and horns; and, soon after, the royal canoe, formed of one single tree,
put off in great state, with nearly one hundred men paddling her along,
her colours flying, and about a dozen of musicians in her bow, some
blowing upon antelopes' horns, others beating upon drums and other
things, and the remainder chanting or singing in a voice as melodious as
the horns and drums. His Majesty sat upon a platform, in an arm-chair,
in the centre of the canoe, surrounded by his favourites, all of whom he
invites to his feasts. They were dressed agreeably to their tastes--his
Majesty's uniform consisting of a cocked hat, a blue laced coat and red
vest, with a shirt ruffled at breast and wristbands, and about six or
seven yards of calico wrapped round his loins; while his legs and feet
were wrapped in flannel, as he was at this time suffering from gout. He
appeared to be about fifty years of age, portly in his appearance, but
extremely fat. When he was hoisted upon deck, his attendants carried
him, chair and all, into the cabin, where they passed a jovial
afternoon, and matters were arranged to the satisfaction of all parties.
The king had seven puncheons of brandy, and other articles in the same
proportion, for his dash; which was immediately put on shore.
"Next forenoon, our decks were crowded by the native merchants,
bargaining for the cargo, which was soon arranged, and the half of the
value paid in advance--a custom rendered necessary, from the traders not
having the slaves in the town, but being obliged to go up the river to
purchase them at the new moon. This being in a few days, we had to wait
patiently. On the night before they set out, the sound of drums and
horns never ceased, while parties with lighted torches were to be seen
all along the beach, down to the water's edge, placing offerings of
fowls, manilla, and dried fish, upon stakes, for the use of their
jew-jew or god, that he might give them a prosperous voyage. The object
of their worship is the guana, a creature having much the same
appearance as the alligator, but smaller; and so completely domesticated
that they go out and in to the huts at pleasure. Indeed, the natives
build huts for them, where victuals are regularly placed every day.
"On the morning, they set off with their canoes loaded deep with goods,
and well armed. Of the proceeds of this expedition we only got twenty
slaves, with assurance that our cargo would be completed next trip, as
they had made arrangements up the country for more. Of those we received
at this time, all had to get their hurts fomented and dressed, so much
had they been injured, from the manner in which they had been secured by
the traders; and it was some days before they were completely recovered.
The gyves we put on did not gall the ankles, while they were secure; but
their greatest inconvenience was that, on whatever occasion one had to
move, the companion of his chain had to accompany him. During our
tedious stay, it was my duty often to go to King Peppel's town for
water, and there I recollect well, I met a handsome young female slave,
who used to weep much, and importune me, in Negro English, to purchase
and carry her to the West Indies with me. I was much surprised at this
request, for the blacks are in general very averse to leave the country;
and having made inquiry into her history, found it to be most cruel. I
never was so sorry for a slave as I was for that young creature. She had
been taken captive at the surprisal and plunder of her native town--her
husband having escaped--and, being heavy with child, had been delivered
on her way to the coast, where she and her infant were shipped for the
West Indies. In the voyage out, the captain having taken a fancy to her
person, kept her in his cabin, and did not sell her, but brought her
again to Bonny, where he had come for a new cargo. It so happened that
her husband had, like herself, been reduced to slavery, and was brought
on board the very ship in which she was. Her feelings may more easily be
conceived than described. Neither flattery nor punishment could make her
comply with the captain's wishes; and he was so provoked, that he
exchanged her for another slave with King Peppel, who had passed his
word never to sell her to any one of the European traders. Her husband
and child were meanwhile carried away, and she was left behind, to
linger out a life of hopeless grief.
"Let me hasten to leave this horrible place. I could make your heart
sick by relating a hundredth part of what I was forced to witness. As to
what happened in our own ship, I cannot avoid. After next new moon, we
received the remainder of our cargo--four hundred slaves, male and
female. The receiving them on board is the most heart-breaking and
disagreeable part of the whole of a slaving voyage. When they come first
on board, extreme terror is expressed in every feature; and their tears
and groans while being put in irons few hearts can withstand, even
though hardened by two or three voyages. This was my first and last; I
cursed my folly a thousand times, and would have rejoiced to have been
a beggar in Scotland rather than where I was. The men are chained by the
ankles, two and two, then placed within their own barricade; so that
husband and wife, sister and brother, may be in the same ship, and not
know of it. When they come first on board, many of them refuse to eat or
drink, rather choosing to die than live, and thinking we only wish them
to feed, that they may become fat and fit for our eating--a prejudice
many of them firmly believe in, and founded on the notion that the
whites are men-eaters, and purchase them to carry to market like
bullocks. While this feeling is in their mind, which is called the sulky
fit, there is much trouble with them. The men remain silent and sullen,
the women weep and tremble. Arguments, could we speak the different
tongues, would be of no avail--the cat is the only remedy; and that is
administered until they comply. The sight of it, or a few strokes in
general, is sufficient for the females; but many of the males will stand
out a long time, and, during the flogging, never utter a groan--snapping
their fingers in the face of their tormenters, and crying, 'O Furrie! O
Furrie!' (Never mind!) always a sure token of their despair and
recklessness. We were very fortunate in getting our cargo so soon. We
had two or three visits of King Peppel alongside in his begging
disguise--and wished no more. His custom was to visit each ship, meanly
dressed, and in a whining voice, equivalent to a demand, beseech an
alms--and he never begged in vain, for the royal beggar always got a
handsome present; and, indeed, the ultimate success of the voyage
required this, in consequence of his unlimited power over his subjects.
"Having got on board the lime-juice and other necessaries, all we
required was the royal leave to depart; and at length his Majesty came
on board, in as great state as at first--the same scene was acted over
again--his parting-present was little inferior to the former, the
difference being, that this was called a farewell present, and was
returned by a man slave, and two elephant's teeth. The price of a prime
male slave was, at this time, in Bonny, equal to an elephant's tooth of
sixty-five pounds weight, or one thousand billets of red wood--nearly
L10 of English money.
"Next day we set sail for St. Vincent, to our great joy, having lain
here exactly six weeks and one day. Both the crew and the slaves began
to grow very sickly. The duties of the crew were very severe, and, as
disease prevailed, these became more and more disagreeable. As you seem
interested, I will give you a faint, unconnected sketch of the run; but
I would much rather pass it over, though the _Queen Charlotte_ was
remarked for her care and humanity to the slaves. To proceed:--
"Next morning, the negroes were forced upon deck, and the place where
they had passed the night upon the bare boards, naked as they were born,
was scrubbed with lime-juice, until every stain was removed. When upon
deck, chained by the ankles, two and two, a strict watch behoved to be
kept over them, to prevent them from throwing themselves overboard--a
remedy for their sufferings they are keen to resort to for the first
fortnight; and, when the state of the weather would permit, the drum and
fife being played, they were compelled to dance at least twice a day, to
make their blood circulate, and promote their health. At these times,
there was such a clanking of chains and stamping upon the decks, you
would have thought they would have been beaten to pieces by them; and no
wonder, when they were about two hundred lusty fellows, all in violent
exercise at one time. At first the cat was forced to be employed; but
they are very fond of the drum, and soon call of themselves for
"jiggery-jigg," as they term it; will take the instruments themselves,
beat their own time in their own way, and dance away in then own
fashion.
"We had four or five different nations on board. Of one nation we had
only twenty, and these we found were more than enough, from the trouble
they gave us, forcing us to confine them by themselves, as all the other
nations were afraid of them, and said they were men-eaters. These stood
nearly six feet high, and stout in proportion; their teeth were ground
to a point, and fitted into each other like a rat-trap; their nails were
long and strong; they were sullen and untractable, and of consequence
often flogged to make them eat, at which times their looks, as they
snapped their fingers in your face, and growled 'O Furrie!' to one
another, were horrible. In vain was all our care and attention to them,
and every indulgence consistent with the safety of the ship. They had
each two glasses of brandy, and sometimes three, per day; but some
nations would not taste it, while others would drink as much as we would
have given them. Those who did not take their allowance would keep it in
their bekka, (cocoa-nut shell;) and when any of the crew did them any
little service, they would wait an opportunity, and beckon as slily as
possible, and give it to them. It was really beautiful to witness their
kindness to each other of the same nation. If any of us gave one of them
a piece of salt beef--of which they were very fond, but of which they
were allowed none, for fear of creating thirst--he that got it, though
it were no larger than my finger, would pull it, fibre by fibre, and
divide it equally, making, with scrupulous accuracy, his own proportion
no larger than any of the others; while the man that gave it would get
the grateful negro's day's allowance of liquor for it, when we went
below to secure them for the night. Before they were turned below, they
were carefully searched, lest they had concealed a nail, or any bit of
iron, in their bekka, or little bag, by which they might have been
enabled to undo their chains; and in the mornings, their irons and
berths were as carefully examined. But what availed our care and
attention, where sickness and death reigned triumphant? Never a day
passed but one or two were thrown overboard, some days three; and,
during our run to St. Vincent, of six weeks, we lost, out of a cargo of
four hundred, one hundred and twenty. Two of the crew also died, and I
myself was given up for death by the captain; but, contrary to his and
my own expectation, I recovered rapidly. After I began to get
convalescent, I had picked up a few of the poor creatures' words, and
did my best, weak as I was, to relieve their wants, which were very
urgent. The captain, from the very first, when he observed my dislike to
the service I had engaged in, and the pity expressed in my looks, told
me to take it easy, for that I would soon get accustomed to it. But I
never could. Their complaints and piteous moans ceased not, night nor
day. Although they were, in the night, confined below, and the crew had
slung their hammocks on deck, under a spare sail, or anywhere they
thought they would be most out of the sounds, still their moanings
disturbed our sleep. Vain was the threat, 'Nappy becca--paum paum,' (Be
quiet--I will beat you,) and the cat shaken over them. 'Eerie eerie
cucoo' (I am sick plenty) was the reply. 'Biea de biea' (I want the
doctor) sounded from every part; but 'Biea menie' (I want water) was the
constant cry at all times--yet we were liberal in our allowance, and
constantly supplying them with it.
"We gave them hot tea, when sick, made of pepper and boiled water, which
they relished very much, crying often--'Biea de biea ocko menie--eerie
eerie cucoo.' (I want the doctor and hot water--I am very sick.) This
would often be repeated from twenty voices at once, in their soft,
plaintive manner of speaking, as they gathered confidence from the time
they had been on board. As long as they were able to move, we forced
them to the deck; but we in general found them dead in the morning, when
we went below to send them up. Often did the companion of the dead man's
chain feign death, to be thrown overboard with him; but the cat was
always applied to test him, and he was kept alive against his will. All
this happened oftenest within the first fortnight or three weeks; for,
by the fourth week, we had gained their confidence in a great measure,
and their fears had worn off. The captain's custom was, when we found
any one of them cheerful, and apparently easy in mind, to take off their
chains, clothe them in a pair of trowsers and frock, and give them a
charge over their fellows. Then they became proud, and stalked over the
deck like admirals--and none more ready with the cat than they. Thus we
gained upon them fast--the others envying those whom they saw dressed
and trusted; so that, before we reach the end of the voyage, they were
all, except some indomitable spirits, clothed, and walking the deck.
Though still strictly watched, we allowed some of them to go aloft, and
they soon became useful, more especially the boys, who before they left
the vessel, were, some of them, no despicable seamen. When freed of
their irons, and dressed, if they got the loan of a razor, or even a
piece of broken bottle, they would shave, and cut their hair in their
own fashion, and become, if possible, more vain and proud of their
appearance. In the middle of this heart-rending misery, at least to me,
there was one ray of light that enlivened the gloom.
"We had on board of us a son of Bonnyface, the prime minister or chief
favourite of King Peppel. He had been intrusted to Captain Waugh, as a
great favour, to take him to England for his education, and we were to
take him out again next voyage. Billy Bonnyface acted on board like a
ministering angel. He was a sweet boy, and of great service to the
captain, in soothing and giving confidence to the slaves, and attending
the sick. He felt most acutely for their distress, and was constantly
pleading with the captain for some little comfort or other for them--the
tears streaming down his ebony face, in which the unsophisticated
workings of his young mind were more moving than his words. All looked
upon him as a friend, while by those whose language he spoke he was
almost adored. All the crew, too, loved him; for to every one of them he
had rendered some little service, by interceding for them with the
captain, over whom his influence was great. A smarter or more active boy
I never saw; he spoke English, for a negro, very well, and took great
delight in teaching the black boy-slaves, who learned amazingly fast. I
know not how it was, but little Billy loved me more than any other of
the crew, and I can safely say there was no love lost. When he had a
moment at leisure he was ever with me. You can judge by my looks if
there was anything comely in them; yet the dear boy often hung round my
neck and kissed me, while I held him to my bosom, and he called me Dad
Robion."
Here the worthy captain paused, as if from extreme emotion. I felt as if
I could have wept myself. He hastily resumed--
"I am an old fool. I shall go on, if I don't sicken you with my gossip."
"Proceed," I said--"in charity, proceed."
"I thank you," he replied. "Till now I had almost persuaded myself that
no one cared for what I said, but Billy." And here he rung the bell, and
the negro entered. "Billy," said he, "it wears late; bring an extra
glass, and take your wonted seat."
"Tank you, massa," said the negro; "rather sit wit Mary. Picaninny no
sleep yet."
"Well, Billy, as you please," he said, and resumed.
"On proceeding to the southward, we got becalmed eleven days in 2 deg. east
longitude. After a few days lying logging and motionless upon the water,
despondency began to take possession of our minds; our water and
provisions were wearing fast away, and the slaves dying fast, three and
four being often thrown overboard at once. The most gloomy and fearful
ideas began to occupy our minds--death stared us in the face, and we
were utterly powerless. On the tenth day, the men began to gather
together in parties, and whisper what they feared to speak aloud. They
looked with an evil eye upon our chief mate, who was both feared and
hated; to the crew he was tyrannical, but to the slaves he was cruel in
the extreme; and little Billy avoided him as if he had been a fiend. He
was, indeed, a hardened slaver of many years' standing; but the
circumstance that would have sealed his doom was, that, on his last
voyage to the coast, the ship he was in had been becalmed in the same
latitude for twenty weeks; the captain, doctor, and all on board
perished, except himself, two boys, and two of the slaves, out of
forty-six Europeans and four hundred slaves, which they left the coast
with. This was a subject he never wished to hear mentioned, and did all
in his power to avoid being spoken to about; but he and I being on the
best of terms, in consequence of my having laid him under deep
obligation to me at Bonny, he yielded to my request, and gave me the
following details:--
"'We left the coast of Africa all well,' he said; 'in better health than
common, and in high spirits. Nothing particular happened until we were
about the place where we now are, when we had, first, variable winds for
some days; then all at once it fell a dead calm, and our sails hung
loose upon our masts. We felt no uneasiness at first, as such things
are usual in these latitudes; and we only regretted the loss we were
sustaining in our cargo, who had become very sickly, and were dying
fast. Thus three weeks passed on, and despair began to steal upon
us--our provisions and water began to threaten a short-coming, and it
was now agreed to shorten our allowance of both, until a breeze sprung
up. Our crew were listlessly loitering about the deck, and adding to the
horrors of our situation by relating dismal stories which they had heard
of vessels becalmed in these latitudes; and their spirits sank still
lower and lower. Thus, week followed week, and no relief came--our
despondency deepened--more than one-half of our slaves were already
dead; and, by the fourteenth week, our water was almost spent, when it
was debated by the crew whether we should not force the remainder of the
slaves overboard. We were reduced to perfect skeletons by anxiety and
want; and the slaves were much worse off than even we. When the result
of the council was made known to the captain and mate, they gave a
decided refusal, and armed themselves, threatening to shoot the first
man who would again propose it; and it was again agreed to shorten yet
further our scanty allowance of water. On the sixteenth week, the
Europeans began to die as fast as the slaves, who were now reduced to
one hundred and four, the crew to thirty-six. Our sufferings were
terrible. Our thirst parched and shrivelled up our throats. So listless
were we, that the slaves were now allowed to be at large, and many of
them leaped overboard, yelling fearfully as they splashed in the water,
we not caring to prevent them, but rather wishing that they might all
immolate themselves in the same way. We scarcely ever slept when we lay
down; our torments were so great that we would start up in a state of
stupefaction, and wander over the deck like ghosts, until we sank down
again, exhausted. The eyes of all were dim, some glaring bloodshot, red
as raw beef. Several of the crew leaped overboard in a state of wild
derangement; others would be walking or conversing in their usual way,
and suddenly drop down dead, expiring without a groan. Thus did we
linger out eighteen weeks, when the captain took to his cabin, and died
through the night. Death's progress was fearful until the end of the
nineteenth week, when all that remained alive out of such a number,
were, of the Europeans, only myself and two boys, who kept up better
than the men, and two young slaves. But by this time, there was no
distinction between black and white: we lay, side by side, looking over
the bulwarks of the vessel upon the glassy expanse of water; then to our
sails that hung upon our masts like sere-cloths; then at each other--and
our hearts felt as if they had ceased to beat. The heat was intolerable.
We had only half a barrel of water on board, and such water as none
ashore would have allowed to remain in their house; it was putrid, yet
we were grieved at the smallness of the quantity; for in our present
condition it was more precious than gold or diamonds, and was to us most
sweet. There was still as little appearance of a wind springing up as on
the first day of the calm. I was thus in possession of the vessel,
without the means of working her, should a breeze spring up. The fear of
this made me enlarge the allowance of water to the two slaves and boys,
as on their lives my only chance of escape depended; for, were they to
die, I must, like all my fellows, also die in the calm, or become the
sport of the winds and waves, when this appalling stillness in nature
should cease to chain me to this fatal spot. How could I express what we
felt when we first beheld the ripple upon the distant waters, as the
long-looked for wind came gently along! We stretched out our arms, we
wept like children, and the burning drops smarted upon our chopped and
blistered faces--the breeze reached our decks, we felt as if our thirst
had fled and we were bathed in pure water so balmy did it feel. The
sails that had hung loose upon the yards for twenty weeks began to
fill. The vessel moved through the water; I stood at the helm; and we
soon left this fatal latitude far behind. I never left the deck until we
arrived at Barbadoes. When overcome by sleep, one of the boys steered by
the directions I gave, until I awoke again, and took the helm; and when
the pilot came on board, as we neared the island, we had not one gill of
water in the ship.'
"My heart sank within me," continued the Captain, "at this recital. We
were in the same place, and had every prospect of sharing a similar
fate. We were on short allowance of water; and it is the remembrance of
these few fearful days that, as I walk alone, will at times even yet
come over my mind, and, while their horror is upon me, vivid as it was
at the time, if I see water recklessly wasted, I feel angry, until the
illusion has fled, and then I bless God that I am in the middle of green
fields, and not that watery waste that glowed like a furnace from the
intense rays of the sun, and where nothing met the anxious gaze of the
sufferer but an expanse of water and sky, both equally bright and
unvaried, without cloud in the one or swell in the other, all still as
death, save any noise in the vessel, which, if ever so small, was, at
this time, fearfully acute to our ears. On the afternoon of the eleventh
day, fortunately for the mate, and equally so for us all, a breeze came
rustling along the waters, our sails filled, and we glided along with
joyful hearts. Great was the deliverance to us all, but greatest to that
threatened victim; for, had we continued many days in the same
situation, the ship's crew would have made a Jonah of him and thrown him
overboard, as the man himself did not hesitate to say our bad fortune
was solely on his account.