Captain Canot; Or, Twenty Years of an African Slaver
"I have addressed you on this occasion, judging by the interference of
those blacks in your behalf, that they are instigated by you.
"I have the honor to be, sir, your obed't serv't,
"H. F. SEAGRAM,
"_Lieut. Com._
"TO MR. T. CANOT,
"NEW SESTROS."
When this cartel fell into my hands it lacked but an hour of sunset.
The beach was alive with angry rollers, while the Termagant was still
under easy sail, hovering up and down the coast before my factory,
evidently meditating the propriety of another pill to provoke my
notice.
I sat down at once and wrote a sort of model response, promising to
come on board bodily next morning to satisfy the lieutenant of my
innocence; but when I inquired for a Mercury to bear my message, there
was not a Krooman to be found willing to face either the surf or the
British sailor. Accordingly, there was no alternative but to suffer my
bamboo _barracoons_ and factory to be blown about my ears by the
English vixen, or to face the danger, in person, and become the bearer
of my own message.
The proposal sounded oddly enough in the ears of the Kroomen, who, in
spite of their acquaintance with my hardihood, could scarcely believe
I would thrust my head into the very jaws of the lion. Still, they had
so much confidence in the judgment displayed by white men on the
coast, that I had little difficulty in engaging the boat and services
of a couple of sturdy chaps; and, stripping to my drawers, so as to be
ready to swim in the last emergency, I committed myself to their care.
We passed the dangerous surf in safety, and in a quarter of an hour
were alongside the Termagant, whose jolly lieutenant could not help
laughing at the drenched _uniform_ in which I saluted him at the
gangway. Slaver as I was, he did not deny me the rites of hospitality.
Dry raiment and a consoling glass were speedily supplied; and with the
reassured stamina of my improved condition, it may readily be supposed
I was not long in satisfying the worthy Mr. Seagram that I had no
concern in the encounter betwixt the natives and his boats. To clinch
the argument I assured the lieutenant that I was not only guiltless of
the assault, _but had made up my mind irrevocably to abandon the
slave-trade_!
I suppose there was as much rejoicing that night on board the
Termagant over the redeemed slaver, as there is in most churches over
a rescued sinner. It was altogether too late and too dark for me to
repeat the perils of the surf and sharks, so that I willingly
accepted the offer of a bed, and promised to accompany Seagram in the
morning to the prince.
Loud were the shouts of amazement and fear when the negroes saw me
landing next day, side by side, in pleasant chat, with an officer,
who, eighteen hours before, had been busy about my destruction. It was
beyond their comprehension how an Englishman could visit my factory
under such circumstances, nor could they divine how I escaped, after
my voluntary surrender on board a cruiser. When the prince saw Seagram
seated familiarly under my verandah, he swore that I must have some
powerful _fetiche_ or _juju_ to compel the confidence of enemies; but
his wonder became unbounded when the officer proposed his entire
abandonment of the slave-trade, _and I supported the lieutenant's
proposal_!
I have hardly ever seen a man of any hue or character, so sorely
perplexed as our African was by this singular suggestion. To stop the
slave-trade, unless by compulsion, was, in his eyes, the absolute
abandonment of a natural appetite or function. At first, he believed
we were joking. It was inconceivable that I, who for years had carried
on the traffic so adroitly, could be serious in the idea. For half an
hour the puzzled negro walked up and down the verandah, muttering to
himself, stopping, looking at both of us, hesitating, and
laughing,--till at last, as he afterwards confessed, he concluded that
I was only "_deceiving the Englishman_," and came forward with an
offer to sign a treaty on the spot for the extinction of the traffic.
Now the reader must bear in mind that I allowed the prince to mislead
himself through his natural duplicity on this occasion, as I was
thereby enabled to bring him again in contact with Seagram, and secure
the support of British officers for my own purposes.
In a few days the deed was done. The slave-trade at New Sestros was
formally and for ever abolished by the prince and myself. As I was the
principal mover in the affair, I voluntarily surrendered to the
British officer on the day of signature, one hundred slaves; _in
return for which I was guarantied the safe removal of my valuable
merchandise, and property from the settlement._
It was a very short time after I had made all snug at New Sestros
that misfortune fell suddenly on our parent nest at Gallinas. The Hon.
Joseph Denman, who was senior officer of the British squadron on the
coast, unexpectedly landed two hundred men, and burnt or destroyed all
the Spanish factories amid the lagunes and islets. By this
uncalculated act of violence, the natives of the neighborhood were
enabled to gorge themselves with property that was valued, I
understand, at a very large sum. An event like this could not escape
general notice along the African coast, and in a few days I began to
hear it rumored and discussed among the savages in _my_ vicinity.
For a while it was still a mystery why _I_ escaped while Gallinas
fell; but at length the sluggish mind of Prince Freeman began to
understand my diplomacy, and, of course, to repent the sudden contract
that deprived him of a right to rob me. Vexed by disappointment, the
scoundrel assembled his minor chiefs, and named a day during which he
knew the Termagant would be absent, to plunder and punish me for my
interference with the welfare and "institutions" of his country. The
hostile meeting took place without my knowledge, though it was
disclosed to all my domestics, whose silence the prince had purchased.
Indeed, I would have been completely surprised and cut off, _had it
not been for the friendly warning of the negro whose life I had saved
from the saucy-wood ordeal_.
I still maintained in my service five white men, and four sailors who
were wrecked on the coast and awaited a passage home. With this party
and a few household negroes on whom reliance might be placed, I
resolved at once to defend my quarters. My cannons were loaded, guards
placed, muskets and cartridges distributed, and even the domestics
supplied with weapons; yet, on the very night after the warning, every
slave abandoned my premises, while even Lunes himself,--the companion
of my journey to London, and pet of the ladies,--decamped with my
favorite fowling-piece.
When I went my rounds next morning, I was somewhat disheartened by
appearances; but my spirits were quickly restored by the following
letter from Seagram:
"HER B. M. BRIG TERMAGANT, OFF TRADE-TOWN,
"_23d January, 1841_.
"Sir,
"In your letter of yesterday, you request protection for your
property, and inform me that you are in danger from the princes. I
regret, indeed, that such should be the case, more especially as they
have pledged me their words, and signed a '_book_' to the effect that
they would never again engage in the slave traffic. But, _as I find
you have acted in good faith since I commenced to treat with you on
the subject_, I shall afford you every assistance in my power, and
will land an armed party of twenty men before daylight on Monday.
"I am, Sir, your obt. servt.,
"H. F. SEAGRAM, Lieut. Com'g."
The Termagant's unlooked-for return somewhat dismayed the prince and
his ragamuffins, though he had contrived to assemble quite two
thousand men about my premises. Towards noon, however, there were
evident signs of impatience for the expected booty; still, a wholesome
dread of my cannon and small-arms, together with the cruiser's
presence, prevented an open attack. After a while I perceived an
attempt to set my stockade on fire, and as a conflagration would have
given a superb opportunity to rob, I made the concerted signal for our
British ally. In a twinkling, three of the cruiser's boats landed an
officer with twenty-five musketeers, and before the savages could make
the slightest show of resistance, I was safe under the bayonets of
Saint George!
It is needless to set forth the details of my rescue. The prince and
his poltroons were panic struck; and in three or four days my large
stock of powder and merchandise was embarked without loss for
Monrovia.
CHAPTER LXVII.
My _barracoons_ and trading establishments were now totally destroyed,
and I was once more afloat in the world. It immediately occurred to me
that no opportunity would, perhaps, be more favorable to carry out my
original designs upon Cape Mount, and when I sounded Seagram on the
subject, he was not only willing to carry me there in his cruiser, but
desired to witness my treaty with the prince for a cession of
territory.
Our adieus to New Sestros were not very painful, and on the evening of
the same day the Termagant hove to off the bold and beautiful hills of
Cape Mount. As the breeze and sun sank together, leaving a brilliant
sky in the west, we descried from deck a couple of tall, raking masts
relieved like cobwebs against the azure. From aloft, still more of the
craft was visible, and from our lieutenant's report after a glance
through his glass, there could be no doubt that the stranger was a
slaver.
Light as was the breeze, not a moment elapsed before the cruiser's jib
was turned towards her natural enemy. For a while an ebb from the
river and the faint night wind off shore, forced us seaward, yet at
daylight we had gained so little on the chase, that she was still full
seven miles distant.
They who are familiar with naval life will appreciate the annoying
suspense on the Termagant when dawn revealed the calm sea, quiet sky,
and tempting but unapproachable prize. The well-known _pluck_ of our
British tars was fired by the alluring vision, and nothing was heard
about decks but prayers for a puff and whistling for a breeze.
Meanwhile, Seagram, the surgeon, and purser were huddled together on
the quarter, cursing a calm which deprived them of prize-money if not
of promotion. Our master's mate and passed midshipman were absent in
some of the brig's boats cruising off Gallinas or watching the
roadstead of New Sestros.
The trance continued till after breakfast, when our officers'
impatience could no longer withstand the bait, and, though short of
efficient boats, the yawl and lieutenant's gig were manned for a
hazardous enterprise. The former was crammed with six sailors, two
marines, and a supernumerary mate; while the gig, a mere fancy craft,
was packed with five seamen and four marines under Seagram himself.
Just as this flotilla shoved off, a rough boatswain begged leave to
fit out my nutshell of a native canoe; and embarking with a couple of
Kroomen, he squatted amidships, armed with a musket and cutlass!
This expedition exhausted our stock of _nautical_ men so completely,
that as Seagram crossed the gangway he commended the purser and
surgeon to _my care, and left Her Majesty's brig in charge of the
reformed slaver_!
No sooner did the chase perceive our manoeuvre, than, running in her
sweeps, she hoisted a Spanish flag and fired a warning cartridge. A
faint hurrah answered the challenge, while our argonauts kept on their
way, till, from deck, they became lost below the horizon. Presently,
however, the boom of another gun, followed by repeated discharges,
rolled through the quiet air from the Spaniard, and the look-out aloft
reported our boats in retreat. Just at this moment, a light breeze
gave headway to the Termagant, so that I was enabled to steer towards