The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African
saw the least sign of incontinence amongst them. The women are
ornamented with beads, and fond of painting themselves; the men also
paint, even to excess, both their faces and shirts: their favourite
colour is red. The women generally cultivate the ground, and the men
are all fishermen and canoe makers. Upon the whole, I never met any
nation that were so simple in their manners as these people, or had so
little ornament in their houses. Neither had they, as I ever could
learn, one word expressive of an oath. The worst word I ever heard
amongst them when they were quarreling, was one that they had got from
the English, which was, 'you rascal.' I never saw any mode of worship
among them; but in this they were not worse than their European
brethren or neighbours: for I am sorry to say that there was not one
white person in our dwelling, nor any where else that I saw in
different places I was at on the shore, that was better or more pious
than those unenlightened Indians; but they either worked or slept on
Sundays: and, to my sorrow, working was too much Sunday's employment
with ourselves; so much so, that in some length of time we really did
not know one day from another. This mode of living laid the foundation
of my decamping at last. The natives are well made and warlike; and
they particularly boast of having never been conquered by the
Spaniards. They are great drinkers of strong liquors when they can get
them. We used to distil rum from pine apples, which were very
plentiful here; and then we could not get them away from our place.
Yet they seemed to be singular, in point of honesty, above any other
nation I was ever amongst. The country being hot, we lived under an
open shed, where we had all kinds of goods, without a door or a lock
to any one article; yet we slept in safety, and never lost any thing,
or were disturbed. This surprised us a good deal; and the Doctor,
myself, and others, used to say, if we were to lie in that manner in
Europe we should have our throats cut the first night. The Indian
governor goes once in a certain time all about the province or
district, and has a number of men with him as attendants and
assistants. He settles all the differences among the people, like the
judge here, and is treated with very great respect. He took care to
give us timely notice before he came to our habitation, by sending his
stick as a token, for rum, sugar, and gunpowder, which we did not
refuse sending; and at the same time we made the utmost preparation to
receive his honour and his train. When he came with his tribe, and all
our neighbouring chieftains, we expected to find him a grave reverend
judge, solid and sagacious; but instead of that, before he and his
gang came in sight, we heard them very clamorous; and they even had
plundered some of our good neighbouring Indians, having intoxicated
themselves with our liquor. When they arrived we did not know what to
make of our new guests, and would gladly have dispensed with the
honour of their company. However, having no alternative, we feasted
them plentifully all the day till the evening; when the governor,
getting quite drunk, grew very unruly, and struck one of our most
friendly chiefs, who was our nearest neighbour, and also took his
gold-laced hat from him. At this a great commotion taken place; and
the Doctor interfered to make peace, as we could all understand one
another, but to no purpose; and at last they became so outrageous that
the Doctor, fearing he might get into trouble, left the house, and
made the best of his way to the nearest wood, leaving me to do as well
as I could among them. I was so enraged with the Governor, that I
could have wished to have seen him tied fast to a tree and flogged for
his behaviour; but I had not people enough to cope with his party. I
therefore thought of a stratagem to appease the riot. Recollecting a
passage I had read in the life of Columbus, when he was amongst the
Indians in Mexico or Peru, where, on some occasion, he frightened
them, by telling them of certain events in the heavens, I had recourse
to the same expedient; and it succeeded beyond my most sanguine
expectations. When I had formed my determination, I went in the midst
of them; and, taking hold of the Governor, I pointed up to the
heavens. I menaced him and the rest: I told them God lived there, and
that he was angry with them, and they must not quarrel so; that they
were all brothers, and if they did not leave off, and go away quietly,
I would take the book (pointing to the Bible), read, and _tell_ God to
make them dead. This was something like magic. The clamour immediately
ceased, and I gave them some rum and a few other things; after which
they went away peaceably; and the Governor afterwards gave our
neighbour, who was called Captain Plasmyah, his hat again. When the
Doctor returned, he was exceedingly glad at my success in thus getting
rid of our troublesome guests. The Musquito people within our
vicinity, out of respect to the Doctor, myself and his people, made
entertainments of the grand kind, called in their tongue _tourrie_ or
_dryckbot_. The English of this expression is, a feast of drinking
about, of which it seems a corruption of language. The drink consisted
of pine apples roasted, and casades chewed or beaten in mortars;
which, after lying some time, ferments, and becomes so strong as to
intoxicate, when drank in any quantity. We had timely notice given to
us of the entertainment. A white family, within five miles of us, told
us how the drink was made, and I and two others went before the time
to the village, where the mirth was appointed to be held; and there we
saw the whole art of making the drink, and also the kind of animals
that were to be eaten there. I cannot say the sight of either the
drink or the meat were enticing to me. They had some thousands of pine
apples roasting, which they squeezed, dirt and all, into a canoe they
had there for the purpose. The casade drink was in beef barrels and
other vessels, and looked exactly like hog-wash. Men, women, and
children, were thus employed in roasting the pine apples, and
squeezing them with their hands. For food they had many land torpins
or tortoises, some dried turtle, and three large alligators alive, and
tied fast to the trees. I asked the people what they were going to do
with these alligators; and I was told they were to be eaten. I was
much surprised at this, and went home, not a little disgusted at the
preparations. When the day of the feast was come, we took some rum
with us, and went to the appointed place, where we found a great
assemblage of these people, who received us very kindly. The mirth had
begun before we came; and they were dancing with music: and the
musical instruments were nearly the same as those of any other sable
people; but, as I thought, much less melodious than any other nation I
ever knew. They had many curious gestures in dancing, and a variety of
motions and postures of their bodies, which to me were in no wise
attracting. The males danced by themselves, and the females also by
themselves, as with us. The Doctor shewed his people the example, by
immediately joining the women's party, though not by their choice. On
perceiving the women disgusted, he joined the males. At night there
were great illuminations, by setting fire to many pine trees, while
the dryckbot went round merrily by calabashes or gourds: but the
liquor might more justly be called eating than drinking. One Owden,
the oldest father in the vicinity, was dressed in a strange and
terrifying form. Around his body were skins adorned with different
kinds of feathers, and he had on his head a very large and high
head-piece, in the form of a grenadier's cap, with prickles like a
porcupine; and he made a certain noise which resembled the cry of an
alligator. Our people skipped amongst them out of complaisance, though
some could not drink of their tourrie; but our rum met with customers
enough, and was soon gone. The alligators were killed and some of them
roasted. Their manner of roasting is by digging a hole in the earth,
and filling it with wood, which they burn to coal, and then they lay
sticks across, on which they set the meat. I had a raw piece of the
alligator in my hand: it was very rich: I thought it looked like fresh
salmon, and it had a most fragrant smell, but I could not eat any of
it. This merry-making at last ended without the least discord in any
person in the company, although it was made up of different nations
and complexions. The rainy season came on here about the latter end of
May, which continued till August very heavily; so that the rivers were
overflowed, and our provisions then in the ground were washed away. I
thought this was in some measure a judgment upon us for working on
Sundays, and it hurt my mind very much. I often wished to leave this
place and sail for Europe; for our mode of procedure and living in
this heathenish form was very irksome to me. The word of God saith,
'What does it avail a man if he gain the whole world, and lose his own
soul?' This was much and heavily impressed on my mind; and, though I
did not know how to speak to the Doctor for my discharge, it was
disagreeable for me to stay any longer. But about the middle of June I
took courage enough to ask him for it. He was very unwilling at first
to grant my request; but I gave him so many reasons for it, that at
last he consented to my going, and gave me the following certificate
of my behaviour:
'The bearer, Gustavus Vassa, has served me several years
with strict honesty, sobriety, and fidelity. I can,
therefore, with justice recommend him for these
qualifications; and indeed in every respect I consider him
as an excellent servant. I do hereby certify that he always
behaved well, and that he is perfectly trust-worthy.
'CHARLES IRVING.'
_Musquito Shore, June 15, 1776._
Though I was much attached to the doctor, I was happy when he
consented. I got every thing ready for my departure, and hired some
Indians, with a large canoe, to carry me off. All my poor countrymen,
the slaves, when they heard of my leaving them, were very sorry, as I
had always treated them with care and affection, and did every thing I
could to comfort the poor creatures, and render their condition easy.
Having taken leave of my old friends and companions, on the 18th of
June, accompanied by the doctor, I left that spot of the world, and
went southward above twenty miles along the river. There I found a
sloop, the captain of which told me he was going to Jamaica. Having
agreed for my passage with him and one of the owners, who was also on
board, named Hughes, the doctor and I parted, not without shedding
tears on both sides. The vessel then sailed along the river till
night, when she stopped in a lagoon within the same river. During the
night a schooner belonging to the same owners came in, and, as she was
in want of hands, Hughes, the owner of the sloop, asked me to go in
the schooner as a sailor, and said he would give me wages. I thanked
him; but I said I wanted to go to Jamaica. He then immediately changed
his tone, and swore, and abused me very much, and asked how I came to
be freed. I told him, and said that I came into that vicinity with Dr.
Irving, whom he had seen that day. This account was of no use; he
still swore exceedingly at me, and cursed the master for a fool that
sold me my freedom, and the doctor for another in letting me go from
him. Then he desired me to go in the schooner, or else I should not go
out of the sloop as a freeman. I said this was very hard, and begged
to be put on shore again; but he swore that I should not. I said I had
been twice amongst the Turks, yet had never seen any such usage with