BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – IT is believed that there are more than 75 wells in the twin-island Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis and most of them have been abandoned. These wells are of two forms in construction but were for the same purpose – obtaining potable water.
Over the past weeks, many requests were made by residents on St. Kitts and Nevis for this publication to take a closer look at abandoned wells in the Federation with regard to public safety and their use for criminal activities.
Types of wells in the Federation
Historically, most wells in the Federation and other parts of the West Indies were hand-dug on sugar plantations by chattel slaves during the Plantocracy Era; while the lesser – drilled wells – were constructed after the abolishment of slavery.
Hand-dug wells were a cheap solution to accessing water below the ground. These wells contain large diameters to accommodate more than one man who, with the use of shovels, would dig below the water table to access potable water.
Upon striking water, the slaves would then line the wells with laid stones or bricks, which would be extended upwards to the surface of the ground to form a wall around the wells with the aim of reducing contamination and injuries to people who may fall into them. They would also be capped with wood or stones.
These wells varied in depth; some were over 200 feet. They were pumpless and water was accessed by means of a bucket that was attached to a rope.
Drilled wells, on the other hand, are constructed by rotary-drilling machines and can reach to a depth of more than 1 000 feet. This type of well has a small diameter and is fitted with electric pumps.
According to Cromwell Williams, Manager of St. Kitts Water Department, there are 25-30 drilled wells on various parts of the island that provide potable water to residents.
He explained that unlike hand-dug wells, drilled wells have a diameter of eight to 12 inches and the extracted water is treated before distribution.
On Nevis, the Acting Manager of that island’s Water Department, Roger Hanley, said there were approximately 18 drilled wells that provide potable water. These wells, he explained, have diameters ranging from six to eight inches with discharge heads bolted to concrete at the surface of the ground.
He further explained that the wells are approximately 500 feet deep and the water from each well comes up through a column pipe to the horizontal discharge head, which discharges it to a reservoir where it is treated before distribution to consumers.
Sugar Estates on St. Kitts
In the distant past, there were wells on every privately-owned sugar estate and one of them, Queenie’s Well, formerly known as Boo Well, at Belmont Estate in St. Paul’s Village, was launched as a tourism and heritage site on Thursday, August 10, 2006.
This well, after its abandonment for the provision of potable water, was used by its owners as a dumping site for old cutlasses, machetes and other agricultural implements as well as for dead animals on the estate.
According to Winston ‘Zack’ Nisbett, who told the story of a St. Paul’s heroine called Queenie, early one morning in 1934 she was thrown into the well by one James Joe and was rescued by two brothers at around 4:00 a.m. after they heard strange sounds emanating from within the well. She was approximately eight months and two weeks pregnant at the time.
Listed below are the names of privately-owned estates on St. Kitts before the government’s acquisition of the sugar lands.
Estates for which S. L. Horsford & Co., Ltd. were agents:
Estate Owners
1. Brighton R. D. E. Yearwood
2. Caines Blake Plantations Ltd.
3. Cranstoun & La Vallee Marshall Plant Ltd.
4. Farm Farm Estate Ltd.
5. Frankland Heirs of R. Dickinson
6. Godwin & Lamberts Marshall Plant. Ltd.
7. Molyneux Mrs. R. James
8. Ponds/Needsmust Heirs of J. Farara
9. Stonefort Marshall Plant. Ltd.
10. Sir Gillies Heirs of Joseph Farara
11. Willets Blake Plantn. Ltd.
Estates for which J.W Thurston & Company limited were agents:
1. Belle Vue, Estridge & Hope Cappesterre Agri. Co., Ltd.
2. Belmont B. B. Davis
3. Bourke’s J. W. Thurston & Co., Ltd.
4. Bourryeau, Lower Mrs. M. Jordan
5. Brothersons S. A. H. Davis
6. Buckley’s Buckley’s Estates Ltd.
7. Canada & Upper Canada Wades Plantations Ltd.
8. Cunningham Wades Plant. Ltd.
9. College and Douglas Wades Plant. Ltd.
10. Fountain Mrs. G. Berkeley
11. Hermitage & Whites Wades Plant. Ltd.
12. Lodge & Upper Bourryeau J. W. Thurston & Co., Ltd & Others
13. Mansion Mrs. M. Wade & Others
14. Milliken A. D. Napier
15. Mount Pleasant Col. C. E. B. Walwyn
16. Ottleys Capt. J. L. Wigley
17. Pump Leonard Burt
18. Shadwell Miss R. Berkeley
Mrs. A. Legatt
Apart from what was said by the Acting Manager of the Nevis Water Department, no additional information was garnered about abandoned wells on that island.
Public Safety
Public safety is the responsibility of governments the world over, and abandoned wells have the potential to be hazardous - a threat to life, limb and or health - especially to children who are known to be adventurous.
As earlier mentioned, some of these wells are over 200 feet deep and most of their surrounding walls at the surface of the ground have fallen away. Various plants, including fruit trees, have since grown out of these wells and will attract the attention of humans, but there is danger in getting to some of the fruits.
Speaking under the condition of anonymity, one individual shared his childhood experience of seeing a large fruit tree (mango) disappear within a well.
“As a primary school student, I would regularly visit my grandfather’s home in Taylors and pick mangoes from a tree that had grown out of a well that was in his yard. One day, I heard a loud rustling sound coming from the well. When I looked in that direction, I saw the mango tree was swirling as if in a whirlpool, then it suddenly disappeared.
“At that time I couldn’t understand what really caused the mango tree to disappear like that, but after speaking with some elderly persons I learnt that the well was no longer used to provide water and with time dirt had covered the water table. Many different things were thrown into the well, including various fruit seeds. And I strongly believe that water may have been at the bottom of the well, but because the mango tree had grown to be very large, the dirt at its roots could not have withstood the weight. Therefore, it was sucked into the lower depth of the well. Additionally, we never knew how deep the well was. On numerous occasions we had thrown objects into that well but we never heard any sound when it reached the bottom.”
Many of these abandoned wells are obscured by large trees and tall grasses, and their locations are not frequented for developmental projects. Therefore, strangers, hikers and the young may stumble upon them and curiosity might lure them to investigate. But we all know the proverb which says that “Curiosity killed the cat”. And for those who lack the understanding of it meaning – the proverb is used to warn of the dangers of unnecessary investigation or experimentation.
Criminal Activities
Abandoned wells are sometimes used for criminal activities; for example, Queenie’s Well. According to Nisbett, she was thrown into that reservoir by a jealous lover following their departure from a dance in St. Paul’s Village.
On Thursday, June 7, 2012, 17-year-old Jakeel Alford of Willets Project in St. Paul’s Village went missing and his burnt and dismembered remains were discovered on the following Thursday in a 180-foot well within a tall-grassy patch of land in the White Gate area in Dieppe Bay.
Since then, three young men were charged with his murder.
This publication learnt that Alford was not the first to have been murdered and his remains thrown into that well. Residents claimed that sometime in the distant past the remains of a male were extracted from there.
Today (July 22), after 86 days police, the Nevis community, family members, close and distant relatives as well as friends of 17-year-old Dylon Clarke of Church Ground cannot locate him. Searches were made in many areas on that island and, even with the assistance of a cadaver tracking dog from the K-9 Unit of the USVI Police Department, he is yet to be found.
His family had posted an EC$10 000 reward for information leading to his find, and a US-based relative had called in to the ‘On the Mark’ radio programme and upped it to US$20 000 but the situation remains the same…not heard from or seen since Saturday, April 28, 2012.
Rumours were rife on Nevis that foul play was suspected but Police Commissioner Celvin ‘CG’ Warner had dispelled them.
Speaking with WINN FM’s senior reporter Toni Frederick, Commissioner Walwyn had said that people needed to stop some of the rumours they were pedalling.
“We need to stop some of these rumours that are going around. I even heard that I’ve been paid off. People don’t know what they are talking about. That’s stupid! People need to be more responsible. We have a young man who is missing…we have a family who is hurting; please, if you know something call us, but don’t call us talking thrash.”
He also said that people in St. Kitts and Nevis like to speak of things of which they have no knowledge, noting that he heard some strange things that the missing lad was a witness to a crime.
“I have learned here in the Federation people speak a lot of stuff they don’t know about. I’ve heard some of those strange things that he was a witness and all that stuff. This young man has already said he was not testifying, so there was no reason for anything like that to happen to him. They are alleging that someone may have caused him misfortune.”
He claimed that Clarke and the individual suspected to be involved in the homicide were very good friends and, “as a matter of fact, that’s one of the reasons why I believe he was not to testify. So, there’s no reason for anybody to suspect that”.
“We don’t have any reason to believe that! If that changes, then shame on me. But right now we have nothing to substantiate the rumours ion the street,” he added.
The Top Cop said they have been searching in many areas on Nevis, including properties and even emptying wells, and that people are making false statement of which they need to be careful with what they are saying.
“We are still searching for him as a missing person case and we are going to keep doing that until something else changes or we have information to believe otherwise. It’s quite possible that he went off into the hills and probably fell. We are hoping that somebody that knows him personally…some of his schoolmates from school. We understand that some of his classmates have had a conversation with him the day before.”
In this particular case, some of the individuals who had requested that SKNVibes take a closer look at abandoned wells, are asking “if a search was conducted in all the wells on Nevis”?
Another man, 23-year-old Kevaughn Pemberton of Old Road, had gone missing on the evening of Monday, June 18, 2012.
Although his body has not been found, police have declared him dead and four men were charged with his murder.
According to Police Press and Public Information Officer Inspector Lyndon David, investigations had led to the four men’s arrest and evidence, which he was not permitted to disclose, indicates that Pemberton was murdered even though his remains were not found.
Can Pemberton be another murder victim whose remains are lying in an abandoned well in the Federation?
In addition to the accommodation of human remains, abandoned wells can also be used to conceal illegal drugs, firearms, ammunition and a number of ill-gotten gains by criminals.
Recommendations
Taking public safety and the various uses of abandoned wells by criminals into consideration, this media house would like to make the following recommendations:
• Because the Federation’s economy is heavily dependent on tourism, and with the closure of the sugar industry, why not convert most, if not all, of these ancient wells to attract tourists as was done with Queenie’s;
• If the conversion is not feasible, then the wells should be filled and the surface concreted with signs atop denoting landmarks;
• Assistance for such a project can be requested from the Taiwanese government and corporate citizens; and
• All abandoned wells should be thoroughly examined to ascertain they do not contain human remains.
