The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1871-07-15
Chinese as Workers.
From the Louisiana Sugar-Bowl.]
IRISH BEND, Parish st. Mary, }
June 18th, 1871.

| fOf the interest or all VINO are II
any way interested in the subject,
propose, through the columns o
your interesting paper, to make ;
fair statement in regard to tht
twenty five Cinnamon who hay'
been III my employ for the last eigh
months. | know that this is a sub
ject that is being more and more
agitated every day-and, in m,
opinion, the all-important one to thu
sugar interest of Louisiana, and tha
is certainly the fountain Of all othe]
interests in our portion Of the State
These Chinese were landed here
direct from Hong Kong, on the 9tl
of last October, after a most tedious
passage Of nearly seven months, OF
board the French bark Charles Au
guste. The vessel fortunately was
large, and kept very cleanly indeed
Two hundred and twenty Cinnamon
were shipped in her from Hong
Kong. When she arrived at the
island Of Martinique, seventeen OF
that number had died; but there
the captain was wise enough to re.
place them from the emancipated
Chinese of the island; so that he
delivered us the same number which
he had Oh leaving China.
Mr.. John Williams, Of Latourche.
took one half, Nh. Nolan Williams,
of Terrebolne, fourth of these
men, and my brother, W. L. Shat1er,
and myself, took the balance. I
brought them to the plantation, and
instead Of having to give each man
a separate house, | gave the rs men
two houses, 20 by 40 feet, and they
have ample room, and are contented.
| have another house 1G by Is, in
which all their cooking and eating
is done. One regular cook does all
the cooking and policing of quar-
ters, and prepares both cold and
warm baths, which every man uses
twice day. During the months of
November and December, planted
nearly forty arpents of cane with
them. [ saw, after very short
time, that it was only necessary to
show them once how YOU wanted
the work done. | had them to drop
and cover the cane with hoes, which
they did equally as well as old
hands. In putting up seed cane in
mats, they packed heavier loads OF
cane than any negro | had, and after
once showing, made as good a mat.
During sugar making | tried them
at nearly everything.
Cutting cane.-After the first day
or two they did better than any ne
gro I ever saw, cleaning the cane
better, and cutting lower down, leav-
ing no long stubble in the field.
Loading carts they did well, from
the fact that Chinese are peculiarly
strong in the arms and shoulders.
Putting cane on the band, they did
better than any other hands [ ever
saw, because they put it straight and
very regularly. AT the kettles they
did as we'll as possible-in fact, my
sugar maker preferred them to he
groes. I had much less trouble ia
getting the Chinese out at night.
Taking into consideration that all
this work was entirely new to them,
and, as every one knows, quite labo-
Lious,. I don't think any other for
eign labor would have succeeded as
well.
At the end of the year every ne
gro On the plantation left, except
three men, so that my sole depend
ence was on my Cinnamon; and
now was the time at which nearly
every one thought they would fail
the time for breaking up land with
heavy plows-alld my feelings on
the subject were not too sanguine as
to their success in managing mules.
Anyhow, as necessity urges a man
to almost anything, I started six of
them to plowing with double teams,
md after considerable showing how
to arrange the gear, and the differ.
ence between "gee' and shaw it
was astonishing to see with what
they learned to plow. ]
had several Of the oldest planters of
5he State, among whom were Gov.
Baker and John M. Pelton, Esq, to
come and see them plow,+ and they
decided at once that the work was
satisfactory, and predicted that they
would make as good ploWmen as the
negro or any one else; and from
What you have seen yourself, you
will bear me outin saying That their
has been decidedly veri-
led. / have never seen Chinaman
,eat or jerk his mules, but, on the
contrary, they are very kind and
careful. / have had no other hands
,n the plantation until about a
month ago, when / received thirteen
rom North Carolina and New Or
cans, and eight of those have al
'eady run off, owing me some S25
apiece for transportation, and | have
,ut into cultivation every acre of
,pen land on the place, nearly five
and up to the beginning
If the very heavy and frequent rains
which we have had, my crop was
satisfactory.
MY settlements with the Chinese
ire of the most pleasant nature.
Every one being able to read, write
md figure in their own language,
hey keep a regular account with
ne. All business of this kind is
lone hv the head man. and when L