"EXCURSION WITH THE AMISTAD AFRICANS.
"_On board Steam Boat, L.I. Sound, Nov_. 15, 1841.
"BROTHER LEAVITT:--As the committee had chartered a ship to take
the Mendians to Sierra Leone about the middle of this month, and
as the funds contributed by a benevolent public were about all
expended, it appeared necessary, in addition to an appeal
published in the newspapers, to take some prompt and efficient
measures to procure funds sufficient to pay for their outfit and
passages, and, if possible, something to sustain the
contemplated mission in Mendi. One of the committee being sick
and another absent, it devolved upon me to perform the
excursion. I was assisted essentially by Mr. Samuel Deming, one
of the committee at Farmington, and by Mr. William Raymond and
Mr. Needham. On arriving at Hartford, the third instant, I
learned that Mr. Deming had proceeded to Boston, accompanied by
ten of the Mendians, viz., Cinque, Banna, Si-si, Su-ma, Fu-li,
Ya-bo-i, So-ko-ma, Kin-na, Ka-li and Mar-gru. These were
selected not on account of being the best scholars, but with
reference to their being the best singers, although some of them
are among the best scholars. None of them, however, have had
instruction in music. Arriving in Boston, the city was, as I
anticipated, full of excitement, on account of the approaching
election,--a circumstance unknown to the committee at
Farmington, who had sent off the Mendians sooner than we had
calculated,--and it seemed almost impossible to procure a
suitable place in which to hold meetings, or to arrest the
attention of the people, as the whole--democrats, whigs and
abolitionists--had every nerve strained for the political
contest. However, preparation had been made for a meeting at the
Melodeon, late Lion Theatre, on Thursday evening. A few hundreds
assembled, and appeared to be highly gratified with the
performances. It seemed to them marvellous that these men and
children, who, less than three years since, were almost naked
savages in the interior of Africa, should, under the untoward
circumstances in which they have been placed for the largest
part of the time since they have been in a civilized and
Christian country, appear so far advanced in civilization and
knowledge. Only forty-six dollars were received, the proceeds of
tickets and a collection, but a strong desire was expressed that
there should be another meeting.
"Saturday evening was the only evening we could have Marlboro'
Chapel, the largest church in the city. Preliminary to this
meeting, a private meeting of invited gentlemen was held during
the afternoon, at the Marlboro' Hotel, the Mendians being
present. The meeting was well attended and a good impression was
made. In the evening there was a large meeting in the Chapel;
Rev. Dr. Anderson opened it with prayer, concluding with the
Lord's prayer, each sentence being repeated in our language by
the Mendians. A statement was then made of their past and
present condition, of their good conduct, their proficiency, of
their ardent desire to return to Mendi, and the favorable
prospects of establishing a mission in their country. Three or
four of the best readers were then called upon to read a passage
in the New Testament. They then read and spelled a passage named
by the audience. One of the Africans next related, in 'Merica
language,' their condition in their own country, their being
kidnapped, the sufferings of the middle passage, their stay at
Havana, the transactions on board the Amistad, &c. The story was
intelligible to the audience, with occasional explanations. They
were next requested to sing two or three of their native songs.
The performance afforded great delight to the audience. As a
pleasing contrast, however, they sang immediately after, one of
the songs of Zion:
"'When I can read my title clear
To mansions in. the skies,
I'll bid farewell to every fear,
And wipe my weeping eyes.'
"This produced a deep impression upon the audience; and while
these late pagans were singing so correctly and impressively a
hymn in a Christian church, many 'weeping eyes,' bore testimony
that the act and its associations touched a chord that vibrated
in many hearts. Cinque was then introduced to the audience, and
addressed them in his native tongue. It is impossible to
describe the novel and deeply interesting manner in which he
acquitted himself. The subject of his speech was similar to that
of his countryman who had addressed the audience in English, but
he related more minutely and graphically the occurrences on
board the Amistad. The easy manner of Cinque, his natural,
graceful and energetic action, the rapidity of his utterance,
and the remarkable and various expressions of his countenance,
excited the admiration and applause of the audience. He was
pronounced a powerful natural orator, and one born to sway the
minds of his fellow men. Should he be converted and become a
preacher of the cross in Africa, what delightful results may be
anticipated!
"The amount of the statements made by Kin-na, Fu-li and Cinque,
and the facts in the case, are as follows:--These Mendians
belong to six different tribes, although their dialects are not
so dissimilar as to prevent them from conversing together very
readily. Most of them belong to a country which they call Mendi,
but which is known to geographers and travellers as Kos-sa, and
lies south-east of Sierra Leone; as we suppose, from sixty to
one hundred and twenty miles. With one or two exceptions, these
Mendians are not related to each other; nor did they know each
other until they met at the slave factory of Pedro Blanco, the
wholesale trafficker in men, at Lomboko, on the coast of Africa.
They were stolen separately, many of them by black men, some of
whom were accompanied by Spaniards, as they were going from one
village to another, or were at a distance from their abodes. The
whole came to Havana in the same ship, a Portuguese vessel named
Tecora, except the four children, whom they saw, for the first
time, on board the Amistad. It seems that they remained at
Lomboko several weeks, until six or seven hundred were
collected, when they were put in irons and placed in the hold of
a ship, which soon put to sea. Being chased by a British
cruiser, she returned, landed the cargo of human beings, and the
vessel was seized and taken to Sierra Leone for adjudication.
After some time, the Africans were put on board the Tecora.
After suffering the horrors of the middle passage, they arrived
at Havana. Here they were put into a barracoon, one of the
oblong enclosures, without a roof, where human beings are kept,
as they keep sheep and oxen near the cattle markets, in the
vicinity of our large cities, until purchasers are found, for
ten days, when they were sold to Jose Ruiz, and shipped on board
the Amistad, together with the three girls and a little boy who
came on board with Pedro Montez. The Amistad was a coaster,
bound to Principe, in Cuba, distant some two or three hundred
miles. The Africans were kept in chains and fetters, and were
supplied with but a small quantity of food or water. A single
banana, they say, was served out as food for a day or two, and
only a small cup of water for each daily. When any of them took
a little water from the cask, they were severely flogged. The
Spaniards took Antonio, the cabin-boy and slave to Captain
Ferrer, and stamped him on the shoulder with a hot iron; then
put powder, palm oil, &c. upon the wound, so that they 'could
know him for their slave.' The cook, a colored Spaniard, told
them that on their arrival at Principe, in three days, they
would have their throats cut, be chopped in pieces, and salted
down for meat for the Spaniards. He pointed to some barrels of
beef on the deck, then to an empty barrel, and by significant
gestures,--as the Mendians say, by 'talking with his
fingers,'--he made them understand that they were to be slain,
&c. At four o'clock that day, when they were called on deck to
eat, Cinque found a nail, which he secreted under his arm. In
the night they held a counsel as to what was best to be done.
'We feel bad,' said Kin-na, 'and we ask Cinque what we had best
do. Cinque say, "Me think, and by and by I tell you."' He then
said, 'If we do nothing, we be killed. We may as well die in
trying to be free as to be killed and eaten.' Cinque afterwards
told them what he would do. With the aid of the nail and the
assistance of Grabeau, he freed himself from the irons on his
wrists and ancles, and from the chain on his neck. He then, with
his own hands, wrested the irons from the limbs and necks of his
countrymen. It is not in my power to give an adequate
description of Cinque when he showed how he did this and led his
comrades to the conflict and achieved their freedom. In my
younger years I saw Kemble and Siddons, and the representation
of Othello, at Covent Garden, but no acting that I ever
witnessed came near that to which I allude. When delivered from
their irons, the Mendians, with the exception of the children,
who were asleep, about four or five o'clock in the morning,
armed with cane-knives, some boxes of which they found in the
hold, leaped upon the deck. Cinque killed the cook. The captain
fought desperately. He inflicted wounds on two of the Africans,
who soon after died, and cut severely one or two of those who
now survive. Two sailors leaped over the side of the vessel. The
Mendians say 'they could not catch land--they must have swum to
the bottom of the sea,' but Ruiz and Montez supposed they
reached the island in a boat. Cinque now took command of the
vessel; placed Si-si at the helm; gave his people plenty to eat
and drink. Ruiz and Montez had fled to the hold. They were
dragged out, and Cinque ordered them to be put in irons. They
cried and begged not to be put in chains, but Cinque replied,
'You say fetters good for negro--if good for negro good for
Spanish man too: you try them two days, and see how you feel.'
The Spaniards asked for water, and it was dealt out to them in
the same little cup with which they had dealt it out to the
Africans. They complained bitterly of being thirsty. Cinque
said, 'You say little water enough for nigger. If little water
do for him, a little do for you too.' Cinque said the Spaniards
cried a great deal; he felt very sorry; only meant to let them
see how good it was to be treated like the poor slaves. In two
days the irons were removed; and then, said Cinque, we give them
plenty water and food, and treat them very well. Kin-na stated
that as the water fell short, Cinque would not drink any, nor
allow any of the rest to drink any thing but salt water, but
dealt out daily a little to each of the four children, and the
same quantity to each of the two Spaniards! In a day or two Ruiz
and Montez wrote a letter, and told Cinque that when they spoke
a vessel, if he would give it to them, the people would take
them to Sierra Leone. Cinque took the letter and said, 'Very
well;' but afterwards told his brethren, 'We have no letter in
Mendi. I don't know what is in that letter--there may be death
in it. So we will take some iron and a string, bind them about
the letter, and send it to the bottom of the sea.'
"When any vessel came in sight, the Spaniards were shut down in
the hold, and forbidden to come on deck on pain of death. One of
the Africans, who could talk a little English, answered
questions when they were hailed from other vessels.
"It is unnecessary to narrate here subsequent facts, as they
have been published throughout the country. After Cinque's
address a collection was taken, and the services were concluded
by the Mendians singing Bishop Heber's missionary hymn:
"'From Greenland's icy mountains.'
"At the conclusion of the meeting some linen and cotton table
cloths and napkins, manufactured by the Africans, were
exhibited, and eagerly purchased of them by persons present, at
liberal prices. They are in the habit of purchasing linen and
cotton at the shops, unravelling the edges about six to ten
inches, and making, with their fingers, neat fringes, in
imitation, they say, of 'Mendi fashion.' Large numbers of the
audience advanced, and took Cinque and the rest by the hand. The
transactions of this meeting have thus been stated at length,
and the account will serve to show how the subsequent meetings
were conducted, as the services in other places were similar.
"These Africans, while in prison, (which was the largest part of
the time they have been in this country) learned but little
comparatively, but since they have been liberated, they have
been anxious to learn, as they said 'it would be good for us in
our own country.' Many of them write well, read, spell and sing
well, and have attended to arithmetic. The younger ones have
made great progress in study. Most of them have much fondness
for arithmetic. They have also cultivated as a garden fifteen
acres of land, and have raised a large quantity of corn,
potatoes, onions, beets, et cet., which will be useful to them
at sea. In some places we visited, the audience were astonished
at the performance of Kali, who is only eleven years of age. He
would not only spell any word in either of the Gospels, but
spell sentences, without any mistake, such sentences as 'Blessed
are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth,' naming each
letter and syllable, and recapitulating as he went along, until
he pronounced the whole sentence. Two hundred and seven dollars
were received at this meeting.
"'On Sabbath evening a meeting was attended in Rev. Mr. Beman's
Church, (colored.) It was impossible for all to gain
admittance--collected sixteen dollars and fifty-one cents. The
same evening a meeting was held at Elder N. Colver's. A very
warm interest was manifested by this congregation, and the sum
of ninety dollars was contributed. The next morning a
respectable mechanic, a member of this church, offered to go to
Mendi with his wife and child, to take up their permanent abode
there. On Monday we proceeded to Haverhill. It was a rainy day,
and town meeting was held at the same hour. The audience was
small, but a deep interest was felt, and fifty-six dollars
contributed. Rev. Charles Fitch opened the meeting with prayer.
The Mendians and their friends will long remember the
hospitality and generosity of their friends in this place. After
a stay of two hours, we proceeded to Lowell. The heavy rain
prevented a general attendance. Only thirty-one dollars was
collected, beside some private donations. Mr. John Levi, a
colored citizen, rendered important services to us, and several
of the clergymen and other inhabitants rendered efficient aid.
On Tuesday we went to Nashua, N.H., and remained two hours.
Owing to some untoward circumstances, the inhabitants generally
had not been notified of the meeting. A small number only
attended. The collection was twenty-seven dollars. In the
evening at Lowell, the large Methodist Church, St. Paul's, was
crowded, one thousand five hundred people being present, it was
said, and many hundreds unable to get admission. The meeting was
opened with an appropriate prayer by Rev. Luther Lee. In order
to give an opportunity to the audience to see and hear Cinque,
he was invited into the pulpit, where he made an energetic
address. One hundred and six dollars were collected. At the
close of the services, nearly the whole congregation came
forward and took the Mendians by the hand, with kind words and
many presents. The ministers of all denominations attended the
meeting, with many of the most respectable citizens. During the
day the Africans were invited to visit the 'Boott Corporation,'
and were conducted over the whole establishment (cotton mills,)
by the agent, Mr. French. As might be supposed, they were
astonished beyond measure. After inspecting the machinery, the
fabrics, and the great wheel, one of them turned to me and said,
'Did man make this?' On receiving a reply, he said, 'He no live
now--he live a great while ago.' Afterwards they visited the
carpet factory, and expressed great delight at the beauty and
excellence of the carpets and rugs. Cinque wished to purchase a
miniature hearth rug, but the agent allowed him to select one of
the large and beautiful rugs to take to Mendi, which he
generously presented to him. The workmen here--chiefly
Englishmen--made a collection of fifty-eight dollars and fifty
cents on the spot, and presented it to the Mendi Fund.
"In pursuance of previous arrangements, we turned aside,
Wednesday, November 12, to attend a meeting in the large South
Church in Andover, at 9 o'clock, A.M. The house was crowded in
every part. Dr. Edwards led in prayer, and Dr. Woods
interrogated some of the Mendians. After a stay of two hours we
returned to the cars, followed by a large multitude. Collected
eighty-four dollars. It was remarked at the meeting here, as in
other places, that the contemplated mission to Mendi was to be
an anti-slavery mission; that no money would be solicited or
received of slave holders; that the committee were not connected
with any other missionary associations, and would not assume a
hostile attitude towards any. A young gentleman here offered to
go to Mendi as a teacher.
"In the afternoon a meeting was held in Boston, at the Marlboro'
Chapel. The scholars in the Sabbath and week-day schools had
been notified of it and attended in large numbers, together with
several respectable inhabitants of Boston and the neighboring
towns. The meeting was opened with prayer by Rev. W.B. Tappan.
The collection was one hundred and ten dollars. In the evening a
meeting was held at the Melodeon, and was attended by a large
number of persons. Collection one hundred and thirty-three
dollars. The next day, Thursday the 11th, we left for
Springfield. The meeting was held in the evening, at the Town
Hall, as some of the Parish committee objected to its being held
in the church, fearing it would desecrate the place. The Hall
was crowded, and many could not gain admittance. Dr. Osgood
opened the meeting with prayer, took several of the Mendians to
his own house, and manifested a deep interest on their behalf,
as did many of the other inhabitants. The Mendians were all
hospitably entertained in this place without expense. Some
'fellows of the baser sort' insulted Kin-na and others as they
went to the Hall; and in the introduction of his speech, Kin-na
spoke of the treatment he had received. But there are many
warm-hearted and generous friends of the colored race in this
town. 'We said nothing to them,' said Kin-na; 'why did they
treat us so? What can we do? We are few and feeble. What can the
dog do when the lion attacks him; or what can be done when the
cat and the mouse come together!' Collection seventy-three
dollars. The Mendians were invited by Mr. Burleigh to see a
large picture exhibiting here--'The Descent of Christ from the
Cross,' copied from Rubens--and were highly gratified.
"Here we received a cordial invitation from two of the ministers
of Northampton and several of their people to visit that place,
with the assurance that the First Church, the largest in the
county, should be opened for the Mendians. On the 12th we rode
to N. in the rain. Mount Tom and the Connecticut River were
pointed out to Cinque, who said, 'In my country we have very
great mountain--much bigger than that--and river about so wide,
but very deep.' The weather cleared away towards night, and the
church was nearly filled. Rev. Mr. Pennington, colored minister
of Hartford, opened the meeting with prayer. Collection
seventy-five dollars, in addition to seventeen dollars from the
Female Abolition Society; fifty-three dollars collected before
we arrived, and eighty-five contributed by 'a friend,' a short
time since. The reception here was warm-hearted. Mr. Warner,
keeper of the principal hotel in that place, furnished the
Mendians with one of his best rooms, seated them at the table
with his family and boarders, and, on being asked for his bill
the next day, he replied, 'There is nothing to pay!' The agents
of the Nashua and Andover rail roads also declined taking pay
for the passages of the Mendians. On Saturday, we rose at 3
o'clock, P.M., and returned to Springfield. Here we took the
steam boat for Hartford. On arriving, application was made to
Mr. Colton, keeper of the Temperance Hotel, to accommodate the
Mendians. He demurred. Mr. Warner's noble treatment of them was
mentioned. Mr. C. said he could not place them at his table. He
was told that this was not insisted upon; that if he would
furnish me a room they could eat there, and sleep wherever it
was convenient to Mr. C. But he absolutely refused to entertain
them any how. As this house has been patronized by
abolitionists, they ought to know this fact. After remaining in
the cold on the wharf about an hour, the Mendians were received
and hospitably entertained by several families without charge.
"On the Sabbath, November 14, they attended public worship in
Rev. Mr. Pennington's church. In the afternoon the church was
filled. An address was made by the writer, and the Mendians read
in the Testament and sang a hymn. Collection eight dollars. In
the evening a meeting was held in the Centre Church, Rev. Dr.
Hawes's. Notices were read in the other churches, and handbills
had been posted the previous day. The church, in every part, was
crowded, and large numbers were unable to obtain admittance. Dr.
Hawes opened the meeting with prayer. The services were of an
interesting character. Collection eighty dollars. Dr. Hawes
interrogated Kin-na. He said, 'The Mendi people believe in a
Great Spirit, although they do not worship him. They know they
have souls. We think,' said Kin-na, 'we make clothes. Dog can't
do this. He no soul, but we have.' He said on another occasion,
when asked if his people believed in a future state, 'The Mendi
people all Sadducees.' Kin-na said that they 'owe every thing to
God. He keep them alive, and give them free. When he go home to
Mendi, they tell their brethren about God, Jesus Christ, and
heaven.' Fu-li, on a former evening, being asked, 'What is
faith?' replied, 'Believing in Jesus Christ, and trusting in
him.' Their answers to questions show that they have read and
that they understand the Scriptures, and hopes are entertained
that one or two at least know experimentally the value of
religion. The fact that there is no system of idolatry in Mendi
for missionaries to oppose and the natives technically to adhere
to, is an encouraging fact with regard to the contemplated
mission. Another pleasing and remarkable fact exists: labor is
suspended every seventh day, and has been from time immemorial.
They do not engage in any religious services, but dress in their
best apparel, feast on that day,--as some do here,--visit, &c.
This day, 15th, Rev. Mr. Gallaudet and Mr. Brigham have invited
the Mendians to visit the Deaf and Dumb Asylum and the Insane
Institution. On a person's giving, by signs, the deaf and dumb
alphabet to Mar-gru, one of the girls, she, in a few minutes,
repeated nearly the whole. They told Mr. Brigham that there were
insane people and idiots in Mendi, and described their actions
and the treatment of them. Two of the Mendians will be detained
as witnesses in Hartford this day, in a cause appealed from a
lower court. Some of the Mendians were grossly assaulted at
Farmington some time since, on a training day; and those who
committed the assault and battery were convicted and fined. An
appeal was taken. When thus assailed, the Mendians, as usual,
exhibited their peaceful disposition, and said, 'We no fight.'
On Wednesday there is to be a large fare meeting at
Farmington--on which occasion Dr. Hawes is to preach. In a few
days the Mendians will embark from New York. May the Lord
preserve them, and carry them safely to their native land, to
their kindred and homes. Su-ma, the eldest, has a wife and five
children. Cinque has a wife and three children. They all have
parents or wives, or brothers and sisters. What a meeting it
will be with these relations and friends, when they are descried
on the hills of Mendi! We were invited to visit other places,
but time did not allow of longer absence. I must not forget to
mention that the whole band of these Mendi are teetotallers. At
a tavern where we stopped, Ban-na took me aside, and with a
sorrowful countenance, said, 'This bad house--bar house--no
good.' But the steam boat is at the wharf, and I must close. The
collections in money, on this excursion of twelve days, is about
one thousand dollars, after deducting travelling expenses. More
money is needed to defray the expenses of the Mendians to their
native land, and to sustain their religious teachers. Very truly
yours,
"LEWIS TAPPAN."
But to conclude the narrative of these interesting Africans. After all
the trickery on the part of the U.S. government, it was finally decreed
by the Supreme Court, that the Mendians were free persons, and might go
whither they pleased. They were unanimous for returning to their native
country. The Mendian negroes, thirty-five in number, embarked from New
York for Sierra Leone, on the 27th of the 11th month, (November,) 1841,
on board the barque Gentleman, Captain Morris, accompanied by five
missionaries and teachers. The British government has manifested a
praiseworthy interest in their welfare, and will assist them to reach
their own country from Sierra Leone. Their stay in the United States has
been of immense service to the anti-slavery cause, and there is reason
to hope that under their auspices, Christianity and civilization may be
introduced into their native country.