Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1909-11-19
A L0AFERS' PARADISE
life Of the Happy so-IucI<y West
Indian Negroes.
LAZY Joy FOR LITTLE WORK.

loii In Incidence For a Year and +,
Haif-cembins tho islands Fer Men
For the Sugar Plantations.
A happy-go-'ucky. stand up and fall
down. genial. inconsequentiaI spirit an.
ilnates the West Indian negroes IN
their iabors ana IN their begging.
From the sweating tcilers on the docI,
mt Maroris loading sugar into the
steamers. with their warning CRY.
"Ree-low- to the men i'm the bold IN
the grinning boys hauling their fishing
boats mp on the beach at Dominica.
they live from day to day and take no
Thought OF the morrow. A West Indian
negro with $50 will live for year and
never do a stroke Of work.
And why not? His living costs him
only cents day. He has his little
cabin for the occupancy. A mango
tree grows in his yard. and he can
pick plantains by the road at will. If
he is too lazy TO luke 3 cents will buy
bread for the family for the day. and
few cents more will buy dozen
small fish and one large one. A single
garment does for the women. and S.
will clothe the man for a year. while
the pickauinnles run as God made
them.
The West Indies are the paradise OF
the happy loafer.- Every year the is-
lands are combed from end to end for
hands 10 work the great sugar pIanta.
tions I'm Santo Domingo. and at that
the negroes must often be practically
kidnapped 10 get them on the boats.
In November OF each year the sugar
boats. little sloops and schoouers that
spend the remainder OF the year trad
Ing among the Islands get into the
Santo Domingo negro trade. Their
captains and supercargoes. when they
have them. and the owners go up and
down the islands telling the negroes
that on certain day the vessel will
sail Tor Santo Domingo and take all
who want to go 10 work on the sugar
plantations.
Take the little island OF st. Martins
for illustration. For week the island
is combed. and on the appointed day a
dozen sloops and schoouers are crowd
ed into Marigot bay. The night before
the negroes have begun TO stream into
the little town that sleeps through the
year. waiting for this one day to bring
Ii to life. Roards - laid across boxes.
and rum and whisky are set out to
arouse the negroes TO the pitch that
VIII carry them out TO the vessels
bound for the plantations.
All day the men stream into the
town. travelling barefooted along the
sandy roads. swept in by the sailors.
singing their song OF riches 60 be had
for the asking. Ahead or the men walk
their women. toting heavy boxes on
their heads. while the men are dressed
In their best. with coeky straw hat
perched on one ear. swinging dandy
cane and carrying their shoes In their
hands. At the outskirts OF the town
they put on their shoes and swing
gayly up TO the open air bars on the
beach.
The women lug the hig boxes down
TO the beach and wall at being left
alone until they. too. become filed
with the excitement OF the scene and
urge their men folks on. The men
hang back and laugh and drink and
NS"s 'hoA thCN EOtuk.
"ls you goin'. Big TawmT
Nav. Alb ain goin'. All JUS come
tub see."
Vas. yo' is goln'. Big Tawm. Git In
dat boat"
Come on heah, boy. Ia. haw
And all the time the rowboats. load
ed to the gunwales. are plying back
and forth between the shore and the
sioops. By shutdown the beach Is swept
clean and six little sioops aud schoon-
er make sail and drift out OF the har-
Dor on q dying breeze. loaded down
with a thousand black men aud wo-
men. who will wake In the morning
with raging thirst. Then woe be to
the captain who has not filled his wa
ter casks. for there Is sure TO be mt
least one body to be given TO the sharks
after the fight around the butts.
When the vessels drop anchor or
Macoris the plantation foremen come
on aud look over the cargoes aud pay
the. shipmasters $3.50 each for passage
money for the negroes. Then the
blacks are herded ashore and are cred
tied with 30 cents a day for month
for working from sunrise to sunset In
the cane fields. BY that time the $3.50
passage money IL paid back. Then
they receive their 30 cents day In
cash for the next six months until
the cutting and grinding season ia
over. when the sloops show up again
and take them to their homes for $3.50
each. paid I'm advance.
The foremen collect from the planta-
ton owners 6S cents a day each for
pay for the black hands. but with their
share OF the money the negroes eau
hve for year and half before they
nave to think OF doing another days
work. And they do IL. Year after
year the trade Is piled. aud the islands
are combed for men for the planta-
lions. and year after year the negroes
return home to eighteen months of law
Oy-New York rrrihuno