The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-11-11

set foot on shore, among the crowd of
 darkles clamoring to carry your things.
 l singled out a coal-black fellow in a
 clean white suite, because he looked the
 most intelligent; and in reply to my
 question what he would charge to con-
 Vey trunk, two handbags and a ca
 mera to the custom house. he said
 "Marm Ladyi I dat quick-quickie fe
 quattie fe lil tings an tanner fe tunk."
 What on earth he meant had no idea
 until after several repettions, each
 yelled louder than before as if by that
 means to arouse my dull understand
 ing, an obliging by-stander, familiar With what is known as Quashie Eng llsh, translated the porter's words to
 signify that he would do the job very
 quickly for "quattie," or one-quarter of
 an English six-pence (three cents in
 money), for carrying each of the small
 pieces, and tanner" a siX-pence, for the trunk.
 The poorest of these negroes are eX-
 tremely polite to one another as well as
 to strangers. It is amusing to hear a
 half-naked fellow hatless and shoeless,
 lowing low to another in the same con- dition and saying with the air of a
 Chesterfield: How do dis morn, sar? 1 Hope um do be well, sar," The re-
 sponse invariably is, "Quitie well, um,
 dis morn, sar; tank um, sar." The word um is not understood, but it's use is constant in every sentence, and
 "sar" or 'marm-lady" are never omit
 ted. Seeing women breaking stone on
 the roadside, coaling ships in the har-
 Dor, working in the fields and doing all
 the business of marketing, you wonder what the men do for living. It is not true that the men are altogether idle, though the women perform most of the labor which calls for strength and en- durance. The colored lords of creation in this part of the world are willing to be dressed up in the becoming uniform of soldiers and glory in the gorgeous tunic, scarlet jacket and blue zouave
 brooches of barbaric splendor. They will even perform the light functions
 of the police-force, although it is said to be generally necessary to thrump a Jamaican policeman on the head to wake up when murder is being con-
 mitted under his nose One finds na- tive men on the railroads, too, ap- parently enjoying the free rides as con- ductors and engineers; also as tele- graph operators glass-diamond be- decked clerks in shops and hotels and | overseers of the so-called weaker sex who are breaking stone and digging | ditches. To tell the truth, the Anna zons look better able to do hard work than the lanky, undersized men, The blackest and brawniest of them chal- lenge admiration when met on the road, l huge burdens balanced on their heads, | loose garments tucked high around the l hips, arms swinging, striding along | with the graceful motion which free
 dom of body and limb alone can give.
 With vigorous arms they belabor the l poor little donkeys laden from ears to l tail with Guinia grass for it's own din- ner and a variety of articles, animate
 and inainmate, either of purchase or of sale. The splendid roads, which are
 the pride and boast of the island, were
 originally built by convicts. and the work of keeping them in repair is not i difficult. You soon cease to feel pity 1 for the females who are doing it when l you observe how contented, even hilari- l ous, they are. Here and there along l the roadside they set up four poles and 1 thatch them with palm-leaves to afford shelter from the sun; and under these primitive huts they sit, happy as any i queen on her throne, making frolic of pounding all day long. On these rural roads you meet a great many more pe- 1 destrians than vehicles! Most of the latter are queer, three wheeled arts,
 drawn by three bullocks abreast; or by 1 three mules, or three horses; or may
 be it is badly mixed team of horse, | OK and mule harnessed side by side. Nowdays every Jamaica negro brides l himself on descent or connection with l the Maroons, who murmured the
 French and defied the English, in 1851, | claiming the famous old Cadjoe as one 1 of his progenitors and ignoring every l other color in his blood but black or l brown Yet the truth is that the blood 1 of almost every nation mingles in his veins While the cocoanut head, l crowned with stiffest wool predomi-
 mates every link of the hair and color 1 of the eyes may be found, with almost | every shade of complexion from ebony | to good Jersey cream.
 | Among the most singular people in | Jamaica are the colored Jews who unite the dark skin and protruding lips l of the African with the Hebrews sharp l eatures, twinkling eyes and nose of 1 abnormal development. There is a | very large Jewish element in the is-
 land in proportion to it's size and popu- 1 lation; Kingston alone has a Jewish l colony three thousand strong. They