Captain Canot; Or, Twenty Years of an African Slaver
illustrated by the prince and people of New Sestros, and very soon
detected their great inferiority to the Soosoos, Mandingoes, and Veys.
For a time their conduct was so silly, arrogant, and trifling, that I
closed my chests and broke off communication. Besides this, the slaves
they offered were of an inferior character and held at exorbitant
prices. Still, as I was commanded to purchase rapidly, I managed to
collect about seventy-five negroes of medium grades, all of whom I
designed sending to Gallinas in the schooner that was tugging at her
anchor off the beach.
At the proper time I sent for the black prince _to assist me in
shipping the slaves_, and to receive the head-money which was his
export duty on my cargo. The answer to my message was an illustration
of the character and insolence of the ragamuffins with whom I had to
deal. "The prince," returned my messenger, "don't like your sauciness,
Don Teodore, _and won't come till you beg his pardon by a present_!"
It is very true that after my visit to their republic, I began to
entertain a greater degree of respect than was my wont, for black men,
yet my contempt for the original, unmodified race was so great, that
when the prince's son, a boy of sixteen, delivered this reply on
behalf of his father, I did not hesitate to cram it down his throat by
a back-handed blow, which sent the sprig of royalty bleeding and
howling home.
It may be easily imagined what was the condition of the native town
when the boy got back to the "palace," and told his tale of Spanish
boxing. In less than ten minutes, another messenger arrived with an
order for my departure from the country "before next day at noon;"--an
order which, the envoy declared, would be _enforced_ by the outraged
townsfolk unless I willingly complied.
Now, I had been too long in Africa to tremble before a negro prince,
and though I really hated the region, I determined to disobey in order
to teach the upstart a lesson of civilized manners. Accordingly, I
made suitable preparations for resistance, and, when my hired servants
and _barracooniers_ fled in terror at the prince's command, I landed
some whites from my schooner, to aid in protecting our slaves.
By this time, my house had been constructed of the frail bamboos and
matting which are exclusively used in the buildings of the Bassa
country. I had added a cane verandah or piazza to mine, and protected
it from the pilfering natives, by a high palisade, that effectually
excluded all intruders. Within the area of this inclosure was slung my
hammock, and here I ate my meals, read, wrote, and received "Princes"
as well as the mob.
At nightfall, I loaded twenty-five muskets, and placed them _inside my
sofa_, which was a long trade-chest. I covered the deal table with a
blanket, beneath whose pendent folds I concealed a keg of powder _with
the head out_. Hard by, under a broad-brimmed _sombrero_, lay a pair
of double-barrelled pistols. With these dispositions of my volcanic
armory, I swung myself asleep in the hammock, and leaving the three
whites to take turns in watching, never stirred till an hour after
sunrise, when I was roused by the war-drum and bells from the village,
announcing the prince's approach.
In a few minutes my small inclosure of palisades was filled with armed
and gibbering savages, while his majesty, in the red coat of a British
drummer, but without any trowsers, strutted pompously into my
presence. Of course, I assumed an air of humble civility, and leading
the potentate to one end of the guarded piazza, where he was
completely isolated from his people, I stationed myself between the
table and the _sombrero_. Some of the prince's relations attempted to
follow him within my inclosure, but, according to established rules,
they dared not advance beyond an assigned limit.
When the formalities were over, a dead silence prevailed for some
minutes. I looked calmly and firmly into the prince's eyes, and waited
for him to speak. Still he was silent. At last, getting tired of
dumb-show, I asked the negro if he had "come to assist me in shipping
my slaves; the sun is getting rather high," said I, "and we had better
begin without delay!"
"Did you get my message?" was his reply, "and why haven't you gone?"
"Of course I received your message," returned I, "but as I came to New
Sestros at my leisure, I intend to go away when it suits me. Besides
this, Prince Freeman, I have no fear that you will do me the least
harm, especially as I shall be _before_ you in any capers of that
sort."
Then, by a sudden jerk, I threw off the blanket that hid the exposed
powder, and, with pistols in hand, one aimed at the keg and the other
at the king, I dared him to give an order for my expulsion.
It is inconceivable how _moving_ this process proved, not only to
Freeman, but to the crowd comprising his body-guard. The poor
blusterer, entirely cut off from big companions, was in a laughable
panic. His tawny skin became ashen, as he bounded from his seat and
rushed to the extremity of the piazza; and, to make a long story
short, in a few minutes he was as penitent and humble as a dog.
I was, of course, not unforgiving, when Freeman advanced to the rail,
and warning the blacks that he had "changed his mind," ordered the
odorous crowd out of my inclosure. Before the negroes departed,
however, I made him swear eternal fidelity and friendship in their
presence, after which I sealed the compact with a couple of demijohns
of New England rum.
Before sunset, seventy-five slaves were shipped for me in his canoes,
and ever after, Prince Freeman was a model monument of the virtues of
gunpowder physic!
CHAPTER LIV.
The summary treatment of this ebony potentate convinced the Kroo and
Fishmen of New Sestros that they would find my breakfast parties no
child's play. Bold _bravado_ had the best effect on the adjacent
inland as well as the immediate coast. The free blacks not only
treated my person and people with more respect, but began to supply me
with better grades of negroes; so that when Don Pedro found my success
increasing, he not only resolved to establish a permanent factory, but
enlarged my commission to ten slaves for every hundred I procured.
Thereupon, I at once commenced the erection of buildings suitable for
my personal comfort and the security of slaves. I selected a pretty
site closer to the beach. A commodious two-story house, surrounded by
double verandahs, was topped by a look-out which commanded an
ocean-view of vast extent, and flanked by houses for all the
necessities of a first-rate factory. There were stores, a private
kitchen, a rice house, houses for domestic servants, a public
workshop, a depot for water, a slave-kitchen, huts for single men, and
sheds under which gangs were allowed to recreate from time to time
during daylight. The whole was surrounded by a tall hedge-fence,
thickly planted, and entered by a double gate, on either side of which
were long and separate _barracoons_ for males and females. The
entrance of each slave-pen was commanded by a cannon, while in the
centre of the square, I left a vacant space, whereon I have often
seen seven hundred slaves, guarded by half a dozen musketeers,
singing, drumming and dancing, after their frugal meals.
It is a pleasant fancy of the natives, who find our surnames rather
difficult of pronunciation, while they know very little of the
Christian calendar, to baptize a new comer with some title, for which,
any chattel or merchandise that strikes their fancy, is apt to stand
godfather. My exploit with the prince christened me "Powder" on the
spot; but when they saw my magnificent establishment, beheld the
wealth of my warehouse, and heard the name of "store," I was forthwith
whitewashed into "_Storee_."
And "_Storee_," without occupying a legislative seat in Africa, was
destined to effect a rapid change in the motives and prospects of that
quarter. In a few months, New Sestros was alive. The isolated beach,
which before my arrival was dotted with half a dozen Kroo hovels, now
counted a couple of flourishing towns, whose inhabitants were supplied
with merchandise and labor in my factory. The neighboring princes and
chiefs, confident of selling their captives, struggled to the
sea-shore through the trackless forest; and in a very brief period,
Prince Freeman, who "no likee war" over my powder-keg, sent expedition
after expedition against adjacent tribes, to redress imaginary
grievances, or to settle old bills with his great-grandfather's
debtors. There was no absolute idea of "extending the area of freedom,
or of territorial annexation," but it was wonderful to behold how keen
became the sovereign's sensibility to national wrongs, and how
patriotically he labored to vindicate his country's rights. It is
true, this African metamorphosis was not brought about without some
sacrifice of humanity; still I am confident that during my stay,
greater strides were made towards modern civilization than during the
visit of any other factor. When I landed among the handful of savages
I found them given up to the basest superstition. All classes of males
as well as females, were liable to be accused upon any pretext by the
_juju-men_ or priests, and the dangerous _saucy-wood_ potion was
invariably administered to test their guilt or innocence. It
frequently happened that accusations of witchcraft or evil practices
were purchased from these wretches in order to get rid of a sick wife,
an imbecile parent, or an opulent relative; and, as the poisonous
draught was mixed and graduated by the _juju-man_, it rarely failed to
prove fatal when the drinker's death was necessary.[F] Ordeals of this
character occurred almost daily in the neighboring country, of course
destroying numbers of innocent victims of cupidity or malice. I very
soon observed the frequency of this abominable crime, and when it was
next attempted in the little settlement that clustered around my
factory, I respectfully requested that the accused might be locked up
_for safety in my barracoon_, till the fatal liquid was prepared and
the hour for its administration arrived.
It will be readily understood that the saucy-wood beverage, like any
other, may be prepared in various degrees of strength, so that the
operator has entire control of its noxious qualities. If the accused
has friends, either to pay or tamper with the medicator, the draft is
commonly made weak enough to insure its harmless rejection from the
culprit's stomach; but when the victim is friendless, time is allowed
for the entire venom to exude, and the drinker dies ere he can drink
the second bowl.
Very soon after the offer of my _barracoon_ as a prison for the
accused, a Krooman was brought to it, accused of causing his nephew's
death by fatal incantations. The _juju_ had been consulted and
confirmed the suspicion; whereupon the luckless negro was seized,
ironed, and delivered to my custody.
Next day early the _juju-man_ ground his bark, mixed it with water,
and simmered the potion over a slow fire to extract the poison's
strength. As I had reason to believe that especial enmity was
entertained against the imprisoned uncle, I called at the _juju's_
hovel while the medication was proceeding, and, with the bribe of a
bottle, requested him to impart triple power to the noxious draught.
My own _juju_, I said, had nullified his by pronouncing the accused
innocent, and I was exceedingly anxious to test the relative truth of
our soothsayers.
The rascal promised implicit compliance, and I hastened back to the
_barracoon_ to await the fatal hour. Up to the very moment of the
draught's administration, I remained alone with the culprit, and
administering a double dose of tartar-emetic just before the gate was