A Voyage Round the World Part 5

Williams. The account I received of Mr. McCormack's enterprise was full of interest.

When that gentleman first visited Tombo, he found the interior covered with a dense jungle, and the sh.o.r.es choked up with mangroves. There was only one solitary hut on the island near the beach, which was used as a resting place for boats trading up the river. At that time there was a slave factory in full occupation at Bance Island. It would be very difficult to compute the expense, and almost impossible for persons who are not practically acquainted with African mangroves and jungle, to estimate the exertion and perseverance which must have been necessary to bring this place to its present state of improvement. The wildness of the surface has given way before the hand of industry, and that which was some years before a wilderness of underwood, now presents an aspect of cultivation. The whole of this point is as clear as the streets of Freetown; and on a fine open situation, where the breeze plays from almost every point of the compa.s.s, an excellent stone house, with out-offices, has been erected. The site is well chosen and the building is scarcely inferior to the best houses in Freetown. The upper part is used as a private dwelling, and the lower part is appropriated to storage. A good boat-house, a saw-pit, upwards of twenty plastered huts, for the mechanics and labourers employed on the spot, and a well cut through the solid rock, from whence excellent water is obtained, complete the conveniences of the establishment.

Mr. McCormack does not fell any timber in the island; he merely uses his location here as a depot for the wood which is brought down the rivers Rokelle and Porto Logo from the upper countries. For this trade he contracts with the natives inhabiting the lands lying near the sh.o.r.es of the rivers, and the wood is floated down on rafts to Tombo, where ships come to take in their cargoes. The African oak is so heavy that the natives are obliged to raft it on wood of a much lighter specific gravity. This trade is of considerable benefit both to our colonists and the native tribes. It not only promotes a friendly intercourse between them, but affords constant employment to great numbers of the latter, by which they are enabled to secure many of the comforts of civilized life, of which they must otherwise have been dest.i.tute. It has also had the happy effect of releasing them from va.s.salage, which formerly prevailed universally, and which was in some degree necessary as a protection against the arbitrary power of the different chiefs during the existence of the slave trade.

A statement of the annual export of timber from Tombo, since the commencement in 1816, will shew with what rapid strides the trade has increased.

In 1816 716 logs.

1817 7,087 do.

1818 1,341 do.

1819 2,251 do.

1820 6,271 do.

1821 4,454 do.

1822 1,429 do.

1823 4,593 do.

1824 10,093 do.

1825 22,206 do.

1826 24,456 do.

There is a mud bar across the river about one mile and a half below Tombo; and as the depth here is not more than 14 feet at high water, vessels ought not to load more than 13 feet before they drop below.

_Tuesday, Sept. 25th_.--Heavy rain in the night, but a fine warm day.

Soon after noon I left Tombo, and visited Bance Island. The only objects of interest that presented themselves were the remains of an old slave factory, and a burial ground. The road to the latter place was by a path through a lime and orange plantation, which grew so luxuriantly that it quite obstructed our way, and we were compelled to have a black pioneer, who went before us with a sword to cut down the th.o.r.n.y branches. In this remote and lonely place I found the following epitaph on a tombstone, which appeared to me so curious that I caused it to be transcribed.

Here lies The Residue of The Honourable Sea Captain, GEORGE ANDREW HIORT, Born in Denmark, the 6th of September, 1746, Married January 8th, 1766, to the virtuous Lady Mary Catherine Schive, who, extremely sorrowful, with two good-natured Daughters, deplores the too early Death of this now eternally-blessed Person.

Died on the Coast of Guinea, the 15th October, 1783. His Body reposes here, waiting for a glorious Resurrection, whilst his Soul is in the hands of G.o.d, where no pain can reach.

In this place we discovered a tombstone of the date of 1680, but unfortunately the inscription was illegible.

We made an excursion to the island of Ta.s.so before dinner, and returned to Bance Island where we pa.s.sed the night. On approaching Ta.s.so, we saw a large alligator, which Mr. McCormack fired at, but apparently without any effect. It is a well-known fact that the scales of these creatures will turn a bullet. They abound in the river, and are very fearless and ravenous. Some of the men belonging to the timber rafts, who incautiously trusted themselves in the water, have been on several occasions seized by the alligators and carried off, sometimes escaping with the loss of a leg or an arm; at other times, when the people on the rafts happened to sit at the sides, with their feet hanging over, the alligators have been known to seize them by their legs and drag them into the water. They have been taken of the enormous length of 18 feet.

_Wednesday, Sept. 26th_.--The night being very fine, we got up at half-past two, and left Bance Island to return to Sierra Leone, where we arrived in less than four hours, pulling the whole way, having a very fine boat belonging to Mr. McCormack, with a crew of able bodied blacks.

Mr. McCormack related to me the following circ.u.mstance which occurred to him in a vessel trading along the Gold Coast, and by which he was placed in a situation of great peril. In the middle of the night he heard a sudden cry of "Fire," and at the same moment a volume of flame issued from the fore-hatchway; in a few seconds after another burst forth from the main hatchway; so that before he had time to collect his thoughts as to what ought to be done, the whole of the middle of the vessel was in a blaze. The crew were thrown into consternation, and speedily crowded the deck in a state of confusion, bordering on frenzy.

The despair of their situation was increased by a knowledge of the fact, that a great quant.i.ty of gunpowder, which had been embarked for the coast trade, was stowed below, while there was but one available boat to get off the men before the ship should be blown into the air, which they momently expected. But there was no time for reflection: each man looked to his own safety, and a rush took place, through the fire, towards the after-part of the deck, to reach the boat. The poor fellows who thus risked a pa.s.sage through the flames, that now curled up fearfully, and swept the whole surface of the vessel, were dreadfully burned, and looked more like demons than men. But, at last, after much difficulty, they succeeded in lowering the boat into the sea. Those, however, who got in first, seeing that the whole crew must inevitably perish if they suffered a greater number to crowd the boat than she could with safety contain, pushed off from the ship as speedily as they could. If they had yielded to the impulse of their feelings, every soul must have perished; for, although they might have escaped from the fire, they must, of necessity, have swamped the boat.

Fortunately, however, the boat got off in safety; but she had made a very short distance when the vessel blew up. Several poor wretches, seeing that their fate was not to be averted, had leaped into the sea, and were drowned; while others, who clung despairingly to the vessel, were annihilated by the force of the explosion. One poor black boy, nerved by desperation, flung himself overboard, and swam after the boat, which, with great exertion, he overtook. Through Mr. McCormack's interposition he was taken on board. The crew of the boat, so sudden was their resolution taken, had not time to provide themselves with a supply of provisions, although they were a considerable distance from the sh.o.r.e: they s.n.a.t.c.hed up such trifling articles as happened to be at hand in the hurry of their departure, and trusted themselves to Providence for the rest. This melancholy accident was occasioned by the insubordination of some of the sailors, who forced their way through the bulk-head into the fore-hold, to get at a cask of spirits.

In the evening I accompanied Mr. Macauley in a drive to the village of Kissey, one of the settlements of liberated Africans. Its population is nearly a thousand souls, composed of the descendants of natives of Aco, who were taken from a slave vessel on the river Lagos in the Bight of Benin. The immediate neighbourhood of this village, which is about five miles from Freetown, supplies a great part of the grain and vegetables that are brought to that market. We called on the Doctor of the village, who was a black man, and we afterwards went to the chapel, where we heard a liberated African preach to his black brethren.

_Thursday, September 27th_.--I dined with a party at the house of Colonel Denham, the celebrated African traveller. I would gladly offer a tribute of admiration and respect to the memory of this distinguished gentleman, but the language of panegyric is superfluous.

Our party consisted of the Lieutenant-Governor, Captains Owen and Harrison, of the navy; Dr. Barry, of the medical staff, &c. &c.

_Friday, September 28th_.--Soon after noon I accompanied Captains Owen and Harrison, Mr. Reffle, the acting Judge, and the Rev. Mr. Davy, all mounted on good steeds, to visit some of the villages established for the liberated Africans. The first part of our journey was very hilly.

We pa.s.sed through Gloucester and Regent Town, on our way to Bathurst, near which we were overtaken by a thunder storm; but, before the heaviest part of it reached us, we got into good quarters at Mr. Davy's residence, where we found Mrs. Davy expecting us, and prepared to entertain us in a most friendly and hospitable manner. This lady undertakes to instruct the African females, of all ages, not only in the mere education of letters, but in all the moral duties of civilized society. As a proof that her efforts were not altogether unavailing, it may be observed, that her domestics consisted of some of her pupils, whom she had selected for the performance of the household duties.

Morality here is at a very low ebb amongst the adult native population, and infidelity in the married state is a common occurrence. During our short stay, a poor fellow came to complain to Mr. Davy that his wife had gone to live with another man, and that when he went to demand her restoration, the guilty paramour and his friends turned him off with a sound beating. The circ.u.mstance did not seem to excite much surprise, although Mr. Davy gave every possible attention to the poor fellow's case, as he never omitted any opportunity of exerting his influence for the moral benefit of the community.

In the course of the day I had an opportunity of examining a snake which a Timmanee black carried, as ladies wear boas in England, round his neck, which is a common practice. It was about a yard long, and six inches in circ.u.mference. The blacks frequently extract the teeth of these reptiles, even those of the most venomous species, a process which renders them harmless. In the evening we returned to Freetown.

The black ostler, who is generally a Krooman, performs in this country a double duty, for he not only attends the horse in the stable, but accompanies him on his journey, keeping pace with the animal at whatever rate his master pleases to ride. This would be a very good punishment for some of our ostlers who are in the habit of cheating the horses out of their corn. To compel the rogues to share fatigue with the animal, might teach them to treat them with more humanity. Horses are sometimes brought to this country from St. Jago, but they do not live long. A smaller and hardier breed comes from the Gambia, and the climate seems to agree very well with them. Neither English nor St.

Jago horses live long at Sierra Leone, and the cause a.s.signed for this is, that the coa.r.s.e gra.s.s, which grows so rapidly in this country, has too little nutriment in it to support the animal under the exhausting effects of such a climate; and it is observed that he is continually though gradually wasting away, notwithstanding his appet.i.te is most voracious; that at length he partially loses the use of his hind legs, becomes weak across the loins, and for the want of nervous energy, a paralysis ensues, and the horse ultimately dies. But if he is given more stimulating food there is a chance of his doing well; or at any rate of his living much longer than he otherwise would on such poor food as he usually gets.

_Sat.u.r.day, September 29th_.--The Henri Quatre, a beautiful brig, arrived yesterday afternoon from the Bight of Benin, with 548 slaves on board, a prize to H.M.S. Sybille. This vessel was afterwards fitted out as a tender to the Commodore's ship, and well known, as the celebrated Black Joke, for her success in capturing other slavers. To-day I accompanied the Rev. Mr. Davy on board. A mult.i.tude of slaves crowded her deck in a state of nudity. The spectacle was humiliating in every sense, and the immediate effect upon the olfactory nerves was excessively disagreeable and oppressive. We found the officer who had charge of the vessel confined to a small s.p.a.ce in the after-part of the deck near the tiller. The pressure of this dense ma.s.s of human beings was suffocating, and the crowd was so great that one poor slave who had fallen overboard in the night, on the voyage, was never missed until the following morning.

From the Henri Quatre we went to visit a steam-vessel called the African, which was to sail this afternoon, with 300 persons on board, and as much provisions as she could stow. Her immediate destination was Cape Coast Castle, where she was to wait the arrival of the Eden. She had formerly been employed in the Colonial service on this coast, but had lately been laid up for want of repair. Captain Owen, however, being desirous to forward a number of mechanics and labourers belonging to the free population of Sierra Leone, to the new settlement at Fernando Po, thought that this vessel might answer his purpose, and save Government the expense of chartering a ship expressly for that service; he therefore applied to the Colonial Government requesting that he might be allowed the use of her; which, after many preliminary arrangements, occasioning much delay, was at last granted. One condition was, that he should send her to England after she had completed the service required of her. He therefore ordered Lieutenant Badgeley, with a small party of men, to clear her out and prepare her for sea, as she was at that time half full of mud and water, and employed some mechanics to repair her engines, which were completely out of order.

At five this afternoon I went to the race course, to be present at a private match between two gentlemen's horses. Besides these private sports, there are regular annual races at this place.

The roads, which are very much cut up during the rainy season, are always repaired on its termination, commencing immediately after Michaelmas. I found that there were gutters, which had been cut by order of Sir Neil Campbell, (three or four feet deep, and from one to two wide) in various directions, to carry off the quant.i.ty of water occasioned by the heavy rains. The utility of these gutters in drawing off the water was sufficiently obvious, but they were found to be very dangerous both to men and horses in the dark; accidents frequently occurred, and on one occasion a horse had his legs broken. They were also dangerous to wheel vehicles, whenever it became necessary to cross them: indeed, the inconvenience of these drains, without bridges, was considered to be so much greater than the advantage, that it was determined they should be filled up, and that the rain should be left to take its own course over the surface of the ground, as before. The magistrates, who are elected annually, are obliged to superintend the repair of the roads, both in the town and its neighbourhood, in addition to their ordinary duties; and all offenders who are sentenced to labour on the public works, or to confinement in the house of correction, are compelled to a.s.sist in the necessary repairs. The expense of keeping the roads in good order is defrayed by a tax of six days' labour on every inhabitant of the towns and villages in the colony, which, however, may be commuted to a fine of seven shillings and sixpence.

After the race, I went to Mr. Barber's to dine. This gentleman has a small plantation of ginger and arrow-root, which succeeds uncommonly well; also some plants of the blood orange from Malta, and some young cinnamon trees; which, I should observe, are by no means uncommon in this colony.

Mr. K. Macauley has also a small plantation of coffee, which prospers very well. In fact, all the tropical fruits and plants must succeed here, if proper attention be paid to them.

_Sunday, September 30th_.--The morning was fine, but the afternoon showery; rain, indeed, appears to be quite a matter of course, either in the morning or evening. I had now been upwards of a month in Sierra Leone, and I found that it rained without fail in some part of the four-and-twenty hours, and sometimes throughout the whole day and night; yet, the rainy season had nearly exhausted itself when I arrived, and some short time before, it had rained for three weeks without intermission. These alterations of the weather, however, had no effect whatever on me, for, rain or shine, I went about, at all hours, as much at my ease as if I had been in England; and instead of suffering any illness or annoyance from the fluctuations and uncertainty of the season, I really found my health improved.

The brig Atalanta came down the river this morning, and anch.o.r.ed off Freetown, having taken in a cargo of timber at Bance Island. There was not a single vessel left up the river, which was remarked as an extraordinary circ.u.mstance, for since the year 1816, when the contract for African timber commenced, such an event had not taken place.

From the observations I made while I remained at Freetown, it occurred to me that a plan might be adopted, with good effect, for improving the management of the timber trade. I should recommend that an old ship be moored in the river, a little above Freetown, and housed over for the purpose of receiving the crews of such vessels as go up the river to take in their cargoes. The object of this arrangement would be to give the crews an opportunity of refitting, rigging, and repairing the sails of their own vessels, or of any others that might require a.s.sistance, while the Kroomen were employed loading the ships under the direction of the mates, or such other persons as might be appointed to that duty.[17] By this plan (with a proper check to prevent the sailors from going on sh.o.r.e too often, every reasonable indulgence being allowed them on board the hulk) many valuable lives might be saved, and those delays averted which now occur so often, from the difficulty of procuring hands for the homeward bound voyage, to supply the place of those who had been carried off by fever.

_Tuesday, Oct. 2nd_.--On calling at the barracks this morning, to take leave of the officers of the Royal African Corps, from whom I had received some very kind attentions, I was sorry to learn that Lieutenant Green, who had always been one of the most cheerful of the party, had been taken ill with the fever that morning, and that, from the great depression of his spirits, serious doubts were entertained of his recovery.

_Wednesday, 3rd_.--The ship Redmond arrived to-day from England, bringing letters from thence up to August 23rd. His Majesty's ship Eden, received on board to-day 60 black soldiers, of the Royal African Corps, to perform garrison duty at Fernando Po, under the command of Lieutenant Mends.

A gentleman in charge of the ordnance died this afternoon.

Before I take leave of Sierra Leone, a few general retrospective glances at the colony may not be without interest. First, of the population. There are not exceeding 110 Europeans in the colony, two-thirds of whom are under 30 years of age. This may, probably, in some degree, account for the great mortality that prevails amongst them.

In Freetown alone, there are between 5000 and 6000 coloured men, all of whom are free.

In the village of Kissey, three miles and a quarter from Freetown, are contained 1,100 souls, all liberated Africans.

In Wellington, six miles and a quarter from Freetown, about 800, composed princ.i.p.ally of liberated Africans, with a few disbanded soldiers from the 2nd West India regiment.

In Allen town, three miles from Wellington, about 150, all liberated Africans.

In Hastings, twelve miles from Freetown, 600, composed of liberated Africans and disbanded soldiers.

In Waterloo, nine miles from Hastings, 900, composed of liberated Africans and disbanded soldiers.

In Wilberforce, two miles and a half from Freetown, 100, all liberated Africans.

In York, twenty miles from Freetown, about 600, composed of liberated Africans and disbanded soldiers.

In Kent, twelve miles from York, about 500, composed of liberated Africans and disbanded soldiers.

In Gloucester, three miles from Freetown, 700, all liberated Africans.

In Leicester, one mile from Gloucester, 100, all liberated Africans.