Travel Reference
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their drunkenness and indolence. Their fishing is over early in the afternoon, and when they get home
they do nothing but drink. About a litre of rum a day. Their illiteracy is worse than any he had ever en-
countered in the Negro world, and their bad language is famous (' Ils sont connus, dans toutes les Antilles,
pour les gens qui se servent des mots les plus orduriers'). Their laxity in religious duties also presented
stiff problems for a priest. They certainly sounded a handful. 'They are complete children,' the curé went
on. They, just don't grow up.' But he lingered at much greater length on their troubles—disease, remote-
ness from all other influence or example but themselves, the fatal ease of the fisherman's life here; and
on their qualities—generosity, charitableness, honesty, their gift for enjoying themselves, and their cour-
age. During the Vichy régime many of them slipped away to Dominica and made their way from there to
the Free French navy. He assured us that, in spite of appearances, the row had not been a political, but a
purely domestic one, a protest against the preponderance of the numerous Sampson family in island af-
fairs. Inasmuch as the islanders had any politics, they were all pro-de Gaulle, and the bawling of political
slogans was only intended to underline and add force to some family argument. But Communism—or
indeed politics of any sort—was virtually unknown in the island; 'which, considering their mental age,'
Father Offrédo concluded, with a tolerant grin, 'is just as well.'
Listening to this fine old man as he sat with his hands folded in the lap of his soutane, and his biretta
far ' ack on his wrinkled forehead, I was able to take in the details of his little presbytery, the flowered
Second Empire wall-paper, the crucifix, the small chandelier, the two shields on the wall with the lilies of
Valois, the shells and hibiscus on the table, and the Annamite hat hanging on the back of a chair. As we
left he cut and presented to us three bunches of grapes from a trellis in his garden, the first we had seen
in the islands. Were we going to Haiti? Would Costa take a photograph of him in front of his church, and
give it to his sister, who was the abbess of a convent in the north-west corner of the Republic? 'C'est ma
vraie soeur de sang ,' he explained, ' pas seulement ma soeur en Dieu ….'
Four poor whites were hoisting the sail of the fishing boat that was to take us back to Guadeloupe. After
rowing us clear of the bay, Terre d'en Haut withdrew into the middle distance. Its western cape and the
little hillock of Goat Island were outlined against the contours of Terre d'en Bas, which is inhabited
by Negroes. We asked what it was like. 'No good,' the sailors answered. Why? ' Pa'bleu, question de
couleur ,' three of them answered. ' Ils sont noirs.' 'Non pas ça ,' cried the fourth; he was several shades
darker than the others. ' Plus bêtes .' The sheet was made fast and they resumed their oars in a cloud of
banter.
After a while one of them began singing a biguine, beating time with his feet on the bottom of the
boat. The song grew faster until in his excitement he let go of his oar to clap out the accelerating rhythm
with his hands. The words sounded like some alliterative gibberish but it obviously had a meaning, and
clearly an improper one, as it launched the other two oarsmen into such paroxysms of mirth that they had
to drop their oars as well. The ship was abandoned to the sail, while they held their sides and fought for
breath and even rolled about helplessly in the bottom of the boat. Without understanding a word of the
song, we were gradually infected by their laughter until we were also gasping and aching and wiping the
moisture from our eyes. The helmsman had let go of the tiller and sat huddled in the stern with heaving
shoulders, while the tears of laughter streamed down his face.
It had begun to rain, evening was coming on, and there the boat rocked about in the grey water with its
seven occupants impotently doubled up in the throes of collective hysteria. Still the clapping and stamp-
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