Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1898-01-21
NEGROES OF SURINAM.
They Have Their Republic In South
American Forests.

Thcy nave Iheir hcpuDiic In South
American Forests.
Among the inhabitants of Surinam
not the least interesting are the bush
negroes, or, as the Surinam Dutch call
them, bosch" negroes. These negroes
are the descendants of the maroons or
runaway slaves of the old time. They
live in the woods of the interior, and
may be said to'be the agriculturists OF
the colony. The first migration to the
woods by these negroes was made in
1868. In that year the Portuguese Jews
of the Surinam valley, when the tax.
gatherers came around, sent their ne.
gro slaves into the woods to avoid pay.
ing taxes for them, expecting that, after
the departure of the revenue agents, the
negroes would return. But they did
not. They remained in the forest, es-
tablished themselves there, and re.
ceived constant accessions to their mum.
bers from the runaway slaves of the
settlements and the neighboring is.
lands. After the emancipation act of
1863 they received large accessions from
the negro population of Barbados.
They have had many conflicts with the
government of the colony during their
history, in the assertion of their free
dom and independence, and have al
ways maintained both. One of their
great leaders was the famous Boni, who,
in 1772, led his bands up to the very
walls of Paramaribo. They have had
independent republics. and have gen.
orally held themselves to be independ-
ent of the colonial laws. They are, how
ever, peaceable people, mild and
unlike the aborigines-temperate
They cultivate rice and other products
which they dispose of to the colonists
They are also the wood-cutters of the
colony, and convey by the rivers
streams and canals the products of the
forests to Paramaribo. They are fair
~ industrious; they have no religion
their only object of worship being thu
ceiba or cotton tree, which is sometimes
found rising in majestic and solitary
| grandeur in the clearings, having beer
spared by the ak because of the venera
ton in which it is held. Offerings o.
fowls, yams and manioc are often found
beneath the ceiba, the propitiatory gift'
of the bushmen. The Moravian mis-
sionares have labored hard to bring
the bush negroes into the fold of Christ
ianity, but without success.
A large proportion of the population
is composed of coolies, hill coolies from
the hill lands Of India, south of tn,
great bend of the River Gauges, ant
coolies from Java and China. Tb
coolies were introduced after the eman
cipation of the slaves, to take the plac
of the latter on the plantations. Tn
British were the first to introduce thi
element of labor, their own slaves hay
ing been emancipated in 1898. Whel
the emancipation went into effect il
Surinam, and the plantation negroe
declined TO longer perform the labo
which was compulsory upon them II
slavery, it became necessary to look 70
labor elsewhere. The British Indian au
thorities required such guarantees be
fore permitting the coolies to leave In
dia that only the richest planters coul
afford to secure this kind of help. TIL
poorer planters who had not abandone
their plantations turned to the Dutc
colonies of the Pacific for relief in thei
extremity, and succeeded in importin
q number of Javanese coolies, who no,
form an element of the population G
the colony. Later, larger numbers c
Indian coolies and Chinese wer
brought in, also Arabs, natives of Ar
nam, and even negroes from the Ser
egal. The coolies, without exception
are Industrious and willing to worl
The labor on the sugar and COTE
plantations is mainly performed b
them, but they are found in every d,
partment of industry, many of theI
settling down after their term of COZ
tract has expired and becoming pal
of the colony They keep up the cu
, toms of the countries to which the
belong, and wear the same fashion {
dress, that of the Indian women bein
| exceedingly PlClulcaIuc' lHeSc ~
males wear great deal of jewelry, col
sisting of armlets and anklets of gol,
, necklaces of coins, finger rings in gret
abundance, and many of them wea
:. nose jewels. The Indian coolie wome
are for the most part handsome of fac
I and shapcly Of fgure,--Suripam Col
. Fields,