The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1909-10-27
A LOAFERS' PARADISE
Life of the Happy-go-Iucky West
Indian Negroes.
LAZY JOY FOR LITTLE WORK.
Six Months Labor Enables Them to
LoIi In Incidence For Year and a
tialf--conbins the Islands For Men
For the Sugar Plantations.

Eoii In INCIDENCE ror a rear ana u
Half-combing tho Islands For Men
For the Sugar Plantations.
A happy go-lucky. stand up and fall
down, genial. inconsequential spirit an
imates the West Indian negroes In
their labors and In their begging.
From the sweating toilers or the dock
at Macorls loading sugar into the
steamers, with their warning cry,
"Bee-Ioww to the men I'm the hold. to
the grinnlng boys hauling their fishing
boats up 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 0 cents day. He has his little
cabin for the occupancy. A mango
tree grows In his yard, and he can
pick pIantains by the road at will. II
be is too lazy to bake 5 cents will buy
bread for the family for the day. and
II few cents more will buy dozen
small fish and one large one. A single
will clothe the man for year. while
The pickanlnnles 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 to work the great sugar planta-
lions In 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 sioops and schooners that
spend the remainder of the year trad
ing among the Islands get into the
Sanio Domingo negro trade. Their
captains and supercnrgoes, when they
have them. and the owners 90 up and
down the islands telling the negroes
that on certain day the vessel will
sail for Santo Domingo and take all
who want TO go TO 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 sioops and schOoners are crowd
ed Into Marigot bay. The night before
the negroes have begun 10 stream into
The little town that sleeps through the
wear. waiting for this one day to bring
II 10 life. Bonrds are laid across boxes.
aud rum aud whisky are set out to
arouse the negroes TO the pitch that
will carry them ont 10 the vessels
hound for The plantations.
All day the men stream into the
town. travelling barefootpd along the
sandy roads. swept In by the sailors,
singing their song of riches to be had
for HE asking. Ahead of the men walk
their women. toting heavy boxes on
their heads. while the men are dressed
IN their best, with cocky straw hat
pcrchpd on one ear. swinging dandy
eane and carrying their shoes In their
hands. Al the outskirts of the town
they pnt on their shoes and swing
gavly up TO the open air bars on the
beach.
The women lug the big boxes dowr
10 the beach and wall at being lef
alone until they. too. become flllet
with the excitement of the scene ant
urge their men folks on. The mel
hang back and laugh and drink ant
deny that they are going.
els you goln'. Big Tawm?"
Nav. All ain goin'. All JUS com
tub see
"las. yo' is goin' Big Tawm. Git il
dat boat"
Come on heah, boy. Ya, hal"
And all the time the rowboats, load
cd to the gunwales. are plying bacl
and forth between the shore and tn,
sloops. by shutdown the beach is sweep
clean and six little sloops and schoon
er make sail and drift out of the har
Dor on a dying breeze, loaded dowr
with II thousand black men and wo
men. who will wake In the morning
with raging thirst. Then woe be I,
the captain who has not filled his wa
ter casks for there Is sure TO be nj
least one body TO be given to the sharks
after the fight around the butts,
When the vessels drop anchor of
Macoris the plantation foremen come
off and look over the cargoes and pay
the shipmasters $50 each for passage
money for the negroes. Then the
blacks are herdcd ashore and are cred
tied with 30 cents day for month
for working from sunrise to sunset In
the cane fields. BY that time the 50 .5(
passage money is paid back Then
they receive their 80 cents day In
cash for the next six months until
the cutting and grinding season Is
over. when the sloops show up again
and take them to their homes for $25u
each paid hi advance.
The foremen collect from the planta'
ton owners 63 cents a day each for
pay for the black hands. but with their
share of the money the negroes car
live for 4 year and half before they
have to think of doing another days
work. And they do 1t. Year after
year the trade is piled, and the islands
are combcd for men for the planta
lions. and year after year the negroes
return home,to eighteen mouths of lazy
joy.-New York Tribune.