The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-11-23
LIFE IN THE TROPICS
FOOD, SHELTER AND CLOTHING
 COST ALMOST NOTHING.
It is Difficult, Therefore, to Persuade the Happy Natives to Lead Strenuous Life-For Money
 They Have Little Use.


 
 Washington Evening Star.
 "It will take Americans some time 10 understand their insular possessions and to learn how to govern the people, said sn Englishman who for many years aved in Jamaica and tr aveled for an English firm through the West Indies. '"Fnere is no such thing as a strenuous life ana " is difficult to control people by tneir wants or desires when they do not want much. The luxury of taxattotl and the expense of Governne 1t they do not care for. and they would much prefer to De left to their. own resources. Thls IS a natural result of the climate and the pos sibiity of cheap living ir 1t, and this must be taken into consideration in ere ating a system of governme for them.
 Take the matter of a home, for in- stance; that means in many cases no outlay of cash whatever. The home seeker picks out oit of ground con- taining four or i've acres. This Is called 2 canucho. The ownership Is immaterial where much of the land Is unclaimed. He selects a high and fertile wooded spot, perhaps in the center Of forest, and above high water mark. He invites his friends to the clearing, and there IS rum, which he has made from the refuse ed the sugar cane. an abundance of fruit gathered wild, and dancing. Between times the clearing and fencing is going on with the aid of his guests. When the canucho is cleared and fenced by the logs and vines taken from the clearing. it is planted, and that ends the dancing and the labor as far as the crop is con- csrned. Several varieties or Jroducts are put out, and it becomes race between the crops, the wee1s and the trees. It is all matured in four months or less, and, strange to say, furnishes food for the owner almost from the, start and leaves him enough to sell to finish out the year. If the owner is extravagant and his food supply does not last the year he tears down his fence and makes charcoal of the posts and rails. he young trees come up quickly, so that at the end of the year he is ready to give another housewarming. Charcoal sells at once in the market. It takes about three days to get 1t ready and market 1t, so that it is the main standby when a little cash Is needed. This and the fodder, which is half grown conrstalks, are the main de- pendencies. The fodder Is given no at- tention and is gathered when it is less than month old.
 The matter of clothing does not give much more concern. A single garment oft suffices for the women, and the men in the country seldom wear anything but a pair of overalls The material in both instances is the same-cheap jeans-and they are worn for two or three years, until they fall to pieces. The women gather their skirts around their hips when walking, that the edges may not be frayed by the brush and cactus plants which abound everywhere, and there fs no puddle toe deep for them to wade with dry skirts They thus preserve them for a long time.
 You see how easy it is for them to live without money and without labor. That will always be the dikicult propo- sition for the Uuited States to fully ap- preciate. It will take years of education to effect q change. And, in fact, the years oe education in the past have been just the reverse In many of the coun- tries.
 "In former days the man who accumu- lated anything was quickly robbed by officers in authority. The owner of a few cattle was drafted by some high of- ficial in the province where he lived, and when he returned after a year or two of service in the army he found his cuRle gone and no one willing to give him any clew, He might be told that his property had been confisoated by the Government for some alleged of- fense, but no redress was ever possible. and tbe custom of officially robbing & man became so common that 1t occa- stoned no comment. !
 'T recall a case where a man and wo- man living in their usual marriage-by- agreement style quarreled and agreed to separate. They were unable to divide the cattle satisfactorily, as each had brought some to the common home. The matter was referred to one of the high officials, who divided the cattle into three equal herds. giving the man and woman one each and keeping one for his services as referee. Strange to say all parties were pleased with the decision.
 Tn the matter of natural foods requr- ing 10 planting and no cultivation these islands are rich and that is another cause of the indifference of the people to &C., cumulation of wealth. There Is no dan ger of starvation, work or not work, and most of the inhabitants are of the not work kind. I recall an Englishman. planter, who sought in vain for labor to inclose a tract of land he had himself cleared. He got some promises, but as usual in such cases, the people failed to come. Finally he found a man who said he wanted to buy revolver. and that he would work until he got money enough. He did just what he agreed to do. Nothing could induce him to con- tinue work after the revolver was earned, and the field had to be abandoned for that season, as the Englishman had not '.he time to do the work himself A French lady wanted a field grubbed. and mad the same trouble. She waited for many who promised to come and finally succeeded in getting three men to start at the work In half an nour they asked for some food, and after that was eaten asked permission to sleep under the back porch until the sun was down q little. They did no more work and slept there off and on for three days until they were driven away It was impossible to clean up the field and the cultivation of 1t was also abandoned
 The blow is unknown. the machetc of