CHAPTER XXX
MONTIMRAIL WEST
At a distance of less than a league from Port Welcome
stood the large and flourishing plantation of Cash-a-crou,
known to the European population, and, indeed, to many
of the negroes, by the more civilised appellation of Montmirail
West. It was the richest and most important
establishment on the island, covering a large extent of
cultivation, reclaimed at no small cost of labour from the
bush, and worked by a numerous gang of slaves. Not a
negro was purchased for these grounds till he had undergone
a close inspection by the shrewd and pitiless overseer,
who never missed a good investment, be it Coromantee,
Guinea-man, or Congo, and never bought a hand, of however
plausible an appearance, in whom his quick eye
could detect a flaw; consequently, no such cheerful faces,
fresh lips, sound teeth, strong necks, open chests, sinewy
arms, dry, large hands, flat stomachs, powerful loins, round
thighs, muscular calves, lean ankles, high feet, and similar
physical points of servile symmetry, were to be found in
any other gang as in that which worked the wide clearings
on the Cash-a-crou estate, which, for convenience, we will
call by its more civilised name. It was said, however, that
in the purchase of female negroes this overseer was not so
particular; that a saucy eye, a nimble tongue, and such an
amount of good looks as is compatible with African colouring
and features, found more favour in his judgment than
size, strength, substance, vigorous health, or the prolific
qualities so desirable in these investments. The overseer,
indeed, was a married man, living, it was thought, in
