Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1896-12-18
LOADING COTTON.
Tho Work OF Negroes on ene
Steamships Down South
srcat shil Required In the Handling o.
the Heavy Baies-The Men Ai~sye
Cheerful and Singing While
ut Labor.

It is a problem in mechanics 10 ioan
q cotton ship-to fill every cubic loot OF
freight room with the awkward req
tangular bales-and SOME men are so
much more skilled than others In this
science that it often makes difference
of 400 or 500 bales in a 2,OO0-ton ship
and that amount of loss in the profit OF
the VOYAGE. Therefore, the stevedores
and screwmen receive big wages, per-
haps the largest that are paid &c
negroes anywhere in the world, Tor
most of the longshoremen in the South
Atlantic are of that race, says the CHI
cago Record.
In New Orleans they are nearly all
white men Italians, Swedes and Irish
men-nnd the riots that we read about
in the papers were due to the introduce
ton of negro packers and scrcwmen |
from Galveston to take the place OF the
whites.
The scrcwmcn are divided into gangs
Of five, with foreman, and the whole
are under the direction OF chief
stevedorc, who is usually white man,
and acts as superintendent OF the dock.
Each gang occupies hatchway OF the
steamer, and five men are all that can
conveniently work in such narrow
space.
The cotton comes from the plRnta-
ton on the cars or upon flatboats. The
bales as they leave the plantation are
loosely packed generally four feet
Highland the first thing when they
reach the dock is to tumble them into
a hydraulic press, which reduces their
bulk by one half and makes it possible
to pack twice us many in the hold OF
steamer.
The trucxmen pass back and forth
between the pile of bales and the ship
in procession, rapidly and in perfect
time, and it is an awkward and "wuth-
! less Niger" as the foreman said, who
ever touches a bale with his hands.
Some Of them put on jaunty airs,
strike attitudes, and introduce fancy
steps as if they were at cake walk,
particularly when spectators are watch
ing, but that is unprofessional, and the
serious and sclf-rcspccting truckman
totes his bales" without trying to at
tract attention. They sing as they go,
but for the life Of me l could not catch
the words, and when in an interval
asked one to repeat the verses he re-
piled:
"Dey amt none. Dat wuz jes' de
truckers song"
The refrain sounded like "Oh rio rily
), oh, oh rio rily OH" and it was evidently
nothing but gibberish. 1t appears that
the several gangs have their own par
I ticular songs, and judged from what
= the foreman told me that the words
s were usually without meaning, or sim
ply a series of rhythmical sounds with
examinations that rhymed, invented by
> some one of their numbo and sung tc
familiar airs.
: The truckman drops the bale at the
edge Of the dock, or losses it by jerk
: Of the handles of his truck over the
n gunwales of the vessel; then man ad
= justs the grapplingiron and shouts sig
:, nal to the engineer ut tho windlass
who turns his lever, and, hosting the
y bale into the mir, lets it swiftly dowr
- into the hold, where the five artists arr
e waiting to pack it away.
= It is hot work below, and the packer.
and screwmen are usually barefootet
-. and naked above the waists, while per
= SEPARATION rolls down their massiv,
3 muscles. Each has q hook in his hand
anu Lncy SclZc anu tOSo tAS cOu-tsJuhe
s. bales as a Japanese juggler plays will
al plates.
~ Five hooks are in the cotton the in
10 slant it touches bottom, and they seen
- to work like slot machine, for on
10 does not pull one way and another an
y other, but by united, simultaneous CT
at fort the great package is lifted, an
drops into the very place where tn
boss wants it to go.
Then at intervals they get out bi
iackscrcw that must weigh 500 pound
le and crowd the bales together until tn
D. hold of the ship is one solid mass. On
az end of the jackscrew is placed agains
!, o bale and the other end against
= piece of heavy oak timber four or fly
IN inches square, which is notched to kee
III the screw from slipping, and can be il
err clined against the side of the ship c
al one Of it's stanchions, SO that goo
n purchase may be obtained. The sore,
r. is worked by double crank, and on
=. man holds it in position while the othe
four turn. That operation is Gale
co ''nosing up"
All this is done to musical accom-
err paniment-I suppose q negro alway
IL sings WHcu hc WoTho-oue Vic oouBS
oh the screwmen are different from thos
.ss Of the truckmen, and the air that GOO
-. with the jaclSscrew is not the same tina
Pc is sung when the screwmen are placin
oii the bale in position.
ne These stcvcdorcs have work onl
d. about six months in the year, but Will
of they are at it they receive good pa,
Nv They work by the piecc-that is. S
or much money for storing away so man
~ bales, and the foreman, who gets tn
40 Job and selects his own associates, &c,
no one-half more than they.
During the cotton season, for 12 or
u hours work he will average $3.50 da
lat and they IS, if they are slillful and el
lis ergetic. The truckers are paid by tn
~ hour, and make from sl.25 to $3.50.
,.,, Between seasons the screwmen el
=. gage in other occupations, cultivatin
III gardens, doing plantation work, or 70
ks lowing any trade that they may ha,
ad learned; but they are universally r
he garded as superior beings, like bull
he fighters in Spain and baseball player
I. in the United States.
~, A bale of cotton weighs from $50
VI 500 pounds, and skillful packers ca
II" get from 5000 to 10, 900 bales in so
lp- ton ship. The number Of bales shi
he will carry increases rapidly with i
lat tonnage. For example, a 1,O00-ton shi
les will carry 5000 bales; 1,5oO-ton shi