come: I Robert King, of the parish of St. Anthony in the
said island, merchant, send greeting: Know ye, that I the
aforesaid Robert King, for and in consideration of the sum
of seventy pounds current money of the said island, to me in
hand paid, and to the intent that a negro man-slave, named
Gustavus Vassa, shall and may become free, have manumitted,
emancipated, enfranchised, and set free, and by these
presents do manumit, emancipate, enfranchise, and set free,
the aforesaid negro man-slave, named Gustavus Vassa, for
ever, hereby giving, granting, and releasing unto him, the
said Gustavus Vassa, all right, title, dominion,
sovereignty, and property, which, as lord and master over
the aforesaid Gustavus Vassa, I had, or now I have, or by
any means whatsoever I may or can hereafter possibly have
over him the aforesaid negro, for ever. In witness whereof I
the abovesaid Robert King have unto these presents set my
hand and seal, this tenth day of July, in the year of our
Lord one thousand seven hundred and sixty-six.
Robert King.
Signed, sealed, and delivered in the presence of Terrylegay,
Montserrat.
Registered the within manumission at full length, this
eleventh day of July, 1766, in liber D.
Terrylegay, Register.
* * * * *
In short, the fair as well as black people immediately styled me by a
new appellation, to me the most desirable in the world, which was
Freeman, and at the dances I gave my Georgia superfine blue clothes
made no indifferent appearance, as I thought. Some of the sable
females, who formerly stood aloof, now began to relax and appear less
coy; but my heart was still fixed on London, where I hoped to be ere
long. So that my worthy captain and his owner, my late master,
finding that the bent of my mind was towards London, said to me, 'We
hope you won't leave us, but that you will still be with the vessels.'
Here gratitude bowed me down; and none but the generous mind can judge
of my feelings, struggling between inclination and duty. However,
notwithstanding my wish to be in London, I obediently answered my
benefactors that I would go in the vessel, and not leave them; and
from that day I was entered on board as an able-bodied sailor, at
thirty-six shillings per month, besides what perquisites I could make.
My intention was to make a voyage or two, entirely to please these my
honoured patrons; but I determined that the year following, if it
pleased God, I would see Old England once more, and surprise my old
master, Capt. Pascal, who was hourly in my mind; for I still loved
him, notwithstanding his usage of me, and I pleased myself with
thinking of what he would say when he saw what the Lord had done for
me in so short a time, instead of being, as he might perhaps suppose,
under the cruel yoke of some planter. With these kind of reveries I
used often to entertain myself, and shorten the time till my return;
and now, being as in my original free African state, I embarked on
board the Nancy, after having got all things ready for our voyage. In
this state of serenity we sailed for St. Eustatia; and, having smooth
seas and calm weather, we soon arrived there: after taking our cargo
on board, we proceeded to Savannah in Georgia, in August, 1766. While
we were there, as usual, I used to go for the cargo up the rivers in
boats; and on this business I have been frequently beset by
alligators, which were very numerous on that coast, and I have shot
many of them when they have been near getting into our boats; which we
have with great difficulty sometimes prevented, and have been very
much frightened at them. I have seen a young one sold in Georgia alive
for six pence. During our stay at this place, one evening a slave
belonging to Mr. Read, a merchant of Savannah, came near our vessel,
and began to use me very ill. I entreated him, with all the patience I
was master of, to desist, as I knew there was little or no law for a
free negro here; but the fellow, instead of taking my advice,
persevered in his insults, and even struck me. At this I lost all
temper, and I fell on him and beat him soundly. The next morning his
master came to our vessel as we lay alongside the wharf, and desired
me to come ashore that he might have me flogged all round the town,
for beating his negro slave. I told him he had insulted me, and had
given the provocation, by first striking me. I had told my captain
also the whole affair that morning, and wished him to have gone along
with me to Mr. Read, to prevent bad consequences; but he said that it
did not signify, and if Mr. Read said any thing he would make matters
up, and had desired me to go to work, which I accordingly did. The
Captain being on board when Mr. Read came, he told him I was a free
man; and when Mr. Read applied to him to deliver me up, he said he
knew nothing of the matter. I was astonished and frightened at this,
and thought I had better keep where I was than go ashore and be
flogged round the town, without judge or jury. I therefore refused to
stir; and Mr. Read went away, swearing he would bring all the
constables in the town, for he would have me out of the vessel. When
he was gone, I thought his threat might prove too true to my sorrow;
and I was confirmed in this belief, as well by the many instances I
had seen of the treatment of free negroes, as from a fact that had
happened within my own knowledge here a short time before. There was a
free black man, a carpenter, that I knew, who, for asking a gentleman
that he worked for for the money he had earned, was put into gaol; and
afterwards this oppressed man was sent from Georgia, with false
accusations, of an intention to set the gentleman's house on fire, and
run away with his slaves. I was therefore much embarrassed, and very
apprehensive of a flogging at least. I dreaded, of all things, the
thoughts of being striped, as I never in my life had the marks of any
violence of that kind. At that instant a rage seized my soul, and for
a little I determined to resist the first man that should offer to lay
violent hands on me, or basely use me without a trial; for I would
sooner die like a free man, than suffer myself to be scourged by the
hands of ruffians, and my blood drawn like a slave. The captain and
others, more cautious, advised me to make haste and conceal myself;
for they said Mr. Read was a very spiteful man, and he would soon come
on board with constables and take me. At first I refused this counsel,
being determined to stand my ground; but at length, by the prevailing
entreaties of the captain and Mr. Dixon, with whom he lodged, I went
to Mr. Dixon's house, which was a little out of town, at a place
called Yea-ma-chra. I was but just gone when Mr. Read, with the
constables, came for me, and searched the vessel; but, not finding me
there, he swore he would have me dead or alive. I was secreted about
five days; however, the good character which my captain always gave me
as well as some other gentlemen who also knew me, procured me some
friends. At last some of them told my captain that he did not use me
well, in suffering me thus to be imposed upon, and said they would see
me redressed, and get me on board some other vessel. My captain, on
this, immediately went to Mr. Read, and told him, that ever since I
eloped from the vessel his work had been neglected, and he could not
go on with her loading, himself and mate not being well; and, as I had
managed things on board for them, my absence must retard his voyage,
and consequently hurt the owner; he therefore begged of him to forgive
me, as he said he never had any complaint of me before, for the many
years that I had been with him. After repeated entreaties, Mr. Read
said I might go to hell, and that he would not meddle with me; on
which my captain came immediately to me at his lodging, and, telling
me how pleasantly matters had gone on, he desired me to go on board.
Some of my other friends then asked him if he had got the constable's
warrant from them; the captain said, No. On this I was desired by them
to stay in the house; and they said they would get me on board of some
other vessel before the evening. When the captain heard this he became
almost distracted. He went immediately for the warrant, and, after
using every exertion in his power, he at last got it from my hunters;
but I had all the expenses to pay. After I had thanked all my friends
for their attention, I went on board again to my work, of which I had
always plenty. We were in haste to complete our lading, and were to
carry twenty head of cattle with us to the West Indies, where they are
a very profitable article. In order to encourage me in working, and to
make up for the time I had lost, my captain promised me the privilege
of carrying two bullocks of my own with me; and this made me work with
redoubled ardour. As soon as I had got the vessel loaded, in doing
which I was obliged to perform the duty of the mate as well as my own
work, and that the bullocks were near coming on board, I asked the
captain leave to bring my two, according to his promise; but, to my
great surprise, he told me there was no room for them. I then asked
him to permit me to take one; but he said he could not. I was a good
deal mortified at this usage, and told him I had no notion that he
intended thus to impose on me; nor could I think well of any man that
was so much worse than his word. On this we had some disagreement, and
I gave him to understand, that I intended to leave the vessel. At this
he appeared to be very much dejected; and our mate, who had been very
sickly, and whose duty had long devolved upon me, advised him to
persuade me to stay: in consequence of which he spoke very kindly to
me, making many fair promises, telling me that, as the mate was so
sickly, he could not do without me, and that, as the safety of the
vessel and cargo depended greatly upon me, he therefore hoped that I
would not be offended at what had passed between us, and swore he
would make up all matters when we arrived in the West Indies; so I
consented to slave on as before. Soon after this, as the bullocks were
coming on board, one of them ran at the captain, and butted him so
furiously in the breast, that he never recovered of the blow. In order
to make me some amends for his treatment about the bullocks, the
captain now pressed me very much to take some turkeys, and other
fowls, with me, and gave me liberty to take as many as I could find
room for; but I told him he knew very well I had never carried any
turkeys before, as I always thought they were such tender birds that
they were not fit to cross the seas. However, he continued to press me
to buy them for once; and, what was very surprising to me, the more I
was against it, the more he urged my taking them, insomuch that he
ensured me from all losses that might happen by them, and I was
prevailed on to take them; but I thought this very strange, as he had
never acted so with me before. This, and not being able to dispose of
my paper-money in any other way, induced me at length to take four
dozen. The turkeys, however, I was so dissatisfied about that I
determined to make no more voyages to this quarter, nor with this
captain; and was very apprehensive that my free voyage would be the
worst I had ever made. We set sail for Montserrat. The captain and
mate had been both complaining of sickness when we sailed, and as we
proceeded on our voyage they grew worse. This was about November, and
we had not been long at sea before we began to meet with strong
northerly gales and rough seas; and in about seven or eight days all
the bullocks were near being drowned, and four or five of them died.
Our vessel, which had not been tight at first, was much less so now;
and, though we were but nine in the whole, including five sailors and
myself, yet we were obliged to attend to the pumps every half or three
quarters of an hour. The captain and mate came on deck as often as
they were able, which was now but seldom; for they declined so fast,
that they were not well enough to make observations above four or five
times the whole voyage. The whole care of the vessel rested,
therefore, upon me, and I was obliged to direct her by my former
experience, not being able to work a traverse. The captain was now
very sorry he had not taught me navigation, and protested, if ever he
should get well again, he would not fail to do so; but in about
seventeen days his illness increased so much, that he was obliged to
keep his bed, continuing sensible, however, till the last, constantly
having the owner's interest at heart; for this just and benevolent man
ever appeared much concerned about the welfare of what he was
intrusted with. When this dear friend found the symptoms of death
approaching, he called me by my name; and, when I came to him, he
asked (with almost his last breath) if he had ever done me any harm?
'God forbid I should think so,' I replied, 'I should then be the most
ungrateful of wretches to the best of sorrow by his bedside, he
expired without saying another word; and the day following we
committed his body to the deep. Every man on board loved this man, and
regretted his death; but I was exceedingly affected at it, and I found
that I did not know, till he was gone, the strength of my regard for
him. Indeed I had every reason in the world to be attached to him;
for, besides that he was in general mild, affable, generous, faithful,
benevolent, and just, he was to me a friend and a father; and, had it
pleased Providence that he had died but five months before, I verily
believe I should not have obtained my freedom when I did; and it is
not improbable that I might not have been able to get it at any rate
afterwards. The captain being dead, the mate came on the deck, and
made such observations as he was able, but to no purpose. In the
course of a few days more, the few bullocks that remained were found
dead; but the turkies I had, though on the deck, and exposed to so
much wet and bad weather, did well, and I afterwards gained near three
hundred per cent, on the sale of them; so that in the event it proved
a happy circumstance for me that I had not bought the bullocks I
intended, for they must have perished with the rest; and I could not
help looking on this, otherwise trifling circumstance, as a particular
providence of God, and I was thankful accordingly. The care of the
vessel took up all my time, and engaged my attention entirely. As we
were now out of the variable winds, I thought I should not be much
puzzled to hit upon the islands. I was persuaded I steered right for
Antigua, which I wished to reach, as the nearest to us; and in the
course of nine or ten days we made this island, to our great joy; and
the next day after we came safe to Montserrat. Many were surprised
when they heard of my conducting the sloop into the port, and I now
obtained a new appellation, and was called Captain. This elated me not
a little, and it was quite flattering to my vanity to be thus styled
by as high a title as any free man in this place possessed. When the
death of the captain became known, he was much regretted by all who
knew him; for he was a man universally respected. At the same time the
sable captain lost no fame; for the success I had met with increased
the affection of my friends in no small measure.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote U: Acts, chap. xii. ver. 9.]
CHAP. VIII.
_The author, to oblige Mr. King, once more embarks for
Georgia in one of his vessels--A new captain is
appointed--They sail, and steer a new course--Three
remarkable dreams--The vessel is shipwrecked on the Bahama
bank, but the crew are preserved, principally by means of
the author--He sets out from the island with the captain, in
a small boat, in quest of a ship--Their distress--Meet with
a wrecker--Sail for Providence--Are overtaken again by a
terrible storm, and are all near perishing--Arrive at New
Providence--The author, after some time, sails from thence
to Georgia--Meets with another storm, and is obliged to put
back and refit--Arrives at Georgia--Meets new
impositions--Two white men attempt to kidnap him--Officiates
as a parson at a funeral ceremony--Bids adieu to Georgia,
and sails for Martinico._
As I had now, by the death of my captain, lost my great benefactor and
friend, I had little inducement to remain longer in the West Indies,
except my gratitude to Mr. King, which I thought I had pretty well
discharged in bringing back his vessel safe, and delivering his cargo
to his satisfaction. I began to think of leaving this part of the
world, of which I had been long tired, and returning to England, where
my heart had always been; but Mr. King still pressed me very much to
stay with his vessel; and he had done so much for me that I found
myself unable to refuse his requests, and consented to go another
voyage to Georgia, as the mate, from his ill state of health, was
quite useless in the vessel. Accordingly a new captain was appointed,
whose name was William Phillips, an old acquaintance of mine; and,
having refitted our vessel, and taken several slaves on board, we set
sail for St. Eustatia, where we stayed but a few days; and on the 30th
of January 1767 we steered for Georgia. Our new captain boasted
strangely of his skill in navigating and conducting a vessel; and in
consequence of this he steered a new course, several points more to
the westward than we ever did before; this appeared to me very
extraordinary.
On the fourth of February, which was soon after we had got into our
new course, I dreamt the ship was wrecked amidst the surfs and rocks,
and that I was the means of saving every one on board; and on the
night following I dreamed the very same dream. These dreams however
made no impression on my mind; and the next evening, it being my watch
below, I was pumping the vessel a little after eight o'clock, just
before I went off the deck, as is the custom; and being weary with the
duty of the day, and tired at the pump, (for we made a good deal of
water) I began to express my impatience, and I uttered with an oath,
'Damn the vessel's bottom out.' But my conscience instantly smote me
for the expression. When I left the deck I went to bed, and had
scarcely fallen asleep when I dreamed the same dream again about the
ship that I had dreamt the two preceeding nights. At twelve o'clock
the watch was changed; and, as I had always the charge of the
captain's watch, I then went upon deck. At half after one in the
morning the man at the helm saw something under the lee-beam that the
sea washed against, and he immediately called to me that there was a
grampus, and desired me to look at it. Accordingly I stood up and
observed it for some time; but, when I saw the sea wash up against it
again and again, I said it was not a fish but a rock. Being soon
certain of this, I went down to the captain, and, with some confusion,
told him the danger we were in, and desired him to come upon deck
immediately. He said it was very well, and I went up again. As soon as
I was upon deck the wind, which had been pretty high, having abated a
little, the vessel began to be carried sideways towards the rock, by
means of the current. Still the captain did not appear. I therefore
went to him again, and told him the vessel was then near a large rock,
and desired he would come up with speed. He said he would, and I
returned to the deck. When I was upon the deck again I saw we were not
above a pistol shot from the rock, and I heard the noise of the
breakers all around us. I was exceedingly alarmed at this; and the
captain having not yet come on the deck I lost all patience; and,
growing quite enraged, I ran down to him again, and asked him why he
did not come up, and what he could mean by all this? 'The breakers,'
said I, 'are round us, and the vessel is almost on the rock.' With
that he came on the deck with me, and we tried to put the vessel
about, and get her out of the current, but all to no purpose, the
wind being very small. We then called all hands up immediately; and
after a little we got up one end of a cable, and fastened it to the
anchor. By this time the surf was foaming round us, and made a
dreadful noise on the breakers, and the very moment we let the anchor
go the vessel struck against the rocks. One swell now succeeded
another, as it were one wave calling on its fellow: the roaring of the
billows increased, and, with one single heave of the swells, the sloop
was pierced and transfixed among the rocks! In a moment a scene of
horror presented itself to my mind, such as I never had conceived or
experienced before. All my sins stared me in the face; and especially,
I thought that God had hurled his direful vengeance on my guilty head
for cursing the vessel on which my life depended. My spirits at this
forsook me, and I expected every moment to go to the bottom: I
determined if I should still be saved that I would never swear again.
And in the midst of my distress, while the dreadful surfs were dashing
with unremitting fury among the rocks, I remembered the Lord, though
fearful that I was undeserving of forgiveness, and I thought that as
he had often delivered he might yet deliver; and, calling to mind the
many mercies he had shewn me in times past, they gave me some small
hope that he might still help me. I then began to think how we might
be saved; and I believe no mind was ever like mine so replete with
inventions and confused with schemes, though how to escape death I
knew not. The captain immediately ordered the hatches to be nailed
down on the slaves in the hold, where there were above twenty, all of
whom must unavoidably have perished if he had been obeyed. When he
desired the man to nail down the hatches I thought that my sin was the
cause of this, and that God would charge me with these people's blood.
This thought rushed upon my mind that instant with such violence, that
it quite overpowered me, and I fainted. I recovered just as the people
were about to nail down the hatches; perceiving which, I desired them
to stop. The captain then said it must be done: I asked him why? He
said that every one would endeavour to get into the boat, which was
but small, and thereby we should be drowned; for it would not have
carried above ten at the most. I could no longer restrain my emotion,
and I told him he deserved drowning for not knowing how to navigate
the vessel; and I believe the people would have tossed him overboard
if I had given them the least hint of it. However the hatches were not
nailed down; and, as none of us could leave the vessel then on account
of the darkness, and as we knew not where to go, and were convinced
besides that the boat could not survive the surfs, we all said we
would remain on the dry part of the vessel, and trust to God till
daylight appeared, when we should know better what to do.
I then advised to get the boat prepared against morning, and some of
us began to set about it; but some abandoned all care of the ship and
themselves, and fell to drinking. Our boat had a piece out of her
bottom near two feet long, and we had no materials to mend her;
however, necessity being the mother of invention, I took some pump
leather and nailed it to the broken part, and plastered it over with
tallow-grease. And, thus prepared, with the utmost anxiety of mind we
watched for daylight, and thought every minute an hour till it
appeared. At last it saluted our longing eyes, and kind Providence
accompanied its approach with what was no small comfort to us; for the
dreadful swell began to subside; and the next thing that we discovered
to raise our drooping spirits, was a small key or island, about five
or six miles off; but a barrier soon presented itself; for there was
not water enough for our boat to go over the reefs, and this threw us
again into a sad consternation; but there was no alternative, we were
therefore obliged to put but few in the boat at once; and, what is
still worse, all of us were frequently under the necessity of getting
out to drag and lift it over the reefs. This cost us much labour and
fatigue; and, what was yet more distressing, we could not avoid having
our legs cut and torn very much with the rocks. There were only four
people that would work with me at the oars; and they consisted of
three black men and a Dutch Creole sailor; and, though we went with
the boat five times that day, we had no others to assist us. But, had
we not worked in this manner, I really believe the people could not
have been saved; for not one of the white men did any thing to
preserve their lives; and indeed they soon got so drunk that they were
not able, but lay about the deck like swine, so that we were at last
obliged to lift them into the boat and carry them on shore by force.
This want of assistance made our labour intolerably severe; insomuch,
that, by putting on shore so often that day, the skin was entirely
stript off my hands.