The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-11-08
THE SANTA CRUZ UPRISING.
RUIN WROUGHT ny THE JGTORAHT AND
FIMISHIN0 NEGROES


Banhrupt Planters with Houses Fall OF Ser
wants Giving state Dinners and Starving
their Poor Lnborer.-The Fearful Result.
The following extracts from private lot
YER. written by a lady In Santa Cruz to a friend
m this city. give some idea OF the causes and
results OF the recent instruction OF negroes In
mat island:
You doubtless have heard OF tho fearful ylsltn-
don to our beautiful but most unfOrl innate island,
All me- how often have thought some dreadful
result would come OF the way most OF us have
hvad here. Otcourse. Al you well know, we LADIES'
bad not much in our power. We saw aud know
that things were not rs they should BIO; that tho
people were fnr worse of than when they woro
real slaves. But what could we doP Absolutely
p0thhing: h,rcs woro IN ho,oro
Jou left. The planters were almost bankrVpt;
For years they had been living on BureaN"
money given them by Government. and bN-
iievc at Inst most Of the estates were in this way
mortgaged up to their full value. At oil events,
tho Bureau refused to make amy more advances
This brought matters almost to n Rtnndstll.
Then tho labor net was donc away with and
lhe laborcTs were supposed 70 work for their
keep" alone. You remember what sort Of
keep" II was Rotten herring and sour corn
meal. J. do not wonder that tho poor creatures
lion could not 6o worse. Miss s. overheard
Them saving one night that y TIE labor act was
s% hey a wST Kept Rcr % Wor HY.2 GS
put Of the ninety estates We have only seven
left. Tho whole island ia n blackcned ruin.
mediate ncighborhood.
The taking away OF the soldiers and dis:
inc end. The special police. on whom so much
depended. were really the rnglcadors in tho
sshs oS 0aG IN S SsS RS sSn$
was the chief worker in the whole affair. When
caught he had paper in his pocket with the
whole plan. and tho names Of all his officers "
on il. He. along with nearly two hundred
others. was executed. Poor souls! fool sorry
for thenl, You know how badly they were
Observation-Disclosures laborcr only getting. in the
good times twenty cents day. and second
class ten cents. II It had not been for their bits
OF provision ground" md the pigs and poul.
Baturdays. do not know how they would have
lived; and tho sick we're taken care OF while
they were slaves, but alter emancipation the
sick houses all trll to pieceei Tor they were not
Such houses l--cosc stone places. like prisons.
with neither sunshine nor air IN thcm or, II
In town to the hospital. Then the old people.
past work poor creatures glad 10 make them
solves clothing out Of old bags begged from the
storckcepers in town. And the fearful sickness
they had among them-loprOry, cl"phantiasis.
and many others unknown in cold climates.
Besides all this miscrythe negroes were often
III troatod by tho planters. ! know cases where
thoir money was stopped by the managers most
whipped TO dcqth-Ono because the horse which
his master had entered for rNee fell and cut
It's knees. llo had the wretched boy held down
over heap OF negrass. and he hinlsclf-a
white man-whippcd the boy to death. He was
punished 10y fine u 1900. This was generally
spoken OF ~ worry severe and many people
said i was wrong 10 ,nne the man such q large
sum for such small offence. In another case
the man got OF by leaving the island.
You know also how tho planters Ia many
eascs lighthouses full OF servants. dinners OF
four or five courses. wine and cigars OF tho best
quality. Thrt such n state II affairs could not
last. any one with one particle Of common sense
Our beautiful islnnd. will il ever recover from
this blow What y 80 become 81 tho hundreds
OF women and children left homeless and desti-
tutc? Ono white planter lost his lie. lie was
murdered by tho negroes, some OF the Danish
soldiers were also killed by the infurinted
negroes. Their revenge has been complete
believe some o. the negroes wished to leave
the island whom the labor at was abolished.
but their passes were refused 10y the planters.
You are. OF course, aware that laborer cannot
leave an estate without pass from the man
ager. II he is caught In town or on another
estate he 10 arrested and punished. 1t would
have been wiser To have let them 60 for such a
course might have saved our poor island. To
think OF the beautiful homes DESTROYED by the
What pity ' we did NOT not lake axe W W@rning by the
i h,,aro complaints the people haze 50 often
night came and there WAS no money for them
walking up and down for hours cursnG and
threaten ing. while the planters meanwhile were
SHOES winssi VIA, WIN SSSSme OF" OF ali thS een
trail factories nOwg fear the money spent on
Garden 81 the West Indies lived and bloomed
% through earthquakes aud hurricanes. but
lear II hHs now received its death stroke.
when the Government sent Tor help English
aud French men-oiwar came 10 tho rescue and
NE Wrotched negroes were hunted among the
hills like deer. Auu may blame me bui can.
not help sone pity for them. Az | write the
sun Is setting. and III" sea around our island IL
like n sheet ~ pearl and gold Where waving
nelds OF sugar cane used to catch the CLEAN ot
Me setting Gun when lie gave them his last kiss
!or the night. there is nothing hut a vast eN-
panse OF ashes. Tho crop is all burned and
syon the negro villages YOU used 50 greatly to
Admire are DIES ,lntc.
These villages used 10 be very pretty for the
negr"es had beautiful fashion. handed down
from old. old times. and. | believe. originally
brought by them from Africa Whenever child
was born. on that day they planted tree AS
near their house ns possible. They hHd a su-
Ierstitlon that. u the tree grew and iiourlshed
the child would live and thrive; hut II the tree
faded and died. tho little one should also perish
Ono could see the anxious mothers at sunset
pouring water on tho ground. and watching
with eyes sharpsn'd by affection tho small
green shoots beginning TO spring up. Every
one hAd n diH' rent taste. Some chose one sort
Of tree. some an Their. and. MS the custom 10
such an old and general one. our negro villages
were cluster ut tall spreading tamarind
mango. or sapoIIIla trees. with here mud there
alofty palm. Most OF Thorn have persisted. So
Alter all, there does seem some truth in the old
superstition. Tho palms that still remain seem
10 wave their heads mOurnfully over the black
ened ruins OF our once lovely isle. At times
feel as II II was only fearful dream. but alas !
II 10 n dream from which one cannot awaken.
Do YOU remember Mount stuart. with its
pardon whore flowers from all parts Of the world
hourishclp II IL all destroyed. A few estates
near Chrisiansied still remain 10 tell tho talo OF
former splendor-' Golden Rock. The Hope"
and some others,
We arc all lost N doubt rs TO what will become
al us. supIOse those who have means to do
80 will leave tho island. and Santa Cruz will
Ioon he like san Domngo-giyen W 10 DO Il
wilderness.
narITN1 K.nH TITp ,ru