But what I principally relished, in this part of our voyage, was the
exquisite beauty of its night-scenery. To an inhabitant of Great
Britain, the splendour of a night-scene in these climates is altogether
unknown. Shining broad and full in a sky perfectly cloudless, the moon
sends forth a clear and mellow lustre, little inferior, in point of
brilliancy, to the full twilight in England. By this means you never
lose sight of land, either by night or day, as long as your course lies
between Cuba and St. Domingo; whilst the delicious coolness, which
follows the setting of the sun, tempts you, in spite of all the
whispers of prudence, to expose yourself to dews and damps, rather than
forego the pleasures of which they are the bane. Besides, you have
constantly the satisfaction of observing yourself move steadily on at
the most agreeable of all rates, about five or six miles an hour; a
satisfaction far from trifling in a sea-life. Then the ocean is so
smooth, that scarcely a ripple is seen to break the moon-beams as they
fall; whilst the quiet dash of little waves against the ship’s side,
and the rushing noise occasioned by the moving of her bow through the
water, produce altogether an effect which may, without affectation, be
termed absolutely refreshing. It was my common practice to sit for
hours after night-fall upon the tafferel, and strain my eyes in the
attempt to distinguish objects on shore or strange sails in the
distance.
It happened that, on the 30th, I was tempted to indulge in this idle
but bewitching employment, even beyond my usual hour for retiring, and
did not quit the deck till towards two o’clock in the morning of the
31st. I had just entered my cabin, and was beginning to undress, when a
cry from above, of an enemy in chase, drew me instantly to the
quarter-deck. On looking astern, I perceived a vessel making directly
after us, and was soon convinced of the justice of the alarm, by a shot
which whistled over our heads. All hands were now called to quarters,
the small sails were taken in, and having spoken to our companion, and
made an agreement as to position, both ships cleared for action. But
the stranger, seeing his signal obeyed with so much alacrity, likewise
slackened sail, and, continuing to keep us in view, followed our wake
without approaching nearer. In this state things continued till
daybreak, we still holding our course, and he hanging back; but as soon
as it was light, he set more sail and ran to windward, moving just out
of gun-shot, in a parallel direction with us. It was now necessary to
fall upon some plan of deceiving him, otherwise there was little
probability that he would attack. In the bomb, indeed, the height of
the bulwark served to conceal some of the men; but in the transport no
such screen existed. The troops were, therefore, ordered below, and
only the sailors, a few blacks, and the officers, kept the deck. The
same expedient was likewise adopted, in part, by Captain Price, of the
Volcano; and in order to give to his ship a still greater resemblance
than it already had to a merchantman, he displayed an old faded scarlet
ensign, and drew up his fore and mainsail in what sailors term a
lubberly manner.
As yet the stranger had shown no colours, but, from her build and
rigging, there was little doubt as to her country. She was a beautiful
schooner, presenting seven ports on a side, and apparently crowded with
men, circumstances which immediately led us to believe that she was an
American privateer. The Volcano, on the other hand, was a clumsy
strong-built ship, carrying twelve guns; and the Golden Fleece mounted
eight; so that, in point of artillery, the advantage was rather on our
side; but the American’s sailing was so much superior to that of either
of us, that this advantage was more than counterbalanced.
Having dodged us till eight o’clock, and reconnoitred with great
exactness, the stranger began to steer gradually nearer and nearer,
till at length it was judged that she had arrived within range. A gun
was accordingly fired from the Volcano, and another from the transport,
the balls from both of which passed over her and fell into the sea.
Finding herself thus assaulted, she instantly threw off her disguise,
and hung out an American ensign; when, putting her helm up, she poured
a broadside, with a volley of musketry, into the transport; and ran
alongside of the bomb, which sailed to windward.
As soon as her flag was displayed, and her intention of attacking
discerned, all hands were ordered up, and she received two
well-directed broadsides from the Volcano, as well as a warm salute
from the Golden Fleece. But such was the celerity of her motion, that
she was alongside of the bomb in less time than can be imagined; and
actually dashing her bow against the other, attempted to carry her by
boarding. Captain Price, however, was ready to receive them. The
boarders were at their posts in an instant, and the enemy discovering,
when it was too late, the mistake into which he had fallen, left about
twenty of his men upon the Volcano’s bowsprit, all of whom were thrown
into the sea; and filling his sails, sheered off with the same speed
with which he had borne down. In attempting to escape, he unavoidably
fell somewhat to leeward, and exposed the whole of his deck to the fire
of the transport. A tremendous discharge of musketry saluted him as he
passed; and it was almost laughable to witness the haste with which his
crew hurried below, leaving none upon deck except such as were
absolutely wanted to work his vessel.
The Volcano had by this time filled, and gave chase, firing with great
precision at the privateer’s yards and rigging, in the hope of
disabling him. But as fortune would have it, none of his important
ropes or yards were cut; and we had the mortification to see him, in a
few minutes, beyond our reach.
In this affair, a marine officer and two men were killed on board the
bomb; and some of the tackling was shot away. The transport suffered
nothing in killed or wounded, having been in a great degree protected
from the enemy’s fire by her commodore; and only one rope, not, I
believe, an important one, was destroyed.
The battle having ended, and the chase being given up as fruitless, we
continued our course without any other adventure; and before dark were
able to distinguish the blue mountains of Jamaica. St. Domingo and Cuba
had both disappeared, and this was now the only land visible; but it
was not till the 1st of November that we could obtain a distinct view
of it. Then, indeed, we found ourselves within a few miles of the
shore, and seldom has landscape appeared more attractive to the eyes of
a voyager, than the romantic shores of Jamaica now appeared to ours.
Jamaica is in general a bold and mountainous island, but on this side
it is peculiarly so. It appeared to me that even the Pyrenees,
magnificent as they are, were not to be compared, in point of altitude,
to the hills now before me; and early in the morning, while yet the
mists hung upon their summits and concealed them, no prospect can be
imagined more sublime than that which they presented. It was, in truth,
a glorious scene; and as the wind blew light and uncertain, we were
permitted, from the slowness of the ship’s progress, to enjoy it to the
full. Towards evening, indeed, the breeze died entirely away, which
compelled us to anchor about eight miles from the harbour of Port
Royal.
PORT ROYAL.
In spite of the little rest which I had procured during the two
preceding nights, having sat up till an early hour this morning, to
watch several strange sails that hovered about us, I could not bring
myself to quit the deck till after midnight, so beautiful, in all
respects, were the objects around me. The moon shone with her
accustomed brilliancy, and exhibited every crag and tree upon the land,
changed and confounded in shape, but still plainly; whilst the perfume,
borne off upon the breeze, was odoriferous in the highest degree. The
sound of the waves, likewise, breaking upon the rocks, and the
occasional cry of seamen, as they adjusted ropes and sails, together
with the sight of several vessels which took advantage of the
night-wind and stood to sea, with canvas glittering in the moonbeams,
produced so delightful a combination, as completely riveted me to my
seat; nor was it without much reluctance that I at length yielded to
the drowsy god, and descended to my cabin.
Next morning, the ship got under weigh at an early hour, but, owing to
the unsteadiness of the breeze, it was ten o’clock before we made any
satisfactory progress. As we approached the bay which forms the harbour
of Port Royal, a novel and pleasing sight presented itself. The hills
dying gradually away, gave place to gentle slopes and green knolls,
till, towards the entrance, the coast became perfectly level. Pushing
forward, we soon found ourselves in a narrow channel between two
projecting headlands, beautifully ornamented with cocoa-nut trees, and
so near to each other, that I could with ease have thrown a biscuit
from the ship’s deck upon either. At the extremity of these necks, just
where the bay begins its sweep, stand two well-built forts, bristling
with cannon; and at the opposite side may be seen a third, ready to
sink whatever hostile fleet should be fortunate enough to force an
entrance. But these were not the most striking parts of the scene. The
water in this strait is remarkably clear, and exhibits with great
distinctness the tops and chimneys of houses at the bottom. It will be
recollected, that many years ago, an earthquake not only demolished
great part of the town of Port Royal, but likewise covered it with the
sea; by which means, the site of the harbour was completely changed,
and that which was formerly dry land, and a town, became part of the
entrance of the bay.
Having doubled the promontories, a rich and extensive prospect meets
the eye. You find yourself, as it were, in a large inland lake, the
banks of which are covered with plantations of sugar cane, groves of
cocoa-nut and plantain trees, and other woods peculiar to these
regions, beautifully interspersed with seats and villages. On your
right is the town of Port Royal, lying almost on a level with the
water, and strongly protected by fortifications, whilst in various
other directions are castles and batteries, adding an appearance of
security to that of plenty. The banks, though not lofty, slope gently
upwards, with occasional falls or glens, and the background is composed
in general of the rugged tops of distant mountains.
Having waited till the ship dropped anchor, I put myself into a a sort
of barge rowed by four negroes, and proceeded to Kingston. Though not
the capital of the island, Kingston is the largest town in Jamaica. It
stands upon the brink of a frith, about nine miles above Port Royal,
and thence enjoys all the advantages of the chief mart in this trading
country. Like most other mercantile seaports, it is built without much
regard to regularity. The streets, though wide, are in general the
reverse of elegant, being composed almost entirely of wooden houses,
and by no means remarkable for cleanliness. Of public buildings it
possesses none worthy of notice. Its inns are, however, excellent; and
though certainly not moderate in their charges, they are at least more
so than those of Bermuda. In a word, it is exactly such a town as one
would expect to find holding the principal commercial rank in a colony
where men’s minds seldom aspire beyond the occupations of trade.
Of the intense heat in this place, none but those who have experienced
it can form a notion. It is impossible to walk out with any comfort,
except before the sun has risen, or after he has set; and even within
doors, with the aid of thorough draughts and all the other expedients
usually adopted on such occasions, it is with the utmost difficulty
that you can contrive to keep your blood in a moderate degree of
temperature. In the town itself, therefore, few of the higher classes
reside, the closeness produced by a proximity of houses being in this
climate peculiarly insupportable. These inhabit for the most part
little villas, called Pens, about three or four miles in the country,
the master of each family generally, retaining a suite of apartments,
or, perhaps an entire mansion, in some open street for his own use,
when business obliges, him, to exchange the comfort of fresh air for
the suffocating atmosphere of Kingston. Towards the outskirts, indeed,
in one direction, a few gentile families inhabit one or two handsome
houses, surrounded by extensive gardens and shrubberies; but these are
not numerous, and they are so far removed from the heart of the town,
as to be in great measure beyond the influence of its smoke and other
nuisances.
During our sojourn in this place we received the most hospitable
attention from several persons of the first distinction. Balls and
other entertainments were given, at which all the beauty and fashion in
this part of the island attended; and for some days I had little
leisure or inclination for any other pursuit than the enjoyment of
civilized pleasure, a pursuit which, from long disuse, possessed more
than ordinary zest. But at length having seen as much of Kingston and
its vicinity as, I desired to see, I determined to take advantage of
the opportunity which fortune had placed within my reach, and to make
an excursion into the heart of the Blue Mountains. To this I was
additionally induced by an invitation from an old friend to visit him
at Annotto bay; and as, along with his letter, he sent a horse for my
own conveyance, and a mule for the conveyance of my baggage, no
difficulty respecting a mode of being transported stood in the way to
obstruct my design.
Having made up my mind to this journey, I waited, till sunset on the
9th, when, starting in the cool of the evening, I reached a little
tavern called the Plum Tree, about half an hour after dark. My ride
carried me through an open and fertile country covered with
sugar-canes, coffee, and such other plants as are cultivated in the low
grounds of Jamaica. It was a short one, not more than twelve miles in
extent, but I was forced to halt where I did, because I had gained the
foot of the mountains; and if I had passed the Plum Tree, well known as
a sort of half-way house on such tours, I might have travelled all
night without finding any place of accommodation.
As darkness set in, one of the, beautiful peculiarities of a tropical
climate, which I had not previously witnessed, came under my
observation. The air was filled with fire-flies, which, emitting a
phosphoric light something similar to the light of the glow-worm, only
more red and brilliant, danced around me like sparks from a smith’s
anvil when he is beating a bar of red-hot iron. These creatures flutter
about with a humming noise, and frequently settle in large swarms upon
branches of trees, giving them the semblance of so many pieces of
timber taken newly out of a fire. When viewed by daylight they are in
no way remarkable for their elegance, resembling in the shape of the
body a long beetle which may be seen in the fields after sunset,
without wings or scales. In colour they are a dingy brown, and, like
the glow-worm, carry their light in the tail.
As I had not before chanced to see anything of the kind, and forgot at
the moment that such an insect as the fire-fly existed, I was for a few
minutes at a loss to what cause to attribute the phenomenon, and was at
last indebted to my negro guide for refreshing my memory on the
subject. The effect, however, cannot be conceived without being
witnessed. A cluster of two or three glow-worms shine so brilliantly,
that they will furnish subject for the commendatory eloquence of any
one fortunate enough to perceive them together; but their brilliancy is
to a farthing candle to the sun, when compared with that of the
fire-fly. Not two, or three, but thousands of these creatures dance
around, filling the air with a wavering and uncertain glimmer, of the
extreme beauty of which no words can convey an adequate conception.
THE BLUE MOUNTAINS.
Having passed the night at this tavern, a small cottage kept by a free
negro and his wife, I rose two hours before dawn, and prosecuted my
journey. From the moment I quitted the Plate Tree I began gradually to
ascend, till at daybreak I found myself in the midst of the most
glorious scenery that the imagination of man can conceive. Everything
around was new and romantic. The hills, towering into the very sky,
were covered from top to bottom with the richest herbage and the most
luxuriant wood. Rarely could a barren crag be discerned, and when it
did appear it was only a sharp point, or a bald projection pushing
itself forward from the midst of the thickest foliage. But what to me
formed the most bewitching part of the prospect was the elegance of the
trees and their perfect dissimilitude to any which had previously
beheld. The cocoa-nut and plantain were mingled with the wild pine and
lime-tree; while the cashew and wild coffee, with numberless other
shrubs, loaded at once with fruit and blossom, formed the underwood to
these graceful forests.
As yet I had been favoured with a wide and good road, but now it began
gradually to narrow, till at last it ended in a path little more
distinct than the sheep-tracks over the hills in Scotland. Winding
along the sides of the mountains, it brought me frequently to spots
where the wood parting, as if artificially, displayed deep ravines, to
look down which, without becoming dizzy, required no little strength of
head; whilst above, the same hill continued to stretch itself to a
height far beyond any I had before gazed upon. Presently after it
conducted me gently down into valleys completely shut out from the rest
of the world; and as I descended I could hear the roar of water, though
neither, the stream nor the bottom of the glen could be perceived. On
one of these occasions, after passing through a thick grove, I beheld a
river of some width dashing along the glen, and chafing so as to
produce the noise of a mighty waterfall. Towards the brink of this
river my guide conducted me; when, plunging in, we made our way with
some difficulty to the opposite bank, and again began to ascend.
For several hours, the same scenery surrounded me, only varied by the
occasional appearance of clusters of negro huts. Than these, it is
impossible to imagine any species of huts or dwellings more beautifully
picturesque. They are constructed of strong limbs of trees, thatched
over with straw, and usually ending in a cone; having no windows, but
only two, or sometimes four doors, for the purpose of admitting a free
current of air. The spots chosen for their erection, are generally
small platforms or terraces in the sides of the hills. A little path,
similar to that along which I travelled, winds down from their doors to
the bottom of the valley, and conducts to the edge of the river, from
whence the inhabitants are supplied with water. Other tracks likewise
branch off in different directions, some towards the summit, and others
along the sides of the mountains; leading, probably, to the fields or
spots where the inhabitants labour. These huts have no chimney, but
only a large hole in the roof, to give free passage to the smoke; and I
could perceive, by its rise at present, that fires were now burning.
It would be labour lost, were I to attempt any more minute description
of this delightful journey. Every step I took presented something new,
and something more grand and sublime than I had just quitted; whilst
the continual fording of the swollen river (for I crossed the same
stream no fewer than eight-and-twenty times) gave an additional
interest to the scene, arising from the sense of danger. The rainy
season having just ended, this stream, the Wag-water, a most
appropriate name, had not as yet returned to its natural size; but at
the fords, which in general would not cover a horse’s knees, the depth
was such as to moisten the saddle-girths. So great a quantity of water,
in a furious mountain-torrent, pouring on with all the violence
produced by a steep descent, occasioned no slight pressure upon my
steed; nor was it without considerable floundering on his part, and
some anxiety on mine, that once or twice we succeeded in making good
our passage.