1881.] Demerara, 94I 
Sreatly to the fantastic character of the scene. Upon occasions 
of more elaborate toilet, they drape themselves in a burnous-like 
cloak of white or striped material, and wear turbans. Long staffs 
of Yakka-wood, hard and tough, serve manifold purposes. They 
assist in the carrying of burdens and give employment to 
hands and arms. It is stated that during one of the more recent 
insurrections the laborers did terrible execution with these Yakka 
Sticks. : 
The native Indians have adapted their costumes to the require- 
ments of the climaté. While selling their produce, they walk 
the streets in a costume that would create consternation in 
the drawing-room. Negroes have found the place allotted to 
them throughout the world, although a few have shown an 
enterprising spirit, and consequently have risen in wealth and im- 
portance. ; 
Chinamen follow the calling which elsewhere serves to make 
them conspicuous. Their intimate relation to soap and wash- 
boards proves them to be a very useful factor in social economy, 
Wherever they go. At Georgetown, a special quarter is assigned 
to them, and they live as though sheltered by their own native 
Country. Stores, kept by Chinamen, supply them with food and 
utensils from the celestial empire, and they worship their own 
Particular deities with the same regularity and observances as at 
ome, Frugal habits and the never-dying desire to spend the 
last days of their lives in the land of their ancestors, impel them 
to labor earnestly for the pittance, which, for their wants, consti- 
tutes a fortune. As workmen on sugar estates they are highly 
Prized. Their sagacity and industry make them indispensable 
to their owners. 
Leaving Georgetown by rail, the route lies through low marshy 
fountry; a large portion of this would be flooded at high tide 
Were it not for the protecting sea-wall. Advantage has been 
taken of this fact, and narrow canals, connected with the bay, 
Supply the place of roads on plantations. The first glance dis- 
Closes the main staple of the colony, sugar-cane. Extensive 
Works are visible in many directions, and immense fields are 
“overed with the growing cane. Demerara sugar production 
4s kept pace with the improvements devoted to the industry. 
Visiting an estate of perhaps several thousand acres, the traveler 
finds himself within a small, well regulated commonwealth. : . 
