Antigua and the Antiguans Volume II Part 1

Antigua and the Antiguans.

Volume II.

by Anonymous.

CHAPTER XXIX.

Caribs: Domestic state-Treatment of their women-Children-Their early tuition-Superst.i.tious cruelties-Hatred of the Arrowawks- Female children-Occupation of the men-Canoes-Bows and arrows- Cottages-Cooking utensils-Native cloth-Food-Fishing-Decoy fish- Spirituous liquors-Personal appearance-Amus.e.m.e.nts-The Carib house-Extermination of the Caribs from Antigua-Remarks upon their history.

From a view of the religion of the Caribs, which we have endeavoured to give some account of in the last chapter, we will proceed to notice their domestic ties. Alas! we have a very sad picture here. The ineffable sympathies of the soul, the pure friendship, the chaste pleasures of the connubial state, were never known, or at least never appreciated by them. Proud of excelling in strength and courage, the chief marks of priority among this rude and savage people, the Caribs treated their women in every respect as beings of a far inferior nature-to despise and degrade them by every possible means was esteemed as a manly virtue. Although given as a reward to successful combatants, their wives were looked upon as no better than captives; every species of drudgery fell to their share; while their husbands pa.s.sed the day in sleep, unless engaged in war, or in absolute want of a new weapon. When the men engaged in fishing, the women were obliged to attend to carry the tackle and bring home the fruits of their sport; but after cooking it, they were not allowed to partake of it with their husbands, or even to eat in their presence. In the island of Cuba at this day this custom is still extant, for a late traveller remarks, "In some of the first houses the men sit down to dinner while their wives wait behind their chairs." But to return to the Carib women. All their services were received without grat.i.tude or even complacency-no cheering word or kind look (and how women appreciate those little endearments none but a woman can tell) mitigated their incessant toil or lightened their heavy burdens. They were not allowed to approach their husbands but with the most abject homage, to look up to them as exalted beings, to obey their every wish, and that without uttering a word of complaint or giving a single look of discontent-all this was expected of the Carib woman. Wearily must their days have pa.s.sed, without a hope in this world, and scarcely one in the other-trouble and sorrow must indeed have been their lot!

Having considered the Carib's appreciation of the nearest and dearest tie in this world, we will proceed to take a view of his behaviour to his offspring. Perhaps there is not a stronger pa.s.sion implanted by nature in the breast than that of parental love; even in the brute creation, there is a wonderful degree of instinct in the care of their young. The most stupid and sluggish, the most fearful and timid animals, become active and desperate in defence of their infant progeny, and will suffer any cruelty rather than permit their precious charge to be hurt or destroyed. If then this feeling exists so strongly in the b.r.e.a.s.t.s of animals devoid of reason, how much more should this be the case with man, raised as he is far above all terrestrial beings, endowed with a rational and comprehensive mind, and capable of enjoying the delights which flow from reciprocal affections! But in many instances we have to blush for our fellow creatures, and while we admire the instinct and parental feelings of brutes, deplore the inferiority of our own race.

The pa.s.sions of savages, while they last, are more violent and enthusiastic than those of men who are placed in civilized society, and consequently under some degree of restraint. Thus it was with the Caribs during the infancy of their male children; no duty, however irksome, or ceremony, however severe, which was fondly hoped would tend to make them formidable warriors, was regretted or postponed. The father freely lost his own blood to sprinkle his male child as soon as it was born, in the hopes that he might be endowed with a portion of his own courage.[1] As the child grew, he was taught all the arts requisite for his savage life-to draw the bow, wield the club, make and manage his canoe, swim skilfully, catch fish, and prepare the poison to dip his arrows in; he was also instructed in lessons of patience and fort.i.tude, inspired with courage to attack his foes by having the deeds of his fathers related to him, and familiarized to look upon death and danger with contempt.

So far the Carib performed the part of a good parent; but superst.i.tion exerted her gloomy powers, and the cruelties inflicted on the young Carib by the being from whom he derived his existence, exhibits a mournful and sanguinary picture, capable of harrowing up the deepest feelings of the soul. The dawn of manhood was the hour in which these trials were to be endured; and at this time the young warrior changed his infant name for one of greater importance and more significant in expression. With regard to their female children, but little fatherly attention was paid them; their education devolved upon their mothers, who taught them to cull the cotton and weave the cloth, and, in a word, instructed them in all the duties necessary to the comfort of their future lords and tyrants. If very handsome, they were reserved to grace the triumph of some successful warrior, while those of less beauty were allotted to men of inferior worth.

The princ.i.p.al occupation of the Carib, the one, as before remarked, which absorbed the greatest portion of his time and attention, was war. The study of his life was to render himself an adept in those arts which would enable him to capture a greater number of his enemies, and spread desolation wherever he went. When not thus engaged, his days were pa.s.sed in listless apathy. Enveloped in his mantle, and stretched upon his _hemack_ beneath the shade of some luxuriant tree, he enjoyed the breeze of his native isle without alloy; and unless the calls of hunger aroused him, or his weapon or canoe required repair, he seldom or ever stirred. But when the war-cry arose, when an expedition against the Arrowawks was intended, or when his countrymen invited him "to seize his war-club," and avenge the death of some friend, whose bones lay whitening on another sh.o.r.e, he started from his repose, and grasped his spear; while the fire emanating from his dark eyes, his black hair streaming in the blast, his strong form vibrating from the intensity of his ardour, conspired to render him what he wished to be-the formidable-looking warrior.

But although the Carib was generally during peace fond of indolence, yet when he chose to exert his powers, his arts and manufactures displayed a degree of ingenuity surpa.s.sing what could have been expected from his tools. His canoe was formed of the trunk of large trees, princ.i.p.ally that of the ceibar, or silk cotton, as being more substantial, and of larger bulk. His bow and arrows were fabricated with a degree of nicety almost unequalled; some of them inlaid with pieces of tortoisesh.e.l.l, or the bones of fish finely polished. His cottage was also built with some degree of taste, and neatly thatched with plaited cocoa-nut leaves; and was situated in some of the loveliest spots. They also possessed the art of fabricating vessels for cookery, and other domestic uses, from the clay of the island, which is still in use in Antigua, the negroes making pots for boiling their victuals, _yubbas_, (or frying-pans,) water-jars, and several other utensils. Of this clay it is said excellent bricks might be made; and there are several waste spots of land belonging to government, which might be turned into extensive brickfields: the bricks used in the island are all imported.

But to return to our subject: while the men were thus employed, the women were far from idle: they wove the cloth from the cotton and bark of trees, and stained it of various colours. Of this cloth, which was very substantial, they made their beds, which were suspended from posts by the two ends, and obtained the name of _hemacks_, from being made by the southern islanders of the rind of a tree of that name. Columbus was so pleased with them, that he took the pattern, and used them for the bedding of his crew. They are still used at the present day under the appellation of _hammocks_. Of the leaves of the cocoa-nut and palmetto they also made baskets; while the fibres were twisted into ropes. The negroes also follow them in this particular, making rope, and also baskets, which they call "_catacous._"

The Caribs have often been likened to the ancient Jews in some of their customs; but they did not follow that peculiar people in abstaining from blood, as they frequently drank that of the Arrowawks in their inhuman festivals. It is true, they refrained from eating many kinds of flesh, which were generally reckoned luxuries by others; but "if it was from religious motives, we are nowhere sufficiently informed," as Goldsmith justly observes.

Their greatest treat, however, was human flesh, which they devoured with avidity whenever they could procure it. The Arrowawks, or inhabitants of Cuba, and the adjacent islands, as before remarked, were their princ.i.p.al prey. Sometimes they ate this horrible food raw; at other times they roasted or boiled it; but the fat was all preserved for the use of their children, both as food, and to anoint their bodies, in hopes of rendering them hardy and valiant; and for this reason they were also frequently immersed in a _bath of blood_.

Another of their viands, and indeed the princ.i.p.al part of their food, was fish. These they caught in nets, composed of the twisted fibres of the cocoa-nut; or else speared them at night as they rose to the surface of the water to breathe. A similar practice is still pursued in Scotland; and the dexterity consists in throwing a spear at the salmon as it springs from the water. A fuller account would be inconsistent with my present work; but I refer my readers to Sir W. Scott's well known novel of "Guy Mannering," where it is accurately and vividly described. To resume our subject:-Columbus mentions seeing some fishermen making use of very curious a.s.sistants in securing their finny prey, namely, decoy fish. These were a species of small fish, which abounded in these seas, called "reves." Fastening a string round their tails, they were lowered into the water, and, made cunning by the hand which fed them, these tiny ensnarers encountered their brethren of the deep; and winding about them, all were drawn up together.

In looking over the accounts of different countries, everyone must be struck with the propensity man has of indulging in spirituous liquors. While the inhabitants of fruitful and sunny districts imbibe the luscious juice of the grape, the Kamtschadale ranges his barren and inhospitable clime in search of a species of gra.s.s, from which to obtain a supply of fermented drink. The Tartar, in his wild state, roaming from pasture to pasture, placing his whole wealth in his horses and cattle, silently enjoys the intoxicating qualities of his brandy procured from the milk of his mares, and sighs not for the richest cup ever quaffed by the lip of mortals. So likewise the Carib was not without his stimulants-his festive board was not without its cup.

From the bark of the palm and cocoa-nut tree, they procured a liquor clear as crystal, which they allowed to ferment, and of which they were very fond; but their princ.i.p.al drink was mobby, made from the sweet potatoe, (a native of this island,) which they also drank in a fermented state. But still drunkenness was not one of their crimes; it was reserved for their conquerors to teach them that vice. We are told of an old Carib addressing a planter in the following manner-"Our people are become almost as bad as yours. We are so much altered since you came among us, that we hardly know ourselves; and we think it is owing to so melancholy a change that the hurricanes are more frequent than they were formerly. It is an evil spirit who has done all this; who has taken our best lands from us, and given us up to the dominion of the Christians." Alas! poor Caribs, it was an evil spirit which had come among you-the evil spirit of lawless and unchristian _men_. Why was your country invaded and your rights trampled on? Why were your wives and children torn from you?-and you yourselves condemned to death?-yea, worse than death-to vile and endless slavery, till time, the end of all things, consigned you to your silent graves?-are questions which will arise, but whose answer can only be given in these words-"What is, is best."

To resume our description of these ancient possessors of Antigua- these warlike Caribs. Vanity is a pa.s.sion which to a greater or lesser degree pervades the breast of almost every mortal, and the savage in his native wilds feels the force of it in the same manner, although, perhaps, not to the same _extent_, as the giddy fair who whirls round the vortex of dissipation within the purlieus of May Fair. When first discovered by the Spaniards, the Caribs were habited in different fashions; some appeared in complete dresses of native cloth, stained of a dark red; others had only a cotton girdle rolled round their loins; while others, again, were arrayed in "Nature's garb." But although this plain and scanty dress forbid much fancy or variety, they were far from unadorned. Their hair was arranged in a thousand fantastic shapes; some had it braided with small pieces of gold, sh.e.l.ls or shining stones; others decorated it with the teeth and bones of their enemies; and some, again, placed large bunches of parrots'

feathers upon the top of the head. Nor were all their decorations confined to their head-dresses; they stained their bodies with various colours, and in a variety of figures, and, as before alluded to, caused themselves much pain in thus ornamenting their persons, by their great propensity for altering their natural features. It does not appear if this was intended to heighten their beauty, and render them captivating in the eyes of the "nice-judging fair," or if to make them more hideous in the sight of their enemies; but most probably it was for the latter purpose, although it has been said "that women always like the monsters!"

Their amus.e.m.e.nt, which has also been before observed, was war; nothing else seemed to please or interest them, it was "their gain, their glory, their delight!" They had their dances, but they were rather a serious ceremony than indulged in as a pastime. Their princ.i.p.al a.s.semblies were held before starting upon a warlike expedition, when a leader or chief was elected with the barbarities before described; or upon the return of a victorious warrior, when these ceremonies concluded with a dance.

In the foregoing review, the character of the red Caribs, the aborigines of Antigua, has been described; but in different islands were found different tribes. Guadaloupe was inhabited by a race of Amazons, who, upon the first appearance of Columbus, rushed out of a wood, armed with bows and arrows, and attacked the crew with such determined fury, that he was obliged to open a fire upon them before they would disperse; that they were also cannibals was evident from the relics of their disgusting feasts found in their huts. Some of the other islands were inhabited by a similar race; but the people of Hispaniola, Cuba, Jamaica, and Porto Rico were decidedly of a different family-mild, temperate, and indolent, they were a certain prey to the ferocious cannibals.

The Caribs of Antigua were first conquered by the Spaniards in 1521, and after trying to make them work as slaves without effect, they were finally driven from off the island. As in the other islands, fire and sword came among them, and the ancient people of the soil are no more. Their manners and customs, their hopes and fears, their enjoyments and distresses, are almost buried in oblivion, only now and then, here and there, we find a few traces of them in the wide page of history. There are, however, vestiges of their dwellings still to be met with in different parts of the island, one of which I had the curiosity to enter. It appeared to have consisted of two distinct buildings, the materials of which were composed of the stone which is common in all parts of the island, cemented with a rough kind of mortar. The one nearest the north is about fifty feet long and twenty-five broad; in the middle is a circular hollow; small square window-places are on all sides, and the door-place fronts the west. I stood before that open door, and memory carried me back to "by-gone" ages. The sun had set, but his golden beams still lingered in the west, and tinged the clouds with a thousand beautiful colours. Not a single living creature was in sight, but one poor solitary ground-dove, who sat by the ruined walls and uttered her plaintive notes. The negroes are of an opinion that this bird is the harbinger of death; be that as it may, her melancholy cry on such a spot called up many an image. Who might not have stood upon the very place where I was standing and watched that glorious sun while he set? The formidable-looking Carib, his meek, degraded, uncomplaining wife; his miserable, wretched victim, the unhappy Arrowawk! All might have once stood there and gazed upon that very scene. And those crumbling walls! what tales might not they have told! how many scenes of bloodshed might not they have witnessed! how many harsh, discordant notes of revelry, from the wild beings who once inhabited them, might not they have echoed to! how many piercing shrieks for mercy from those poor wretched creatures, immolated upon that family altar for the darkling ceremonies of superst.i.tion, or for the daily meal, might not they have heard!

The other adjoining building has the appearance of a square tower, and must, in its day, have been a place of some strength; it is considerably higher than the one before described. I felt inclined to believe it was built by the buccaneers, who, many years ago, made these islands their place of resort. In the island of St. Thomas is still standing a kind of castle, built by that renowned and formidable captain of pirates, "Blackbeard."[2]

However, all Antiguans agree in calling the building mentioned the "Carib's House."

To a contemplative mind, how many emotions arise upon taking a review of history. We see whole nations swept away from the surface of the globe, and others springing up to form the connecting link in the grand chain of nature. We see the stupendous powers of the Omnipotent, at whose beck myriads start into life-at whose frown they vanish away like chaff before the wind. We are inclined to ask, Where now is mighty Rome, the empress of the world? Lost in the abyss of her own power and greatness. Greece, too, with all her brave sons-her disinterested patriots-her wise and just lawgivers-where are they? All, all are fled, their very existence almost forgotten; and as a favourite traveller remarks, "Greece remembers her sons no more." He whose reckless ambition sighed for worlds to conquer, is himself conquered by the strong hand of death. The prince and peasant, the rich and poor, the bond and free, alike fall beneath those all-powerful shafts.

"The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, And all that beauty, all that wealth ere gave.

Must wait alike the inevitable hour; The paths of glory lead but to the grave."

While surveying these things, the mind is lost in the boundless depths of imagination. We are led to reflect upon the transitory state of existence we pa.s.s in this nether world; and the truth flashes upon us, that however great we may be in our own estimation-however great in our own conceit, we are but in reality as the bubble on the water, the ephemera of a summer's day. Reader! didst thou ever examine the interior of an ant-hill?

didst thou ever notice how its busy little inmates are hurrying to and fro, intent upon their different occupations? Some are occupied in excavating the ground to prepare store-houses for the preservation of their grain in the winter-some in removing the dirt from the streets that nothing may obstruct the progress of their various business-some in plastering the earth with a kind of clay, which they carefully prepare, that it may not fall in and destroy their populous city, while others again are preparing cells for the reception of their eggs.

Thus we see all is bustle, all is activity; like mortals, some are laying up wealth they are fated never to enjoy, or planning schemes of grandeur which will never come to pa.s.s. The ploughshare pa.s.ses over, and where are those busy troops? Eurus blows his blast in the fierceness of his anger, and the whole colony is scattered, the swarming mult.i.tude is no more. Thus it is with man: placed by his Creator in so beautiful a world, endowed, perhaps, with health, and riches, and honours, surrounded by a circle of friends and flatterers, enjoying all the pomps and luxuries of this life, he drinks deeply of the intoxicating cup of Circe, and forgets that he is but a child of clay, "a stranger and a sojourner as all his fathers were."

I have been led into these reflections from the fact, that the people whose history I have been narrating are entirely exterminated from Antigua and the adjoining islands; that of all those swarming hosts who were gathered upon the beach to resist the landing of the Spaniards, who first visited this island, not one of their descendants is left. And now, in concluding this chapter, all that remains for me to do is, to crave the pardon and indulgence of my readers for so often leaving "Antigua and the Antiguans," and wandering in another pathway; but according to an old saying, "Our thoughts are not always under our own control;" or, as it is said in more modern language, "Woman is an Eolian harp, the strings of which are moved by every wind that blows."

[1] This was done, by allowing one of his veins to be opened for the purpose.

[2] The real name of this pirate was Edward Toutch, a native of Spanish Town, in Jamaica. Of all pirates, this man was the most ferocious; the deeds he committed being more like those of a demon than a man. He was at length attacked by a lieutenant of an English man-of-war, off the coast of Virginia, and taken prisoner. He was afterwards executed, and his head stuck upon a pole erected upon that coast, as a warning to other lawless rovers.

CHAPTER x.x.x.

Negroes: Their introduction into the New World-Bartholomew Las Casas-His intercessions in favour of the Indians-Cardinal Ximenes-Origin of the slave trade-Its adoption by the English government-Character of slavery-Mental degeneracy-Instances of superior faculties among the Negro race-Juan Parega-Phillis Wheatley-Ignatius Sancho-His letter to the Rev. L. Sterne- Slavery in its early days-Punishment of the negroes in 1736.

In furtherance of my plan, of commencing from the earliest period the history of this small but important colony, it also devolves upon me to give some account of the first introduction of negroes into this quarter of the globe, particularly as they form so large a bulk of the population of Antigua.

The negroes, as perhaps many of my readers may be aware, were first introduced generally into the West Indies, as labourers, in 1515, although some few had been sent there a short time before.

Bartholomew Las Casas, an eminent Spanish divine, was one of those who proposed this measure, and spent both time and money in its completion. Las Casas was born at Seville, in the year 1474; and at the age of nineteen, accompanied his father to the West Indies.

At this period, Rodrigo Albuquerque, the confidential minister of Ferdinand V. of Spain, had succeeded Don Diego, the son of Christopher Columbus, in the government of Hispaniola, which the Spaniards still considered as their princ.i.p.al colony. Albuquerque was a man of violent pa.s.sions, and rapacious in the acquisition of wealth; and under his government the poor Indians led but a miserable life; and with hard labour and ill-treatment they were almost exterminated. The cruel and arbitrary proceedings adopted towards them excited compa.s.sion in the minds of all who had the least particle of commiseration in their natures. The missionaries had early expressed their abhorrence of the system of parting the Indians among the settlers, by which means they became the slaves of their conquerors. The Dominicans, in particular, had strongly protested against the "_repartimientos_"

(or sharing) as it was termed; and not content with remonstrating in private, made the pulpit the theatre of action, and denounced curses upon the heads of those who followed that plan.

Bartholomew Las Casas early became a convert to their opinions upon this head. He not only gave up all the Indians which had fallen to his share, but tried all means in his power to persuade his countrymen to do so likewise. He remonstrated with Albuquerque upon the unlawfulness of his conduct; but he found that tyrant too much engrossed with the sordid love of acquiring gold for his remonstrances to be of any effect. When Las Casas found this to be the case, he determined to depart for Spain, and lay his complaint at the feet of Ferdinand.

After a protracted voyage of many weeks, Las Casas arrived safe at Cadiz, and quickly obtained an interview with his sovereign, whom he found to be in a very languishing state of health.

Ferdinand listened with deep attention to Las Casas'

representation of the sufferings endured by the unfortunate natives of the West Indies; and expressed deep compunction for his guilt in having authorized this measure of sharing, which had brought destruction upon so many innocent people; and finally, he promised to take into consideration the means of redressing the grievances he had occasioned. Death, however, put an end to all his resolves; and Charles V. of Germany, who succeeded him, being then in Austria, appointed the celebrated Cardinal Ximenes his regent.

Las Casas was not wearied with his undertaking, or disheartened with his disappointment; he obtained an interview with the regent, and argued his cause with so much feeling and eloquence, that Ximenes appointed a commission of monks from St. Jerome to go to the West Indies and make every inquiry into the situation of the wretched inhabitants, directing Las Casas to accompany them, with the t.i.tle of "Protector of the Indians." Upon their arrival, the monks proceeded with caution to investigate the matter; and after some time spent in this way, gave it as their opinion, that the Spaniards must either give up their American conquests, or be satisfied with very little gain, unless the system of slavery was tolerated; at the same time, expressing their determination to try all endeavours in their power to secure to the Indians a milder and a better treatment.

All but Las Casas were satisfied with these proceedings, but he argued for total exemption; and so strenuously did he urge his plea, that the planters' anger was aroused, and he was obliged to retire into a convent to preserve his life. But Las Casas was not the man to give up a favourite project for a trifle. Finding how ill he succeeded in the New World, he determined once more to sail for Spain, and employ every means and exert every energy to accomplish his plans, and never to give up his labours until death or the accomplishment of his wishes ended them.

By the time he arrived at home, the Cardinal Ximenes had resigned the regency, and Charles had a.s.sumed the reins of government, and to this monarch Las Casas carried his complaints. The emperor listened to him, and appointed another commission of monks to inquire into the business; but Las Casas knew the opposition this measure would meet with, and the little good it would effect; he therefore set his wits to work to find out some other expedient, and at last thought of introducing other labourers into the West Indies in lieu of the Indians.

The use the Portuguese made of their African discoveries was to ensnare the inhabitants and sell them as slaves; and Las Casas thought that if these wretched people could be transported in numbers to America, they would, from their stronger const.i.tutions and hardy frames, answer better than the natives themselves. This plan was laid before the council in Spain, and although strongly resisted by Cardinal Ximenes, who saw the impropriety of condemning an innocent nation to perpetual slavery to save another, the measure was carried by a majority of voices, and Charles granted to a favourite courtier a patent, empowering him to purchase slaves in Africa, and ship them to the West Indies.

This patent was purchased by some Genoese merchants, who immediately put it into execution, and thus that detestable traffic, the "slave trade," was introduced by men calling themselves _Christians_, and professing to follow the doctrines of their divine Master, while they deliberately set at nought his great precept-"Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." It is not within the plan of the present work to inquire how much the situation of the Indians was improved by this arrangement, but will merely observe, that while Las Casas spent his time, his money, and his health, in trying to benefit his favourite people, he forgot all other cla.s.ses, and completely shut the door of mercy upon the unoffending Africans; and for no other cause than it had pleased their Creator to bestow upon them greater strength than upon the natives of the West, they were torn from their country, their friends, and home, and, to "increase a stranger's treasures," consigned to hopeless misery.

To the Portuguese and Genoese the slave-trade exclusively belonged for many years; at length, the Dutch, seeing the gainfulness of it, engaged in it; and in 1564, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, Sir John, then Mr. Hawkins, introduced this bloodstained commerce (for so it may justly be termed) into the English trade, and thus tarnished the bright name he had acquired by his many naval victories.