Jack Purser's wife--Fever on Board--Arrival at Cape Palmas--Strange Figure
and Equipage of a Missionary--King George of Grand Bassam--Intercourse
with the Natives--Tahon--Grand Drewin--St. Andrew's--Picaninny
Lahoo--Natives attacked by the French--Visit of King Peter--Sketches of
Scenery and People at Cape Labon.
_March_ 30.--Got under way, at daylight, and stood down the coast.
I recollect nothing else, at Settra Kroo, that requires description,
unless it be the person and garb of a native lady of fashion. Sitting with
my friend Jack Purser, yesterday, a young woman came up, with a pipe in
her mouth. A cloth around her loins, dyed with gay colors, composed her
whole drapery, leaving her figure as fully exposed as the most classic
sculptor could have wished. It is to be observed, however, that the sable
hue is in itself a kind of veil, and takes away from that sense of nudity
which would so oppress the eye, were a woman of our own race to present
herself so scantily attired. The native lady in question was tall, finely
shaped, and would have been not a little attractive, but for the white
clay with which she had seen fit to smear her face and bosom. Around her
ankles were many rows of blue beads, which also encircled her leg below
the knee, thus supplying the place of garters, although stockings were
dispensed with. Her smile was pleasant, and her disposition seemed
agreeable; and, certainly, if the rest of Jack Purser's wives (for this
was one of the nine-and-twenty) be so well-fitted to make him happy, the
sum total of his conjugal felicity must be enormous!
31.--Sunday. An oppressively hot day. There are three new cases of fever,
making fourteen in all, besides sixteen or seventeen of other complaints.
There is some apprehension that we are to have general sickness on board.
_April_ 1.--Off Cape Palmas. A canoe being sent ashore, returned with a
letter from the Rev. Mr. Hazlehurst, stating that two missionaries wish
for a passage to the Gaboon, and making so strong an appeal that the
captain's sympathies could not resist it. So we run in and anchor.
2.--Went ashore in the gig, and amused myself by reading the newspapers at
the Governor's, while the captain rode out to the mission establishment,
at Mount Vaughan. During my stay, one of the new missionaries, a native of
Kentucky, came in from Mount Vaughan, and rode up to the Government House,
in country style. He was in a little wagon, drawn by eight natives, and
sat bolt upright, with an umbrella over his head. The maligners of the
priesthood, in all ages and countries, have accused them of wishing to
ride on the necks of the people; but I never before saw so nearly literal
an exemplification of the fact. In its metaphorical sense, indeed, I
should be very far from casting such an imputation upon the zealous and
single-minded missionary before me. He is a man of eminent figure, at
least six feet and three inches high, with a tremendous nose, vast in its
longitude and depth, but wonderfully thin across the edge. It was curious
to meet, in Africa, a person so strongly imbued with the peculiarities of
his section of our native land; for his manner had the real Western swing,
and his dialect was more marked than is usual among educated men. With a
native audience, however, this is a matter of no moment.
We were told that the Roman Catholics are about to leave Cape Palmas, and
establish branches of their mission at the different French stations on
the coast, under the patronage of Louis Philippe. The Presbyterians have
all gone to the Gaboon river. The Episcopal Mission pines at Cape Palmas,
and will probably be removed. The discord between its members and the
Colonial Government continues with unabated bitterness. Mr. Hazlehurst
regrets that the missionaries were identified with the colonists, in our
great palaver with the four-and-twenty kings and headmen, at Cape Palmas.
He believes, that, in case of any outbreak of the natives, the
missionaries on the out stations would fall the first victims. His
sentiments, it must be admitted, are such as it behoves a minister of
religion to entertain, in so far as he would repudiate military force as
an agent for sustaining the cause of missions.
We sailed at noon for the leeward without the missionaries, who declined
taking passage, as it is doubtful whether the ship will proceed beyond
Cape Coast Castle. We have now fifteen cases of fever, most of them mild
in character. The prospect of sickness will cut short our leeward cruise.
4.--Off Tahoo. The natives have come on board, with fowls, ivory, and
monkey-skins, to "make trade." Tobacco is the article chiefly sought for
in exchange. A large canoe came off, with a small English flag displayed,
and a native in regimentals standing erect; a most unusual and
inconvenient posture to be maintained in a canoe. Mounting the ship's
side, he proved to be no less a man than King George of Grand Bassam. His
majesty wore a military frock trimmed with yellow, two worsted epaulettes
on his shoulders, and an English hussar-cap on his head, with the motto
FULGOR ET HONOS. A cloth around his loins completed his heterogeneous
equipment. In the canoe was a small bullock, tied by the feet, together
with several ducks, chickens, kids, and plantains. The bullock and one
duck were presented to the captain by way of "dash;" always the most
expensive mode of procuring provisions, for, unless you dash the donor to
at least an equal extent, he will certainly importune you for more. King
George remarked that the other articles in the canoe belonged to the boys,
and were for sale. They refused to sell them, however, until the King,
after eating and drinking his fill in the cabin, went out, and engaged in
the traffic at once. The liquor brought out his real character; and this
royal personage scolded and haggled like a private trader, and a sharp one
too.
Having sold his stock, and received much more than its value, his majesty
thought it not beneath his station to beg, and thus obtain divers odd
things for his wardrobe and larder. When he could get no more, he finally
took his leave, carrying off the remains of the food which had been set
before him, without so much as an apology.
We have been running along that portion of the coast, where, three months
ago, we burned the native towns. No attempt has yet been made to rebuild
them, for fear of a second hostile visit from the ships; but the natives
have indirectly applied to the Commodore for permission to do so, and it
will probably be granted, on their pledging themselves to good behavior.
5.--At anchor off Grand Berebee. All day, the ship has been thronged with
natives. They are civil at first, but almost universally display a bad
trait of character, by altering their manners for the worse, in proportion
to the kindness shown them. As they acquire confidence, they become
importunate, and almost impudent. Every canoe brings something to sell. It
is amusing to see these people paddling alongside with two or three
chickens tied round their necks, and hanging down their backs, with an
occasional flutter that shows them to be yet alive. Some of the kings hold
umbrellas over their heads; rather, one would suppose, as a mark of
dignity, than from a tender regard to their complexions. These umbrellas
were afterwards converted into bags, to hold the bread which they
received.
The weather has been cooler for two days, and the fever-patients are fast
improving.
6.--This morning, our visitors of yesterday, and many more, came
alongside, but only persons of distinction were admitted on board.
Nevertheless, they suffice to crowd the deck. A war-canoe, with a king in
it, paddled round the ship twice, all the men working for dear life, by
way, I suppose, of contrasting their naval force with our own. All our
guests, of whatever rank, come to trade or to beg; and it is curious to
see how essentially their estimation of money differs from our own. Coin
is almost unknown in the traffic of the coast, and it is only those who
have been at Sierra Leone, or some of the colonial settlements, who are
aware of its value. One "cut money," or quarter of a dollar, is the
smallest coin of which most of the natives have any idea. This is
invariably the price of a fowl, when money is offered; but a head of
tobacco or a couple of fish-hooks would be preferred. Empty bottles find a
ready market. Yesterday, I "dashed" three or four great characters with a
bottle each; all choosing ale or porter bottles in preference to an
octagonal-sided one, used by "J. Wingrove and Co." of London, in putting
up their "Celebrated Raspberry Vinegar." The chiefs must have consulted
about it afterwards; for, this morning, no less than three kings and a
governor, begged, as a great favor, that I would give them that particular
bottle, and were sadly disappointed, on learning that it had been paid
away for a monkey-skin. No other bottle would console them.
After the traffic is over, the begging commences; and they prove
themselves artful as well as persevering mendicants. Sometimes they make
an appeal to your social affections; "Massa, I be your friend!" The rascal
has never seen you before, and would cut your throat for a pound of
tobacco. Another seeks to excite your compassion: "My heart cry for a
bottle of rum!" and no honest toper, who has felt what that cry is, can
refuse his sympathy, even if he withhold the liquor. A third applicant
addresses himself to your noble thirst for fame. "Suppose you dash me, I
take your name ashore, and make him live there!" And certainly a deathless
name, at the price of an empty bottle or a head of tobacco, is a bargain
that even a Yankee would not scorn.
7.--We passed Tahoo in the night, and are now running along a more
beautiful country. The land is high and woody, unlike the flat and marshy
tracts that skirt the shores to windward. These are the Highlands of
Drewin. The ship has been full of Grand Drewin people, who come to look
about them, to beg, and to dispose of fowls, ducks, cocoa-nuts, and small
canoes. They are the most noisy set of fellows on the coast.
8. We left Grand Drewin, and anchored at St. Andrew's, six miles distant.
The inhabitants, being at war with those of Grand Drewin, do not come off
to us, apprehending that their enemies are concealed behind the ship.
These tribes have been at war more than a year, and have made two
expeditions, resulting in the death of two men on one side and three on
the other. The army of Grand Drewin, having slain three, boasts much of
its superior valor. It must be owned, that the absurdity of war, as the
ultimate appeal of nations, becomes rather strikingly manifest, by being
witnessed on a scale so ridiculously minute.
9.--A message having been sent in to inform the King of our character,
three or four canoes came off to us. The inhabitants have little to sell
compared with those of Grand Drewin. Indian corn, which does not flourish
so well to windward, has been offered freely at both places, in the ear.
I went ashore, in company with four other officers. The bar is difficult,
and, in rough weather, must be dangerous. A broad bay opens on your sight,
as soon as the narrow and rocky mouth of the river is passed. Two large
streams branch off, and lose themselves among the high trees upon their
banks. A number of cocoa-nut trees, on the shore, made a thick shade for
fifteen or twenty soldiers, who loitered about, or sat, or lay at length
upon the ground, watching against the approach of the enemy. Some held
muskets in their hands; others had rested their weapons against the trunks
of the trees. We were first conducted to the residence of King Queah, who
received us courteously, regaled us with palm-wine, and inflicted a duck
upon us by way of "dash." The wine, in a capacious gourd, was brought out,
and placed in the centre of the large open space, where we sat. The King,
his headman, and his son, all drank first, in order to prove that the
liquor was not poisonous; a ceremony which makes one strongly sensible of
being among people, who have no very conscientious regard for human life.
The mug was then refilled, and passed to us.
On the walls of the house there were fresco-paintings, evidently by a
native artist, rudely representing persons and birds. The most prominent
figures were the King, seated in a chair, and seven wives standing in a
row before him, most of them with pipes in their mouths. Black, red, and
white, were apparently the only colors that the painter's palette
supplied. The groundwork was the natural color of the clay, which had been
plastered upon the wall of wicker-work.
There seem to be two crowned heads at this place, reminding one of the two
classic Kings of Brentford; for, after leaving King Queah, we were led to
the house of another sovereign, styled King George. The frequent
occurrence of this latter name, indicates the familiarity between the
natives and the English. His Majesty received us in state; that is to say,
chairs were placed for the visitors, and the King, with a black hat on his
head, looked dignified. I was so fortunate as to make a favorable
impression on his principal wife, by means of an empty bottle and a head
of tobacco, which she was pleased to accept at my hands in the most
gracious manner. Though probably fifty years of age, she had beautified
herself, and concealed the touch of time by streaks of soot carefully laid
on over her face and body.
The houses of each family are enclosed within bamboo walls, sometimes to
the number of eight or ten huts in one of these insulated hamlets. They
are generally wretched hovels, and of the simplest construction, merely a
thatched roof, like a permanent umbrella, with no lower walls, and no
ends. Altogether, the dwellings and their inhabitants looked miserable
enough. The tribe has the reputation of being treacherous and cruel, and
the aspect of the people is in accordance with their character.
I purchased a man's cloth, of native manufacture. It is said to be made of
the bark of a tree, pounded together so as to be strong and durable. I
also procured a hank of fine white fibre of the pine-apple leaf. Of this
material the natives make strong and beautiful fishing-lines, and other
cords. Before being twisted it has the appearance of hemp.
11.--We anchored, last evening, at Picaninny Lahoo. Only one canoe has
come off to us. The natives are shy of all strange vessels, in consequence
of a French man-of-war having fired upon one of the neighboring towns, a
few days since. It seems that a French merchant-barque was wrecked here,
by running ashore. The master saved his gold and personal property, and he
and the crew were kindly treated; but the vessel and cargo were plundered,
in accordance with the custom of the African coast, as well as of
countries that boast more of their civilisation. Nevertheless, the captain
of the French man-of-war demanded restitution, and kept up a fire upon the
town for several successive days. An English merchant-vessel, lying there
at the time, protested against the cannonade, and threatened to report the
French captain to Lord Stanley!--on the plea that his measures of
hostility prevented the natives from engaging in trade.
In fact, these masters of English merchant-vessels would probably consider
the interruption of trade as the greatest of all offences against human
rights. We boarded a brig of that nation to-day, and found her full of
natives, with whom a very brisk business was going forward. Some brought
palm-oil, and others gold, which they exchanged principally for guns,
cloth, and powder. We here saw the gold tested by the "blackstone;" a
peculiar kind of mineral, black, with a slight tinge of blue. If, when the
gold is rubbed upon this stone, it leaves a reddish mark, it is regarded
as a satisfactory proof of its purity; otherwise, there is more or less
alloy. The trader is obliged to depend upon the judgment and integrity of
a native in his employ, who is skilful in trying gold. The average profit,
acquired by the foreign traders in their dealings with the natives, is not
less than a hundred per cent. on the principal articles, and much more on
the smaller ones. No inconsiderable portion of this, however, is absorbed
by the numerous "dashes;" in the first place, to the king, then to the
head trade-men, the canoe-men, and all others whose agency can anywise
influence the success of the business.
The masters or supercargoes of English vessels receive, besides their
regular pay of six pounds per month, a commission of five per cent. on all
sales; they being responsible for any debts which they may allow the
natives to contract.
12.--Ashore at Cape Lahon, the scene of the recent hostilities between the
French and the natives. We landed in large heavy canoes, flat-bottomed and
square-sided. The town is built upon a narrow point of land between the
sea and a lake, just at the outlet of two rivers. On the side next the
sea, you discern only the bamboo walls of the town, and a few cocoa-nut
trees, scattered along the sandy beach; but on the lake side, there is one
of the loveliest views imaginable. The quiet lake and its wooded islands;
the thousand of green cocoa-nut trees, laden with fruit, and shadowing all
the shore; the rivers, broad and dark, stretching away on either hand,
until lost among the depths of the forest, which doubtless extends into
the mysterious heart of Africa; the canoes, returning along these majestic
streams with people who had fled; the hundreds of natives who reclined in
the shade, or clustered around a fountain in the sand, or busied
themselves with the canoes;--all contributed to form a picture which was
very pleasant to our eyes, long wearied as we were with the sight of ocean
and sky, and the dreary skirts of the sea-shore. It was an hour of true
repose, while we lay in the shadow of the trees, and drank the cool milk
of cocoa-nuts, which the native boys plucked and opened for us.
I should have narrated, in the first place, our visit to King Peter, who
rules over this beautiful spot. He held his court under an awning of
palm-leaves, in an area of more than a hundred feet square, around the
sides of which were the little dwellings that, conjointly, composed his
palace. The King received us with dignity and affability; and probably not
less than two hundred of his subjects were collected in the area, to
witness the interview; for it was to them a matter of national importance.
They are exceedingly anxious to adjust their difficulties with the French,
and hope to interest us as mediators. By their own history of the affair,
which was laid before us at great length, they appear to have been only
moderately to blame, and to have suffered a great deal of mischief. King
Quashee and nine men were killed, and fifty or sixty houses burnt, besides
other damage.
These people are a fine-looking race, well formed, and with very pleasing
countenances. At our first arrival the women were all at the plantations,
in the interior, whither they had fled when our ship came in sight,
apprehending her to be French. Towards evening, they returned to the
village, and afforded us an opportunity to see and talk with them. They
are the handsomest African dames with whom I have formed an acquaintance,
and the most affable. It grieves me to add, that, like all their
countrymen and countrywomen, they are importunate beggars, and seem
greatly to prefer the fiery liquors of the white man to their own mild
palm-wine and cocoa-nut milk. One of our party offered rum to the eight
young wives of Tom Beggree, our trade-man; and every soul of them tossed
off her goblet without a wry face, though it was undiluted, and
thirty-three per cent. above proof.
As at other places, each family resides in a separate enclosure, which is
larger or smaller, according to the number of houses required. Domestic
harmony is in some degree provided for, by allotting a separate residence
to each wife. There is a courtyard before most of the enclosures, after
traversing which, you enter a spacious square, and perceive neatly built
houses on all four of its sides. They are constructed of bamboo-cane
placed upright, and united by cross-pieces of the same, strongly sewed
together with thongs of some tough wood. Some of the floors are not
untastefully paved with small pebbles, intermingled with white shells.
Doors there are none, the entrance being through the windows, in order to
keep out the pigs and sheep, which abound in the enclosures. The streets
or passages through the town are about five feet wide, and are bordered on
either side by the high bamboo wall of some private domain. The settlement
extends more than a mile in length, and is the largest and best-built that
I have yet had the good fortune to see on the coast of Africa.