Daily Yellowstone journal. [volume] (Miles City, Mont.) 1882-1893, 1885-07-23
SPRECKLESVILLE.
VISIT TO THE LARGEST SUGAR PLAN.
TArloN IN THE WORLD.
me story Of Claus spreekles' Success as
written by = Honolulu Correspond
ent - Machinery, Labor. Guilt
walton, Yield Of Sugar, Etc
rprofsssor warunrd n Hnrtford Command


me to answer this quite natural question
without any parade of superior informa.
ton, because two months ago | knew as
little about Sprecklesville as the average
Sprecklesyillian knows to-day about Hart
ford IL has familiar sound, akin TO
Tarifyile or Falls Village In point OF
fact, il Is a small settlement with poly
glot population-Chinese, Portuguese,
japanese, Hawaiians South Sea Islanders,
Americans, Norwegians, Germans, Eng.
lish, Scotch. on the island Of Maui, one OF
the smallest of the Hawaiian group, all
engaged in the manufacture OF sugar on
the largest plantation In The world
About ", 000, 900 have already been ex.
pended In the plant The machinery, (all
made in the United States is Of the most
recent and most approved pattern, the
management Is intelligent and progressive,
the annual yield is enormous, and the
whole is the growth Of only five years
The area under cultivation is about TO-.
600 acres One-quarter of this is planted
every year from July to October. Single
joints OF the cane, each containing an eye
Every much like the eye of a potatol are
planted at intervals oil twelve inches and
lightly covered with soil During the re.
riod Of growth the trenches are weeded as
often as may be necessary. The most Sc
rious problem Is how 10 obtain an ade-
quate supply of water. The average rain
fall Is very uncertain, as NAV be Inferred
from the fact that II varied from Is II
inches in 1873 to 81 rs in 1884. The
planter must rely, there ,ore, on artificial
irrigation The 81 rockies plantation is
watered by two dit, hes, the J,rinciI al one
twenty miles long, fourteen feet wide at
the bottom, and six feet deep, with sid.
ings TO supply water 10 the trenches at the
rate of from 100 TO 10000 cubic feet 10
the acre each week The cost OF this
ditch was about S250,00
Cutting cane for the mills commences
In January and goes on until the fields are
cleared, the time required for bringing
the cane TO maturity being from fourteen
10 eighteen months OF course, every
practicable Xpedient is adopted for d.
minishing the amount of manual labor
Twenty miles of narrow gauge road uav-
erse the plantation, the track being
changed as the work goes on, so as 10 re.
duce the carrying by hand 10 the min.
imum. The cane Is then transported to
the crusher, which. fed by an endless
chain. grinds up lin the three mills about
go tons Of cane per day, resulting In a
daily yield of about eighty tons of sugar.
The yield OF sugar TO the acre varies
from three 10 six tons-depending on the
fertility of the soil, the thoroughness Of
cultivation, and the perfection Of the irri.
cation. lerhaps four tons would be
fair average The waiting line of between
POO and 100 cars loaded high with cane
AID discharging their contents into the in
satiable throat of the crusber presents in
very vivid manner the magnitude of the
enterprise The juice of the cane so ex.
tracted is then clarified, and boiled a. d
vacuumed. and centrifugal cylindercd over
and over again until II reappears in three
qualities Of sugar The nnal res1uum is
a coarse. gummy molasSes. without mar.
ket value The very competent manager
of the Spreckles mil!s-whose salary is
nearly three times the p.ttancc paid 10
professor in Yale colleges seeking by
some chemical combinations. which prom.
Use to b. successful, 10 convert this resi-
dunn into u profitable fertilizer The
trash, as the fiber of the cane after the
crushing process is called, is used for
fuel
A word as to the kind Of labor en-
ployed ! have already indicated the
various naiionalities represented Ia the en-.
ierprise. The men filing the more i'm.
IDslllOlls uIt RtI ultsih, -AlutIlGuuh,
and Englishmen Of the common work.
men, of whom there are more than 800,
about 900 are Chinese Also, from these
industrious and thrifty people come the
store keepers, the dealers ia opium and
liquor, and, of course, the laundrymen.
The natives do not love to toll or 10 spin.
Continuous labor is especially irlisome to
them They work as a rule. only as they
are impelleI b. the pressure of poverty,
and this pressure Is rarely severe as they
live on raw fish aud poi. affect liitls
variety or extravaganza in their ward.
robes. and crave simply such an accumu.
lation as will purchase IA horse and saddle
and bride
Hence how 10 obtain an adequate num.
Der Of workmel has become "A very pu,.
cling problem with the planters, csc.
cially rs the Hawaiian government has
practically prohibited any further i'm.
portation of Chinese. Within recent
months recourse has been had to the
Portuguese of The Glands of St. Michaels
and adciru, 10 the South Sea Islands,
and to 81 au. About I 900 japanese are
already under contract 10 come TO these
islands The objections host frequently
urged against the Chinese are alleged not
70 exist ia the case of the japanese,
who are industrious. facile, com.
panionRblc. quick to take in the Gus
toms Of civilization are eager 10 come,
aud not desir, Us 10 return 10 their native
land The uuth ga islanders are only
fitted for the more common forms of men
ial labor. and show no desire 10 i'm rove.
The Portuguese eNl eriment cannot be
considered failure-the men ARE on the
whole temperate and industrious, the
women are prolific conspicuousy So but
they are not intelligent, and their ideas of
ownership need 10 be essentially modified.
They are quite Too much given 10 Gaping
when they did not SOW.
/ have not yet alluded 10 Claus
Spreckles. the originator Of the sugar in
dnsiry which bears his name and in which
be IL the principal proprietor AL.
though German by birth, he
has lived in San francisco since bow
hood. and IN all his tastes and
sympathies Is thoroughly identified with
the land Of his adoption have alluded
10 the fact that all his machinery was
manufactured in the United states. as
were also. his admirably equipped steam.
ers the Mnriposa and Alameda. plying be.
tween San Francisco and Honolulu. The
enormous annual yield Of sugar. not less
than 10000 tons, The product Of the
hpreckes mills. Is brought by rail 10 the
little harbor Of Kahului, shipped on sail.
ing vessels. and transported ~ Fan Fran.
cisco. where the immense sugar refinery
az Mr. Spreckles receives and converts Il
Into those white squares which have so
% thoroughly displaced the tall shining
cones. developed 10 Glue paper. which are