Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-02-13
AMONG THE SAVAGES.
HOW "BoYS" ARE OBTAINED TO
WORK ON SUGAR PLANTATIONS.

Heather Workers by the Promise of
Big Ray.
So great is the demand for "cheap labor
in the sugar growing districts of Tahaiti and
and the Hawaiian Islands and in Queensland,
that, it being known that the natives OF the
New Hebridas were willing to ship" on
plantations for term of years for merely
nominal wages, Labor vessels" visit the
group annually to engage men and few
women for that work. The manner in which
this is done well illustrates the hstrust the
natives and foreigners have for each other.
Labor" vessels are always provided with
regular arsenal of rifles and pistols. The
main hold is fitted with gratings that separ-
ate the females from the men-or boys as
they are called-and in these compartments
are fixed certain sleeping platforms called
''bunksn The vessels engaged in this trade
are generally small, seldom exceeding $50
tons measurement and they carry their
: boats as the whalemen do, hanging from the
dnYits ready for immediate service.
The captain Of an English labor vessel
sails her to and from certain designated
ports, and cruises about where there is the
best chance of getting boys but no boat
can 60 recruiting unless the government
agent goes with it. No boy can, theoreti-
cally, he brought Off TO the ship against his
will.
There is generally on labor vessel an Gin
terpreter.n The particular one with whom
the writer sailed or Hawaiian labor vessel,
was called Billy the Devil" which title suf-
flcently indicates his character.
Surprising a vessel after "boys' to have ar
rived in Havana harbor, the finest in the
group, on the Island of Vate; the captain
generally engages at least one boats crew of
the natives themselves, on tho principle, per-
mt II taLpa a catch a
age, there always being plenty on hand who
are experienced in the business
Leaving Havana harbor the vessel cruises
leisurely off through the groups, never being
more than two or three miles from one
island or another Cruising along on the lee
side of these islands a sharp lookout is kept
for any signs of smoke on the stretches
of sandy beach. So dense is the foliage and
so careful are the natives to conceal their
villages that the only indications of there
being human life on these islands is a column
of smoke that we occasionally see on the
shore, sent up by the savages to let us know
that they want to trade
When such a smoke is seen the boats are
lowered and manned. "Thc boats" say be-
cause two are always sent in company to in
terview the savages. In the one that takes
the lead there is, besides the crew, the inter-
prefer and, in English vessels, the agent.
There is also IA box filled with trade" that
is, Turkey red muslin, as gaudy and flimsy
as the promises made to induce the natives to
ship; tobacco, of the kind known as "nigger
head" twenty-six plugs to the pound
sweet, cheap and rotten; gun caps of an OBJ
solete make; cheap pipes; strings of gay
beads, few Of which constitute what is
called "full dress;n packages of matches,
guaranteed not to light ION the box" or any
where else by friction; soft iron hatchets,
knives and needles, and other ingenious
frauds with which to purchase such supplies
as yams, pigs, cocoanuts, etc, and also to
give as presents to the friends of those who
ship. The second boat acts as "cover" to
the first, and both crows are heavily armed.
Nearing the beach, the leading boat is
turned round and backed to the sandy shore,
care being taken to keep it afoat the inter
prefer warning the crowd of naked, brutal
savages to keep clear of the long steering oar.
The crew keep their oars and rifles ready for
use and the second boat stops about 100 feet
out from the first and, swinging broadslde
on its crew seize their rifles and stand by"
to defeat any attack on their friends The
natives, some of whom are sure to be ere
turned labor" and consequently familiar
with pigeon English crowd around near
the stern of the boat and boot and yell while
the interpreter rattles off something like the
following:
Hello, all you fine fella How you doc
You come down to ship, hey' Well, 'spose
you want to go one fine ship-capn one fine
Inan-you come long. Here, you good fella
boy pointing to some gaping native in the
crowd catch 'em this" tinging some bits
of tobacco ashore, which are promptly fought
for Get plenty all sane on board ship.
Plenty YAM (the staple food; ''plenty fine
shirts; shoes oh, everything Make you
big man you come. 'Spose you ship, you get
one pound one moon for one YAM" which
means the man is promised 81 (S5) per month
or "moonn for the first year, called 'yam,"
because it takes that length of time for that
esculent to ripen.
In the midst of the profound excitement
produced by this unheard of offer a grizzled
headed old ruflian in the crowd spoke up:
"What for you lie, Billyl You think oil
this fella boy foolf Plenty boys ship hero
befo TO- 'e1 one YAM" (the regular price paid
in the colonies 'Why you talk 81 one
moonrn And the veteran takes firmer grip
on his battle ak and jabbers something con-
temptuous of Billy to the crowd, who there
upon began to handle their clubs, guns, bows,
arrows and spears furtively but threatngly.
Billy is not discouraged. He points to our
flag, which the savages are quick to discover
is new to them, and by his eloquence and
liberal showers of tobacco and investments
in yams bananas and cocoanuts persuades a
few of the natives to 'ship.h
But they will not do so until a good sized
bundle Is made up from the trade box for
their friends There are displayed, therefore,
two or three yards of turkey red cloth to be
given to the frightful looking, skinny old
suuaw bowling on the beach, who claims to
be the mother of the ''boy," There is meas
ured out IA handful of gay beads, which will
sooth the anguish Of the younger female, who
is the departing mans betrothed A musket
ian altered flint lock- is laid aside as part
ing gift to the father, a lot of percussion caps,
which won't fit explode; handful OF
metallic cartridges-the gun is a muzzle
loader; package of powder, damp, and some
bar lead for bullets go with the musket.
There are also matches, sheath knife, and a
quantity of tobacco. All this treasure is
nassed ashore-under cover of the rifles of
the boats crew-and the "boy" is showed
along into the bow of the boat, which is
pulled Immediately out to the coming boat,
to which the "bird' is transferred, and we
go in to get another one.
While the recruit is being taken to the sec
ond boat the scene the beach is a peculiar
one The bundle of gifts is being dis
tributedn and by the time we have shipped
half dozen boys pretty much everybody on
the beach has something or other.
Such, in its humanest aspect, is the manner
in which labor is secured in the South seas.
F l.. Clarke in San Francisco Call,