On the 18th day of February 1850, Her Majesty's steamship _Rattler_
was lying at anchor about twenty miles to the northward of Ambriz, a
slave depôt situated on the western coast of Africa. Week after week
had passed away in dull uniformity; while the oppressive heat, the
gentle breeze which scarcely ruffled the surface of the deep, and the
lazy motion of the vessel as it rolled on the long unceasing swell
that ever sets on that rocky shore, lulled the senses of all into a
sleepy apathy. The only music that ever reached our ears was the
eternal roar of that monotonous surf, as it licked the rugged beach
with its snowy tongue.
A few miles off, a range of low brown hills, covered with a stunted
vegetation, runs parallel with the shore--along their undulating
sides, angular spires of granite project through the parched and
scanty soil; while on their highest brow one solitary giant stands,
resembling an obelisk, from which the anchorage derives its name, 'The
Granite Pillar.' No appearance of human life or labour exists
around; the whole is a desert, over which these columnar
formations--resembling a city of the Titans, crumbling slowly into
dust--hold an empire of solitude and death. The imagination is
oppressed with a sense of utter desolation that withers every mental
effort.
This day was passing like so many before it; the sun was low on the
horizon, and its yellow beams were throwing a brassy tint over the sea
and sky; the sailors were engaged, some fishing with patient
assiduity, others, grouped into small knots, listening to prosy yarns;
while a few were prostrated round the decks in attitudes of perfect
abandonment or sleep. The officers were leaning over the taffrail,
trying, with a sportsman-like anxiety worthy of better prey, to hook a
shark, which was slowly meandering under the stern; or looking
contemplatively into the dark-brown waves, either watching the many
forms of animal life which floated by, or recalling to memory the dear
objects of distant lands. The officer of the watch, with his spyglass
under his arm, was pacing languidly his narrow round, when 'Sail ho!'
in clear and piercing tones, resounded from the mast-head, and with
electric speed filled the dreamers with life and energy.
'Point to her,' cried the officer of the watch; while all eyes were
directed to the look-out aloft, whose glass was immediately stretched
to the north. Speculation now sits in every vacant eye, and conjecture
on every silent tongue. The captain was at his post with vigilant
alacrity. 'How is she standing? what sail is she under?' was soon
answered, and the orders, 'Get the steam up, lower the propeller,'
echoed round the decks, mingled with the shrill pipes of the
boatswain's mates.
The men flew to their posts; and whilst the cumbrous screw was
descending slowly into the water, the stokers had roused the
smouldering embers into life.
'All hands up anchor!' The capstan revolves and creaks, as one and all
of these willing men strain their starting muscles at the bars. The
anchor reluctantly leaves its oozy bed; but the chinking of the cable,
as it steadily ascends, reveals no change, until it swings at the bow.
'Go on ahead!' The steam whistles through its silent chambers, like
sweet music, calling into life that ponderous mechanism, until it
appears to dance with joy.
'Helm a-port--steady so!' The waves rise high on either bow as we dash
through the foaming waters. Our distance from the object rapidly
diminishes, while eager eyes are directed ahead, until it is seen from
the deck. Hope fills the breast of the sanguine, despair that of the
gloomy and desponding. Sure eyes and good telescopes soon descry the
Yankee ensign floating aloft in lazy folds; and as we come still
nearer, those accustomed to observe the shape of sails and set of
masts, detect the peculiarities of an old acquaintance. It is the
_Lucy Ann_, an American vessel of a very suspicious character, which
has been frequently boarded by our cruisers, but has ever been
protected by the flag of her apparent country.
We are soon alongside, and our captain boards her, to examine her
'papers' once again, and to insnare, if possible, our wily enemy. On
his return, we continue our course towards the Congo, whither they
have been persuaded we are going for water. No sooner, however, do the
shades of evening protect our movements from observation, than we
change our course, and proceed directly out to sea a hundred miles or
so, to prevent her passing us in the dark should she take her slaves
on board this night, as it is suspected she will do.
Daylight comes next morning, and the best telescopes from aloft sweep
the horizon, but not a speck can be seen on that desert sea. The sails
are stripped from the vessel's masts, and she lies like a dead log,
round which, at the unwonted spectacle, shoals of dolphins and
porpoises come to gambol. It was pleasant to have something like life
near us, and though it belonged to another element, it seemed a
connecting-link with the rest of the animated creation. One long hour
after another had passed away, and the most hopeful began to despair,
while the expressions of the desponding grew more energetic against
the propriety of lying thus inactive; but Captain Cumming, as patient
in biding his time as he is quick in resolving and acting when the
moment arrives, only replied: 'Wait till to-morrow morning!' This
arrived like the last, and every eye was turned towards the rising sun
as it slowly emerged from the waves, not to gaze on the purple
radiance that streamed from its broad disk, but with the expectation
of seeing the object of our solicitude revealed by the light of the
eastern sky. Each one turned slowly away, disappointed, as soon as he
found that he had been looking in vain; but there appeared a sullen
pleasure in the eyes of those who had been prophesying evil, as their
predictions appeared to be fulfilled.
As a matter of precaution for whatever might happen, the steam was
ready; orders were now given to proceed, and we steamed on slowly
towards the land. One hour passed away thus, another, and nearly a
third, when a negro, perched beside the main truck, sang out with all
his lungs: 'Sail ho!' His keen sense of vision, outstripping that of
his white comrade, distinguished as a small speck the lofty royals,
while the vessel was far below the horizon. A smile of satisfaction
wreathed with dimples even the grimest faces, when the object of our
pursuit approached us near enough to be recognised. Without faltering,
she came on steadily, with every sail set, and her banner proudly
waving in the gentle breeze, forbidding search. Each eye eagerly
scrutinised her, speculation was busy, and the emotions were various
as the temper and habit of each individual mind.
Having arrived alongside, our captain again boarded her in his gig. He
was received politely, and without embarrassment, by the Yankee, who
immediately offered refreshments, which were declined. Not a slave was
to be seen, nor did there exist any smell, so universal a concomitant
to indicate their presence. Some forty Brazilians, each with a cigar
in his mouth, were loitering round the clean decks, while the crew
were busy at the pumps, creating the greatest possible noise, in the
accomplishment of which they were assisted by a flock of parrots and
love-birds, perched in every direction.
Once more the ship's papers were produced, and carefully scanned, and
the absence of one important document was detected. On being demanded,
it was positively refused, and the presumption was thus created that
it did not exist, and that therefore all were false.
These proceedings occupied a considerable time--a matter of
preconcerted importance, as the suspicion was entertained that slaves
were concealed below, and that soon the danger of impending
suffocation would reveal the fact. Our chief took up a position near
the main hatchway, and listened anxiously for the slightest
indication. Various manoeuvres were tried to get him away without
success. The Brazilians were beginning to appear impatient; and on
board the _Rattler_, whence, by telescopes, the proceedings were
watched with deepest interest, the hopes of even the most sanguine
were becoming faint, when Captain Cumming was observed to start, and
point to the deck. He had heard the stifled sound of intolerable agony
rise from below his feet, like a peal of distant thunder. The slaves
were suffocating from want of air, and their dread of their jailers
was extinguished in the immediate struggle for life.
In a moment, the American perceived that the game he had been so
skilfully playing was lost, and his assumed coolness deserted him. In
a voice choked with emotion, he rapidly uttered: 'She is a Brazilian.
I am not the captain; this is,' pointing to a tawny Portuguese at his
elbow.
'Haul down the flag, and hoist her proper colours.'
Down came that ensign, polluted by the traffic it protected, amid the
cheers of our men, which made the welkin ring.
'Don't let the poor devils die,' cried the stout American mate,
actuated by the generosity of the race he sprang from, which his
degrading employment could not wholly stifle. Assisted by our men, who
had jumped out of the boat, the hatches were soon removed, exposing to
view a mass of human misery which, being once seen, must remain
impressed on the memory for ever--the naked bodies of men, women, and
children, writhing in a heap, contorted, gasping for air, sinking from
exhaustion, and covered with sweat and foam. The darkness which
surrounded them only deepened the shades, without concealing a single
feature; whilst the dense and sickening steam which curled heavily up
from the reeking mass, made it a picture too horrible to contemplate,
and one the minute details of which must be left to haunt the memory
of those who were unfortunate enough to witness it.
First one and then another endeavoured to ascend, but with a strength
unequal to the task, they fell back into the mephitic abyss. Our men
rushed forward to their aid, and catching hold of their imploring
hands, placed them upon deck. There, prostrate and indiscriminately
huddled together, they gradually recovered from the effects of that
terrible confinement, where 547 human beings were, without a breath of
fresh air, kept for above two hours crushed together in a space only
about three feet in height, and with a superficial extent not equal to
that of their bodies, unless in a sitting position! The ordeal proved
too much for the vital energy of above twenty, who perished one by one
during the next fortnight or three weeks, without having felt the
blessing of freedom.
An officer with a few men were immediately placed in charge of the
prize, and navigated it to St Helena. The slaves, when there, are
declared free, but upon conditions such as render it generally
necessary for them to emigrate to the West Indies, to become, let us
hope, happy and useful members of a British colony.
The Brazilians and American crew were taken on board the _Rattler_,
and conveyed back to Ambriz, from thence, in all probability, to
return to their horrible trade, in the hope of being more successful
on another occasion. The captain was seen a few months afterwards, in
another American vessel, returning from the Brazils, prepared, in all
likelihood, to play a similar game with better success from the lesson
he had received. The opportunity afforded us of observing the
character of these men, produced a more favourable feeling towards
them than was at first sight entertained. Several pleaded honourable
motives for the degraded position in which they felt themselves
placed, and nearly all would have done credit to a more respectable
calling.
Our gallant chief's calculations were found to have been rigidly
correct. That night after we left them, they believed that a boat
would be detached to watch their movements; they therefore anchored,
and waited for daylight. When that arrived without an enemy in sight,
they felt secure.
The slaves, worn out by previous marching and counter-marching to
shipping places, where their embarkation was prevented by the
vigilance of our cruisers, rendered it almost a matter of necessity
that they should now be taken on board. Their bodies had been galled
and emaciated by the chains they carried, by the slender store of dry
farina--the only food provided for them--and by the precarious and
scanty supply of water obtainable on the arid plains or in the tangled
forests they had traversed. The first canoe-load was taken alongside
the ship about four o'clock in the afternoon, and in an hour the whole
were on board. This is reckoned the most favourable time for getting
under-way, as darkness enables them to leave the land without danger
of being observed.
The preceding is a faithful picture of one of the melancholy incidents
belonging to the hateful traffic in slaves. Let us hope that the time
has at length nearly arrived which has been so long waited for, when
we may say with truth, it is abolished; leaving only the memory of it
to darken the page of history, and remain a moral lesson to mankind.