THE MILL.
A sugar-plantation is doubtless one of the most difficult species of property to manage in a proper manner. The numerous persons employed upon it, their divers avocations, and the continual change of occupation, give to the owner or his manager constant motives for exertion, innumerable opportunities of displaying his activity. A plantation ought to possess within itself all the tradesmen which are required for the proper furtherance of its concerns; a carpenter, a blacksmith, a mason, a potter, and others which it is needless to name in this place. It is a manufactory as well as a farm, and both these united must act in unison with each other, and with the seasons of the year.
The mill ought, properly, to commence grinding the cane in September, but few of them begin until the middle of October; for the planting scarcely allows that they should set to work before the latter period. This is the time of merriment and of willing exertion, and for some weeks the negroes are all life and spirit; but the continuance of constant work for the whole of the day and part of the night at last fatigues them, and they become heavy and fall asleep wherever they chance to lay their heads.[155]
The mills for grinding the canes are formed of three upright rollers, which are made of solid timber, entirely cased or rather hooped in iron, and the hoops are driven on to the wood before they become quite cool[156]. The improvement of the “circular piece of frame-work called in Jamaica the dumb-returner” has not been introduced. Two men and two women are employed in feeding the mill with cane; a bundle of it is thrust in between the middle roller and one of the side rollers, and being received by one of the women, she passes it to the man who stands-close to her, for the purpose of being by him thrust between the other side roller and that of the centre. This operation is continued five or six times until the juice has been extracted. There appears to be some mismanagement in this part of the work; for in the British colonies a second compression “squeezes them completely dry, and sometimes even reduces them to powder;” and the same occurred in Labat’s time in the French islands. The dumb-returner tends very greatly to prevent accidents, which occasionally occur in Brazil through the carelessness or drowsiness of the slaves. The negroes who thrust the cane in between the rollers have sometimes allowed their hands to go too far, and one or both of them having been caught, in some instances, before assistance could be given, the whole limb and even the body has been crushed to pieces. In the mills belonging to owners who pay attention to the safety of their negroes, and whose wish it is to have every thing in proper order, a bar of iron and a hammer are placed close to the rollers upon the table (meza) which supports the cane. The bar is intended to be violently inserted between the rollers in case of accident, so as to open them, and thus set at liberty the unfortunate negro. In some instances I have seen lying by the side of the bar and hammer, a well-tempered hatchet, for the purpose of severing the limb from the body, if judged necessary[157]. On these unfortunate occasions the screams of the negro have the effect of urging the horses which draw the mill, to run with increased velocity. I am acquainted with two or three individuals who now work their mills with oxen; and they gave as the principal reason for this change, the decrease of danger to the negroes who feed the mill; because such is the slowness of these animals, that an accident of the above description can scarcely happen, and indeed they are stopped rather than urged to proceed by noise. Some of the mills are turned by water, but many more would admit of this improvement than take advantage of it. Most of the mills are worked by horses. There are no windmills in Pernambuco or in the other provinces which I visited[158]. The expence which is incurred in making dams and in other alterations, is doubtless considerable, and few persons can afford to lay out the money which these works require; but the conveniences of working by means of water are various; the number of animals required upon a plantation is reduced to less than one half; less pasture land is necessary, and fewer persons need to be employed. The animals likewise which are thus rendered superfluous are those which are of the most cost, the most liable to disease, and the most difficult to feed. Great care and attention is requisite in preserving the horses, or rather the mares (for these are mostly employed in this description of work) in a condition to go through with the crop; and quantities of cane are cut up and given to them, as well as molasses. Oxen are usually employed in drawing the carts, and it is seldom thought necessary to afford any expensive food to these animals. They pick up as much as they please of the cane-trash which is thrown out of the mill, and the cane tops are likewise given to them.