Captain Canot; Or, Twenty Years of an African Slaver

who attempted voluntary starvation; so that, when the watch reports the patient to be "shamming," his appetite is stimulated by the medical antidote of a "cat." If the slave, however, is truly ill, he is forthwith ticketed for the sick list by a bead or button around his neck, and dispatched to an infirmary in the forecastle. These meals occur twice daily,--at ten in the morning and four in the afternoon,--and are terminated by another ablution. Thrice in each twenty-four hours they are served with half a pint of water. Pipes and tobacco are circulated economically among both sexes; but, as each negro cannot be allowed the luxury of a separate bowl, boys are sent round with an adequate supply, allowing a few whiffs to each individual. On regular days,--probably three times a week,--their mouths are carefully rinsed with vinegar, while, nearly every morning, a dram is given as an antidote to scurvy. Although it is found necessary to keep the sexes apart, they are allowed to converse freely during day while on deck. Corporal punishment is _never_ inflicted save by order of an officer, and, even then, not until the culprit understands exactly why it is done. Once a week, the ship's barber scrapes their chins without assistance from soap; and, on the same day, their nails are closely pared, to insure security from harm in those nightly battles that occur, when the slave contests with his neighbor every inch of plank to which he is glued. During afternoons of serene weather, men, women, girls, and boys are allowed to unite in African melodies, which they always enhance by an extemporaneous _tom-tom_ on the bottom of a tub or tin kettle. These hints will apprise the reader that the greatest care, compatible with safety, is taken of a negro's health and cleanliness on the voyage. In every well-conducted slaver, the captain, officers, and crew, are alert and vigilant to preserve the cargo. It is their personal interest, as well as the interest of humanity to do so. The boatswain is incessant in his patrol of purification, and disinfecting substances are plenteously distributed. The upper deck is washed and swabbed daily; the slave deck is scraped and holy-stoned; and, at nine o'clock each morning, the captain inspects every part of his craft; so that no vessel, except a man-of-war, can compare with a slaver in systematic order, purity, and neatness. I am not aware that the ship-fever, which sometimes decimates the emigrants from Europe, has ever prevailed in these African traders. At sundown, the process of stowing the slaves for the night is begun. The second mate and boatswain descend into the hold, whip in hand, and range the slaves in their regular places; those on the right side of the vessel facing forward, and lying in each other's lap, while those on the left are similarly stowed with their faces towards the stern. In this way each negro lies on his right side, which is considered preferable for the action of the heart. In allotting places, particular attention is paid to size, the taller being selected for the greatest breadth of the vessel, while the shorter and younger are lodged near the bows. When the cargo is large and the lower deck crammed, the supernumeraries are disposed of on deck, which is securely covered with boards to shield them from moisture. The _strict_ discipline of nightly stowage is, of course, of the greatest importance in slavers, else every negro would accommodate himself as if he were a passenger. In order to insure perfect silence and regularity during night, a slave is chosen as constable from every ten, and furnished with a "cat" to enforce commands during his appointed watch. In remuneration for his services, which, it may be believed, are admirably performed whenever the whip is required, he is adorned with an old shirt or tarry trowsers. Now and then, billets of wood are distributed among the sleepers, but this luxury is never granted until the good temper of the negroes is ascertained, for slaves have often been tempted to mutiny by the power of arming themselves with these pillows from the forest. It is very probable that many of my readers will consider it barbarous to make slaves lie down naked upon a board, but let me inform them that native Africans are not familiar with the use of feather-beds, nor do any but the free and rich in their mother country indulge in the luxury even of a mat or raw-hide. Among the Mandingo chiefs,--the most industrious and civilized of Africans,--the beds, divans, and sofas, are heaps of mud, covered with untanned skins for cushions, while logs of wood serve for bolsters! I am of opinion, therefore, that emigrant slaves experience very slight inconvenience in lying down on the deck. But _ventilation_ is carefully attended to. The hatches and bulkheads of every slaver are grated, and apertures are cut about the deck for ampler circulation of air. Wind-sails, too, are constantly pouring a steady draft into the hold, except during a chase, when, of course, every comfort is temporarily sacrificed for safety. During calms or in light and baffling winds, when the suffocating air of the tropics makes ventilation impossible, the gratings are always removed, and portions of the slaves allowed to repose at night on deck, while the crew is armed to watch the sleepers. Handcuffs are rarely used on shipboard. It is the common custom to secure slaves in the _barracoons_, and while shipping, by chaining _ten_ in a gang; but as these platoons would be extremely inconvenient at sea, the manacles are immediately taken off and replaced by leg-irons, which fasten them in pairs by the feet. Shackles are never used but for _full-grown men_, while _women_ and _boys_ are set at liberty as soon as they embark. It frequently happens that when the behavior of _male_ slaves warrants their freedom, they are released from all fastenings long before they arrive. Irons are altogether dispensed with on many _Brazilian_ slavers, as negroes from Anjuda, Benin, and Angola, are mild; and unaddicted to revolt like those who dwell east of the Cape or north of the Gold Coast. Indeed, a knowing trader will never use chains but when compelled, for the longer a slave is ironed the more he deteriorates; and, as his sole object is to land a healthy cargo, pecuniary interest, as well as natural feeling, urges the sparing of metal. My object in writing this palliative description is not to exculpate the slavers or their commerce, but to correct those exaggerated stories which have so long been current in regard to the _usual_ voyage of a trader. I have always believed that the cause of humanity, as well as any other cause, was least served by over-statement; and I am sure that if the narratives given by Englishmen are true, the voyages they detail must either have occurred before my day, or were conducted in British vessels, while her majesty's subjects still considered the traffic lawful.[C] FOOTNOTES: [B] As the reader may scarcely credit so large a profit, I subjoin an account of the fitting of a slave vessel from Havana in 1827, and the liquidation of her voyage in Cuba:-- 1.--EXPENSES OUT. Cost of LA FORTUNA, a 90 ton schooner, $3,700 00 Fitting out, sails, carpenter and cooper's bills, 2,500 00 Provisions for crew and slaves, 1,115 00 Wages advanced to 18 men before the mast, 900 00 " " to captain, mates, boatswain, cook, and steward, 440 00 200,000 cigars and 500 doubloons, cargo, 10,900 00 Clearance and hush-money, 200 00 ----------- $19,755 00 Commission at 5 per cent., 987 00 ----------- Full cost of voyage out, $20,742 00 2.--EXPENSES HOME. Captain's head-money, at $8 a head, 1,746 00 Mate's " $4 " 873 00 Second mate and boatswain's head-money, at $2 each a head, 873 00 Captain's wages, 219 78 First mate's wages 175 56 Second mate and boatswain's wages, 307 12 Cook and steward's wages, 264 00 Eighteen sailors' wages, 1,972 00 ----------- $27,172 46 3.--EXPENSES IN HAVANA. Government officers, at $8 per head, 1,736 00 My commission on 217 slaves, expenses off, 5,565 00 Consignees' commissions, 8,878 00 217 slave dresses, at $2 each, 634 00 Extra expenses of all kinds, say, 1,000 00 ----------- Total expenses, $39,980 46 4.--RETURNS. Value of vessel at auction, $3,950 00 Proceeds of 217 slaves, 77,469 00 ----------- $81,419 00 ----------- RESUME. Total Returns, $81,419 00 " Expenses, 39,980 46 ----------- Nett profit, $41,438 54 ----------- [C] The treaty with Spain, which was designed by Great Britain to end the slave-trade, failed utterly to produce the desired result. All _profitable_ trade,--illicit, contraband, or what not,--_will_ be carried on by avaricious men, as long as the temptation continues. Accordingly, whenever a trade becomes _forced_, the only and sure result of violent restriction is to imperil still more both life and cargo. 1st.--The treaty with Spain, it is said, was enforced some time before it was properly promulgated or notified; so that British cruisers seized over eighty vessels, one third of which certainly were not designed for slave-trade. 2d.--As the compact condemned slave vessels to be broken up, the sailing qualities of craft were improved to facilitate escape, rather than insure human comfort. 3d.--The Spanish slavers had recourse to Brazilians and Portuguese to cover their property; and, as slavers could not be fitted out in Cuba, other nations sent their vessels ready equipped to Africa, and (under the jib-booms of cruisers) Sardinians, Frenchmen and Americans, transferred them to slave traders, while the captains and parts of the crew took passage home in regular merchantmen. 4th.--As the treaty created greater risk, every method of economy was resorted to; and the crowding and cramming of slaves was one of the most prominent results. Water and provisions were diminished; and every thing was sacrificed for gain. CHAPTER XII. In old times, before treaties made slave-trade piracy, the landing of human cargoes was as comfortably conducted as the disembarkation of flour. But now, the enterprise is effected with secrecy and hazard. A wild, uninhabited portion of the coast, where some little bay or sheltering nook exists, is commonly selected by the captain and his confederates. As soon as the vessel is driven close to the beach and