Havana, bound to Principe, about one hundred leagues distant, with
fifty-four negroes held as slaves, and _two_ passengers instead of
twenty. The Spaniards said that, after being out four days, the negroes
rose in the night, and killed the captain and a mulatto cook; that the
helmsman and another sailor took to the boat and went on shore; that
the only two whites remaining were the said passengers, Montez and
Ruiz, who were confined below until morning; that Montez, the elder,
who had been a sea captain, was required to steer the ship for Africa;
that he steered eastwardly in the day time, because the negroes could
tell his course by the sun, but put the vessel about in the night. They
boxed about some days in the Bahama Channel, and were several times
near the islands, but the negroes would not allow her to enter any
port. Once they were near Long Island, but then put out to sea again,
the Spaniards all the while hoping they might fall in with some ship
of war that would rescue them from their awkward situation. One of the
Spaniards testified that, when the rising took place, he was awaked by
the noise, and that he heard the captain order the cabin boy to get
some bread and throw to the negroes, in hope to pacify them. Cinque,
however, the leader of the revolt, leaped on deck, seized a capstan
bar, and attacked the captain, whom he killed at a single blow, and
took charge of the vessel; his authority being acknowledged by his
companions, who knew him as a prince in his native land.
The captives were taken before the Circuit Court of the United States
for the District of Connecticut, Hon. Andrew T. Judson presiding.
This was only the commencement in the courts, for the trial ran
through several months. During this time, the Africans were provided
with competent teachers by the abolitionists, and their minds were
undergoing a rapid change, and civilization was taking the place of
ignorance and barbarism.
Cinque, all this while, did nothing to change the high opinion first
formed of him, and all those who came into his presence felt themselves
before a superior man. After he and his countrymen had embraced
Christianity, and were being questioned by a peace man as to the part
that they had taken in the death of the men on board the Amistad, when
asked if they did not think it wrong to take human life, one of the
Africans replied that, if it was to be acted over again, he would pray
for them instead of killing them. Cinque, hearing this, smiled and
shook his head, whereupon he was asked if he would not pray for them
also. To this he said, "Yes, I would pray for 'em, an' kill 'em too."
By the sagacity and daring of this man, he and his companions,
fifty-four in number, were rescued from a life-long bondage of the
worst character that ever afflicted the human family.
Cinque was a man of great intelligence and natural ability; he was
a powerful orator, and although speaking in a tongue foreign to his
audience, by the grace and energy of his motions and attitudes, the
changeful expression of his features, and the intonations of his
voice, made them understand the main incidents of his narrative, and
swayed their minds in an extraordinary manner. Alluding to that point
of his history at which Cinque described how, when on board the Spanish
vessel, he, with the help of a nail, first relieved himself of his
manacles, then assisted his countrymen to get rid of theirs, and then
led them to the attack of the Spaniards, Lewis Tappan, in the account
of the whole proceedings connected with the Amistad captives, which he
published, says, "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 have seen
Kemble and Siddons, and the representation of 'Othello,' at Covent
Garden; but no acting that I have ever witnessed came near that to
which I allude."
ALEXANDRE DUMAS.
I had been in Paris a week without seeing Dumas, for my letter of
introduction from Louis Blanc, who was then in exile in England, to
M. Eugene Sue, had availed me nothing as regarded a sight of the
great colored author. Sue had promised me that I should have an
interview with Dumas before I quitted the French capital; but I had
begun to suspect that the latter felt that it would be too much of
a condescension to give audience to an American slave, and I began
to grow indifferent myself upon the matter. Invited by a friend to
attend the opera, to witness the performances of Grisi and Mario, in
Norma, I gladly accepted, and in company with my friend started for
the place of amusement. Our seats were "reserved," and I took my place
in the immense saloon before raising my eyes to view the vast audience
which had already assembled. The splendid chandeliers, the hundreds of
brilliant gas lights, the highly-colored drapery that hung its rich
folds about the boxes and stalls, were in keeping with the magnificent
diamonds, laces, and jewelry, that adorned the persons of the finest
assembly that I had ever seen. In a double box nearly opposite to me,
containing a party of six or eight, I noticed a light-complexioned
mulatto, apparently about fifty years of age,--curly hair, full face,
dressed in a black coat, white vest, white kids,--who seemed to be
the centre of attraction, not only in his own circle, but in others.
Those in the pit looked up, those in the gallery looked down, while
curtains were drawn aside at other boxes and stalls to get a sight at
the colored man. So recently from America, where caste was so injurious
to my race, I began to think that it was his woolly head that attracted
attention, when I was informed that the mulatto before me was no less
a person than Alexandre Dumas. Every move, look, and gesture of the
celebrated romancer were watched in the closest manner by the audience.
Even Mario appeared to feel that his part on the stage was of less
importance than that of the colored man in the royal box. M. Dumas'
grandfather was the Marquis de la Pailleterie, a wealthy planter of St.
Domingo, while his grandmother was a negress from Congo. Rainsford
makes honorable mention of the father of Dumas, in his _Black Empire_,
as having served in the army in his own native island. Dumas' father
served under Napoleon during the whole of his campaigns, and rose to
high distinction. Once, when near Lisle, Dumas, with four men, attacked
a post of fifty Austrians, killed six, and made sixteen prisoners.
For a long time he commanded a legion of horse composed of blacks and
mulattoes, who were the terror of their enemies. General Dumas was
with the army which Napoleon sent over the Alps; Napoleon crossed it
in June, Marshal Macdonald in December. The latter sent Dumas to say
it was impossible to pass in the winter, when great avalanches of snow
were falling down, threatening to destroy the army. Napoleon's reply
to the messenger was, "Go and tell Marshal Macdonald, where one man
can pass over, an army can pass over in single file. The order is not
to be countermanded." The order was obeyed, though at the cost of many
lives. One of the generals that made the pass was the black General
Dumas, who ascended the St. Bernard, which was defended by a number
of fortifications, took possession of the cannon, and immediately
directed them against the enemy. At the conclusion of the wars, the
father returned to his island home, and after his death, the son went
to France destitute, where he obtained a situation as a writer. Here
he cultivated his literary taste. His imaginative mind and unsurpassed
energies began to develop themselves, which soon placed the young man
in easy circumstances. Dumas is now sixty-three years of age, and has
been a writer for the press thirty-eight years. During this time he
has published more novels, plays, travels, and historical sketches
than any other man that ever lived. It is well understood that he is
not the author of all the works that appear under his name, but that
young writers gain a living by working out the plots and situations
that his fecund brain suggests. When the novel or the play is complete,
Dumas gives it a revision, touches up the dialogue, dashes in here
and there a spirited scene of his own, and then receives from the
publisher an enormous sum. Undeniably a man of great genius, endowed
with true fertility of imagination, and masterly power of expression,
his influence has been great.
Such is the vivacity of his descriptions, such the _entrainement_ of
his narrative, such the boldness of his invention, such the point of
his dialogue, and the rapidity of his incidents, so matchless often the
felicity and skill of particular passages, that he always inflames the
interest of the reader to the end. You may be angry with him, but you
will confess that he is the opposite of tedious. Certainly no writer
fills a more prominent place in the literature of his country; and none
has exercised a more potent influence upon its recent development than
this son of the negro general, Dumas. His novels are every where, and
the enthusiasm with which his dramatic pieces were received has been of
the most flattering character.
HENRI CHRISTOPHE.
Henri Christophe was a native of the island of New Grenada, where
he was born a slave. He went to St. Domingo at the age of eighteen,
and was employed as _maître d'hôtel_ in the principal _café_ at
Cape François. From strength of natural genius, as well as from his
occupying a station in life above the ordinary condition of his race,
he acquired considerable knowledge of the prevailing manners and
customs of the society of which he was a daily spectator. He was master
of the French, English, and Spanish languages, and was thought to be
the most polished gentleman of all of Toussaint's generals. Being six
feet three inches in height, Christophe made an imposing appearance on
horseback, on the field of battle, in his uniform. He had a majestic
carriage, and an eye full of fire; and a braver man never lived. Though
far inferior to Toussaint in vigor and originality of mind, he was much
his superior in acquaintance with the customs and habits of the world,
and appeared more dignified in his intercourse with society.
After the breaking out of the revolution, Christophe joined the army
under Toussaint, who soon discovered his good qualities, and made him
his lieutenant; from which position he was soon advanced to second in
command. It has been asserted that he was an abler military man than
either Toussaint or Dessalines. When Napoleon's expedition invaded St.
Domingo, Leclerc, with the largest part of the squadron, came to anchor
off Cape City, and summoned the place to surrender. The reply which
he received from Christophe was such as to teach the captain-general
what he had to expect in the subjugation of St. Domingo. "Go, tell your
general that the French shall march here only over ashes, and that the
ground shall burn beneath their feet," was the answer that Leclerc
obtained in return to his command. The French general sent another
messenger to Christophe, urging him to surrender, and promising the
black chief a commission of high rank in the French army. But he found
he had a man, and not a slave, to deal with. The exasperated Christophe
sent back the heroic reply, "The decision of arms can admit you only
into a city in ashes, and even on these ashes will I fight still."
After Toussaint had been captured and sent to France, and Leclerc was
disarming the colored population, and the decree of the 30th of April
for maintaining slavery in St. Domingo had been put forth, Christophe
followed the example of Clervaux, and went over to the insurgents, and
met and defeated Rochambeau in one of the hardest fought battles of the
campaign. He soon after shut the French commander up in Cape François,
where the latter remained like a tiger driven to his den.
During the reign of Dessalines, Christophe lived partly retired,
"biding his time;" for although the former had been made emperor, the
latter was most beloved by all classes. The death of the emperor at
once opened a way for Christophe, for a provisional government was
then constituted, and the latter was proclaimed the head of the state.
This was a virtual revolution, and Christophe regarded himself, by
the provisional appointment, as the chief of the army, to govern ad
interim, until a new government could be formed. But the mulattoes,
who had long been in obscurity, rallied, got a majority in the
convention, and elected Petion president of the republic of Hayti.
Christophe collected together his adherents, and determined to take
by conquest what he thought he had a right to by succession, and, as
he thought, by merit. Failing in this, he set up another government
in the north, with Cape François as its capital. Christophe felt that
his assumption of power was but a usurpation, and that, so long as
his government remained in operation without the formal sanction of
the people, his rival at Port au Prince possessed immense advantage
over him, inasmuch as he had been made the constituted head of the
country by an observance of the forms of the constitution. To remedy
this palpable defect, which weakened his authority, he resolved to
frame another constitution, which would confirm him in the power he
had taken, and furnish him with a legal excuse for maintaining his
present attitude. In accordance with this policy, he convoked another
assembly at Cape François, composed of the generals of his army and
the principal citizens of that province, and after a short session the
legislators terminated their labors by adopting another constitution,
dated upon the 17th of February, 1809. This new enactment declared all
persons residing upon the territory of Hayti free citizens, and that
the government was to be administered by a supreme magistrate, who was
to take the title of president of the state and general-in-chief of
the land and naval forces. Thus firmly seated, Christophe felt himself
more powerful, and more secure from outbreaks. Nevertheless, he was
not destined to hold peaceable possession of all the territory in his
district, for the inhabitants of many of the towns in the vicinity
of Cape François openly threw off their allegiance, and proclaimed
their preference for the more legitimate government of Petion. The
two presidents prepared for war, and Christophe opened the campaign
by marching an immense army against Gonaives, which, in the month of
June, 1807, he invested. Petion's troops were defeated, and, to save
themselves from capture, escaped by sea to Port au Prince. The war
continued three years, when a new competitor appeared in the person of
Rigaud, the other mulatto general. Christophe now ceased for a while;
but when he felt that the time had arrived he again renewed the war,
and, in 1810, captured the Mole St. Nicholas, the strongest fort on
the island. Becoming ambitious to be a monarch, Christophe called his
council together, and on the 20th of March, 1811, the session closed by
adopting a new frame of government The imperial constitution of 1805
was modified to form an hereditary monarchy in the north, and to place
the crown of Hayti upon Christophe under the title of Henry the First.
When he entered upon the kingly station that had been conferred upon
him, his first act was to promulgate an edict creating an hereditary
nobility, as a natural support of his government. These dignitaries
of the kingdom were taken mostly from the army, the chiefs who had
fought under him in the struggle against the French, and consisted
of two princes, seven dukes, twenty-two counts, thirty-five barons,
and fourteen chevaliers. His coronation was the most magnificent
display ever witnessed out of Europe. To furnish himself with all the
appointments correspondent to his royal dignity, he now began the
erection of a palace, situated a few miles from the cape, upon which
he had bestowed the historical name of Sans Souci. This palace has
the reputation of being the most splendid edifice in the West Indies.
The rugged, mountainous region in the vicinity of his royal residence
was changed from its original condition to form the gardens of the
palace. Hills were levelled with the plain, deep ravines were filled
up, and roads and passages were opened, leading in all directions
from the royal dwelling. The halls and saloons of the palace were
wrought with mahogany, the floors were laid with rich marble, and
numerous jets-d'eau furnished coolness and a supply of pure water to
the different apartments. Christophe held a levee on the Thursday
evening of each week, which was attended by the most fashionable of all
classes, including the foreign ambassadors and consuls. The ceremonial
observances were modelled after the drawing rooms at St. Cloud and
St. James. Though of pure African blood, Christophe was not a jet
black, his complexion being rather a dusky brown. His person had grown
slightly corpulent, and his address was cold, polished, and graceful.
He possessed a certain air of native dignity that corresponded well
with his high official situation. The whites of all countries, and
especially the English, formed a high opinion of his character. That
part of the island which came within his rule had been well cultivated,
his government out of debt, and commerce was in a flourishing condition.
The removal of Napoleon from the throne of France once more gave to
the French planters residing in the mother country hope of again
possessing their estates. A move was made in the court of Louis
XVIII. to send another expedition to Hayti, to bring the colony back
to her allegiance. On learning this, Christophe issued a proclamation,
in which he said, "If we love the blessings of peace, we fear not
the fatigues and horrors of war. Let our implacable enemies, the
French colonists, who for twenty years have never ceased from their
projects for the reëstablishment of slavery, and who have filled all
the governments of the earth with their importunities,--let them put
themselves at the head of armies, and direct themselves against our
country. They will be the first victims of our vengeance, and the soil
of liberty will eagerly drink the blood of our oppressors. We will show
to the nations of the earth what a warlike people can accomplish, who
are in arms for the best of causes--the defence of their homes, their
wives, their children, their liberty, and their independence."
A despatch was next sent to Christophe, in which he was threatened with
an invasion by all the forces of combined Europe in case of his refusal
to submit himself to the will of France. This last threat, however, had
no influence over the black monarch, for he felt that no European power
would invade Hayti after the failure of the sixty thousand men sent out
by Napoleon. Nothing was attempted by the French, and the king of Hayti
was left in possession of his government. In the month of August, 1820,
Christophe was attacked, while at mass, with a paralytic disease, and
was immediately conveyed to Sans Souci, where he remained an invalid
until a revolt occurred among his subjects. He ordered his war-horse,
his sword was brought, and he attempted to mount his charger; but in
vain. He gave up the attempt, retired to his chamber, locked the door,
and the report of a pistol alarmed his attendants. They rushed in, but
it was too late; Henri Christophe was no more.
Christophe's aims were great, and many of them good. He was not only
the patron of the arts, but of industry; and it gave him pleasure to
see his country recovering the ground lost in the revolution and the
civil wars, and advancing in name and wealth. He promoted industry
on the principles laid down by his predecessor, Toussaint. A busy
population covered the land with marks of its labors. Rich crops of
the most coveted produce of nature annually rewarded the toil of the
husbandman. Christophe was also the patron of education; and there are
still on the island schools that were founded by him when king. In one
respect he excelled Charlemagne,--he could write his own name; but that
was all. He dictated letters and despatches, and was an admirable judge
of the fitness and relevancy of words. He kept up a correspondence
with Wilberforce and Clarkson, the English philanthropists, and both
of these distinguished men had a high opinion of him as a man, and a
friend of his race.
PHILLIS WHEATLEY.
In the year 1761, when Boston had her slave market, and the descendants
of the Pilgrims appeared to be the most pious and God-fearing people
in the world, Mrs. John Wheatley went into the market one day, for
the purpose of selecting and purchasing a girl for her own use. Among
the group of children just imported from the African coast was a
delicately built, rather good-looking child of seven or eight years,
apparently suffering from the recent sea voyage and change of climate.
Mrs. Wheatley's heart was touched at the interesting countenance and
humble modesty of this little stranger. The lady bought the child, and
she was named Phillis. Struck with the slave's uncommon brightness,
the mistress determined to teach her to read, which she did with no
difficulty. The child soon mastered the English language, with which
she was totally unacquainted when she landed upon the American shores.
Her school lessons were all perfect, and she drank in the scriptural
teachings as if by intuition. At the age of twelve, she could write
letters and keep up a correspondence that would have done honor to one
double her years. Mrs. Wheatley, seeing her superior genius, no longer
regarded Phillis as a servant, but took her as a companion. It was
not surprising that the slave girl should be an object of attraction,
astonishment, and attention with the refined and highly cultivated
society that weekly assembled in the drawing room of the Wheatleys. As
Phillis grew up to womanhood, her progress and attainments kept pace
with the promise of her earlier years. She drew around her the best
educated of the white ladies, and attracted the attention and notice
of the literary characters of Boston, who supplied her with books and
encouraged the ripening of her intellectual powers. She studied the
Latin tongue, and translated one of Ovid's tales, which was no sooner
put in print in America, than it was republished in London, with
eloquent commendations from the reviews. In 1773, a small volume of
her poems, containing thirty-nine pieces, was published in London, and
dedicated to the Countess of Huntingdon. The genuineness of this work
was established in the first page of the volume, by a document signed
by the governor of Massachusetts, the lieutenant-governor, her master,
and fifteen of the most respectable and influential citizens of Boston,
who were acquainted with her talents and the circumstances of her
life. Her constitution being naturally fragile, she was advised by her
physician to take a sea voyage as the means of restoring her declining
health.
Phillis was emancipated by her master at the age of twenty-one years,
and sailed for England. On her arrival, she was received and admired
in the first circles of London society; and it was at that time that
her poems were collected and published in a volume, with a portrait and
memoir of the authoress. Phillis returned to America, and married Dr.
Peters, a man of her own color, and of considerable talents. Her health
began rapidly to decline, and she died at the age of twenty-six years,
in 1780. Fortunately rescued from the fate that awaits the victims of
the slave trade, this injured daughter of Africa had an opportunity of
developing the genius that God had given her, and of showing to the
world the great wrong done to her race. The limited place allowed for
this sketch will not permit of our giving more than one short poem from
the pen of the gifted Phillis Wheatley.
ON THE DEATH OF A YOUNG GIRL.