Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1898-10-18


OF long. long ycars-l want-l beg you 30.
rriends are 70 hAri 70 make--yes, and 20 few,
And loes 20 eaeiiy-my heart has bied
That you should su6er-bittef tears shed
To know that was false when you were true.
Mine Ia the fault, and mine shall be the blame
'Tis a. supplicant come 20 knecl
And AJAX your par,ion-yours W 10 70 name
The puuishment the guilty heart shall feel.
only pray you may iSrss;, s ,,is,g sns pam sn,,,
sUGAR-eSTATeS IN CUBA.
PICTURE OF THEIR CONDITIONS HALL
A CENTURY AGO.
Jonathan 8. jenkins, On American
miniature painter, lived 10 Havana dur
Ing the middle Of the century, and kept
a diary Of his experiences. A selection
from this journal 10 published In th'
October Century. Mr.. jenkins says:
Coffee plantations, though 90 beauti
ful, have not increased In numbers ol
late years; 10 fact, many Of them have
been changed into sugsr-eststes, which
are more profitable and render the owner
socially more important. The owner
usually resides 10 Havana, where hi'
family may enjoy the pleasures Of cultl
vated society and have the luxuries OF q
city; he therefore ,mploys = sort OF mid
dle-man, called major-domo, TO msnsgs
his estate. The owner wants all the
money be can get to maintain hts estab-
lishment In Havana, and the major-domo
seeks to increase his percentage, and thus
the poor slaves are ground 70 the dust
and ut times the cruelties practised are
barbArous. The mxyorals are usually
Canary Islanders, \ hot-tempered and
cruel race, and, being without the re-.
straint Of the presence OF the owner, are
vindictively oppressive, and In their in'
human punishments often tale life. The
horrors which have been perpetrated In
Cuba by the lash would disgrace bar.
barians.
One striking fact attesting the hard
ships Of slave life on . sugsr-estate l.
that children are very rarely seen there.
Slave men in their vigor are more profit.
able, and hence on large force Of sever
al hundred men only q few women are
allowed. The labors and hardships
which these women endure tend to pre-
vent increase, and the few children born
usually die In infancy from neglect
There IL no care taken to prevent this
result, rs they say 1t Is cheaper to sup
ply the losses on the plantations by new
importations than by the rearing OF
children. The climate, fortunately. Is
40 mild that the slaves need but little
clothing, and wide palm hat and q
cloth about the loins are their costume
in the fields, the sun seeming TO have
but little effect upon their black skins.
Every week there is q ration day, on
which they are drawn up 10 long lines,
and few pounds Of blsck-looking beei
brought from Buenos Ayres are thrown
at the feet of each, which at night each
cooks to suit himself. In addition, =
coarse meal or small hominy (bran and
sll) Ia boiled, aud put In trough from
which they eat II every morning with 4
spoon, paddle, or their hands as they
choose.
The Africans brought into Cuba are
generally from the coast Of Mozambique,
and are called Locoomees and Csravalees.
They are large, stout men, Of doggcd
will, and at times are very obstinate.
All these creatures believe implicitly
iu the trsnsmixrstion OF souls, and II
they commit suicide they 90 Immediately $
back 10 Africa. To check this evil, when
= suicide occurs, the mayoral makes each
OF the slaves bring bundle Of wood and
build funeral pyre, on which the bod :
IL burned. The ashes are then scattered
In the air by the survivors, In whose
opinion the dead negro's soul Is thus pre-
vented from returning TO Africa. la
scattering the ashes they sigh audibly,
AHA! Aha" as II expressing grief that
the soul Of their companion can no long.
er go home.
The appearance Of the sugar estates Is
the very opposite Of the beautiful coffee
plantations. Wide fields Of monotonous
green stretch themselves to the horizon
on every side, while here aud there the
royal palm lifts Its tufted head above the
verdant level. The msyorsl's house, the
sugsr-works, and the diugy bsrracoons
for the slaves are the only objects 10
break the monotouy OF the desolste
scene. When first planted, the cane Is
laid leugthwise 10 trenches, or furrows,
about five or six feet apart, aud then
covered. From each eye (there Is An
eye to each sound joint) q shoot springs
and sends out others, forming q buuch
of canes; and thus the fields are covered
with the most luxuriant green.
Every year the crop IL cut st the
ground and the next season another
crop springs up from the roots, which
are called vatOns. These vatOns will
yield crops in this way for several years,
the length Of time depending on the
mildness Of the climate. In Louisiana
only three or four crops are gathered
from one planting, while In the tropics
eighteen or twenty are thus obtained.
The grinding of the cane begins about
the last Of October and continues until
the beginning Of the rainy season, q
period of nearly six months. This is the
time Of greatest labor on the estate; and
without iutermission of Sundays or holi-
days, with but few exceptions the slaves
work necessarily and men and teams are
worn out before work Is over. The
slaves are given few trifing presents
and are allowed some extra privileges TO
encourage them 10 undergoing the In
creased labor.