Daily camera., 1898-12-01
CUBA SUGAR ESTATES
Picture of Their Conditions Half a
Century Ago.
Their Owners Lived in Havana and
Their Major DomOs were Guilty
of BarbarOus Cruelty
to the Slaves.

of late years; in fact, many of them
have changed into sugar estates, which
are more profitable, and render the
owner socially more important. The
owner usually resides in Havana
where his family NAV enjoy the pleas,
ureS of cultivated society and have the
luXuries of a city; he therefore EN-.
plOys a sort of middleman, called
ma jor-domo, to manage his estate
The owner wants all the money he car
oct to maintain his establishment il
havana, and the major-domo seeks tc
increase his percentage, and thus the
poor slaves are ground to the dust
and at times the cruelties practiced
are barbarous. The mayOrals are
usually Canary islanders, hot-tem'
pcred and cruel race. and, being with
cut the restraint of the presence OF
the owner, are vindictively oppressive
and in their inhuman punishments
often take life. The horrors which
have been perpetratcd in Cuba by the
lash would disgrace barbarians.
One striking fact attesting the hard,
ships Of slave life on sugar estate is
that children are very rarely seer
there. Slave men in their yigor are
more profitable, and hence in a large
force of several hundred men only
few women are allowed. The labOrs
and hardships which these women en-
dure tend to prevent increase, and
the few children born usually die ir
infancy from neglect. There is nc
care taken to prevent this result, as
they say it is cheaper to supply the
losses on the plantations by new i'm
portations than by the rearing OF
children. The climate, fortunately
is so mild that the slaves need but
little clothing. and a wide palm hat
and a cloth about the lions are their
costume in their fields, the sun seem.
ing to have but little effect upon thei1
black skins.
Every week there is a ration day,
on which they are drawn up in long
lines, and few pounds of black-look.
ing beef brought from Buenos Ayres
are thrown at the feet of each, which
a l I4lS LII tdCH SOOhS " suit illlllSt4Ir
In addition, a coarse meal or small
honiny (bran and alb is boiled, and put
in a trough, from which they eat it
every morning with a spoon, paddle
or their hands, as they choose.
The Africans brought into Cuba are
generally from the coast of. Mozam.
bique, and are called Locoomees and
Caravalees. They are large, stout
men, of dogged will, and at times are
very obstinate.
All these creatures believe implicit
ly in the transmigration OF souls, and
that if they commit suicide they go i'm
mediately back to Africa. To check
this evil, when a suicide occurs. the
mayoral makes each Of the slaves
bring a bundle of wood and build a
funeral pyre. on which the body is
burned. The ashes are then scattered
III th" air by the survivors, III whose
opinion the dead negro's soul is thus
prevented from returning to Africa.
In scattering the ashes they sigh au-
dibly. Aha! Aha!" as if expressing
grief that the soul of their companion
can no longer go home.
The appearance Of the sugar estates
is the very opposite of the beautiful!
coffee plantations. Wide fields Of mo,
nctonous green stretch themselves
to the horizon on every side, while
here and there the royal palm lifts its
tufted head above the verdant level
The may oral's house, the sugar works.
and the dingy barracoons for the
slaves are the only objects to break
the monotony of the desolata scene.
When first planted, the cane is laid
lengthwise in trenches, or burrows
about five or six feet apart, and then
covered. From each eye (there is an
eye to each soft joint a shoot springs
up, and sends out others. forming a
bunch of canes: and thus the fields
are covered with the most luXuriant
green.
Every year the crop is cut at 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 Is or 20 are thus OBJ.
tanned. The grinding of the cane be-
gins about the last of October. and
continues until the beginning of the
rainy season, a period of nearly sin
months. This is the time of greatest
labor on the estate: and, without in
termission of Sundays or holidays,
with but few exceptions, the slaves
work incessantly, 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 in undergoing the
increased labor.-Jonathan S. jenkins,
in Century.