Schooner Price.--Third Voyage.
Having purchased a suitable cargo for the trade, and got it on board, we
were prevailed upon to take as passengers, a man and his wife, with two
small children and a black servant, whom we tried hard to get rid of, by
charging them an exorbitant price; but the man insisted on going, having
been formerly a resident of Old Providence, and one of my old customers
in that island. My cabin was not larger than a farmer's hen-roost,
having only four berths, and those so narrow that one could hardly turn
over in them. At night we covered the floor of the little cabin
completely; the man and his wife, two children, the black servant, my
two Indians, cabin boy, the mate and myself, all lodged in one nest. We
sailed from New-York about the third of March, 1819, bound to Old
Providence, St. Andreas, Corn Island, Musquitto Shore, and St. Blas.
When we arrived in latitude 32 deg. we were overtaken by a violent gale of
wind, which obliged us to heave the vessel too. As the gale abated (the
sea running very high) we shipped a sea which swept our deck, taking the
cook and caboose, which was well served down to ring-bolts, drove into
the deck, but they were drawn out by the violence of the waves. Our
boat, oars, and other articles on deck were all swept overboard. By
means of some spare running gear the cook was hauled on board. The next
day the sea moderated, when we opened the hatches and got out a new
caboose. On my departure from Corn Island I had taken an order from an
English trader to bring out two patent American cabooses for him, which
I then had on board. We rigged our new caboose and proceeded on our
voyage, meeting with no further disasters worthy of notice. On our
arrival at Old Providence I found a small fleet of vessels there, called
patriots, (another name for pirates,) who had taken possession of the
island, and had hoisted the Columbian flag. On my entering the harbor
they laid an embargo on my vessel for a few days. The expedition was
commanded by a man who called himself Aurey, assisted by another, styled
Admiral Bogar, and the third went by the title of Commodore Parker.
Their squadron consisted of two small gun brigs, and two or three
privateer schooners. Their land force amounted to two or three hundred
men: they had what they called an English camp, a French camp, and an
American camp. They had hanged one American, and severely flogged
another for some crime, giving him one hundred lashes under the gallows.
They pretended to hold some commission under General Bolivar. I demanded
a return of my vessel, which they reluctantly granted me, and I sailed
for the Island of St. Andreas, where I found another squadron of vessels
from England, consisting of a twenty-gun brig, commanded by Captain
Hudson, with three transport ships, having about five hundred officers
and soldiers on board, bound to Porto Bello, all under the command of
Sir Gregor McGregor. On my arrival I was visited by an old English
officer, named Rafter, who was apparently a gentleman, he acted as
commander in the absence of Sir Gregor McGregor, who had not arrived at
that time; he wanted to purchase a pipe of gin from me for the use of
the troops, and give me a bill on London in payment. The next day Sir
Gregor arrived from St. Domingo, in company with an old Spanish
gentleman, named Lopes, from whom he had borrowed about twelve thousand
dollars, and promised to make him governor of the first city he should
capture.
The next day Commodore Hudson came on board the Price, and offered me
one hundred dollars per day and a handsome present for myself, to join
the fleet and go on an expedition with them for a few days. I told him
that my vessel was insured, and that it would be a total breach of my
orders to comply with his request. In the afternoon they laid an embargo
on the Price. The following day was appointed for a great celebration,
which was to take place at the house of Mrs. Lever, a respectable widow
lady. I visited the place where they landed the troops from the vessels,
raised a flag staff and hoisted the New Grenadian flag. Silk cushions
were brought into the house and placed on the table where General
McGregor, Governor Lopes, and other officers, took the oath of
allegiance to the government of New Grenada; most of the officers being
under half pay from the English, looked sad when they renounced their
allegiance to their own country. Three days after, they sailed for Porto
Bello, taking Colonel Woodbine as pilot, and proceeding within a few
miles of that place, they landed in a thicket of woods; then taking a
foot-path, they entered the city undiscovered by the inhabitants, and
took possession of the place without the loss of a man. Most of the
inhabitants fled from their houses and left them to the conquerors. Old
Lopes was appointed governor, and the officers taking possession of the
vacant dwelling houses which the Spaniards had left, sat themselves down
like private gentlemen. Soon after the soldiers revolted and refused to
do duty, alledging that the general had promised them twenty dollars
bounty for the first city they should capture. Before the insurrection
could be put down, the general raised eight dollars per man and
distributed it among them, and then issued a proclamation to the
inhabitants, inviting them to return to their habitations and take the
oath of allegiance to the new government, when private property would be
respected. Most of the people complied with his request, by taking the
oath required of them. In the meantime information was secretly sent
over to the Pacific by these Spaniards, where they raised an army of
eight hundred men, who marched across the Isthmus, and lay encamped in
the woods three or four miles back of the city; while those who had
taken the oath of allegiance were keeping up a regular communication
with them. The soldiers who had possession of the city having procured
an abundance of liquor, all got intoxicated, and the officers retired to
their beds without placing any sentries on duty. The Spaniards in the
city sent spies to the royalists, informing them that the patriot
soldiers were all drunk, and totally off their guard. During the night
the royalists marched into the city and took possession of the forts,
which were very strong, (one in particular is said to mount three
hundred and sixty-five guns,) without meeting with any resistance, or
the loss of a single man. They killed about thirty of the patriots and
made the remainder prisoners, only twelve escaping. I here give you a
sketch of the complete success of the Spaniards, as recited by the
General's right hand man. Lieutenant Cookley, aid-de-camp to General
McGregor, about three weeks after the loss of the army, said, "That on
the night of the re-capture of the city by the royalists, he was
quartered in the second story of the government house in Porto Bello,
General McGregor occupying one room, and Governor Lopes another, and
being himself very unwell, he was obliged to get out of his bed and walk
the room. Between three and four o'clock he heard some persons coming up
stairs. Feeling alarmed, he seized his sword and pistols and ran to the
door of the room, where he met three men well armed; he shot one, and
killed another with his sword, the third one retreated with a slight
wound; in the meantime he cried out, 'General McGregor, you are
betrayed.' The general sprang from his bed, and taking his mattrass,
dropped it from the window on the ground; then letting himself down to
it, ran for the shore, and jumping into the sea attempted to swim to the
commodore's vessel; but being unskilled in swimming, he was picked up by
a boat and carried on board, having no clothing on except his shirt.
Another division of Spaniards ascended the stairs of the government
house, and proceeding to the room of Governor Lopes, killed him in his
bed."
Those taken prisoners were marched across the Isthmus to the South Sea,
where they were compelled to work in chains on the fortifications. Some
months after I learned that these prisoners, in trying to effect their
escape, were most of them butchered by the Spaniards.
After my release from the embargo at St. Andreas I sailed for the coast
of St. Blas, where I arrived without any further molestation, at the
harbor of De Ablo. My vessel was soon surrounded with canoes, filled
with old men and young ones. No ambassador returning from a foreign
mission to his own country was ever received with a more hearty welcome
than my Indians were by their own countrymen. Liquor was soon passed
around, and a long conversation commenced, which lasted, with little
intermission, until the next morning; and my traders seemed to be
absolved from the injunction laid upon them by the old men, not to get
drunk during their voyage, as I discovered that Campbell was so drunk
before twelve o'clock, that he could not rise from his seat without
help. While relating his adventures he gave his hearers a long
description of the white rain he had seen in New-York, (meaning snow,)
and sundry other wonderful events and curiosities.
The Andes mountains on this coast extend near the sea-shore, and are
inhabited by baboons and other large monkeys, who keep up a hideous
noise during the night, which was a great annoyance to our slumbers, as
the echo passes from mountain to mountain. The next day after our
arrival here we experienced a violent thunder storm, the noise of the
thunder echoed in a most tremendous manner from different hills, which
appeared like a cannonading along the whole coast. I sat amazed at the
sound, when an old Indian who was intoxicated, broke silence, by saying,
"That thunder is great rascal, he make too much quarrel here."
My traders now applied for another outfit of goods for the coming
season, which I readily supplied them with, they taking about the same
quantity as on the previous voyage.
The men of St. Blas are of small stature, generally about five feet two
or three inches high; wearing their hair long on the back of the head,
cued down on their backs with a cotton ribbon of their own manufacture,
the hair cut straight across the forehead, high cheek bones, and of a
light copper complexion. They dress in check or flannel shirts, with
linen trowsers. The young men are not allowed to wear their shirt flaps
inside of the waist-bands of their trowsers until they are about forty
years old, when they assume the character of old men. The women are
small and delicately formed, having very small feet and hands, and are
remarkably modest in their behaviour. Their dress consists of a piece of
blue cloth, about four feet long, wrapped around their bodies under the
arms, and extending to their knees, a string or two of coral beads tied
around their legs, below the knee, and another around above the ankle.
The women all wear a piece of pure gold wire of large size, in the form
of a triangle, stuck through the inside of the nose. The old men wear a
number of strands of coral beads around their necks, and hanging down on
their bosoms. The sookerman wears two or three pounds of large coral
beads hanging closely about the neck, and the old men wear their shirt
flaps inside of their waist-bands as a mark of their dignity. From the
best information I can obtain, St. Blas is the oldest Republic on the
Continent of America, and should be a model government for Mexico and
the South American Republics, which are constantly driving their rulers
out of the country and changing Republics into Empires.
The soil of St. Blas produces an abundance of bread-stuffs, such as
yams, sweet potatoes, cassader, eddies, plantains, &c. Also cocoa-nuts,
lemons, oranges, sugar cane and cocoa. They here breed a great number
of hogs, poultry, &c. The country abounds with large quantities of wild
hogs, mountain cows, armadillas, deer, conies, and innumerable wild
fowl. The whole coast swarms with turtle, craw-fish, manatee's, and a
great variety of shell-fish. There are some four hundred islands, lying
from two to four miles from the main land-shore, which forms an inland
sea, making the whole coast a good harbor. Every one of these islands
produces limes, or lemons, bird, cayenne, gourd and squash peppers. When
a table is set in this country a green pepper and lemon are placed by
the side of your plate, which serves for pepper and vinegar to season
your meat or vegetables. After clearing up half an acre of ground, ten
days labor of one man in each year would produce bread-stuffs sufficient
for a family of fifteen persons. Plantains set out on good soil will
yield a crop, every nine months, for twenty years. Yams and sweet
potatoes require planting and digging yearly.
Having given the reader a short description of St. Blas, which may
appear somewhat imperfect, I hope it will be recollected, should there
be any imperfections, that I have no history of that country to refer
to; most of my information having been obtained from the natives, who
speak broken English. On taking leave of St. Blas I proceeded to St.
Andreas, at which place I arrived after a passage of two days. Here I
met General McGregor, who appeared much dejected, having among other
losses left all his clothing behind, which fell into the hands of the
enemy. Lieutenant Coakley came on board my vessel and related to me all
the particulars of the expedition which I have narrated. Of the land
forces, only twelve returned out of five hundred who left here some
three weeks before. After remaining here three or four days, we sailed
for Cape Gracios a Dios. On my arrival there I commenced trading, as
usual. The next morning, it being the Fourth of July, and being in a
strange port, I thought I would not make any preparations for
celebrating the day. I told the mate, however, that he might release the
crew from work and give them some extra rations of grog, &c. Before I
had finished giving my orders to the mate, the king came on board with a
large canoe, loaded with Indians, and saluting me with a loud voice,
said, "Blast your eyes, why don't you fire a salute, hoist your colors
and celebrate your country's holyday." I answered him, by saying, "I
have nothing good to eat." He replied, "You shall soon have something;"
when getting into the canoe with the Indians, they paddled him on shore,
and killing a beef, soon returned with two quarters. We then hoisted our
colors and fired a salute; and a number of the king's officers coming on
board, we partook of a good dinner; and not forgetting plenty of liquor,
we made ourselves delightfully merry. At night the king and company
retired very peaceably.
The king had frequently solicited me to take him home with me, but never
got himself ready to embark, and he now renewed the conversation on the
subject. I told him that my family did not reside in the city of
New-York, but lived two degrees north of it, at a small village called
Catskill, near a mountain of that name. He replied, that would suit much
better, as he wanted to see the country and my home. He then said,
"There is one condition in the bargain; if I go home with you, you may
call me major, or colonel, or some other officer; but if you call me
king I will be the death of you, for I am not going home with you to be
made a damned puppet-show of."
Having finished my trade here, I sailed down along the coast, touching
and trading at the different harbors, as usual, until I arrived at the
Lagoon, where I landed the goods from the vessel at the store, and
taking in all the exchange goods collected there, sailed for Corn
Island, where we took in some more return cargo. While at Corn Island
Captain Mitchell gave me an order to bring him a new boat, thirty feet
long, to row with six oars, &c.
We now sailed for New-York, where we arrived without meeting with any
occurrence worth recording. After discharging our cargo I again visited
my family at Catskill, whom I found in good health. I remained with them
about eight days, and then returned to New-York. In the course of a few
days we had procured another cargo, which taking on board, together with
the new boat for Captain Mitchell, we were again ready for sea.