|
|
|
||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
aaa |
|
|||||||||
|
`A VOYAGE TO THE
RIVER SIERRA-LEONE, ON THE
COAST OF CONTAINING
AN ACCOUNT OF THE TRADE
AND PRODUCTIONS OF THE COUNTRY, AND
OF THE CIVIL
AND RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS AND MANNERS OF
THE PEOPLE; IN
A SERIES OF LETTERS TO
A FRIEND IN BY
JOHN MATTHEWS, Lieutenant
in the Royal Navy; DURING
HIS RESIDENCE IN THAT COUNTRY IN
THE YEARS 1785, 1786, AND 1787. WITH AN
ADDITIONAL LETTER ON
THE SUBJECT OF THE
AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE ALSO, A
CHART OF PART OF THE COAST OF A
VIEW OF THE PRINTED
FOR B. WHITE AND SON, AT HORACE'S HEAD FLEET-STREET;
AND J. SEWELL, CORNHILL, 1788. C O N T E N T S LETTER I Voyage
From England to carrying on the Slave Trade. LETTER II Geographical
description of the coast, rivers, settlements, and occupations of the natives
of the Rionoonas
to LETTER III The
seasons. LETTER IV Natural
history. LETTER V Religion,
government, laws and wars. LETTER VI Persons
of the natives, customs, and ceremonies. LETTER VII The
African Slave Trade. LETTER VIII Additional
letter concerning the trade for slaves in from them, respecting the policy of
abolishing the trade. LETTER
I. Sierra-Leone,
Sept. 25, 1785. MY
DEAR FRIEND, I
Embrace the first opportunity to inform you of my safe arrival at the place
of my destination, after an agreeable passage of thirty days, in which
nothing happened sufficiently interesting to communicate. In passing
between the as is seldom seen. The
top, then covered with snow, appeared far above the clouds in the pure
regions of ether; and, from its extreme summit, issued a bright
flame. Round the base of the mountain, but above the cultivated country,
the clouds gathered in thick darkness, from whence issued storms, thunder,
and lightening, upon the plains below. Your
letter of the 20th of March did not reach me before my departure from 22d, or I should have fully explained to
you my motives, for going abroad. There
is such a contrast, you observe, between the glory of naval victories and the
lifeless scenes of commercial pursuits, that it must be difficult
to reconcile the mind to the sudden transition. I confess it is
true, but it will be sufficient for the present, at once to observe, that,
after serving as a lieutenant during
the whole of the late war in the period,
I found myself, at the peace, under a necessity of exerting myself some way
or other, to support that appearance in life which might not
be unworthy a British naval officer. In a commercial country like
ours, in which the character of a merchant is as respectable and as useful an
one as any in the state, I
am free to own, it was with much pleasure I turned my thoughts to trade. I
had indeed an additional inducement
to connect myself with gentlemen who traded to the coast of been engaged in that commerce, I thought
myself more competent to undertake a similar employment. I
have just finished my negociations with the natives
for a convenient situation to erect stores and workmen's houses. The same place was purchased
by a former agent to the same company by which I am
employed, whom the natives murdered in a most horrid manner; since which time
(about fourteen years
ago) not a white man has dared to put his foot on shore:
and, prior to that period, they had destroyed the crews of several vessels, and
plundered their cargoes. It was with some difficulty I could prevail
on the natives who resided in the bay to meet me; they were apprehensive I
should take vengeance
upon them for their former cruelty, a sentiment congenial to their
disposition; as they imagine
it indicates cowardice and want of spirit to let the enemy escape when an
opportunity of revenge presents itself. I however took
every means to inspire them with confidence, and so far succeeded,
that I convened an assembly of the king and neighbouring
chiefs, and of all the inhabitants of every denomination. Image to yourself
the shore of a little sandy bay covered with black men, women, and children. Under the shade of a
tree sat the king in an arm-chair, dressed in a suit of blue silk, trimmed with silver lace, with a
laced hat and ruffled shirt, and shoes and stockings. On each side sat his principal people, and behind him
two or three of his wives. I
began by informing them that all past acts should be buried in oblivion;
that, notwithstanding the very bad
character they had, I hoped the consequences of their former crimes, which
they had severely felt in the loss of their trade, would, in
future, make them behave better. I pointed out to them the condition which
those men had fallen into who had been the chief promoters of their former
cruelties; that though they
got immense spoil, yet nothing now remained of it; and that they were
punished and despised both by God and man. I stated to them that,
by their own laws, they were bound to protect the stranger from insult
and oppression; and that all white men were strangers in their land: and
although the place we were
then sitting upon was the property of my employers, yet, to avoid a
retrospect of the past, I would again purchase it. I expatiated pretty
largely on the power I was capable of exerting, should they attempt to
destroy my property or people; but that I wished to live in peace and amity;
and gave them the strongest assurances that they might at all
times rely upon my word. That if ever they found me guilty of
an untruth, I would forfeit every claim to their confidence; and concluded by
making a hole in the ground,
and saying in this grave I bury all past animosities, whoever opens it shall
be subject to a palaver. Ya,
oh', ya, oh'fafeé,
(a term of approbation) resounded from every quarter, and echoed from the surrounding hills. The king and
myself filled up the hole, which ceremony put an end to our assembly. In
the evening they brought an old man to me bound, and much bruised with the
blows he had received about the head and face: I inquired for
what reason they brought him to me? they answered "The king ordered us to offer him to you provided you
will promise never to suffer him to return on shore. It is this
man who has bewitched us, and who is the cause of all the injury we have
formerly done to white men; if you do not take .him he cannot
be permitted to return to land."—I declined the present for various
reasons; but had I conceived the least idea of the intended fate of the poor
unhappy victim, I should
have considered it as a most fortunate event in my life, in preserving him
from the horrid cruelty of his superstitious countrymen. The
canoe in which they brought the man put off from my vessel, and hovered in
the bay till the sun was
set; they then tied a stone to the neck of the unfortunate wretch and plunged
him into the sea, where,
in all probability, he, in a few moments, found a
living sepulchre in the bowels of a
shark, which abound very much in the I
shall conclude this letter with an assurance, that I shall not be unmindful
of my promise to transmit you
such information concerning the customs and particular ceremonies of the
natives of the country, and
the nature of the African trade, as I can collect from my own observations,
or upon such authority as
I can depend, I
am, Dear
Sir, &c. LETTER
II. Sierra-Leone,
Feb. 20, 1786. MY
DEAR FRIEND, Though
I have not hitherto had it in my power to collect much information concerning
the manners, customs,
&c. of the natives of this country, yet, such as I am enabled to give
you, I shall from time to time
take real pleasure in describing, as it is the only means I have now
in my power of testifying my friendship and esteem. That
you may the better understand any future accounts I may send you, I think it
first necessary to give you
a short geographical description of the country in general; I mean such an
extent of it only to which our
connexions in trade reach, with a map of the sea
coast, pointing out the outlines of the coast and the principal rivers, and situations of the
islands contiguous to the continent. The
sea coast from the river Rionoonas, which is the
northern boundary to makes
the south side of the and
south, and is indented with many rivers and creeks; several of which are
navigable for vessels of burthen, and all of them for small craft. The
river Rionoonas is very broad, and rapid at its
entrance into the sea. Its present name, as well as the names
of most of the other rivers, owe their origin to the Portuguese, who formed
very extensive settlements soon after their discovery of beginning
of the present century; and vestiges of their fort, and some other buildings,
are still to be seen about thirty-five miles up the river. The
tradition of the country says the Portuguese were driven from their
settlements on this river, for having frequently endeavoured
to subjugate the states round them; and
to make all the natives without distinction their slaves, by bridling the
country with forts; a measure which they have fully carried into effect
at their principal settlement of Bassou, near was
formerly a place of great trade for slaves and ivory, but the slave merchants
now take a different route. Ivory is still purchased in
considerable quantities.—The natives are called Nalloes,
and are very ingenious
in fabricating cotton cloths, which they sell to their more southern neighbours.—The seacoast of
this country is every where, till you reach Sierra-Leone, low; and in most
parts swampy and intersected
with creeks, which generally connect the adjoining rivers, and form an
excellent inland navigation. At
unequal distances from five to twenty miles, in a right line from the sea,
the country rises gradually, and
beyond that distance, in many places, towers into high hills and lofty
mountains, which, after a tornado, when the air is pure, may be seen
twenty or twenty-five leagues at sea. From
Rionoonas to the Cappatches
is about five leagues south east: this river is broad and deep within, but the entrances are all shallow,
formed by little islands, similar to the mouths of the inhabitants
are called Bagoes, and are very industrious in
planting rice, making cloths, salt, and in fishing, and trading for ivory; they also
raise vast quantities of poultry. From
Cappatches to from thence to the river Riopongeos, which is S.S.E. five leagues. The coast is
formed of a number of small
islands called similar manner to those I have just
described. The
river Riopongeos, though not equal to the Rionoonas in size, is yet one of the principal rivers for trade
in this part of native traders are settled. And it is
worthy of remark, that the same black merchants who visit come likewise to this place. The
natives are originally Suzeés, but the principal
people call themselves Portuguese, claiming their descent
from the colonists of that nation who were formerly settled here, though they
do not retain the smallest
trace of European extraction; but having had a white man once in the family,
is sufficient to give them the appellation. They also
profess the Roman Catholic religion; and are visited once or twice a
year by a priest from the Portuguese settlement at Baffou,
who baptizes their children, and receives their
confession of faith according to his dictates; yet the most enlightened of
them are merely nominal Christians.
Their religion principally consists in repeating a Pater
Noster, or an Ave
Maria, and in wearing a large string of beads round their
neck, with a cross, or crucifix, suspended. In every other respect
they follow the customs and ceremonies of their pagan countrymen; but
generally exceed them in treachery and revenge. The black
merchants who bring slaves and ivory down to this river, and the adjoining
one of Dembia, bring also large herds of cattle,
goats, and sheep, which form an article of traffic with the neighbouring
countries. The natives are also industrious in cultivating rice, and in making an inferior kind of cloth, mats, and
salt. From
the Riopongeos to Dembia
river is south-east about eight leagues, where there is a considerable trade;
the natives are called Coobé Bagoes,
which is only a discriminating appellation, similar to our counties. From thence to Dania river is
south-east four or five miles, where there is at present little trade;
the inhabitants are Bagoes, and, like their neighbours at Dembia and the Riopongeos, are industrious in fishing, in cultivating rice, and
making coarse cloths, mats, and salt. From Dania the land juts out south-west six or seven miles to
Tomba Point. West from Tomba
about three miles lie the Isles de
Loss, which are seven in number, three of which only are inhabited, the rest
are little more than rocks, on the most eastern of which are
our town and factory. These islands, by being detached from the main,
are extremely pleasant, and in general healthy; the largest, which is the
westernmost, is almost semicircular,
rising on both sides from the sea by a gentle ascent to a moderate height,
covered with good timber trees; and surrounded on all
sides, except to the north-east, by a rocky shore. The factory island
lies almost north and south, with a high wood-crown'd
hill at each end; which when first seen from sea, makes it appear like two
islands. The road for shipping is on the east side; and, during the dry season,
is extremely safe, and pleasant; but in the tornado and rainy season there is
no security except in the goodness of your anchors and cables.
The islands are called by the natives Forotimá,
which signifies White
Man's Land; and were not inhabited forty years ago, except by one single Bagoe family; but are now overstocked with a mixture of Bagoes, run away Suzee, and
Mandingo slaves. To
the southward of Tomba the land recedes to the
eastward, and forms a deep bay between it, and a point called Matacong,
which lies south-east eight leagues from the Isles de Loss. In the bottom of
this bay
are the rivers Quia, Porte, and Burria;
the former is a very considerable place of trade, and has many
large towns on the different branches of the river, in most of which are
several European residents. The chief trade of the latter is
rice.—The natives are Suzeés, industrious in
cultivating rice, and assiduous in trade. To
the southward of Matacong runs Kissey
river, which is large and deep, into which two other rivers empty
themselves from Bierrareé and Kiangesá,
which, as well as Kissey, are considerable places
of trade,
and the chief towns of the Mandingoes.—Sama river
lies two leagues to the southward of Kissey, and
is also a place of trade, having several considerable towns upon its
banks.—About six leagues south
of Sama are the great and little Scarcies rivers, between which and Kissey
river is the Mandingo country:
the natives are Mahomedans, and as zealous
promoters of their religion as as even Mahomed himself
could wish.— They cultivate great quantities of rice, but are too lazy and
too proud to attend to trade, except when in want of what cannot
be acquired without it. The Scarcies are both
rivers of great trade
for slaves, rice, and camwood, and for the fruit colá, which they sell to the Portuguese traders from Bassou. The
natives on the lower parts of the river, and between it and Sierra-Leone, are
Bullams; but higher up, and
on the north side, are Timmanies.—The ravages of
time, and the encroachments of the ocean are no where more strongly marked than along this
coast. Off the mouth of the Scarcies river were
many considerable
islands nearly adjoining to the continent, well remembered by several old men
now living, which
are now entirely overflowed by the sea, and form a sand bank to the distance
of three or four miles from the shore, upon which there there is about two fathom water. The bank which is called
the middle
ground in Sierra-Leone river was by the tradition of the natives, formerly
joined to the Bullam shore;
and I had myself an opportunity of observing that, in one rainy season, near
a quarter of a mile of the
west end of the north-west Turtle island, in the island
increased by an accumulation of sand in an equal or greater proportion at the
other end: the natives informed me this was the cafe with
all the rest. Indeed it appears to me that they were originally not
only all joined in one, but that they also were united with the neighbouring that thus united, they projected ten
leagues from the present shore. It
is, however, highly probable that their separation has been occasioned by the
impetuosity and incessant
attack of the waves of the great western ocean, urged forward by the trade
wind upon a flat shore. The
most extraordinary circumstance of this kind is at the river Gallienas.—The Portuguese had formerly a colony there, and erected a fort
at the entrance of the river. The spot on which the fort stood has
now seven fathom water over it, and is distant six miles from the shore, to
which the water shoals gradually. Ships frequently lose their anchors
upon it, or bring up fragments of the old walls. From
the Scarcies to Sierra-Leone river is south three
leagues. This noble river is at least two leagues wide
at its entrance, and has a safe and deep channel for ships of any burthen,
and affords excellent anchorage at all seasons. It continues nearly
the same breadth for six or seven miles, and then divides into
two branches; one of which contains Bance island,
and runs to two principal places of trade for slaves
and camwood, called Rokelle
and Port Logo; the other branch is called Bunch river, in which is land
is low and level, and produces great quantities of rice; the cultivation of
which, and the making of salt,
are the chief occupations of the natives, who, on both sides, are called Bullams; but on the south side
it rises into hills, which, forming one upon the other, towers into lofty
mountains crowned with perpetual
verdure.—From the foot of these hills points of land project into the sea,
which form excellent
bays for shipping and craft, and convenient places for hauling the seine.—
The vallies near the
sea are inhabited; but few or any of the natives reside in the interior part
of the mountainous country;
which, if properly cleared and cultivated, would, in my opinion, be equal in salubrity, and superior
in productions, to any of the few prospects can exceed the entrance
into Sierra-Leone river. Before you is the high Leone
rising from the whole
extent, and the variegated foliage of the different trees, with the shades
caused by the projecting hills and unequal summits, add greatly to
the beauty of the scene. The
slopes of the lesser hills have the appearance of a high degree of
cultivation, arising from the tracts of
land, which had been cultivated for two or three preceding years, but were
now covered with thick underwood and rank weeds, that, at a distance,
give it the appearance of pasture or pleasure grounds; particularly
as large single trees, for which, the natives have a veneration, are left
standing in different places, while the newly cleared ground has
the appearance of stubble or ploughed land. Between
the two capes, which are distinguished by their projection into the sea, and
by some remarkable
trees, is a fine semi-circular bay, with a white sandy beach, edged with a
beautiful grove of palms.—
To the right is a distant view of the Banana's isle, and on the left is the Bullam shore, skirted with a white sandy beach, and decorated
with clumps of palms and lofty trees. Several red cliffs are also
discovered which serve to break the line of uniformity; while, higher up the
river, as far as the eye can
reach, the trees seem to float upon the waving surface of the water, or, to a
lively imagination, may appear like a fleet of ships. The
natives at and about Sierra-Leone are not remarkable for their industry or
their honesty; they cultivate
little more rice than is necessary for their own consumption from season to
season; and, should a crop fail, they are frequently
reduced to great distress. Immoderately fond of liquor they part with
every thing they are possessed of to acquire it; and when those means fail
they pursue the same which
idle drunkards do in every part of the world, rob and plunder their neighbours; for few apply themselves to trade. From
Banana's
is south six leagues; you then enter the great Shelling
and chart, and which are places of great trade
for slaves, camwood, and rice. The natives
throughout Sherbro', as well as in the islands, are
called Bullams, and are industrious in trade and
agriculture; and particularly famous for a manufactory of matting,
extremely beautiful, and made of stained grass. The
Turtle islands are situated on the south side, and the Plantains on the north
side of this bay, and were formerly the residence of eminent
white and native traders. Having conducted you so far I shall close
this long epistle, And
am, With
the utmost esteem, Yours,
&c. &c. LETTER
III. Sierra-Leone,
June 10, 1786. DEAR
SIR, In
my last I gave you a description of the sea coast of this country, pointing
out to you the names of the different nations who inhabit it. I shall in
this describe to you the climate and seasons. 20";
and the river Rionoonas 10° 21', and about 12
degrees or 48 minutes difference in time to the westward
of London.—An abstract from my journal for the years 1785 and 1786 will, I
conceive, give you
a more complete idea of the the seasons and
temperature of the clime than I could otherwise convey. January.—About
the middle of this month we had three or four days rainy weather, blowing
hard from the
south-west, with thunder and lightning.—The rest of the month moderate and
variable, land and sea breezes,
with pleasant weather; thermometer in the shade; morning 75°, noon 85°,
evening 80°, but exposed to the meridian sun from 90° to
100°. February.—Tolerable
pleasant weather the whole of this month, with almost constant and regular
sea and
land breezes; the latter commencing about three in the morning and ending
about ten, or shifting around to the north-west, which in the
course of the day veered to the west or south-west. At this season the
evenings and mornings are extremely pleasant; but it is very unwholesome to
be out long after the fun is set or before it has risen, the
dews being exceedingly copious and penetrating. The thermometer generally at the same height as in the last
month. March.—The
first of this month it rained very hard, with light southerly and variable
winds; the two following days had a strong land wind and
thick fog, attended with a dry sharp air. It continued heavy weather
from the horizon about 20° upwards, and clear and bright in the zenith the
remainder of the month,
with moderate land and sea breezes from north-west to west and southwest;
thermometer during the day in the shade from 80° to 90°. April.—Some
rain about the middle of this month, with close cloudy weather and. southerly
wind; the middle
and latter parts clear and pleasant; the mornings generally calm, or light
airs from the northwest, which veered to the west or south-west in
the evening; thermometer in the shade from 80° to 86°. May.—Heavy
rain the first three nights of this month; all the remainder fair and clear,
with regular sea breezes from northwest to south-west every
day. Close in shore, and in the little bays light airs are felt off the land from midnight till nine or
ten next morning. Thermometer in the shade as before, exposed 95°
to 100°. June.—The
beginning of this month fair and pleasant weather: about the 8th it began to
blow and rain from
the northward; on the 13th had the first tornado; the remainder of the month
frequent and heavy rain and southerly wind from southeast to
south-west. The air raw, moist, and cold; the thermometer frequently falling to 72°, and on the sun's
breaking out rising to 85° and 90°. July.—During
the whole of this month frequent and heavy rain, thunder and lightning, and
violent tornados;
the wind variable, but chiefly from the northward; frequently blowing hard
for two or three days together from the north-west.
Thermometer variable as in last month. August.
— Much rain, but chiefly from evening till morning, with strong southerly
winds all this month, and dark disagreeable weather.
Thermometer generally high, from 80° to 90°. September.—Frequent
showers, but little heavy rain during this month. In the first part the wind
was light and variable, with frequent calms,
close, hot, sultry weather, and much thunder and lightning. Thermometer
high as in August,—Towards the middle and latter part had generally moderate
land and sea
breezes; and from the 18th had at least one tornado every twenty-four hours,
which are always attended
with violent gusts of wind, thunder, lightning, and excessive rain; but which
greatly purify the air. Thermometer from 80° to 85° and
90°. October.—From
the 1st to the 10th of this month light variable winds all round the compass,
with frequent
calms, thunder and lightning, and very close sultry weather, the clouds
lowering very near the earth,
and the weight of the atmosphere sensibly affecting both the mind and body of
the Europeans and natives.—From
the 10th to the 21st had a heavy tornado every day, with strong land winds in
the mornings
from the E. S. E. to E. N. E. which, towards ten o'clock, veered to the north
and north-west, and about noon to the west and
south-west. The rest of the month had variable land and sea breezes, with
frequent rain in the night, attended with thunder and lightning, and in
general very hot, the thermometer seldom falling below 80° even in the
night. November.
— Early in this month the smokes began, which are noisome exhalations
attracted from the earth
by the powerful heat of the fun, and have the appearance of the steam arising
from large breweries,
covering the whole face of Nature: the weather at the same time is extremely
hot, sultry, close,
and oppressive, and causes such an extreme lassitude, debility, and violent
perspiration, that the whole
body feels, as it were, dissolving.—This is the most sickly season of the
year; and even the natives themselves are not exempt from its
baneful influence. Fires and bark are the best preservatives. —Strong
land winds are frequent during the smokes.—Towards the latter end of the
month we had moderate
and variable land and sea breezes, with hazy weather, frequent thunder and
lightning, and an appearance of squalls or tornados from every
quarter of the compass. We had only three tornados this month, but one so late as the 29th, which
is rather uncommon. December.—Till
the 10th the weather continued as in the latter part of the preceding month;
from the 10th
to the 18th an almost continued gale from the northeast, and the fog or smoke
so thick as to be totally impenetrable to the sun's meridian
rays. During this period the air, raw, moist, and cold, is attended
with the most pernicious effects on the human body, totally checking the
perspiration, and causing
a dry and chapt hard skin; and occasions also
colds, fevers, and agues.—The birds and beasts seem
to droop under its influence; no melody is heard in the woods, even the dove
is silent: it has the same
effect on the earth as the frost in astonishing manner. The thermometer seldom
rising above 75°.—These winds are, by some writers, called
Haramatans, and are frequent along along the African coast from December to March, but generally without the fog. The remainder of
the month had little wind, chiefly from the north and northwest, with
hazy and very hot weather; the thermometer in the shade at noon about 85°
exposed to the sun from 105° to 110. The
distinction of seasons here is between the rains
and drys,
and I think the most natural division of them
compared with our own is as follows: December, January, February,
March, April, May, the spring
and summer, or dry season: June, July, August, September,
October, November, the winter and autumn, or rains and tornado season. The
tornados generally begin early in June, and continue till the middle
or latter end of July: they commence again about the middle or beginning of
October, and continue till the latter end of November. A
remarkable circumstance attending them is, that they always happen
at or about about the time of high or low water;
from which it perhaps may appear they are influenced by the same powers that cause the
flux and reflux of the sea. From
the foregoing account you will naturally conceive a very unfavourable
idea of the climate; but the rains
this year have been much more severe and longer than they generally are;
neither have the dry months
been so invariably fine as they commonly are.—I must also observe that my
residence, where I made
my remarks, was at Sierra-Leone, and where the rains are always more severe
than they are any where
along the coast, occasioned by the high wood-crown'd
mountains; and though we have, from the fame
cause frequent showers in the dry season, they are seldom felt from December
to March, or April, a league from the coast. D2
LETTER LETTER
IV Sierra-Leone,
July 29, 1786 MY
DEAR SIR, I
hope you have received my former letters, in which I endeavoured
to give you such a geographical and meteorological
account of this country as my observations furnished; I shall now proceed to
describe the appearance of the country and its
natural history. The
sea coast, except the low swamp covered with very lofty
straight mangroves, and intersected with innumerable little creeks. As
you approach the habitable and cultivated part of the country, you find a
boggy plain covered with a thin
sward, on which grow a few straggling stunted trees of the ebony kind,
without any sort of underwood.
These plains are overflowed by the sea twice a year, at the vernal and
autumnal equinoxes, and deposit a mud from which the natives
extract salt by a simple process. When the crust of mud left by
the inundation is sufficiently hardened by the sun's heat, they collect it
together; it is then dissolved in
water in large earthen pots: when the water is sufficiently saturated with
salt it is boiled in shallow brass
pans, and yields an excellent salt, which, although not so white as that
procured from sea water only, by the same method of boiling, is
preferred to it by the natives. Where their salt plains are extensive
they employ their slaves, during the dry weather, in collecting the mud,
leaving a few old ones to boil it during the rainy season. The
soil varies according to the situation. In the level grounds it is a strong
loam or stiff clay; towards the uplands it is generally stony, but
every where exceedingly fertile. A saponaceous white earth is found
in several parts of the country, which is of so very unctious
a nature that the natives frequently eat it with their rice, as it dissolves
like butter, they also use it to white-wash their houses. The
face of the country, even where it is cultivated, appears woody from letting
it lie fallow six years out
of seven; yet, in the interior parts, and in some places near the sea, there
are very extensive Savannahs,
where the grass, known in the amazing height; and feeds and conceals vast
numbers of deer, buffaloes, and elephants. The same grass is
used by the natives to thatch their houses; and at the latter end of the dry
season is generally set on fire, and when on fire burns with
irresistible fury. No
country produces more variety of excellent and beautiful timber fit for every
purpose; but few, if any, bear the least affinity or
resemblance to the woods of The
camwood tree is so very plentiful in the interior
country about the sources of the rivers, that I am informed the natives frequently burn it for
fire-wood. And the tree which produces the gum copal grows in great abundance upon the heights of
Sierra-Leone. The
palm tree, which furnishes the natives with both wine and oil, flourishes
here in great plenty and perfection. The woods and mountains, as well as
the savannahs, are well stored with wild beasts and game. Lions are said to be on the heights
of Sierra-Leone; but I never yet saw any myself, nor have any persons
upon whose veracity I could depend; but they have leopards in abundance,
equally fierce and rapacious as the lion. When pressed by hunger
in the rainy season, they haunt the towns and villages in the night, particularly towards the dusk
of the evening, and frequently carry off men as well as animals. If
a leopard is successful in carrying off his prey undisturbed the first night,
he is sure to make an attempt the succeeding one; they are then
prepared for him, and he seldom escapes. — They have likewise
elephants, buffaloes, wild hogs amazingly fierce and large, deer of various
kinds, some very large
and beautiful, others small like young antelopes (the flesh of all is very
dry eating, and never fat): there
are musk cats, and a great variety of other animals, which the natives use
for food; and monkies of so
many casts and species that it would require a volume to describe them; but
there is one peculiarity attends
them all, which is, when caught and kept only a few days in a house or ship,
and then turned loose, they never return to the woods; for
it is said their old companions would tear them to pieces. Indeed
I have frequently seen the wild monkies chase those
that had been only a few days caught, out of the skirts of the wood, when they were
searching for food. The
Japanzees, or Chimpanzees, are also natives of this
country; and, when caught young, become very tame
and familiar; extremely fond of clinging to those they like, and very
sensible of good or ill treatment. I have now a young one in my
possession, who very readily comes when called by his name; but
if I push him from me, or strike him, or even do not regard his advances by shewing him encouragement,
he turns sullen and sulky; will not take the least notice if called, or take
any thing from me,
till I put him into good humour.—Their appearance,
when they sit, greatly resembles that of an old negro,
except that the hair on their heads is straight and black like an Indian's;
but their form is so amply
described in Brooke's Natural History, that I must refer you to it: however,
a few other circumstances
related of them may not be unentertaining—They generally take up their abode
near some
deserted town, where the papau tree grows in great
abundance, of which they are very fond; and build
huts nearly in the form the natives build their houses, which they cover with
leaves; but this is only
for the female and young to lie in; the male always lies on the outside.—If
one of them is shot the rest
immediately pursue the destroyer of their friend; and the only means to
escape their vengeance is to part
with your gun, which they directly seize upon with all the rage imaginable,
tear it to pieces, and give over the pursuit. Camelions, and great variety of lizards and
snakes, abound in this country: some of the latter are extremely beautiful, but almost all of them
dangerous. I saw a boy upon the was
bit by a small black snake, about four or five feet long, as he was tending
the goats and sheep, who died within two hours after receiving the
wound. I examined it immediately after the boy was dead, but could
discern nothing more than two little punctures just above the instep, but not
the least appearance of inflammation. I opened a vein in
each arm, but no blood ran from the wounds, although the body remained as supple as when living for several
hours. The
most remarkable snakes are the tenneé
for its size, and the finyacki-amoofong
for its pernicious quality.—The
tenneé,
when full grown, is from fifteen to twenty feet long, and about three feet
round; the colour of
the back dark grey; the belly something lighter and spotted. It not only
seizes upon and devours
goats, sheep, and hogs, but the wild animals, such as leopards, tygers, and deer, are equally their prey where they come within their
reach. The natives even assert that they are so large in the savannahs,
in the interior country, that they will swallow a buffalo; though they are at
no time formidable
to man, except they should find him asleep.-— The manner in which they take
their prey is, by
first seizing the animal with their mouth, and as their teeth are turned
inwards, like hooks, the more it
struggles, the faster it is held; they then throw their tails two or three
times round the body of their victim, and, by a sudden contraction, break
every bone. This, as the tail will not cover the whole carcase, is performed by two or three
operations: after which they make a circuit of at least half a mile round
to fee that no enemy is near, particularly ants, who are the most formidable
to them; for, as they are
perfectly inactive after having gorged their prey, if the ants find them in
that situation, they soon dispatch
them by entering their mouth, ears, and nose: but, if the coast is clear,
they then proceed to dress
their prey, (if I may be allowed the expression,) by besmearing the whole carcase with an unctious kind
of saliva; and at the same time by licking it into an oblong shape: after
which they take the head into their mouth, and suck the whole
gradually into their stomach without the least mastication. When this
is finished, the animal becomes as lifeless as a log, and remains so till the
whole is digested; which, if
the prey be large, takes three or four days; during which time it is easily
killed.—I have known an instance
of one being killed a few hours after he had swallowed a large goat with kid,
which was taken out whole and entire, except the bones
being broken, which appeared as if they had gone through a mill. —
They generally frequent the savannahs and skirts of towns; and are frequently
seen rearing their heads
above the grass, which grows ten feet high, looking round for prey.—The natives
esteem their flesh a great delicacy. The
finyacki-amoofong
is a very small snake, seldom exceeding a foot long, and
about the thickness of a
man's little finger; of a pale green colour, and
black spots.— This destructive little creature is possessed
of the power of ejecting a very subtile vapour into the eyes of any animal that approaches it within
the distance of two or three feet, which instantly occasions incurable
blindness, and, for eight or ten days, causes extreme pain. I have
seen several people who have suffered from them. But the most formidable and destructive enemy of man and
beast is the ant. These creatures burst forth from their nests
in innumerable myriads: nothing can withstand their ravages, or turn them
from their paths, but very large fires or deep water. Frequent
instances are known of their extinguishing fire made to stop their progress,
by their numbers, and
forming bridges, made by the sacrifice of themselves, to cross shallow waters
which have impeded their route. They frequently oblige the
natives to desert their habitations, and destroy every thing upon the face of the earth, and under the
earth, to a considerable depth. In short, nothing escapes or can withstand their all-devouring rage but metals. The
different species of them are innumerable, from an inch in length to be
scarcely discernible by the naked eye. Many
kinds burrow in the ground; some erect their habitations of clay, in a
conical form, upon the surface; and others build upon the branches
and trunks of trees. The
termite, or white ant, called by the natives
bugabug,
is amply and accurately described by Mr. Smeathman. There
is only one kind that I ever observed to fly, and that only for a short
time—they are a red ant, and generally swarm towards evening and before
rain. They do not fly far, and shed their wings as soon as they alight. Wild
geese and ducks, of various kinds, Guinea hens, pheasants, quails, curlues, plovers, snipes, parrots,
and great variety of doves and pigeons, are found in the woods and on the
banks of rivers; besides
an infinite assemblage of other birds, chiefly of beautiful plumage, and
whose notes vie with the feathered songsters of Their
domestic animals are cattle, sheep, goats, and small poultry.—Turkies, geese, and common
ducks, would thrive here extremely well, and soon stock the country, would
the natives be at the trouble to rear them. And it is not
a little surprising that the the
country, and are soon domesticated, should be neglected by them; for it is
never seen tame but in possession of the Whites, or of those who adopt
their, manners. The
seas, rivers, and creeks, abound in great variety of most excellent fish. The
manatié,
or sea cow, is frequently
taken in the rivers; they have also three kinds of fresh-water, and three of
sea-turtle; besides several
kinds of land tortoises, and great abundance of excellent oysters, which grow
upon rocks, mud banks,
and on the roots of mangroves; and are denominated mud, rock, or mangrove
oysters, from the place in which they are taken. They all
are formed in bunches, and not single as ours. Prawns,
shrimps, and crayfish, are in great plenty and perfection; and several
others, which serve the natives for food, but are unknown in Great
numbers of alligators are bred in the creeks and rivers, which frequently
carry off small cattle, and
sometimes the persons of the natives; yet such is their superstition, that,
when a circumstance of that
kind happens, they attribute it to witchcraft; and are so infatuated, that
they will not be at the pains to
inclose those parts of the rivers where their women
and children are continually washing, and from whence
they are frequently taken.—There are also vast numbers of large sharks in the
mouths of the rivers, which almost instantly seize upon
any thing that falls overboard. This circumstance renders bathing, even in shoal water, extremely
dangerous. Yet even sharks and alligators, voracious as they are supposed to be, are harmless where they have
not been used to prey upon animals. In
the river Gallienas, where alligators abound as
much as they are said to do in the never
known to touch any body; though the natives were frequently swimming in the
river, till a slave ship blew up off the mouth of the river a
few years ago. And at the Turtle islands, in the an
instance was never known of a shark attacking any person, although their
children are playing in the water all day long. This the natives
account for by being particularly careful to bury their dead, and their offals
at such a distance from the sea-side that the sharks cannot even smell them. The
gall of the alligator is reckoned the most deadly poison, and in this the natives
dip their poisoned arrows. When an alligator is killed, the
person who destroys it is obliged to have two witnesses to prove he emptied the gall in their presence. No
gold is found in this country: the little the women wear, as ornaments, is
brought from a very great distance
in the interior parts of the country, and is found in lumps washed down by
the rains from the mountains. Neither have they any precious
stones that I have yet heard of; but that perhaps may be owing to their ignorance of them in their
native state. The
loadstone is found in the high lands of Sierra-Leone; and, from the
appearance of some of the mountains, it is highly probable they may
contain mines. In
the interior country, south of Sierra-Leone, they have a white iron, very malliable, of which they make knives and sabres;
and esteem it preferable to European iron for every thing but edge tools. How they smelt and refine it from the ore, I
never could learn. The
best indigo in the world, if we may judge from the deep indelible blues the
natives give their cloths,
grows wild in every part of the country: and the Portuguese, when settled
here, had large indigo works in several places, the ruins of
which are still remaining. They have also the art of dying scarlet and black in the most effectual manner. Cotton
is cultivated by the natives, but in no greater quantity than they can
manufacture themselves; but,
as it is an article that requires little trouble in the cultivation, I have endeavoured, by encouragement,
to induce them to propagate it to such an extent as to become an article of
European traffic. There are several kinds of it which
materially differ, not only in quality but colour:
particularly three
kinds—one perfectly white, one of a tawny or Nankeen colour,
and one of a pale red, or pink colour. Sugar
canes are a native plant, and grow wild to a size beyond any I ever saw in
the West Indies; they also
have some tobacco, which is not esteemed, owing perhaps to their want of
knowledge in the cultivation. Rice is the chief and staple
produce of the country, and constitutes their principal and almost
only food: indeed such is their fondness for it, that the black sailors, who,
from their situation, are
sometimes constrained to subsist a few days upon salt beef and biscuit, never
fail to complain that they have been so many days without food.
Their method of cultivation, though attended with considerable
trouble, as they never cultivate the same ground more than once in seven
years, is performed in a very awkward and slovenly
manner. After selecting a piece fit for their purpose, they cut down the trees and bushes, which when dry
they set fire to and bum, the ashes serving for manure. The large
old trees are always left standing, so also are the stumps of the fallen
ones; and the trunks and large branches, unconsumed by the fire,
are suffered to remain as they fell. This is all the preparation they
give the ground.—The first new moon after the rains are well set in, which
here is the latter end of July,
or beginning of August, they sow their rice; after it is sown they slightly
hoe it, just sufficiently to cover
the grain: when it is about ten or twelve inches high they weed it, and in
about eight weeks it is fit to reap. This is performed by cutting
off the ears with a knife, and making it into small sheaves which they
stick upon the branches of the fallen trees, till the weather is perfectly
dry; they then stack it exactly as we do our corn. When wanted for
use they strip off the grain by hand, and boil it a little in water;
it is afterwards well dried, and the husk beat off in a large wooden mortar;
and, where pains are taken with it, it is equally as white as whole management of the process, after the
rice is cut, is performed by the women. The sides of hills are
generally preferred for their rice plantations: and I have observed that the
rice which grows on elevated
or sloping situations, though smaller grain, is much sweeter, and more
nutritive, than the produce
of low, moist, or level grounds, where the water lies longer on it; for, in northward,
about the Riopongeos, they have three rice harvests
in the year; one crop from the hills, and two from the plains which they overflow. To
save labour, which the natives studiously avoid as
much as possible, they plant their cassada, or manioc,
amongst the rice after they have weeded it: it remains about four months in
the ground, and is then fit for use. The young roots are
very good eating either roasted or boiled, and are next to yams as a substitute for potatoes. The Abbe Raynal, in his history of
the European settlements in the says
the manioc is twenty months in the ground before it attains perfection; and
that it is a strong poison before
it has undergone the preparation necessary to make it into bread: but this is
by no means the case with the African manioc, as it is eaten
raw with as much safety as roasted or boiled. Indeed the children are very fond of it raw, as it is very
sweet when young. Whether the Abbe gives us his
account of the West
Indian manoic from hear-say or experience I know
not; but what he advances as the cause of the black colour of
the natives of Rice,
as I before observed, is the principal food of the natives, although they
have cassada, yams, eddies,
sweet potatoes, and great variety of other roots and vegetables unknown in two
kinds, which grow upon large trees; one very much resembles a sweet potatoe in form and taste, the other
eats something like a bean, and has nearly the same shape, except only one of
the kind grows in a pod, which is much larger than the
common bean, and rounder. The
Mollugo, or African chick-weed, which produces a
small bean, grows in such quantities, that, during
the rains, or after a flood in the country, the shores are covered with them;
and vast bodies, of several
acres in extent, are seen floating many leagues out at sea; and these also
serve the natives for food in times of scarcity.—Indian corn
and millet both thrive extremely well, but are little cultivated. The
Malagato pepper, or grain of is purchased from the natives at Baffa and the places adjacent. The bird and pod pepper is
cultivated in great
plenty and perfection; and there are several kinds of aromatic fruits, which
are excellent substitutes in culinary uses for the spices of
the East. Most
of the tropical fruits known m the pine-apples,
oranges, oranges, and limes; which are in season, but not in the same degree
of plenty, all the year round. Guavas, tamarinds, acajous, or, as the English call them, cashews, and
cocoa-nuts, have been planted by Europeans, and thrive
amazingly. The wild fig-tree grows to the size of an oak; but the fruit is small, and generally destroyed by
the ants. Nothing can exceed the luxuriancy of the
wild vines, which bear amazing quantities of grapes,
beautiful to the eye, but of an acrid taste. If cultivated, however, they would, no doubt, be equal to
those of cooling and grateful, are found in the
woods, which are unknown either in Europe or the But
the principal fruit, in the estimation of the natives, is the colá. Both the tree and fruit in external appearance very much resemble the walnut. The
fruit grows in large clusters, which contain six or eight colás.
On the outside it is covered with a thick tough rind, and a thinner white
rind on the inside: when this
is taken off it divides into two parts, and is either of a purple colour or white; but the former is generally preferred. Its taste resembles the
Peruvian bark, and its virtues are said to be the same. Those who can procure it chew it at all times
and at all seasons. It is presented to guests at their arrival and departure—
sent in complimentary presents to chiefs — is a considerable article of
inland trade, as well as with the Portuguese from Bassou, and frequently made the token of peace or war. It
grows in the greatest plenty and perfection in the river Scarcies and on the Bullam
shore, opposite to Sierra-Leone. Castor
nuts and many others, which produce oil, grow spontaneously almost every
where; and the leaves of the castor are a most most excellent application in swellings and bruises. Water
is the only beverage the natives drink at their meals; nor have they yet
found the means of intoxicating themselves with any thing of their
own produce, but palm wine. The
natives, however, of the Riopongeos are to be
excepted; who make a strong heady beer from a root called ningeé. It
is extremely bitter, not much unlike the beer made in cultivated,
and seems to partake of the nature of the asbestos, in not being altered or
consumed by the action
of fire.—The root, which is the only part useful, grows to the size of a
man's leg, and three or four feet long. The preparation of it for
brewing is as follows—They dig a square hole in the ground; and
first place a layer of dry mangrove-wood cleared of its bark, then a layer of
the root, which has been
previously well washed and dried; and so proceed till the place is full,
which they cover over very close with sods, leaving only a small
aperture at the bottom for the air and fire. When it is sufficiently burnt,
which is known by the wood's being entirely consumed, they carefully remove
the sods from the top,
to preserve the ashes which they make use of, and the root is taken out, and
again well washed and dried. —When wanted for use it is pounded
with a heavy wooden mallet, and steeped in water till its virtues are extracted. The water is then
boiled, and afterwards put into earthen pots to ferment. When the fermentation is over it is fit to
drink.—-The whole process takes up about three days. The root, when
raw, is so extremely acrid as to excoriate the mouth on the slightest touch,
except it be eaten with the ashes of a former burning, which is
a strong alkali. The
beer is a powerful diuretic, and considered by the natives as a specific in
the venereal disorder. In
short, my friend, Nature appears to have been extremely liberal, and to have
poured forth her treasures
with an unsparing hand: but in most cases the indolence of the natives
prevents their reaping those advantages, of which an industrious
nation would possess themselves. I
shall conclude with wishing you every happiness; And
am, Dear
Sir, Yours, &c. LETTER
V. MY
DEAR FRIEND, In
my last letter, which I hope you received safe, I endeavoured
to give you an account of such parts of the natural history of this country as
my observation furnished. In this I shall proceed to relate such particulars as I have been able to collect, of
their religion, laws, government, and wars. It
is hardly possible for an European to form an adequate idea of the religion
of the Pagan inhabitants of this
country; for they have no order of priests, nor any fixed object of adoration
which might be termed a
national worship; every man fashions his own divinities according to his
fancy: and the imagination can scarcely conceive the monstrous,
uncouth, and ridiculous figures they adore. They
acknowledge and profess their belief in a God, who, they say dwells above
them, and made and governs all things. If any circumstance of
joy or distress happen they very cooly say God sent
it them (unless
they fancy it was caused by witchcraft); but without having any idea of
returning God thanks for a benefit, or, by submission and
prayer, of endeavouring to deprecate his wrath.
They make offerings indeed to their devils and genii, who they
suppose are the executive ministers of the Deity. Their devils, who
they imagine reign paramount upon earth, are small images of clay, often
renewed and made in some
resemblance of a man: these are placed at the foot of a tree, and a small
shed of dry leaves is constructed
over them: various offerings are made to them of bits of cloth, pieces of
broken cups, plates,
mugs, or glass bottles, brass rings, beads, and such articles, but I never
observed any thing of value
given to them; indeed when they want to render their devil propitious to any
undertaking, they generally provide liquor; a very small
libation is made to him, and the rest they drink before his altar. Besides
these devils they have images of wood from eight to twelve inches long,
painted black, which are
their lares
(household gods); but they seem to pay very little
attention to any of them, except when they think they stand in need of their
assistance. On
every accident which befalls them, whether trivial or important, they make an
offering to their genii, who they imagine inhabit, and have
power, in the air, as the devils have upon earth. A brass pan fastened
to the stump of a tree by driving a country axe through it—a glass bottle set
upon the stump of a
tree—a broken bottle placed upon the ground with two or three beads in it,
covered with a bit of cloth, and
surrounded with stones—a rag laid upon small sticks and covered with a broken
calabash—and a long
slip of cloth, generally white, tied to the end of a pole and stuck upright
in the ground, are the offerings
they generally make; and in the efficacy of which, for whatever purpose they
are made, they have implicit faith. To remove one of
them, even unknowingly, is a great offence, and subjects the aggressor
to a palaver, or action in their courts of law;
who, if he be a poor man, and the offended person be powerful, the crime is often only
to be expiated by the loss of liberty. Such are a part, for it would
be impossible to describe the whole, of the ceremonies of a religion, if it
may be so termed, in which it is difficult to determine which
is most predominant, folly or superstition. The
Mandingoes who profess the Mahometan religion, are,
in outward appearance, strict followers of the
precepts of the Alcoran; nor could Mahomet himself
have wished for more zealous promoters of his law. Fully sensible of what importance
it is to have the conscience in keeping, they neglect no means of policy
to spread their religious doctrines—where they are strong they use coercive
measures; and where they
are not in a capacity to exert those means, they use every art that human subtilty can suggest.—In the
villages of the tribes around them they erect schools, and teach their youth
gratis, to read and write Arabic;
and their missionaries, by temporizing with the prevailing follies and
foibles of the distant nations
which they visit; by assuming to themselves the sanctity and authority of the
servants of God; by
abstaining from all strong liquors; and, above all, by pretending to have
power over every species of witchcraft;
and, by their trade in making charms, do so insinuate themselves into the
confidence of the chiefs
and principal people; that I never visited a town in this part of Mandingo
man as prime minister, by the name of bookman,
without whose advice nothing was transacted. The
religion of Mahomet was propagated in this country by the Arabs and Foolahs. Many of the Arab priests,
or faquins travel not only across the country from
the banks of the Nile, but also from to Abissinia,
and are supported by the charity of the nations through which they pass.
During my former residence
in the interior part of the Mandingo country, I saw several of them, and
gained no little esteem
from the natives, by the alms I bestowed upon those travelling
mendicants, who never eat or sleep in a house during their
peregrination. By means of these people, and the travelling
black merchants,
the defeat of the Spaniards before after the action. Circumcision
of male children, whether a religious or political institution, is in
general, but not universally
practised all over country,
but among the Suzeés and Mandingoes: with them both
sexes undergo the operation when they arrive
at the age of puberty; and the performance of this singular rite on the
females is by cutting off the exterior point of the clitoris.
The ceremonies attending it are very curious:—Every year during the dry season,
and on the first appearance of a new moon, the girls of each town who are
judged marriageable are
collected together, and, in the night preceding the day on which the ceremony
takes place, are conducted by the women of the village into the
inmost recesses of a wood. Griggories, or charms,
are placed
at every avenue or path which might lead to the consecrated spot, to warn and
deter the approach of the ignorant or designing, during
their confinement, which continues one moon and one day. They are
seen by no person but the old woman who performed the operation, and who
brings them their provisions
daily; should she, through sickness, or any other cause, be unable to attend,
the person who is
substituted in her place calls out with a loud voice as she approaches,
leaves the victuals at a certain spot,
and retires unseeing or unseen; for, should any person, either through
accident or design, break into their retirements, death is the
punishment annexed. It
is principally during their confinement in the wood, when the body is subdued
by pain, and the mind softened
by the gloomy stillness of every thing around them, that they are taught the
religious customs, and
superstitions of their country; for, till that period, they are not thought
capable of understanding or practising them.—When the time destined for
their continuance in the wood is expired, which is judged sufficient
for the healing their wounds, they are brought into the town in the night,
where they are received
by all the women of the village, young and old, quite naked: in this state,
and in a kind of irregular
procession, with various instruments of national music, they parade the
streets till break of day;
and would any man be found even peeping during their peregrination, he would
immediately suffer death,
or pay a slave.—A probation of one moon succeeds their release from the wood;
during which they
are every day conducted in procession, with music, and their heads and bodies
covered, to every principal
person's house in the town, before which they dance and sing till they are
presented with some trifling present. At the expiration of the
month they are released from further attendance, and immediately given to the men destined for their
husbands. How
they came to adopt, or for what reason they practise,
this very singular rite, I never could learn; but
the women hold it in such veneration, that to be reproached with the want of
it, is the most villifying term they can possibly use; and
frequent instances occur of women in years submitting to the operation,
who, though born in other countries, yet, coming to reside where it was practised, were exposed to the reproach. Their
government and their laws appear to have been originally of the patriarchal
kind, where the elder of every family was priest and judge.
Time, that changes all all things, has made some
change in this also. At
present the prevailing form in these parts of extremely
limited both in external and internal power; and very much resembles the
authority of the mayor
of a corporation town in signifies head man; and he is always addressed
by the title of fafeé,
or father. Every separate district, in the same nation, has a separate king,
ruler, or chief. The
Suzeés and Mandingoes, indeed, who are the most
powerful and numerous, acknowledge subjection
to the king of the Foolahs, whom they represent as
a powerful prince, whose empire is very extensive,
reaching from acknowledge no power superior to their own. The
necessary qualifications for any person to ascend the throne are, a thorough
knowledge of the local customs
of the country; to be a good orator; to have a clear understanding, or, as
they emphatically express
it, to have a good head; to be sober, to be at all times ready and attentive
to hear the complaints and
redress the grievances of the subject; and to be sufficiently powerful in his
own slaves and people, who live under his immediate protection,
to enforce the observance and execution of the laws. Except
among the Mandingoes and Suzeés, few kings are
natives of the countries they govern. So different
are their ideas from ours, that very few are solicitous of the honour, and competition is very seldom heard of. The
reigning prince has the power of appointing a deputy, who, upon his death,
succeeds to all his honours and authority; and governs, in his
name, till they elect a new king.— If the deputy be a man of power
and address, he often takes possession of the property also of the deceased
king, and secures it till the new king is elected, who will
adjudge it to the right heir. But it frequently happens that if the deputy
is found equal to the task of governing, he is either confirmed in the
dignity of king, or continues to act under the title of deputy as
long as he lives. The
present ruler of Sierra-Leone, who is in fact only a deputy, has reigned in
that capacity for more than
ten years; and his subjects are so well pleased with his conduct that they
wish to make him king: but
he appears to be perfectly satisfied in ruling with a subordinate title.—The
revenue, or rather the emoluments
of his office, arise from the presents made him on every occasion where his
assistance or authority
are wanted; and which are always proportioned to the ability of the giver and
the importance of the affair. — From a poor man, for
instance, a basket of rice, a couple or half a dozen fowls, or a goat,
would be accepted; but nothing less than the value of a slave would be taken
in an affair of consequence. The
ensigns of authority of the kings of Sherbro' are
an elephant's tail carried before them; or, if it be sent by a messenger, it has the same
obedience paid to it as to the sign manual. But I never observed any
such tokens of royalty among the other kings, except what they received from
the whites; such as a silver-headed cane, or a gold-laced hat. Though
the executive, power and final decision of all causes is vested in the king,
yet every head, or principal man of a village, thinks himself
sole lord within his own town. Neither can the king command,
but only intreat, except in matters which which have been debated and determined upon in full council. For instance, I wanted some
wood at a distance from my residence, and sent people to cut it, the head man of the district prevented
them. I complained to the king; his answer (which I found to be
true) was, he would send to the man to desire him to let my people cut the
wood; but that the place belonged to him, and he had no authority to
compel him. The
family of a deceased king, or head man, lay no claim to superiority over
their countrymen from their
office, but fill that station only in which their wealth or connexion place them; and it very often happens
that the son of a deceased chief, a few days after his father's death, is
necessitated to hire himself as a gremeta,
or sailor, to an European trader, for subsistance. Present
possession is the only tenure they allow of in the occupying of lands. If a
man quits his situation,
another may immediately take possession, provided he is a native; for they
are extremely tenacious
of their rights, and will not suffer any strangers to settle among them
without their consent and approbation. Their
laws, handed down by tradition from father to son, are merely the local
customs of the country; which
differ, but not very essentially, in every district or state.—All causes are
tried by the king, assisted
by the head men, in open burreé,
or court; and there are a set of men called palaver
talkers, (i.e.
counsellors) who plead on both sides.—I have known
one of these men speak for two hours with such dignity of action, force and energy
of elocution, as would do honour to an English
orator. Disputes
among themselves, when brought to a palaver,
are generally decided with equity, according to the
evidence produced; particularly if the parties are equal in power: and the
losing party pays all damages and costs of suit before he goes out
of court, or is obliged to give good security. In
their disputes with white men they are not very rigid observers of justice;
and, what is something singular,
if a white man should succeed in his suit, he reaps no other advantage from
it than the honour of
being in the right; as they never adjudge any recompense to be made him on
any occasion; and, right or wrong, he must pay the expences. — I have often asked them the reason of this
conduct; they only answered, "White men get too much money;
they cannot want their money." All
capital offences are punished with either fine slavery, or death; but the
latter is now seldom practised, except among the Mandingoes, who
rule by the Mahometan law, and whose proceedings
are always
summary; or, in cases of murder, when the friends friends
of the deceased take vengeance before the crime has been publicly judged. Witchcraft
is slavery inevitable; but poison, adultery, or any other crime, may be
compensated by fine. The
method of recovering debts appears to be founded upon the first principles of
jurisprudence, which are generally adopted by all nations. Debts
are commonly contracted for a limited time; that is, there is such a length
of credit given. If the debtor
refuses or delays payment when the debt is due and demanded, the creditor
applies to the king, or chief, for his assistance; who sends
to the debtor, desiring him to pay the debt. If after this notice from
the king, he refuses to pay it, or to satisfy his creditor, the latter gets
the king's consent to seize the person of his debtor, or any of his slaves
or people. If this be found impracticable, by the debtor's living in
another town, the creditor seizes upon any person, who resides in the same
town as the debtor, and detains
that person till the debt is paid, which the people of the town compel the debtor
to do immediately. And
this is not all; for when a man is thus deprived of his liberty for the debt
of another, he instantly brings
a palaver, or action, against the real debtor, and generally recovers
considerable damages, as a compensation for the imprisonment. The
most singular law I have yet observed in Sherbro'. This wise, political institution
is disseminated through the country for the purpose of putting an
end to disputes and wars, as the jealousy, pride, and irritability of the
natives are such as will not suffer them, even when conscious of being
the aggressors, to make concessions. Any freeman, after a certain age, (supposed about thirty) may
become a member of this association. On his admission into the
society he undergoes various ceremonies, and is enjoined the strictest
secrecy respecting them, which
they preserve as inviolably as the free masons in to
which it has some resemblance in other respects; particularly in having a
grand master, or head purrah
man, in every district or state, and the non-admission of females. This law
is never used but in the dernier resort; and when it is in
force, the crimes of witchcraft and murder are punishable by it. When
two tribes, or nations, are at war, and begin to be tired, or wish to put an
end to it, but are too haughty
and proud to make overtures to each other, they apply to the ruler of a neighbouring state for his
interference as a mediator: if the offer be accepted, he immediately sends to
the contending parties, to
inform them he will act as umpire if they chuse to
refer their disputes to him; and that if they do not agree
to terminate their differences amicably, he will send for the purrah, as he will no longer look on with
indifference, and see those who ought to be friends destroy each other and
depopulate their country. Should
they, after this message, prove refractory, the purrah
is ordered out; and the grand fundamental article
of the purrah law is, that no blood shall be shed
while it is in force; so that the late contending parties follow their several occupations
without fear. But encounters sometime happen, as their vindictive
and revengeful disposition will seldom suffer them to let slip an opportunity
of gratifying their thirst of vengeance, even under the
terror of this law. When
the aggressors are known to the purrah, they come
down in a body of forty or fifty men armed and disguised. All persons, of every age
or description, fly before them; and if they find any person out of
their houses, they put them to death, or dispose of them in such a manner
that they are never more heard of. This is also the fate of all
transgressors of the purrah law, when seized by the
people of this extraordinary association. It
is impossible to describe the dread and terror this institution strikes into
the common people: they believe
the purrah men are possessed of the power of the
devils, and can do whatever mischief they please without being affected by it
themselves. They take away the stock and provisions, or whatever they like, belonging to the natives,
without the least interruption or subsequent inquiry. In
describing the customs and manners of distant nations, we are under a
necessity of using such expressions and phrases as suit our own idioms.
Hence every petty quarrel, when perhaps there is only ten or a dozen combatants on each side,
is in chiefs, or head men, who are all dignified
by the Europeans with the title of king. The
vindictive and violent spirit of revenge which every African possesses when
he imagines he is injured or insulted, is the cause of
frequent wars among the natives. When a national war is agreed upon,
it becomes general, and every person of each party is equally obnoxious to
the other; but their petty
wars, or quarrels, only involve the particular town, or towns, which are
engaged.—Their expeditions are always of the predatory kind. To
surprize and burn a village, and make a few
prisoners, is
the utmost extent of their ambition; they never attempt to meet each other in
the field, but sculk about in
ambush, and laugh at the folly of the Europeans, when told of the manner in
which they fight, and the
numbers they bring into the field; as an African army seldom exceeds 500 men,
and even that is considered as a very large one. The young men
only go to war; but they are very indifferent soldiers, and can only be kept together with the
hope of plunder, or being well supplied with liquor. They
are sometimes two or three years preparing and forming alliances with the neighbouring tribes before
they make an attack, which is commonly done just at the commencement of the
rains, when the men are employed in their plantations,
at which time they are sure of finding the towns defenceless. When
two tribes, or nations are negotiating, and the final result must be peace or
war; and, when they have
made their election, if for war, two red colá
are deposited upon a stone at the place of meeting; if for
peace, one white colá
is left at the same place, which is divided into two
parts, each party take one piece, and they then meet each each other without fear to adjust the particulars. The
inhabitants of the sea coast have almost totally laid aside their national
weapons for the sabre and gun; but the natives of the inland
countries still use the spear, dart, and poisoned arrow. It
does not appear that the intercourse which has so long subsisted between the
Africans and Europeans has
made any material change in their customs or manners, except giving them a
relish for society, and the enjoyment of what they consider as
the luxuries of life, European manufactories. I have endeavoured to discover the causes of their
wars, and whether the accusation so often made, — that the natives
of was, or was not, founded in fact. And this,
I am free to declare, never was the case in any instance which fell under my observation and from
every account I could collect it never had been the case. When
I first arrived at the Isles de Lose, I found an almost general war raged
throughout the extent to which we traded. The Suzeés,
aided by the Mandingo slaves who had revolted from their masters, were at war with the Bagoes
and Mandingoes; and the people of Sherbro' were at
war with each other. The origin
of the war between the Suzeés and Bagoes, and their allies, arose from a Bagoe man killing a native
of a Suzeé town, where he at that time resided: he
fled from their resentment among his countrymen,
who refused to deliver him up to the friends of the person he had killed,
agreeable to the laws of the country. The war in Sherbro' arose from a quarrel between two chiefs, and
involved the whole
country in their dispute, After fixing my establishment at Sierra-Leone, I
made a trip into Sherbro', in a mediator capacity, to endeavour to terminate their disputes. I visited both the
principals in person, and sent to the allies of both
parties. Reciprocal presents passed between us; but such was the mutual
jealousy and distrust of each party, that I never could prevail on them to
meet each other on board my vessel, though they separately
visited me. I had however the satisfaction to lay the foundation of a truce, which has continued ever
since, and is now enforced by the purrah. LETTER
VI. Sierra-Leone,
Nov. 20, 1786. DEAR
SIR, My
last letter conveyed to you the best accounts I could give of the religion,
laws, and government, of the
inhabitants of this country; in this I shall endeavour
to describe the persons of the natives, and such of
their particular customs and ceremonies which have fallen under my own
observation, or which I have received from persons upon whole
veracity I can depend. It
is a general remark all along the coast of inhabiting
islands, are a much stouter, better made, a braver, and more active people
than those who reside
in the interior parts of the country, This, perhaps, may be in some measure
accounted for by the difference
of food, those upon the sea-coast living a good deal upon fish, and breathing
a more salubrious air. The
Bullams, Timmaneys, and Bagoes, are a stout, active, and personable race; of a
good black, straight limbs, and pleasing features; and rather
above the middle size. The Timmaneys, in
particular, are remarkable for an open, ingenuous countenance;
and many of their women are really handsome. During
my residence here I have only seen two deformed people, and their misfortunes
were occasioned by accidents in their infancy. The
Suzeés are of a yellow cast; and in person much
inferior to those I have just mentioned; though they are generally straight limbed, they
have thick lips and flatter noses. The
Mandingoes seem to be a distinct race from any of the others: they are tall
and slender, of an indifferent black, and remarkably small eyes:
they wear their beards like the Jews in The
Suzeés, Bullams &c.
shave while they are young; but, when their hair begins to turn grey, they suffer
their beards to grow; for the silver tokens of age with them denote wisdom:
and, indeed, some of their old men, with long white beards,
seated in council, make a most venerable appearance. The
striking difference between the free people I have described, and the
appearance of the plantation slave, is so great, that I was never
mistaken in my opinion respecting their situation even at first sight. The
free man, elated by his liberty, walks with dignity and conscious pride, and
looks with an eye of confidence
on all around — while the slave, on the contrary, oppressed by the
consideration of his situation, moves on with humble step and
down-cast eye. The
persons of the slaves (except such as were born on the seacoast) are
generally less in stature, and not so robust or well made as the native
free men, and come from the interior part of the country. The
Foolahs, who inhabit the country on the back of the
nations I have described, appear to be an intermediate
race between the Arab and the black, and very like the East Indian Lascar,
having long, straight, black hair, yellow complexion, thin
face, and long Roman noses. They are strict followers of the
Alcoran; and, by their wars for the propagation of
their religion, furnish a great number of the slaves which are sold in these parts. Voltaire,
in his preliminary discourse, mentions a race of people inhabiting the
interior parts of whom he calls Albinos, and represents
them as being of a milky white colour, and
diminutive stature. I have
made the most diligent inquiry of the natives, and travelling
black merchants, but never could gain the least information that such a people
existed. But I have seen several white negroes in different parts of
have black children, and are only
considered as lufus
naturæ. I remember to have seen one of the
same kind in The
Suzeé language seems to be the root from which the Bagoe, Bullam, and Timmaney is sprung; it is soft, and abounds with vowels and labial
founds. The Mandingo language is, as the people are, perfectly
different from any of the others, and appears to me to be a corrupt Arabic,
though not the same as they teach in their schools, which
they term the language of prayer. The
disposition of the natives is nearly similar every where, extremely indolent,
unless excited by revenge,
of implacable tempers, full of treachery and dissimulation, where they
conceive the least resentment;
nor do they ever let slip an opportunity of gratifying their thirst of
vengeance when they can do it with impunity. To their
particular friends indeed, they are hospitable and kind; but are addicted to pilfering, and are remarkable for the
fickleness of their conduct on almost every occasion. The
Mandingoes, from religious motives, hate a Christian, and vilify those
Europeans who reside among them, and whom they frequently see
drinking and rioting, with the appellation of dog. But when I
formerly resided among them, by pursuing a contrary conduct, and by being
enabled to converse with them
on the tenets of their religion, I received such treatment from them in the
time of the utmost distress, when I was dangerously ill, as I
could have expected only from my best and dearest friends. Their
methods of salutation are various; when a slave approaches his master to pay
him obedience he bends
the right knee almost to the ground, and stretches out his right arm, with
the hand shut, which he supports with the left hand under the elbow.
When two friends, or equals, meet, they put their right hand
upon their breasts and wish each other good day; and sometimes embrace, or
shake hands, and snap the finger and thumb. When a
stranger comes upon a visit to a friend, no notice is taken of him till he
announces his visit in form, which is often four or five days after his
arrival, during which time he is provided
with every thing necessary for himself and people, apart from the family: the
same custom is observed by their ambassadors, or public
messengers, upon business of importance. When the women meet
upon visits, they join their right hands and curtsy; but the young and
unmarried embrace with the most seeming affection. When a son visits
his mother after an absence, and the first salutation is over, he
lies at her feet, and, while she carefully examines his head for the purpose
of destroying vermin, he relates the adventures of his journey. The
women are exceedingly clean in their persons, and are strictly attentive to
domestic duties; and none can be more fond or careful of their
offspring, or make better nurses. They never wean their children
till they are able to walk, and to carry a calabash of water to their mother,
which they instruct them
to do as soon as possible; for, during the time a child is at the breast, the
woman is not permitted to cohabit with her husband as they
suppose it would be prejudicial to her milk. Barrenness they dread as
the greatest reproach; and Nature has exempted them from the pain and sorrow
our fair countrywomen experience in childbirth, as they
are seldom confined more than a few hours. In their domestic amusements they in some respect
imitate the good country housewife in evening
the head wife, surrounded by the rest of her husband's women, and her female
attendants, is employed
in spinning and carding cotton, while one of the company amuses the rest with
telling stories upon the plan of Æsop's
fables: to these tales I have often listened with infinite pleasure. They
have several
games of chance, at which the men and women play separate; but both sexes are
passionately fond
of dancing, which they never fail to enjoy when they have a light moon and
fair weather, from an hour after sun-set, till midnight.
Besides this, the birth of a child or the arrival of a friend or relation, furnishes
them with an opportunity of enjoying their favourite
amusement of singing and dancing, which they term a cullunjee. When a cullunjee
is performed on any great occasion, they introduce dancers
dressed in a grotesque style; on their heads they wear a high cap made of
rushes, stuck round with
feathers, and their faces are painted about the eyes, nose, and mouth, with
chalk, or white clay, and they wear a pettycoat
of rushes round their waist, which in dancing spreads in every direction. In
their hands
they have pieces of flat wood, which they clap together, and with which they
keep time during the dance. The
death of a child, friend, or relation, adds no less to the enjoyment of this pastime,
by performing the
wha', or cry: but, from the manner in which it is
performed, a stranger to their ceremonies would rather term it a rejoicing. On
the evening of the day appointed the friends and relations of the deceased
assemble together, and proceed, by a slow and solemn movement, to
an open space before their houses. Here they begin singing the praises of the deceased, and
dancing to the music of a drum. In the dance they frequently vary
the figure; sometimes forming one great circle round the music, and clapping
hands at every period or repetition of their song.
Sometimes one person performs the dance, the rest sitting or standing round
in a circle, joining chorus and clapping hands as before: at other times two,
three, or four, will dance together till they are weary, and
then are relieved by others; the rest singing and clapping hands. This,
with firing of guns, continues from evening till near daylight, without
intermission; but they frequently regale themselves with liquor and
tobacco. This ceremony is repeated three nights successively. For
people of consequence, whose friends can afford it, the cry is repeated once
or twice a year for several
years; but the poorer sort are sometimes two or three years before they can
procure means to purchase
rum and tobacco sufficient for the purpose: but whatever time they may be
before they are enabled to put it in excution,
it is never omitted. This
may be termed the public mourning after the death of their friends or
relations, in which both sexes
join; but there is also another kind, of a more private nature, practised by the women only, and is peculiar to the Buliams
and Timmaneys only. The
mourners wear a white linen or cotton cap, which is drawn over their eyes in
such a manner as to prevent
their seeing any thing, except on the ground, without turning their heads
quite up, and several strings
of large country beads are fastened round their neck and waist.—If married
women, they are stripped of their cloth, and allowed to wear
the tuntungeé
only. They
are not suffered to eat or drink with any other person, or cook their own
victuals, but at meal times
beat a drum and dance before the person's door who is to give it them; and
nobody is allowed even to eat or drink out of the vessels
they make use of. The
time this kind of mourning continues is not fixed, but regulated by the whim
and caprice of the person
who orders it, who is generally the mother, aunt, or some elderly relation;
and is commonly performed
by girls approaching the age of marriage, in order to preserve their
chastity; for should any intercourse
between the sexes be discovered, during the continuance of this ceremony, the
woman would become infamous, and the man be
liable to a severe punishment. A
woman also, when she supposes her husband neglects her, has the privilege of
putting his favourite mistress into mourning. When this, however,
happens, after a short probation and a peace-offering, to the
wife, of a goat or six fowls, a jar of liquor, and a little tobacco, to be
used in a cullunjeé, she is restored to his arms. Indeed
this appears no bad policy on the part of the elderly wives, to preserve some
degree of consequence
with the men; for during the time the young woman is in this mourning, the
husband is deprived of her society. They
have various kinds of national music but the drum seems to be the principal
instrument, of which they
have three sorts, but they are of different sizes, according to the use for
which they are intended; one
is made of a hard wood, which is hollowed, the ends of it stopped close, and
a longitudinal opening made
on the side; they beat upon them with two sticks, and the loud and shrill
noise these drums give are,
in a still evening, heard to a great distance, and are used to spread an
alarm: the others are made of light
wood, hollowed throughout, and the ends covered with dried goat or sheep
skin, laced tight over with cords. Some of these are very large,
from six to eight feet long, and two or three feet diameter; in others
the heads are only two or three inches apart, and shark's teeth or bits of
copper are tied round she rim, which make a jingling noise. The
trombone and tamborine, used in have
also two kinds of string instruments; one is a sort of guitar, and is the
same as the bangou in the of the fibres
of a plant and the hair of an elephant's tail. The
women and children also have several sorts of rattles made of gourds, into
which they put small hard
berries; and in Sherbro' they have a kind of pipe
made of reed, with solar stops for the fingers; and a horn, or trumpet, made of an
elephant's tooth. The
customary food of the natives is rice, which they always boil quite dry, and
either eat it with palmoil poured
over it, or a strong gravy made of fish, flesh, or fowl, and vegetables
boiled together, highly seasoned with pepper and spices, and palm oil.
They use very little animal food, and in general prefer it smoke
dried rather than fresh; but are good cooks, and make many savoury dishes.—The men and women always eat apart, and never drink
any thing but water at their meals. They eat only twice in the day;
the first time about ten in the morning, and the second about sun-set; but
the principal men who can
indulge, generally enjoy a slight repast early in the morning, which is
prepared by the favourite of the preceding night. The
only trades in use amongst them are those of the carpenter, blacksmith, and griggory maker; and their workmanship, considering the tools
they use, often display neatness and ingenuity. Every family spin
and weave their own cloth, and make their own cloches; the men weave and sew,
and the women spin and card the cotton. Their dress is
very simple and easy. The boys and girls never wear any thing but a tuntungeé,
which is a thin slip of cloth passed between the legs. The different manner
of wearing it denotes the sex. The girls have a
string tied round their waist, and the ends of the tuntungeé
are tucked
under it, and left to hang down before and behind, with a belt or girdle of
beads, or loose strings of
them tied round their waist; the boys have the short end forward, the other
part is brought round their loins, tucked under, and left to hang down
behind only. After marriage the women lay aside the tuntungeé, (except among the
Nalloes, who never wear any thing else) and wear a
cloth round their waist,
which reaches down about the middle of the leg; though they are very fond of
wearing it over their
breasts, not in order to hide them, but to make them flat, which (as it is a
sign of womanhood) gives them additional consequence. They
are also very fond of ornaments, such as beads formed into necklaces,
bracelets, &c. silver rings, lockets and chains, manillas,
(which are hoops of silver made flat or round to wear on the wrists),
strings of coral and use a variety of paints. An African lady, when full drest, makes no contemptible figure:—over
her common country cloth, which we may term her under petticoat,
for she wears one of red taffity; a black silk
handkerchief tied by two corners round her neck, hangs
down before like a child's bib, and covers her bosom; another of the same colour is tied round her head,
she has gold earrings in her ears, found her neck a string of large coral;
and a silver or gold locket and chain. On each wrist two or three manillas, and five or six silver rings on each finger;
her forehead is
painted with various angles and triangles of white or red, and her hair
neatly and curiously plaited; and
sometimes close shaved in small circular or crescent formed spots.—Behind her
follows her waiting-maids,
(who are generally the prettiest girls she can procure, from ten to fifteen
years old), decorated
with coral and beads, and a piece of taffity or
fine chintz thrown over their left shoulders like a Highlander's plaid. The
dress of the men is a loose shirt without a collar or wristbands, and very
wide sleeves, with drawers which
reach about the middle of the leg, and a hat or small close cap made of
country cloth; though they
generally go bare headed and bare footed, except the head men, who imitate as
much as they can the
dress of the whites, and the Mandingoes, who are always distinguished by
wearing a red cap and sandals,
and who also ornament their shirts and drawers with worsted embroidery; in
manufacturing of which
they are very ingenious.—The men never go without their belmós,
which are large straight knives,
hung in a sheath on the right thigh, exactly like the patou-patou
of the described
by Captain Cook; they have two of these, one small for the purpose of eating,
and the other as a weapon of defence. The
custom of tattowing,
or marking the body, which is called soccalá, is
pretty general all over and
I fancy was originally intended to distinguish the different tribes from each
other: it is still practised here on that account, but does not appear
to be so necessary as it might have been formerly. The back, loins,
belly, and breast, are the parts upon which they carve in this neighbourhood; and the manner in which
it is done not only denotes the tribe, but the condition of the person, as a
slave is not allowed to be
marked in the same manner as a free man.—The operation of tattowing
must be extremely painful, and is often dangerous; it is performed
when the child is only a few months old. Some nations raise the skin
in such a manner as to make it appear like embossed work; others perform it
by puncture, with a sharp-pointed
instrument dipped in a liquid, which leaves an indelible mark: but it must be
observed, that those who use this method are of a
yellow complexion. In the more southern and eastern parts of The
situations which the natives chuse for their towns
are generally on the bank of a creek or river, for the
benefit of fishing, and are always distinguished by large pullam
trees; which kind of trees are a certain criterion of a dry soil. They never
take the trouble to clear more ground than is sufficient to build
their houses upon; as they cannot conceive that cutting down the wood, so as
to admit a free circulation
of air, would render it more healthy: neither do they observe any order in
the disposition of streets;
but every man chusing a spot most convenient or
agreeable, erects a number of small houses, according
to the number of his wives and people (for every wife has a separate house);
the whole forming
a circle, which are inclosed within a trapada, or fence, made by driving stakes into the
ground; which,
in a few months, (so quick is vegetation in this climate) become living
trees, and produce a very pretty effect. A
number of these inclosed buildings erected near
each other form a town, which is generally surrounded with a mud wall or a strong
palisade, and often cover a considerable extent of ground. When
the natives are at war they have several barriers, which are always shut at
sun-set, and guarded, during
the night, with a good watch; nor are they opened again, upon any occasion,
till the sun rises next morning. Their
houses are only one story, and are either round or an oblong square; the
sides built with upright posts, wattled
and covered with a stiff clay. The floors are also clayed and beat hard; and
the roots are supported with long poles, and thatched with
grass. They have generally two doors, on opposite sides, which
cause a draught of air through; and, together with their height, make them
very cool in the hottest weather:
and they white-wash the outside with white clay, which they get in some
particular places from the bottom of the river, or a white soapenaceous earth found in Sherbro'.
Though I have mentioned doors,
they very seldom have any in the European manner, except those who imitate
the manners of the whites;
but, instead of doors, have a mat fastened to the upper end of the door
frame; when that is dropped
nobody presumes to enter without a previous inquiry; when it is rolled up
that ceremony is unnecessary. The eaves of the roof project six
or eight feet over the walls, and are supported with posts; the
space between the walls and the posts is raised a foot or eighteen inches,
which form a kind of piazza, and makes an admirable lolling
place, as it screens them from the surf and rain. In
the interior parts of the country they build very large houses of brick baked
in the sun, which stand many years, if the top of the walls are
preserved from the weather. They
never have chimnies to their houses; yet the
natives always keep fires in the morning and evening, to drive away the musquetos. The
common people, slaves, and children, sleep on mats or dried skins spread upon
the ground before the
fire; but people of consequence have bed places made by driving four stakes
into the ground, with a bottom of split cane or bamboo; and mats
hung round supplies the place of curtains. The men's apartments
are furnished with a chest to contain their clothes and valuables, a mat or
skin to sit upon, and their arms. The women's contain all
their domestic utensils, mats, and stools, and never without a looking-glass. Near
the centre of every town there is a circular building, open at the sides,
which they term a burreé (i.e. court house); where all palavers are talked, and
public business of every kind transacted. In
the Mandingo country, where they profess the Mahometan
religion, there is in every town a public mosque, from the top of which the people
are called to prayers in the same manner as in There
are also several small burreés, which serve as
public schools; where their youth are taught to read and write Arabic. Polygamy
is allowed and practised here in its utmost
latitude; and women, as in more civilized countries, are frequently among the great the
bond of peace and friendship. If two tribes have been at war,
or wish to contract a more close and intimate connexion
with each other, a mutual exchange with the
chiefs of each others daughters is the basis of every treaty: it is the same
also with individuals, and from this cause is chiefly the reason of
the head men having so many wives. In order to connect their families
together, a female child is frequently given to a man as soon as she is born;
but among the Suseés the child remains with the mother
till of a proper age, which is judged of rather from the external appearance, than from the age of the
party; they are then delivered in form. On the day appointed
for the marriage, the bridegroom stations relays of people on the road the
bride is to come, with
liquor and refreshments; for if these articles are not plentifully supplied,
the bride's attendants will not proceed a step, even though the
supplies should fail them in the midway. When they approach near the
town, they halt, and are joined by the bridegroom's people, and friends, who
make great rejoicing by shouting, drinking, firing guns, and other
demonstrations of joy. The
lady is then taken upon the back of an old woman, and covered over with a
fine cloth, for from this time she is not allowed to be seen by any
male person till after consummation. Mats are spread on the ground,
that the feet of the person who carries her may not touch the earth; in this
manner she is carried to
the house of her intended husband, attended by the friends of both parties,
shouting dancing, and firing guns. In the evening the bridegroom
retires to his wife's apartment. If he finds room to suspect she
has before admitted the embraces of a man he immediately leaves her, which is
no sooner known by her
friends than they instantly abscond, shouting and howling with shame and
confusion; but if he is satisfied, he remains with her all night.
Great rejoicings are then made by her friends, who carry the tokens of her virginity, according to the Mosaical institution, in wild procession through the
streets. In either
case he is at liberty to retain her, but should he send her back, he must
send every thing she brought with her. Among
the Bullams, Bagoes, and Timmaneys, they frequently receive their future wives
when quite children, and bring them up in their own
houses. On these occasions, when they receive the child, a present
is made according to the receiver's ability, to the child's parents, which
they term drawing wine for
her; but if the child should be ill-treated before consummation takes place,
her parents have a right to demand her on refunding the wine. On
the other hand, if the man sends back his intended bride to her parents, they must receive her, but keep the
wine. From
these circumstances one would naturally imagine chastity was highly valued,
but in fact it is no longer
the case than to the time of marriage; for it is reckoned extremely unpolite and ill-bred for a married
woman to reject the offers of a lover; though she is sensible she is liable
to a severe punishment if discovered, yet it does not at all
affect her reputation.
Almost every married woman has, according to the country custom, her yangeé cameé, or cicisbeo, whom she first
solicits. This connexion she is at little
or no pains to conceal, and her husband is often obliged to be silent, as
otherwise he would have reason
to dread worse consequences; for although the laws of the country are severe
against adultery, it requires the arm of power, even among
themselves, to put them in force. But it should be observed that it is among the great who keep a number
of wives, that this practice more particularly prevails. The common people are in general contented with
one, or at most with two wives. Yet there is one singular circumstance which should not pass unnoticed
respecting their women's private amours. They
never attempt to impose on their husbands by introducing a spurious offspring
into his family, but always declare before they are delivered
who is the father. But if the husband wishes to have children by
a favourite woman, he obliges her, though it is
sometimes done voluntarily, to make a vow, that she will
not for a certain time go astray and should she during that period be induced
either by force or persuasion
to break her vow, she immediately tells her husband, and both the offending
parties undergo a most shameful punishment, and are
ever after reckoned infamous, and held in contempt. They
deposit their dead in the ground in the European manner, and generally either
in the evening or morning; but the ceremony of interrogating
the corpse is curious, and deserves a particular description. When
the deceased is designed for interment, the corpse is laid upon an open bier,
decently wrapped in a
white cloth, and born upon the heads of six young people, either male or
female; for that is a matter left
entirely to the choice of the corpse, who signifies his approbation or
disapprobation of the bearers, by
his inclination or disinclination to move (which they firmly believe it is
capable of exerting) to the place of burial. This place is always in
the bush out of the town, When arrived there a person, who is generally
a relation or friend of the deceased, places himself five or six paces before
the bier, with a green
bough in his hand, and addresses the deceased in this manner-—"You are
now a dead man—you know
you are no longer alive and as one of us—you know you are placed upon the
sticks (i.e. the bier) of God Almighty, and that you must
answer truth."—And then he asks him what made him die— whether
he knew of his own death, or whether it was caused by witchcraft or poison;
for it is a firm and universal
belief among them, that no person dies without having a previous knowledge of
his death, except
his death be caused by witchcraft or poison, or the more powerful charms of
another person over those he wears. If
the corpse answers in the affirmative to any of the questions proposed, it is
signified by forcibly impelling
the bearers several paces forward, by a power which they say they are unable
to resist—if, on the
contrary, it is signified by a rolling motion, which they also say they
cannot prevent.—If, by the sign given,
a suspicion arises that the death of the party was occasioned by poison or
witchcraft, they proceed
to question him who was the person, and name several people to whom they
suppose he was not attached in his life time; but they
first begin with his relations. If it should happen to see any of them
the corpse remains silent for some time, as if ashamed to accuse his own
kindred, but at last is obliged to answer. He is then more
particularly questioned whether he is certain of the person; if he is, it
is requested that he will strike that hand which holds the bough, (the person
before the corpse holding the bough up in his hand). Upon this the
corpse immediately impels the bier forwards, and strikes the bough. In order to convince the
spectators, they repeat this two or three times. The
culprit is then seized, and if a witch sold without further ceremony: and it
frequently happens if the deceased
were a great man, and the accused poor, not only he himself but his whole
family are sold together. But if the death of the deceased
was caused by poison, the offender is reserved for a further trial; from which, though it is in some
measure voluntary, he seldom escapes with life. After
depositing the corpse in the grave, which is hung round with mats, and his
most valued clothes and
necessaries put in with him.—They confine the accused in such a manner that
he can release himself; which signifies to him he has
transgressed the laws of his country, and is no longer at liberty. As
soon as it is dark he escapes to the next town, and there claims the protection
of the head man, who is
supposed to be an impartial person; informs him that the corpse of such a
person has accused him of causing his death by poison; that he is
innocent, and desires that to prove it he may drink red water. This
request is always allowed, and the friends of the deceased are sent for to be
witnesses. At the time appointed
the accused is placed upon a kind of high chair, stripped of his common
apparel, and a quantity of plantain leaves are wrapped round
his waist. Then in presence of the whole town, who are always
assembled upon these occasions, he first eats a little colá
or rice, and then drinks the poisoned water. If it kills him, which it is almost
sure to do, he is pronounced guilty; but if he escapes with life after
drinking five or six quarts and throwing up the rice or colá
unchanged by the digestive powers of the stomach, he is judged innocent, but
yet not intirely so till the same hour next day.
During the interval
he is not allowed to ease nature by any evacuations; and should he not be
able to restrain them, it would be considered as strong a
proof of his guilt as if he had fallen a victim to the first draught. And to
prevent the least possibility of the medicine's not operating, should any
remain in the stomach, they oblige
the accused to join in the rejoicings made for his escape, which consists in
singing and dancing all
night,—After being fairly acquitted by this ordeal trial, he is held in
higher estimation than formerly, and
brings a palaver, or, to speak in the professional language of my friend, an
action against the friends of
the deceased, for defamation or false imprisonment, which is generally
compromised by a payment adequate to the supposed injury. But
if the deceased says he knew of his death, and that it was premeditated; they
ask him what induced him
to die and leave them, and propose several questions, such as, was any one
possessed of a fine gun, or
a fine cloth, that he could not acquire the same; or had any body offended
him that he could not be revenged of; but on these accounts they
cannot bring any palaver against the object of his resentment. It
sometimes happens that the corpse will accuse a person of causing his death
by witchcraft, that they cannot
sell on account of their age, or dare not sell on account of their family or connexions, as it leaves a
stain upon the family; in that case, after the guilt of the person accused is
proved, he is carried to a field
out of the town and obliged to dig his own grave, the people who are with him
as a guard frequently
reviling him, saying "you deal in death and can make other people die,
you must now taste of it yourself." Notwithstanding he
goes on with his work with an appearance of the utmost unconcern, retorting,
"'tis true I did kill such a one, and many others, and if I lived I
would kill many more,” and often during his work measuring the length
and width of the grave, by the dimensions of his own body. When
the grave is judged deep enough, they direct the prisoner to stand at the
edge of the foot of it, with
his face towards it, then a person behind strikes him a violent blow upon the
nape of the neck, which
causes him to fall upon his face into the grave; a little loose earth is then
thrown upon him, and a sharp stake of hard wood is drove through
the expiring delinquent, which pins him to the earth. The grave is then filled up, and his or her
name is never after mentioned. Though
the ceremonies above related are constantly practised,
yet the different tribes have different methods of performing them. The Suzeés carry the whole body, but the Timmaneys
and Bullams only the
clothes the deceased had on at the time of his death, and the nails of his
hands and feet, which they cut
off immediately after he is expired, and which they hold to have the same
power to answer the questions proposed, as if the whole body was
present in which no doubt they are right. The
collusion between the parties concerned in this curious ceremony, is so
obvious, that it appears astonishing
to me the common people have not as yet discovered it, though it has existed
time immemorial. I
am told that in the interior parts of the country, they found, suffering the
people to drink red water upon
every trifling occasion, was attended with such fatal consequences as would in
time depopulate the
country; and although they could not entirely suppress it, as the common
people, and particularly the
women, are strongly prepossessed in favour of its
infallibility, they have hit upon a method that has greatly lessened the practice. When
a person is to drink red water the friends of both parties assemble armed as
in a Polish diet, and the
instant the poison operates, either in causing them to vomit or fall down
dead, the friends of the accused immediately attack the other party,
either to revenge their injured innocence, or death. Though
most unenlightened nations believe in charms and witchcraft, yet the
inhabitants of this country are
so much addicted to it that they imagine every thing is under its influence,
and every occurrence of life
they attribute to that cause; even the effects of their sometimes diabolical
disposition, they will alledge is owing to the powers of witches
over them; an extraordinary instance of which has lately happened within my own knowledge. A man of
some consequence, but of a most vile disposition, had taken
advantage of his son-in-law's absence, to commit the most horrid acts of
cruelty on some of his people;
apprehensive of the consequences on the son's return, he caused some
deleterious poison to be given
to one of his daughters; in the agonies which it threw her into, they
prevailed on her by promises of
procuring her relief, to confess she had made witch (which is the manner they
express it) for her father
to spoil his head, and make him do that bad thing; and he afterwards took
care she should not retract what she said, by giving her a quietus
in a few days after. If
an allegator destroys any body when washing or
swimming, or a leopard commits depredations on their
flocks or poultry; if any person is taken suddenly ill, or dies suddenly, or
is seized with any disorder
they are not accustomed to, it is immediately attributed to witchcraft: and
it rarely happens that some
person or other is not pointed out by their conjurors, whom they consult on
those occasions, as the witch and sold. In
the power and efficacy of charms, which they call griggories,
they have an unlimited faith.—These are
made of goat's skin, either with the hair on, or drest
like sizes,
from the bigness of a shilling to the size and form of a sheep's heart, and
stuffed with some kind of
powder, and bits of paper, on which are written in Arabic sentences from the Alcoran; these they wear
tied round their neck, waist, legs, and arms, and in such numbers that when a
man is properly equipped for the field, the very weight of
them with his gun is an exceeding heavy burthen. Every
griggory is assigned its particular office; one is
to preserve him from shot, one from poison, another
from fire, others from being drowned; and when a man happens to be killed,
burned, or drowned,
they only say his griggory was not so good as the
person's who occasioned his death; but this must
be understood when it happened from an enemy: but they pretend not to any griggory that can preserve them from shot out of great guns and
swivels. They
tell many wonderful stories of their griggory men:
the relation of one or two of them will set their amazing
credulity, in these matters, in a stronger light than any thing else can
do.—They tell you their conjurers
will go into the water with their hair loose, and continue there half an
hour; that they will come
up with it perfectly dry, and plaited very
neatly after the country fashion: that in order to discover theft
or adultery they put a quantity of the bark of a particular tree into a small
country earthen pot; this they
fill full of water, and put upon the fire: after it has boiled some time, the
conjurer drops a small stone
into it, which he takes out two or three times with his hand, to convince the
spectators that he feels no inconvenience from the heat of
the water. He then orders the culprit to take the stone out; if he is
innocent the water will not burn him; if it does he is guilty; which is
generally the case when any female culprits are tried for adultery. Another
method, equally efficacious as
the former, is done as follows:-—The conjurer fills a pewter bason, or brass pan, full of water; then
sets up a stick on each side; from the tops of the sticks he stretches
a small cord, and from the center of that cord suspends a grain of pepper by
a thread, just to touch,
but not in the water; he then dips his fingers in the water and flirts them them in the culprit's face;
if he is guilty a white film immediately covers his eyes, which deprives him
of sight and causes most excruciating pain; but, if he is
innocent, it has no effect. After the guilty party has made his confession
the conjurer dips his fingers into the same water, and sprinkles a little in
his face, which instantly relieves him from pain and restores
him to sight. — These things are always done in open day, and before a concourse of people; and
what is most extraordinary, it may be performed by proxy. The conjurers also pretend to foretell future
events by casting sand or stones into the air. A
capital white trader, who has resided near thirty years upon the coast, arid
who is otherwise a man of sense,
told me, very seriously, he once thought as he supposed I did; but that he
had seen so many surprising instances of their art he could no
longer doubt. In
the accounts of most uncivilized countries that we read of, we find the
office of physician is generally
annexed to that of priest or conjurer; but here it is carried on by old
women, and the cures they
perform are truly astonishing; particularly in external wounds, by the use of
simples, which their woods and fields afford in abundance. The
diseases they are most subject to are intermitting fevers and the hydrocele; the latter is supposed to be caused by the too frequent use of
palm wine, and excess of venery. The venereal disease is frequent, but
never attended with those dreadful symptoms which too often accompany it in always easily cured; neither can they be
convinced that it proceeds from impure coition. The small-pox is endemial,
but is not so frequent on the sea-coast as in the interior country. I
shall conclude with my best wishes for your health and happiness; And
believe me, Dear
Sir, Your's truly. LETTER
VII. Sierra-Leone,
February 15, 1787. DEAR
SIR, Your
last letter reached me, I presume, much sooner than, you would expect, as it
was only five weeks from the date in coming to be informed, is a pleasing and
convincing proof of your confidence and esteem. I shall make this letter the
best answer I am able to your first inquiry, namely, the present state and
manner of the African trade. The
Portuguese were the original discoverers of the whole coast of places
still retain the names given them by the first adventurers; they also formed
many considerable settlements,
vestiges of which are still remaining, not more remarkable for the durability
of the materials
with which they were constructed, than the excellence of the situations,
which no doubt were then,
and still are, the best that could possibly be fixed upon for trade; but the
only settlements they now
have on the coast of the former, which is their principal
settlement, they send a great number of slaves to the Brasils. In
the infancy of the African trade, gold, ivory, wax, gums, ostrich feathers,
and several species of medicinal,
and dye woods, constituted what might then be termed the staple commodities
of the country,
and which were purchased from the natives with glass beads, coarse woollen cloths, brandy; and sundry coarse and cheap ornaments of
brass or iron. Nor was it 'till the Europeans had formed settlements in the In
proportion as the answer for that purpose much better than
Europeans, and were also procured at a much easier expence. The
English and French were the first who began to cultivate the windward
islands, which had ionly been
visited by the Spaniards, their first discoverers, and in consequence were
the first who entered into competition with the Portuguese in the African
trade. The subsequent wars of that nation with the Dutch,
and other European states becoming adventurers also, soon dispossessed them
of the greatest part
of it; but this competition intirely changed the
nature of the trade; the natives soon availed themselves
of the eagerness and avidity, with which each adventurer strove to out-vie
the other, and their demands increased accordingly.
Slaves as well as the other productions of the country, which were formerly
purchased with a few cheap and simple articles, were not now to be bought
without a more extensive
and valuable assortment of cloths, fire arms, powder, shot, great variety of
beads, and silver ware:
and soon after this trade was regulated in much the same manner in which it
is carried on at present.—Custom
has authorized what fancy began; in assigning to almost every separate
district in denominations of value to the articles of trade.
From value
given to goods is called bars, from which it is denominated the bar trade;
from Coast
to Whydah, they are termed Ackeys; from thence to
Benin Pawns; and from New
and Old Calabar, Camaroons,
and Gaboon, Coppers. It
may be presumed that the sea-coast alone at first furnished the slaves which
were sold to the Europeans;
but the constant and increasing demand, which has unremittingly continued
from the first time
of their being brought to and many of them are now brought from a
very great distance. The
modes of dealing and procuring slaves are in most places extremely different;
but, as I cannot pretend
to describe them all, I shall confine myself to a description of the method
of trade of these parts only. When
the adventurer arrives upon the coast with a suitable cargo—which for this
place consists of European
and Indian cotton and linen goods, silk handkerchiefs, taffities,
coarse blue and red woollen cloths,
scarlet cloth in grain, coarse and fine hats, worsted caps, guns, powder,
shot, sabres, lead bars, iron
bars, pewter basons, copper kettles and pans, iron
pots, hardware of various kinds, earthen and glass
ware, hair and gilt leather trunks, beads of various kinds, silver and gold
rings and ornaments, paper,
coarse and fine check, and linen ruffled shirts and caps, British and foreign
spirits and tobacco— he dispatches his boats properly
equipped to the different rivers. On their arrival at the place of trade they
immediately apply to the head man of the town, inform him of their business,
and request his protection;
desiring he will either be himself their landlord, or appoint a respectable
person, who becomes
security for the person and goods of the stranger, and also for the recovery
of all money lent, provided it is done with his knowledge and
approbation. This business finished, and proper presents made,
(for nothing is done without) they proceed to trade either by lending their
goods to the natives, who
carry them up into the country, or by waiting till trade is brought so
them.—The former is the most expeditious way, when they fall into good hands;
but the latter is always the safest. When
the country people come down themselves to trade with the whites, they are
obliged to apply to the inhabitants of the villages where
the factories are kept, to serve as brokers and interpreters. When
a slave is brought to be sold he is first carefully examined, to see that
there is no blemish or defect
in him; if approved, you then agree upon the price at so many bars, and give
the dealer so many flints
or stones to count with; the goods are then delivered to him piece by piece,
for which he returns so
many stones for each, agreebly to its denominated
value; and they always take care to begin with those articles which they judge most
essentially necessary. Exclusive
of this method of dealing directly with the natives, transient ships, or
those who only come for
a small number, generally barter with the white traders resident on the
coast, or with the factories established there, who take their whole cargo at
once, and deliver them slaves, camwood, ivory,
&c. according to their agreement, in a certain
time. From
the great number of slaves which are annually exported and which, from this
place and the parts adjacent,
including Sherbro' and the Riomoonas,
amounts to about three thousand annually, one would be
led to imagine the country would, in time, be depopulated; instead of which
no diminution of their numbers
is perceived; and, from every account we have been able to acquire from the
natives themselves,
who travel into the interior country, it is extraordinarily populous: but how
such a number of slaves are procured, is a
circumstance which I believe no European was ever fully acquainted with. The
best information I have been able to collect is, that great numbers are
prisoners taken in war, and are
brought down, fifty or a hundred together, by the black slave merchants; that
many are sold for witchcraft,
and other real, or imputed, crimes; and are purchased in the country with
European goods and
salt; which is an article so highly valued, and so eagerly sought after, by
the natives, that they will part
with their wives and children, and every thing dear to them, to obtain it,
when they have not slaves to
dispose of; and it always makes a part of the merchandize for the purchase of
slaves in the interior country;
yet, notwithstanding salt is in such great demand, the natives of the
sea-coast will not permit the
import of it in European vessels, because it would interfere with the only
article of their own manufacture, which they have for inland trade. The
present custom and ancient tradition of the country, handed down from father
to son, and from generation
to generation, both teach us to believe that the practice of making, buying,
and selling slaves, was in use in punishments for almost every offence. And every
prisoner taken in battle was either put to death or kept as a slave. The fate of prisoners was
also in a great measure determined by the season of the year, and the occasion they had for their
services. If they were taken after the harvest was over, they were seldom spared;
but those who were captured before the commencement of the rice season,
experienced a different
fate, as they were reserved to cultivate the rice-ground; and sold, after the
harvest, to those tribes
bordering on the sea, who had no other means of acquiring slaves than by
purchase; or were kept as labouring
slaves, and for ever fixed to the spot. This was the ancient custom of the
country, and the modern
practice is nearly similar, as they seldom dispose of their new slaves till
the rice is in the ground,, or until it is cut. Hence, though
the Europeans by the eagerness with, which they push this trade
may be censurable so far, as they may some times, by their competition with
each other, excite the avarice
of individuals to procure slaves, by means as repugnant to their own laws as
any act of dishonesty
is to ours; yet I believe we may safely conclude, that slavery can never be
abolished in a country
like variance,
and under no restraining form of government, where the people are of a
vindictive and revengeful
spirit, and where the laws make every man a slave who is convicted of the
most trifling offence. During the late war in which the
coast as usual, and there were no goods to purchase the slaves which were
brought down, the black merchants
suffered many of them to perish for want of food, and said they should not
come down again till the ships arrived. When questioned
what the inland people would do with their slaves? they replied "cut their throats, as they used to do before white men
came to their country." And I am credibly informed, however shocking to relate, that
this was, during that period, the case with .great numbers. , To
the above account it may be necessary to add a short description of the
present state of slavery in Among
the Suzeés, Bullams, Bagoes, arid Timmaneys, three
fourths at least of the inhabitants are slaves;
and among the Mandingoes a much larger proportion.—It is not an unusual thing
for a head man to
have two or three hundred slaves of both sexes, exclusive of their domestics
who are very numerous; and
some of the principal men among the Mandingoes have from seven hundred to a
thousand, who reside
together distinct from their masters, in what they call their slave
towns;—these people know and feel
their situation, for they are employed in every servile and laborious
occupation; but there is a distinction
to be made between the labouring and the house
slave, the former is as it were fixed to the soil,
and held in no higher estimation than any other animal that contributes to
its cultivation; but the latter
is in some respect considered as a branch of the family, assumes his master's
name, and calls him father;
yet these are hired out as sailors or labourers,
not only to the Europeans, who are settled, or come to trade there, but also to each
other; and their masters receive the wages of their labour.
They are also
obliged to attend their masters in their wars and predatory excursions, and
frequently experience a change
of them from that cause.—It is related of the North American Indians, that
when any of them are taken
in battle, and rescued from death, by being adopted into a family, they
immediately consider themselves
as a part of that tribe into whose hands they are fallen, and would the next
day march to attack
their former friends with as much zeal as if they had never known them, but
had been brought up amongst their new connexions. The
conduct of the African slave when taken in battle, or sold to another master,
is nearly similar, as instances
are extremely rare of slaves deserting the service of a present to return to
that of a former owner, (except in cases of extreme ill
usage). Born a slave he knows no other situation; and it is alike indifferent
to him, whether he be the property of this or that man, as long as he is
provided with the necessaries of life. It
is not to be doubted but the ideas of a slave, when sold to one of his own
country and colour, and when sold to an European, are extremely different.
In the first instance his situation, and the custom of his
country, soon reconcile him to the change; but in the latter case, he
imagines the white man buys him
either to offer him as a sacrifice to his God, or to devour him as food; and
I have seen some of these
poor wretched beings so terrified with apprehensions of their expected fate,
as to remain in a state of
torpid insensibility for some time, till, by kind treatment, and making them
understand for what uses they
were purchased, the impressions of fear were gradually lessoned; others have
obstinately refused their
food, while some of a bolder constitution have looked at a white man with
amazement, but without
fear, examined his skin and their own, opened his breast, and felt whether
the hair on his head was
fast, or not, and frequently burst into laughter at the contrast, and, to him
no doubt, uncouth appearance of a white man. To
reason from ones own sentiments, we should be led to suppose that those
attachments which must in every
situation necessarily subsist between the sexes, where they are together,
would make them regret a
separation; but the facility with which they form new connexions,
and the knowledge that their children are the properties of their masters,
soon remove all anxiety on these occasions. Yet
notwithstanding the almost absolute power which the master has over the life
and property of his slave,
he cannot sell any who are born his slaves, or who, though purchased, have
resided twelve months
in his possession, without accusing them of some crime; but for an accusation
they are never at a loss. Witchcraft
is the most general charge; and such is the astonishing folly and
superstition of these people, whether
a slave or freeman, that they generally acknowledge themselves guilty of the
crime of which they
are accused; but if a slave should plead not guilty, it would little avail
him, as, on these occasions, the
master is both the accuser and judge; and, if a freeman, he would be obliged
to drink red water, which is a poisoned liquor prepared on the
occasion. The analogy between this mode of trial and those which formerly obtained in The
Mandingoes, who are extremely cruel in the treatment of their slaves, had
carried this practice to such an excess, that, in 1785, there was
a general insurrection. The slaves took an opportunity, when the principal
part of their fighting men were out upon an expedition, to attack their
masters; several of whom
they put to death, and had their heads carried before them on poles, as
ensigns of victory and liberty;
they then set fire to the rice which was ready to be cut, which reduced the
Mandingoes to the utmost
distress, who afterwards retreated to their towns, which they fortified in
such a manner, and so effectually
stopped every avenue that led into the country from whence the Mandingoes
could receive assistance,
that their late haughty masters were under the necessity of suing for
peace—whether they will return again to their former
obedience, or assert their independence, is yet undecided. Another
method which they make use of to dispose of their slaves is, to put them in
pawn either to the ships
and factories, or the native traders, for a limited time; and if they are not
redeemed at the expiration
of that time, they become slaves to the person to whom they were pawned: but
should a pawn
be sent off before the time is expired, or even after, without giving notice
to the person who pawned him, a palaver, or action, would be
brought against the person so offending. It
is customary, indeed, for people of all ranks to put their children out as
pledges, but then they are careful
either to redeem them in time or to pawn them to the resident traders or
established factories; and
these pawns are generally considered as a protection for your property, and
are employed in all domestic offices; but are equally liable to
be sent off, if not redeemed in due time, as the pawned slave. And
it should also be observed, that a person, whether a slave or the son of a
freeman, if not redeemed at
the expiration of the time limited for his redemption, becomes so much the
absolute property of the person
to whom he was pawned, that, should he be kept in the country for the purpose
of a domestic, yet
it is intirely at the option of his master whether
he will ever after let him be redeemed though they should offer twenty for one, or he should
be a son of the most powerful person in the country. From
the public papers you were so obliging to send me, I find much has been said
on the subject of the African
trade; particularly respecting the inhumanity of it; I must confess I do not
see it in that light; and
when you have attentively considered the particulars which I have related, I
flatter myself you will join me in opinion. A pretty close
parallel may be observed between the African condemned for some offence
against the laws of his country, to be sold to a white man, and the English
felon transported to a wild
uncultivated country; for such hope of returning. Every
circumstance of grief or distress which can increase the affliction of the
African at parting from his native country, very probably may be
felt with redoubled force by the more enlightened European. It
might be urged in support of this commerce, that the cruelty of the laws in death,
is mitigated by transportation, as slavery would undoubtedly be the portion
of these unhappy people in their native country. This is
unalterable; but if their situation in our as
could be restored by wise and humane regulations, such a plan would redound
much to the honour of the
British legislature, and may be considered as the only effectual relief that,
under the present circumstances of I
know it is urged by writers on this subject, that all mankind are by nature
free and equal, and that no one has a right to subjugate the person
of another to slavery. In
the writings, however, of many religious and moral philosophers, it is
contended, that though man, of created
beings, holds the first link, yet that there are different degrees of
excellence in the human race, as there are in every other animal, or
descending link, of the great chain of nature. In
extent
of Africa from regular
gradation in the scale of understanding, till the wretched Cafre sinks nearly below the Ouran Outang. LETTER
VIII DEAR
SIR, When
a subject of great national importance is agitated, and the minds of men are
much divided, it is undoubtedly
the duty of every good citizen to communicate every kind of information to
the public which his observation and experience may
furnish. Upon this principle, therefore, and in compliance with
your request, I shall endeavour, in as concise and
as perspicuous a manner as I can, to state those facts
which I have collected from my residence at SierraLeone,
in observations, as appear particularly to concern
the African slave trade. To
those who contend that this commerce should be reprobated as entirely
repugnant to moral law and the
gospel, this answer might perhaps be given—that there are, and necessarily
must be, many institutions,
considering the depravity of human nature, and the state of society in
general, equally incompatible with morality and Christianity. It
might likewise be added that, perhaps for wise reasons inscrutable to us, this system and others analagous to it may be tolerated by insist
that no part of mankind hath any right to oppress, captivate, or wage war
upon any other part, for any
purposes of dominion or interest, might it not be observed, that men are by
nature equal, and consequently that in church and state there
should be no subordination? these two positions, or speculative truths cannot be denied. The theory
is admired by the philanthropist, but the practice, being attended with insuperable difficulties, is
rejected by the politician. Self
preservation makes it occasionally necessary to have recourse to arms, and to
attack a rival nation without
any apparent provocation; and, for the good order of society, there must be
gradations of rank, and a scale of political dependance. I
have been sorry to remark, that persons who have delivered their sentiments
against the abolition of this trade, have been branded with the
name of hirelings of slavery, and other opprobrious epithets. There
are no arguments in
abuse; and as I address myself only to
persons of enlarged and liberal minds, I
have nothing of that sort to apprehend. I shall therefore proceed by
observing, that the scope of this letter
will be confined to the mode of procuring slaves on
the coast of abolishing a traffic of such essential
importance to the naval interests of A
description of the method of procuring slaves in the part of measure,
anticipated' in my former letters from Sierra-Leone, which were written at a
time when I had no
idea of a design to abolish that trade being formed, or I should have applied
myself with greater industry
to have acquired a more particular knowledge of the manners and customs of
the natives of the interior
countries; I shall however endeavour to combat such
assertions as are made use of by the advocates for the abolition of this commerce,
as my own knowledge and information may suggest. That slaves
are often captives taken in war, is a position I readily accede to; but that
those wars are undertaken
merely for the purpose of procuring slaves is by no means the case; for it is
necessary to observe,
the king, or chief of a tribe, has not power to make war upon any other tribe
without the consent
and approbation of the principal people of his nation; and it can scarcely be
conceived that such consent
could be obtained to a measure that would draw down upon them the resentment
of the neighbouring
states. Neither is it (as is alledged) in any
instance which has occurred to my observation or
inquiries, by the instigation of the European traders; for, whenever the
people on the sea-coast are at war,
it puts an entire stop to trade; and I always found it my interest, as well
as my inclination, to reconcile their differences, and to preserve
peace. But surely no person can seriously imagine that the Africans
are without passions, or that their dispositions are so placid, as to be
unmoved by anger or resentment, and excited to action by avarice
alone. In my former letters I have described the causes of the
wars that subsisted in the countries about Sierra-Leone when I arrived there;
and I believe I may with confidence assert, that such causes
are generally the origin of their quarrels. In
answer to the charge of kidnapping slaves, I can only fay
that I never heard of such a practice, nor do I
know a word in their language expressive of such a custom ever having had
existence. Those
who visit knowledge
of the country or its inhabitants, and are very liable to be mistaken in the
meaning of the natives,
from want of knowledge in their language, or in the jargon of such of them as
reside upon the sea-coast
and speak a little English; the European affixing the same ideas to the words
spoken by the African,
as if they were pronounced by one of his own nation. A
specimen of the conversation which generally passes on these occasions will
elucidate this observation. "Well,
my friend, you got trade to day; you got plenty of slaves?” “No, we no got
trade yet; by
and by trade come, you can't go.1"
"What, you go for catch people, you go for make war?” “Yes,
my brother, or my friend, gone for catch people; or
they gone for make war.” By
this conversation nothing more is meant by the African than that his brother,
or his friend, was gone into
the country to purchase slaves from the nations who are at war; or, perhaps,
his own tribe might be at
war with some of the neighbouring states; and as
they in general sell their prisoners, (though even now
it is not always the case, revenge sometimes proving too powerful for
avarice) they may wish the ship to remain in expectation of having
more prisoners to dispose of. But
I must again repeat that the primary cause of these wars is not merely to
procure slaves, but arises from the captious, quarrelsome, and
vindictive, disposition of the people. But it is not the prisoners made
in the wars which the inhabitants of the sea-coast have with each other, nor
those whom the laws of
their country, in consequence of their crimes, punish with slavery, that
constitute a tenth part of the slaves
who are purchased by the Europeans; for, in fact, the inhabitants of the sea-coast
are only the merchants
and brokers, and carry the goods which they receive from the Europeans into
the interior country, and there purchase the slaves from
other merchants. The
nations who inhabit the interior parts of religion;
and, following the means prescribed by their prophet, are perpetually at war
with the surrounding
nations who refuse to embrace their religious doctrines (and I have before shewn the zeal with which the Mandingoes inculcate their
faith). The
prisoners made in these religious wars furnish a great part of the slaves
which are sold to the Europeans;
and would, I have reason to believe, from the concurring testimony of many of
the most intelligent natives, be put to death if they had
not the means of disposing of them. 1 By which they mean to signify their desire for the ship
to stay. That
death would be the fate of their prisoners, the example of the inhabitants of
sufficient
proof; for since the Portuguese have declined dealing with them they put all
their prisoners to death.2 It
is also given as a reason for the abolishing this traffic; that the
distinctions of crimes are multiplied, and every transgression punished with
slavery, in consequence of their intercourse with Europeans. Upon
this head I shall observe, that the crimes of murder, poison, witchcraft,
adultery, and theft, are always
considered as capital, and have been punished with either death or slavery
from time immemorial. That
the punishment of death, for the commission of these crimes, is remitted by
their becoming slaves, I
believe, in many instances, to be the case; yet, surely no one would adduce
this circumstance as a proof of its inhumanity. Lesser offences,
whether they respect the religious ceremonies, or particular customs
of the country, are punished by fine; which, if the defendant is not able to
pay, he becomes the slave of the plaintiff till redeemed: nor
can he be redeemed without the prosecutor's consent. Such
are, and such always have been, from every information I could collect, the
laws and customs of the natives of intercouse they have had with Europeans, and
particularly with the English, should have so little affected their manners and customs. Several
white men, natives of country,
who have remained there upwards of twenty years; but the African born
children speak no other
language than their mothers, and in every respect follow the customs of the
country: and what appears
to me as a strong proof of the little inclination they have hitherto shewn to profit by the knowledge
of European arts is, that those black and Mulatto children (and there are not
a few of them) who
are sent to reassume
the manner of living, and embrace the superstitious customs and ceremonies of
their countrymen. The only apparent influence it has
upon them is in the exterior decoration of their persons, and the interior ornaments of their
houses. I
have, in my letters before alluded to, described the state of slavery in considered as irrelevant to the subject to say
a few words on the treatment of them in that country. The labouring slaves go to work before the sun
rises, and continue in the field or wood4*
till ten o'clock, about
which time they take their repast, and I believe do not exceed an hour before
they return again to their labour,
which continues till sun-set. Their manner of punishing the labouring slave is severe—the offender
is stretched upon the earth with his face downward, and is either held in
that position by men, or
fastened to four stakes drove into the ground, and is beaten with rods as
thick as a man's finger, at the 2 The circumstance of the king of Dahomy
putting his prisoners to death which he took in the Whydah war, has been made known to the privy council by an eye-witness. 3 The natives of Africa, in most parts where the English
trade, are desirous of sending their children to what they call white man's book; a knowledge which they find
necessary for carrying on their trade. There are always several of these children in the Christian religion, be a more likely means of
civilizing and converting the natives to Christianity, than a suspension or abolition of our trade with them; which would for ever
leave them involved in the dark errors of paganism, or to become converts to the disciples of Mahomet? 4 The cutting down woods for the purpose of making rice
plantations in than the cultivation of sugar or cotton in the will of his master. The Mandingoes,
according to a precept of the Alcoran, limit the
number of stripes to be
inflicted for small crimes to forty lacking one, and for greater offences to
ninety and nine; but few survive the greater punishment. They also
punish by confining the feet in wooden stocks, which, though not
fixed, are too heavy to be removed by any person confined in them.—Whether
the condition of a slave
in Africa or the leave the public to determine5. The freeman indeed who has felt and
enjoyed the sweets of liberty, to him
the deprivation of it, though condemned by the laws of his country, or the
fate of War, must no doubt
be painful: but the man who is born a slave, who feels no alteration in his
circumstances from a change
of masters, and who never even in idea felt the sentiments which liberty
alone can inspire, as he suffers not by the comparison, so he is not
so great an object of our commiseration. But what have we to
do with the African laws; may not the rulers in that country inflict what
punishments they think proper, they are not our subjects, neither
are they ever likely to become so? The genius of the people, and
of that religion, which will in all probability one day prevail throughout
that extensive continent, are equally averse to the introduction
of European manners or European laws. But
let us suppose that the slave trade was abolished by every nation in abolish
it in interior country, or the commerce that is
there carried on. The
troops of the emperor of parts
of compose
their armies in the same manner; and I am credibly informed that in the
northern and eastern parts
of travelling together, and are dispersed over
every part of the
numbers exported out of the country, either from the western or other parts
of the continent, by the Arab
or by the European, there is an internal traffic amongst the natives. Slaves
are the medium, instead of coin, for the purchase of every necessary, and the
supplying of every want; and every article is estimated, by
its proportion, to the value of a slave. I need not point out to the intelligent
reader the analogy between this custom and that of all countries where coin
is not used, or where
it is a scarce article; nor is it very material whether a guinea, a sheep,
cow, or a slave, are the denominations of value. But
would the abolition of this trade add to the happiness of the natives of for
the same reason that would attend the abolition of the trade of this kingdom
to foreign parts.—For what
purpose do we carry on a trade with the the luxuries (not the necessaries) of
life? Of the latter our own country affords us abundance; but were we
deprived of the former, we should, from being accustomed to consider them as
contributing to our happiness, severely feel the want of them. The
African is placed in the same situation, by his commerce with the Europeans,
in such productions as
his country affords, and which to him were no new article of traffic; he is
enabled to acquire not only the
necessaries, but such articles also as add to the enjoyment of life; and in
the possession of which he places no inconsiderable share of his
happiness. 5 The slaves who are employed by the white people resident
in materially different from serving their black masters, that
instances of desertion are very rare. On
the impolicy of abolishing the African slave trade
I shall beg leave to offer a few observations, and to point out the most probable
consequences of such a determination. The
French, in the year 1784, in order to encourage the African slave trade,
granted a bounty of forty shillings
per ton upon every vessel employed in that trade, and a further bounty of
near eight pounds sterling upon every slave imported into
certain parts of their This
bounty has already enabled them to monopolize the whole trade of the coast of
share
equally with the English at Bonny and other places; and has consequently
caused an increase of their shipping and seamen, and a decrease
of ours in the same proportion. If
we thus suffer a diminution in the number of ships and seamen employed in
this trade from competition
only, what must be the consequence should an abolition of the trade itself
take place, I leave to every unprejudiced reader to
determine. But
it is not the loss of the ships and men employed in the slave trade only that
would lessen our maritime
strength, the may
be proposed for supplies of people to cultivate the sugar islands,
experience, the most unerring guide,
has sufficiently proved that no Europeans can stand the climate when employed
in the cultivation of the soil6 . But
this is not the extent of the political evil which may arise, not only from a
total abolition of the African
trade, but is even to be dreaded, should any partial or injudicious restrictions
be laid upon it. Whenever
any particular branch of commerce becomes no longer profitable to the parties
concerned in carrying
it on, either from restraints upon the trade itself, or want of encouragement
from the government
to enable them to meet the competition of rival states, or from whatever
cause it may proceed,
that trade will consequently either totally subside, or sink into
insignificance: and if it be of such
a nature that the instruments by which it was carried on cannot be employed
in any other way, from
a sufficient number being already in use; and if, at the same time, rival
states are using every means
to possess those instruments, in order to increase and extend that particular
branch of trade, is it not
to be apprehended that the proprietor of such instruments would dispose of,
or employ them, where he alone could do it to advantage? The
merchant, his fortune, experience, factor's ships, and the seamen employed in
them, are the instruments
by which the African and all other foreign trades are carried on: and there
cannot be a doubt,
but that those merchants who have employed their fortunes in this trade,
under the sanction and authority
of the legislature of their country, would (should they be deprived of it
either in toto
or under any
restrictions which would render it unprofitable,) immediately remove, with
every consequent contingent, to that country where they could
find encouragement. And it may not be unnecessary to mention
that inducement
to the British merchants and seamen experienced in the African business, to
enter enter into their service. Considering it in this
point of view, it appears a measure fraught with the most alarming tendency
to the naval interest of these kingdoms, and pregnant with such consequences
(as would inevitably result from it) as cannot have been
duly reflected upon by the warmest of its advocates. 6 Independent of the expence, as
no white man can be hired under one dollar per day. It
is not for the interest of the individuals only who are concerned in the
African trade that I contend, it is
for the welfare of the nation at large; for it is a truth that needs no
illustration, that, for every ship withdrawn
from this trade by the English, abolishing it has never yet, I believe, been
thought of in the cabinets of The
consequences which might ensue upon the abolition of the slave trade to the
merchants trading to the
West Indies, and the proprietors of the the
East India Company,7 and the
manufacturers of this country, I must leave to those who are better informed
to lay before the public; but to those whose objections against the African
trade arise from the supposed inhumanity of it, I must beg leave
to suggest a few particulars. It
is, I believe, a generally received opinion, that a nation without foreign
wars, colonies, or foreign traffic,
double it's numbers in the space of thirty or forty years; admitting this to
be the case, when a country
becomes over stocked with inhabitants whom they cannot employ, how are they
to dispose of their superfluous numbers. They must either
follow the example of the Chinese, and drown the supernumerary
infants as soon as born, or they will enact sanguinary laws, which punish
alike with death the prisoner of war and the
perpetrator of crimes. To mitigate the punishment of death by slavery or
banishment, is a proof of civilization operating in favour
of humanity; and every circumstance which contributes to that end, should undoubtedly be
attributed to the same cause. The
trade therefore which the Europeans carry on with the natives of permitted
by otherwise be put to death, and are thus made
useful members of society. THE
END. 7 |
|
|
|||||||||