Filthiest Place In the World

1901

Port-au-Prince, the capital, is by consent of all who have had opportunity of comparing it with other cities — the filthiest place in the world. The town was laid out by the French, and the streets are wide. It is only their great width that makes them passable, for the roadway before his dwelling is every householder's rubbish shoot, and slab sided pigs and starveling dogs perform all the sanitary offices for the town of Port-au-Prince save in the rainy season, when a heavier storm than usual comes to flush the open drains. In consequence the populace live in an atmosphere of combined cesspool and ash pit, which by all the laws of hygiene should produce chronic plague.

The free and independent negro leads the life that most nearly approaches his ideal. They have a proverb in the country that "only white men, black women and asses work," and there is truth in it. The black man lies around all day sleeping in the sun. His utmost effort is to play dice or watch a cockfight, but sleep is his favorite occupation, and he can do that better than anything else. In the country districts the old plantations have long since slipped back into the luxuriant overgrowth of the forest. In town any trading done is by the women and by foreigners. Undisturbed by the white man, to whom he is insolent, the town bred negro is pacific enough. The only exertion demanded of him is to avoid the attentions of the police. — Chambers' Journal.

Servants in South Africa

1900

Only rich people can afford to keep white servants in South Africa. All ordinary folk, says a contributor to the London Mail, have to be content with the well-meant, if casual, ministrations of the native "house-boy."

The best of all servants is a Zulu, especially if he is raw, that is, fresh from his native kraal and totally unspoiled by the wiles of civilization. Such a boy is honest, sober, quick, clean, and anxious to learn the ways of the "umlungu," or white man.

He soon becomes as deft as an English butler, and as handy as the ideal housemaid. He does everything, from cooking to answering the door, and after a little practice he does it well. His knowledge of English at first is scanty, but he soon picks up a few words and mixes up Kaffir, Dutch and English in a quaint polyglot dialect.

When they are new to their work the boys make funny mistakes. A lady once had a good but raw boy who did not understand the etiquette of visiting-cards. Three visitors called. Two of them gave the boy their cards; the third did not happen to have one with her. The boy ushered the first two into the drawing-room, but kept the third waiting in the hall, saying, "Two misses got ticket. You no got ticket, you wait outside."

The boys have all manner of strange names, usually chosen by themselves from some one or other of the words that they hear often used, such as Sixpence, "Tickey" (three-penny piece), Shilling, Breakfast, Kettle, Silly Fool, Ugly, Pint Pot, Scrubber, Chopper or Whiskey.

Of course they have their own tribal names, but they never use them in white men's houses, and if none of the aforementioned common objects serves to provide an appellation, the boy is usually Jim, Charley or John. — Youth's Companion.

Intermarriage in 1909, Black and White Together Poses Problems

WHITE AND BLACK.

Not Permitted to Mix In South Dakota —Go to Sioux City to Evade the Law.

Sioux City, Ia., Aug. 9.—In order to escape the penalty of the South Dakota law which prohibits inter-marriage and cohabitation between whites and negroes, James T. Watson, colored, and Miss Marie Dickman, white of Yankton, S. D., came to Sioux City on August 2, secured a license here and were married by Rev. M. G. Newman, pastor of the African Methodist Episcopal church.

On their return to Yankton, however the two were arrested on the charge of illicit cohabitation and August 10 has been set as the day for the hearing. A letter has been received at the office of the clerk of the district court from Joseph Janousek, county attorney of Yankton county, asking if such parties had secured a license and whether they had been married here. Although no return has been filed on the marriage license it has been found that they were married in Sioux City.

The statute under which the arrest was made is a new one and the case has attracted considerable attention at Yankton. The county attorney in his letter requested that some one in the office of the clerk be sent to identify the parties at the trial.

Miss Dickman goes by the name of Goodwin also.

--Weekly State Spirit and Dakota Huronite, Huron, South Dakota, August 19, 1909, page 7.