Cape St. Nicholas, Sept.
You would not expect to hear, thus soon, that I had again changed my
quarters; but it has been already my lot to be exposed to another sea
voyage, from Port au Prince to the Mole. The disasters commenced with
the embarkation; and were not less marked than upon former occasions.
I felt it a fortunate circumstance to have again the opportunity of
making the passage in so good a ship as the Lion. She was to sail at an
early hour of the morning; I left my abode therefore about sunset the
preceding evening, in order to go on board; but in my way to the wharf I
was overtaken by one of those heavy storms of which, beyond the tropics,
you can form no correct idea. The clouds seemed to burst asunder,
emitting broad flashes of light, and rapid torrents of rain which
quickly stood in floods around me. Finding it impossible to get on
board, I waded back through the sea of the streets to my quarters,
guided only by the lightning. It was late before the weather calmed; but
I then renewed my attempt to reach the ship, when, unfortunately, one of
the soldiers, who had charge of my baggage, not seeing the extent of the
wharf, stepped over the edge of it into the sea, with the trunk upon his
head. It was between ten and eleven o’clock—the darkness was
impenetrable; and the man could not swim. Luckily the ship’s boat was
nigh; and the sailors belonging to it instantly plunged into the water
in search of the unfortunate soldier, who, by paddling and struggling,
kept his head above the surface until they discovered him, and, to our
surprise, brought him alive on shore.
These interruptions made it nearly midnight before we reached the Lion;
when we found the deck and every part of the ship in a state of hurry
and confusion; I waited therefore, only to see our poor sufferer
comfortably accommodated, then retired to my birth for the night.
At seven the next morning we got under weigh, amidst a crowded and busy
scene which none but sailors could reduce to any order or
arrangement—many were hastening away from the ship—others scrambling up
her sides to get on board—some of the sailors were heaving the anchor,
others were running and jumping from place to place, about every part of
the vessel, to work the ropes and sails, while the officers were calling
out their orders in loud trumpet sounds: and in addition to the many
concerns of his own ship, the captain had to take charge of twenty sail
of traders, which were put under his convoy, in order to be protected
against the brigands, who were extremely watchful and adventurous at
several posts, between Port au Prince and the Mole.
The cabin passengers were twelve in number, of different nations, sexes,
and callings; besides whom we had some French nymphs of colour with
their sable attendants; so that, together with the ship’s officers, a
body of sixty invalid soldiers, and the white and black sailors, the
whole formed a numerous and motley crew.
A voyage of this kind is not so pleasant as to induce a wish for its
repetition; but the opportunity it afforded of observing the manners and
characters among people of different nations and colours well
compensated the privation of those little comforts which cannot be
commanded in such a situation.
I am sorry to remark that a very shameful abuse is too often practised
on board the English ships, regarding the property of the passengers;
and that the French part of our company had much reason to lament it on
our voyage from Port au Prince. In the ships of their own nation the
passengers are treated with great attention and civility, and whatever
belongs to them is respected: they complain, therefore, very bitterly of
the plunder and dishonesty, which occur so frequently on board the
British vessels. Wine, spirits, pickles, sweetmeats, &c. &c. if not
secured under your own immediate care, seem to be held as articles of
prize property; to be consumed by any who may have it in their power to
seize them. Several packages belonging to the cabin passengers on board
the Lion, were torn open and their contents devoured. Some of the cases,
by way of better security, had been addressed in the name of the
commandant, but even these did not escape the too general pillage; they
were opened, and the bottles drained to the very dregs.
During the voyage, many opportunities offered of conversing with, and
hearing the remarks of the French women of colour, who appear to be far
better informed, and more expert in the art _de faire l’agréable_, than
the same classes in the Dutch or English colonies. Here, as in Europe, a
conversation may be maintained with almost any order of French women, in
a sprightly and agreeable manner; but, among the Dutch and the English,
except with those of superior education, a mere social tête-à-tête,
divested of particular interest, in either party, is commonly languid
and insupportable. Nature has stamped a great variety, among the human
species, upon the different parts of the globe; but education and habit
often effect a diversity not less interesting or important; although, in
some instances, they seem to produce an opposite result, by causing an
affinity where nature has marked a vast discordance. In the French
colonies, even the African and creole slaves assume the lively manners
of their European masters.
But I am straying from my voyage! let me return and inform you, that in
the course of the second day’s sailing we passed St. Marc’s, and there
exchanged part of our convoy; some of the vessels of our fleet leaving
us to go into that port, and others from thence, joining us to proceed
under our protection to the Mole; whence they were to be guarded by the
British to the United States. During the following night we passed the
port of Leogane, one of the posts occupied by the enemy; and at the
moment we were sailing by it, a ship coming out of the harbour, stood
directly for the convoy. On the supposition that it might be one of the
armed vessels of the brigands, some alarm was excited among those of our
little fleet who were nearest in shore, and a signal-gun was fired
implying the approach of an enemy: but it was soon discovered to be an
American trader. She was permitted therefore to join us, and proceed
unmolested to the Mole. The property she contained might be French, or
it might be American, but good-natured John Bull, in kindness to his
transatlantic offspring, protects alike the vessels trading to his own
ports, or to those of his enemy: the policy which dictates this
proceeding is, of course, well advised; but, should one of the vessels
of these, our republican brethren, join a French convoy upon coming out
of a British port, it is highly probable that she would not only be
exposed to a rigid examination, but captured and condemned as a prize.
At the dawn of the third morning we had a view of Cap à Fou near the
Mole, a dangerous post in possession of the brigands; and some of the
fleet found themselves close under the point of land called the
Platform. The breeze was favorable, and if we had not been detained by
the slow-sailing vessels, we might have quickly ended our voyage—instead
of which, we were compelled to pass the whole day, standing off and on,
at the mouth of the harbour. Some of the quick-sailing ships, which were
a-head of the Lion, impatient of being detained, very imprudently
proceeded without waiting for the convoy.
At an early hour the next morning we were lying upon the still surface
of the sea, without the slightest breeze, and, at daylight, found
ourselves farther from the Mole than we had been the preceding evening.
This was the more vexatious, as we were in the precise latitude of
calms; and at the very spot, where our delays had been so annoying on
the passage from Jamaica: but we considered ourselves far from
unfortunate, when, in the course of the day, a light breeze sprang up,
and, with the aid of the current, carried us slowly into the harbour.
On approaching we observed some of the headmost vessels of the convoy
standing in, very near to Cap à Fou, and the guns firing from the
batteries on shore, which led us to apprehend that the enemy’s barges
were in chase of them; but they were too far advanced for us to
ascertain the fact, or afford them any assistance. It was discovered,
afterwards, that these vessels had been lucky enough to escape from
their pursuers; but that two of those which had attempted to get in the
preceding evening had been captured. The brigands, however, suffered for
their temerity; for at the moment these traders were compelled to
surrender off the very mouth of the bay, the Lively sloop happened to
come in, well armed, from Jamaica; when the Admiral, with great
promptitude, ordered an officer of the navy, and some additional sailors
on board, and sent out this vessel against the enemy, accompanied with
some men of war’s boats, and assisted by a party of troops detached by
land. By this active little expedition, one of the brigand boats was
captured, with ten or twelve of her crew either killed or wounded; and
the two vessels of our convoy were retaken.