The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1911-12-23

derers were usually only too willing to
sign on and get away to escape ven
geance. Down here they call such
escapes pier head jumps There is
suddenly roar from the beach. and
3 niger runs down to the water pur-
sued by clouds Of spears and arrows.
VI course. Johnny Be-blowed's whale
boat IS lying ready to pick him up.
In his last days Johnny got nothing
but pier head jumps.
And the first owners of Berande
bought bis recruits-a hard bitten gang
OF murderers- They were all FIVE year
boys. Well, that's the gang Of murder
ers we've got on our hands now. OF
course, some are dead, some have been
Killed, and there are others serving
sentences at Tulagi. Very little clear
Ing did those first owners 60. and less
planting. 1t was war all the time.
They had one manager killed. One of
the partners had his shoulder sIashed
nearly of by cane knife The other
was speared on two different occasions.
They were chased away-literalIy
chased away-by their own niggers.
And along came poor Hughie and me,
TWO new chums, to take hold of that
hard bitten gang. We did not know
the situation, and we had bought
Berande, and there was nothing to do
but hang on and middle through some
how.
AT first we made the mistake of in
discreet kindness. We tried to rule
by persuasion and fair treatment The
niggers concluded that we were afraid
Then came the day when Hughie rep
rimanded one Of the boys, and was
nearly killed by the gang. The only
thing that saved him was the number
on top of him, which enabled me to
reach the spot ia time.
"The1 began the rule Of the strong
hand. 1t was either that or quit, and
we had sunk about all our money into
the venture, and we could not quit
And besides, our pride was involved.
We had started out to do something,
and we We're SO made that we just had
to go on with it. Do you know, we
have been unable to get white men in
We've offered the managership to half
a dozen. won't say they We're afraid
for they were not. But they did not
consider 1t healthy-at least that is
the way it was put by the last one
who declined our offer. So Hughie and
did the managing ourselves"
"And when he died you were pre-
pared to go on all alonew Joan cried,
with shining eyes.
II thought I'd muddle through. And
now, Miss Lakeland, please be charit-
able when l seem harsh, and remem-
Der that the situation is unparalleled
down here. We've got a bad crowd.
and we're making them work.
Joan nodded but remained silent. She
was too occupied in glimpsing the vi
sion of the one lone white man as she
had first seen him, helpless from fever,
collapsed wrath In a steamer chair,
who, up to the last heart beat, by
some strange alchemy of race, was
pledged to mastery.
sit is pity she said. But the
white man has to rule, suppose"
| 81 don't like it, Sheldon assured
her. ''To save my life l can't imagine
how I ever came here. But here am,
and can't run away"
Blind destiny of race she said,
| family smiling. 1--WE whites have
been land robbers and sea robbers from
remOtest time. 1t is in our blood,
guess, and we can't get away from it."
II never thought about it so alb
stractly," he confessed. "I've been too
busy puzzling over why l came here"