Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1909-12-03
A L0AFERS' PARADISE
Life of the Happy-go-Iucky West
Indian Negroes.
LAZY JOY FOR LITTLE WORK.
Six Months Labor Enables Them to
Loll In Incidence For Year and a
LlaIf-combing tho Islands For Men
For the Sugar Plantations.


tiaIf-Combing tho Islands For Men
For tho 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 on the dock
mt Macoris loading sugar into the
steamers. with their warning cry,
"Bee-low~ to the men in the hold. to
the grinding boys hauling their fishing
boats up on the beach at Dominica,
they live from day 10 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 8 cents day. He has bis little
cabin for the occupancy. A mango
tree grows IN bis yard, and be can
pick plantains by The road at will. IL
he is too lazy 10 bake cents will buy
bread for the family for the day. and
few cents more will buy q dozen
small fish and one large one. A single
garment does for the women, and S.
will clothe the man for year, while
the pickaninnies 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-
tlons in Santo Domingo. and at that
the negroes must often be practically
kidnapped to 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
hive 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 all
who want to 60 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 sloops and schooners 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
It to life. Poards are laid across boxes.
and rum and whisky are set ont TO
arouse the negroes TO the pitch that
will 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 to be had
for the asking. Ahead Of the men walk
heir women. toting heavy boxes oil
their heads. while the men are dressed
In their best. with cOcky straw hat
perrhed 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 big boxes down
10 the beach and wall at being left
alone until they. too. become filled
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.
as you goin'. Big lawn"
Nav. All ain goin'. All JUS come
tub see."
"Yas. yo' Is goin'. Big Tawm. Git in
dat boat"
Come on heah. boy. IN. ha."
And all the time the rowboats. load
ed to the gunwales. are plying back
and forth between the shore and the
sleeps. BY shutdown the beach is swept
Glenn and six little sloops and schoon
er make sail and drift out of the har
Dor on a dying breeze. loaded down
with thousand black men and wo
men. who will wake In the morning
with n raging thirst. Then woe be t
the captain who has not filled his wa
ter casks. for there IS sure to be al
least one body TO be given to the sharks
after the fight around the butts.
When the vessels drop anchor OF
Mncoris the plantation foremen come
| of and look over the cargoes and pay
the shipmasters $3.50 each for passage
money for the negroes. Then the
blacks are herded ashore and are cred
tied with 80 cents a day for month
| for working from sunrise to sunset il
the cane fields. BY that time the S2.5l
passage money Is paid back. Their
| they receive their 80 cents day Ii
| cash for the next six months unit
the cutting and grinding season Il
over. when the sloops show up agalr
| and take them to their homes for $2.5t
caeh paid In advance.
The fOrrmen collect from the planta
tlou owners t3 cents a day each fol
pay for the lack hands. but with iheil
share OF the money the negroes cal
| live for n year aud half before they
have to think Of doing another day!
work. And they do it. Year aftel
year the trade Is piled. and the island:
are eombed for men for the planta
tiors. and year after year the negroes
return home to eighteen months OF laz,
joy.-New York Tribune.