Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-17

HoWeTs proved out OF the trees. Tnen as
for the stream. it hustled along for all the
world like a Dartmoor brook, and the
sound Of 1t among the stones was like
word from home. But instead OF the
heather and whortleberries and fern, there
was all foreigners pom the bank, and in
staed Of a moor man coming along with
mitch of reeds or cart of peat, I found
lot of black gals washing linen in the
stream.
We'll, my dears, have e seed any ALI
gators up-afong? / axed 'em; and they
said, No, massa sailor, we no see no alli-
gators
II had row with the boss coming back
and was much surprised to find he'd got
devil enough In him to run away. OF
course. held on, and twas rather amusing
except for all the things he jerked out of
my pockets. Feared to me that he galloped
on one side and trotted on t'other. When
he ruined away he was going about three
mile an hour. Afore that never seed the
funeral as wouldn't have catched him up
and passed him. He got me down to the
wharf; then his gear all carried away and
failed off with the saddle on top of me.
Ills pretty eating here, and we have
tree oysters, If you'll believe 1t. that grow
on the roots of trees in the salt creeks Also
snapper-fsh, yams, gourd soup. muscovy
ducks, cocoanut pudding, guava cheese and
many other tidy things
Yesterday l seed Mister Henry pom the
wharf, with his overseer from the Pelican
sugar estate-a chap by the name of Jabez
fOru. II maze me 1eel Terrible queer TO see
Mister Henry. We was getting boatload
of cocoanuts at the time, so I didn't make
myself knowed to him. But when the
chance comes / will.
That man Ford lost his wife rather sud
den two three nights agone. She was
half back woman, and believed in a lot of
queer, horrible things, like the full-blooded
niggers do. And come nightfall, after she
died, awful wailing and bowling broke
out ashore, for scores of negresses was
g 70 Eoon no
Jumbes away. Jumbes belong to the re-
hgion of Obi, and they m awful, flesh-suck-
Ing vampires as scent out corpse like vul-
lures and come through the air and out of
the earth to be at it. But If the beast hears
women singing, it chokes him off. Certainly
the black females sing very nice; and they
sang hymns the parson out here has taught
'em-hymns that coined from England. I
almost cried to hear 'em, Minnie, till l re-
membered as they were being sung to keep
off Jumbies; then 1 laughed. There's an
other awful, terrible customer called a loop
garoo.s He's worse than Jumby almost,
and he takes off his skin when he's at his
nightly devilr.es, and hides it under a silk
cotton tree. This be all part of Obeah and
l hear tell there's an awful wicked and aw-
full powerful Obi man, called Jesse Hagan,
in Tobago. who's gotten tame Jumbies to
work for him. The niggers SILVER when
they tell about him.
LAS to cocoanuts, which you've only seed
at a revel three SHES penny ou. here
what they was. A grower told me that in
the old days he'd get a clear profit of 92
on every thousand nuts he sold; now he
don't get Ell. We be bringing home hum
dreds of sacks of 'em. but the seller don't
count to do much good Another queer
freight we be taking back to Barbados is
turtles. These creatures be very common
round Tobago. They come up out of the
sea of moonlight night and paddle about
in the sand. and lay their eggs. Then mig
gers, as be lying in wait for 'em, rush out
and catch 'em, and throw 'em over pom
their backs. There they lie till the morn do
come, and then they m brought off to the
wharf for shipment. First the owners mark
be branded on the poor devils with a red
hot iron their yellow bellies; but they
be all shell outside, and it don't hurt 'em
more than putting hot shoe on a horses
hoof. Then the turtles Is tied by their flip
pers-two and three at a time-and hoisted
aboard. On deck we'va got turtle tanks
waiting for EN-. These be full of salt
water. and the turtle lives there as best he
can; or If he can't, he dies. No beasts on
Gods earth have worse time than turtles
when they'm catched. They don't get bite
or sup no more. for there's nought we can
give 'em that they'll eat. Many die on the
way home, If the weather turns very cold,
and aboard a ship you can tell how the
turtle be faring by the amount of turtle
soup as comes to dinner. And If they do get
home, tits to have their threats cut pretty
quick. But they pay we'll If they get home
alive.
Now I'll knock off, because 1 be going
ashore to see sister Henry. We sail to-
morrow so I can't leave it no longer. I'll
finish this when I've had speech with him,
and much do hope as I'll find he'll come
over to my side"
Here the unfinished letter broke off, and
the things that happened after may be i'm
re dia tely related.
Daniel went ashore with a special mes
sage from his captain for the harbor mas
ter; but the order was not delivered, be-
cause good fortune as it seemed, had
brought Henry Vivian to the pierhead, and
as Daniel climbed up the steps, he almost
touched his boyhood's friend. The over
seer of the Pelican estate stood beside him.
Mr.. Jabez Ford had a private venture of
turtles about 10 be shipped in the pea
body for Barbados, and now he watched
his own mark being set upon the unhappy
creatures. Vivian was also an interested
spectator. He turned with an expression of
sorrow from the turtles and found Daniel
Sweetland's eye fixed upon him.
Mister Henry. tits 1, Sweetland, from
home. / be here this minute to speak to
you. And 1 pray you. for old times sake,
to listen"
Young Vivian started back. and the blood