Red, Black and White (standard:travel stories, 356 words)
Author: Juggernaut	Added: Mar 10 2012	Views/Reads: 3557/2	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
The Parish St. Elizabeth in Jamaicsa is known for Black River, Red Bauxite Soils rich in Aluminum and a special group of people. How the Black River turned black? read the story.

Red, Black and White 

Subba Rao 

Saint Elizabeth is the patron saint of falsely accused, the 

homeless, widows, and young brides. The Parish of St. Elizabeth on 

Southern coast of Jamaica was appropriately named after the patron 

saint as some people in the parish could have been falsely accused of 

stealing a Mango, Breadfruit or Orange from neighbor's yard. On the 

banks of Black River, on any given day one can see few widows selling 

fried fish and certainly there were many young brides looking for men 

to marry. 

The soils of St. Elizabeth were turned bright red from 

geological events that occurred millions of years ago that deposited 

red Bauxite mineral rich in Aluminum, now the source of wealth for the 

nation. The red soils also support a wide range of crops from sugar 

cane to coconuts with abundant harvest. 

Limestone hills with its underneath aquifer occupy central St. 

Elizabeth feeds a river with fresh crystal clear water that turns Black 

in the vicinity of a rum distillery.   The nutrient rich dark effluent 

from the rum distillery flows into a nearby limestone crevice entering 

the underneath aquifer thus turning the clear water into Black River. 

This phenomenon may be unknown to the local people used to see the 

water dark in the Black River for several decades. 

The Parish of St. Elizabeth was also known for a special group of 

people with physical attributes distinctly different from rest of the 

population; some have very fair skin almost white, some have freckles 

on their face and some have streaks of blond hair.  A crew from a 

Scottish ship wreck over hundred years ago on the coast of St. 

Elizabeth could have contributed to the alien features. This group of 

people was always identified as people from St. Elizabeth from their 

unique physical features, but never accused of anything. 

The events of the ancient past changed the color of soil, river water 

and skin of some people also enriched the land and the people with 

wealth and goodness in the parish of St. Elizabeth. Perhaps the patron 

saint was watching over the people of her namesake parish. 


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