The chase, which had lasted for nearly the whole of a day, carried the
_Pandora_ a hundred miles out of her course before she had fairly
distanced the cutter; but she had to run still fifty miles further to
make sure that the latter had lost sight of her, and, of course,
abandoned the pursuit. The last part of the run, however, was made in a
direction diagonal to that in which she had been chased; and as the
morning broke, and there were no signs of the cutter nor any other sail,
the slaver once more headed in for the coast. She was now so far to the
south of the line on which she had encountered the cruiser, that,
whether the latter kept on in the pursuit, or returned as she had come,
in either case she would be too distant from the barque to make her out.
The darkness of the night had also favoured the slaver's escape, and,
when morning came, her commander felt quite sure that the cutter was
cruising far to the north of him, and beyond the range of the most
powerful telescope.
The deviation which the _Pandora_ had made from her course did not
signify much to such a light sailer as she. She soon made up the loss;
for next day the wind had veered round so as to answer for her course;
and, as it blew but lightly, she was able to go under studding-sails, at
the rate of ten and twelve knots an hour.
She was now heading directly for the African coast, and, before the sun
had set, my eyes rested on the land--that land so long famous, or rather
infamous, for its commerce in human beings--for the hunt, and the
barter, and sale of men, women, and children!
During the night the barque stood off and on at several miles' distance
from the shore, and with the earliest light of morning ran close in.
There was no port nor town. Not even a house was in sight. The land
was low, scarce rising above the sea-level, and appeared to be covered
with a dense forest to the water's edge. There was neither buoy nor
beacon to direct the course of the vessel, but, for all that, the
captain knew very well where he was steering to. It was not his first
slaving expedition to the coast of Africa nor yet to the very port he
was now heading for. He knew well where he was going; and, although the
country appeared to be quite wild and uninhabited, he knew that there
were people who expected him not far off.
One might have fancied that the _Pandora_ was about to be run ashore,
for, until she was within a few cables' length of the beach, neither
bay, nor landing-place presented itself to our view, and no orders had
been given to drop anchor. It is true that most of her sails had been
hauled down, and she was moving but slowly through the water, but still
fast enough to strike with violence if permitted to approach much
nearer.
Several of the crew, who were on their first voyage to this coast, began
to express their surprise; but they were laughed at by the older hands
who had been there before.
All at once the surprise was over. A little wooded point was rounded,
and the line of the beach--which but the moment before had appeared
continuous--was now seen to be broken by a long, narrow reach of water,
that ran far back into the land. It proved to be the mouth of a small
but deep river; and, without reconnoissance or hesitation, the barque
entered across its bar, and, standing up stream, came to anchor about a
mile inland from the sea.
Opposite to where we had anchored I could perceive a strangely-built hut
standing near the bank, and another and larger one further back, and
partially screened by the trees. In front of the former, and close to
the water's edge, was a group of dark-looking men, making some signals
which were answered by the mate of the _Pandora_. Other men were down
in a long canoe that was riding upon the water, and some were getting
into it, as if about to be rowed out to us.
I saw the palms upon the bank--they were the first trees of this kind I
had ever seen growing, but I easily recognised them by the pictures I
had seen in books. There were other large trees, not less singular in
their appearance, and differing altogether from the kinds I had been
accustomed to look upon at home; but my attention was soon drawn from
the trees by observing that the men in the canoe had parted from the
shore and were paddling towards us.
The river was not over two hundred yards in width, and as the barque was
anchored about midway, of course the canoe had not far to come. In a
few seconds it was alongside, and I had a fair and full view of its
dusky rowers.
As I regarded them the reflection passed through my mind, that if these
were a fair specimen of their countrymen, the less acquaintance with
them the better; and I could now comprehend the remark of Brace, that to
desert from the ship on the African coast would be sheer madness.
"Bad," said he, "as are these fellows on board the _Pandy_, still they
have white skins and something human about them; but as for the rascals
we are to meet over yonder they are devils, both soul and body--you
shall see 'em, my boy, and judge for yourself." These remarks my patron
had made some days before, when we were talking of our intention to
escape; and as I looked into that long canoe, and scanned the faces of
the half-score of men that sat within it, I was forcibly struck with the
truthfulness of the assertion. A more ferocious set of men I never
looked upon--very devils did they appear!
There were eleven of them in all, and most of them were as black as
shoe-leather, though there was a variety of colour, from jet-black to a
bad tawny-yellow. It was evident they were not all of one race, for
there is scarcely any part of the western coast of Africa where there is
not an admixture of different races,--arising, no doubt, from the
long-continued slave-traffic between the coast and the interior. If
these eleven gentlemen differed slightly in colour, there were other
points in which they differed not at all. All of them had thick lips,
beetle-brows, short kinky wool upon their heads, and the most ferocious
and brutal expression upon their faces. Eight out of the eleven were
naked as at the hour of their birth, with the exception of a narrow
swathing of cotton cloth around their hips and thighs. These eight used
the paddles, and I could perceive that they had spears and old muskets
in the boat beside them. The other three were of superior class. Two
of them were better clad than the eight rowers--but no better looking--
while the third presented to the eye an aspect at once so hideously
tierce, and yet so ludicrous, that it was difficult to determine whether
you ought to laugh at or to fear him.
This man was a true negro,--black as gun powder, gross as a water-butt,
and of enormous dimensions. His face was not so negrofied (if I may use
the word) as some of his companions', but it had a still worse
expression than that of the very thick-lipped kind, for it was not
stupid like theirs. On the contrary, it exhibited a mixture of ferocity
with a large share of cunning--a countenance, in fact, full of all
wickedness. It resembled a good deal the faces I have afterwards
observed in India,--among the fat despotic princes that are still
permitted to misrule some portions of that unhappy land,--and a large
black beard, whiskers, and moustache, added to the similitude.
It was not the face, nor the great size of the man that rendered him
ridiculous. Quite the contrary. A glance at these had rather an
opposite tendency. What was laughable about him was his costume; and if
he had been done up for a farce upon the stage, or a Christmas
pantomime, he could not have been dressed in a more ludicrous manner.
Upon his body was a uniform coat of bright-scarlet cloth, the cut and
facings of which told that it had once done duty in the army of King
George. It had been a sergeant's full-dress coat, for the _chevrons_
were still upon the cuffs,--and a stout sergeant he must have been,--one
of the stoutest in the army. The coat was a large one, yet, withal, it
was a tight fit for its present wearer, and did not come within a foot
of buttoning upon him. The sleeves, moreover, were too short by inches,
and the huge black wrists of the negro appeared in strange contrast with
the bright sheen of the scarlet. Behind, the skirts forked widely
apart, showing the huge buttocks of the wearer, that were covered by the
tails of a striped sailor's shirt reaching a little below; and below
this again, the huge, thick, black thighs and lower limbs were naked to
the toes.
An old cocked-hat with faded lace and feathers, that no doubt had once
graced the head of some admiral or commodore, sat high upon the woolly
crown of her new acquaintance, and completed the absurd _tout ensemble_.
There was a long knife stuck in his belt, and a large crooked sabre
dangling between his limbs.
It would have been laughable enough--such a singular apparition under
other circumstances--but I perceived on the part of the _Pandora's_ crew
no disposition to laugh. A strict order from the captain had been
issued against such behaviour; and enjoining all on board to receive
"His Majesty King Dingo Bingo" with all courtesy and respect.
So, then he of the tight coat and cocked-hat was a king--King "Dingo
Bingo!" The two that were partially clad were his councillors, and the
eight black canoe-men a portion of his bodyguard.
I did not make all these observations while the new comers were in the
canoe. There had been no time for that. The moment they approached the
side of the barque, ropes had been thrown to them, and the canoe was
hauled close up. A ladder had already been let over the gangway, and up
this "His Majesty" climbed, and was received on board with all the
honours.
Joyful salutes passed between him and his well-known acquaintance, the
captain; and, without more ado, the latter led the way across the
quarter-deck, and conducted his majesty to the cabin with apparent
formality, but yet in a frank and jovial manner that proved the two to
be old friends--the best friends in the world.
The mate did his best to entertain the two "Councillors of State," while
the men of the bodyguard remained below in the canoe. His majesty had
no fear for his personal safety. He knew the slaver and her master. He
had been expecting them, and therefore needed to ask no questions about
country or character. The skipper and the king understood each other.