Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1909-01-27

| hours, following the cane from where
it was being loaded by machinery
| from the barges and from cars, right
through the mill to where the dry SUI
gar in bags was being loaded into
barges ready to be floated down the
large steamers at the mouth of the
/ river. As this was my first visit to a
sugar mill, the ponderous machinery
used to first cut the cane into a fine
pulp then crush the juice out of it,
and the many different processes by
which the juice is afterwards treated.
till finally it is put into large centrif-
ugal machines in the form of thick,
| grainy, black molasses and the crys-
| tails extracted from the mass, was
all very interesting
Near slavery.
! The nominal daily output of this
mill is so tons of dried sugar. All the
labor employed by the Colonial sugar
company in Fiji is Indian coolies. They
are brought here under five years
contract, during which they receive
] q
and their food and lodging. After that
/ they are paid one shilling (25 cents)
/ per day and they feed themselves.
| The buildings where they are housed
are long, low structures with no win
! lows and / cannot see but very little
difference between their condition and
that of slavery. However. it is a fact
! the industry could not be carried on
1 in these islands without them, ',ecause
/ the Fiiian will not do the work re-
! CURED, or any other labor other than
so much as is necessary to keep him
| in food and pay his taxes. There are
ncW over $4,000 coolies here, very few
of them returning to India after their
five years are up. Many are engaged
in raising little corn and grow few
bananas on bit of land and manage
somehow to live. The result is, their
numbers are increasing every year,
while the native Fijian is decreasing
being now estimated at only 81 600
throughout the whole group
After returning across the river to
the hotel | was introduced to and in
vited to drink with noble looking
native who arrived in a carriage from
Suva on his way to Mbau, seven miles
back from the other side of the river
where he lives. He was Kandavu Lew
the greatest of the Ffjian lords and
the grandson of Thakombau (of ter.
rible notoriety). He lives in consid.
cradle state and enjoys a good deal OF
power besides a salary from the Brit.
ish government. This Mhau is the
most important of all Fijfs historical
places. 1t was selected for the capital
of the group by the great-grandfather
of the late King Thakombau, and
there four generations OF kings lived
and tyrannised over the people and
the lesser chieftlns.
cross-Country Hike.
The next morning, the day promis
ing TO be fine and not too warm | de
cided to return to Suva on foot, the
distance being - miles across the
country, over good road, every mile
of which was distinguished by con.
crete stone erected at one side, on
which was the word Suva and a figure
| indicating the distance from there. "a
very good arrangement; please make
a note of it, For the first mile or a
little over the land is fiat and level
river to the foot of the first bench of
higher ground and is all in cane At
| one point a crew was at work cutting
| the cane near the road and | stopped
and watched them for some time The
women We're laboring along with the
men and from the similarity of their
| field dress, ! could hardly distinguish
| them from the men. A main line of
narrow gague ram road leads from
| the bank of tine river into the field
and from it branch lines, in portable
sections, lead off to where they are
cutting. The stocks are four TO six
feet long when trimmed, and are ioad
ed four to five feet high GRO swise on
short trucks. which are pushed out TO
the main line and when coupled up,
| are hauled away by an OK When
reached the crest Of the first range of
low hills. l had good view clear back
TO the river and for a long distance
beyond. In fact, as far as the eye could
see it was one vast level tract of land.
but a few feet above the sea and near
1 ly al covered with cane fields and
banana plantations while to the right
the coast line could be distinguished
/ by the wide fringe of tall cocoanut
trees lining it.
On esuming my walk ! found the
/ next few miles was over rolling coun-
try thickly covered with tropical vege-
! tation, with now and then patches of
/ large trees. none of which. so far as
/ I could tell, were fit for milling pur-
I poses. Scattered all along were small
cleared patches, each containing a
! cheap habitation of a coolie family,
/ with from one-fourth to one-half of an
acre of corn and few banana plants.
/ When about six miles from town the
/ holdings were larger. with some very
/ respectable sized fields all in bananas.
( From here on the land is all occupied.
/ In one field saw six head of India
/ cattle-four bulls and two cows. They
i are white in color. have large humps
/ on their shoulders, and ears that hang
down like a hounds. / learned later
( they were imported About three
! miles from town the road Is On very
high ground and a splendid view Is
hal Of tho uhpla panfus-s,Ia Tho root