The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1922-01-25

laFkeys in Their Element at,
Cane Cutting Tine
1usx Scenes Are Those ON the Sugar
I. Plantations When {ths Harvest
:. IT,: is 1sinus Gathered.

:sss...s1vake up. you niggers and gtts yoah
bftkfn( rsadyI Wake Up and, sit ITO:
brk M rims sthfpash the streets of
til lite torn ssill siapt in sslppber.
Hsiaps Robbins writes in thesNew Or
leans fimes:Picayune. - Four o'clock
and the crler goes slowly on. siEhe
black, foskss night slags in flighhtAassif
wondering when the brilliantssun swill
code tsfnfhtk nM away. Loudly and
more inslstsntR Tie. old man-cries the
alarm, SftenatipS between a ssingssopx
and more seaipHatic call, till gradual,
" one seems rs Know that life bestirs
itself behind the closed doors Of the
cabins. Here 4 woman, opening the
door, stares at the. receding back OF
the crier, there q. mans dark head pro-
trudes from the white curtains in an
open window and calls to a friend in
the neighboring. house. Smoke, curls
upward from rows of chimneys. The
odor Of coffee fills the air. Lights,
CLEAN in the curtained doorways, and
boisterous chatter proclaims. the work
ers preparing for the, field.
Scon they stream from the cabins,
men and. women, young and old huge
sun hats cover the dusky heads. The
wotnen,s, skirts, Topped. up by. the tie
strings about the hips, reach only to
the knees the upper excessG Of cloth
forming a hustle effect Of ample pro-
portions. Pipes in mouths. dinner
buckets in hand and cane-kniyest slnns
oyer shoulders, the colorful procession
Of. workers wends its way, slipss| %,
slip-slop, through. the Streets into
dusty roatways, and Oh to the cane
field destination: Children, too, &C.
company IT. to play with the shanty
children on the plantation grounds.
OF. left to themselves at home they
grasp. their chance Of uninterrupted
aa,,abble. and play with happy hearts.
Now III the fields, the slashtngs of the
tall cane stalks ferns an acconnpani.
ment, Tor the songs and chatter Of the
negroes. The oyerseer rs he rides by,
stopping his sl0W-movingt horse for a
momenr' to survey the fields. of work
ers. sees Bonded backs, hears the calls
to: one another or the. now almost
breathiess songs, and smiles q bit, for
he enjoys the caneseutting harvest az y.
much as they. And. truly the negroes
enjoy 4: that canaraderle. especially,
and rtlest opportunity to, exchange, the
saWmill jobs, at S2Sand- So aa..day: for
$1s5O} and: q, full. days work in the
Held. :; They cut, as they say, 'from
Kin to cain't,' from the time when they
can: see; tiilAthe time when they can't,
and they enjoy it,, :. ~ = -
&. But: the negroes are not the only
zones WHO enjoy the cane cutting anu
grinding season. The boys Of the
ineighborhood are in the element.
When armed with a stout knife they
battle against the huge eSer-reyolvillg
scarrier that hauls the stalks up into
the. mil and out Of Their reach. Bet
ter and sweeter still is the cane
chewed OH the sly in the solitary midst
Of waving cane field, or: "svtped'
from loaded freight cars IN the early
morning, one eye, peeled. for the
Waterman" the. other on the lookout
against wormy cane. How torturing
are the AFTERNOONS spent at school for
lesson, failure or for "teas!ng the
girls" when the other fellows are
out in the cane fields or at the mill :!
And: when. knives are forfeited for a
period, for cutting desks instead Of
cane, how cruel to them is the punisli-
ment! Sugar cane season is indeed q
school season Of cutting and squirm:
Ing: W." ;"
: One. can imagine, for: hours at a
time, the genes taking place in the
fields. or in the mill, but cares and
tiuties call and the fascinating planta,
ubni view. must be left for: fall. house
cleaning, or garden-making, or bust
ness. until.;the bell calls once again, !:
In the meantime, negroes bend, to
their task in the fields, the great mouth
Of the derrick hauls the cane into the
carrier, boys and girls chevy cane and
~ y