LABOR, FARMING, MANUFACTURES, &C. 23 
the headmen of towns, there is no such 
thing as property in real estate, and if one 
a little more industrious than his fellows, 
does labor and economize until he stores up 
a quantity of rice, or any thing else in the 
way of personal property, headmen will 
extort from him, and others sponge upon 
him, until the fruits of his labor are gone. If 
one had it in his heart to lay up for a time 
of need, or for his progeny, he would not 
be able to do so. 
What farming they do is very imperfectly 
done, and on a small scale. Having no 
horses or oxen, or animals of any kind with 
which to cultivate the soil, and being en- 
tirely without farming utensils, save a rudely 
constructed hoe, they connot cultivate the 
soil to advantage. With the hoe they 
loosen up the surface of the ground a little, 
and cultivate rice, cassada, cocoa potato, 
sweet potato, yams, &c. Rice and cassa- 
da are the staple commodities of agricul- 
ture. 
The women do most of the farming, as 
well as every other kind of work. The 
men generally clear off the ground. Thig 
