The Wichita daily eagle., 1897-12-12
FARM LABOR
IN LITTLE HAWAII.

In the work on the Hawaiian n,anta-
tons nothing IS too big or too danger
Gus for the Japanese laborers IN pnd.r-
take In clearing the coffee plsntat,ons
their indifference TO human life Gives
the owners much anxiety. Where The
great trees are to be felied II ia alr,o..
impossible TO make them take ordinary
precautions. At the same time. th.v
clear land which others will not az
tempt. The only thing they have not
been able TO do Is to Dust the native
Ilongshcremen- At Hilo a Japanese hui
wanted 10 get the contract for unload
ing schooner which had Just arrived
from San Francisco with lumber. The
men agreed to do the work for half OF
what the native Hawaiians were re-
ceiving- There is no harbor and no
wharf at Hilo. The lumber has TO be
unloaded in the breakers and towed
ashore By longshoremen. The members
of the Japanese hui tried. but wers
forced TO give up the job. 1t was the
one thing they could not do. Another
thing which the Japanese have rot
learned is to saddle the horse. They
ride badly when they ride at all. while
the natives take 10 the horse as natu-
rally as western cowboy.
Nevertheless. the Japanese will not
hesitate for a moment about saddling
the animal. and the result Is certain to
be disaster to the rider. Their conf
dence in their own ability 10 do any
thing Is In some instances laughahle.
A visitor at mountain settlement re-
marked that his watch was out of or
der. His host asked IL ne cared 10 have
II repaired by blacksmith. and took
him 10 the wayside shop. where n field
hand was shoeing a horse When tho
host told the blacksmith that the watch
needed mending. the workman took II
up without the least hesitation. pried
open the case, and perhaps would have
placed IL on the anvil had the visitor
not interfered. 1t never occurred 10
him that If he could shoe a horse he
could not mend a watch
The Japanese fieldhands almost with
out exception read and write their own
tongue. Many OF them pore over Eng
lisf books in their camps at night II
is not an unusual sight TO find them
with a grammar. a dictionary and an
English newspaper. plowing their way
into our language. Notwithstanding
the intensity OF their national senti-
ment they feel that America IL tho
and they want TO know the dominate
ing language. In the district OF Kona,
where the combined English speaking,
Portuguese. native Hawaiian. Japa-
nese and Chinese population Is not
equal TO the burden of maintaining
printing press. newspaper is got out
weakly. 1t Is called the Kona Echo.
The copies are written and then mimeo-
graphed. Half the paper is English and
half japanese. The American editor is
strong annexationist and one week
published an article that committed the
journal 10 the stars and stripes.
The following week the Japanese hAit
OF the paper had leader explaining
that The Echo was devoted 10 the In
.erests OF the entire community. regard
less OF politics. and that IL was not
committed 10 annexation This salts
fed the Japanese readers. and ths
American editor has since then refrain
ed from advocating annexation In his
half OF the paper
Many OF the japanese feldhands. AFT
er their contracts expire. remain and
cultivate sugar cane or coffee. This Is
done by means OF their 'huis." OF CO.
operative companies. In some instances
they have been quite successful. a
member of a hui" told the writer No
had gone 10 the island ten years be-
fore under contract, had staid ana had
Joined others Of hfs countrymen In rais-
ing sugar. He had recently sold out
his interest for 5000 and was goiag
10 Japan for a years visit Some OF
the fieldhands have their earnings IN
vested in 'huis'' which are developing
coffee lands. Among themselves they
are great gamblers. even more so than
the Chinese. ON the sugar pianta-
tions a sharp watch II kept for the pro-
fessionals who 80 from camp 10 camp.
something like the wheel OF fortnns
man at county fairs Usually when
Japanese feldhand disappears II II
found that he owes his fellow lasorsrs
money and has been gambling.