Jamaica

[Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] A bird's eyee view of Kingston, the capital of Jamaica. A sun-kissed land of hills and plains divided by ribbons of silver rivers tumbling down through verdant valleys. A tropic isle of infinite beauty that rises out of the blue depths of the Caribbean Sea some 90 mi south of Cuba. The late Queen Victoria is lovingly referred to as the Supreme Lady of Jamaica. Let's stroll down King Street. Here we note signs of civilization on every side and find it hard to realize that only three centuries ago, this was a tropical wilderness, a favorite hideout of bold pirates and buccaneers. Traffic rules are the same here as in London. If you go left, you go right, and if you go right, you go wrong. So figure it out for yourself. Most of the inhabitants are descendants of the slaves that were imported from Africa to work on the plantations. Just a 100 years ago, Great Britain abolished slavery. Today, the Jamaican Negro is a happy, enlightened, law-abiding citizen, loyal to his government, of which he is very proud. Saturday is market day, but only a few have a donkey with which to bring in the produce from their farms. The men usually stay at home to work the farms while the women walk to market carrying everything on their heads. Some of them have to walk 10 miles or more. When they have sold their wares, they start home loaded down with supplies for their families. Walking must be good in Jamaica. Uh-huh. Coffee beans, undated, [Music] sugar, and no cream, [Music] but plenty of soda pop to wash it down. [Music] The peasant negroes of Jamaica are very much attached to their little homes and their plots of land. The cabins are clean, sanitary, and pleasant to live in. Long before we had our NRA, these Jamaicans had a code of their own. A 4-day week gets them enough money for their everyday needs. Their clothing is scanty at times, but they always dress with due regard to modesty. The women have acquired the habit of using plenty of soap so that the entire family is kept clean in appearance at least. Their [Music] diet is simple. The only fuel they require is for cooking and this takes place in the open air. Say, isn't he cute? But then children are always fascinating. Come on there, young fellow. You too old to do that. Take your finger out of your mouth. Over 75,000 children attend the elementary schools. They are taught their letters and their numbers by the singing method. They are very fond of singing. The teachers are native and they have been well prepared for their profession. [Music] They seem to start their education at an early age in this island. But then perhaps it's the mother who is trying to brush up on her own reading, writing, and arithmetic. Well, here's Kitty, who wants to learn how to spell mouse. As a rule, these children are well behaved and take a real interest in their lessons. The Jamaicans are known for their placid dignity. It must be an inborn trade. Just see how quiet and orderly these youngsters are as they march out of school. Here's an interesting group. This young mother of seven children adds to the family budget by breaking stone for road building. At the same time, keeping her eye on her brood. She chants as she works, marking time with the stone hammer. Quite an original lullabi for the babies. Her oldest boy is already earning his way. And it won't be long now before these two will be making little ones out of big ones. This woman is spreading the broken stone over the roadway, a handmade road. Jamaica has an ideal soil and climate for raising sugar cane. All over the island, you will find small plantations with primitive sugar mills like this one. And would you believe it, this little mill turns out 600 lb of raw sugar each working day. The cane is fed by hand to the rollers and the juice which runs out is boiled down until it hardens. The process is similar to the one used in making maple sugar. This raw sugar is sold to the natives only. The large modern mills which make the higher grade of sugar and this sugar is exported. These small mills may be primitive but they certainly deliver the goods. [Music] Jamaica is also an ideal place for growing bananas because it has a rich fat soil together with plenty of heat and moisture. These are young trees about 3 months old. In another 5 or 6 months they will bear fruit. These trees are full grown from 8 to 10 months old and they are ready to be picked. [Music] Each tree bears only one crop. When the bananas are cut off, the picker destroys the tree. The shoot that spring up out of the roots grow rapidly to furnish the next crop. [Music] As the laborers carry the bunches to a loading station, they pass by an overseer who lops off the stems so as to save room on the fruit ships. And say, could he play a dirty trick on his brother-in-law. [Music] On very large plantations, they have narrow gauge railroads for delivering the bananas to the warves. On this one, a bulock cart answers the purpose. And here's the motive power. Here they come along one of those handmade roads bound for the waterfront. As the carts come in, the bananas are transferred to a big shed on the warp. The men carrying the bananas pass in front of a checker. Each one receives a metal disc. Later they turn them in as a check on the number of bunches brought in and then they get paid off. The carriers get two cents for every three bunches carried in. The bananas are picked green. At this stage they are quite hard and can be tossed around in handling without being damaged. [Music] Now, while the lighters go out to the ship and unload, let's wander along the shore and give the fishing industry the once over. [Music] The men do all the fishing. Their boats are in one piece and are dug out of the large trunks of the cottonwood tree. When they return from a catch, the women weigh out to the boats and bring in the fish. They clean them and scale them right on shore and then take them to market. Ah, Jamaican fish hound. [Music] Want to buy a fish? [Music] Well, after all, we've missed our boat. But who cares? Jamaica is such a pleasant place in which to lope. We don't mind having to wait for the next steamer, do we? [Music]