The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1910-02-02
A LOAFERS' PARADISE
Life of the Happy-go.Iucky West
Indian Negroes.
LAZY Joy FOR LITTLE WORK,


loli In Incidence For a Year and q
Haif-Combins the 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 I'm
their labors and in their begging.
From the sweating toilers on the dock
at Macoris loading sugar into the
steamers. with their warning CRY,
"Bee-low" to the men In the hold. to-
the grinning 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 8 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 10 bake cents will buy
bread for the family for the day. and
few cents more will buy a dozen
small fish and one large ore. A single
garment does for the woplen, and S.
will clothe the man for q 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-
tions 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
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 ALI
who want to 60 to work ON the sugar
plantations.
Take the little island Of st. Martin'sI
for illustration. For a week the islandI
Is combed. and on the appointed day a.
dozen sloops and schooners are crowd
ell into Marigot bay. The night beforeI
the negroes have begun to stream intoI
the little town that sleeps through theI
year. waiting for this one day to brineI
1t to life. Boards are laid across boxes.
and rum and whisky are set out toI
arouse the negroes to the pitch thatj
Will carry them out to the vesselst
bound for the plantations.
All day the men stream into the
town. travelling berefooted 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
their women. toting heavy boxes on
their heads. while the men are dressed
In their best. with q cocky straw hat
perched on one ear. swinging a dandy
cane and carrying their shoes In their
hands. At the outskirts Of the town
they pnt on their shoes and swing
gayly up to the open air bars on the
beach. >
The women lug the big boxes down
to the beach and wall at being left
alone until they. too. become Oiled
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.
"ls you goin'. Big Tawmf"
Nav, All ain goin'. All JUS come
tub see."
"Yas. yo' is goin'. Big Tawm. Git in
dat boat"
Come on heah, boy. Ya, haw
And all the time the rowboats. load
ed to the gunwales. are plying back
and forth between the shore and the
sloops. By sundown the beach is swept
clean and six little sIoops and scboon.
er make sail and drift out of the bar.
Dor on a dying breeze. loaded down
with a thousand black men and 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 at
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 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.
ited with 80 cents day for a month
Tor 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 la
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 $3.50
each. paid in advance.
The foremen collect from the planta-
tion owners 63 cents a day each for
pay for the black hands. but with their
share Of the money the negroes can
live for year and a half before they
have to think of doing another day's