Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1888-08-03
s,r,.,p rLlNTiTioNs.

I alike. Having seen V4iN
ull. so far as external AFFAIRS are eoii
cornel 1t is often the ease 1lli'' eiieii
owner. or lessees, are people Oh c''i'''ie
and refinement. and with host Oh
friends and visitors about them llNe neio
i'm q stvle of atiiuent elegance lof Nhi'n
we can now find no comparison III o''i
own country. There was 4 time when
we could. But the lrealy reaches o1
cane; the long, snake-lke tlamwaSs "'''.
roads for hauling the emerald loads Oh
treasure to the mill; the white tree
frinoed avenue leading from the high
way to the batey or square upon winch
all the structures are faced with start
ling regularity; the live hedges OF
! Spanish bavonet OF savage prickly pear
and dirk pointed heniquen that mark
the confines. or divisions, Of the estate;
the tall and lonesome chimneys OF the
boiling houses; the glarisg white build
ings from villa to "the quarters that
look forever so ghostly lonesome and
torture your eyes in the pitiless sun;
the 11nsavory smell of the cane juice in
all stages Of conversion into sugar,
and the never ending hordes Of ignor-
ant blacks sweltering and yelling like
demons il their hard labor are one and
the same from one end of Cuba to an
other.
The plantation is divided into num-
berless squares OF patches, around and
from which, lec.linss direct to the mill,
are guarda rayc, or roads, which are
frequently tramways with iron bound
wooden rails, where one mule can easily
amble along with 10000 pounds Of the
glistening cane ON cars. Frequently
these guarda rayos ranate in all direc.
tions from the batey or square like the
spokes of wheel. 1t is one steady
stream Of cane day and night to the
ponderous rolls which squeeze it dry
as a bone. whether it comes fast or
slowly, endwise or sidewise, and leave
tue rag-ike, crushed and fiattened
q X in what is called bagazo. This,
dried in the sun, provides the entire
fuel of the never idle boilers. The
screaming and whining Of these crush
ing nolfs is one of the most lugubrious
noises one ever listened to. Then there
are tremendous engines and boilers
kept endlessly raging by the burning
bagazo; countless pipes and fixtures and
the huge nickel plated vacuum pans, :"
imbedded in polished wood, where the
cane juice, seemingly quiet, is kept at a
fearful heat by steam; the great watts
and reservoirs, and finally, the swirling
centrifugal machines, that, inside of
five minutes, take the black, nasty,
mushy mess and beat it until it is as
white as snow and ready for market.
From 100000 to 100000 pounds are
frequently made annually upon each of
these plantations, beside the enormous
yield of molasses, which is an impor-
tant factor in the crop.
The fact is, these great sugar estates
are now run on so gigantic scale that
they are little less than huge factories,
with all the hard characteristics of fac
tory life about them, the home OF rural
idea being wholly eliminated. The
plsce is like factory village, employ
ing and caring for from 1000 to 1900
souls. The discipline is severe; the
system perfect. The hands are invari
ably negroes. They work in watches,
or relays, day and night, precisely as
they do at your rolling mills. The
males occupy quarters walled and bar,
ricaded from the women, and there is
no more chance for intercourse or frolie
than in the American penitentiary
Those married have separate quarters
Edgar L. JFdhen1d1is letter.
THE TYPEWRITER GIRL COME.