March.
The Loo is a plantation belonging to Mr. Haslin. The slaves were
employed four hours in rowing to this estate from the Sand-hill. At the
time we arrived, the manager was from home: but, nevertheless, we took
possession of the mansion, spread the cloth, and, placing our ham and
the other provisions of the boat upon table, sat down without ceremony
to supper. On his return the manager unexpectedly found, in his chamber,
a party of seven, seated round the social board; and in our suite were
no less than fifteen slaves, making together a body of twenty-two
persons, who with provisions, hammocks, and baggage, nearly filled the
house so as to prevent its master from entering: but, like a true
colonist of the country, and unlike the repulsive lord of the Sand-hill,
this gentleman hailed us with cordial greetings, expressed himself happy
to see the whole party, and even apologized for, what he was pleased to
term, his misfortune, in not being at home to welcome our arrival.
Immediately all the best things of the larder were added to our supper,
and our bountiful host further intreated us to suspend our appetites,
and allow him to dress fowls, eggs, and all he could prepare, to improve
the meal. In short, his conduct was consistent with the prevailing
urbanity of the colony, and in the generous attentions of the Loo we
forgot the arid and inhospitable Sand-hill. The evening passed away very
pleasantly, and our hammocks were conveniently slung for the night.
Early in the morning we resumed our seats in the boat. Coffee was served
to us at the time of rising, and we set off, without delay, to prosecute
our journey to “the Falls.”
The mercury in the thermometer was this morning at 72, being five
degrees higher than at the same hour of the preceding day, at the more
elevated situation of the Sand-hill.
After rowing for about three hours and a half up the river, we felt some
calls of appetite, and finding ourselves near to a plantation, we, in
the true marooning spirit, went on shore in search of breakfast. Our
reception was friendly, and we were welcomed with much civility by the
manager, whom we found to be a petit-maître, whose fondness for the
decoration of his person was very conspicuous, and afforded us some
diversion. An Adonis in the woods was a great novelty; and,
notwithstanding his politeness and liberality towards us, we could not
but smile at the gaiety of his apparel, particularly the depth of his
frills and ruffles, which, full-flowing at his wrists and bosom, almost
enveloped his meager person. Amidst the undressed Africans, and the
still more naked Indians, about his home, he of course was unrivalled,
and possessed the superlative gratification of standing alone, the _rara
avis_ of the forest.
But to the honor of this solitary _beau_, his foibles in no degree
interrupted his better feelings. He was correctly _au fait_ with respect
to the hospitable attentions due to strangers; and he entertained us
with the utmost cordiality. Nor did he confine himself barely to
receiving and accommodating us with civility, but, further, expressed
much regret that we were come for so short a visit, and urgently invited
us to prolong our stay. At breakfast he provided us with a high feast,
by giving us some hot rolls and fresh butter, together with a dish of
fine oranges and other fruits.
After pursuing our journey about three hours further up the river, we
came to the cottage of a wood-cutter, where we met with a very active
and intelligent negro woman, who welcomed us to her master’s home, and
adding a laba pepper-pot to our boat-provisions, quickly set before us a
very neat and plentiful dinner.
We afterwards made a visit to a mulatto man, named John Hill, an
eccentric character, well known to the gentlemen of the colony; and who
had here built himself a small house, in which he was settled as a free
inhabitant, living in a sort of independence upon the wood-cutter’s
estate.
In the course of our walk, I had the opportunity of observing a species
of negro-labour that was new to me; having met a party of sixteen naked
slaves, male and female, in the act of dragging the trunk of an immense
tree out of the forest, with ropes. They were conducted by a driver with
his whip: and pulled on the load by mere strength of arm, having no
assistance from any machinery, and only availing themselves of the
simple expedient of placing small billets of wood under the tree, at
short distances from each other, in order to prevent it from sinking
into the dirt, and doubling their toil.
Finding that it would be a long and fatiguing journey, to make the whole
of the distance, from the wood-cutter’s to Mr. Mutz’s, the
Post-holder’s, on the morrow, and learning that there was a tolerable
building on the way, where we might hang up our hammocks for the night,
we rowed two or three hours further in the evening, borrowing an old
negro woman to take with us as a guide, lest, in the approaching
darkness, we might pass the hut without observing it.
The scenery sensibly improved, as we advanced up the river. During this
day’s journey we saw some lofty, irregular hills, which formed a very
pleasing and picturesque variety, and relieved the dull uniformity of
smooth water, and flat woods, so peculiar to this coast.
About eight o’clock we arrived at the dwelling which had been pointed
out to us as a convenient resting-place for the night. Its exterior was
not very inviting, and we found both house and accommodations the most
comfortless of all that we met with throughout our expedition. The rooms
were small and confined, but neatness happened not to be a predominant
passion of the possessor. We felt no inducement to banquet away the
night, but took a glass of simple grog, and very soon after our arrival,
retired supperless to our hammocks; some in a close unpleasant chamber;
the others, like the Bucks, under an open hovel.
We rose with the sun, and, being glad to escape from the house, made the
boat our dressing-room; then, according to the Dutch custom, defended
our stomachs from the morning damp, by a cup of coffee, and, without
further delay, proceeded on our way to Mr. Mutz’s, the remotest European
residence in the colony.
In this part of our journey, the whole scenery became strikingly
changed, and, after the insipid monotony of flat woods and water, the
objects which now presented themselves were so novel and varied, that
all around us seemed calculated to excite a strong and peculiar
interest. Many of the inhabitants of the forest were moving upon the
river in their canoes; some alone, some in families, and some in larger
bodies: cottages and Indian huts occasionally opened to our view in the
woods: high banks sometimes bordered the river; and, not unfrequently,
hills and lofty summits crowned its shores.
From the Bucks, whom we met in their canoes, we purchased a few parrots
and Amazonian parroquets, called Keiz-keiz, together with some bows and
arrows, war-clubs, and various specimens of Indian implements, and
household apparatus; and feeling anxious not to pass, unnoticed, any
thing that might afford us gratification, we went on shore to make short
visitings at the several huts and cottages which caught our observation
in the woods, or upon the banks of the river.
At one of these places of call we found a Dutchman named Hasmond, who
had recently taken up his abode in this sequestered part of the colony.
Upon our remarking that he had very much the air of an old soldier, we
were informed that he had been many years in the army of the Prince of
Orange, and having retired from the service, had now built himself a
small house, and settled here to seek his fortune, as a wood-cutter.
At another of the cottages we met with an aged Spaniard, named Pezano,
perhaps the most eccentric character, and the most remarkable personage
of the colony. This man had formed to himself a little cottage-abode,
and was living at this secluded home in the woods, the friend and
associate, and a kind of chief among the Bucks; although more than sixty
years old, he had made his selection from the forests, and had taken,
unto himself, no less than four Indian wives; who were handsome, and
some youthful, the youngest being only eleven years of age. Thus you
find disparity of years, between man and wife, is not peculiar to
polished circles, or opulent cities: neither is the spirit of intrigue,
for Pezano’s wives are not said to rival the chaste Penelope.
This Spaniard was originally from Oronoko: but he had passed
twenty-eight years, as a manager upon different estates in the colonies
of Demarara and Essequibo; and had now appropriated to himself an abode
amidst the great family of the woods; where, from cultivating the
friendship of the Bucks, he induces them to assist him in felling timber
to sell to the colonists; by which means, together with the produce of
his gun, and the planting of roots, and other culinary vegetables, about
his dwelling, he procures a sufficiency of food for the support of
himself and his women. In colour Pezano is scarcely fairer than his
Indian associates. He is low in stature, of spare habit, and decrepit
figure, but is lively and animated, and possesses great energy of mind,
with far more of bodily activity, than his figure seems to indicate.
Anticipating much of information and amusement from his conversation, we
were desirous to have the old Spaniard as our guide, from the
Post-holder’s to the Falls, and therefore invited him to accompany us in
the boat to Mr. Mutz’s. He expressed a willingness to oblige us: but
Pezano might not move in obscurity! He was here a king, and must proceed
in state. He would take his leisure, and, attended by his proper
retinue, come at another hour. Having obtained his promise, we were
satisfied, and, leaving to his choice the mode in which he should
travel, we took our departure, and proceeded, without further delay, to
Ooest Vriesland, the abode of the Post-holder; where we arrived about
three o’clock in the afternoon.
This is the remotest dwelling,—the furthest from the coast and the sea,
possessed by Europeans, in the settlement. It forms the link of
connexion between the bay natives of the woods, and the white
inhabitants of the colony, being established by the latter as a post of
communication for the purpose of administering friendly offices, and
cultivating an amicable intercourse with the Indians.
A short time after we arrived, Pezano and his suite were descried,
paddling up the river, in two loaded canoes. Upon their reaching the
landing-place, we discovered that the venerable Spaniard was attended by
three of his wives; also by a party of the Bucks, under command of an
old Indian, who was appointed their captain, and decorated with a broad
laced hat, carrying in his hand, as a further token of distinction, a
tall silver-headed staff, with which he preceded his troop in all the
stateliness of his office.
Next to king Pezano, the bearer of these insignia felt himself the
mightiest prince of the forest, and affected an air of dignity, not less
consequential, than is sometimes assumed by greater men, upon being
invested with a wand, or a riband.
The house of the Post-holder is rather small, but arranged with much
neatness. It is pleasantly situated upon rising ground, and commands a
fine bend of the river, which flows before it in a clear and limpid
stream. We found it an interesting and agreeable resting-place. The door
was opened to us with a cheerful welcome. Our reception was strictly
hospitable, and we were entertained with a liberality as unbounded, as
it was unaffected.
From Mr. Mutz we learned that, by making a long day of the morrow, we
might complete our journey to “the Falls,” and return to his house in
the evening. This was pleasant as unexpected intelligence; for beyond
the Post-holder’s dwelt neither European nor colonist: nor was there any
place of call whatsoever. The forest was possessed only by its wild
inhabitants, and for every accommodation, we must depend upon the
limited resources of our boat. Relying therefore upon Mr. Mutz to make
the necessary arrangements for the remainder of our voyage, we left it
to him and Pezano, to plan our proceedings for the following day.
The Post-holder is married to a Dutchwoman, but we had not the pleasure
of this lady’s society. She was in ill health, and had been sent into
the woods, to the Bucks, to be cured. I could not learn what were the
remedies used by the Indians for her relief: but I procured a few
specimens of gums, and nuts, employed by these inhabitants of the
forest, in their practice of medicine.
Mr. Mutz pleaded the absence of his lady in excuse for treating us with,
what he was pleased to term, “such homely fare.” But we could discover
no cause of apology whatever, for a general neatness prevailed, and an
ample plenty spread the generous board.
We had also the great luxury of pure spring water, clear as crystal. I
need not tell you how much more highly this was prized, than if it had
been the finest wine. It was the first I had tasted in the colony, and
was an uncommon treat to me; for, although I continue to take wine, as a
convalescent, water is still my usual drink.
Whilst the dinner was preparing, we amused ourselves, in company with
Pezano and a party of Indians, shooting with the bow and arrow. The
afternoon passed very delightfully, in hearing the conversation and
interesting remarks of the Post-holder, and the old Spaniard. In the
evening, we again strung the bow; some of us also enjoyed the pleasure
of bathing in the very inviting and pellucid river.
About nine o’clock we went to our hammocks, some in chambers, some in
the passages, and some under the house, which was built upon pillars, a
considerable height from the ground. It will be seen from this, how
little difficulty occurs in lodging large parties of friends or
strangers, in a warm climate. Neither extensive buildings, nor a number
of rooms, nor even beds, paillasses, or mattresses are required. A few
cleets, or iron hooks, fastened up in different parts of the house, for
the support of hammocks, are all that necessity demands. From this
facility of arrangement for the night, the ceremony of invitation is not
always held requisite, and it is often seen that marooning parties,
consisting of no inconsiderable numbers, make their visitations
unexpectedly, yet find convenient accommodations even in the smallest
houses, and the most retired situations.