The 15th of March, 1827, was an epoch in my life. I remember it well,
because it became the turning point of my destiny. A few weeks more of
indolence might have forced me back to Europe or America, but the
fortune of that day decided my residence and dealings in Africa.
At dawn of the 15th, a vessel was descried in the offing, and, as she
approached the coast, the initiated soon ascertained her to be a
Spanish slaver. But, what was the amazement of the river grandees when
the captain landed and consigned his vessel _to me_!
"LA FORTUNA," the property, chiefly, of my old friend the Regla
grocer, was successor of the Areostatico, which she exceeded in size
as well as comfort. Her captain was charged to pay me my wages in full
for the round voyage in the craft I had abandoned, and handed me,
besides, a purse of thirty doubloons as a testimonial from his owners
for my defence of their property on the dreadful night of our arrival.
The "Fortuna" was dispatched to me for an "assorted cargo of slaves,"
while 200,000 cigars and 500 ounces of Mexican gold, were on board for
their purchase. My commission was fixed at ten per cent., and I was
promised a command whenever I saw fit to abandon my residence on the
African coast.
Having no factory, or _barracoon_ of slaves, and being elevated to the
dignity of "a trader" in so sudden a manner, I thought it best to
summon all the factors of the river on board the schooner, with an
offer to divide the cargo, provided they would pledge the production
of the slaves within thirty days. Dispatch was all-important to the
owners, and, so anxious was I to gratify them, that I consented to pay
fifty dollars for every slave that should be accepted.
After some discussion my offer was taken, and the cargo apportioned
among the residents. They declined, however, receiving any share of
the cigars in payment, insisting on liquidation in gold alone.
As this was my first enterprise, I felt at a loss to know how to
convert my useless tobacco into merchantable doubloons. In this
strait, I had recourse to the Englishman Joseph, who hitherto traded
exclusively in produce; but, being unable to withstand the temptation
of gold, had consented to furnish a portion of my required negroes. As
soon as I stated the difficulty to Don Edward, he proposed to send the
Havanas to his Hebrew friend in Sierra Leone, where, he did not doubt,
they would be readily exchanged for Manchester merchandise. That
evening a canoe was dispatched to the English colony with the cigars;
and, on the tenth day after, the trusty Israelite appeared in the Rio
Pongo, with a cutter laden to the deck with superior British fabrics.
The rumor of five hundred doubloons disturbed his rest in Sierra
Leone! So much gold could not linger in the hands of natives as long
as Manchester and Birmingham were represented in the colony; and,
accordingly, he coasted the edge of the surf, as rapidly as possible,
to pay me a profit of four dollars a thousand for the cigars, and to
take his chances at the exchange of my gold for the sable cargo! By
this happy hit I was enabled to pay for the required balance of
negroes, as well as to liquidate the schooners expenses while in the
river. I was amazingly rejoiced and proud at this happy result,
because I learned from the captain that the invoice of cigars was a
malicious trick, palmed off on the Areostatico's owners by her
captain, in order to thwart or embarrass me, when he heard I was to be
intrusted with the purchase of a cargo on the coast.
At the appointed day, La Fortuna sailed with 220 human beings packed
in her hold. Three months afterwards, I received advices that she
safely landed 217 in the bay of Matanzas, and that their sale yielded
a clear profit on the voyage of forty-one thousand four hundred and
thirty-eight dollars.[B]
As I am now fairly embarked in a trade which absorbed so many of my
most vigorous years, I suppose the reader will not be loth to learn a
little of my experience in the alleged "cruelties" of this commerce;
and the first question, in all likelihood, that rises to his lips, is
a solicitation to be apprised of the embarkation and treatment of
slaves on the dreaded voyage.
An African factor of fair repute is ever careful to select his human
cargo with consummate prudence, so as not only to supply his employers
with athletic laborers, but to avoid any taint of disease that may
affect the slaves in their transit to Cuba or the American main. Two
days before embarkation, the head of every male and female is neatly
shaved; and, if the cargo belongs to several owners, each man's
_brand_ is impressed on the body of his respective negro. This
operation is performed with pieces of silver wire, or small irons
fashioned into the merchant's initials, heated just hot enough to
blister without burning the skin. When the entire cargo is the venture
of but one proprietor, the branding is always dispensed with.
On the appointed day, the _barracoon_ or slave-pen is made joyous by
the abundant "feed" which signalizes the negro's last hours in his
native country. The feast over, they are taken alongside the vessel in
canoes; and as they touch the deck, they are entirely stripped, so
that women as well as men go out of Africa as they came into
it--_naked_. This precaution, it will be understood, is indispensable;
for perfect nudity, during the whole voyage, is the only means of
securing cleanliness and health. In this state, they are immediately
ordered below, the men to the hold and the women to the cabin, while
boys and girls are, day and night, kept on deck, where their sole
protection from the elements is a sail in fair weather, and a
_tarpaulin_ in foul.
At meal time they are distributed in messes of ten. Thirty years ago,
when the Spanish slave-trade was lawful, the captains were somewhat
more ceremoniously religious than at present, and it was then a
universal habit to make the gangs say grace before meat, and give
thanks afterwards. In our days, however, they dispense with this
ritual, and content themselves with a "_Viva la Habana_," or "hurrah
for Havana," accompanied by a clapping of hands.
This over, a bucket of salt water is served to each mess, by way of
"finger glasses" for the ablution of hands, after which a
_kidd_,--either of rice, farina, yams, or beans,--according to the
tribal habit of the negroes, is placed before the squad. In order to
prevent greediness or inequality in the appropriation of nourishment,
the process is performed by signals from a monitor, whose motions
indicate when the darkies shall dip and when they shall swallow.
It is the duty of a guard to report immediately whenever a slave
refuses to eat, in order that his abstinence may be traced to
stubbornness or disease. Negroes have sometimes been found in slavers
who attempted voluntary starvation; so that, when the watch reports
the patient to be "shamming," his appetite is stimulated by the
medical antidote of a "cat." If the slave, however, is truly ill, he
is forthwith ticketed for the sick list by a bead or button around his
neck, and dispatched to an infirmary in the forecastle.
These meals occur twice daily,--at ten in the morning and four in the
afternoon,--and are terminated by another ablution. Thrice in each
twenty-four hours they are served with half a pint of water. Pipes and
tobacco are circulated economically among both sexes; but, as each
negro cannot be allowed the luxury of a separate bowl, boys are sent
round with an adequate supply, allowing a few whiffs to each
individual. On regular days,--probably three times a week,--their
mouths are carefully rinsed with vinegar, while, nearly every morning,
a dram is given as an antidote to scurvy.
Although it is found necessary to keep the sexes apart, they are
allowed to converse freely during day while on deck. Corporal
punishment is _never_ inflicted save by order of an officer, and, even
then, not until the culprit understands exactly why it is done. Once a
week, the ship's barber scrapes their chins without assistance from
soap; and, on the same day, their nails are closely pared, to insure
security from harm in those nightly battles that occur, when the slave
contests with his neighbor every inch of plank to which he is glued.
During afternoons of serene weather, men, women, girls, and boys are
allowed to unite in African melodies, which they always enhance by an
extemporaneous _tom-tom_ on the bottom of a tub or tin kettle.
These hints will apprise the reader that the greatest care, compatible
with safety, is taken of a negro's health and cleanliness on the
voyage. In every well-conducted slaver, the captain, officers, and
crew, are alert and vigilant to preserve the cargo. It is their
personal interest, as well as the interest of humanity to do so. The
boatswain is incessant in his patrol of purification, and disinfecting
substances are plenteously distributed. The upper deck is washed and
swabbed daily; the slave deck is scraped and holy-stoned; and, at nine
o'clock each morning, the captain inspects every part of his craft; so
that no vessel, except a man-of-war, can compare with a slaver in
systematic order, purity, and neatness. I am not aware that the
ship-fever, which sometimes decimates the emigrants from Europe, has
ever prevailed in these African traders.
At sundown, the process of stowing the slaves for the night is begun.
The second mate and boatswain descend into the hold, whip in hand, and
range the slaves in their regular places; those on the right side of
the vessel facing forward, and lying in each other's lap, while those
on the left are similarly stowed with their faces towards the stern.
In this way each negro lies on his right side, which is considered
preferable for the action of the heart. In allotting places,
particular attention is paid to size, the taller being selected for
the greatest breadth of the vessel, while the shorter and younger are
lodged near the bows. When the cargo is large and the lower deck
crammed, the supernumeraries are disposed of on deck, which is
securely covered with boards to shield them from moisture. The
_strict_ discipline of nightly stowage is, of course, of the greatest
importance in slavers, else every negro would accommodate himself as
if he were a passenger.
In order to insure perfect silence and regularity during night, a
slave is chosen as constable from every ten, and furnished with a
"cat" to enforce commands during his appointed watch. In remuneration
for his services, which, it may be believed, are admirably performed
whenever the whip is required, he is adorned with an old shirt or
tarry trowsers. Now and then, billets of wood are distributed among
the sleepers, but this luxury is never granted until the good temper
of the negroes is ascertained, for slaves have often been tempted to
mutiny by the power of arming themselves with these pillows from the
forest.
It is very probable that many of my readers will consider it barbarous
to make slaves lie down naked upon a board, but let me inform them
that native Africans are not familiar with the use of feather-beds,
nor do any but the free and rich in their mother country indulge in
the luxury even of a mat or raw-hide. Among the Mandingo chiefs,--the
most industrious and civilized of Africans,--the beds, divans, and
sofas, are heaps of mud, covered with untanned skins for cushions,
while logs of wood serve for bolsters! I am of opinion, therefore,
that emigrant slaves experience very slight inconvenience in lying
down on the deck.
But _ventilation_ is carefully attended to. The hatches and bulkheads
of every slaver are grated, and apertures are cut about the deck for
ampler circulation of air. Wind-sails, too, are constantly pouring a
steady draft into the hold, except during a chase, when, of course,
every comfort is temporarily sacrificed for safety. During calms or in
light and baffling winds, when the suffocating air of the tropics
makes ventilation impossible, the gratings are always removed, and
portions of the slaves allowed to repose at night on deck, while the
crew is armed to watch the sleepers.
Handcuffs are rarely used on shipboard. It is the common custom to
secure slaves in the _barracoons_, and while shipping, by chaining
_ten_ in a gang; but as these platoons would be extremely inconvenient
at sea, the manacles are immediately taken off and replaced by
leg-irons, which fasten them in pairs by the feet. Shackles are never
used but for _full-grown men_, while _women_ and _boys_ are set at
liberty as soon as they embark. It frequently happens that when the
behavior of _male_ slaves warrants their freedom, they are released
from all fastenings long before they arrive. Irons are altogether
dispensed with on many _Brazilian_ slavers, as negroes from Anjuda,
Benin, and Angola, are mild; and unaddicted to revolt like those who
dwell east of the Cape or north of the Gold Coast. Indeed, a knowing
trader will never use chains but when compelled, for the longer a
slave is ironed the more he deteriorates; and, as his sole object is
to land a healthy cargo, pecuniary interest, as well as natural
feeling, urges the sparing of metal.
My object in writing this palliative description is not to exculpate
the slavers or their commerce, but to correct those exaggerated
stories which have so long been current in regard to the _usual_
voyage of a trader. I have always believed that the cause of humanity,
as well as any other cause, was least served by over-statement; and I
am sure that if the narratives given by Englishmen are true, the
voyages they detail must either have occurred before my day, or were
conducted in British vessels, while her majesty's subjects still
considered the traffic lawful.[C]
FOOTNOTES:
[B] As the reader may scarcely credit so large a profit, I subjoin an
account of the fitting of a slave vessel from Havana in 1827, and the
liquidation of her voyage in Cuba:--
1.--EXPENSES OUT.
Cost of LA FORTUNA, a 90 ton schooner, $3,700 00
Fitting out, sails, carpenter and cooper's bills, 2,500 00
Provisions for crew and slaves, 1,115 00
Wages advanced to 18 men before the mast, 900 00
" " to captain, mates, boatswain,
cook, and steward, 440 00
200,000 cigars and 500 doubloons, cargo, 10,900 00
Clearance and hush-money, 200 00
-----------
$19,755 00
Commission at 5 per cent., 987 00
-----------
Full cost of voyage out, $20,742 00
2.--EXPENSES HOME.
Captain's head-money, at $8 a head, 1,746 00
Mate's " $4 " 873 00
Second mate and boatswain's head-money,
at $2 each a head, 873 00
Captain's wages, 219 78
First mate's wages 175 56
Second mate and boatswain's wages, 307 12
Cook and steward's wages, 264 00
Eighteen sailors' wages, 1,972 00
-----------
$27,172 46
3.--EXPENSES IN HAVANA.
Government officers, at $8 per head, 1,736 00
My commission on 217 slaves, expenses off, 5,565 00
Consignees' commissions, 8,878 00
217 slave dresses, at $2 each, 634 00
Extra expenses of all kinds, say, 1,000 00
-----------
Total expenses, $39,980 46
4.--RETURNS.
Value of vessel at auction, $3,950 00
Proceeds of 217 slaves, 77,469 00
-----------
$81,419 00
-----------
RESUME.
Total Returns, $81,419 00
" Expenses, 39,980 46
-----------
Nett profit, $41,438 54
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[C] The treaty with Spain, which was designed by Great Britain to end
the slave-trade, failed utterly to produce the desired result.
All _profitable_ trade,--illicit, contraband, or what not,--_will_ be
carried on by avaricious men, as long as the temptation continues.
Accordingly, whenever a trade becomes _forced_, the only and sure
result of violent restriction is to imperil still more both life and
cargo.
1st.--The treaty with Spain, it is said, was enforced some time before
it was properly promulgated or notified; so that British cruisers
seized over eighty vessels, one third of which certainly were not
designed for slave-trade.
2d.--As the compact condemned slave vessels to be broken up, the
sailing qualities of craft were improved to facilitate escape, rather
than insure human comfort.
3d.--The Spanish slavers had recourse to Brazilians and Portuguese to
cover their property; and, as slavers could not be fitted out in Cuba,
other nations sent their vessels ready equipped to Africa, and (under
the jib-booms of cruisers) Sardinians, Frenchmen and Americans,
transferred them to slave traders, while the captains and parts of the
crew took passage home in regular merchantmen.
4th.--As the treaty created greater risk, every method of economy was
resorted to; and the crowding and cramming of slaves was one of the
most prominent results. Water and provisions were diminished; and
every thing was sacrificed for gain.