s so affected by a spirit of superstition as to cause them to
commit suicide, the latter actuated, as it seemed, by a feeling of
despair, the former through a vindictive spirit towards their masters.
Both were also moved by a superstitious conviction that their spirits
would at once be returned to their native land, to inhabit a sort of
spirit paradise or intermediate state between earth and heaven. It is
very strange that so peculiar and so similar a belief should be
indigenous in the minds of such distinctive races. At the period when
the free importation from Africa was carried on, the most difficult
thing the planters had to contend with was a proneness to suicide on
the part of those slaves who were newly imported, and who entertained
this same remarkable idea.

Though we abhor the entire system of Cuban labor, yet it cannot be
denied that the slaves, so far as material comfort goes, are better
lodged, fed, and cared for than four fifths of the population of
Ireland and India, and, furthermore, this comparison will hold good as
regards a large portion of continental Europe. A well-fed, well-kept
negro is twice as valuable, twice as serviceable to his master as a
neglected one, and no one knows this better than the master who
governs his slaves on purely mercenary grounds, and is yet very
careful to supply liberally their physical wants. These slaves are
descended from various African tribes, whose characteristics are so
marked as to be easily discernible even by strangers. The Congoes are
small in stature, but very agile and good workers, and in past years
they have been a favorite tribe. The Fantees are a larger race of
negroes, hard to manage, and possessing a revengeful nature. Those
from the Gold Coast are still more powerful in body, but are
good-natured and well-liked by planters. The Ebros are less black than
those already named, almost mulatto in complexion, and make favorite
house servants. The Ashantees are of another prominent tribe, and are
also popular as plantation hands, but not numerous.

The tattooed faces, bodies, and limbs of a large portion of the
slaves, especially of the hands upon the plantations, shows their
African nativity, while the smooth skin and generally greater degree
of intelligence of others show them to have been born in slavery upon
the island. These latter are mostly sought for service in the cities.
They are remarkably healthy when not overworked, and form the most
vigorous p