The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-10-21

Ri W W. sst~' S'e"h~tS"s.
A py-go-lucky. stand up and fall
down. genial. inconsequential spirit an
imates the West Indian negroes In
their Iabors and In their begging
From the sweating tollers on the dock
at Macorls loading sugar into the
steamers. with their warning cry,
''Bee-lowy' TO the men in the hold, to
the grlnning 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 a year and
never do 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 III his yard. and he can
pick plantains by the road at will. II
lie il too lazy 10 bake cents Will buy
Tread 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 81
Will clothe the man for a year. while
the plckaninnles 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 IN work the great sugar plantn.
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 sloops and schooners 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 a certain day the vessel will
sail for Santo Domingo and take oil
who want 10 go TO work on the sugar
plantations
Take the little island Of ST. Martins
for Illustration. For week the island
Is cOmbed. aud on the appointed day n
dozen sloops and schooners are crowd.
ell 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 |
IL 10 life. Boards are laid across boxes |
and. rum aud whisky are set out TO |
arouse the negroes to the pitch that |
will carry them out TO the vessels
hound for the plantations.
flAli day the men stream into the |
town, travelling barefooted along the
sahdy roads. swept IN by the sailors.
sinking their song OF riches 10 be had
for the asking. Ahead Of the men walk
their women. totlng heavy boxes on
their heads while the men are dressed
IN their best, with cocky straw hat
perched on one ear. swinging dandy |
cane and carrying their shoes IN their |
bands. At the outskirts OF the town |
they put on their shoes ana swing |
gayly up to the open air bars on the |
beach.
The women lug the big boxes down |
10 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
deny that they are going.
sis you goiD'. Big Tawm?"
Nav, All ain goln. All JUS come
, tub see"
"Yas, yo' is goln, Big Tawm. Git in
<lat boat"
Come on heah. hoy. Va. ha!"
And all the time tie rowboats. load |
ed to the gunwales. are. plying back |
aud forth between the shore and the |
sloops. BY shutdown the beach is swept |
clean and six little sloops aud a scboon-
er make sail and drift out Of the har- |
bOr on a dying breeze, loaded down |
with thousand black men and wo
men. who will wake in the morning |
With a raging thirst. Then woe be TO |
the captain who has not hlled his wa
ter casks. for there Is sure TO be at |
least one body TO be given to the sharks |
after the light around the butts
When the vessels drop anchor off |
MScoris the plantation foremen come |
off aud look over the cargoes aud pay |
the sblpmasters $3.50 each for passage |
money for the negroes. Then re |
blacks are herded ashore and are cfed. |
ited with 80 cents day for mGnth |
for working from sunrise to sunset In |
the cane fields. BY that time the $3.50 |
passage money is paid back. Then |
they receive their 80 cents a day in
cash for the next six months until |
Ibe cutting and gisndlng season Is
over. when the sloops show mp again
. aud take them TO their homes for 81. 80 |
each. paid IN advance.
The foremen collect from the planta-
tion owners 90 cents n day each for |
pay for the black hands, but with their |
share of the money the negroes can |
Ave for year and half before they |
have to think OF doing another days
work. And they do 1t. Year after
year the trade Is piled, aud the Islands
arc combed for men for the planta-
lions, ana year after year the negroes
return home to eighteen months OF lazy
90y.-New York Tribune.