Negroes: The crime of poisoning--Instance of it--Murder of Mr.
Brown--Love and jealousy--The end of unlawful love--Infanticide
--Incendiarism--A late instance of it--Polygamy--Disregard of
marriage vows.
After having given a short sketch of the murder of Mr. Blizard
and Mr. Ogilvie by their slaves, it was my intention to have
entered more fully into the cases of poisoning which in days gone
by have occurred in this country. But in looking over the
dreadful catalogue of such crimes, I find them so frequent, and
the manner in which they were carried into effect so similar,
that one instance will suffice.
About twenty years ago, a woman of the name of Betsey, belonging
to a highly respectable family, had a dispute with her mistress.
With the feeling of revenge burning at her heart, she carried her
complaint to a friend, who advised her to consult an Obeah man,
and get him to give her _something_. Not having an opportunity of
going herself, or else not wishful of being known, she sent an
old woman of the name of Jenny, an _attachée_ of the yard, to
obtain the deadly potion, the mysterious _something_, as the
negroes generally termed it. The old woman accordingly visited an
Obeah man of the name of John, who gave her a liquid which was to
be administered to her mistress in some of her nourishment, and
which he said would kill her in one minute. This obtained by
Betsey, who, like most of her tribe, was the slave of her
passions, she resolved to lose no time in carrying her plan of
revenge into execution; accordingly, she handed it to the butler,
with whom, it appears, she had formed a _liaison_, and who was
concerned with her in her plot, with injunctions to put it into
whatever liquid her mistress might order. By some means or the
other, a suspicion that all was not right was raised; certain
circumstances were inquired into, and the result was that Betsey
and her accomplices were tried and executed. Old Jenny, the
messenger employed in their dealings with the Obeah man, was
sentenced to work in the street-gang for a certain period. From
her statement at her trial, that the Obeah man, John, told her
the draught would kill her mistress in "one minute," she ever
after obtained that cognomen from the negroes about the streets.
In the year 1820-30, another murder was committed, the details of
which are as follows:--A person of the name of Brown was living
as overseer upon an estate called Big Deurs, now in possession of
Messrs. Manning and Anderdon. The negroes upon this property had
been for a long time in the habit of pilfering, and in many
instances Mr. Brown had discovered the offenders, which caused
him to be disliked, and determined one among them, more
heartless, perhaps, than the rest, to undertake his destruction.
On Christmas day, Mr. Brown rode to La Roche's, a neighbouring
estate, and upon his return in the evening, between the hours of
six and seven, he met with his untimely death.
The slave to whom Mr. Brown had rendered himself particularly
obnoxious was named Cambridge, and this man had long lain in wait
for an opportunity of completing his crime, and for the purpose
had sharpened an old copper skimmer, (used in boiling sugar,)
which he thought would prove an effective weapon.
Mr. Brown, like too many other white men in this island, carried
on an amour with a woman belonging to the property, named
Christiana, and it was the first intention of Cambridge to murder
her as well as the overseer, supposing it was through her
communications that so many discoveries of thefts had been made.
On the Christmas day, Cambridge dressed himself in his best suit,
and proceeded with many of his fellow slaves to the Methodist
chapel at Parham, intending upon his return home to waylay and
murder the woman, who had also visited the same place of worship.
In pursuance of his plan, he hurried out of chapel immediately
after service, and took up his stand in a part of the road which
he knew Christiana must pass. After waiting in vain for a long
time, a group of negroes at length hastened by, when Cambridge,
whose stock of patience was exhausted, joined them, and asked if
they knew where Christiana was? In answer to his query, they
informed him she had visited a neighbouring estate, and after
remaining there for a short time had proceeded home by another
path. Thus thwarted in his views of obtaining revenge, his
designs upon Mr. Brown gained double hold of him; and hastening
home, he disrobed himself, put on his working-dress, and first
telling his wife, "_That he had lost one opportunity, but he
would take good care he did not lose the next_," quitted the
house, taking the old copper skimmer with him.
It was a beautiful evening; the moon shone in all her splendour,
and every star that twinkled in the heavens glittered around that
murderer's step. Oh, that such dreadful thoughts should have
possessed that man's mind in the midst of such a lovely scene
upon the evening of that very day when angels proclaimed "Good
will towards man!" But, alas!--
"Nor grateful evening mild, nor silent night,
---------------- nor walk by moon,
Or glittering starlight,"
had any effect upon his hardened heart--
"His soul was dark within;
He lived but in the sound
Of shamelessness and sin."
Many a minute stole away, and Cambridge (who had concealed
himself in a cane-piece, bordering the road his intended victim
must necessarily pass) kept his fatal stand. Not a sound was
heard, save the evening breeze as it whispered among the long
leaves of the sugar-cane, or the occasional croaking of some
night reptile. At length, the tread of a horse's foot was heard,
and warned the murderer to be upon his guard. Unconscious of the
dreadful fate hanging over him, Mr. Brown rode slowly on,
accompanied by a black boy, when, as he was passing between two
cane-pieces, just where the canes grew thick and high, with one
bound the murderer was upon him. A heavy blow from the sharpened
skimmer upon his head, stunned him; and ere a prayer could rise
to his lips, his soul flew to meet his God, and his murderer was
left standing alone, with the stain of human blood upon him.[26]
The boy who accompanied his unfortunate master was the nephew of
the culprit; but as he was unperceived by Cambridge, he was
enabled to make his escape into the cane-field, where he remained
an unknown observer of the dreadful event. As soon as the
murderer had quitted the spot, the boy hastened to the overseer's
house (not far distant) and related to the inmates the fate of
his master, and the name of his destroyer. An immediate alarm was
given, and, guided by the boy, they quickly reached the scene of
murder, where they discovered the unfortunate overseer, bereft of
life, and presenting an appearance too horrible for description.
They then proceeded in quest of Cambridge, whom they found at his
hut, with his blood-stained garments still upon him, and in the
act of washing his unhallowed hands.
After a coroner's inquest upon the body, and a verdict (according
to the circumstances of the case) returned, Cambridge was
conveyed to the capital, where he took his trial for murder. He
was found guilty, and condemned to suffer death by hanging; and
to make the punishment more impressive to others, he was ordered
to be carried to Osborn's Pasture, in the vicinity of the spot
where the murder was committed, and there to be hung and
gibbeted.
Long did his whitened bones glisten in the moonbeams; and as the
wind shook the chains which held the body, many a little negro
who had strayed that way in search of guavas, fled from the spot,
for fear of the "dead man's jumby."
About ten years ago, murder again stained the annals of Antigua.
The slayer was one of the softer sex, and jealousy prompted her
to the act. She broke into the house where her rival lived, and
in her passion at finding her husband an inmate of the dwelling,
stabbed her who had destroyed her peace. The husband escaped by
the window; and after the perpetration of the deed, the murderess
obtained the assistance of some of her friends, and between them
they dragged the body of the murdered woman to the beach, and
threw it into the sea. Weights were attached to the feet of the
corpse to make it sink; but they were either insufficient, or
they became detached, and the body floated. A negro belonging to
a neighbouring estate, who was out searching for stray cattle,
discovered it among some mangrove trees, and gave the alarm, the
deed was traced to the woman, and she was condemned to follow her
victim to the "tribunal of the Just."
Since then, this offence has rarely been repeated; but some
instances there have been since my residence in this country,
where the demon Revenge has sealed and stamped them for his own,
and instigated them to perpetrate crimes at which the soul
revolts. A circumstance of this kind occurred in the year 1840. A
black man, of the name of Joseph Gould, formerly belonging to the
Rev. Mr. Gilbert, the descendant of the founder of Methodism in
Antigua, was living in an unlawful state with a coloured girl, of
whom he became jealous, and in consequence resolved to end her
existence. The unfortunate woman was murdered in a very brutal
manner, by means of a thick stick, which completely shattered the
head, and scattered the brains; her fingers and part of her ears
were then cut off, to secure the rings and earrings which she was
too fond of wearing, and the body then flung into a cane-piece.
The dreadful effluvia first attracted notice; and after some
search, the body was found. A woman came forward and related some
circumstances which occurred upon the last evening the
unfortunate girl was seen alive, which led to the apprehension of
Gould. He was brought to trial,--the evidence was all
circumstantial,--and after a patient investigation of the case,
he was sentenced to transportation for life. It appears, however,
that no opportunity has occurred of putting the sentence into
effect, as he still remains an inmate of the gaol, where it is
said he suffers the stings of a guilty conscience, which conjures
up the shade of the murdered girl before him, soon as "evening
gray" sets in. This is the last case of particular note which has
stained the domestic pages of this pretty little island; and I do
hope, that now education is so liberally tendered, the minds of
all classes may become enlightened, and this horrible crime
become extinct.
Infanticide has also been too often perpetrated in Antigua,
particularly since emancipation; although, it is true, it does
not prevail to the extent it does in that "emporium of the world"
--London. It is one of those unnatural offences which shews too
clearly our fallen state. "Can a woman forget her sucking child?"
is asked by the inspired Book; and then, as if the sad reality of
what human nature is capable of is remembered, it is added, yes,
"She may forget!" And, alas! those words have indeed proved true:
the mother has indeed forgotten to have compassion upon the
helpless little being which has derived its existence from
herself.
In the days of slavery, the negroes were not allowed by law to
marry; the union between them in most cases lasting only so long
as agreeable to themselves. From this cause, it was frequent to
find a family of eight or nine children, who all owned, perhaps,
different fathers. This the woman considered no disgrace, and
consequently had no incentive to disguise the fact by destroying
the child. The case, however, is now different with many. Since
schools have been established in this country for the benefit of
the negroes, it has been the constant aim of the parents, in most
cases, to avail themselves of the privilege, by sending their
children to receive instruction. So far all is well; I am a great
advocate for the spread of education among the lower classes, and
think not, with some, that the withholding knowledge from them is
the only security for obedience. "If ignorance is bliss, 'tis
folly to be wise," says one, whose name stands high in the rolls
of literary fame; and those who would wish to debar the poor from
receiving the instruction tendered at the different free-schools
&c. are apt to take this sentence as their motto, without
answering the question it undoubtedly implies, "where _is_
ignorance bliss?" It is good when the labourer feels his want of
learning, and strives to obtain for his children the boon which
has been denied his own youth. But the great evil which is likely
to ensue in this island, from this liberal gift of education,
until the negroes become more wise, is in this--when they send
their children, particularly their daughters, to a school where
they are taught to read and write, &c., they fancy that any kind
of servitude will be a degradation to them; and consequently
every means in their power are tried to bring them up as
_ladies_, that is, to sit in the house all day, although, for a
remuneration, they will condescend to do a certain portion of
needlework for any one who may require it; or else to get them
appointed teacher in some of the infant schools upon the several
estates. These "young ladies" of course lay aside the ancient
fashion of tying their heads with many-coloured handkerchiefs,
and wear bonnets instead; and that everything may appear in a
proper light, whatever follies or errors they may commit, they
endeavour to screen as far as lies in their power. It is
principally among this class of persons, then, that the crime of
infanticide is to be found: to preserve their own character in
the eyes of the world, they add to their former error the heavier
guilt of murder; and without one pang of remorse, expose to the
hungry dogs the little innocent they ought to have guarded with
double care, as they had already deeply injured it by denying it
a father's protection. Several instances of this kind have lately
occurred within a short period; but the subject is so revolting
to the sensitive mind, that we will banish any further mention of
it from these pages.
In the list of higher offences, incendiarism must be noticed,
which has been frequently practised by the negroes to carry out
their plans of revenge. Before emancipation, as well as at the
present period, the horizon has been frequently illuminated with
the glare of an incendiary fire. We have already seen, in the
year 1831, how much the negroes resented the abolition of their
Sunday markets, by scattering abroad that devastating element;
and within a few weeks ago, a case of arson occurred in the
capital, which might have proved very fatal in its consequence.
A highly respectable inhabitant of Antigua, had, with his family,
retired for the night, perfectly unconscious of harm. Who would
not think himself safe within the precincts of his own home?--
where but in that fortress would we look for rest? Alas! that
human depravity should rage to such an extent that, even in our
own domestic circle, revenge, that deadly "upas," should spring
up, to destroy, with its poisonous exhalation, that great
blessing, family peace! A few words between the servants of the
establishment and their employer led, it is supposed, to the
event, which, had it not been fortunately discovered, might have
hurried a whole family into eternity by one of the most dreadful
deaths.
On the night in question, a female inmate of his house was unable
to sleep, and after tossing about for some time with a degree of
feverish irritation, her sense of smelling was considerably
annoyed by what appeared to be the smouldering of burning cloth.
Awaking the rest of the family, she communicated to them her
alarm, and on proceeding to the staircase to ascertain the cause,
it was found to be completely enveloped in smoke. Making their
way down with precipitation, a sofa was discovered to be in
flames, which, with some difficulty, was extinguished, and once
more the family prepared to seek their respective chambers. As,
however, they proceeded to the staircase for that purpose, a
lambent line of light was perceived to issue from a small closet
under the stairs, and upon opening the door, it was found to be
in a blaze, and small billets of wood, coals, and other
combustibles, heaped together amid the pile of table-linen,
silver, &c., which the place contained. A reward of one hundred
pounds sterling has been offered by the owner for the purpose of
discovering the offender, but nothing has been elicited which
could lead to the apprehension of the miscreant, who, for the
gratification of an evil passion, would have so heartlessly
injured those who never offended. It appears strange that the
legislature should have taken no notice of this wilful deed
(which might once more have spread the horrors of a conflagration
throughout the town) by increasing the reward offered; it must
have been a great oversight on their part, as their own safety
might depend upon it; for if the perpetrators of the deed remain
unknown, and consequently unpunished, who can say where the evil
may end?
From taking a short glance at incendiarism, the next point to be
considered is polygamy--and here, again, we see the demoralizing
effects of slavery. It has been before remarked that there was no
legal marriage rite for slaves, such unions being merely
transitory. It is true by what has been called the "Melioration
Act," rewards were held out to such slaves who should preserve
their fidelity in such contracts; and those persons who had the
management of negroes were forbidden to encourage immorality
among the women by their own example. But, alas for Antigua! when
were these regulations put in force? No European can imagine to
what extent such vices were carried in former days, vices which
will still be painfully felt by society for many, many years to
come--at any rate, until this generation shall have passed away;
and, even then, the plague-spot will, perhaps, shew its taint.
When the light of day began to dawn upon this benighted part of
the globe by the introduction of Christianity among the negroes,
they were encouraged by the Moravians and Methodists to choose a
partner from among the other sex, and, in the face of the
congregation, vow to each other fidelity and love. Although, of
course, such marriages were not held binding by law, it was hoped
that it would in some measure check the increase of immorality;
and, in some instances, it might have done so, but the greater
part violated those vows without compunction, or held them only
until a fresh object gained their attention. It has been
frequently known for a man thus married to maintain his wife and
his mistress in the same house, which arrangement occasioned
frequent domestic broils; and in such cases, the man, being
applied to as umpire, has settled the dispute by remarking to his
mistress, "That she must not quarrel with her companion, who was
_his wife_, and that if she did, he would turn her away;" and
then, addressing the aggrieved wife, tell her, for her
consolation, "That she must not mind, because she was his _wife
already!_"
After the negroes were freed from the thrall of slavery in 1834,
and the same privileges open to them as to the rest of the
British subjects, it was their pride to be married at the
established church. In many instances, they had been already
joined by the Moravian or Methodist preachers, but wishing to get
rid of their partners, who had borne with them the brunt of
slavery, they privately paid their addresses to some of the young
ladies already mentioned, carried them to the altar, and there
married in direct opposition to their former vows, which were as
binding and sacred in the eyes of God as if his grace the
Archbishop of Canterbury had pronounced the nuptial benediction.
Among such an immense number of negroes, it is almost impossible
to discover the offenders in this respect against common decency,
although the clergymen are generally indefatigable in their
exertions to discover the truth. Still, vigilant as they are,
they have been deceived; and instances are known, where parties
have been twice married, even in the episcopal church. In some
cases, a wedding-party have assembled within the sacred walls,
the intended bride and bridegroom waiting at the altar until the
lips of the presiding minister shall have made them one; when, as
that solemn charge has been given, "If either of you know any
impediment why ye may not be lawfully joined together in
matrimony, ye do now confess it," those important words, "I do,"
have been suddenly heard, and (as in most cases) a female has
come forward declaring that herself and the guilty beau had been
long ago married at the chapel. When such circumstances have
occurred, and the clergyman refused to re-marry them, it has been
no unfrequent practice for the parties to embark on board a small
vessel, and proceeding to Monserrat, or some other island, there
to procure the completion of their unhallowed purpose.
Another evil to be deplored is, that even when parties are
lawfully joined in the bands of wedlock, they pay such little
regard to the solemnity of the act. The smart dresses, (for which
often they commit an unlawful deed,) the plentiful breakfast, or
lunch, the gilded cake, and the driving about in borrowed gigs,
is much more thought of by them than the serious, the important
promise of loving one another in sickness and in health, and,
forsaking all others, cleave only unto them who, by the
ordinances of God and man, are made one flesh. From this want of
regard to the serious part of the ceremony, great mischief
ensues. As soon as the novelty has worn off, the husband forgets
the wife he ought to cherish, and the wife forgets his honour
which she is bound to protect. The old leaven cleaves about them,
and throwing off all shame, they follow the bad example of their
parents, (who indeed are less faulty than themselves, not having
had such means of instruction;) and by these means, give to the
country, instead of an honest peasantry, a race of idle
illegitimate children. I would by no means take upon myself to
state, that of the many weddings which weekly take place among
this "sober-hued" people, none remember to keep their
marriage-vows unstained; on the contrary, no doubt many find it
what it should be--a state "ordained for the mutual society,
help, and comfort, that the one ought to have of the other, both
in prosperity and adversity."
------
[26] The negroes say that no grass has ever grown in the spot
where the blood dropped since the time of the murder.