Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1902-10-18
LIVING IN THE TROPICS.
Because They Can Live Without 1t,
People VIII Not Work.

Because They Can Live without 1t,
People Will Not Work.
1T will take Americans sometime to
understand their insular possessions,
and to learn how to govern the people" :"
said an Englishman who for many
years lived in Jamaica and Travelled for
an English firm through the West In
dies. There is no such thing as
strenuous life and it is difficult to con-
troll people by their wants or desires
when they do not want much. The
luxury of taxation and the expense Of
government they do not care for, and
they would much prefer to be left to
their resources. This Is a natural re-
suit Of the climate and the possibility
of cheap living In It, and this must be
taken into consideration in creating
system Of government 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 bit Of ground con-
tanning four or five acres. This Is
called a canucho. The ownership Is
immaterial where much of the land is
unclaimed. He selects a high and fer
tile wooded spot, perhaps in the center
Of a forest, and above high water mark.
He invites his friends to the clearing,
and there is rum, which he has made
from the refuse Of the sugar cane, an
abundance Of fruit gathered wild, and
dancing. Between the times the clear
ing 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, 1t Is
planted, and that ends the dancing la
Dor as far as the crop Is concerned.
Several varieties of products are put
out and it becomes a race between the
crop, the weeds and the trees. 1t 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 the fence and makes
charcoal Of the posts and rails. The
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 market. It takes about three
days to get it ready and market 1t, 80
that is the main standby when little
cash is needed. This and the fodder,
which Is half grown cornstalks, are
the main dependencies. The fodder Is
given no attention and Is gathered
when it is less than month old.
1.-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 wo-
men 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 is no puddle too deep for them to
wade with dry skirts. They thus pre-
serve them for long time.
"You see how easy 1t is for them to
live without money and without labor.
That will always be the difficult propo-
sition for the United States to fully ap-
preciate. It will take years of educa-
ton to effect a change. And, In fact,
the years Of education in the past have
been just the reverse in many OF the
countries.
I'm former days the man who accum-
ulated anything was quickly robbed by
officers in authority. The owner OF
few cattle was drafted by some high
official in the province where he lived,
and when he returned after year or
two of service in the army he found his
cattle gone and no one willing to give
him any clue. He might be told that
his property had been confiscated by
the government for some alleged Of
fense, but no redress was ever possi-
BILE, and the custom of officially rob-
bing a man became so common that it
occasioned no comment.
II recall a case where man and
woman living in their usual marriage
Engagement 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 these high officials, who divided the
cattle into three equal herds. giving the
man and women one each and keeping
one for his services as referee. Strange
to say all parties were pleased with
this decision.
I'm the matter Of natural foods re-
quiring no planting and no cultivation
these islands are rich, and that Is an
other cause of the Indifference Of the
people to accumulations of wealth.
There Is no danger Of starvation, work
or not work, and most Of the inhabi-
tants are Of the network kind. re-
call 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 man who said he
wanted to buy a revolver and that he
would work until he got money enough.
He did just what he agreed to do.
Nothing could induce him to continue
work after the revolver was earned,
and the field had to be abandoned for
that season, as the Englishman had not
the time to do the work himself. A