand Cayman duing thoseearly years and as a result many were the ships that lost theirreconing and landed on the rocks to stay. Shipwrecks normallyadded to the population of the island as many of the crew remainedwhere they were, digging in for survival.
The islanders profited in every way from these wrecks. They wereable to build houses in which to live. Many got some furnitureof a sort, as well as cooking utensils. Many were the schoonersbuilt primarily from the wrecks. Residents collected canned goodsand other items.
My grand father was himself as a wrecker, as they used to be called.That was someone who owned a large canoe and kept on hand a crewof two or three other men, ready to move at any hour of the nightthat the sound went forth: WRECK Shore!
Then the horns would blow. The first task was to try to save livesfrom the ship, especially if there were passengers, as was oftenthe case. Sometimes there were women to care for. Many were theinteresting items that fell in grandfather's possession, two ofwhich I have and cherish.
Grandpa told me that once he salvaged a barrel of salt beef --about 300 pounds. He said that for more than a year after he waseating salt beef and beans, after giving to a lot of people.
A very memorable wreck in my time was a three-masted ship by thename of Geneva Catherine as late as 1930. She went ashore on theNorth Coast of Grand Cayman carrying a full load of dressed lumber.This meant much to the islanders, many of whom were able to buildlittle lumber houses for themselves, even though shortly after,the 32 storm came along and destroyed many of those little homesthat had so recently been built.
That wreck was no accident; the captain was a Caymanian, an EastEnder. Captain Erskine Conolly's good deed will never be forgotten,but ever spoken of; while it is true that the now generation doesn'tknow of the act, or the actor, however Captain Erskine was thegrandfather of Mr Warren Conolly whom Cayman knows very well asone of the islands' first great politicians.
For caymanians, especially Cayman Brackers, 1932 is perhaps themost memorable year the 20th century by Caymanians, and was mostdisastrous by land and sea. The great November hurricane sweptevery thing that would move in its wake with no respect for class,creed or colour, but manifested it's deadly act on rich and pooralike.
Much has been written and said about the episode of '32' but justtelling the story will never be sufficient to really explain tothose who have not witnessed the storm's fury, the pains, fearsand sufferings cast upon people during those few, yet, seeminglyeternal hours of what has been termed by a Bracker, a watery hell.
Cayman Brac surely did have a greater punishment than Grand Caymanby way of loss of lives, which added up to over 60. The easternend of of Grand Cayman, being the hardest hit in the island, losteverything.
I have reminded my readers of this tragedy only to point out oneof the great devastation of the 20th century. However there werescourges to remember. We may recall the many local schooners thathave gone down in the depths, taking many lives.
The motor vessel NuNoca yet remains a mystery of the century whenshe disappeared enroute from the Islands of Tampa, Florida. Thequestion is still being asked, what happened to the NuNoca andall the people onboard. They just simply vanished in pleasantweather. The Merica, an East End-owned schooner also disappearedon the Columbian Coast.
The Alson's, the Majestic and the Hussler's story offered a reasonfor their loss, being overpowered by hurricanes in each case.
On the brighter side, the islands have witnessed great stridesin living conditions during the last decades of the century. Thegiant shipping company, National Bulk Carriers, found its wayinto the islands, and thanks to that company and to Almighty God,succeeded in changing the ways of primitive living in all of theIslands. Tourism, and the fiancial industry have been other boonsin the sails of progress.
Looking back over the years one must acknowledge great economicprogress, yet we have paid dearly in the moral decay we are experiencing.
We have exchanged good cultures and pure morals for cash. Whilewe may hope for a bright future in our beloved homeland, we dowell to remember there most surely is a living God, no matterwhat the atheists may say.
Let the people of the Cayman Islands return and search out thatWonderful God of our Fathers.