Glimpses of the bottom of the Sea--The Gar-Fish--The Booby and the
Mullet--Improvement of Liberia--Its Prospects--Higher social position of
its Inhabitants--Intercourse between the White and Colored Races--A Night
on Shore--Farewell to Liberia.--Reminiscence of Robinson Crusoe.
_September_ 1.--At Porto Grande.
To-day, as for many previous days, the water has been beautifully clear.
The massive anchor and the links of the chain-cable, which lay along the
bottom, were distinctly visible upon the sand, full fifty feet below.
Hundreds of fish--the grouper, the red snapper, the noble baracouta, the
mullet, and many others, unknown to northern seas--played round the ship,
occasionally rising to seize some floating food, that perchance had been
thrown overboard. With my waking eye, I beheld the bottom of the sea as
plainly as Clarence saw it in his dream; although, indeed, here were few
of the splendid and terrible images that were revealed to him:--
"A thousand fearful wrecks;
A thousand men that fishes gnawed upon;
Wedges of gold, great anchors, heaps of pearl,
Inestimable stones, unvalued jewels."
Nevertheless, it was a sight that seemed to admit me deeper into the
liquid element than I had ever been before. Now and then came the long,
slender gar-fish, and, with his sword-like beak, struck some unhappy fish
which tempted his voracity. I watched the manoeuvres of the destroyer and
his victims, with no little interest. The fish (which, in the two
instances particularly observed, was the mullet) came instantly to the
surface, on being struck, and sprang far out of water. He swam on his side
with a circular motion, keeping his head above the surface. From time to
time he leaped into the air, spasmodically, and in a fit of painful agony;
for it could not be from alarm, as the foe was nowhere visible. Gradually,
his strength failed, and his efforts became feebler, and still more
feeble.
The fates of the two mullets were different. One received a second blow
from the inexorable gar-fish, which, for a moment, increased his agony and
his exertions. He then lay motionless upon the surface, at rest from all
trouble. The conqueror came a third time, seized his prey, and swam
swiftly out of sight.
The other mullet, which rose half an hour afterwards, swam closer to the
ship than his predecessor, and received no second blow. While the poor
fellow was yet in the death-struggle, came two great sable birds, with
bills, wings, and legs, like those of the heron. Flapping their dark wings
in the air, they circled round, and repeatedly swooped almost upon the
dying fish. But he was not doomed to be their victim. Presently, with his
brown back, white breast, and pink bill, came flapping along a booby, and,
without a moment's hesitation, stooped upon the mullet, and appeared to
swallow him in the twinkling of an eye. The fish was at least six inches
in length, and the bird not twice as much. How so liberal a morsel could
be so quickly disposed of, was a marvel to a dozen idlers, who had been
curiously observing this game of life and death to one party, and a dinner
to the other. Certainly, the booby carried off the fish. Borne down by the
weight of his spoil, the feathered gormandizer alighted on the
water--rested himself for a moment--rose again, and re-alighted--and in
this manner, with many such intervals of repose, made his way to the
shore.
25.--At 1 P.M., sailed for the Coast, in company with the Truxton.
26.--Anchored off Cape Mesurado.
It is now fourteen months since our ship first visited Monrovia. Within
that period there has been a very perceptible improvement in its
condition. The houses are in better repair; the gardens under superior
cultivation. There is an abundant supply of cattle, which have been
purchased from the natives. More merchant-vessels now make this their
port, bringing goods hither, and creating a market for the commodities,
live stock, and vegetables, of the colonists. An increased amount of money
is in circulation; and the inhabitants find that they can dispose of the
products of their industry for something better than the cloth and
tobacco, which they were formerly obliged to take in payment. The squadron
of United States men-of-war, if it do no other good, will at least have an
essential share in promoting the prosperity of Liberia.
After having seen much, and reflected upon the subject even to weariness,
I write down my opinion, that Liberia is firmly planted, and is destined
to increase and prosper. This it will do, though all further support from
the United States be discontinued. A large part of the present population,
it is true, are ignorant, and incompetent to place a just estimate on
freedom, or even to comprehend what freedom really is. But they are
generally improving in this respect; and there is already a sufficient
intermixture of intelligent, enterprising and sagacious men, to give the
proper tone to the colony, and insure its ultimate success. The great
hope, however, is in the generation that will follow these original
emigrants. Education is universally diffused among the children; and its
advantages, now beginning to be very manifest, will, in a few years, place
the destinies of this great enterprise in the hands of men born and bred
in Africa. Then, and not till then, will the experiment of African
colonization, and of the ability of the colonists for self-support and
self-government, have been fairly tried. My belief is firm in a favorable
result.
Meantime, it would be wiser in the Colonization Society, and its more
zealous members, to moderate their tone, and speak less strongly as to the
advantages held out by Liberia. Unquestionably, it is a better country
than America, for the colored race. But they will find it very far from a
paradise. Men, who expect to become independent and respectable, can only
achieve their object here on the same terms as everywhere else. They must
cultivate their minds, be willing to exert themselves, and not look for a
too easy or too rapid rise of fortune. One thing is certain. People of
color have here their fair position in the comparative scale of mankind.
The white man, who visits Liberia, be he of what rank he may, and however
imbued with the prejudice of hue, associates with the colonists on terms
of equality. This would be impossible (speaking not of individuals, but of
the general intercourse between the two races) in the United States. The
colonist feels his advantage in this respect, and reckons it of greater
weight in the balance than all the hardships to which he is obliged to
submit, in an unwonted climate and a strange country. He is redeemed from
ages of degradation, and rises to the erect stature of humanity. On this
soil, sun-parched though it be, he gives the laws; and the white man must
obey them. In this point of view--as restoring to him his long-lost
birthright of equality--Liberia may indeed be called the black man's
paradise.
It is difficult to lay too great stress on the above consideration. When
the white man sets his foot on the shore of Africa, he finds it necessary
to throw off his former prejudices. For my own part, I have dined at the
tables of many colored men in Liberia, have entertained them on shipboard,
worshipped with them at church; walked, rode, and associated with them, as
equal with equal, if not as friend with friend. Were I to meet those men
in my own town, and among my own relatives, I would treat them kindly and
hospitably, as they have treated me. My position would give me confidence
to do so. But, in another city, where I might be known to few, should I
follow the dictates of my head and heart, and there treat these colored
men as brethren and equals, it would imply the exercise of greater moral
courage than I have ever been conscious of possessing. This is sad; but it
shows forcibly what the colored race have to struggle against in America,
and how vast an advantage is gained by removing them to another soil.
10.--Yesterday, Governor Roberts gave our officers a farewell dinner. We
left the table early, made our adieus, and were on our way down the river
half an hour before sunset. The pilot and some of our friends endeavored
to dissuade us from attempting the passage of the bar, pronouncing the
surf too dangerous. Some Kroomen also discouraged us, saying that the bar
was "too saucy." With the fever behind us, and the wild breakers and
sharks before, it was matter of doubt what course to pursue. Anxiety to be
on our way homeward settled the difficulty; and we left the wharf, to
make, at least, a trial. A trial, and nothing more, it proved; for, as we
neared the bar, it became evident that there would be great rashness in
attempting to cross. The surf came in heavily, and with the noise of
thunder, and the gigantic rollers broke into foam, across the whole width
of the bar. Darkness had fallen around us, with the sudden transition of a
tropical climate. There was no open space visible amid the foam; and,
while the men lay on their oars, we looked anxiously for the clear water,
which marks the channel to the sea. Many minutes were thus spent, looking
with all our eyes.
A council of war was held between the captain and myself, in which we
discussed the probabilities of being swamped and eaten. Having once fairly
started, we did not like to turn back, especially as it would be necessary
to go through the insipid ceremony of repeating our good-bye. Then, too,
the image of fever rose behind us. By the prohibition of the Commodore,
and the dictates of prudence, not an officer had slept on shore on any
part of the mainland of the African coast, during the whole period of our
cruise; and now, at the very last moment, to be compelled to incur the
risk, was almost beyond patience. On the other hand, there was the foaming
surf, and the ravenous sharks, in whose maws there was an imminent
probability of our finding accommodation, should we venture onward. It is
a fate proper enough for a sailor, but which he may be excused for
avoiding as long as possible. Our council ended, therefore, with a
determination to turn back, and trust to the tender mercies of the fever.
It was a splendid moonlight night; one of those nights on which the
natives deem it impossible to catch fish, saying that the sky has too many
eyes, and that the fish will shun the bait. The frogs kept up an incessant
chorus, reminding me of the summer evening melodies of my native land, yet
as distinct from those as are the human languages of the two countries. I
have observed that the notes of frogs are different in different parts of
the world. On the banks of the beautiful Arno, it is like the squalling of
a cat. Here, it is an exact imitation of the complaining note of young
turkeys. Unweariedly, these minstrels made music in our ears, until dawn
gleamed in the East, and ushered in a bright and glorious morning. The
birds now took the place of the frogs in nature's orchestra, and cooed,
peeped, chattered, screamed, whistled, and sang, according to their
various tastes and abilities. The trees were very green, and the dew-drops
wonderfully brilliant; and, amid the cheerful influence of sun-rise, it
was difficult to believe that we had incurred any deadly mischief, by our
night's rest on the shore of Africa.
At a later period, I add, that no bad result ensued, either to the
captain, myself, or the eight seamen, who were detained ashore on the
above occasion. This good fortune may be attributable to the care with
which we guarded ourselves from the night-air and the damps; and besides,
we left the coast immediately, and, after a brief visit to Sierra Leone,
pursued our homeward course to America. On another occasion, a lieutenant,
a surgeon, and six men, belonging to our squadron, were detained on shore
at Cape Mount, all night, after being capsized and wet. What were their
precautions, I am unable to say; but, all the officers and men were
attacked by fever, more or less severely, and in one instance fatally.
[Footnote: While revising these sheets for the press, the writer hears of
an example which may show the necessity of the health-regulations imposed
on the American squadron. The U.S. ship Preble ascended the River Gambia
to the English settlement of Bathurst, a distance of fifteen miles, to
protect the European residents against an apprehended attack of the
natives. Although the ship remained but one or two days, yet, in that
brief space, about a hundred cases of fever occurred on board, proving
fatal to the master, a midshipman, and seventeen of the crew.] And now we
leave Liberia behind us, with our best wishes for its prosperity, but with
no very anxious desire to breathe its fever-laden atmosphere again. There
is enough of interest on the African station; but life blazes quickly
away, beneath the glare of that torrid sun; and one year of that climate
is equivalent to half a dozen of a more temperate one, in its effect upon
the constitution. The voyager returns, with his sallow visage, and
emaciated form, and enervated powers, to find his contemporaries younger
than himself--to realize that he has taken two or three strides for their
one, towards the irrevocable bourne; and has abridged, by so much, the
season in which life is worth having for what may be accomplished, or for
any zest that may be found in it.
Before quitting the coast, I must not forget that our cruising-ground has
a classical claim upon the imagination, as being the very same over which
Robinson Crusoe made two or three of his voyages. That famous navigator
sailed all along the African shore, between Cape de Verd and the Equator,
trading for ivory, for gold dust, and especially for slaves, with as
little compunction as Pedro Blanco himself. It is remarkable that De Foe,
a man of most severe and delicate conscience, should have made his hero a
slave-dealer, and should display a perfect insensibility to anything
culpable in the traffic. Morality has taken a great step in advance, since
that day; or, at least, it has thrown a strong light on one spot, with
perhaps a corresponding shadow on some other. The next age may shift the
illumination, and show us sins as great as that of the slave-trade, but
which now enter into the daily practice of men claiming to be just and
wise.