Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-09-19
A LOAD OF BANANAS.
A NIGHT SCENE ON THE COAST
 OF JAMAICA.

TorchliGht A Lively Time at the
 Wharf Cutting or the Stems The
 ventilating Tunnels.
 Shortly after dark the banana loading be- gan, and nothing connected with the fruit trade IS more picturesque and romantic than the loading of a banana ship, particularly when the work Is done at night. There was the long wooden building in which the ba- nanas were stored, with an uncovered board platform about twenty feet wide between it and the wharf at which the ship lay. A hundred darkies, perhaps more, were loung- | ing about waiting for the work to begin and there is nothing in which the West India darky comes out so strong as ln waiting for the work to begin. A big torch was lighted, and the flame of 1t made the platform as light almost as day. Lanterns were hung about inside the building, and through the open doors could be seen great piles of ba- nanas stacked up like hay; and all green, for they are cut in the unripe state, and should not, if they are properly managed, be more than just beginning to show few yellow streaks by the time they arc landed in New York.
 | A dozen men went to work and kGshed a | wide plank to the side of the ship in such 8 | position that it made a platform large enough for two men to stand on, about four feet above the wharf and the same distance below the deck. The cover was taken off the for
 ward hatch and several men were sent below to stow away the punches as they were passed down. Other mon were stationed between the rail and the hatch to pass the punches along. Men and women carried the punches from the shed to the ship and handed them to the men on the hanging platform. An in- spector was constantly on the wharf keeping a sharp eye on every bunch and rejecting all that had any blemish or were under size. A colored man with & sharp cutlass stood about midway between the shed and the ship, and with dexterous blow cut the long and use less stem from each bunch as it was carried past. Thus each bunch went through five hands in its short journey from the storage shed to the hold of the ship: First a girl or man picked up a bunch from the great heap in the shed, put it on her or his head, and carried it to the men on the hanging plat form; they passed it to the man on deck, who in turn handed it to the men in the hatch way, and they gave it to men still deeper in the hold, who slowed it away where it was to remain till it reached New York.
 The order to begin work instantly turned the quiet wharf into one of the livehest places imaginable. Twenty men and girls | made rush for the shed and came out, one after another, with punches of bananas on SA0AA ACSAOS, AOAA 1hS <'S II SACAA A4fOS oS pended upon making quick time. The two men on the platform, as they received the punches called off the number for the tally keeper, who made a mark for every bunch received. Then began a musical but monot- onous chorus that lasted till the last banana
 was on board. The men on the platform re- ceived the punches alternately, first one and then the other, each one as he handed his
 bunch up to the deck calling out number that never went beyond four. First the right hand man cried "Wan," in voice that
 might have been heard on the other side of the island. Then the left hand man "Two." And the other one again, Three" and the left hand man again, -Four" and then the first one "Tal-lee," the "tally" coming out every time five times louder than any of the others. Then it began again with the
 ''one," :" "two," "thrse," and so on, till in 8 short time the tally keeper had rows of
 marks reaching across the broad pages of
 his book. Occasionally some of the workers
 started up song and the others joined in. The whole scene was typical of life in the tropics, with the awning stretched over the passengers deck to keep off the night dews, the darkies at work by the light of the r big torch, the pleasant smell of the bananas, the soft warm air and the negro songs. It 3 was a tropical cargo that we had through out with 800 hogsheads of sugar in the hold, a great weight of mahogany logs and some 8 hides and tobacco. In short time the whole wharf was covered with the cut off ends of 3 banana stems, and these had frequently to be 8 swept away. Two or three times somebody's
 grip failed or his foot slipped and bunch of
 bananas came down on the wharf with a
 thud and broke to pieces, only to be thrown overheard without ceremony. It seemed i'm possible for the man to keep swinging his r cutlass ill tho midst of that hurrying crowd !, without nicking somebody's head, or at least | looping of an ear or two; but he evidently l. understood his business, for no such accident e happened, and the cutlasS never descended without bringing with it one of the cut oh g stems It would have been impossible, oi t course, for such crowd of West Indian col D ored people to work together without some
 wrangling and quarreling, and in such cases
 they arc not sparing of their lungs, and scold
 away at such rate that a pitched battle r seems imminent. They take it out in scold
 ing, however, and rarely or never come te
 blows over their work.
 t This went on from o'clock to II, with (
 racket that made sleep impossible. In thos' e four hours ], 900 punches of bananas were put d in the hold, and more would have been taker le if more had been ready; but another steamer y had been loaded the day before, and hat IS nearly emptied the storehouse. The slowing
 away III the hO1I Is Work that requires eX
 perienced hands Careless work there would
 result ill a spoiled cargo before the shil ,e reached her destination. They have to be a g. carefully packed as a lady's trunk, and so ar ,e ranged that the air will reach them as mucl le as possible A fruit steamer is marvel il Is the way of pipes and ventilators and all sort D. of contrivauceS for keeping bananas i'll goo of condition. The deck of the Alvo, as soon a g we had bananas on board, became a wilder
 ness of great iron ventilating tunnels, eac
 as high as mans head, and each re-enforce
 with canvas arms, spread out to catch tn no breeze. re On the other hand, when the ship reache th higher attitudes her northward voyage ,e the ventilators have to be taken away an ~o the hold heated with steam pipes The Atla s, Steamship company has system of protec ,f' ing its fruit that seems to be nearly perfec
 The hold must be kept at just such temper
 ature as nearly as possible throughout th
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