WHERE BANANAS GROW. 501 



costumes are far better suited to the climate than the imported 

 European one which the negro apes. Living by themselves in 

 villages of bamboo huts, the coolies have little intercourse with 

 the negroes, whom they regard as their inferiors ; and rightly so, 

 from a mental or moral standpoint. The negro, on the other hand, 

 looks down on them, but has learned from experience that their 

 reserved and quiet manners are no more the outward sign of 

 timidity than his own bluster and braggadocio can replace real 

 courage in an emergency. 



The typical agricultural tool in Jamaica is the machete. These 

 heavy, swordlike blades are made in Europe and have clumsy 

 handles with grips of rough wood. For a good one the buyer 

 pays a shilling, and then takes it to a smith. Here the wooden 

 grips are removed and a large strip is cut out from the handle to 

 make it narrower and more comfortable ; the blade is ground to 

 a keen edge, and its sharp tip is cut off as a safeguard against too 

 serious accident should the tool be dropped upon some always 

 naked foot. The owner now fits to the handle convenient grips, 

 preferably of calabash wood, winds them evenly and tightly with 

 stout cord, and his constant companion is ready at a total expense 



FIG. 6. MACHETE READY FOB USE. 



of about two shillings. Whether for grubbing up weeds and 

 clearing ground, for gathering grass for his donkey, for harvest- 

 ing bananas, for cutting yam-poles, or for husking cocoanuts, 

 this implement is indispensable. It is formidable in appearance, 

 and would be so in fact were its owner disposed to use it with 

 sanguinary intent. But, happily, he has rarely the courage that 

 makes a dangerous man, and the blood of the cocoanut is the 

 machete's most exciting draught. 



To return to our bananas. When the responsibility of the 

 Jamaica people ends with the sailing of the ship, its captain's re- 

 sponsibility begins. And this is no slight one. In warm weather 

 the holds must be kept wide open but constantly protected from 

 the sun by awnings, and the great ventilating funnels must al- 

 ways be turned to catch the full force of the wind and change the 

 air below as often as possible. In cold weather it may be neces- 

 sary to cover the hatches and close the ventilators to prevent the 

 freezing of the delicate cargo as our shore is neared. And if the 

 ship arrives during a cold snap she may have to lie several days 



