Book contents
- Frontmatter
- INTRODUCTION
- Contents
- CHAPTER I WHY WE WENT
- CHAPTER II THE VOYAGE
- CHAPTER III ST. HELENA
- CHAPTER IV WHAT ASCENSION LOOKED LIKE
- CHAPTER V ASCENSION PAST AND PRESENT
- CHAPTER VI ROUND ABOUT GARRISON
- CHAPTER VII A NIGHT ON THE CLINKER
- CHAPTER VIII CHANGE AND CHECK
- CHAPTER IX MARS BAY
- CHAPTER X A SUNDAY SCENE
- CHAPTER XI THE OPPOSITION OF MARS
- CHAPTER XII THE SEA-SHORE AND THE ROLLERS
- CHAPTER XIII GREEN MOUNTAIN
- CHAPTER XIV SUNDAY AT THE MOUNTAIN
- CHAPTER XV WHY WE HAD ONLY A GALLON OF WATER
- CHAPTER XVI TRIPS FROM GARDEN COTTAGE
- CHAPTER XVII MARS BAY WITHOUT A COOK
- CHAPTER XVIII WIDE-AWAKE FAIR
- CHAPTER XIX LAST DAYS AT MARS BAY
- CHAPTER XX CHRISTMAS IN GARRISON
- CHAPTER XXI ABOUT THE KROOMEN
- CHAPTER XXII CLINKER CEMETERIES
- CHAPTER XXIII CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS
- CHAPTER XXIV THE DEVIL'S RIDING SCHOOL
- CHAPTER XXV HOMEWARD BOUND
CHAPTER XXI - ABOUT THE KROOMEN
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 July 2011
- Frontmatter
- INTRODUCTION
- Contents
- CHAPTER I WHY WE WENT
- CHAPTER II THE VOYAGE
- CHAPTER III ST. HELENA
- CHAPTER IV WHAT ASCENSION LOOKED LIKE
- CHAPTER V ASCENSION PAST AND PRESENT
- CHAPTER VI ROUND ABOUT GARRISON
- CHAPTER VII A NIGHT ON THE CLINKER
- CHAPTER VIII CHANGE AND CHECK
- CHAPTER IX MARS BAY
- CHAPTER X A SUNDAY SCENE
- CHAPTER XI THE OPPOSITION OF MARS
- CHAPTER XII THE SEA-SHORE AND THE ROLLERS
- CHAPTER XIII GREEN MOUNTAIN
- CHAPTER XIV SUNDAY AT THE MOUNTAIN
- CHAPTER XV WHY WE HAD ONLY A GALLON OF WATER
- CHAPTER XVI TRIPS FROM GARDEN COTTAGE
- CHAPTER XVII MARS BAY WITHOUT A COOK
- CHAPTER XVIII WIDE-AWAKE FAIR
- CHAPTER XIX LAST DAYS AT MARS BAY
- CHAPTER XX CHRISTMAS IN GARRISON
- CHAPTER XXI ABOUT THE KROOMEN
- CHAPTER XXII CLINKER CEMETERIES
- CHAPTER XXIII CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS
- CHAPTER XXIV THE DEVIL'S RIDING SCHOOL
- CHAPTER XXV HOMEWARD BOUND
Summary
The day after Christmas was also a holiday in Garrison, and we had a visit during the morning from our old friend Sam the first, in Sunday suit, along with another Krooman whom he introduced as his “chum.”
“We come wish you merry Christmas-time,” said Sam; and we thanked them, hoping in turn that they had had a happy Christmas.
“No, ma, me no happy Christmas, other man drink it all,” said Sam.
I didn't quite understand him at first, but it gradually dawned upon me that, to poor Sam's thinking, Christmas happiness was in proportion to the amount of bubbly-water he could consume.
How I wish we could show our good will to these poor fellows in some other way than by giving them “something to drink!” But there are so few things that they appreciate. Some of them, indeed, accept money eagerly, but for the most part they “no care.” And it is no wonder, for all the money they earn has to be given up to the Big Brother.
Although it is an undoubted fact that the Krooman cannot live as a slave, and has been known in slavery to starve himself to death, yet this Big Brother system almost amounts to bondage.
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- Information
- Six Months in AscensionAn Unscientific Account of a Scientific Expedition, pp. 234 - 242Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010First published in: 1878