Seeming paradoxes explained--Negro suspicion--Instances of it--
Stealing--Its various characters--Leasing--The dead canaries--
Broken promises--Idleness--Negro wages--Their present lot--
Domestics.
In continuing my "shadows" of negro character, methinks I hear my
good readers cry out, "Why, here is nothing but paradoxes. In a
former chapter the negroes were all and everything, but now it
appears the tables are turning, and, Proteus-like, assume another
shape." Stop a little, my kind friends; a word or two in my own
defence, if you please. What may appear paradoxical at first,
upon further research may not prove so; the sky we admire for its
beautiful cerulean tint is not in _reality_ blue. I have before
remarked, that I should have to give the "shadows," as well as
the "lights" of negro character. I am sorry to be obliged to do
so, for I wish them well; but as, in describing the early days of
slavery, I have not screened the master, so must I now give the
real outlines of the negro. I ever did, and ever shall detest the
name of slavery, and glad do I feel that it is done away with, at
least in British colonies, if only for the honour of my dear
native isle; and while I have to write of negro vices, I again
repeat, that they do not so much result from the natural bias of
their character, as from the effects of the bonds they have so
long worn, which, degrading them in their own eyes, have
conspired to render them what they are. Time can only correct
their errors: let us, then, not despair, but hope for the best.
Surely we ought to see some amendment in the rising generation,
and we shall do so, I feel assured, if their old relations do not
poison their minds, by telling them, because they are taught to
read and write, it will be a degradation for them to work in a
cane-field.
In the latter part of the preceding chapter, an account was given
of their various superstitions; the next strong trait in their
character is suspicion. They can seldom be brought to think you
have an eye to their interest in any new arrangement you may make
with them in their domestic concerns. If you address them with
kindness, they suspect you have some motive for so doing,
prejudicial to their welfare. Should you inquire after their
living, the quantity of live-stock they keep, or any other little
domestic comfort, or, indeed, ask them where they live, or who
they work for, the same thoughts possess their mind.
It is strange, too, that they will hardly ever sell any of their
poultry or meat, or, indeed, anything else they may have to
dispose of, to the proprietor or manager residing upon the same
estate as themselves. No! they prefer bringing it miles, perhaps,
to town, and probably getting less for it, than if they had
disposed of it to their masters. If asked to do so, they commonly
find some excuse; it is too old or too young, or too fat or too
lean, or they cannot catch it, or else they want it for
themselves. This singular practice arises from suspicion; they
are fearful of letting their masters know what their resources
are, and what they do with their property. For this reason, they
prefer going to a dark shop to purchase what they want. They do
not like to be recognised by any one while thus employed; nor for
any one to know how much money they lay out, or what they buy.
There are some retail shops, or _stores_, as they are called in
the West Indian idiom, which are scarcely six feet high, and
which of course are very dark and uncomfortable; yet, as
unpleasant as these stores or shops may look to the eye, they are
for that very reason frequented by the negroes. I am, in this
part of my subject, more particularly speaking of the state of
affairs before emancipation, but I believe this mistrust of their
employers still continues. In former days, so fearful were the
slaves of letting their masters know how much money they
possessed, that it was a common practice of theirs to bury it;
and often death overtook them before they could tell their
relations in what spot they had deposited it, and consequently it
was lost. If "Daddy Whelan," the notorious "treasure-seeker," in
Mrs. Hall's interesting tale of the "Crock of Gold," was here, he
might be more fortunate than in his own country.
In receiving money they are equally suspicious; I have had
opportunities of seeing this under the free system. It is
customary upon estates to pay the labourers on the Friday, or
early on the Saturday morning, and it is curious to see how they
count and re-count their money, fearing the paymaster may have
cheated them. In one or two instances brought beneath my own eye,
a negro has returned his wages, with--"No right, massa, money no
'nough;" it has been counted again, the pay-book referred to,
when instead of being _too little_, it has proved to be _too
much_; the surplus deducted, and the right sum handed to the
negro, he grumbles again, because he brought it back.
Another, and I am also sorry to say, very prevailing trait in the
character of my black brethren is, stealing. This they appear to
think no crime, so long as they are not found out; and when by
any unforeseen occurrence they are, it is not for the criminality
of the act they mourn, but for fear they may not have another so
good an opportunity of repeating their exploit. In many
instances, they are so adroit in purloining articles, that they
are almost competent to give advice and instruction to the
"light-fingered gentry" of "London and its vicinity." It seems
impossible to break them of this habit of pilfering, so strong is
it engrafted in them; people are never safe from their
depredations. Upon estates they steal the sugar, molasses,
cane-juice, (to make into vinegar, which they sell for a
penny-halfpenny sterling a bottle;) cut down the canes, as soon
as, or even before, they get ripe; milk the cattle; pick the
cocoa-nuts; and, in a word, take all they can get.
The merchants suffer from their depredations in various ways.
They not only take up goods they never intend to pay for, but
they steal whatever they can lay their hands upon. Nothing comes
amiss to them; and be you as clever and cunning as you may, they
will be sure to outwit you, in one way or the other. Should you
be the owner of a small craft, which you man with a few black
sailors, and which you employ in trading between the different
islands, you are sure to lose something in every voyage. Your
rope and canvas is gone--_nobody_ knows how; a cask of salt-fish
is opened and robbed of its contents--_nobody_ touched it. If dry
goods form your cargo, pieces of shirting, bales of cotton, or
something of the kind, generally take their departure--_nobody_
saw them.
If you employ a carpenter, your nails and lumber are sure to
commit suicide or something of the sort, I suppose, for they are
gone, and _nobody_ used them. A mason steals your lime; a cooper
steals your staves and hoops; a painter steals your oil, your
turpentine, and paint; and domestic servants steal all they can.
Some negroes employ themselves in walking about from store to
store, selecting various dresses, handkerchiefs, ribbons,
gentlemen's coats and vests, or any similar article, which they
carry, they say, to shew Mrs. this or Mr. that; but, somehow or
other, these persons are generally very much afflicted with that
malady, want of memory, and they forget to return the goods in
question. The shopkeepers have suffered so much from this
infirmity, that now they will not deliver anything to be looked
at, unless the messenger brings a written order. But this
resolution does not at all intimidate these clever thieves; they
get a scrap of paper written in a lady's or gentleman's name, and
unless some errors in orthography, or a particular specimen of
bad writing, leads to a suspicion of their authenticity, they
often succeed in getting a "pretty considerable deal of goods,"
as the Americans say.
Others, again, go to a store and ask to be shewn some
shingles;[20] they take two or three as a sample, and if approved
of, they are to return for so many bundles. About ten yards
further, they meet with another store, and here they procure
another sample; and so they go on, until, in time, enough is
obtained to patch their houses. In the same manner, they get
samples of tea, peas, rice, coffee, &c., which saves them having
the very disagreeable necessity of paying for what they use.
Some of the country negroes fall upon another plan of levying
contributions upon the public. They make love to a pig or a fowl,
or some other article belonging to their neighbours, but which
they will not steal upon any account; accordingly they entice or
carry them to a convenient distance, and leave them there. After
a little time has elapsed, they return by the same road, and as
soon as they perceive the articles, whatever they may be,
(although left there by themselves,) they exclaim, "Eh! eh! me
lucky true to-day, me find dis fowl; well, me want it 'nough, me
sure!" In this manner, they endeavour to stifle the "still small
voice within us," while, should they be accused of this, they
immediately cry out, "Well, me neber know if one somebody find
one someting he call tief for it!"
I should have enlarged upon the thefts of our domestic servants,
but really, upon thinking over it, the task appears too arduous.
I might write and write and never finish,--it would, in truth, be
"a story without an end;" for this system of stealing is so
indelibly implanted in some of their minds, that no measures you
can try will break them of it. You may use the greatest leniency
towards them, argue with them in the kindest manner, point out to
them the sinfulness of their ways, it makes no impression upon
them--they only wait until you retire, or are off your guard, and
the same theft will be repeated. Nor are coercive measures of
more avail; you may take them before a magistrate, who will
commit them to the house of correction; when the period of their
punishment is expired, and they are again at liberty, they return
to their illegal habits with redoubled avidity, as if to make up
for lost time. I do not say this is the case with all; a few
weeks spent in confinement has often the effect of restoring to
society a reformed member. To thieving we must add lying, and in
this accomplishment many of them are so well skilled, that
Ferdinand Mendez Pinto must have hid his diminished head. It is
really wonderful to hear to what extent they will carry their
lying; for example, if you miss anything and inquire after it,
they will deny peremptorily they ever saw it, when, at the same
time, they know full well where it is, but do not want the
trouble of fetching it. They will rather tell a story at any time
than be forced to use the least exertion. While I am writing, I
hear complaints of this. A servant of ours has just drawn a
lucifer match, and knowing how careless all negroes are of
throwing about fire, the question has been asked her, "Where did
you put the match after using it?"--"Upon the table," was the
reply.--"Are you sure of that, and that it was extinguished
before you left it?"--"Yes, sir."--"Susan, go and look; I cannot
believe her, I am sorry to say." Susan returns with the box of
lucifers; the match, _still burning_, has been replaced in the
box, and the lid put on, to the imminent hazard of setting the
house on fire, had it not been fortunately discovered. My
attention being drawn by this colloquy, I ask, "Grace, how can
you use yourself to tell such stories?--are you not a
Sunday-school scholar?"--"I forgot, ma'am." They never own they
do tell a story; they always forget, or else they boldly stick to
their first assertion, let the contrary be as plain as it may.
Another bad practice of theirs is, that if they have committed
any error which might be remedied, or neglected to do anything
which might afterwards be performed, they will never let you
know, until it is too late. I had a very beautiful pair of
canaries, who greeted me every morning with the sweetest of
songs. I loved the little creatures--"for the bird that we nurse
is the bird that we love;" and in this far distant land, away
from all my kith and kin, with the exception of one for whom we
are taught to forsake all other earthly ties, they were my
constant companions. Months rolled on, and the fervour of a
tropical sun fevered my blood, and parched my lips. I sighed for
the pure breeze of my own dear land; and as my little birds
warbled their sweet, clear song, memory carried me back to those
pleasant fields, where, in my early days, I gathered the fragrant
hawthorn, and listened to each "wood-note wild." But, alas! a
wide, wide ocean rolled between me and them, which may be very
easily crossed in imagination, but not so in reality; and
consequently, I had to content myself with leaving the crowded
town, and trying the country air. I left my little birds to the
care of a domestic, with particular injunctions to give them
daily fresh seed and water. From time to time, when I saw her, I
inquired after her little charge; they were quite well, was
always the answer, until at length, when I returned, I found my
poor little favourites dead--dead from starvation; and when I
spoke about it, and asked why such stories were told me, all the
satisfaction I got was--"I forgot dem."
It has been remarked, in black workmen, that if they promise to
come and complete a particular job on a certain day, and they
conclude with "Please God, me come,"[21] they seldom keep to
their word, for if they can procure another job which they think
will pay them better, they consider it of no importance
disappointing their first employer. In the same manner, they will
engage to build a house, or indeed any other work, for a certain
sum; if, after going partly through it, and drawing all the money
they can, they find it will not pay them as well as they at first
supposed, instead of representing it to the parties, and resting
upon their generosity to enlarge the sum, or else putting up with
the result, they immediately leave it, and you may get it done
the best way you can. So, again, upon estates, a party of negroes
will undertake to plant or hole a piece of canes for so much: if
they find it will pay them very well, they keep on; but if, on
the contrary, they think they have not made so good a bargain as
they imagined, they shoulder their hoes, and away they start.
This habit of not speaking the truth is so proverbial, that it
gives rise to the vulgar adage--"a negro lies like a horse
trotting." I have heard of a white emigrant from Anguilla saying,
"that he would never again believe a negro, until he saw hair
growing within the palm of his hand," so notorious is this
propensity.
Idleness is another fault in many negroes: everything that is
done by them is done lazily. If working upon an estate, as long
as the master's eye is upon them, they get on pretty well; but as
soon as he retires, down go their hoes. I should think this, in
great measure, must be attributed to their having been so long
used to working under a driver; for although they are free in
body, they are far from free in mind. I am sure they ought not to
do this; for, badly as they used to be treated some ninety or a
hundred years ago, since they have been free, and, indeed, for
many years before, only that they bore the name of slaves, they
have had nothing to complain of. I am, and ever have been, a
stanch advocate of anti-slavery doctrines; and, consequently,
this assertion coming from me may be considered of some weight.
It is said, that immediately after their emancipation, the wages
of the negroes were rather low; but that, I am sure, cannot be
said now. The common rate of wages is a shilling sterling per
day; but then they often work "task-work," as they call it, and
in that case frequently get from three to four shillings. Indeed,
their earnings depend entirely upon their own exertions; for the
estates upon which they work will always find employment for
them.
Besides this actual sum, it must be remembered, that they enjoy
various privileges, which our English labourers can never hope
for. The negroes have their houses found them, a spot of ground
to plant provisions in, a doctor and medicine when they are ill,
and a certain quantity of molasses and rum when doing certain
work. Besides all this, they have the liberty of picking what
wood they please, of keeping what stock they like, provided they
keep their pigs, sheep, and goats, confined or tied up, that they
may not injure the young canes, which injunction they regularly
break. Then, again, they pick the grass, sheep and goat meat,
growing upon the property, which they bring into the capital of
an evening, and generally sell for three bits, another shilling
sterling. And not only this; but as West Indian property is but
seldom enclosed, they think it but fair to gather what fruit they
choose from the several trees growing about the estates, and
which they also bring into town, and sell in the market. Would
that many of our poor English peasantry were as well off as the
negroes now are, instead of suffering, as they often do, from
cold and hunger. What Englishman would let them help themselves
to the produce of their orchards! I have often before remarked
how much I detest the name of slavery--there is something so
revolting in the idea of men selling and buying their
fellow-creatures; but I cannot hear the West Indian negroes
_pitied_ for their hard lot, when I know that in _these days_ it
is so much the contrary, without trying to put my English friends
in possession of the real state of things.
It is observable, that but few negroes are to be met with who do
not possess some money; and, in dress, they deny themselves
nothing that pleases them, or, as they say, "fills their eye."
Many, since emancipation, have purchased many spots of land,
built houses, and appear to have many comforts, and almost every
head negro keeps his pony or his horse, while others run their
stanhopes. As I have already observed at the beginning of this
chapter, many may think I am writing paradoxes; but such is not
the case, and any one intimate with West Indian affairs will
confirm my statements. The fact is, great changes have taken
place in this island as well as everywhere else; in former days,
when those dreadful acts of cruelty which I have recorded used to
be practised, religion was held in very slight regard. That the
negroes are a very provoking race all must allow who have any
dealings with them; and men with strong passions, uninfluenced by
Christian feelings, possessed of wealth, and having their slaves
entirely under their control, were apt to give way to resentment
against them when in error, and commit those deeds at which their
descendants blush.
But now the case is very different; the negro has been freed, and
his rights as a man acknowledged. Still his interests are so
inseparably connected with those of his employers, that the
subversion of the one must end in the ruin of the other. What
would any one think, who has the interest of these important
colonies at heart, of the introduction of slave-made sugar into
England at any rate of duty, and leaving the West Indian planter
(after having cheerfully acquiesced in emancipation) to bear the
burden of this high rate of wages. Although no one can deny that
most of the Antiguan planters have benefited by emancipation, in
the way of cultivating their estates, yet free labour, generally
speaking, and from what has fallen beneath my own observation,
cannot cope with slavery. No! it is the whip, and the whip alone,
which can give to England the cheap sugar she is promised. Who,
then, would not rather give a penny a pound more for their sugar,
than, after having freed the British negro, eat that which is
seasoned with the tears and groans of foreign slaves.
It is among the domestic servants that negro idleness is most
severely felt, for there are ways of making the others work,
although the whip is banished, by checking their pay. In the case
of our house-servants, however, it is not so easy; they seem to
have no wish to please their employers. If left to themselves,
they care not how the day passes, so long as they get through it;
one English servant will do twice the work two Creoles will.
Probably this arises in great measure from the practice of having
so many servants to do the work that two or three at furthest
ought to do. I have frequently seen six or seven domestics
lounging upon the floor of an anteroom, amusing themselves with
stringing "jumby-beads," as a pretty little red and black seed is
called, sucking sugar-canes, or telling _nancy stories_,[22] or
else singing one of their favourite songs; perfectly at their
ease, it is immaterial to them whether their daily business is
completed or not. If their mistress calls, it is often unheeded;
or else it is, "Bro' James call see Agnes to tell aunty Jenny
missis call he," (Anglicised, "Brother James, call sister Agnes
to tell aunt Jenny," &c.) Thus they loiter away the day; whilst
their _missis_, after in vain endeavouring to be heard, or at
least attended to, resigns her fair form to the couch, and that
listlessness which many Creole ladies like to indulge in during
the heat of the day.
------
[20] Used instead of tiles for the tops of houses.
[21] A by-word with the negroes when making appointments.
[22] Tales of _diablerie_.