The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1871-03-02
HOW THEY TRAVEL.

|
| HOW THEY TRAVEL.
There is not wheeled vehicle of any
Kind on the peninsula, and the 'stoting" that
is not done by the darkies on their heads is
| left to horses and oxen. both of " hich are of
a very small breed, peculiar TO the island.
| led by a ring in the nose, and are rs indolent
as their masters, as / know of my own
| knowledge. Having mounted a horse To
ride TO mountain top, | became Disguised
at his slow pace, started him back alone and
reached home first.
| NEGRO CHARACTERISTICS.
| To a Northerner il is a mystery how the
| natives can live with so little work All
| eXertion is distasteful to them, and they
make one think of the man who was not law
| but "born tired" In the town there are sew
eral small stores, at which you can'purchase
queer little lOaYes Of bread, oranges banan-
as, lines, mangoes, plantains, vans and to-
bacco. American, French and Spanish gold
| and silver comprise the little money in cir
culation. Very good cigars, made of the
native weed, can be had for 81 80 per hum
bred or $l2 per thousand, and are the cheap
est commodity ia this extensive mart.
SMALL COMMERCE FOR A COUNTRY ABOUND
ING IN NATURAL WEALTH.
There is one steamer, the Tybee, plying
| between Santo Domingo City, SANTANA.
Puerto Plata and New York. and small
| trade is carried on which is slowly increas-
| ing, the vessel bringing clothing (for which,
as / said before, there is IA very small de-
mandy flour, smoked fish and liquor (for
which there is large demand,) and taking
] back tobacco, hides, dye woods and mahog.
any in small quantities. On her last trim
| but one the Tybee took from this place 800
seroons (of 1l2 lbs. each) Of tobacco, LOO
| hides and 300 gallons of wild honey, which
abounds in the peninsula.
YANKEES ABOUT.
There are five or six enterprising Yankees
with their families, in the town, who have
settled there, and are doing well. One has
| been here number of years; the rest have
come recently. Mr.. Burr and brother.
! from Bangor, Me-, arrived two years ago
They have plantatiOnAo bananas. oranges
| and cocoanuts, on the verge of the village.
Their house stands prominently on the hill
| side, and a comfortable home, but after
visiting them, and finding a billard-room
| in such Wilderness, | should not be sur
! prised to see a Broadway swell in full dress
step out from behind Cheops, and touch his
| hat gracefully.
| "sEDENTARY MILITIA"
| Nearly one-half the men of the town are
soldiers, and large shanty seen as you land
! on the beach-watched by a crowd of idlers
lis a guard-house. They are all negroes,
and mostly tall, well formed, and capable OF
enduring fatigue. They wear cheap blue
chintz shirts and pantaloons, no sleeves and
briCht-colored cloths wrapped about the
head, and each carries musket and hide
GUS long serpentine blade called a machete
with an edge like "A razor. One told me he
used it to cut his way through the UNDER
brush, but he looked as If he could put il To
worse use. Their clothing Is ragged and
patched. and such accoutrements as they
carry often bear the initials ~. 3" and are
a part of those furnished by OLr Govern
ment for the lease of SANTANA Bay. They
receive for weeks rations a bag containing
only one very small loaf of bread.
NEGRO CoLONIsJs FROM THE STATES. WHO
WERE SENT TO ELEVATE THE NATIVES
BUT THEMSELVES RELEASED INTO
! sEMI-BARBARIsM.
While many live on the luscious fruits
which grow wild here in such abundance
In the woods, on the peninsula there are
several small farms. In this part of the
island are the American settlements OF about
300 negroes from the Estates, as our country
is called here, the result OF the colony sent
by the American Colonization Society In
1925. AT that time Santo Domingo was un-
der the control of Hayti, and President
Boyer allotted about three caros (or nine
acres to each family. They are satisfied. of
course, with country yielding so much
with so little exertion, but complain of the |
frequency of war and destruction of proper
tv, and of being the heaviest sufferers. A
comp of us visited some of their ranches |
on the mountains, and were very cordially |
entertained and treated to oranges and co. |
coanuts. They live in the same wretcITed |
manner as the natives. There were those
among them who had not seena white face !
for many years, and as ours passed for such |
although they are burned of a beautiful |
red, gradually deepening at the end of the /
nose-they received us Hospitality. One old /
woman was so glad to see us that she ran
after us quarter of mile, and breathlessly |
urged us to take token OF her admiration /
In the shape of three hens eggs, the last the |
poor creature had.
PRED DOUGLAS SPEAKS TO THE NATIVES.
On Saturday afternoon the extraordinary /
sight of a real American mass meeting ia |
the midst of tropical island was witnessed
Mt this little place. Mr.. Fred. Douglass was
invited by the authorities of the town TO
address the citizens, and the pulpit from the /
Catholic church was taken out into the
Plaza for him TO speak from. Most Of hi
auditors were negroes and half breeds and
he spoke to them of the condition of their
race in our country, describing how they
bad been exalted from wretched slavery to