CHAP. XVI. A Reinforcement of freſh Troops arrives from Holland—En⯑campment on Mount Magdenberg, in Tempatee Creek— Remarkable Inſtance of Lunacy in a Negro—Mountains —Beautiful Views—The Sick ſent to Europe.

I NOW once more return to the principal object of my Journal, viz. Fourgeoud's military operations.CHAP. XVI. I have before mentioned, that a ſupply of freſh troops was ex⯑pected to reinforce our decayed little army; and, on the 30th of January, 1775, the news came to Paramaribo that the tranſport ſhip Maaſtroom, Captain Eeg, was arrived in the river Surinam, and come to an anchor before the fortreſs Amſterdam, with Colonel Seyburgh and two divi⯑ſions, conſiſting together of one hundred and twenty men, under his command, two more diviſions being expected.

The following day I went down with a row-boat to welcome them; and having dined on board together, the [2] ſhip weighed anchor, and I ſailed up with them till before the fortreſs Zelandia, where they moored, and were ſalut⯑ed by a few guns. Among the officers, I with pleaſure recollected my old ſhip-mate, poor Enſign Heſſeling, whom we had left behind us on the Helder, according to every appearance dying of the ſmall-pox, when we ſailed from the Texel, the 24th of December, 1772. This young man, who now joined us with rank of ſe⯑cond lieutenant, had been peculiarly unfortunate ſince his recovery; for, ſoon after taking a paſſage on board another ſhip for Surinam, the veſſel encountered a gale in the Bay of Biſcay; when off Cape Finiſterre, her quarter-gallery and rudder were beat away; be⯑ſides which ſhe loſt her fore-maſt and main-top-maſt. In this dangerous condition, having the wind againſt her for Liſbon, the veſſel run with difficulty into Plymouth. From this place Mr. Heſſeling took a paſſage for France, on board a ſmall ſloop loaded with coals, with which he had no better ſucceſs; for ſhe ran, through the inad⯑vertence of the maſter, on the Caſkets, which rocks went through her bottom, and ſhe foundered immediately. Be⯑fore the veſſel ſunk, however, he had time to break open his cheſt, and take out ſome linen and other neceſſaries, with which he arrived in a crazy yaul at Breſt. He now took ſhipping again for Amſterdam, on board a Dutchman; but the maſter ran the ſhip a-ground, and he had nearly been once more wrecked. Nevertheleſs he arrived ſafe at the Texel, whence he had twice in vain attempted [3] to ſet out for South America; and on this laſt paſſage it blew ſo violently hard, that all the boats, the ſheep, the pigs, and the poultry, were waſhed overboard. Till this date I had been the oldeſt officer in the corps, except⯑ing only Colonel Fourgeoud.

On the arrival of the troops, our commander invited them to a dinner, which conſiſted of ſalt beef, pork, barley, and hard peaſe, of which I had the honour to partake, to my no ſmall amuſement, when I obſerved the ſignificant looks which, were directed by theſe new⯑comers on their commander and his entertainment. In the evening we conducted them to the play-houſe, where the death of Caeſar, and Criſpin Doctor, were performed, the one exactly as laughable as the other. I muſt how⯑ever confeſs, that I was better entertained the next day, when the governor gave to all a ſuperb dinner and ſup⯑per, where the ſtrangers ſeemed to be as much ſurpriſed with the magnificence of the feaſt, as they had been the day before amazed with Colonel Fourgeoud's fru⯑gality.

Having met at this table with ſome excellent pre⯑ſerved fruits, among which was the guava, I will em⯑brace an opportunity which is barren of incident to ſay ſomething of it. The guaba, or guava-tree, grows to about twenty-four feet high, with leaves like thoſe of a plum-tree. It is light-coloured, and the wood of little conſequence; but the fruit, which is yellow, oval, and [4] about the ſize of a gold pippin, incloſes a reddiſh pulp, full of ſmall ſeeds; the pulp is very ſweet, and may be eaten raw, or made into marmalade or jelly, and then it is delicious. There are two ſpecies of guava; that which is the ſweeteſt has the ſmalleſt quantity of ſeeds.

On the 5th of February, the troops that were ſo lately landed were ſent to the upper parts of the river Come⯑wina to be encamped. I ſpeak of the privates, for moſt of the officers remained to partake of a feaſt at the houſe of a Mr. Mercellus; by whoſe command (to crown the banquet) half a dozen negroes continued blowing the trumpet and French horn in the room where we dined, till the company were abſolutely deafened by diſcordancy and noiſe.

On the 11th, we arrived at the plantation Crawaſſibo, where we paſſed the night. Here the overſeer, a Mr. De Bruyn, was ſo very impertinent, that, as I already had no abundance of affection for the fraternity of overſeers, I gave him ſuch a ſound beating that, with a bloody face, he ſuddenly decamped from the eſtate in a ſmall canoe with one negro, and in this trim, at twelve o'clock at night, like Banquo the ghoſt, appeared before the amazed Fourgeoud; who thought proper to give him no other conſolation than to diſmiſs him with a hearty curſe.

On the 12th we arrived ſafe at Magdenberg, viz. [6] Fourgeoud, the officers, and the barges with the privates. From the Hope, the eſtates now began to appear thinner; and after paſſing Goet-Accord, about ten or twelve miles farther upwards, not a cultivated ſpot was to be ſeen, the plantations having been all laid in aſhes by the rebels in 1757, as I have already mentioned, a ſmall place excepted, juſt below Magdenberg, which is, I think, called the Jacob, and where a few negroes are kept to cut timber. The river above Goet-accord becomes very narrow, being lined on each ſide with impenetrable bruſh-wood, like the river Cottica, between Devil's-Harwar and Patamaca; and the Tempatee Creek, which may be conſidered as the ſource of the whole river Comewina, becomes alſo much narrower. Magdenberg, which is about a hundred miles from Paramaribo, was formerly an eſtate, but has now not a veſtige of cultivation left, a poor old orange-tree excepted, and is at preſent neither more or leſs than a barren deſolate mountain.

Here we found the ſurface of the earth in ſome places covered with a kind of ſtrata, that had the appearance of mother-of-pearl, and lay ſcattered in ſmall ſcales, about the ſize of an Engliſh ſhilling. In many places of Suri⯑nam are found the marks of foſſils and ores, as I have already hinted. Indeed, iron ore is common, and I have no doubt but gold and ſilver mines might be met with if the Dutch would be at the expence, and perſevere in making the diſcovery. I have already mentioned the Marawina diamond, and white and red agate, which are [7] often ſeen in the upper parts of the river Surinam. On this mountain we alſo found the air cooler and more pure, and of courſe more healthy than in any other part of the colony.

On the 17th the news reached us, that the tranſport ſhip, the Maria Helena, with the remaining two diviſions of one hundred and twenty men, commanded by Captain Hamel, had alſo arrived in the river Surinam on the 14th inſtant. Thus the reinforcements together conſiſted of two hundred and forty men, and, on the 5th day of March, they all arrived in heavy barges at Magdenberg, where I may now ſay that Colonel Fourgeoud's whole forces were aſſembled. The ſame day one hundred negro ſlaves alſo arrived, to carry the loads when we ſhould march. One of the new negroes being miſſed from on board a military barge, and marks of blood diſcovered in it, the commanding officer, a Mr. Chatteauview, and a ſentinel, were both put under an arreſt to be tried for murder. On the ſame eventful day alſo, two of our cap⯑tains fought a duel, in which one of them received a wound in his forehead.

On the 13th, a barge with proviſions, coming from Pa⯑ramaribo (ſhocking to relate!) found the negro that was miſſed on the 5th at the water's edge, lying in the bruſh⯑wood, with his throat cut from ear to ear, but ſtill alive, the knife having miſſed the wind-pipe. This miſerable apparition of ſkin and bone they took on board, and [8] brought to Magdenberg, where, by a ſkilful ſurgeon; Mr. Knolaert, the wound was ſewed up, and the man ſurpriſingly recovered, having lain nine days in that dreadful condition without any ſubſiſtence or covering whatever, and weltering in his own blood, even without a bandage. The week after I had nearly loſt my own life by an accident. Two negroes of the eſtate Goet-Accord being employed in hunting and fiſhing for Fourgeoud, one of them, named Philander, propoſed to me to accom⯑pany them in the wood, where we might chance to meet with ſome pingoes, or poweſa; but a heavy ſhower of rain coming on, when we had only walked two miles, we de⯑termined to relinquiſh the project, and repair to the ſmall ſpot called the Jacob for ſhelter, to gain which we were obliged to paſs through a deep marſh. Having waded till up to our arm-pits, Philander, who was the fineſt man without exception that I ever ſaw, began to ſwim, as did his companion, with one hand, holding their fowling pieces above the water with the other, and deſired me to follow them. This I tried, having nothing on but my ſhirt and trowſers; when, after ſwimming two or three ſtrokes, I ſunk to the bottom like a ſtone, with the weight of my muſquet; but relinquiſhing it, I im⯑mediately roſe to the ſurface, and begged that Philan⯑der would dive for it; who having ſecured his own to a mangrove, brought it up without difficulty. At this mo⯑ment a thundering voice called out through the thicket, [9] — ‘"Who ſomma datty? and another ſooto ſooto da Bonny kiry da dago? Who is that? Who is there? Fire! ſhoot! it is Bonny, kill the dog!"’ —and looking up, we ſaw the muzzles of ſix muſquets preſented upon us at a very little diſtance indeed. I inſtantly dived, but Philander anſwer⯑ing that we belonged to Magdenberg, we were permitted to come on ſhore one by one at the Jacob, and found that theſe truſty negro ſlaves, having heard a flouncing in the water, and ſeeing three armed men in the marſh, took it for granted that the rebels were coming, headed by Bonny himſelf, for whom they had miſtaken me, being almoſt naked and ſo much ſun-burnt; beſides my hair, which was ſhort and curly, I entirely reſembled a mulatto. Being refreſhed with ſome rum, and having dried our⯑ſelves by a good fire, we now returned back to the Mag⯑denberg, where I congratulated myſelf on my eſcape.

On the 19th, Colonel Fourgeoud being now ſupplied with freſh troops, ſent a whole ſhip load of invalids to Holland, who ſailed this day; and on February the 26th, my dear friend Heneman alſo ſailed for Holland, in an extremely debilitated ſtate.

Among the troops which ſailed at the ſame time with Heneman were ſeveral officers, not very ſick, but juſtly diſheartened and diſguſted at Fourgeoud's injuſtice, in having ſtopped their preferment, as I have intimated in the end of the tenth chapter; while they now ſaw them⯑ſelves ſuperſeded by raw youths, who were at ſchool [10] at the time they were ſerving the colony in 1772. With this veſſel ſailed alſo the officers whom he had put under an arreſt, the 16th December, 1774. Never was an hoſ⯑pital ſhip ſo ill provided with refreſhments.

It is not ſo extraordinary that one of this ſpecies, when wounded, ſhould be aſſiſted by his companions in climb⯑ing; but that they ſhould have ſo much knowledge in botany, as to procure vulnerary herbs, and chew and apply them to the wound, is what I cannot credit, though it is ſo confidently aſſerted by a late traveller: and as to the aſſiſtance they give in paſſing a river, by holding each other's tails, and ſwinging till the lowermoſt is thrown up to the branch of a high tree, though I have a great opinion of Ullod, who relates it, and has given a print of [12] it in a vignette; ſince he does not ſay he ſaw it himſelf, I muſt take the liberty to doubt this fact^*, and even what he ſays he witneſſed.

I muſt here mention another monkey that I ſaw at Co⯑lonel Fourgeoud's houſe, which is in Surinam called the wanacoe, and is covered over with long black hair, like the quato; but its limbs are ſhorter and more hairy, and its face is a kind of dirty white. This monkey is the only one of the ſpecies that is not ſociable, being con⯑ſtantly found alone; and ſo deſpicable is this ſolitary animal, that he is continually beaten and robbed of his food by all the others, from whom he is too lazy to eſcape, though too cowardly to fight.

Of the long-haired monkies, the ſaccawinkee is the ſmalleſt; indeed, I may ſay of all the monkies in [13] Guiana, if not in the world, being not much larger than a Norway rat.

This is a beautiful little animal, with blackiſh grey frizzled hair, a white face, and very bright ſhining eyes; its ears are large and naked, yet they are not very per⯑ceptible, being covered by the very long and white whiſkers that grow round the whole viſage of this little creature: its feet are not unlike thoſe of a ſquir⯑rel, and its tail is buſhy and annulated. So very delicate is the ſaccawinkee, and ſo ſenſible of the cold, that ſcarcely one of them is brought to Europe alive, and if they are they very ſoon pine and die. The Dutch call them the ſhagarintee, from their being chagrined at the ſmalleſt trifle. In the annexed plate, I have delineated both thoſe monkies, the large quato, and the ſmall ſaccawinkee, thus endeavouring to correct with my pencil the deficiency of my pen.

On my return to the Magdenberg, I narrowly eſcaped being cruſhed to death by an enormous tree, which dropped by age juſt at my feet. Theſe accidents fre⯑quently happen in the foreſt; this, however, only ſlightly wounded two or three of our marines. During this trip we had much rain, and were obliged to croſs over a ſmall creek. We cut down one of the palm-trees on the water's edge, which falling acroſs the river formed a temporary bridge.

I now paid a viſit to the miſerable negro who had been found with his throat cut, and who was ſo well as to [14] be able to converſe; when he declared to me, that he committed this violent action with his own hand. The ſuſpected officer and ſentinel were, therefore, inſtantly acquitted. I aſked him by what reaſon he had been incited to ſuicide? and he anſwered—"None."

‘"I have," ſaid he, "as good a maſter and miſtreſs as I could wiſh, and a family of my own that I much love: I had ſlept ſound during the whole night till about four o'clock in the morning, when awaking I took my knife to pick my teeth with it, and inſtantaneouſly cut my throat without knowing why; but the moment after repented of what I had done. I then roſe from my hammock and got into the canoe to waſh myſelf, and try to bind up the wound, but ſtooping over the ſide and bleeding very faſt, I turned faint and fell into the river. I was now no more able to get on board, or to cry for aſſiſtance. However, by ſtruggling, I made ſhift to get on ſhore, where I fell down and lay helpleſs, till I was picked up by a boat going to Magdenberg; during all which time of nine days I had my perfect ſenſes, and ſaw a tamanoir or ant-bear come to ſmell the pu⯑trid blood about my neck, who, on ſeeing me move, retired into the foreſt."’

I gave the poor man ſome Boſton biſcuits which I had got from Paramaribo, a large calibaſh with barley to make him ſome ſoup, and alſo ſome wine. This negro appeared to be about ſixty years of age.

I now to my ſorrow received a letter from Mr. Ken⯑nedy, [15] who was preparing to viſit Holland, requeſting that my boy Quaco might be returned to his eſtate. I ac⯑cordingly ſent him down with a letter, offering to buy him of his maſter as ſoon as it ſhould be in my power to pay him.

On the 2d of April, Colonel Fourgeoud ordered all the ſick remaining in the colony to Magdenberg, where he had erected an hoſpital and a large victualling magazine. Thus all the invalids from Clarenbeck arrived here, with ſurgeons, apothecaries, attendants, &c.: and here, in fact, as I ſaid, the air was more healthy. At this period the old gentleman was particularly ill-natured, and abuſed both friend and foe without diſtinction; ſwearing, that not a ſoul ſhould be exempt from duty, provided they could but ſtand on their legs. About this time a ſtrong detachment was ſent to the eſtate Bruyinſburgh in Co⯑mewina, where an inſurrection was expected, the ſlaves refuſing to work upon a Sunday; to which, however, they were driven by the laſh of the whip.

It was now in the midſt of the rainy ſeaſon, that Fourgeoud declared his intention of ſcouring the woods; and, in conſequence, gave orders for two ſtrong columns to march the next day. The reaſon for chuſing this ſeaſon was, that if he could now diſlodge the rebels they muſt ſtarve for want, which would not be the caſe in the dry months, for then the foreſt abounds with fruits and roots of many kinds. This was, however, in my opinion, a falſe piece of generalſhip; if it be conſidered on the [16] other hand, the dreadful havock which the wet weather muſt produce among his troops, of which he killed, I ſuppoſe, at the rate of twenty to one rebel negro.

Fourgeoud was himſelf of a very ſtrong conſtitution, having been uſed to hunting and ſhooting the whole of his life-time: to which he added temperance, and the daily uſe of his beloved tiſan.

His dreſs conſiſted of nothing but a waiſtcoat, through one of the button-holes of which he wore his ſword: on his head he wore a cotton night-cap, with a white beaver hat above it, and in his hand a cane; but he ſeldom car⯑ried his muſket or his piſtols. I have ſeen him all in rags and bare-footed, like the meaneſt ſoldier.

On the morning of the 3d of April, at ſix o'clock, the two columns ſet out upon their march, the one com⯑manded by Colonel Seyburg, the other by Four⯑geoud; to which laſt I had the honour to belong. Our poor men were now loaded like aſſes. They were ordered to put their fire-locks in their knapſacks, of courſe the muzzles excepted: this was to keep them from the rain, which abſolutely poured in torrents. Our courſe was ſouth by eaſt, up among the banks of the Tempatee Creek, where we ſoon came to ſwamps, and were marching in the water above our knees.

During the firſt day's march we met ſome very pretty ſquirrels, which are of ſeveral kinds in this country. Thoſe that we ſaw were brown, with the belly white, the tail not ſo buſhy; nor were they, upon the whole, ſo large [17] as thoſe of Europe. There are alſo white ſquirrels in this country with red eyes, and flying ſquirrels. Theſe, it is well known, have no wings, but a membrane between the fore and hinder leg, being a part of their ſkin, which, when they leap, expands like the wing of a bat, and by this, like a parachute, they reſt upon the air, and in their flights are carried to a conſiderable diſtance.

On the 4th of April we marched again, our courſe ſouth by eaſt, till two o'clock, when we changed our courſe to ſouth-ſouth-weſt.

This day we paſſed by piles of fine timber, that were left there to rot ſince 1757, when the eſtates were demo⯑liſhed by the negro ſlaves who were in rebellion. Among theſe were the purple-heart-tree, the iron-wood-tree, and the bourracourra, known in England by the name of Brazil.

The purple-heart-tree grows ſometimes to the height of fourſcore feet, and thick in proportion, with a ſmooth dark brown bark; the wood is of a beautiful purple co⯑lour and an agreeable ſmell, and is much eſteemed on account of its weight and durability.

The iron-wood-tree, ſo called from the gravity and permanent quality of its timber, grows to about ſixty feet in height, with a light-coloured bark. It is much valued by the natives as well as the Europeans, on ac⯑count of its hardneſs in particular (reſiſting even the hatchet), and for taking a moſt beautiful bright poliſh. This wood ſinks in water.

[18]The bourracourra, or brazil, grows to between thirty and forty feet high, but not very thick, with a reddiſh bark. The heart only of this tree is valuable, after the white pithy part is cut away, though then it is much di⯑miniſhed. This wood is as truly beautiful as it is uſe⯑ful, the colour being a fine crimſon, variegated with irregular and fantaſtical black ſpots, from which, by the French, it is called bois de lettres. It is heavy, hard, and durable, though rather brittle, and is capable of taking the brighteſt poliſh; this laſt is ſcarce in Guiana, but the others are more plentiful, growing on the higheſt grounds; where alſo is found ebony. The heavy trees, being ſhaped into timbers for ſugar-mills, are chiefly ſent to the Engliſh Weſt India iſlands, and often ſold for the price of fifty guineas each piece.

The word of command being again given on the 5th, we unſlung our hammocks, then marched ſouth-ſouth⯑eaſt, and ſouth by eaſt, through deep and dangerous marſhes up to our breaſts in water, and in very heavy rains; in which helpleſs ſituation we were ſuddenly alarmed, not by a party of rebels, but by a company of large mon⯑kies, which we diſcovered in the tops of the trees, knock⯑ing a kind of nuts againſt the branches to break them for their contents, with the greateſt regularity, as it were keeping time alternately at every ſtroke, while ſome of them threw down their burthens; and a nut falling from a conſiderable height, broke the head of one of our ma⯑rines. The ſound of breaking theſe nuts, we had miſ⯑taken for the rebel negroes cutting wood with an axe.

[19]In the evening we encamped near the Tempatee Creek; where we made large fires, and built comfort⯑able huts; thus this night we ſlept protected from the wet. Here we found the beſt water I ever taſted: and in the camp I ſaw two remarkable lizards, the one called the devil of the woods, and the other agama, in this country. The firſt is an ugly ſmall lizard of a deep brown or blackiſh colour, which runs with amazing ſwiftneſs up and down the trees; it has no ſcales, a large head, and it is ſaid to bite, which is ſuppoſed to be an uncommon pro⯑perty in a lizard. The other is called the Mexican came⯑leon, which is remarkably ſplendid; and, like others of the kind, is endued with the property of changing its colour; but of its nature and qualities I can ſay little more, having never had the opportunity of a cloſe ex⯑amination. In Surinam there is alſo a ſpecies of lizard, known by the name of ſalamander, which alſo I never ſaw.

On the 6th we marched again, keeping due weſt till twelve o'clock, through very heavy rain and deep water; when we changed our courſe to the north, and paſſed over very high mountains, by many ſuppoſed to be pregnant with treaſure.

[20]The two higheſt mountains in South America, are that peak of the Andes called Chimborazo, which meaſures 20,460 geometrical feet above the ſurface of the South Sea; having, though under the line, 4000 feet of its ſummit continually covered with ſnow. The other is that, on the ſlope of which is built the city of Quito, at the heighth of 9,370 feet, and is thought to be the higheſt inhabited land in South America, if not in the world.

Having croſſed an arm of the Mapanee Creek in the evening, we once more returned to our camp at Mag⯑denberg; Mr. Noot, one of our officers, and ſeveral others, were ſo ill, that they were carried in their ham⯑mocks upon poles by the negro ſlaves, and a great num⯑ber were ſo very weak that they could ſcarcely ſupport the weight of their emaciated bodies; but to complain of ſickneſs was to mutiny, till they dropped down almoſt ready to expire. During this expedition, in which we ſtill perceived nothing of the enemy, I was remarkably fortunate, having neither ſuffered by fatigue, nor been perſecuted by extraordinary bad uſage. The ſucceeding day Colonel Seyburg's column arrived, having, like us, ſeen no appearance of the rebels.

On the 9th, my boy Quaco returned from Paramaribo; [22] his maſter, Mr. Walter Kennedy, having, to my great joy, ſold him to me for the ſum of five hundred Dutch florins, amounting with the expences to near fifty pounds, for which Colonel Fourgeoud very civilly gave me a bill on his agent. The payment of this faithful ſervant's ran⯑ſom, of courſe revived my impatience for the long-wiſhed moment of emancipation of my poor Joanna and her boy; from whoſe new maſter I had not yet received any anſwer.

While we continued here, a negro brought me a beautiful butterfly, which I copied with all the correct⯑neſs I was maſter of; and which I ſaw ſince in Ma⯑dam Merian's collection, where it is coloured very ill. This fly was a dark blue tinged with green, and va⯑riegated with ſpots like a peacock's feather, and on each wing it had a ſpot of pale yellow; the under part of the wings were a charming crimſon and purple; the body a pale red.—The caterpillar is green and yellow; it is crowned with eight horns on the head, and has two on the tail. About the ſame time Captain Fredericy re⯑turned alſo from traverſing the woods. He had a cor⯑poral drowned by ſlipping off a tree in croſſing over a creek; which accident frequently happened, but the men were generally picked up, except this poor fellow, who ſunk to the bottom inſtantly with all his accou⯑trements.

On the 13th, a detachment departed for La Rochelle in Patamaca, and the following day a captain was ſent with a few men back to the Hope, in Comewina, to protect the eſtates in that river.

On the ſame day, the miſerable old negro who had cut his throat on the 5th day of March, but had ſince re⯑covered, was ſeen by ſome ſlaves to enter the wood with a knife, from which he no more returned, being ſoon after found ſtabbed to death. We were after⯑wards informed by his maſter, that for ſome time be⯑fore [24] he had attempted to do the ſame almoſt regularly from month to month.

On the 17th, the detachment returned from La Rochelle, where the troops of the Society were all ſick.

Colonel Fourgeoud now treated me with the greateſt politeneſs. And at his earneſt requeſt I preſented him, on the 20th, with various drawings, repreſenting himſelf and his troops ſtruggling with the hardſhips annexed to the ſervice they were ſent on; and which drawings he told me were intended to ſhew the Prince of Orange and the States a ſpecimen of what he and his marines did undergo in the foreſts of Guiana.

He now gave me leave, for fourteen days, to go to town to wiſh Mr. Kennedy a proſperous voyage to Eu⯑rope. Availing myſelf therefore of his good humour, I left Magdenberg within one hour, and made ſuch diſ⯑patch that I came to Paramaribo on the 22d, where I found my friends and little family all well, at the houſe of Mr. de la Mare, to which they were immediately ſent from that of Mr. Lolkens, who had, during my laſt ab⯑ſence, entertained them, and treated them with the great⯑eſt attention and hoſpitality.

CHAP. XVII. New Inſtances of unprecedented Barbarity—Occurrences on Mount Magdenberg — Prices of Proviſions at Para⯑maribo — Deſcription of a new Animal—Great Morta⯑lity amongſt the Troops in Tempatee and Comewina River.

THE firſt viſit I now made was to Mr. Kennedy,CHAP. XVII. to bid him farewel; I then paid five hundred florins for the black boy, for which he gave me a receipt, and Quaco was mine. About this time I fell ill with a fever, which however laſted but a few days. Walking out on the 1ſt of May, I obſerved a croud of people along the water-ſide, before the houſe of Mr. S—lk—r, where ap⯑peared the dreadful ſpectacle of a beautiful young mu⯑latto girl, floating on her back, with her hands tied be⯑hind, her throat moſt ſhockingly cut, and ſtabbed in the breaſt with a knife in more than eight or ten different places. This was reported to have been the work of that infernal fiend, Mrs. S—lk—r, from a motive of jealouſy, ſuſpecting that her huſband might fall in love with this poor unfortunate female. This monſter of a woman had before drowned a negro infant merely for crying, as I have ſaid; nay, ſhe was accuſed of ſtill greater bar⯑barity, were greater barbarity poſſible. Arriving one [26] day at her eſtate to view ſome negroes newly purchaſed, her eye chanced to fall on a fine negro girl about fifteen years of age, who could not even ſpeak the language of the country. Obſerving her to be a remarkably fine figure, with a ſweet engaging countenance, her diabo⯑lical jealouſy inſtantly prompted her to burn the girl's cheeks, mouth, and forehead with a red-hot iron; ſhe alſo cut the tendon Achilles of one of her legs, thus ren⯑dering her a monſter of deformity, and a miſerable ob⯑ject as long as ſhe lived: the poor victim not knowing what ſhe had done to deſerve ſo ſevere a puniſhment.

Some of the negroes now repreſenting to this lady the many cruelties ſhe daily inflicted, and ſupplicating her to be of a milder diſpoſition; it was reported that ſhe inſtantly knocked out the brains of a Quaderoon child, and cauſed the heads of two young negroes, its re⯑lations, to be chopped off, for having endeavoured to prevent her; theſe heads, when ſhe had left the eſtate, were tied in ſilk handkerchiefs, and carried by the ſur⯑viving relations to Paramaribo, where they were laid at the feet of the governor, with the following ſpeech:

‘"This, your Excellency, is the head of my ſon, and this is the head of my brother, ſtruck off by our miſ⯑treſs's command, for endeavouring to prevent her mur⯑ders. We know our evidence is nothing in a ſtate of ſlavery; but, if theſe bloody heads be a ſufficient proof of what we ſay, we only beg that ſuch perni⯑cious acts may be prevented in time to come; in ac⯑knowledgment [27] of which we will all chearfully ſhed our blood for the preſervation and proſperity of our maſter, our miſtreſs, and the colony."’

To this humble and pathetic remonſtrance the anſwer was, that they were all liars, and ſhould, as ſuch, be flogged round the ſtreets of Paramaribo; and this moſt ini⯑quitous ſentence was executed with the greateſt ſeverity.

Such is the conſequence of the law of the colony, that the teſtimony of a negro is never to be taken. Had any one white perſon been preſent at the above carnage, the evidence would have been good, but even then this fury would have eſcaped by paying a fine of fifty pounds for each murder.—But enough—my ſoul ſinks within me while I dwell ſo long upon the ſubject.

On the 2d of May, being again perfectly recovered, I took leave of Joanna and her Johnny, for thus he was named after myſelf, though the ceremony of baptiſm could not yet be performed; they now continued at my friend De la Mare's houſe, whilſt I ſet out once more for Magdenberg in a tent-boat with ſix oars.

On the 3d, I called at Egmond, on my French friend Monſieur Cachelieu, and next day ſtopt at Oranjebo or Ornamibo, where I was heartily entertained by my old adverſary Captain Meyland, with whom I had fought at the Wana Creek. But now this gentleman declared, that he loved me better than any man in the colony. He was juſt returned from a twelve days cruize through the woods.

[28]Among his men I recollected one Cordus, a gentle⯑man's ſon from Hamburgh, in which character I had known him, and who had been trepanned into the Weſt India Company's ſervice by the crimps or ſilver⯑coopers as a common ſoldier. This corps, as I have al⯑ready ſaid, is compoſed of all nations, Chriſtians, Gentiles, and even Jews; the latter, I muſt obſerve, devoured pork and bacon, without ſcruple or heſitation, as often as they could find it.

On this ſpot, which had formerly been a plantation, but was now choked with weeds, I met with ſome herbs which again I cannot paſs unnoticed, though I have no other names for them than thoſe given me by the negroes, one only excepted, which is commonly known by the name of the ſiliqua-hirſuta, cow-edge, or cow-itch, and called by the black people craſſy-weeree-weeree. I can only deſcribe this as a kind of pea, or rather flattiſh ſmall purple bean, growing in a pod from a ſlender creep⯑ing vine; theſe pods are covered with a kind of fine elaſtic ſpicula, which, when touched, cauſe an intolerable itch⯑ing. This hairy coat ſcraped from the pod, and taken in a tea-ſpoon with jelly, &c. has been ſtrongly re⯑commended as a vermifuge. A ſort of wood was alſo ſhewn me here by one of the ſlaves, which he called craſſy-wood; this had the ſame itching effect when touch⯑ed, but with reſpect to its general qualities I can ſay no⯑thing further. The other ſhrubs that we found were what they called conſaca-weeree-weeree; theſe grow [29] with large green leaves, which the negroes uſe for the cure of a diſorder in the feet called conſaca, when they can procure no limes or lemons, as I have already men⯑tioned: this plant alſo makes an excellent ſallad. The dea-weeree-weeree is a fine wholeſome herb, and very much eſteemed; but the cutty-weeree-weeree is amongſt the moſt ſerious peſts in the colony, being a kind of ſtrong edged graſs, which is in ſome places very plen⯑tiful; and when a man walks through it will cut his legs like a razor. Herbs in general are in this country known by the name of weeree-weeree by the negroes.

On the 5th, I arrived at Magdenberg. Here Colonel Seyburg, and what he called his officers, ſeemed to form a diſtinct corps from thoſe of Fourgeoud. They appeared totally deſtitute of politeneſs, and treated each other with the greateſt rudeneſs, while their colonel was moſt cordially hated by the commander in chief. This ſtate of things contributed to render our ſituation ſtill more diſagreeable: I however had at this time little reaſon to complain, being for the preſent, at leaſt, in the good graces of Fourgeoud, which, by a trifling accident, I had nearly again forfeited. Colonel Fourgeoud having purchaſed of ſome Indians a couple of moſt beautiful parrots, called here cocatoos, which were in a cage ready to be ſhipped off as a preſent to her royal highneſs the princeſs of Orange, I perſuaded Monſieur Laurant, his valet-de-chambre, to take one of them out, that I might the better examine it, but the cage-door was no ſooner [30] opened, than it gave a ſhriek, and diſappeared in an in⯑ſtant, flying over the Tempatee Creek. The poor valet ſtood perfectly petrified, and could only pronounce "Voyez-vous?" whilſt I took to my heels to avoid the approaching ſtorm, but ſtopped near enough to obſerve Fourgeoud's motions through the underwood. He was no ſooner informed of the dreadful accident, than he began to ſtorm, ſwear, and dance like a man totally deprived of reaſon; he next, by kicking it, killed a poor waddling duck belonging to one of our officers; and at laſt actually tram⯑pled his very wig under his feet, while I ſtood trembling, and the reſt of the ſpectators were laughing aloud. In about half an hour his paſſion began gradually to cool, and then he had recourſe to a ſtratagem which actually brought the parrot back into his poſſeſſion. He placed the remaining captive on the top of its cage, tied by a ſmall cord round its claw; this he ſet in the open air, putting a ripe banana inſide, and leaving the door open, ſo that any other bird except the priſoner might come at it; the poor captive at laſt becoming very hungry, made ſuch a noiſe and ſhrieking as to be heard by his mate, who returning entered the cage in queſt of food, and was once more deprived of his freedom. I now ventured from my concealment, and was acquitted after a gentle reproof; though poor Laurant, as may well be imagined, did not eſcape without a thundering lecture.

The cocatoos are leſs than the parrots, and of a green colour, except the head and a few feathers in the tail, [31] which are of a pale red. This bird is crowned with a pa⯑naſhe or bunch of feathers, and which generally lie back⯑ward, but which it erects at pleaſure, when it is irritated or afraid.

I have alſo ſeen in Surinam a parrot of a deep ſlate blue colour, though not like thoſe that come from the coaſt of Guinea, which are rather of a lead-grey. This parrot is ſaid to be very ſcarce, and only inhabits the deepeſt receſſes of the foreſt, whence it is brought to Pa⯑ramaribo by the Indians: this bird is leſs than the com⯑mon parrot, but appears very ſtrong and lively. The moſt common parrots in Guiana are thoſe which Marc⯑grave calls ajuriicura. Theſe birds are not ſo large as thoſe that come from Africa; they are green, with the breaſt and belly a pale yellow; on the top of the head they have a blue ſpot, and the feet are grey, with four toes like the reſt of the genus, two before and two be⯑hind; in the wings they have ſome feathers of a bright blue, and ſome a deep crimſon; they are more a nuiſance than a pleaſure in Surinam, where, in prodigious flocks, they perch amongſt the coffee, maize, rice, &c. and commit great devaſtations; and what makes them a ſtill greater nuiſance, their ſhrieking noiſe is almoſt inſupportable. They always fly in pairs, and very ſwift, towards the eaſt, as I have obſerved, meeting the ſun in the morning, and toward the weſt they follow it in the evening: they ge⯑nerally breed in remote places and lay two eggs. I brought down two of theſe parrots at a ſhot when I was [32] at Sporkſgift eſtate; theſe animals not being quite dead, ſcratched me moſt terribly with their ſharp claws, as they are very ſtrong and tenacious of life. We had them dreſſed, and they made no bad ſoup; they may alſo do in a pye as rooks in England, but dreſſed in any other way they are tough and diſagreeable. Theſe green par⯑rots may be taught to ſpeak, laugh, cry, bark, whiſtle, or mew, but not near ſo well as thoſe which come from Africa. It is ſaid, they are often intoxicated by the ſeeds of the cotton plant. Theſe parrots are alſo ſubject to fits, perhaps from their choleric diſpoſition, yet longe⯑vity is peculiarly aſcribed to them by the Indians: they have ſtrong hooked bills, which aſſiſt them in climbing and cracking very hard nuts, and they ſometimes bite very ſeverely; they delight in ſwinging and balancing, hanging from the branches of trees, and in their wild as well as domeſtic ſtate uſe one of their claws as a hand to take their food.

I was preſented this evening by a ſoldier with a bird of a quite different kind, which he had actually caught with his hands. This was no other than the annamoe, or Su⯑rinam partridge, and a finer creature I never ſaw: it was of the ſize of a large duck, extremely fat, and of a dark brown colour on the back and wings, and on the top of the head, the under part of which, the breaſt, the belly, and the thighs, were of a fine cream-colour, intermixed with orange feathers and very ſmall tranſverſe black bars. The body was exactly the ſhape of an egg, it had no tail, the neck was long, the bill ſhort, but very ſharp⯑pointed, and a little curved; the eyes were bright, and as black as jet; the legs ſhort, of the colour of vermilion, with three ſmall toes on each foot. This bird, it is ſaid, runs with amazing ſwiftneſs, hiding itſelf amongſt the graſs and weeds, but flies very heavily on account of its plumpneſs, which was the cauſe of its being thus over⯑taken by the marine. We had it roaſted, and indeed no⯑thing could be more delicious. As I took a correct draw⯑ing of it, I refer the reader to the annexed plate; where he may alſo ſee the parrot of South America, as deſcribed above, beſides a few curious neſts, of which I have given an account in Vol. I. p. 375, but where I had no op⯑portunity of placing them; and which, beſides their cu⯑rioſity, may ſerve to ſhew how much the public are im⯑poſed [34] upon; when, in Goldſmith's Animated Nature, Vol. V. p. 253, that author aſſerts, that they are built on the banana and plantain trees, where he alſo deſcribes the monkies, and numbers of large ſerpents as aſſembling. All this I here think it my duty to pronounce erroneous, as I conſider it would be unpardonable in me to let ſuch abſurdities paſs by unnoticed.

On the 9th, an accident had nearly befallen me, which muſt have cauſed me much poignant and laſting ſorrow. My black boy, waſhing my cotton hammock in the Tem⯑patee Creek, was ſuddenly carried to the bottom by the rapidity of the ſtream, and entangled in its laſhings, ſo that both the one and the other diſappeared; the boy, however, luckily extricated himſelf, though with great difficulty, and to my great joy, though more than half drowned, appeared once more on terra firma; when he had the preſence of mind inſtantly to ſink a large fiſh-hook, with a lead tied to a ſtrong line, ſome yards below the ſpot, with which he actually brought up the ham⯑mock, to our aſtoniſhment, the ſtream running ſo ſwift that it rolled over the ground, and was liable to ſhift its ſtation every moment.

The following day, as Captain Hamel was angling, his tackle got faſt at the bottom of the creek, when, in div⯑ing to clear it, I ſtruck my ancle with ſuch violence againſt a rock, that it was ſeveral months before it was perfectly recovered.

Theſe accidents appeared greatly to entertain Colonel Seyburg, while in return I could not help feeling a de⯑gree [35] of indignation at what I conſidered as unhandſome behaviour; but the moſt extraordinary circumſtance was, that this diſguſt between Seyburg and myſelf ſeemed to gain me the favour of old Fourgeoud, almoſt as much as if I had deſtroyed half the rebel negroes in the colony.— During all this time ſtrong patroles cruized between Magdenberg, La Rochelle, and the Jew Savannah; and on the 17th, the commander in chief marched to Pata⯑maca with nearly the half of his troops, leaving me the command of thoſe that remained on the mountain, for I was not able to accompany him, having by this time a dangerous mortification in my ancle.

As I had now the proſpect of remaining ſome time at Magdenberg, I diſpatched Quaco to Paramaribo for pro⯑viſions, and orders to buy me a live goat.

Whatever may be thought of Fourgeoud's manoeuvres, in not being able to bring the rebels to a pitched battle, it is very certain that he exerted himſelf and his troops to the utmoſt; and that by his conſtantly traverſing the upper parts of the rivers, and ſcouring the ſkirts of the colony, he prevented many depredations on the eſtates, which was undoubtedly a very eſſential ſervice to the inhabitants, though at a dreadful expence of blood and money.

Being now the commander in chief at this poſt, the two negroes I have formerly mentioned hunting and fiſhing for me, brought me almoſt every day one or two pingos, which are the wild boars formerly mentioned, beſides a [36] fiſh called newmara, ſome of which are as large as cod, and which I ſhall afterwards deſcribe. With theſe dain⯑ties I regaled all the officers without exception, while I gave to the hoſpital all the plantains, bananas, oranges, and lemons, that were occaſionally ſent me as preſents from the Jacob and the plantations in Upper Comewina; and never was a deputy-governor more univerſally be⯑loved. Patroles were alſo daily ſent out to every quarter; and the environs of Magdenberg were ſo completely ſcoured, that no invaſion from the rebels could be practi⯑cable. Theſe precautions were the more neceſſary, as they had formerly ſurpriſed and taken by ſtorm different military poſts for the ſake of ammunition and fire-arms, which are to them of the utmoſt value, and their ſeizure of the moſt pernicious conſequence to the colony. Indeed ſome poſts had not only been attacked and plundered of their ſtores and ammunition, but were actually maſſacred to a man.

Mortified that it was not in my power to take a more active part at preſent, I availed myſelf of this leiſure, by taking drawings of every animal, reptile, or ſhrub, that I thought could illuſtrate my little collection of natural cu⯑rioſities, which I now began to form ſome idea of exhi⯑biting to the public, if it ſhould be my fate ever more to return to Europe.

One of my negroes, on the 24th of this month, brought me two curious inſects; which, though I had no op⯑portunity of drawing, I will endeavour to deſcribe:— [37] The one (which ſeemed to have ſome ſmall affinity to the graſshopper kind) was what is here generally called ſpaanſe-juffer, and is without exception the moſt ſingular animal I ſaw in the colony. The body of this ſurpriſing creature, though not thicker than a quill, was no leſs than ſeven inches and a half in length, including the tail; it had no wings, and was mounted like a ſpider on ſix legs that were near ſix inches long; it had four antennae pro⯑jecting from its head, two being nearly five inches, and two much ſhorter; the head was ſmall, the eyes large, black, and prominent, and the tail articulated like that of moſt inſects: its colour was a browniſh green, and, upon the whole, it ſeemed a monſter. This creature is found near the marſhy places, where its long legs appear de⯑ſigned to enable it to wade through the water, but not to ſwim (according to Mr. Farmine's opinion) for which its feet are not calculated, as they terminate in two ſmall claws like thoſe of ſome beetles. The other was a large fly, which Madam Merian, who gives a drawing of it, calls the vielleur, but which I have generally heard called the ſcare-ſleep by the Dutch. Theſe words being extremely applicable, from the noiſe it makes towards the evening, which nearly reſembles the ſound of a cymbal, or that of a razor-grinder when at his work. This remarkable fly, whoſe grinding noiſe always begins at ſun-ſet or ſix o'clock, is alſo called the porte-lanterne or lantern-bearer, from the light it diffuſes after that time, and which is much ſtronger than that of any of the fire-fly ſpecies, [38] affording ſufficient light for almoſt any purpoſe: theſe flies are above three inches long, and very thick, the body green, with four tranſparent wings variegated with little marks of all colours, particularly the under wings, on which are two large roundiſh ſpots not unlike thoſe on the tail feathers of a peacock. Beneath the head of this inſect is ſeen an inverted ſtraight trump or tube like a needle, with which it is ſaid to ſuck its food from the flowers. With the ſame inſtrument it is here ſuppoſed to produce that diſagreeable, loud, and grinding noiſe, which I have already noticed. But, for my own part, I ſhould rather aſcribe the noiſe to the fluttering of its tranſparent wings, as is ſuppoſed to be the caſe with ſome flies in England: a large proboſcis or ſnout ſtriped red and yellow, and ſhaped like the firſt joint of a man's finger, projects from the head, and makes one-third of the whole animal; this protuberance is vulgarly called its lantern, and emits that ſurpriſing light whence it takes its ſecond name. I ſhall only add, that it is a very ſlow creeper, but flies with amazing velocity.

On the 26th, my boy Quaco arrived from Paramaribo with the following liſt of proviſions, which he had pur⯑chaſed for me. In order to give the curious a juſt idea of the prices in Surinam when things are cheapeſt, I will here inſert ſome articles as charged to my account, with the prices in Engliſh money, calculating at the rate of eleven florins to one pound ſterling.

[39]Theſe articles were as follow:

• 2 bacon hams, 31 lbs. at 15 d. per lb.
• 1 ſmall cag of butter, 10lbs. at 1s. 10d. per lb.
• 1 ſmall ditto of flour, 100lbs. at 4d. per lb.
• 1 Dutch cheeſe, 11lbs. at 10d. per lb.
• 2 quart bottles of vinegar, at 1s. 10d. per quart.
• 4 lbs. ſpermaceti candles, at 3s. 8d. per lb.
• 2 lbs. dried ſauſages, at 2s. 9d. per lb.

The prices of wine and ſpirits I have already mentioned in the twelfth chapter.

He alſo brought me a goat with its kid to ſupply me with milk, for which I paid twenty florins, or near two pounds ſterling: theſe prices are at leaſt double, and ſome treble, to what they uſed to be in England.

Goats are very common in all Guiana; they are not large, but very beautiful creatures, with ſmall horns, and very ſhort ſmooth hair, moſtly of a dun-colour; they are as nimble as ſtags, and are kept on all the eſtates, where they breed faſt and give much milk; they are alſo deli⯑cious eating when killed young.

I had now the diſagreeable news, that all my letters for Europe were ſunk on board Captain Viſſer, who was wrecked in the Texel roads among the ice. I was alſo ſincerely grieved to hear that my good friend Mr. Kennedy, with his lady and family, had taken their final farewel of the colony, and ſailed for Holland. This gentleman, Mr. Gordon, and a Mr. Gourluy, were the only Scotch; a Mr. Buckland, a Mr. Townſend, and Mr. [40] Halfhide, the only Engliſh; and Captain Macneal, the only native of Ireland, reſiding in this colony.

On the 28th, Colonel Fourgeoud returned with his command from Patamaca, much emaciated himſelf, and his men nearly exhauſted by fatigue. He had left a great number behind him in the hoſpital at La Rochelle, but heard no account whatever of the rebels, although he varied his route every time. It was therefore pretty evident that they were routed, if latterly there had been any ſettled at all: but where to find them in this un⯑bounded foreſt was the queſtion. He however never de⯑ſpaired, and ſeemed as eager to diſcover the haunts of the rebels as he had been formerly in ſpringing a covey of partridges, or diſcovering a neſt of black badgers.

On the 29th, Mr. Matthew, one of our officers who had been out ſhooting, preſented me with the Taibo, an animal that is here called the wood-rat. This creature was the ſize of a young hare, and of a reddiſh brown co⯑lour, being remarkably thin, with long limbs, a roundiſh head, and a tail not unlike that of a ſucking-pig; the claws were exactly like thoſe of a common rat, but larger in proportion, and ſo was the head, mouth, teeth, and whiſkers; the ears were ſhort and naked, the eyes black and prominent, with a white iris; it is ſaid to run very faſt: we had it dreſſed, and ate it, having been told that it was very good, and ſo we found it, ſweet, tender, and even fat, notwithſtanding its lank appearance. This [41] creature, on account of its ſize, reminds me of another animal, known in this country by the name of crabbo-dago, or the crabbed dog, for its matchleſs ferocity, as it kills and devours every thing that comes in its way, without exception, whether quadrupeds, fowls, or rep⯑tiles; and never ſeeming to be glutted with blood, it mur⯑ders, even without being hungry, all it can vanquiſh, which, on account of its courage, activity, and ſtrength, are not a few, though it be not larger than a common cat. From what I have ſaid, I ſhould apprehend it much reſembles the ichneumon, but ſtill more that ani⯑mal mentioned by Mr. Allemand, in the Count de Buffon; (ſee Vol. IV. p. 266.) which he there calls the griſon or grey-weazel, though this that I mention was rather larger; and he ſays, that notwithſtanding its being a na⯑tive of Surinam, none of the people coming from that country could give any account of it. If this be the ſame animal, (as I doubt not, and have therefore given it the name of the crabbo-dago or griſon) I am happy to have had it in my power to give the reader ſome ac⯑count of it. I ſhall now literally quote the Count's own words, as extracted from Mr. Allemand, which will afford the beſt proof of its being the ſame animal, when com⯑pared with the annexed plate, where both the wood-rat, and the crabbo-dago or griſon, are repreſented; and had I ſeen this account during the Count's life, I would have moſt aſſuredly taken the liberty of informing him by a [42] letter, of what I now, though in this unconnected method, relate to the public.

‘"I received," ſays Mr. Allemand, "the ſmall animal repreſented in the plate ^*. In the catalogue it was called the grey-weazel, from which circumſtance I de⯑rived the name griſon, becauſe I knew not how it is denominated in the country where it is found. The whole upper part of its body is covered with deep brown hair, having white points, which gives it a greyiſh brown colour: under the head and neck is a bright grey, becauſe the hairs are very ſhort, and the white part is of equal length with the brown. The muzzle, the under part of the body, and legs, are black, which ſingularly contraſts with the grey colour on the head and neck.’

‘"The head of this animal is very large in proportion to its body, its ears almoſt form a ſemicircle, its eyes are large, and its mouth is armed with ſtrong grinders and ſharp tuſks: it has ſix cutting teeth in each jaw, four of them hardly riſing above the gums. Both the fore and hind feet have five toes, with yellowiſh claws; the tail is pretty long, and terminates in a point.’

‘"The griſon has a greater reſemblance to the weazel, than to any other animal, but it belongs not to the weazel tribe; for its body is not long enough, and its [] The Wood Rat of Surinam?The Crabbodago, or Griſson? [43] legs are too long. It is not mentioned by any author or traveller. I ſhewed it to ſeveral perſons who had lived long in Surinam, but none of them knew it; hence it either muſt be a rare animal, even in its native country, or it muſt live in deſerts and unfre⯑quented places: the length of its body is about ſeven inches; I have not been able to learn any thing of its hiſtory."’

To this I ſhall only add my ſurprize.— It is true that this animal is very rare in Surinam, but it probably owes its not being deſcribed by naturaliſts to its extreme fero⯑city, which is without example, it being a very uncom⯑mon circumſtance to take a crabbo-dago or griſon alive.

Our old commander and I were now inſeparable friends, to whoſe board being daily invited, he requeſted me to paint his portrait at full length in his buſh equipage, which was to be engraved at the expence of the town of Amſterdam, and where he thought himſelf now as great a man as the Duke of Cumberland was in England after the battle of Culloden.

Having provided a large ſheet of paper, and ſome China ink, I began to delineate this wonderful cha⯑racter in his own hut. While I was now looking full in his face, to examine the features of this firſt of deſ⯑pots, and laughing aloud, to think how he and I now ſat ſtaring at one another, the whole mountain was ſud⯑denly ſhook by a tremendous clap of thunder, while the lightning actually ſcorched the Colonel's forehead; and, [44] what is very curious, broke all the eggs under a hen that was ſitting in a corner of the room where we were engaged. The hero's features being re-compoſed, I proceeded, and the picture was completed in a ſhort time after, to his great ſatisfaction.

About this time the captive rebel, September, who was taken in the year 1773, died of a dropſy. Ever ſince his capture, when his companion was ſhot, this poor fellow was obliged to follow Fourgeoud like a dog through all his expeditions; the colonel always expecting that this negro would, one day or other, conduct him to different haunts of the rebels—but he was miſtaken. The other negro ſlaves, ſuſpecting that he had actually given ſome information, attributed his dreadful death to a puniſh⯑ment from God, for his want of fidelity to his country⯑men, to whom they ſuppoſed he had ſworn to be true.

The reader may remember, that I have ſtated it in the third Chapter, as an invariable article of belief among the African negroes, that whoever breaks his oath ſhall die miſerably in this world, and be puniſhed for ever in that which is to come.

By the 2d of June, the Hope in Comewina was become ſo very unwholeſome for want of cleanlineſs, and being kept free from inundations (as it was much neglected by the newly-arrived troops which were now ſtationed there), that the commanding officer and moſt of his men were rendered unfit for duty by ſickneſs, and many of them already buried. To this place Colonel Fourgeoud or⯑dered [45] down Captain Brant to take the command, with a freſh ſupply of men, and orders to ſend, not to town but to Magdenberg, all the invalids he ſhould relieve. Theſe orders he gave to the above officer in ſuch a brutal man⯑ner, and diſpatched him ſo ſuddenly, that he had not even time to pack up his cloaths; while Colonel Seyburg de⯑prived him of his only ſervant, whom he took for him⯑ſelf. This uſage ſo much affected Captain Brant, that he burſt into tears, and declared he did not wiſh longer to ſurvive ſuch galling treatment: he then departed to the Hope, truly with a broken heart.

Upon his arrival he was informed that Captain Brough, the late commanding officer, was dead. This poor man had been on hard ſervice in the woods, and being very corpulent, could no longer ſupport the fatigues and ex⯑ceſſive heat; he melted down very faſt, and a putrid fever at laſt occaſioned his diſſolution. Captain Brant was ſoon followed by Colonel Seyburg to the Hope, with orders to inſpect the ſick.—In this interval of inaction, I ſhall de⯑ſcribe two fiſhes, which, though very different in ſize and colour, equally merit particular attention.

The firſt, and indeed the only one of the kind I ever ſaw, was caught by an angler. It was about the ſize of a large anchovy, and, the dorado excepted, was certainly the moſt beautiful coloured fiſh I ever ſaw. Its back and ſides were divided in longitudinal bars of fine yellow and a deep blueiſh black, the belly was ſilver, the eyes were black and gold, and the fins a glowing tranſparent vermi⯑lion; [46] its ſhape was not unlike that of a trout, and the whole was covered with ſmall ſcales; it had one dorſal fin on the middle of its back, with only the veſtige of another near the tail, which was forked: under its belly were five fins, two pectoral, two ventral, and one behind the anus; the under jaw projected before the upper jaw, and made its mouth appear reverſed; the gills were ſmall. Having enquired concerning this little fiſh, the only in⯑formation I could obtain was from a black man, who called it dago-fiſee.

Several officers who kept poultry and hogs at this pe⯑riod loſt all the latter in the ſpace of two days, being poi⯑ſoned probably by eating duncane, or ſome other fatal weed that was unknown to us. And yet it has been a general obſervation, as I have ſaid before, that all ani⯑mals know by inſtinct to diſtinguiſh their food from their poiſon.

Mr. Seyburg now returned from the Hope in triumph, with Lieutenant Dederlin (one of Colonel Fourgeoud's officers) guarded by a ſerjeant and ſix marines with fixed bayonets, for having been wanting in reſpect, as that gentleman pleaſed to call it.

On the 7th, the ſick officers and ſoldiers alſo arrived from the Hope in barges; ſome of the latter, being too ill to bear removing, died on the paſſage without medi⯑cines, and without aſſiſtance. One of our ſurgeons died alſo this day in camp, and a number of the privates died daily. This was the conſequence of having marched ſo much in the wet ſeaſon, which was judged however by our chief to be the only ſeaſon in which he was likely to root the rebels from the foreſt of Guiana.

CHAP. XVIII. A Tyger taken in the Camp—Fatal Rencounter of a Party with the Rebels, who killed ſeveral of the Troops, and forced the reſt back—Deſcription of a Planter of Surinam —Contagious Diſtempers— Suicide —Scene of primitive Nature.

CHAP. XVIII.I HAVE juſt mentioned that ſeveral officers kept poultry, numbers of which were now taken away every night by ſome unknown marauder; when a Captain Bolts (ſuſ⯑pecting the coati-mondi, or crabbo-dago) made a trap of an empty wine-cheſt, only by ſupporting the lid with a ſtick fixed to a long cord, into which (having firſt ſecured all the other poultry) he put a couple of live fowls, the whole guarded by two negroes at ſome diſtance. They had not been many hours on their poſt, when hearing the fowls ſhriek, one negro pulled the rope, and the other ran to ſecure the invader by ſitting on the lid: when this proved to be actually a young tyger, who would yet have cleared his way by beating againſt the box, but that it was immediately ſecured by ſtrong ropes, and drawn along, with the priſoner in it, to the river; where, being held under water, he was drowned, under the moſt vigo⯑rous efforts, by beating againſt the cheſt to effect his eſ⯑cape. Captain Bolts ordered the ſkin to be taken off, which he kept in remembrance of ſo very ſtrange a cir⯑cumſtance.

The Count de Buffon aſſerts, that there are no tygers [49] in America, but animals much reſembling them, which go by that name. I ſhall however deſcribe them, from actual obſervation, as I found them, and leave the reader to determine whether they are tygers or not.

The firſt and largeſt is that called the jaguar of Guiana. This animal, which has by ſome been repreſented as a de⯑ſpiſeable little creature, not larger than a greyhound, is, on the contrary, very fierce, ſtrong, and dangerous; ſome of them meaſuring, from the noſe to the root of the tail, not leſs than ſix feet: and let us not forget the print of that enormous tyger's foot, ſeen by myſelf in the ſand, near Patamaca; though it may be allowed, that creature was of an extraordinary ſize, and the ſand very looſe.—The jaguar is of a tawny orange colour, and the belly white; on the back it is ſpotted with longitudinal black bars; on the ſides with irregular rings, light-coloured in the center; and all over the reſt of the body, and the tail, the ſpots are ſmaller, and perfectly black: its ſhape is in every ſenſe like that of the African tyger, and being all of the cat kind, they need no particular deſcription; but their ſize and ſtrength being ſo much greater than that little domeſtic animal, they devour a ſheep, or a goat, with the ſame facility as a cat would kill a mouſe or a rat; nay, cows and horſes are not protected from their at⯑tacks, for theſe they frequently kill on the plantations; and though they cannot carry them off into the foreſt on account of their weight, they tear and mangle them in a dreadful manner, only for the ſake of the blood, with [50] which this ferocious animal is never glutted. It has even happened that the jaguar has carried off young negro women at work in the field, and too frequently their children. This contemptible animal, as it is called and miſrepreſented by ſome authors, will beat down a wild boar with a ſingle ſtroke of its paw, and even ſeize by the throat the ſtrongeſt ſtallion that ever was mounted in Guiana; while its ſavage nature, and thirſt after blood, is ſuch that it cannot be tamed: it will, on the con⯑trary, bite the very hand that feeds it, and very often devours its own offspring; ſtill this creature is not a match for the aboma-ſnake, which, when it comes within its reach, has the power of cruſhing it to a jelly in but few moments.

The next is the couguar, called in Surinam the red tyger.—This indeed may, with more propriety, be com⯑pared to a greyhound, for its ſhape, though not for its ſize; being much larger than the dog which it reſembles in make, but it is not in general ſo large and heavy as the jaguar. The colour of this animal is a reddiſh brown; the breaſt and belly are a dirty white, with long hair, and not ſpotted; the tail an earthy colour, the extremity black; the head is ſmall, the body thin, the limbs long, with tremendous whitiſh claws; the teeth are alſo very large, the eyes prominent, and ſparkling like ſtars. This creature is equally ferocious with the former.

In Guiana is ſtill another of this ſpecies, called the ja⯑guanetta, of a blackiſh colour, with ſtill blacker ſpots; but of this laſt I can ſay very little, having never ſeen one; and, indeed, the others but very ſeldom. Of the jaguar however, and the tyger-cat, I preſent the reader with a drawing. All theſe animals have long whiſkers, like common cats; they ſometimes climb trees, but ge⯑nerally lie in ambuſh under the verdure, whence they bound with uncommon agility on their helpleſs prey; which having murdered, they drink the blood warm, and never ceaſe to tear and devour it till they are gorged; but when no longer animated by hunger they are coward⯑ly, and may be put to flight by a common ſpaniel. Of ſire alſo they are exceedingly afraid, which is the beſt guard to keep them at a diſtance, and as ſuch, made uſe of every night by the Indians in Guiana. More than once it has been obſerved, that tygers had entered our camps for want of theſe precautions, but fortunately without committing any depredations.

As I now ſeemed to be on a friendly intercourſe [52] with Colonel Fourgeoud, I one day preſented the old gentleman with a plan and bird's-eye view of all the encampment of Magdenberg, which pleaſed him ſo much that he ſent this (as he had done the firſt) to the Prince of Orange and the Duke of Brunſwick, as a ſpecimen of his military manoeuvres, &c. This preſent had the deſired effect; for I not only became one of his favourites, but, declaring his higheſt eſteem for the Scots and Engliſh, he even promiſed to recommend me in particular at court. I was ſo ſatisfied with this change in his beha⯑viour, that I now took the blame of all former animoſity on myſelf. His attention, however, was ſuddenly at⯑tracted by affairs of more conſequence; ſince, on the 14th of June, the news arrived that ſome rebel huts were diſcovered near the ſea-ſide; that Captain May⯑land had marched in queſt of the enemy, with one hundred and forty men of the Society troops, and had actually diſcovered them; but in wading through a deep marſh, had been firſt attacked by the negroes, who had killed ſeveral of his people (among whom his nephew, a young volunteer), wounded more, and beaten back the whole detachment, after they had already paſſed the marſh, and were mounting faſt on the oppoſite beach to ſtorm the village. From this news it was evident, that our ſable foes were not to be trifled with; and ſince they were thus diſcovered, orders were immediately iſſued for all the troops that were able to march to keep in readineſs, viz. Four⯑geoud's [53] marines, the Society regiment, and my favourite rangers, who wanted no ſpur, and now could hardly be reſtrained till the others were prepared. Theſe troops were to be aſſembled at a certain place of rendezvous, while alſo a detachment marched to La Rochelle to give information. In conſequence of theſe orders all was ac⯑tivity and vigour in the camp, in hopes that this deciſive ſtroke would end the war, and their miſery together; and this, therefore, was the time to lead them on to a ſpirited attack; but, for reaſons beſt known to himſelf, our com⯑mander delayed his movement till the 20th of Auguſt, which was above two months.

In the mean time the diſagreeable news arrived, that Captain Brant was almoſt dead with a violent illneſs at the Hope, which was at preſent the place where a number of the troops were quartered, though no better than a peſt-houſe, by the inundations; and for the command at this place (as being one of his favourites) Fourgeoud now ſingled me out: declaring, that I might thank my ſound conſtitution for beſtowing on me this honour. From this conduct, I plainly diſcovered that all his friendſhip was entirely intereſted; and I felt my reſentment involuntarily rekindled againſt him, for thus ſending me to an in⯑glorious death, when he had ſo fair an opportunity of employing me honourably on actual ſervice.

On my arrival at the Hope, my orders were to ſend poor Captain Brant not down to Paramaribo, but to Mag⯑denberg. This young man, however, fruſtrated the ty⯑rannical [54] command; for, juſtly ſuſpecting it, he had ſet out with a tent-barge to town a few hours before I came, where he was no ſooner carried to his lodgings than he expired, from the effects of a burning fever, and a broken heart. No man could be more regretted than Captain Brant; nor did Fourgeoud ever loſe a better officer, or I a ſincerer friend.

This being the ſecond commander dead in ſo ſhort a time, I quietly took for my motto — ‘Hodie tibi cras mihi.’ But I was happily miſtaken, and continued ſtill as well as ever I was in my life, following the advice of old Caramaca, and bathing twice a day in the river; while I deſpiſed ſhoes and ſtockings, as uſeleſs and unneceſſary lumber.

On the 20th of June, a few days after my arrival, I had the honour to receive a viſit from the governor, Mr. Nep⯑veu, on his return from his eſtate Appecappe to Parama⯑ribo, with whom I condoled on the loſs of his lady, who had died very lately; I alſo received daily viſits from ſe⯑veral planters, who complimented me with refreſhments from their plantations: and here I had an excellent op⯑portunity of acquainting myſelf with the cuſtoms and manner of living of theſe Weſt-India nabobs.

A planter in Surinam, when he lives on his eſtate, (which is but ſeldom, as they moſtly prefer the ſociety of Paramaribo) gets out of his hammock with the [55] riſing ſun, viz. about ſix o'clock in the morning, when he makes his appearance under the piazza of his houſe; where his coffee is ready waiting for him, which he generally takes with his pipe, inſtead of toaſt and but⯑ter; and there he is attended by half a dozen of the ſineſt young ſlaves, both male and female, of the plan⯑tation, to ſerve him; at this ſanctum-ſanctorum he is next accoſted by his overſeer, who regularly every morning attends at his levee, and having made his bows at ſeveral yards diſtance, with the moſt profound reſpect informs his Greatneſs what work was done the day before; what negroes deſerted, died, fell ſick, re⯑covered, were bought or born; and, above all things, which of them neglected their work, affected ſickneſs, or had been drunk or abſent, &c.; the priſoners are generally preſent, being ſecured by the negro-drivers, and inſtantly tied up to the beams of the piazza, or a tree, without ſo much as being heard in their own defence; when the flogging begins, with men, women, or children, without exception. The inſtruments of torture on theſe occaſions are long hempen whips, that cut round at every laſh, and crack like piſtol-ſhot; during which they alternately repeat, "Dankee, maſſera," (Thank you, maſter). In the mean time he ſtalks up and down with his overſeer, affecting not ſo much as to hear their cries, till they are ſufficiently mangled, when they are untied, and ordered to return to their work, without ſo much as a dreſſing.

This ceremony being over, the dreſſy negro (a black [56] ſurgeon) comes to make his report; who being diſmiſſed with a hearty curſe, for allowing any ſlaves to be ſick, next makes her appearance a ſuperannuated matron, with all the young negro children of the eſtate, over whom ſhe is governeſs; theſe, being clean waſhed in the river, clap their hands, and cheer in chorus, when they are ſent away to breakfaſt on a large platter of rice and plantains; and the levee ends with a low bow from the overſeer, as it begun.

His worſhip now ſaunters out in his morning dreſs, which conſiſts of a pair of the fineſt Holland trowſers, white ſilk ſtockings, and red or yellow Morocco ſlippers; the neck of his ſhirt open, and nothing over it, a looſe flowing night-gown of the fineſt India chintz excepted. On his head is a cotton night-cap, as thin as a cobweb, and over that an enormous beaver hat, that protects his meagre viſage from the ſun, which is already the colour of mahogany, while his whole carcaſe ſeldom weighs above eight or ten ſtone, being generally exhauſted by the climate and diſſipation. To give a more complete idea of this fine gentleman, I in the annexed plate preſent him to the reader with a pipe in his mouth, which almoſt every where accompanies him, and re⯑ceiving a glaſs of Madeira wine and water, from a female quaderoon ſlave, to refreſh him during his walk.

After this he takes a book, plays at cheſs or billiards, entertains himſelf with muſic, &c. till the heat of the day forces him to return into his cotton hammock to enjoy his meridian nap, which he could no more diſpenſe with than a Spaniard with his fieſta, and in which he rocks to and [58] fro, like a performer on the ſlack-rope, till he falls aſleep, without either bed or covering; and during which time he is fanned by a couple of his black attendants, to keep him cool, &c.

About three o'clock he awakes by natural inſtinct, when having waſhed and perfumed himſelf, he ſits down to dinner, attended as at breakfaſt by his deputy governor and ſable pages, where nothing is wanting that the world can afford in a weſtern climate, of meat, fowls, veniſon, fiſh, vegetables, fruits, &c. and the moſt exquiſite wines are often ſquandered in profuſion; after this a cup of ſtrong coffee and a liqueur finiſh the repaſt. At ſix o'clock he is again waited on by his overſeer, at⯑tended as in the morning by negro-drivers and priſoners, when the flogging once more having continued for ſome time, and the neceſſary orders being given for the next day's work, the aſſembly is diſmiſſed, and the evening ſpent with weak punch, ſangaree, cards and tobacco.— His worſhip generally begins to yawn about ten or eleven o'clock, when he withdraws, and is undreſſed by his ſooty pages. He then retires to reſt, where he paſſes the night in the arms of one or other of his ſable ſultanas (for he always keeps a ſeraglio) till about ſix in the morning, when he again repairs to his piazza walk, where his pipe and coffee are waiting for him; and where, with the riſ⯑ing ſun, he begins his round of diſſipation, like a petty monarch, as capricious as he is deſpotic and deſpiſeable.

Such abſolute power indeed, cannot fail to be peculiarly [59] delightful to a man, who, in all probability, was in his own country, Europe, a — nothing.

But, in this colony, this is too frequently the caſe, where plantations are ſold upon credit, and left (by the abſent proprietor) to the appraiſers, who, by ſelling cheap, have generally an underſtanding with the buyer.

Theſe are the planters who are the peſt of the colony; ſuch as the ſine gentleman juſt deſcribed, who, while he lives at the above rate, pays nobody, under pretence of bad crops, mortality amongſt the ſlaves, &c. but like an upſtart raſcal maſſacres the negroes by double labour, ruins and pillages the eſtate of all its productions, which he clandeſtinely ſells for ready money, makes a purſe, and runs away. Exceptions, however, take place in every circumſtance of life; and I have known many planters in Surinam as good men as I ever would deſire to be ac⯑quainted with, which I have already mentioned.

As for the ladies, they indulge themſelves juſt as much, by giving way to their unbounded paſſions, and eſpecially to the moſt relentleſs barbarity. But while I can bear witneſs to the exalted virtues of ſuch a woman as Mrs. Elizabeth Danforth, now Mrs. Godfrey, and a few more whoſe characters ſhine with treble luſtre, I ſhall draw a veil over all the imperfections, too common to their ſex in this climate. Before I drop this ſubject, however, I muſt atteſt, that hoſpitality is in no country practiſed with greater cordiality or with leſs ceremony, a ſtranger being every where at home, and finding his table and his bed [60] at whatever eſtate neceſſity or choice may occaſion him to viſit. This is the more to be regarded, as no inns are to be met with in the neighbourhood of any of the Surinam rivers.

To vary the ſubject a little, I will now deſcribe three kinds of fiſh, with which I occaſionally entertained my friends. The ſun-fiſh, the ſnake-fiſh, and the ſpotted-cat. The firſt frequents both the ſalt and freſh water, like the ſalmon: it is about eighteen or twenty inches long, ſhaped not unlike a kite; and being covered over with ſcales of a golden colour, when it ſwims in clear water darts forth very bright beams, from which it has derived its name of the ſun-fiſh. The ſnake-fiſh takes its name from its reſemblance to that reptile: this is a black eel with a white belly, it is not large, and is very common in all the rivers. The ſpotted-cat is called ſo from its tabby colour, and long whiſkers: this fiſh is formed not unlike a pike, with very ſharp teeth; it has no ſcales, it is extremely fat, weighing ſometimes above ſeventy pounds, but its fleſh is yellow, and not eſteemed the moſt delicate food: however, here excellent fiſh is ſeldom wanting, ſuch as the new-mara, paſſeſſee, warappa, jackee, and many others already noticed. The Hope, with all this, was now truly a moſt ſhocking place of reſidence: here I much regretted my former cottage, and ſweet com⯑panion, the one in ruins, the other at Paramaribo; while, at preſent, not a man was to be ſeen without an ague or fever, or ſome other waſting complaint. The dyſentery [61] alſo began to make its appearance; and to add to our diſtreſs, we had neither ſurgeon, medicines, nor ſo much as a light, and very little bread left. I was moved with the ſituation of the troops, and again diſtributed all my biſcuits, lemons, oranges, ſugar, wine, ducks and fowls, amongſt the unhappy ſufferers, with a few ſpermaceti candles.

On the 23d I ſent up to the hoſpital at Magdenberg two ſick officers, Orleigh and Francen, with all the privates that could bear to be tranſported; and, at the ſame time, I repeated my humble entreaties to be ſoon relieved from ſo very diſagreeable a ſituation (for the confine⯑ment to which there was not the leaſt neceſſity), and requeſted to be one of the party to march againſt the rebels, but to no purpoſe; while the accounts came from below that a freſh neſt of negroes were diſcovered, even cloſe to Paramaribo, and the news came from above that the troops there were daily dying away; amongſt others, on the 22d, expired a Captain Seyburg, brother to the Colonel. This was actually the third captain who died within the ſpace of one month.

On the 26th two fine young officers arrived, unfit for ſervice by ruptures, occaſioned by the ſlippery ſtate of the ground in the rainy ſeaſon.

This evening one of our marines named Spanknevel, was miſſing, and was not found till the 29th, when he was diſcovered ſuſpended by a nebee to the branch of a tree. Not one of his comrades would cut him down, he [62] having hanged himſelf; alledging, that to touch him, ac⯑cording to their prejudices, (being Germans) would ren⯑der them as infamous as himſelf. Wherefore, by my orders, he was taken down, and interred by the negroes.

An order at laſt came for my relief, and I immediately ſet out for Goed-Accoord, in company with Captain Bolts; where the planter, Mr. de Lange, and his lady, received us with great hoſpitality. This ſugar eſtate being the fartheſt that is cultivated in Rio Comewina, and conſe⯑quently expoſed to the neighbourhood of the rebel ne⯑groes, makes the ſlaves liable to their ſeductions; they are therefore treated with peculiar kindneſs and indul⯑gence, to prevent their concurring in any inſurrection, or being perſuaded to leave their preſent ſituation.

Here we ſaw a great novelty indeed, the young negro women waiting at the table all ſtark naked, as they came into the world. I was at firſt ſtartled at the unuſual ap⯑pearance; and aſking the cauſe, was modeſtly anſwered by the lady of the houſe, that it was ordered ſo by their mothers and matrons, to prevent (by ſuch means of de⯑tection, ſaid they) their too early intercourſe with the males, and child-bearing, which would ſpoil their ſhapes, weaken their ſtrength, and cramp their growth. Indeed finer made figures I never beheld than were both the men (witneſs Philander) and the women on this plan⯑tation, whoſe beautiful ſhapes, livelineſs, ſtrength, and activity, were inferior to no Europeans.

Next day we departed for Magdenburg an hour before [63] ſun-ſet, againſt the advice of Mr. and Mrs. de Lange, in a ſmall barge, covered only with a looſe awning. We had not rowed above two miles when not only night came on, but we were overtaken by ſuch a ſhower of rain, as had nearly ſunk us, the boat's gunwale not being more than two inches above the water: however, by the help of our hats and calibaſhes, we kept her afloat, while a negro ſat upon the bow, holding out a boat-hook ſtraight before him to prevent us from being overſet, by inadver⯑tently running, in pitch darkneſs, againſt the roots of ma⯑groves, &c. which thickly lined both the banks of the river all the way upwards.

In this ſtate of wet and obſcurity, at ten o'clock at night, we came to the Jacob, being juſt afloat and no more; for Bolts and I had no ſooner leaped on the beach, than the boat ſunk with all that was in her, the ſlaves luckily ſwim⯑ming aſhore. Alas! amongſt the wreck, was my poor box, with my journal, and all my paintings, which had coſt me above two long years ſo much labour, care, and attention. I was truly diſtreſſed at this loſs, when a ſkilful negro dived ſeveral times to the bottom, and at laſt brought up my little treaſure, which, though thoroughly ſoaked, I was very happy to have again in my hands. Thus ended our ſhipwreck, when having drank ſome warm grog and ſlung our hammocks, we all fell aſleep round a good fire, by which I made ſhift to dry myſelf, and, what was of more conſequence, my papers.

The following morning we again ſet out, and rowed for [64] Magdenberg, but about half-way our voyage was once more obſtructed by an enormous tree which had acciden⯑tally fallen acroſs the Creek, ſo that we could neither drag the boat over nor under it. Thus we were again obliged to return to the Jacob, whence we now proceeded to Mag⯑denberg on foot, through thorns, roots, brambles, and briars, and where we finally arrived wet and bloody; and my ancle, which had been nearly well, freſh wounded to the bone, the ſkin and fleſh being quite torn away by the numberleſs obſtructions to our ſteps.

Here we were acquainted that Mr. Orleigh, one of the two officers that I had ſent up to Magdenberg from the Hope on the 23d, was no more. Thus died almoſt all our gentlemen, who had been during the laſt month upon the hopeleſs Hope, from which now ſcarcely one ſingle private returned in health; and this, I am firmly of opi⯑nion, was greatly owing to the dry and burning month of June, when the ſun ſuddenly ſcorched them, after marching and even ſleeping in cold watery ſwamps, and conſtant heavy ſhowers during the rainy ſeaſon. How⯑ever, I hitherto eſcaped by the ſtrength of my conſtitu⯑tion and good ſpirits, which I determined by every poſſible means to keep from depreſſion, by laughing, whiſtling, ſinging, and (God forgive me!) ſometimes ſwearing, while all the reſt were ſighing, bewailing, and dying around me.

CHAP. XIX. The Troops march to Barbacoeba, in the River Cottica— Frenzy Fever—Gratitude in an Engliſh Sailor—Deſcrip⯑tion of the Government of Surinam—Some Account of the Emigrant Americans during the late War—Scene of unprecedented Generoſity.

THE rainy ſeaſon being again approaching,CHAP. XIX. Colonel Fourgeoud, having ſelected all the remaining healthy people, who now amounted to but one hundred and eighty in number, on the 3d of July, 1775, pro⯑ceeded on his march for Barbacoeba, in the river Cottica; which ſpot he appointed for the general rendezvous, previous to the grand attack on the rebels. Of this party I had the honour to be one: but on the ſurgeon's de⯑claring that I ſhould run the hazard of loſing my foot if I marched in the woods, I was ordered to remain at Magdenberg, with liberty, if I ſoon recovered, to join Fourgeoud, and make the beſt of my way to Barbacoeba. My limb, indeed, was now ſo ſwelled, and my wound ſo black with the mortification, that an amputation was dreaded by Mr. Knollaert, Fourgeoud's ſurgeon, and I could not even ſtand without excruciating pain.—I ſhall bear the mark of it as long as I live.

During this confinement I received daily preſents from Philander and the other negroes, as I was always kind to [66] them. Among theſe was a diſh of mountain-cabbage. This is the moſt eſteemed of all the various ſorts which grow, as I have mentioned formerly, on the different ſpecies of palm-trees; this tree grows ſometimes near fifty feet high, the trunk of a brown colour, hard, ligneous, divided into ſhort joints, and pithy within, like the elder: it is thick in proportion, ſtreight and tapering like the maſt of a ſhip; near the top the tree aſſumes a fluted form and a green colour, occaſioned by the huſky tegument that forms the branches; which, near the ſummit, diverge in a horizontal di⯑rection, like the crown of a pine-apple or ananas. Theſe branches are covered over on both ſides with ſtrong pinnated leaves about three feet long, of a deep green colour, and ſharp pointed, but folded and confuſedly in⯑termixed, not gracefully drooping like thoſe of the mani⯑cole or cocoa-nut trees. The ſeed is incloſed in a brown⯑iſh kind of ſpatha, that ariſes from the center of the branches, and hanging downwards conſiſts of ſmall roundiſh nuts, not unlike a bunch of dried grapes, but much longer in proportion to their circumference. If the cabbage is wanted, the whole tree muſt be cut down, when it is diveſted firſt of its branches, and next of that fluted green huſky tegument that forms them; after this the heart or cabbage is taken out, white, and about two or three feet long: it is as thick as a man's arm, and round like a poliſhed ivory cylinder; it is compoſed of a kind of tender longitudinal white flakes, like ſilk ribbands, ready [67] to form the ſucceeding green tegument, but ſo cloſe that they form a criſp ſolid body. This, when eaten raw, is in taſte ſomething like the kernel of an almond, but is more tender and more delicious; when cut in pieces and boiled, it eats like cauliflower: it may be alſo peeled in the above-mentioned long thin flakes, and then it makes an excellent ſallad; but too much of it, whether eaten raw or dreſſed, is unwholeſome, as it is apt to occaſion a diarrhoea. It is in the cavity, after the cabbage is removed from it, that a black beetle depoſits its ſpawn, from which the palm-tree worms are produced, which feed on the remaining tender ſubſtance when it begins to rot, till they acquire the ſize already mentioned; though thoſe in the manicole tree, and other trees of the palm ſpecies, grow not ſo large, are leſs ſweet, and are alſo differently ſhaped.

Having thus far dwelt on the palm-tree ſpecies, I muſt once more return to domeſtic occurrences.

I have ſaid that all the officers and moſt of the privates who had lately been ſtationed at the Hope, had died, or were ſent up dangerouſly ill, while I had eſcaped the contagion. But, alas! now it became my turn, having only had a reprieve, and no more: for on the 9th I was ſeized with the ſame burning fever that had carried off the reſt; and even my black boy Quaco was very ill.

On the 14th, neceſſity forced me to give up the com⯑mand to another officer, and depart from this inhoſpitable ſpot on my way to Paramaribo: I could however reach no farther than Goet Accoord, and there, on the 15th, all expected my death; when an old negro woman found means to make me partake of ſome butter-milk boiled with ſome barley and melaſſes, which was the firſt food [70] I had taſted ſince I was taken ill. This certainly did me infinite ſervice; and the day following I was again able to be tranſported: the black boy alſo was much better.

Solomon well obſerves, ‘"that as cold water is to a thirſty ſoul, ſo are good tidings from a diſtant country;"’ and this news, on its firſt arrival, had indeed the moſt re⯑viving effect on me: but when reflection taught me how impoſſible it was for me to obtain ſuch a ſum of money, and while I was employed in giving all the preſents I had received (except the ham and the dog) to Joanna's rela⯑tions at Fauconberg, who loaded me with adorations and careſſes, I exclaimed, with a bitter ſigh, ‘"Oh! that I could have but found a ſum ſufficient to purchaſe every one of their freedoms!"’ I now found myſelf, though ex⯑ceedingly weak, however ſo much better, that on the next day I went down ſo far as the eſtate Bergſhove, whence the adminiſtrator, a Mr. Gourlay, humanely cauſed me to be tranſported to Paramaribo in a decent tent-barge with ſix oars; but relapſing, I arrived juſt alive on the evening of the 19th, having paſt the preceding night on the eſtate called the Jaloſee, apparently dead.

I cannot leave the river Comewina without preſenting the reader with a view of Magdenberg, from the Tem⯑patee; and a peep at Calais, from the Hope, at the mouth of the Coſaweenica Creek.

Being now in a comfortable lodging at Mr. de la Mare's, and attended by ſo good a creature as Joanna, I reco⯑vered apace; and on the 25th was ſo well, that I was able to walk out for the firſt time, when I dined with Mrs. Gode⯑froy, [72] Mr. de Graav not being in town to concert matters relative to the emancipation of Joanna, who had now once more literally ſaved my life. At this table there was never wanting all the wholeſome and refreſhing nouriſh⯑ment that I ſtood in need of, with the beſt of fruits and wines. Among the articles conducive to the reſtoration of health, are reckoned in this country all the different kinds of pepper which it affords, and the no leſs effica⯑cious acid of limes. Among the firſt are the cica pepper, the lattacaca, and the dago-peepee, as they are called in Surinam; for the negroes name each thing from the re⯑ſemblance it bears to another: but theſe are known in Europe by the names of Cayenne, Pimento, and Capſi⯑cum. The firſt is properly called Cayenne from the French ſettlement of that name in Guiana; but the name cica or chica is derived from its round ſhape and ſize, re⯑ſembling the inſect called chiga or chigoè, already de⯑ſcribed; the next reſembles rats excrements, &c. All the above ſpecies, beſides ſome others, grow on low green ſhrubs, they all equally excoriate the mouth, have all the ſame fiery qualities, and when ripe are of a ſcarlet or ra⯑ther a blood colour. The Europeans ſeldom eat any thing without it; but the blacks, and eſpecially the In⯑dians, ſwallow it I might ſay by handfuls, not only as a reliſh, but as a remedy in almoſt every diſeaſe.

The limes grow on beautiful trees like lemons, but the leaf and the fruit are much ſmaller; they are rather a brighter yellow than the lemons, have a ſine thin ſhell, [73] and are extremely full of the richeſt acid that I know, which has a particularly fine flavour, and is a great bleſ⯑ſing to the ſick ſoldiers and ſailors in this colony, who have them for the trouble of gathering; ſo that it is not uncommon to ſee the tars employing their leiſure time in picking and carrying large hampers full to their veſſels. In Surinam there are whole hedges of lime-trees, and all round Paramaribo they grow wild. It is much to be la⯑mented that, among other articles of luxury, this fruit cannot be tranſported to Europe; but whole caſks of this juice are frequently ſent over, and they are alſo pickled and preſerved in large jars by the inhabitants.

At the deſſert, among many other excellent fruits, I obſerved one which is here called the mammee apple: it grows on a tree about the ſize of an orange-tree, with a grey-coloured bark; the wood is whitiſh, and coarſe; the leaf very thick, poliſhed, and of a triangular form, without ſibres. This fruit is nearly round, and is about five or ſix inches in diameter, covered with a ruſty coarſe ſkin: the pulp has the colour and conſiſtency of a carrot, encloſing two large ſtones with bitter kernels, but the fruit is of a de⯑licious taſte, ſweet mixed with acid, and a ſmell ſuperior in fragrance to almoſt any other fruit in the colony. There were alſo nuts of two ſpecies, uſually called piſtachios, and by the negroes pinda; one kind of them reſembles ſmall cheſnuts, and theſe grow in bunches on a tree. The others are produced by a ſhrub, and grow under ground; both have ſweet oily kernels: of the laſt there are two [74] in one pod; they are agreeable eating raw, but ſtill better when roaſted in hot aſhes. To illuſtrate the above de⯑ſcriptions, I preſent the reader with the plate annexed, where A is a ſprig of limes in full ripeneſs; B, the Cay⯑enne or cica pepper; C, the pimento pepper or lattacaca; D, the capſicum called dago-peepee; E, the mammee apple when it is fully ripe; F, the leaf above, of a beauti⯑ful green; G, the leaf below, of a yellowiſh green; H, the piſtachio nut in the huſk; I, the ground piſtachio in its dried ſtate; K, one of the kernels belonging to the latter.

The whole of the above were taken from nature, though upon a ſmall ſcale; yet I flatter myſelf they will be found more perfect copies of the originals than ſome of Mad. Me⯑rian's, with all their boaſted reputation.—I cannot diſmiſs this ſubject without a few other remarks on the incorrect⯑neſs of this lady's drawings. For inſtance, her leaf of the lime-tree is evidently too round; and if by her paliſade branch, in plate XI. ſhe means the manicole-tree, I muſt declare I never diſcovered ſuch a leaf among the many thouſands I have helped to cut down. Her cotton twig, and eſpecially the pod containing the cotton, are alſo no true repreſentation of thoſe which are produced in Su⯑rinam.

From the above obſervations, I take the liberty to ſay, that allowing Mad. Merian due praiſe for her beautiful and valuable performance upon the whole, ſhe has ſtill fallen into very notable miſtakes. To correct them is a duty incumbent on future obſervers; nor does it by any means imply a general cenſure on the elegant work in queſ⯑tion, nor can it appear extraordinary that it ſhould contain ſome errors, when we conſider that it is above an hundred years ago ſince ſhe preſented her diſcoveries to the world. In the courſe of ſo many years therefore mankind, by long experience and continued inveſtigation, have become more enlightened, and are more accurately informed.

Being now once more at Paramaribo, it may not be im⯑proper to divert our attention for a while from the ani⯑mal and vegetable productions to the government of this fine colony; a topic which, I am perſuaded, ſome of my readers have long ſince expected; but not having had a previous opportunity of gratifying their curioſity, I will no longer delay the neceſſary information, though to ſome the detail may appear dry and unentertaining.

I have already mentioned the nature of the charter, and ſtated, that at preſent two-thirds of Surinam belong to the town of Amſterdam, and one-third to the Weſt India Company: alſo, that the judicial power is exerciſed by ſeveral different courts of judicature.—I ſhall now proceed to deſcribe them in their proper order, as deli⯑vered [76] to me by the governor Mr. Nepveu. The court of policy and criminal juſtice claims the firſt rank in the order of precedence—this conſiſts of thirteen members, choſen by the votes of the inhabitants, and each member continues for life. Of this court the governor is preſident, and the commandant or deputy governor firſt counſellor. The acting officers are therefore

• The governor.
• The commandant.
• The fiſcal.
• The town clerk; and
• Nine counſellors.

To this court belongs the deciſion of all criminal matters, the governor exerciſing the power of reprieve from death, and even pardoning any convict by his own au⯑thority.

The court of civil juſtice conſiſts alſo of thirteen mem⯑bers, but theſe are choſen by the above court only, and are renewed every four years. The governor is alſo pre⯑ſident here, and the officers of this court are

• The governor.
• The fiſcal.
• The town-clerk; and
• Ten counſellors.

By this court are decided not only the moſt important law-ſuits, but alſo petty offences.

The next is the ſubaltern college, conſiſting of eleven members, choſen alſo by the governor and court of policy; [77] and, like the other, renewed every four years, the town-clerk excepted, who ſits for life. The members are ſelect⯑ed from the late counſellors of juſtice, and are

• The deputy preſident.
• The town-clerk; and
• Nine counſellors.

The above court ſuperintends the public buildings, ſtreets, orange-trees, canals, &c. and decides all pecuniary diſ⯑putes that are under twenty-five guineas; any ſum above which muſt be referred to the court of juſtice.

Beſides theſe, there is an orphan and inſolvent debtors college, conſiſting of

• The commiſſaries.
• The town-clerk.
• The book-keeper.
• The treaſurer; and
• A ſworn ſecretary.

The public revenue offices are:

• The office of importation and exportation duties.
• The office of exciſe and ſmall impoſts.
• The office for head-money, or poll-tax.
• The office for public ſales and vendues.
• The office for re-taking negro deſerters, &c.

But theſe I ſhall more amply explain when I ſpeak of the general revenue of this colony, and for the preſent ſhall only conſider its government. I have formerly men⯑tioned that the governor is at the head not only of the [78] civil but military departments; the other public employ⯑ments are chiefly

• The ſecretary to his excellency the governor.
• The commiſſaries of the victualling-offices.
• Four inſpectors of the exportation of ſugars.
• One inſpector of the melaſſes hogſheads.
• One ſuperviſor of all the North American veſſels.
• Two public auctioneers.
• Two ſerjeants or meſſengers of the court.
• Two ſworn land-ſurveyors.
• Three meaſurers of the ſquared timber.
• One inſpector of the black cattle, &c.
• One ſworn overſeer of weights and meaſures.
• Three Low-Dutch clergymen.
• One French clergyman.
• One Lutheran clergyman.
• Three public ſchoolmaſters, &c.

The militia conſiſts of eleven companies, with one captain, one lieutenant, one ſecond lieutenant, one en⯑ſign, one ſecretary, and one caſhier each. The captains are generally the ſworn appraiſers of the eſtates for ſale on the different rivers, where they chance to have their department.

Theſe are the principal functionaries in the govern⯑ment of Surinam; which is not originally upon a bad eſtabliſhment, were it not depraved by ſordid avarice, to the great detriment of this beautiful ſettlement in gene⯑ral, and to that of its inhabitants in particular. The [79] colony, by proper management, might be made a garden of Eden, not only for the European ſettlers, but alſo for their African domeſtics. It would not indeed be diffi⯑cult to ſuggeſt improvements, nor even to carry them into effect. What has occurred to me upon the ſubject, I will candidly ſtate on another occaſion; and I have no doubt but a little attention even to one ſingle point would be productive of the happieſt conſequences. Thus, if I cannot on the ſpot, like the good Samaritan, pour the balm into the wound of any one ſufferer, at leaſt I can leave the preſcription, which, if properly applied, would, I am per⯑ſuaded, afford relief to the complaints of thouſands.

I have undertaken the unpleaſing taſk of ſhewing how, by the deſperate means of blood, the colony was frequently ſaved from total annihilation. How much more glorious would it be for thoſe who have it in their power not only to ſave the colony of Surinam, but many other valuable Weſt India ſettlements, by the help of a WELL-PLANNED INSTITUTION OF GENERAL AND IMPARTIAL JUSTICE, and the laudable example of humanity and benevolence!

Thus much for the political government of Surinam; which I will not leave without tranſcribing its motto, ſo very contrary to what they profeſs, being ‘"Juſtitia— pietas—fides."’ The arms are tripartite, which I appre⯑hend to be ſome of thoſe of the houſe of Somelſdyke, the Weſt India company, and the town of Amſterdam, crowned and ſupported by two lions rampant, and with [80] theſe are ſtamped all their card money, &c. — But to proceed with my journal.

On the 30th I met the poor ſailor, Charles Macdonald, and having juſt bought thirty gallons of Grenada rum, I gave him a handſome return for his bacon ham and his dog, beſides a fine cork-ſcrew (mother-of-pearl ſet in ſilver) as a keep-ſake, he being to ſail the day following for Virginia, on board the Peggy, Captain Lewis, who, at my recommendation, promiſed to make him his mate. As I am ſpeaking of dogs, I muſt make two general re⯑marks on theſe animals in Guiana, viz. that in this quarter of the world they loſe the faculty, or at leaſt the habit, of barking; and it is a known fact, that the native dogs never bark at all. In this country, it is obſerved alſo, that dogs are never ſeized with the hydrophobia, at leaſt I never remember to have ſeen or heard of a mad dog in Surinam: and this is the more ſingular, as that dreadful diſtemper is generally attributed in other countries to the intenſe heat of the Caniculares or dog-days, as that appel⯑lation ſufficiently indicates. The Indians or natives of Gui⯑ana all keep dogs, which they uſe in hunting; they are of a dirty white colour, meagre, and ſmall, with ſhort hair, a ſharp muzzle, and erect ears: all theſe are very dexte⯑rous in finding game; but they poſſeſs all the miſ⯑chievous qualities of the terrier. I ought not to forget that if the American dogs do not bark, their howl is very loud; on this account my Virginian dog was ſo trouble⯑ſome, [81] that he got his brains knocked out by the neigh⯑bours within a fortnight after he was in my poſſeſſion.

About this period ſeveral American families arrived at Paramaribo, on account of the war which broke out be⯑tween the mother country and her colonies. For many of theſe I felt very much; and muſt ever declare, that no people could have a better heart or greater friendſhip for a Britiſh individual than they had for me, which they ſhewed on many different occaſions.

On the 3d of Auguſt, Mr. de Graav being arrived in town, having finally ſettled affairs with Mr. Lolkens, the late adminiſtrator of Fauconberg, I now thought proper to take the firſt opportunity of ſettling matters with him, by propoſing him to give me credit till I ſhould have it in my power to pay the money for which Joanna and my Johnny had been ſold to me, and which I was deter⯑mined to ſave out of my pay, if I ſhould exiſt on bread, ſalt, and water: though even then this debt could not be diſcharged in leſs time than two or three years. Provi⯑dence however interfered, and at this moment ſent that excellent woman, Mrs. Godefroy, to my aſſiſtance: for no ſooner was ſhe acquainted with my difficult and anxious ſituation, than ſhe ſent for me to dine with her, when ſhe addreſſed me in the following terms:

‘"I know, good Stedman, the preſent feelings of your heart, and the incapacity of an officer, from his income only, to accompliſh ſuch a purpoſe as the comple⯑tion of your wiſhes. But know, that even in Surinam [82] virtue will meet with friends. Your manly ſenſibility for that deſerving young woman and her child muſt claim the eſteem of all rational perſons, in ſpite of ma⯑lice and folly: and ſo much has this action recom⯑mended you to my attention in particular, that I ſhould think myſelf culpable in not patronizing your lauda⯑ble intentions. Permit me then to participate in your happineſs, and in the future proſpect of the virtuous Joanna and her little boy, by requeſting your accept⯑ance of the ſum of two thouſand florins, or any ſum you ſtand in need of; with which money go imme⯑diately, Stedman, go and redeem innocence, good ſenſe, and beauty from the jaws of tyranny, oppreſ⯑ſion, and inſult."’

Seeing me thunder-ſtruck, and gazing upon her in a ſtate of ſtupefaction, without the power of ſpeaking, ſhe continued, with a divine benignity:

‘"Let not your delicacy, my friend, take the alarm, and interfere in this buſineſs: ſoldiers and ſailors ought ever to be the men of feweſt compliments; and all I expect from you is, that you ſay not one word more on the ſubject."’ —As ſoon as I recovered I replied, ‘"that I was at a loſs how to expreſs my ad⯑miration of ſuch benevolence."’ I ſaid, ‘"that Joanna, who had ſo frequently preſerved my life, had cer⯑tainly merited my eternal affection; but that my gra⯑titude could not be leſs to one who had ſo generouſly put me in the way of redeeming that invaluable wo⯑man [83] from ſlavery;"’ and concluded with obſerving, ‘"that I could not now touch a ſhilling of the money, but ſhould have the honour to call upon her the next day; and immediately retired."’

I was no ſooner returned home, than I acquainted Joanna with all that had happened; who, burſting into tears, called out, "Gado ſa breſſe da woma!"— "God will bleſs this woman!" and inſiſted that ſhe herſelf ſhould be mortgaged to Mrs. Godefroy till every farthing ſhould be paid: ſhe indeed was very anxious to ſee the emancipation of her boy, but till that was done, ſhe abſolutely refuſed to accept of her own freedom. I ſhall not here endeavour to paint the conteſt which I ſuſtained between affection and duty, but bluntly ſay that I yielded to the wiſh of this ſo charm⯑ing creature, and whoſe ſentiments endeared her to me ſtill more. Thus I inſtantly drew up a paper, declaring my Joanna, according to her deſire, from this day to be the property of Mrs. Godefroy, till the laſt farthing of the money ſhe lent me ſhould be repaid; and, on the follow⯑ing day, with the conſent of her relations ^*, I conducted her to Mrs. Godefroy's houſe, where, throwing herſelf at the feet of that incomparable woman, Joanna herſelf put the paper into her hands; but this lady having raiſed her up, no ſooner had read the contents, than ſhe ex⯑claimed, ‘"Muſt it be ſo? Then come here, my Joanna, [84] I have a ſpirit to accept of you not as my ſlave, but more as my companion: you ſhall have a houſe built in my orange-garden, with my own ſlaves to attend you, till Providence ſhall call me away, when you ſhall be per⯑fectly free, as indeed you now are the moment you wiſh to poſſeſs your manumiſſion; and this you claim both by your extraction and your conduct ^*."’ On theſe terms, and on no other, I accepted of the money on the 5th, and carrying it in my hat to Mr. de Graav's, I laid it on his table, demanding a receipt in full; and Joanna was transferred from the wretched eſtate Fau⯑conberg, to the protection of the firſt woman perhaps in all the Dutch Weſt-Indies, if not in the world; and for which ſhe thanked me with a look that could only be ex⯑preſſed by the COUNTENANCE OF AN ANGEL.

Mr. de Graav, on counting the money, addreſſed me in the following terms:— ‘"Stedman, two hundred florins of this ſum belong to me as adminiſtrator. Permit me alſo to have a ſmall ſhare in this happy event, by not accepting this dividend, as I ſhall find myſelf amply paid by the pleaſure of having been inſtrumental in bringing about what ſeems ſo much to contribute to the enjoyment of two deſerving people."’

Having thanked my diſintereſted friend with an affec⯑tionate ſhake by the hand, I immediately returned the [85] two hundred florins to Mrs. Godefroy, and all were happy. I muſt not omit, as a farther proof of Mrs. Gode⯑froy's humane character, that on hearing of the dejected ſituation of the ſick at Magdenberg, ſhe at this time ſent them a preſent of a whole barge-load of fruit, vegeta⯑bles, and refreſhments of every kind that the colony could afford, for their relief.

On the 7th of April, matters being thus far ſettled, I wrote a letter to Mr. Lude, at Amſterdam, to give him in⯑telligence, and to thank him for having parted with the moſt valuable property of his eſtate; and my ancle being now pretty well recovered, I alſo wrote to Colonel Four⯑geoud, that I ſhould have the honour to join him in a few days. This letter I directed to Barbacoeba, for there he ſtill continued, while the intrepid and active militia captain, Stoeleman, was beating up the woods with a few rangers at another quarter, and who this day ſent in four captive rebel negroes to Paramaribo ^*.

On the 10th, finding myſelf ſufficiently recovered, and ready once more to enter the foreſt, I bade farewell to my ſweet family and friends, leaving the firſt ſtill at Mr. de la Mare's, at their requeſt; and cheerfully ſet off with a tent⯑boat on my fifth campaign, in the hopes of accompany⯑ing Fourgeoud; who, having aſſembled all his remaining forces, and made the neceſſary arrangements to attack [86] the enemy, was now determined to march in a very few days.

On the 14th I arrived with a boat at Barbacoeba, in the upper part of the river Cottica, where formerly I was when I killed the aboma ſnake. I found here the old gentleman (who civilly welcomed me) ready to ſtart the following day. I never ſaw the troops in ſuch fine ſpi⯑rits, or ſo eager for ſervice; which proceeded from differ⯑ent motives, as I had ſaid before, ſome in the hopes of plunder, ſome from revenge on the rebels, and ſome from a wiſh to ſee the war at an end; while I believe in my ſoul, that others were tired of exiſtence by con⯑tinual illneſs and hard ſervice; and heartily wiſhed for a glorious end of all their miſeries—as nothing can be more wretched than a ſoldier's or a ſailor's life, perpe⯑tually ſoaking in the wet or ſcorching in the ſun, ſur⯑rounded by an unbounded foreſt, and in a tropical climate.

CHAP. XX. A Rebel Negro deſcribed — Buſh-fighting — Sentimental Expreſſions of the African Blacks — The Town of Gado-Saby taken by Colonel Fourgeoud — Superſtition— Wonderful Expedients — Great Generalſhip in the Enemy.

ON the 15th of Auguſt 1775, the rebels,CHAP. XX. fluſhed with their late victory over Captain Meyland and his party, whether with a deſign to brave Fourgeoud, or to intimidate his troops, being well appriſed by their ſpies that he was at Barbacoeba, had the aſſurance to ſet fire to all the huts in two different camps which had been left ſtanding by his patroles, while they continued ſhouting and hallooing the whole night within our hearing; but this only proved an incentive to action, and enraged our veteran commander ſo much, that he now declared he would have ample revenge at all hazards. During this night a large tiger alſo alarmed the camp, but did no da⯑mage of any kind.

An hour before day-break next morning, Colonel Fourgeoud, with his troops, were ready to march, and immediately entered the woods. They now amounted exactly to two hundred Europeans fit for ſervice, the reſt [88] being ill and unfit for ſervice; but no rangers were as yet arrived, though they had been expected. The fact was, they were ſo much diſguſted with Fourgeoud's command, that they did not appear at all, which afforded this gentleman for once an opportunity of ſtigmatizing them as a band of puſillanimous raſcals; and I confeſs I was myſelf extremely aſtoniſhed at this wilful abſence of my black favourites, who were at other times ſo eager to ruſh upon the enemy, and had declared their ſatisfaction at the hopes of a deciſive engagement with their fable countrymen.

The two rangers who make their appearance at a diſ⯑tance may be diſtinguiſhed by their red caps; and here I muſt obſerve, that the rebels have many times availed themſelves of ſeizing one of theſe ſcarlet diſtinctions, which by clapping on their own heads in an engagement, has not only ſaved their lives, but given them an oppor⯑tunity of ſhooting their enemies.

Another ſtratagem of theirs has ſometimes been diſ⯑covered, viz. that fire-arms being ſcarce amongſt them, numbers have intermixed in the crowd, with a crooked ſlick ſhaped ſomething like a muſket; and this appear⯑ance has more than once had the effect of preventing a proper defence by the plantation ſlaves, when the rebels came to ranſack the eſtates; while with this ſhow of armed numbers they have often ſtruck ſuch a panic, and ſo damped the courage of the former, that they have [90] been calmly permitted, after burning their houſes, even to carry away their wives and daughters.

On the 16th we continued our march due E. upon a ridge or elevated ground. Theſe ridges, if I miſtake not, run generally in this country E. and W. as do alſo moſt of the marſhes and ſwamps. Having advanced rather a leſs diſtance than we did the day before, we were ordered early to ſling our hammocks, and to ſleep without any covering, to prevent the enemy from hearing the ſound of cutting the trees; nor were any fires allowed to be lighted, nor a word to be ſpoken, while a ſtrict watch was kept round the camp. Theſe, in fact, were all very ne⯑ceſſary precautions; but if we were not diſcovered by the enemy, we were almoſt devoured by the clouds of gnats or muſquitoes, which aroſe from a neighbouring marſh: for my own part I ſuffered more here than I had even done on board the fatal barges in the upper Cottica, as we could make no ſmoke to drive them away. In this ſituation I ſaw the poor men dig holes with their bayonets in the earth, into which they thruſt their heads, ſtopping the entry and covering their necks with their hammocks, while they lay with their bellies on the ground. To ſleep in any other poſition was abſolutely impoſſible.

By the advice of a negro ſlave, I however enjoyed my reſt.—‘"Climb," ſaid he, "maſſera, with your hammock to the top of the higheſt tree that is in the camp, and there go ſleep; not a ſingle muſquito will diſturb you, the ſwarm will be ſufficiently attracted by the ſmell of [91] the ſweating multitude below."’ —This I immediately tried, and ſlept exalted near one hundred feet above my companions, whom I could not ſee for the myriads of muſquitoes below me, nor even hear them, from the in⯑ceſſant buzzing of theſe troubleſome inſects.

This was the principal diſtreſs of the night; while, during the day, we had frequently been attacked by whole armies of ſmall emmets, called here fire-ants, from their painful biting. Theſe inſects are black, and very diminutive, but live in ſuch amazing multitudes together, that their hillocks have ſometimes obſtructed our paſſage by their ſize, over which, if one chances to paſs, the feet and legs are inſtantly covered with innu⯑merable of theſe creatures, which ſeize the ſkin with ſuch violence in their pincers, that they will ſooner ſuffer the head to be parted from their body, than let go their hold. The burning pain which they occaſion cannot, in my opinion, proceed from the ſharpneſs of their pincers only, but muſt be owing to ſome venomous fluid which they infuſe, or which the wound imbibes from them. I can aver that I have ſeen them make a whole company hop about, as if they had been ſcalded with boiling water.

On the 17th we continued our march ſtill due E. till nine o'clock, when we altered our courſe to the N. and had to ſcramble through great quantities of thoſe mataky roots, or trumpeters already deſcribed, which proved that we were deſcending into the low grounds, and indeed the ſoil ſoon became very marſhy; fortunately, however, though it was now the wet ſeaſon, we had as yet very little rain.

[92]This evening we encamped about four o'clock, Colonel Fourgeoud being ſeized with a cold fit of the ague.

As I was ſlinging my hammock between two large branches, but not ſo high as the preceding night, my eye chanced to fall upon what I conceived to be the leaf of a tree, but which appeared to move and crawl up the trunk. I called ſeveral officers to ſee it: when a gentleman of the Society exclaimed, "C'eſt la feuille ambulante," That is the walking leaf. Upon cloſer examination it proved to be an inſect, whoſe wings ſo perfectly repreſent a leaf, that by many it has been miſtaken for a vegetable production. This ſeemed to be a ſpecies of graſshopper, but covered over with four wings of an oval form, and about three inches in length, the two uppermoſt ſo folded together as to appear exactly like a brown leaf, with all the fibres, &c.

I now returned to my hammock; where, reflecting on all the wonders of nature, while the ſilver-moon glittering through the verdure added beauty to the ſcene, I fell into a profound ſleep, which I enjoyed till near midnight, when we were all awaked in pitch darkneſs and a heavy ſhower of rain, by the hallooing and ſhouting of the rebel negroes, who diſcharged ſeveral muſkets; but as the ſhot did not reach our camp, we were extremely aſtoniſhed, the darkneſs rendering it impoſſible to form any juſt idea of their meaning. This diſturbance con⯑tinuing till near day-break, made us expect every mo⯑ment to be ſurrounded, and keep a very ſharp look-out.

In the morning early we unlaſhed our hammocks, and [93] marched due N. towards the place whence we con⯑jectured the hallooing noiſe to have proceeded, being all much fatigued for want of reſt, eſpecially Colonel Four⯑geoud, who could hardly ſupport himſelf, ſo much was he weakened by the ague. We had not marched above two miles, I having the van-guard, when a rebel negro ſprang up at my feet from under a ſhrub, where he had been aſleep; but as we had orders not to fire upon ſtragglers, he eſcaped, running with almoſt the ſwiftneſs of a ſtag amongſt the brambles. I no ſooner made re⯑port to the old hero, than, ſwearing he was a ſpy, which I believe was true, he ſhook off his illneſs, and quickened his pace with redoubled vigour: but our purſuit was to no purpoſe, at leaſt this day; for about one o'clock we got into a bog, from which we could hardly extricate ourſelves, and were forced to return to our laſt night's encampment, miſſing two privates of the Society troops, whom we ſuppoſed to have periſhed in the marſh.

This day we ſaw great quantities of arnotta-trees, with which this part of the foreſt abounds. In the even⯑ing a ſlave preſented me with a buſh-ſpider of ſuch magnitude, that putting him into a caſe-bottle above eight inches high, he actually reached the ſurface with ſome of his hideous claws, whilſt the others were reſt⯑ing upon the bottom. No creature can be more dread⯑fully ugly than this enormous ſpider, which the people of Surinam erroneouſly call the tarantula. The body is divided in two, the poſterior part oval, and the ſize of an Orlean-plum; the fore-part ſquare, with a figure ſome⯑what [94] reſembling a ſtar upon it. This monſter has five pair of thick legs, with four joints in each; is entirely black or dark brown, and covered over, legs and all, with thick and long black hair, like ſome caterpillars, while each leg is armed with a crooked yellow nail, and from the head project two long teeth with inverted pin⯑cers, reſembling the claw of a crab, with which it ſeizes its prey; while its bite, if not fatal by the venomous li⯑quid infuſed into the wound, always occaſions a fever. It has eight eyes like moſt ſpiders, and feeds on inſects of every ſpecies; nay, it is even aſſerted, that young birds do not eſcape it, out of which this ſpider ſucks the blood: its web is ſmall but very ſtrong. Upon the whole, it is ſuch a hideous creature, that the very fight of it is ſufficient to occaſion a tremor of abhorrence, even in perſons moſt accuſtomed to inſpect the deformities of nature. Innumerable indeed are the peſts and dangers to which one is hourly expoſed in the woods of this tropical climate; and though it is my preſent buſineſs only to make mention of ſuch as I met with in this march, and which muſt appear new to the reader, yet a recapitulation of the names only of our numerous plagues may not be improper to refreſh the memory of thoſe who have a heart to ſympathize with our ſuffer⯑ings. I have already mentioned the muſquitoes, mon⯑pieras, patat and ſerapat lice, chigoes, cock-roaches, common ants, fire-ants, horſe-flies, wild bees, and ſpi⯑ders; beſides the prickly heat, ring-worm, dry-gripes, putrid fevers, boils, conſaca, bloody-flux, thorns, briars, [95] alligators, ſnakes, tigers, &c.; but I have not yet ſpoken of the buſh-worms, large ants, locuſts, centipedes, ſcor⯑pions, bats, and flying-lice, the craſſy-craſſy, yaws, le⯑thargy, leproſy, and dropſy, with a thouſand other griev⯑ances that continually annoyed our unhappy troops; — a particular deſcription of which I muſt delay till a more ſuitable opportunity occurs for introducing them into this narrative.

Such were the peſts that we had to ſtruggle with in this baneful climate, whilſt our poor men were dying in multitudes, without proper aſſiſtance, unpitied, and fre⯑quently without a friend to cloſe their eye-lids, neither coffin nor ſhell to receive their bones, but thrown pro⯑miſcuouſly into one pit, like heaps of loathſome carrion.

On the 19th, we again left our encampment, and after keeping a little S. marched E. till ten o'clock, when we were overtaken and joined by a party of one hundred rangers, with their conductor, Mr. Vinſack, to my great ſatisfaction. At this period we muſtered three hundred men; and however little Colonel Fourgeoud affected, at other times, to value theſe black ſoldiers, he was now not at all diſpleaſed with their company, upon our near ap⯑proach to an enemy with whom the rangers were well acquainted, and knew how to engage much better than the marines: while it will ever be my opinion, that one of theſe free negroes is preferable to half a dozen white men in the foreſt of Guiana; it indeed ſeems their na⯑tural element, whilſt it is the bane of the Europeans.

[96]Colonel Fourgeoud now iſſued orders for our little army to march in three lines or columns, his own re⯑giment in the centre, the Society troops on the right, the rangers or black ſoldiers on the left, all within hearing of each other, with a few flankers or riflemen outſide the whole: thus formed we advanced till about noon, when we changed our courſe from E. to N. E. and continued our march over a biree-biree ſwamp, or quagmire: theſe are very common and dangerous in this country, being a deep ſoft miry bog, covered over with a thin cruſt of verdure, ſufficient in moſt places to bear the weight of a man, and quaking when walked over; but ſhould this cruſt give way, whoever breaks it is ſwallowed up in the chaſm, where he muſt inevi⯑tably periſh if not immediately extricated; thus it has frequently happened that men have been ſeen to ſink, and have never more been heard of.

Quickſands are quite different, as they overwhelm by a gradual ſuction, whereas the effects of a quagmire are inſtantaneous. To avoid accidents, we opened our files as much as poſſible, which occaſioned a very long rear; but even with this precaution ſeveral men ſunk through it, as if the ice had broken under their feet, and ſome in my preſence up to the arm-pits, but were fortunately, though with much difficulty, extricated.

In the afternoon we paſſed through two old caſſava fields, which indicated our near approach to the rebel ſettlement; we afterwards fell in with Captain Meyland's [97] path, which we knew by the marks cut upon the trees, as before explained. The evening being too far ad⯑vanced to attack the enemy, we once more encamped a few miles from the ſwamp in which Captain Meyland and his party had been defeated.

Having had a long march, and the men being much fatigued, Colonel Fourgeoud allowed, during this night, both huts and fires; which ſurprized me greatly, being ſo near the rebels, though he had forbidden theſe comforts when we were at a very conſiderable diſtance from them. I however availed myſelf of his bounty, and having got ſome pigeon-peas from my ſerjeant, which he had picked up in the old caſſava grounds, and laid hold of one of the kettles, I invited him, and a captain of the black corps called Hannibal, to a ſhare; who having thrown their ſalt-beef and ruſk-biſcuit into the meſs with mine, and ſtirred it round with a bayonet, we made a very excellent ſupper, though in a ſad dreary night and heavy rain.

The pigeon or Angola peas grow on a ſhrub about eight or ten feet high; five or ſix of theſe peas are con⯑tained in a pod; they are flat like lentils, and of a reddiſh-brown colour: the negroes are extremely fond of them, and cultivate them in their gardens without any expence or much trouble.

Hannibal now obſerving that we ſhould certainly ſee the enemy to-morrow, aſked me if I knew in what man⯑ner negro engaged againſt negro? Having anſwered in the negative, he gave me the following relation, while [98] ſmoking his pipe under my hammock. — ‘"Maſſera," ſaid he, "both parties are divided in ſmall companies of eight or ten men, commanded by a captain, with a horn, ſuch as this (ſhewing me his) by which they do every thing, and fight or run away. When they fight they ſeparate immediately, lie down on the ground, and fire at the flaſh of each other's pans through the trees; while each warrior is ſupported by two negroes un⯑armed, the one to take his place if he is killed, and the other to carry away the dead body, to prevent its falling into the hands of their adverſaries^*."’

From this diſcourſe I perfectly underſtood his mean⯑ing, which I have ſince ſeen put in practice; and for the clearer conception of the reader, I have illuſtrated it with the following plan, where the whole engagement is ex⯑hibited at one view.

Captain Hannibal alſo informed me, that the famous chief Bonny was ſuppoſed to be in perſon amongſt the neighbouring rebels; and that he was born in the foreſt amongſt them, notwithſtanding his being a mulatto, which was accounted for by his mother eſcaping to the woods from the ill treatment of her maſter, by whom ſhe was then pregnant.

Having frequently mentioned the different ſhades be⯑tween a black and a white, the ſame plate repreſents them to the reader at one view. From the above two colours the mulatto is produced; from the mulatto and black, the ſamboo; from the mulatto and white, the quaderoon, &c. &c.—This ſable warrior made me alſo acquainted with the names of ſeveral other rebel com⯑manders, [100] againſt whom he had frequently fought for the Europeans. Such as Quammy, who was the chief of a ſeparate gang, and had no connection with the others; Coromantyn, Cojo, Arico, and Joli-Coeur; the two laſt being celebrated captains, whoſe revenge was inſatiable againſt the whites, particularly Joli-Coeur's, who had I confeſs great reaſon, as has been already ſtated. The noted rebel negro Baron, he believed, was now ſerving alſo under the great chief Bonny.

He next proceeded to tell me the names of the prin⯑cipal rebel ſettlements, ſome of which were already de⯑ſtroyed, ſome now in view, and ſome of theſe were only known to us by name. Theſe appellations were all very expreſſive indeed; and as they may ſerve in ſome meaſure to elucidate our enquiries concerning the negro nations, I have thought proper to give them a place in this narrative, with their meaning in an Engliſh tranſlation; viz.

Boucoo

I ſhall moulder before I ſhall be taken.

Gado Saby

God only knows me, and none elſe.

Cofaay

Come try me, if you be men.

Teſſee See

Take a taſting, if you like it.

Mele me

Do diſturb me, if you dare.

Booſy Cray

The woods lament for me.

Me Salaſy

I ſhall be taken.

Kebree me

Hide me, O thou ſurrounding ver⯑dure.

[101]The others were:

Quammi Condre

From Quammi, the name of the chief.

Pinenburgh

From the pines or manicole-trees which formerly ſurrounded it.

Caro Condre

From the quantity of maize it afforded.

Reiſee Condre

From the quantity of rice it produced.

Such were the names of the negro warriors, and their ſettlements.

I now ſhook hands with Captain Hannibal, while my mind being occupied with the hopes of victory unſtained by cruelty, and being very much fatigued, I ſoon fell profoundly aſleep.

On the 20th in the morning, no one could awake in a more beautiful day and better ſpirits than I did, until they were damped by obſerving that at ſo critical a time, and even in the moment before the conflict, inſtead of that kind treatment which it would have been prudent to have ſhewn to thoſe from whoſe exertions we were to expect a happy period to our ſufferings, there was even then ſuch diſcouragement of the ſubaltern officers and private men as involuntarily drew from me the reflec⯑tion —That (if poſſible to avoid it) princes and miniſters ſhould never inveſt any one individual with unlimited authority, eſpecially in a foreign country, without being perfectly well acquainted with the rectitude of their moral principles and diſpoſition; no men being fit to command but thoſe who are poſſeſſed of manly feel⯑ings, and whoſe valour is tempered with humanity; [102] ſince 'tis a truth that ſterling bravery is incompatible with a cruel heart.

At ſix o'clock we advanced N. E. by N. towards the marſh, my melancholy evaporating with the riſing ſun.

About eight o'clock we entered this formidable ſwamp, and ſoon found ourſelves above our middle in water, well prepared nevertheleſs for the warm reception we ex⯑pected from the oppoſite ſhore, as the former party had ſo fatally experienced. After wading above half a mile, our grenadiers rapidly mounted the beach with cocked firelocks and bayonets fixed; the main body inſtantly followed, and alſo mounting the beach, the whole formed without the ſmalleſt oppoſition. We now beheld a ſpec⯑tacle ſufficient to ſhock the moſt intrepid, the ground ſtrewed with ſkulls, bones, and ribs ſtill covered with human fleſh, and beſmeared with the blood of thoſe unfortunate men who were killed with Captain Meyland. —That officer had indeed found means to bury them, but the rebels had dug them up for the ſake of their cloaths, and to mangle the bodies, which, like ferocious animals, they had torn limb from limb. Amongſt theſe, the fate of Meyland's nephew, a promiſing young man, was peculiarly affecting. He came from the mountains of Switzerland in queſt of military preferment, and met his fate in a marſh of Surinam juſt after his landing. His bravery was equal to that of his uncle, his intrepidity, voluntarily expoſing himſelf to danger, knew no bounds. —Such is the enthuſiaſm of military ambition.

This being the ſecond or third heap of human bones we had met with in our march, I frankly acknowledge did not operate upon me as a ſtimulative to engage with negroes; yet theſe awful relics ſpurred on the common ſoldiers to take revenge for the loſs of their maſſacred companions.

Having ſo frequently had occaſion to ſpeak of march⯑ing through a ſwamp, it may not be improper to illuſtrate [104] the deſcription by the annexed drawing. The firſt figure repreſents Colonel Fourgeoud (preceded by a negro ſlave, as a guide, to give notice by his ſwimming when the water deepens) followed by myſelf, ſome other offi⯑cers and marines, wading through the marſh above our middle, and carrying our arms, ammunition, and accou⯑trements above our heads, to prevent their being da⯑maged by the wet.

In the back-ground may be ſeen the manner in which the ſlaves carry all burdens whatever on the head, and the mode of the rebel negroes firing upon the troops from the tops of high palm-trees, &c. A march of this nature, though occaſionally neceſſary in Surinam, muſt be always very dangerous, being expoſed to an attack from under cover of the ſurrounding buſhes, without having the power of returning the fire more than once; for in ſuch a depth of water no ſoldier can re-load his muſket with⯑out wetting both the lock and the priming.

We now followed a kind of foot-path made by the enemy, which after a little turning led us in a weſterly direction. Serjeant Fowler, who preceded the van-guard, at this time came to me pale, declaring, that the ſight of the mangled bodies had made him extremely ſick; and that he felt himſelf completely diſarmed, being that moment, as it were, rivetted to the ground, without the power of advancing one ſingle ſtep, or knowing how to conceal his tremore: — I d—n'd him for a pitiful ſcoundrel, and had only time to order him to the rear.

At ten o'clock we met a ſmall party of the rebels, with each a green hamper upon his back; they fired at us, dropped their bundles, and taking to their heels ran back towards their village. Theſe we ſince learned were tranſporting rice to another ſettlement for their ſubſiſt⯑ence, when they ſhould be expelled from Gado-Saby (the name of this ſettlement) which they daily expected, ſince they had been diſcovered by the gallant Captain Meyland. The green hampers, which they call warimbos, were very curiouſly plaited with the manicole leaves. And when our men cut them open with their ſabres, there burſt forth the moſt beautiful clean rice that I ever ſaw, which was ſcattered and trampled under foot, as we had no opportunity of carrying it along. A little after this we perceived an empty ſhed, where a picquet had been ſtationed to give notice of any danger, but they had precipitately deſerted their poſt. We now vigorouſly redoubled our pace till about noon; when two more muſ⯑ket ſhot were fired at us by another advanced guard of the enemy, as a ſignal to the chief, Bonny, of our ap⯑proach. Major Medler and myſelf, with a few of the [106] van-guard, and a ſmall party of the rangers, at this time ruſhing forward, ſoon came to a fine field of rice and Indian corn: we here made a halt for the other troops, particularly to give time for our rear to cloſe up, ſome of whom were at leaſt two miles behind us; and dur⯑ing which period we might have been cut to pieces, the enemy, unknown to us, having ſurrounded the field in which we were, as we were afterwards informed.

In about half an hour the whole body joined us, when we inſtantly proceeded by cutting through a ſmall de⯑file of the wood, into which we had no ſooner entered, than a heavy fire commenced from every ſide, the re⯑bels retiring, and we advancing, until we arrived in the moſt beautiful field of ripe rice, in the form of an ob⯑long ſquare, from which the rebel town appeared at a diſtance, in the form of an amphitheatre, ſheltered from the ſun by the foliage of a few lofty trees, the whole preſenting a coup-d'oeil romantic and enchanting be⯑yond conception. In this field the firing was kept up, like one continued peal of thunder, for above forty mi⯑nutes, during which time our black warriors behaved with wonderful intrepidity and ſkill. The white ſol⯑diers were too eager, and fired over one another at ran⯑dom, yet I could perceive a few of them act with the utmoſt coolneſs, and imitate the rangers with great effect; amongſt theſe was now the once-daunted Fowler, who being rouſed from his tremor by the firing at the beginning of the onſet, had ruſhed to the front, and fully [107] re-eſtabliſhed his character, by fighting like a brave fellow, by my ſide, until the muzzle of his muſket was ſplit by a ſhot from the enemy, which rendered it uſe⯑leſs; a ball paſſed through my ſhirt, and grazed the ſkin of my ſhoulder; Mr. Decabanes, my lieutenant, had the ſling of his fuſee ſhot away: ſeveral others were wound⯑ed, ſome mortally, but I did not, to my ſurprize, obſerve one inſtance of immediate death—for which ſeeming mi⯑racle, however, I ſhall preſently account.

This whole field of rice was ſurrounded and inter⯑ſperſed by the enemy with the large trunks and roots of heavy trees, in order to make our approach both diffi⯑cult and dangerous; behind theſe temporary fortifications the rebels lay lurking, and firing upon us with delibe⯑rate aim, whilſt their bulwarks certainly protected them in ſome meaſure from the effects of our fire, we hav⯑ing vaſt numbers of theſe fallen trees to ſcramble over before we could reach the town: but we ſtill advanced, in defiance of every obſtacle, and while I admired the maſ⯑terly manoeuvres of their general, I could not help pity⯑ing them for their ſuperſtition. One poor fellow, in particular, truſting to his amulet or charm, fancied him⯑ſelf invulnerable; he mounted frequently upon one of the trees that lay near us, diſcharged his piece, deſcended to re-load, and then with equal confidence and the greateſt deliberation returned to the charge in my full view; till at laſt a ſhot from one of my marines, named Valet, broke the bone of his thigh, and he fell crawling [108] for ſhelter under the very ſame tree which had ſupported him juſt before; but the ſoldier inſtantly advancing, and putting the muzzle of his muſket to the rebel's ear, blew out his brains, while ſeveral of his countrymen, in ſpite of their ſpells and charms, ſhared the ſame fate.

Being now about to enter the town, a rebel captain, wearing a tarniſhed gold-laced hat, and bearing in his hand a torch of flaming ſtraw, ſeeing their ruin inevita⯑ble, had the reſolution to ſtay and ſet the town on fire in our preſence, which, by the dryneſs of the houſes, in⯑ſtantly produced a general conflagration, when the firing from the woods began gradually to ceaſe. This bold and maſterly manoeuvre not only prevented that carnage to which the common ſoldiers in the heat of victory are but too prone, but alſo afforded the enemy an opportunity of retreating with their wives and children, and carrying off their moſt uſeful effects; whilſt our purſuit, and ſeizing the ſpoil, were at once fruſtrated both by the aſcending flames, and the unfathomable marſh, which we ſoon diſ⯑covered on all ſides to ſurround us, as in the Maccabees: ‘"Behold the battle is before us, and behind us, and the water of Jordan on this ſide, and that ſide, and the marſh, and foreſt, ſo that there is no place for us to turn aſide."’

I muſt indeed confeſs that within this laſt hour the continued noiſe of the firing, ſhouting, ſwearing, and hallooing of black and white men mixed together; the groans of the wounded and the dying, all weltering [109] in blood and in duſt; the ſhrill ſound of the negro horns from every quarter, and the crackling of the burning village; to which if we add the clouds of ſmoke that every where ſurrounded us, the aſcending flames, &c. &c. formed, on the whole, ſuch an uncommon ſcene as I cannot deſcribe, and would perhaps not have been unworthy of the pencil of Hogarth: this ſcene I have, however, faintly endeavoured to repreſent in the fron⯑tiſpiece— where I may be ſeen, after the heat of the ac⯑tion, fatigued, and dejectedly looking on the body of an unfortunate rebel negro, who, with his muſket in his hand, lies proſtrate at my feet.

In ſhort, having waſhed off the duſt, ſweat, and blood, and having refreſhed ourſelves with a dram and a bit of bread till the flames ſubſided, we next went to inſpect the ſmoking ruins; and found the above town to have conſiſted of about one hundred houſes or huts, ſome of which were two ſtories high. Among the glowing aſhes we picked up ſeveral trifles that had eſcaped the flames, ſuch as ſilver ſpoons and forks, which we ſuppoſed, by the marks BW. to have been pillaged from the Brunſwick eſtate in Rio Cottica. We found alſo ſome knives, broken china and earthen pots; amongſt the latter one filled with rice and palm-tree worms fell to my ſhare: as this wanted no fire to dreſs the contents, and as my appetite was very keen, I emptied it in a few minutes, and made a very hearty meal. Some were afraid this meſs had been left behind with a view to poiſon us; but this ſuſpi⯑cion, [110] proved however, fortunately for me, to be without foundation.

The ſilver plate I alſo purchaſed from the men that picked it up, determined to carry it off as a trophy, and I have uſed it ever ſince. Here we likewiſe found three ſkulls fixed upon ſtakes, the mournful relics of ſome of our own brave people, who had been formerly killed; but what ſurprized us moſt, were the heads of two young negroes, which ſeemed as if freſh cut off, theſe we ſince learned had been executed during the night of the 17th, when we heard the hallooing and the firing, for ſpeaking in our favour.

Having buried all theſe remains promiſcuouſly in one pit, we returned to ſling our hammocks, under thoſe beautiful and lofty trees which I have already mention⯑ed; but here I am ſorry to add, we found the rangers ſhockingly employed, in playing at bowls with thoſe very heads they had juſt chopped off from their enemies; who, deaf to all remonſtrance,

They related that upon reconnoitring the ſkirts of the ſurrounding foreſt, they had found quantities of human blood in different places, which had flowed from the dead and wounded bodies the rebels had carried away during the action.

To reprimand them for this inhuman diverſion would [111] have been uſeleſs, as they aſſured us it was ‘"Condre faſſee,"’ the cuſtom of their country; and con⯑cluded the horrid ſport by kicking and mangling the heads, cutting off the lips, cheeks, ears, and noſes; they even took out the jaw-bones, which they ſmoke⯑dried, together with the right hands, to carry home, as trophies of their victory, to their wives and re⯑lations. That this barbarous cuſtom prevails amongſt ſavages is a well-known fact, which originates from a motive of inſatiable revenge. And though Colonel Fourgeoud might have prevented their inhumanity by his authority, in my opinion he wiſely declined it; ob⯑ſerving, that as he could not do it by perſuaſion, to do it by power, might break their native ſpirit, and pro⯑duce no other effect than alienating them from the ſer⯑vice, ſo neceſſary were they to us, though ſo ſavagely revengeful, and ſo bloody.

About three o'clock, whilſt we were reſting from our fatigue, we were once more ſurpriſed by an attack from a party of the enemy; but after exchanging a few ſhots they were repulſed. This unexpected viſit, however, put us more upon our guard during the night, ſo that no fires were allowed to be lighted, and double ſentinels were placed around the camp. Thus ſituated, being overcome by exceſſive toil and heat, I after ſun-ſet leaped into my hammock, and ſoon fell faſt aſleep; but in leſs than two hours my faithful black boy Quaco rouſed me, in the midſt of pitch darkneſs, crying, [112] ‘"Maſſera, maſſera! booſee negro, booſee negro!"— "Maſ⯑ter, maſter! the enemy, the enemy!"’ Hearing, at the ſame moment, a briſk firing, with the balls whiſtling through the branches, I fully concluded that the re⯑bels were in the very midſt of our camp. Surpriſed, and not perfectly awake, I ſuddenly ſtarted up with my fuſee cocked; and (without knowing where I ran) firſt threw down Quaco, and next fell down myſelf, over two or three bodies that lay upon the ground, and which I imagined to be killed. When one of them, ‘"d—ning me for a ſon of a b—ch, told me, if I moved I was a dead man; Colonel Fourgeoud having iſſued orders for the troops to lie flat on their bellies all the night, and not to fire, as moſt of their ammunition had been ex⯑pended the preceding day."’ I took his advice, and ſoon diſcovered him by his voice to be one of our own grena⯑diers, named Thomſon. In this ſituation we lay proſtrate on our arms until ſun-riſe, during which time a moſt abu⯑ſive dialogue was carried on indeed between the rebels and the rangers, each party curſing and menacing the other at a very terrible rate; the former ‘"reproaching the rangers as poltroons and traitors to their countrymen, and challenging them next day to ſingle combat; ſwear⯑ing they only wiſhed to lave their hands in the blood of ſuch ſcoundrels, who had been the principal agents in deſtroying their flouriſhing ſettlement."’ The rangers ‘"d—n'd the rebels for a parcel of pitiful ſkulking raſ⯑cals, whom they would fight one to two in the open [113] field, if they dared but to ſhew their ugly faces;"’ ‘ſwear⯑ing they had only deſerted their maſters becauſe they were too lazy to work."’ After this they inſulted each other by a kind of war-whoop, ſung victorious ſongs on both ſides, and ſounded their horns as ſignals of defi⯑ance; when the firing commenced once more from the rebel negroes, and continued during the night, accom⯑panied by their martial voices, at intermiſſions reſound⯑ing through the woods, which echo ſeemed to anſwer with redoubled force.

At length poor Fourgeoud took a part in the converſa⯑tion, myſelf and Serjeant Fowler acting as his interpreters, by hallooing, which created more mirth than I had been witneſs to for ſome time: he promiſed them life, liberty, victuals, drink, and all they wanted. They replied, with a loud laugh, that they wanted nothing from him; charac⯑teriſed him as a half-ſtarved Frenchman, who had run away from his own country; and aſſured him that if he would venture to pay them a viſit, he ſhould return un⯑hurt, and not with an empty belly. They told us, that we were to be pitied more than they; that we were white ſlaves, hired to be ſhot at and ſtarved for four-pence a day; that they ſcorned to expend much more of their powder upon ſuch ſcarecrows; but ſhould the planters or overſeers dare to enter the woods, not a ſoul of them ſhould ever return, any more than the perfidious rangers, ſome of whom might depend upon being maſſacred that [114] day, or the next; and concluded by declaring that Bonny ſhould ſoon be the governor of the colony.

After this they tinkled their bill-hooks, fired a volley, and gave three cheers; which being anſwered by the rangers, the clamour ended, and the rebels diſperſed with the riſing ſun.

Our fatigue was great; yet, notwithſtanding the length of the conteſt, our loſs by the enemies fire was very in⯑conſiderable, for which I promiſed to account; and this myſtery was now explained, when the ſurgeons, dreſſing the wounded, extracted very few leaden bullets, but many pebbles, coat-buttons, and pieces of ſilver coin, which could do us little miſchief, by penetrating ſcarcely more than ſkin deep. We alſo obſerved, that ſeveral of the poor rebel negroes who were ſhot, had only the ſhards of Spa-water cans, inſtead of flints, which could ſeldom do execution; and it was certainly owing to theſe circumſtances that we came off ſo well, as I have mentioned before; yet we were nevertheleſs not without a number of very dan⯑gerous ſcars and contuſions.

Inconceivable are the many expedients which theſe people employ in the woods, where in a ſtate of tranquil⯑lity they ſeemed, as they boaſted, to want for nothing, being plump and fat, at leaſt ſuch as we had an oppor⯑tunity of obſerving. It ſhould be noticed, that game and fiſh they catch in great abundance, by artificial traps and ſprings, and preſerve them by barbacuing; while their [115] fields are even overſtocked with rice, caſſava, yams, plan⯑tains, &c. They make ſalt from the palm-tree aſhes, as the Gentoos do in the Eaſt Indies, or frequently ſupply the want of it with red pepper.

We here found concealed near the trunk of an old tree a caſe-bottle filled with excellent butter, which the rangers told me they made by melting and clarifying the fat of the palm-tree worms: this fully anſwers all the purpoſes of European butter, and I found it in fact even more deli⯑cious to my taſte. The piſtachio or pinda nuts they alſo convert into butter, by their oily ſubſtance, and frequently uſe them in their broths. The palm-tree wine they have always in plenty; they procure it by making deep inciſions of a foot ſquare in the fallen trunk, where the juice being collected, it ſoon ferments by the heat of the ſun; it is not only a cool and agreeable beverage, but ſufficiently ſtrong to intoxicate. The manicole or pine-tree affords them materials for building; they fabricate pots from clay found near their dwellings; the gourd or callebaſſe tree procures them cups; the ſilk graſs plant and maurecee-tree ſupplies materials for their hammocks, and even a kind of cap grows naturally upon the palm-trees, as well as brooms; the various kinds of nebee ſupply the want of ropes; fuel they have for cutting; and a wood called bee-bee ſerves for tinder, by rubbing two pieces on each other; it is alſo elaſtic, and makes excellent corks; candles they can make, having plenty of fat and oil; and the wild bees afford them wax, as well as excellent honey.

[116]Cloaths they ſcorn to wear, preferring to go naked in a climate where the warmth of the weather renders every kind of covering an uſeleſs incumbrance.

They might breed hogs and poultry, and keep dogs for hunting and watching them, but this they decline, from the apprehenſion of being diſcovered by their noiſe, as even the crowing of a cock may be heard in the foreſt at a con⯑ſiderable diſtance.—I ſhall now once more proceed.

The rebels of this ſettlement being apparently ſubdued and diſperſed, Colonel Fourgeoud made it his next buſi⯑neſs to deſtroy the ſurrounding harveſt; and I received orders to begin the devaſtation, with eighty marines and twenty rangers. Thus I cut down all the rice that was growing plentifully in the two above-mentioned fields; this being done, I diſcovered a third field ſouth of the firſt, which I alſo demoliſhed, and made my report to Fourgeoud, with which he appeared highly ſatisfied. In the afternoon Captain Hamel was detached, with fifty marines and thirty rangers, to reconnoitre behind the vil⯑lage, and to diſcover, if poſſible, how the rebels could paſs to and fro through an unfathomable marſh, whilſt we were unable to purſue them. This officer at length perceived a kind of floating bridge amongſt the reeds, made of maurecee-trees, but ſo conſtructed, that only one man abreaſt could paſs it. On this were ſeated aſtride a few rebels to defend the communication, who inſtantly ſired upon the party, but were ſoon repulſed by the rangers, who ſhot one of them dead, but he was carried away by his companions.

[117]On the morning of the 22d, our commander ordered a detachment to croſs the bridge and go on diſcovery, at all hazards. Of this party I led the van. We now took the paſs without oppoſition; and having all marched, or rather ſcrambled over this defile of floating trees, we found ourſelves in a large oblong field of caſſava and yams, in which were about thirty houſes, now deſerted, being the remains of the old ſettlement called Cofaay. In this field we ſeparated into three diviſions, the better to reconnoitre, one marching north, one north-weſt, and the third weſt. And here, to our aſtoniſhment, we diſ⯑covered that the reaſon of the rebels ſhouting, ſinging, and firing, on the night of the 20th, was not only to cover the retreat of their friends, by cutting off the paſs, but by their unremitting noiſe to prevent us from diſcover⯑ing that they were employed, men, women, and children, in preparing warimboes or hampers filled with the fineſt rice, yams, and caſſava, for ſubſiſtence during their eſ⯑cape, of which they had only left the chaff and refuſe for our contemplation.

This was certainly ſuch a maſterly trait of generalſhip in a ſavage people, whom we affected to deſpiſe, as would have done honour to any European commander, and has perhaps been ſeldom equalled by more civilized nations.

CHAP. XXI. Spirited Conduct of the Rangers and Rebels—A Skirmiſh— Scene of Brotherly Affection—The Troops return to Bar⯑bacoeba—Plan of the Field of Action—A Slave killed by the Oroocookoo Snake.

CHAP. XXI.COLONEL Fourgeoud, on finding himſelf thus foiled by a naked negro, was unable any longer to reſtrain his reſentment, and ſwore aloud he would purſue Bonny to the world's end. His ammunition and proviſions were however expended, and if they had not, it would have been in vain now to think of overtaking the enemy.— To the ſurprize of moſt perſons, our hero however per⯑ſevered in this impracticable project, and diſpatched Cap⯑tain Bolts, with one hundred men and thirty rangers, beſides a number of ſlaves, to tranſport a quantity of ſhot, and a week's proviſions from Barbacoeba, and at the ſame time iſſued orders for the troops to ſubſiſt upon half allowance, deſiring the men to ſupply the deficiency by picking rice, peas, and caſſava, and prepare them in the beſt way they could for their ſubſiſtence, and this was alſo my lot, as well as moſt of the officers; while it was no bad ſcene to ſee ten or twenty of us with heavy wooden peſ⯑tles, like ſo many apothecaries, beating the rice in a ſpe⯑cies of mortars, cut all along in the hard trunk of a le⯑velled [119] purper-heart-tree by the rebel negroes (being the only contrivance uſed by them to ſeparate the rice from the huſk) this was however for us a moſt laborious buſi⯑neſs, the ſweat running down our bodies as if we had been bathing, while water was at this time the only be⯑verage in the camp.

Among other vegetables we had the good fortune to find here great quantities of wild purſlane, which only differs from the common, by growing nearer the ground, the leaves being leſs, and more of a blackiſh green; this vegetable grows wild in the woods of Guiana, and may be either eaten as a ſallad, or ſtewed, without reſerve, being not only a cooling and agreeable food, but reck⯑oned an excellent antidote againſt the ſcurvy.

Here were alſo great quantities of gourd or calebaſſe trees, which are very uſeful to the natives of the country. This tree grows to the height of a common apple-tree, with large thick pointed leaves: the gourds it produces are of different forms and dimenſions, ſome being oval, ſome conical, and ſome round, growing often to the ſize of ten or twelve inches in diameter; the ſhell is hard and very ſmooth, covered over with a ſhining ſkin or epidermis, which becomes brown when the gourd is dry and fit for uſe: the heart or pulp is a pithy ſubſtance, which is eaſily extricated by the help of a crooked knife. The uſes are various to which theſe gourds are applied, they furniſh bottles, powder-flaſks, cups, baſons, and diſhes: I ſeldom travelled without one, which ſerved me [120] as a baſon, plate, &c. in the foreſt. The negroes ge⯑nerally adorn them by carving on the outer ſkin many fantaſtical figures, and filling up the vacancies with chalk-duſt, which ſometimes has a very pretty effect.

The rangers having been out to reconnoitre, returned on the afternoon of the 23d, and reported that they had diſcovered and deſtroyed another field of rice to the N.E. This pleaſed Colonel Fourgeoud very well; but when in the duſk of the evening I obſerved to him, that I ſaw ſeveral armed negroes advancing at a diſtance, he turned pale, exclaiming, "Nous ſommes perdus!" and ordered the whole camp immediately under arms. In a few ſeconds theſe negroes were near enough to be diſcerned, and we now ſaw that ſeveral of them were carried upon poles, in hammocks. Fourgeoud then ſaid, ‘"We ſtill are ruined, though not the enemy: 'tis Captain Bolts, beaten back, with all his party;"’ and this proved literally to be the fact, when that unfortunate officer (having deli⯑vered the wounded to the ſurgeons) made his report, that having entered the fatal ſwamp where Captain Mey⯑land had been defeated, he was attacked by the enemy from the oppoſite ſhore, who, without hurting a ſingle European, had made a dreadful havock amongſt his rangers; that Captain Valentine, a brave young fellow, belonging to that corps, whilſt ſounding his horn to ani⯑mate his countrymen, had it ſhot away, with his pouch alſo, and was himſelf moſt deſperately wounded in five different parts of the body. In this ſituation he was met [121] by his brother, named Captain Avantage, who, upon ſeeing his mortal condition, a ſcene of ſuch real fra⯑ternal affection enſued as is ſeldom to be obſerved in a civilized country:—kneeling at his ſide, and bending over the mangled Valentine, he ſucked the blood and gore from his ſhattered breaſt and ſides; then cheriſh⯑ed him with the manly promiſe to revenge his death upon his foes, and the hopes that when he him⯑ſelf was killed he ſhould meet him again in a better place.

Colonel Fourgeoud now found that the rebels had kept their promiſe of maſſacring the rangers; while Captain Bolts reported that ſome had fired upon his party from the tops of the palm-trees, and then ſliding down with ſurpriſing agility, diſappeared, whilſt the rangers were foaming for revenge on their active adverſaries, and could hardly be reſtrained from an immediate purſuit through the verdure.

Our mighty leader now found his abſurd ſcheme of purſuing the enemy compleatly fruſtrated, and himſelf in danger of total deſtruction; being cut off from every ſupply, and having neither ammunition nor proviſions left in his camp, with very few men, except the ſick and wounded, to defend it. Thus he at laſt began moſt ſeriouſly to conſider how to ſecure a ſafe retreat; to which he was urged likewiſe by the general and inceſſant murmurings of the troops, who were not only almoſt [122] ſtarved, but indeed dreadfully haraſſed by daily fatigues and nightly watchings:

On the 24th, a detachment of one hundred and forty men, commanded by two field officers, were ſtill ordered to deſtroy the fields, and the old ſettlement called Cofaay; of this party I had the honour again to be one. We ſoon performed the ſervice we were ſent upon, and alſo picked, up, out of the marſh, ſeveral utenſils, ſuch as tea-kettles, iron pots and pans, &c. that the rebels had formerly pillaged from the eſtates, and had thrown into the water to conceal them from us, with an in⯑tention, no doubt, of returning to fiſh them up, as ſoon as we were gone from Gado-Saby.

Upon the return of the detachment in the afternoon, we immediately decamped, and began to retreat for Bar⯑bacoeba. Here I muſt remark in Colonel Fourgeoud an inſtance of bad policy, at leaſt, though many have not heſitated to beſtow upon it a harſher epithet. This evening, upon our return, when we entered the ominous ſwamp, he ſuddenly caught up one of the empty bread-boxes, and having ſtuffed a hammock into it, he carried it before him as a ſhield, crying aloud to his men, ‘"Sauve qui peut!"’ At this moment a Walloon named Mattow ſtepped up to him, and ſaid, ‘"Mon Colonel, but [123] few can, and I hope fewer ſtill will, follow your ex⯑ample. Drop your ſhield, and do not intimidate your ſoldiers: one brave man creates others, then follow thy Mattow, and fear for nothing."’ Upon which he inſtantly threw open his boſom, and charging his bay⯑onet was the firſt that mounted the oppoſite beach: this intrepidity inſpired the reſt, and they paſſed the marſhy ſwamp without oppoſition; for which act of heroiſm this private marine was ſince made a ſerjeant. I ſhould think myſelf deficient if I did not obſerve, that the Wal⯑loons in general behaved with great ſpirit, and were in every reſpect excellent ſoldiers. This evening we en⯑camped upon the ſame ground where we had paſſed the night before the engagement, with exceſſive bad weather and very heavy rain.

Early on the morning of the 25th, we again marched, and proceeded on our return, having now a beaten path before us. It will ſuffice to ſay, that we reached our place of general rendezvous, Barbacoeba, on the after⯑noon of the following day, but in a moſt ſhocking con⯑dition; the whole of the detachment being moſtly ſpent and wore out with fatigue, ſome nearly ſtarved, others mortally wounded; whilſt all the ſlaves were em⯑ployed in carrying the ſick and lame in their hammocks, on long poles, though theſe poor wretches were ſcarcely able to ſupport themſelves.—Such was the concluding ſcene of the taking of Gado-Saby. However, if during this expedition we neither captured any of the rebels, [124] nor gained booty, we nevertheleſs rendered the colony a very eſſential ſervice, by rooting out this concealed neſt of enemies, who being thus diſcovered and driven away from their capital ſettlements, never think (as I have already obſerved) of returning to live near the ſame ſpot. I might, indeed, pronounce our victory almoſt de⯑ciſive; I ſay almoſt, for if we except the demoliſhing a few plantations for immediate ſubſiſtence, and from a ſpirit of revenge, the rebels were, by being driven from this ſettlement, ſo diſconcerted and panic-ſtruck, that from the preſent period their depredations were cer⯑tainly leſs, as they ſoon afterwards retired to an inacceſ⯑ſible depth in the foreſt, where they neither could do any material injury, nor be joined by negro deſerters.

To ſhew the maſterly manoeuvres of our ſable foes to more advantage, I here preſent the reader with a plan of this extraordinary ſettlement, together with our different ſtages, after leaving our encampment on the borders of the Cottica River, viz.

N^o 1, 2, and 3, are ſuppoſed to be the general ren⯑dezvous at Barbacoeba, and the two ſucceeding nights encampment.

N^o 4. The ſpot where we heard the firing and ſhout⯑ing of the rebels, on the night of the 17th.

N^o 5. The latitude where the troops were joined by the black corps or rangers.

N^o 6. The night's encampment previous to the en⯑gagement.

[125]N^o 7. The beach on the oppoſite ſide of the marſh, where Captain Meyland with his troops had been de⯑feated.

N^o 8. The advanced poſt of the rebels, whence the firſt ſhot was fired at the troops.

N^o 9. The field with rice and Indian corn, entered with⯑out oppoſition.

N^o 10. The paſs or defile in which the firing com⯑menced.

N^o 11. The beautiful rice-field in which the action continued above forty minutes.

N^o 12. The town of GADO-SABY in flames at a diſ⯑tance.

N^o 13. The ſpot whence the rebels fired on the camp, and held the converſation, on the night of the 20th.

N^o 14. The ground of the old ſettlement Cofaay, with the floating bridge that covered the retreat of the rebels.

N^o 15. The fields with caſſava, yams, and plantains, that were at different times deſtroyed.

N^o 16. The field of rice diſcovered and demoliſhed by Captain Stedman on the 21ſt.

N^o 17. A field demoliſhed by the rangers on the 23d.

N^o 18. The ſwamp or marſh which ſurrounded the ſettlement.

N^o 19. The quag-mire, or biree-biree, adjoining it.

N^o 20. The foreſt.

Having formerly deſcribed the manner in which we erected our huts, I ſhall here alſo add a ſmall plan of [126] the mode of arranging them during our encampment in the woods of Guiana, which camps were generally of a triangular form, as being moſt ſecure in caſe of a ſurprize, and the eaſieſt to defend our proviſions and ammunition; but the ſituation of the ground would not always permit this, and then we encamped in any form, ſquare, oblong, or circular, &c.—In the annexed plan,

N^o 1. Is the hut or ſhed of Colonel Fourgeoud, or the commanding officer, in the centre, with a ſentinel.

N^o 2. The huts of all the other officers, in a ſmall triangle, ſurrounding that of the commander in chief.

N^o 3. The angles of the outer triangle formed by the huts of the privates in three diviſions, viz. the main body, the van, and the rear guards, with ſentinels at proper diſtances, to cover the front of each.

N^o 4. Powder-cheſts, proviſions, and medicines, with a ſentinel.

N^o 5. The fires in the rear of each diviſion to dreſs the victuals, and round which the negro ſlaves are lodged upon the ground.

N^o 6. A coppice of manicole-trees to erect the huts or ſheds.

N^o 7. A rivulet or creek to provide the troops with freſh water. And,

N^o 8. The ſurrounding foreſt.

I nevertheleſs continued among the few that ſtill were healthy; which was almoſt a miracle, as I had fared very hard indeed for want of my private ſtores, and which, as was mentioned, I had left at the neighbouring eſtate Mocha: however, expecting leave now to bring them in perſon from that plantation, I was in good ſpi⯑rits alſo. But here I was diſappointed, by Colonel Four⯑geoud's declaring he could not ſpare me one moment, while I was able to ſtand upon my feet. I therefore waited patiently for an opportunity of ſending for them; in the mean time ſharing with my black boy the ſcanty allow⯑ance of a private ſoldier, with the caſual addition of ſome mountain-cabbage, or palm-tree worms, and perhaps a few warrappa fiſh.

As for the miſerable ſlaves, they were ſo ſtarved, that having killed a Coata monkey, they broiled it, with ſkin, hair, inteſtines and all, then tore it to pieces with their teeth, and devoured it like ſo many cannibals, before it was even half dreſſed. Of this animal they offered me [128] a limb; but, hungry as I was, my ſtomach could not re⯑liſh this kind of veniſon.

A good conſtitution, ſterling health and ſpirits, now ſupported me, or I muſt have ſunk under the load of mi⯑ſery and hardſhips, which were at this time become ſo intolerable, that the rangers again forſook the camp; and Mr. Vinſack, their conductor, as brave and active a man as ever entered the wood, threw up his commiſſion, as Mr. Mongol had done before, during Colonel Four⯑geoud's firſt campaign at the Wana.

In the beginning of September, the bloody flux raged in the camp to ſuch a degree, that the colonel ſaw him⯑ſelf obliged to ſend off all the ſick officers and privates, without exception, not to Paramaribo for recovery in the grand hoſpital that is there, but to linger and die on the banks of the rivers, where they relieved others to be en⯑camped, and undergo a ſimilar wretchedneſs; the ſick of his own regiment being diſpatched to Magdenburg in the Tempatee Greek, and thoſe of the Society troops to Vreedenberg in Cottica.

Colonel Fourgeoud's inhumanity to the officers was now actually become ſuch, that he would not even permit thoſe who were paſt recovery a marine to attend them, what⯑ever price they offered; ſome of whom I have ſeen ex⯑panded between two trees, while the very filth, for want of aſſiſtance, was dropping through their hammocks. Of this number was Enſign Strows, who, in this dreadful ſituation, was ordered to be tranſported in an open boat [129] to Devil's Harwar, where he died. At length Colonel Fourgeoud himſelf was ſeized with this dreadful malady, and his beloved ptiſan proved to be of no more avail; yet he ſoon recovered, by the plentiful uſe of claret and ſpices, which he ſeldom wanted, and which his colleague Seyburg alſo employed as a preſervative of his health, though by ſwallowing too copious doſes he frequently loſt the uſe of his reaſon. In ſuch a ſituation, and in ſuch a deſpicable encampment, our commander in chief had the vanity to expect a deputation from the court at Para⯑maribo, with congratulations on his victory: in conſe⯑quence of which he had built an elegant ſhed, and ſent for ſheep and hogs to entertain them—but the expected deputies never yet arrived.

On the 5th, therefore, the hogs and ſheep were ſlaugh⯑tered, and, for the firſt time in his life, he ordered one pound per man, bones and all, to be diſtributed among the poor emaciated ſoldiers: indeed the number able to partake of this bounty was at preſent very ſmall.

On the following day a reinforcement of one hundred men arrived from Magdenburg, in Comewina; and from the Society poſt Vreedenburg, in Cottica, nearly as many. Theſe confirmed the death of Enſign Strows, beſides of a great number of privates, who had aſſiſted at the tak⯑ing of Gado-Saby, and who had expired in the boats dur⯑ing their removal from Barbacoeba.

Intelligence arrived at the ſame time that the defeated rebels had actually croſſed the river Cottica below Patta⯑maca, [130] intent on immediate miſchief, and that they were marching to the weſtward. In conſequence of this in⯑formation, a captain and fifty men were immediately detached, by water, to reconnoitre the banks near the Pinenburg Creek. This party returned upon the 8th, and confirmed the intelligence. Our indefatigable chief now again determined to purſue them; but the ſlaves who were to carry the ammunition and proviſions had been ſent home to their maſters, nothing but ſkin and bones, to be exchanged for others, not yet arrived, and to be ſtarved in their turn. I ſhall therefore relate what happened the two following days, until the arrival of theſe unfortunate beaſts of burden; for ſo they might with propriety be called.

On the 9th were ſold upon credit, and to the higheſt bidder, the effects of the deceaſed Enſign Strows, when the poor ſoldiers, regardleſs of price, and only wiſhing to ob⯑tain ſome cloaths and refreſhments to keep (in the vulgar phraſe) ſoul and body together, actually paid at the rate of 700 per cent. and this infamous debt was accordingly ſtated in their accounts. I have ſeen, for inſtance, a pri⯑vate marine pay five ſhillings for a pound of mouldered tobacco, that might be worth ſix-pence, and double the prime value for a pair of old ſtockings or ſhoes. A ſick man paid one guinea for a couple of meagre chickens; and for a broken bottle-caſe to hold his lumber, another paid a ſimilar ſum. Thus were theſe poor dying half-ſtarved wretches deprived of the little property they [131] had earned at the expence of their blood and ſweat, while this miſerable neceſſity might have been eaſily prevented by only ſupplying them with what was their due. A private marine, of the name of Sem, at this time, ſwore, in the heat of his reſentment, that he would certainly ſhoot Fourgeoud, whenever he had an opportunity; which being overheard, upon condition of repentance, I bribed the evidence not to inform againſt him, and ſo literally ſaved this poor raſh fellow from dying on the gallows.

Fortunately, all the world did not poſſeſs this chief⯑tain's inſenſibility, for this day the good Mrs. Godefroy once more ſent up a flat-bottomed barge, with a fat ox, oranges, and plantains for the private ſoldiers, which was accordingly diſtributed amongſt them. The ſame evening a ſmall ſupply of proviſions alſo arrived for me, from Joanna, with a few bottles of port wine; and though part was ſtolen, and part was damaged by the way, it made me very happy, and I gave nothing to Fourgeoud.

When we ſpeak of proviſions in the woods, we only mean ſugar, tea, coffee, Boſton biſcuit, cheeſe, rum, ham, or a keg of ſauſages, ſince little elſe can be carried through the foreſt by a ſingle ſlave, and we were now allowed no more. Shirts, ſhoes, and ſtockings were alſo uſually accounted among the neceſſaries, but the laſt two articles I did not uſe, being accuſtomed to walk bare-footed, which I had now practiſed for more than two years, and with great advantage to my limbs, when I [132] compared them with the diſeaſed and ulcerated ſhanks of my ghaſtly-looking companions.

On the 12th, the freſh ſupply of ſlaves being arrived, the neceſſary preparations were made to purſue the rebels the next day, directing our firſt courſe towards the ſpot formerly called Jeruſalem, mentioned in 1773, when I commanded the fatal expedition in Upper Cottica; and on the 13th, the baggage and proviſions being ſent before us by water to Jeruſalem, eſcorted by the ſick officers and privates, we at laſt decamped to follow them, and bidding a final farewell to Barbacoeba, re-entered the woods, marching S. and S. E. the whole day, then paſſed the night on the oppoſite bank of the Caſſiporee Creek, where we encamped.

Nothing could be more diabolically cruel, than the perſecution of the new ſlaves during this march; not only overloaded and ſtarved, but beat like mules or aſſes by every ill-tempered individual—for inſtance, I ſaw Fourgeoud's black favourite, Gouſary, knock down a poor negro ſlave for not taking up his load—and the chief himſelf knock him down for taking it up too ſoon; when the wretch, not knowing what to do, exclaimed, in hopes of pity, "O maſſera Jeſus Chriſtus!" and was actually knocked down a third time by an enthuſiaſt, for daring to utter a name with which he was ſo little acquainted.

During the laſt day's march, a large drove of Warre hogs or wild boars broke through our line; ſeveral of them were cut down by our ſabres, and ſtabbed with [133] the bayonets, the men having orders from the com⯑mander in chief not to fire at any game whatever. The animals that were killed were cut in pieces, and diſ⯑tributed among the troops, which proved, though ſmall, a very ſeaſonable dainty. It is certainly very remarkable, that if the firſt wild boar or leader paſſes through any danger, all the others ſtupidly follow, in hopes of a ſimilar eſcape, which on the contrary, as I have ſaid, fre⯑quently proves the cauſe of their deſtruction.

On the 14th we marched S. W. till about noon, and arrived at Jeruſalem, which the van had reached about an hour before us, all thoroughly ſoaked with mud and heavy rains, and ſeveral men unhappily with ruptures in the groin, by falling over the roots of trees, large ſtones, &c. Here juſt arrived, we found again, to my aſtoniſhment, the identical Mr. Vinſack, with one hun⯑dred freſh rangers: he had heard, it ſeems, of the rebels paſſing Upper Cottica, and had been prevailed upon to reſume his command by the governor; thus he now once more offered his ſervice to Colonel Four⯑geoud, who was very happy indeed to accept it.

Here, our camp being moſtly overgrown with long coarſe graſs, one of the ſlaves was unfortunately bitten in the foot by a ſmall ſerpent, called in Surinam the ^* Oroo⯑cookoo ſnake, from its colour, which reſembles an owl. [134] In leſs than a minute the man's leg began to ſwell, when he was ſeized with excruciating pains, and ſoon fell into convulſions. One of his companions, having killed the ſnake, made the patient drink its gall, mixed with half a glaſs of ſpirits, which I gave him. He ſeemed now (per⯑haps from imagination) to bear his misfortune better; but the fits ſoon returned with increaſing violence, and he was inſtantly ſent to his maſter's plantation, where he expired. That the gall of adders, externally applied, is efficacious, I have often heard. In the Grand Maga⯑zine for April 1758, may be ſeen a letter, ſigned J. H. and dated 24th March, which treats ſyſtematically of the application of gall. But theſe inveſtigations I muſt leave to the learned of the medical profeſſion; and only ob⯑ſerve, in general, that the ſmaller the ſnake, at leaſt in Guiana, the more fatal the poiſon; as is juſtly and beau⯑tifully obſerved by Thomſon:

In this graſſy wilderneſs one of the rangers alſo killed a ſnake, called the whip-ſnake, from its reſemblance to that inſtrument; it was about five feet long, and not very much thicker than a ſwan's quill; the belly white, and the back a lead colour: concerning its bite, I can ſay [135] nothing. I was informed by the negroes, but I cannot ſpeak from my own obſervation, that it has the power of giving a very ſevere ſtroke with its tail, like the laſh of a whip, which it ſo much reſembles.

I muſt alſo notice an amphibious animal which ſome of the negroes killed this evening, called by them the Cabiai; it is a ſpecies of water hog, and about the or⯑dinary ſize of the land animal which goes under that name; it is covered with grey briſtles, and armed with a number of very ſtrong teeth; it has no tail; on each foot it has three toes, webbed like thoſe of a duck. This animal, it is ſaid, goes aſhore only during the night, where it feeds on young graſs, and other vegetables. I have been told it is good food, but never taſted it myſelf.

On the 16th, having reſted one day at this place, Colonel Fourgeoud detached two ſtrong parties to reconnoitre, viz. Lieutenant Colonel de Borgnes, with 100 men, was ſent to the Wana Greek in Upper Cormoetibo; and Co⯑lonel Seyburg, with an equal number, was ordered to the Creek Pinenburg, in Upper Cottica. The latter re⯑turned about midnight with two canoes, which he had found hauled aſhore, on the oppoſite ſide of the river, a little below the mouth of the Claas Creek. This con⯑vinced us that the rebels were gone weſtward to plunder, and had brought their empty canoes down the Claas Creek, from the rice country, in order to ſend them back loaded with booty from the eſtates they intended to [136] pillage. In conſequence, therefore, of this information, the proper preparations were immediately made to pur⯑ſue them with alacrity. Never did the old warrior diſ⯑play more vigour than on this occaſion, ſwearing aloud that he now would be revenged of them all, coute qui coute.

But how far his generalſhip on this occaſion proved to be a match for that of Bonny, I muſt beg leave to re⯑ſerve for the ſucceeding chapter.

CHAP. XXII. Alarm in the Pirica River—A Detachment marches to its Relief—Ambuſcade—Wonderful Effect from the Biting of a Bat—Scene in a Quagmire—Sketch of the Inquiſition and Return of the Troops to Cormoetibo Creek.

ON the morning of the 19th of September 1775,CHAP. XXII. juſt before ſun-riſe, Colonel Seyburg marched with one hundred marines and forty rangers, who did me the honour to fix upon me as one of the party, and was upon the whole ſo polite, and his behaviour ſo contrary to what it had lately been, that I knew not at all in what manner to account for it.

Having croſſed the Cormoetibo Creek, we kept courſe S. W. and by S. till we approached the river Cottica, where we encamped, having met with nothing on our firſt day's march worth deſcribing, except a ſpecies of ants, which were no leſs than one inch in length, and perfectly black. Theſe inſects pillage a tree of all its leaves in a ſhort time, which they cut in ſmall pieces the ſize of a ſix-pence, and carry under-ground. It was in⯑deed entertaining to ſee a whole army of theſe creatures crawling perpetually the ſame way, each with his green⯑leaf in a perpendicular direction. So general is the pro⯑penſity to the marvellous, that ſome have imagined that [138] this devaſtation was to feed a blind ſerpent under ground: but the truth is, that it ſerves for nouriſhment to their young brood, who cannot help themſelves, and are ſome⯑times lodged to the depth of eight feet in the earth. Madam Merian ſays, they form themſelves in chains from one branch to another, while all the others paſs over theſe temporary bridges; and that once a year theſe for⯑midable armies travel from houſe to houſe, killing all the vermin, &c. that comes in their way; neither of which facts ever came within the limits of my obſervation: but that they can bite confoundedly I have found by expe⯑rience, though their attack is not nearly ſo painful as the bite of that diminutive inſect the fire-ant already de⯑ſcribed.

The following day we proceeded along the banks of the river Cottica, till we came near the Claas Creek, (where I formerly ſwam acroſs with my ſabre in my teeth) and early ſlung our hammocks; from whence I was detached, with a few rangers, to lay in ambuſcade in the mouth of the creek till it was dark. Here, however, I diſcovered nothing, except that the rangers were poſſeſſed of the ſame ſuperſtition as the rebels, with regard to their amu⯑lets or obias making them invulnerable. They told me that the latter mentioned procured them from their prieſt, and that they themſelves bought theirs from Graman Qwacy, a celebrated and cunning old negro, whom I ſhall in a proper place circumſtantially deſcribe.—When I aſked them, ‘"How came any of you, or of your invul⯑nerable [139] adverſaries, to be ſhot?"’ I was anſwered, ‘"Be⯑cauſe, like you, Maſſera, they had no faith in the amu⯑let or obia."’ This piece of policy in Mr. Qwacy, how⯑ever, had the effect of making all his free countrymen ſo undauntedly brave, that I muſt confeſs their valour had often ſurprized me. However, this impoſition, as ſhall be ſhewn hereafter, beſides reſpect and veneration, pro⯑cured this dealer in magic conſiderable both eaſe and wealth, which for a black man in Surinam was indeed not very common.

In the mouth of this creek I again ſaw a quantity of nuts floating on the ſurface of the water, ſuch as I have before mentioned, when I was informed that they were the real acajow or caſhew nuts, which I have partly de⯑ſcribed: to which I ſhall now add, that they grow on the edge of a pulpy ſubſtance like a very large pear, which is produced on a middle-ſized tree, with a grey bark and large thick leaves. This excellent nut will bear to be tranſ⯑ported to any part of the globe, and keep good for a con⯑ſiderable time; it is by ſome called the Anacardium Occi⯑dentalis. From the tree exudes a tranſparent gum, which when diſſolved in water has the conſiſtency of glue.

I alſo taſted here the eta-tree apple, of which the negroes ſeemed extremely fond. This tree is of the palm kind, with large leaves, but is leſs in ſize than the maurecee or the mountain cabbage-tree. The fruit or apples are round, and grow in large cluſters reſembling grape-ſhot. In the middle of each apple is a hard nut, in [140] which is a kernel, and this is covered near half an inch thick with an orange-coloured pulp, that has a moſt agreeable acid taſte. They are ſeldom uſed till the apples by ripeneſs drop from the tree, when the Indians ſteep them in water, and by maceration convert them into a moſt healthy and agreeable beverage.

An expreſs on the 21ſt arriving by water from Co⯑lonel Fourgeoud, informing us that the alarm-guns ^* had been fired in the river Pirica, we inſtantly croſſed to the oppoſite or weſt ſhore of the river Cottica, where the rangers, with a party of marines, were again ordered to lie in ambuſcade or under cover, in hopes of cutting off the rebels on their retreat, when they returned to croſs the Cottica river with their booty. And this very after⯑noon a rebel negro was ſeen with a green hamper, who, ſtartled by the ſmell of tobacco (for ſome of the rangers were ſmoking) ſtopt ſhort of his own accord. He was inſtantly fired at by me and one ranger: when the wa⯑rimbo or hamper dropped to the ground, but he himſelf eſcaped. This bundle we found ſtuffed with a dozen of the fineſt table linen, a cocked gold-laced hat, and a cou⯑ple of ſuperb India chintz petticoats, &c. the bulk of which I gave to my black companion, reſerving only the chintzes for another friend at Paramaribo.

The free negroes now ruſhing forwards with unre⯑ſtrained [141] valour, I aſked Colonel Seyburg liberty to follow them; and calling for volunteers, a great number preſented themſelves, which, however, the Colonel thought proper to reduce to four only, with whom he ſent me off; and having ſcrambled through thorns and briars woven to⯑gether like a net or a mat, which tore one of my thighs in a terrible manner, I overtook them at one mile's diſ⯑tance from the camp: ſhortly after we diſcovered thirteen freſh huts, where the rebels, we conjectured, had ſlept but a few nights before. In conſequence of this, I now diſ⯑patched a ranger back to Colonel Seyburg to give him in⯑telligence, and aſk permiſſion for the rangers and myſelf to march forward to Pirica without delay, in hopes to meet the enemy: but the anſwer was a peremptory order in⯑ſtantly to rejoin him with all hands. We now returned diſguſted back to the camp; my ſable companions in par⯑ticular extremely diſcontented, and making many ſhrewd and ſarcaſtic remarks.

Here we found a reinforcement juſt arrived from Je⯑ruſalem, conſiſting of ſixty men, black and white, with poſitive orders for us to break up and march early the next morning for Pirica River, while this whole night a ſtrong party lay once more in ambuſh.

Accordingly at ſix o'clock, with the riſing-ſun, all was in readineſs, but by ſome unaccountable delay it was very late before we left the camp; during which time we were informed that a canoe was ſeen croſſing the river with one ſingle negro in it, who was no doubt the poor [142] fellow at whom the ranger and I had fired the preceding day.

As I have ſince had an opportunity of killing one of theſe bats, I cut off his head, which I here preſent to the reader in its natural ſize, and as a great curioſity, with the whole figure flying above it on a ſmaller ſcale. Hav⯑ing meaſured this creature, I found it to be between the tips of the wings thirty-two inches and a half; it is ſaid that ſome are above three feet, though nothing like in ſize to the bats of Madagaſcar. The colour was a dark brown, nearly black, but lighter under the belly. Its aſpect was truly hideous upon the whole, but particularly the head, which has an erect ſhining membrane above the noſe, terminating in a ſhrivelled point: the ears are long, rounded, and tranſparent: the cutting teeth were four above and ſix below. I ſaw no tail, but a ſkin, in [144] the middle of which was a tendon. It had four toes on each wing, with ſharp nails divided like the web⯑foot of a duck ^*; and on the extremity of each pi⯑nion, where the toes are joined, was a nail or claw to aſſiſt it in crawling, like thoſe of its hinder feet, by which it hangs ſuſpended when aſleep to trees, rocks, roofs, &c.

One of the marines having this morning taken a mu⯑rine or mouſe oppoſſum, I ſhall alſo take the opportunity of deſcribing it, and preſent it to the reader as I deſigned it from the life. This animal differs widely in ſome par⯑ticulars from the deſcription of the Count de Buffon:— For inſtance, it was much ſwifter than any of the oppoſ⯑ſums that he ſpeaks of, and had the whole tail covered over with hair inſtead of ſcales, to the beſt of my remem⯑brance; if, however, my ſight deceived me, I am not the only erroneous writer on the ſubject of this animal. Linnaeus, Seba, and Mr. Vormeer, with the laſt of whom I am acquainted, conſider it as common to both the old and new continent; whereas all its ſpecies are moſt aſſur⯑edly inhabitants of America only. Linnaeus is alſo miſ⯑taken when he aſſerts, that all bats have four cutting teeth in each jaw.—(See Buffon, Vol. V. page 282.)

This murine oppoſſum was not more than the ſize of a very large mouſe. It was perfectly black, except the belly, the feet, and the extremity of the tail, which were all buff-coloured, with a buff ſpot above each eye, which [145] reſembled thoſe of a rat: the ears were long, rounded, and tranſparent: its toes were twenty in number, one on each foot being placed behind, and ſerving as a thumb. It had ten or twelve paps, to which the young ones ſtick faſt, it is ſaid, as ſoon as produced, when they are not larger than ſmall beetles; but it wanted that pouch which is common to all other oppoſſums; in place of this there were two longitudinal folds on the inſide of each thigh, equally adapted to preſerve its offspring from every injury, which no tortures whatever, not even fire, will make it forſake. I have only to add, that it bur⯑rows in the ground, and often climbs trees; but it feeds like a mouſe on grain, fruits, and roots. Of the other ſpecies I ſhall defer the deſcription till chance affords me an opportunity.

Madam Merion mentions one kind of them, which, in time of danger, carries its young ones upon its back: but this animal, I confeſs, I never heard of in Surinam, and am perſuaded of its non-exiſtence.

I have already ſtated that, from ſome unaccountable delay, it was very late this morning before we left the camp; we, nevertheleſs, all ſtarted at laſt; I having the van-guard with the rangers, and the poor marines loaded each man with nine days proviſions on his back. In this condition we had not proceeded long, when one of the rangers ſounding his horn, they ſpread, and I among them, all inſtantly falling flat upon the ground, with our firelocks cocked, and ready to engage; but this, [146] however, proving to be a falſe alarm, by a ſtag ruſhing out through the foliage, we ſoon roſe, and after marching the whole day through water and mire, at three in the afternoon encamped on a high ridge, where not a drop of water was to be found till we had dug a hole for that purpoſe, and this was ſo very thick and muddy, that we were obliged to ſtrain it through our neckcloths or ſhirt⯑ſleeves before we could drink it. Here I was once more accoſted by the Lieutenant Colonel, who invited me to ſome ſupper in his hut, and treated me upon the whole with ſuch very great civility as I could not account for after his former behaviour.

On the ſucceeding day we marched again, keeping courſe W. and N. W. with very heavy rain, while I had the rear-guard; and once more entered on a quag⯑mire, which coſt me three hours time to bring up the rear to the beach, this march being particularly diſtreſ⯑ſing, as the negro ſlaves, with their burdens, broke through the ſurface every moment, while the loaded marines had enough to do to mind themſelves, and I too weak by my late loſs of blood to afford them any aſ⯑ſiſtance whatever. At laſt, approaching the beach, I per⯑ceived the dead bodies of ſeveral rebel negroes ſcattered on the ground, with their heads and right-hands chopped off. Theſe bodies being freſh, induced me to conclude, that they muſt have been very lately killed, in ſome en⯑gagement with the troops and rangers ſtationed on the Pirica river.—And here I muſt again remark, that had I [147] been allowed to purſue, on the 21ſt, with the rangers, when I was ordered to march back, the enemy would have been between two fires; in which caſe few could have eſcaped, and all the plundered ſpoil muſt have been re-taken. The reader will probably recollect a ſimilar inſtance which occurred two years before, when I was ſtationed at Devil's Harwar. Had I at that time been pro⯑vided with men and ammunition to march, I might have rendered the colony a material ſervice. Theſe two capital blunders I am ſorry to relate, but a regard to truth and impartiality obliges me to do it. Let not theſe remarks, however, ſix a ſtigma of cruelty on me in the eyes of the world, ſince no man could more ſtrongly feel at the ſight of ſuch manly youths ſtretched dead among the ſurrounding foliage; and finer bodies than two of them were in particular I never beheld in all my life.

While my mind was engaged by theſe and ſimilar remarks, many of my loaded ſlaves ſtill remained en⯑tangled and ſtruggling in the quagmire, while the com⯑manding [148] officer, with all the other troops, having got on a dry ridge, were quite out of ſight and out of hearing, by which ſeparation the rear-guard not only ran the ha⯑zard of loſing all the proviſions and the baggage, but of being cut to pieces, ſuch was their critical ſituation.

Having not a ſingle European that had ſufficient ſtrength remaining to overtake the party which had proceeded, I reſigned the command to my lieutenant, a Mr. de Loſ⯑rios, and ventured forward alone through the foreſt, till, greatly fatigued, I overtook them; when reporting the ſituation of the rear-guard to Colonel Seyburg, I re⯑queſted ‘"he would ſlacken his pace till they were able to extricate themſelves and come up from the bog, with⯑out which I could not be accountable for the conſe⯑quences."’ To this the reply was, ‘"That he would form his camp when he met with good water;"’ and I inſtantly returned to the rear, where having ſtruggled until it was quite dark in a moſt diſtreſſed and dangerous ſituation, the laſt man was dragged out of the mud at ſeven o'clock at night, when we ſlowly proceeded on till we entered the camp.

My ſolicitude for the people, powder, and proviſions, in⯑ſtead of procuring me commendation from the perſon under whoſe command I then happened to be, and who had lately been ſo very polite, brought me now into ſuch difficulties, and produced a miſunderſtanding of ſuch a ſerious nature, and ſo very diſtreſſing to my feelings, that it had nearly terminated my exiſtence. The reader may [149] judge of my mortification, when I inform him, that, in⯑ſtead of receiving the approbation of my commander, as I certainly deſerved, I was immediately on my arrival in camp put under an arreſt, to be tried by a court-martial for diſobedience of orders. Colonel Seyburg and I had never been on amicable terms; and though, during the former part of this march, he had treated me with appa⯑rent civility, yet from this ſtep it was evident that he was my mortal enemy. I muſt not omit, that though a pri⯑ſoner (ſtrange to tell!) I was ordered to carry my own arms and accoutrements, till further orders.

On the 24th, we took our departure very early, and di⯑rected our courſe S. and S. by W. when we paſſed cloſe by Pinenburg, a forſaken rebel village formerly men⯑tioned—I ſtill a priſoner, in the moſt dejected ſpirits.

On the following, day our courſe was S. W. through a matakey or trumpeter moraſs, which was very deep, and which we entered when we were all in a violent ſweat by advancing too faſt while upon the hard ground: but the health of our men was not made an object during this expedition, though ſo much wanted to ſuccced.

Having got again upon a ridge, an accident had now nearly befallen me incomparably greater than all my for⯑mer misfortunes put together; this was no leſs than, hav⯑ing fallen into a deep reverie, while I followed the rear-guard, I imperceptibly wandered away from the troops, till I was entirely loſt and by myſelf in an unbounded wilder⯑neſs. Quaco no ſooner had miſſed me, than, poor fellow, at [150] every hazard he ruſhed through the wood to recover his maſter, and by a miracle ſaw me as I was ſitting under a tree, in the moſt dejected ſtate of mind that it is poſſible to conceive, immerſed in grief and abandoned to deſpair. I had this morning thought myſelf perfectly unhappy, but now would have given the world once more to have been in the ſame ſituation. Good God! entirely cut off from ſociety, in a foreſt, ſurrounded by relentleſs ſavages! while a deluge of rain poured from the heavens, and tigers, famine, with every woe and every danger, ſtared me in the face. Farewell, for ever Joanna!—Such was the picture of my mind, when on diſcovering the boy, I ſtarted up from the ground, and a new life in⯑ſtantly diffuſed itſelf through my whole frame. Having now ſtraggled backwards and forwards together for ſome time, I called to the lad that I ſaw a pool through which the troops ſeemed to have paſſed, the water being freſh clouded with mud; but to my utter diſappoint⯑ment, he obſerved, that this puddle was only occaſioned by a Tapira^*, and ſhewed me the print of the animal's foot in the ſurrounding mire. At this time the boy ſhed tears, crying, "Maſſera, we deade, we deade!" In the midſt, however, of this diſtreſs, recollecting that, by the map, the river Pirica was due weſt from us, I determined to loſe no more time, but to ſet forwards without delay. Thus having freſh primed my fuzee, I ordered Quaco to [151] follow me; but again to no purpoſe, my compaſs being with the troops, and not a glimpſe of ſunſhine, owing to the heavy rain; till the black boy put me in mind that on the ſouth ſide the bark of the trees was uſually moſt ſmooth. This in fact was a fortunate hint, and we pro⯑ceeded through thick and thin, till, overcome by fatigue and hunger, we both ſat down, and looked at each other, exactly like two victims doomed to execution. During this laſt mournful ſilence, we heard a ſound like cough⯑ing and the ruſtling of arms, which, thank Heaven! ſoon proved to be our own troops, luckily for us reſting near an old encampment, where the purſuing party from the river Pirica had lately lodged. At this moment, notwith⯑ſtanding my preſent ſituation, I enjoyed an extraordinary degree of mental happineſs; which proves how much all good and evil are only of a relative nature. Having now been heartily welcomed by the other officers, I partook of ſome cold beef and bread, and a gourd full of grog, as did alſo my poor boy. After this regale the party roſe, and purſuing our march, we once more entered a quag⯑mire, or rather a mud-pool, the ſurface being too thin to carry us; through which having waded till it was pitch dark, we were obliged to encamp in the very middle of it, the troops by ſlinging their hammocks in the trees, one above another, and the ſlaves on temporary rafts made above the ſurface of the water, on which were alſo placed the powder, the victuals, &c.

On the 26th, the good Colonel having now drank his [152] coffee in his hammock, while he kept the troops ſtanding round it in water above their middle, a whole hour be⯑fore day-light, we again ſcrambled forward, keeping our courſe, firſt W. and afterwards N. W. when the road was ſo exceſſively bad, that many ſlaves let fall their burdens, breaking, wetting, and ſpoiling every thing that was in them. At laſt, having paſſed through a ſecond deſerted camp, we halted on the old cordon, or path of communication on which I formerly diſcovered the track of the rebels, when I commanded in Cottica river; and here, having erected ſlight ſheds, we paſſed the night— I ſtill a priſoner.

The long-noſed Cavy, better known by the name of the Agouti Pacarara, or Indian Coney, is alſo very common in Surinam: this is the ſize of a large rabbit, its colour is an orange brown, the belly yellow; the legs black and ſlen⯑der, with four toes on the fore-feet, and three on the hindermoſt; the ears ſmall, the eyes a bright black, the upper lip divided; it has whiſkers, and its tail is like that of the Paca. This animal breeds very faſt, and ſuckles its young, which are three or four in number, in con⯑cealed holes of old trees, &c. where it alſo retires for ſhel⯑ter if purſued; but it does not ſeek its food in the earth, like the former. The Agouti is eaſily tamed, and feeds on fruits, roots, nuts, &c. But its fleſh, though very good, is not ſo delicious as that of the Paca.

In Surinam I have been told there is ſtill another ſpecies of the Agouti, called the Indian Rat-Coney, on account of its having a long tail. This I never ſaw, unleſs it is the [154] ſame animal (which I apprehend it to be) that I have deſcribed under the name of the buſh-rat.

On the 27th we again broke up, and finally arrived in the forenoon, and in a forlorn condition, at the eſtate Soribo, on the river Pirica, to defend the plantations againſt Bonny and his rebel negroes.

The river Pirica by its many windings is thought to extend about three-ſcore miles. It is very deep but nar⯑row, and has its banks, like all the others, lined with fine coffee and ſugar plantations; its general courſe is from S.E. to N. W. We were ſcarcely arrived at this poſt, than I was accoſted by ſeveral deputies from Colonel Seyburg, who earneſtly intreated that I would only acknowledge myſelf to have been in fault, aſſuring me that I ſhould then be ſet at liberty, and all would be forgotten. As I was conſcious, however, of my own innocence, I could not in common juſtice criminate myſelf in an inſtance, where even my alledged crime amounted to no more than an anxious ſolicitude for the poor men and the proviſions who were entruſted to my care. I was, therefore, placed under the guard of a ſentinel, for what my commander was pleaſed to term unpliant ſtubbornneſs, and diſarmed. In the mean time the marines cauſed me freſh uneaſi⯑neſs, and of the moſt poignant kind, by loudly threat⯑ening to mutiny in my behalf; nor could any thing have prevented them, but my deciſive declaration, that as no cauſe could juſtify military diſobedience and rebellion, I ſhould be under the neceſſity myſelf (however injurious [155] to my feelings) of taking an active part againſt them, and ſeeing the ringleaders brought to condign puniſhment. I felt that at this time I could war with all the world, and nearly with myſelf—my heart was breaking apace—my life became a burden:

The day after our arrival in this ſtation, we received the particulars of the Pirica news, which were, that on the 20th the eſtates Schoonhove and Altona had been pil⯑laged by the rebels whom we had routed at Gado-Saby, but that at the plantation Poelwyk they had been beaten back by the ſlaves: that the rangers ſtationed at an eſtate called Hagenbos had purſued them on the 21ſt, over⯑taken them on the 23d, killed ſeveral, and brought back moſt of the booty: that on the ſame day another party of the rebels had made an attempt to ſeize the powder magazine at Hagenbos (which was no bad plan) but that (while the rangers were in purſuit of their aſſociates) they had been repulſed by the manly behaviour of a few armed ſlaves, one of whom, belonging to the eſtate Ti⯑motibo, took an armed rebel himſelf, and next diſcovered their camp at the back of his maſter's plantations; for which he was handſomely rewarded. From all which intelligence, there was now no doubt remaining that if Seyburg's detached party on the 16th had marched [156] forwards inſtead of backwards, by his orders, the above miſchief might have been prevented, and the enterprize of the rebels entirely fruſtrated. It was alſo evident from this narrative, that the man whom we fired at on the 21ſt was certainly one of the plunderers on the 20th, and that the bodies found dead on the 23d had been ſhot the very ſame day.

On the 29th, among other fruits, ſome dates were ſent to me by a Society officer. This tree is alſo of the Pal⯑meto ſpecies, but not extremely high; its leaves diverge from its ſummit, very thick, hanging down in the form of an umbrella. The dates appear in large cluſters, being an oblong thin fruit like a man's thumb, of a yellow co⯑lour, and the pulp, which is fat, firm, and ſweet, adheres to a hard greyiſh-coloured ſtone, with longitudinal fur⯑rows.—I ought not to omit mentioning, that this day ſixty rangers going to reconnoitre, diſcovered the old rebel camp at the back of Timotibo, which ſeemed to have contained about ſixty armed men.

On the morning of the 30th of September, having no⯑thing more to do in the neighbourhood of the Pirica Ri⯑ver, we left it, and on the 1ſt of October came to Devil's Harwar much fatigued, nothing remarkable having hap⯑pened on our march. I had written on the preceding day to Colonel Fourgeoud, informing him, that I was weary of exiſtence in my preſent ſtate, and requeſting that a court-martial might be immediately called; and this letter I had ſent by a ſlave to the commander in chief. [157] On our arrival at this ſtation, I indeed found every hard means employed to bring me to terms; and ſuch was the ſevere uſage I experienced, that one of the rangers, called Captain Quaci, exclaimed, ‘"If in this manner theſe Eu⯑ropeans treat one another, is it to be wondered at that they ſhould take a pleaſure in torturing us poor Africans?"’

At Devil's Harwar, however, my ſtormy voyage drew to a concluſion. Colonel Seyburg was evidently con⯑vinced that he was wrong, and knowing what muſt fol⯑low, now only wiſhed for a handſome opportunity of ex⯑tricating himſelf from the effects of his unmanly paſſion. On the 2d of October, therefore, he aſked me with a ſmile, ‘"If I had a heart to forget and forgive?"’ To which I ſternly anſwered, ‘"No!"’—He repeated the queſtion.— I then ſaid, ‘"I venerated truth, and would never confeſs myſelf in an error, unleſs my heart coincided in the acknowledgment—that this was a conceſſion I would make to no man living, and leaſt of all to him."’ —He here graſped my hand, begged me to be pacified, and declared, ‘"That he would make peace on any terms;"’— but I again drew back with contempt, and decidedly avowed, ‘"That I could not agree to any compromiſe, un⯑leſs he owned his fault in the preſence of all the offi⯑cers, with his own hands tearing from his journal every ſentence that could reflect upon my character."’ The journals were immediately produced, my arms were re⯑turned me, and my triumph was attended with every [158] circumſtance that could add to my full ſatisfaction. I then frankly and ſincerely gave my hand to Colonel Seyburg, who gave a feaſt in honour of our reconci⯑liation; and after dinner, to my utter ſurprize, pro⯑duced the letter which I had written to Colonel Four⯑geoud, which he acknowledged he had intercepted to prevent the affair proceeding to extremities: at the ſame time he acquainted me, that Fourgeoud was en⯑camped at the Wana Creek, inſtead of Lieutenant Colo⯑nel de Borgnes, who had fallen ſick, and was gone to Pa⯑ramaribo. A perfect reconciliation having taken place, and every thing being now adjuſted, while the troops having had ſome reſt, we ſet out once more on the 4th for the head quarters at Jeruſalem; but I was obliged to leave poor Quaco, who was very ill, at Devil's Harwar, under care of the ſurgeon; and that evening we en⯑camped oppoſite the mouth of the Cormoetibo Creek.

On the following morning early, having croſſed the River Cottica, the troops marched back to Jeruſalem; where I now had leiſure to reflect on the various evils which beſal poor mortals, as well thoſe who are innocent of the difficulties they are brought into, as thoſe (which are the greater part) who have brought themſelves into diſtreſs and even deſpair by their own indiſcretions. Theſe reflections aroſe from finding here, among others, a newly-arrived acquaintance, a Mr. P—t—r, who hav⯑ing ſquandered away in Europe above thirty thouſand pounds, and loſt a beautiful wife by elopement, was now [159] reduced to the income of an enſign in the Society troops. This gentleman having formerly poſſeſſed conſiderable property in this very colony, his preſent ſituation could not but be aſſuredly the more galling on that account.— Alas! unhappy young fellow: well might you exclaim—

Theſe are the words which he ſpouted with a ſigh, throwing the laſt ſilver he had left among the ſlaves; and indeed nothing could be more applicable to himſelf than the lines he quoted, or more lamentable than this poor devil's forlorn condition; which, however, created in me, during my preſent humour, no other effect— than a loud and immoderate fit of laughter.

CHAP. XXIII. Second march to Gado-Saby—Account of a living Skeleton —Beautiful Landſcapes—The Commander in Chief falls ſick, and leaves the Camp—Some Rebels taken—Diſcourſe on the Exiſtence of Mermaids—Heavy Rains—Diſeaſe— Famine—Miſery.

CHAP. XXIII.ON the 9th of October, 1775, Colonel Fourgeoud broke up the encampment at the Wana Creek to join us at Jeruſalem, having ſent down the half of his party ſick in barges; and their number being greatly augmented by the invalids from this place, they were all together tranſported to receive the coup-de-grace in the hoſpital at Devil's Harwar. The rangers alſo took their leave, and marched, with Mr. Vinſack their conductor, to guard the Pirica River.

Fourgeoud, during his laſt cruize, had diſcovered a hundred empty houſes, and ſeen ſome ſtraggling rebels, but he had taken none. He had alſo found a ſcalp fixed to the branch of a tree, which we juſtly conjectured to be the remains of the unfortunate Schmidt, who was loſt ^*.

On the 13th my black boy, Quaco, being perfectly re⯑covered, [161] arrived, to my great ſatisfaction, as his fidelity to me was ſo ſteady and unſhaken. At the ſame time we received an account that Captain Stoelman, with ſome rangers, had diſcovered a freſh ſettlement of the rebels by a great ſmoke appearing at a diſtance in the foreſt, but had not yet attacked them; that Captain Fredericy, with a party of black volunteers, was ſcouring the ſea-ſide below Paramaribo; that the two men we had loſt on the 18th of Auguſt had miraculouſly eſcaped, and found their way to the poſt at the river Marawina; and that no leſs than twelve fine negro ſlaves had juſt deſerted from the Gold Mine eſtate to join the rebels.

This news ſo much exaſperated Colonel Fourgeoud, that the indefatigable man again determined to perſe⯑vere in purſuing his enemies. We accordingly entered the woods very early on the morning of the 15th, al⯑though he and his little army were at this time greatly reduced. He buried but the evening before one of his countrymen, a volunteer, called Matthew, and brother to the enſign: but death was now become ſo familiar to us, that upon loſing a friend or relation, the firſt queſtion generally was, ‘"Has he left any brandy, rum, or to⯑bacco?"’ —‘"Pauvre Laurant!" ſaid I, to his ſhrivelled valet-de-chambre, "the brave Fourgcoud is like fire; he is to the colony an excellent ſervant indeed; but I think to both you and myſelf but a roughiſh maſter."’ The poor fellow, ſhrugging up his ſhoulders, replied, with a grin and a heavy ſigh, ‘"Oui, par ma foi!"’ and then treated [162] me with a pinch of his ſnuff. I muſt not omit that, a little before our departure, ſeven more of our negro ſlaves did deſert us, who went home to their maſters per⯑fectly broken-hearted, emaciated, and nearly ſtarved; however, we proceeded, and marched directly N. E. dur⯑ing which nothing happened, except my box with all my bottles being daſhed to pieces; and in the evening we encamped, though then unknown to us, near the Caſſi⯑pore Creek, where the dry ſeaſon having commenced, we dug a pit for water. Orders were alſo iſſued to the troops no more to build huts, ſheds, &c. as the rains were now leſs violent.

On the 16th we continued our route, marching N. E. as before, and towards the evening arrived at the houſes which Colonel Fourgeoud had lately diſcovered, which proved ſince to be only a temporary ſettlement, erected by the rebels as a ſhelter or aſylum in their expected retreat, before they were diſlodged from Gado-Saby; and to this little ſettlement they had given the name of Booſſy Cry, that is, "the woods lament." Here we encamped, and took much notice of Bonny's houſe in particular, which was built like a watering machine, being elevated from the ground, with two doors, ſo that he might the better obſerve all around him, and prevent his being taken by ſurprize; it alſo had more air, and, of courſe, was better calculated for his health, he having in ſome late action received a very dangerous wound in the groin, as we af⯑terwards learned from a rebel negro priſoner. Near to [163] Bonny's houſe were the private baths, where his women waſhed themſelves morning and evening, there being no river near this ſettlement.

In this encampment one of our ſlaves preſented me with a land-turtle, which indeed we had met with ſeve⯑ral times before; but as I have never deſcribed this ani⯑mal, I will now endeavour to give ſome account of it.— The land-turtle of Surinam is not more than eighteen or twenty inches in length, and of an oval form; the ſhell is more convex than that of the ſea-turtle, and marked with thirteen elevated hexangular ſhields, dark brown and yellow, ſo hard that it will bear almoſt any weight without breaking; the under ſhell is a little concave, and of a light yellow: the head of this animal reſembles that of other turtles; the tail is naked and ſhort, but inſtead of fins or ſwimmers it has four feet covered with ſcales, and armed with ſharp claws to aſſiſt it in crawling over the ground. When this poor creature ſees any danger, it inſtantly ſhrinks within its ſhell. In this ſituation the Indians put it on the fire, where they broil it until it is dreſt, which is known by the under ſhell ſeparating from the upper, which ſerves for a diſh to hold the contents. A leſs barbarous way, and the way which I always fol⯑lowed, is only to provoke the animal by the heat of the embers to run away; when ſtretching out its head and neck, they are eaſily chopped off, and the food extracted without additional torture. I have known Mr. de Graaf keep three or four of theſe land-turtles for above four [164] months for tranſportation, during which time they lived without any apparent nouriſhment whatever, yet ſtill re⯑mained vigorous, and even prone to copulation.

Another kind of land-turtle, called here the arlacacca, I have often ſeen; this is leſs in circumference, very flat, of a diſagreeable greeniſh colour, and nothing like ſo good as the former.

On the 17th we continued our march N. and N. E. in hopes of more diſcoveries, but without ſucceſs. We this day paſſed ſome ant-hillocks above ſix feet high, and, without exaggeration, above one hundred feet in circum⯑ference. We alſo ſaw great quantities of valuable tim⯑ber, and, among the reſt, the black-cabbage tree, the wood of which is of a deep brown, and is in high eſtima⯑tion among carpenters and joiners. The ſand-hooker tree was likewiſe ſhewn me, which receives its name from the fruit, which being diveſted of its ſeed, is uſed as a ſand-box by writers. It is of the ſhape of a large onion, with ſmall holes in the ſurface; the ſeed is both laxative and emetic, but the juice of the pulp is a fatal poiſon. More than this I cannot ſay, having had neither the time nor the power of examining it with the accuracy of a profeſſed botaniſt.

On the 18th we continued the ſame courſe for a few hours longer, when we found a beaten path, which, though circuitous, ſeemed to be a communication be⯑tween Gado-Saby and Booſſy-Cry. We followed this path, which led us due W. for a few hours, when a poor [165] rebel negro was found by me covered with branches of the manicole-tree, and indeed barely alive, being in ap⯑pearance nothing but ſkin and bone, with one of his eyes almoſt beaten out of the ſocket. I put my bottle to his mouth, he ſwallowed a few drops of rum and water, and ſaid with a faint voice, which we could ſcarcely hear, "Dank ye, me Maſſera!" but could articulate nothing more. Fourgeoud ordered this man to be carried with us in a hammock; and we ſoon afterwards encamped near a biree-biree ſwamp or quagmire. I ought not to forget that this day we ſaw ſome very fine locuſt-trees, being eighty or a hundred feet high, and prodigiouſly thick; the trunk is grey and very ſtraight, with no branches till near the top, on which the leaves are diſ⯑poſed two to each ſtem: this is juſtly called the king of the foreſt, for a finer tree cannot be found. The tim⯑ber is of a beautiful cinnamon-colour, and poſſeſſes every deſireable quality of gravity, poliſh, grain, and durabi⯑lity.—But what particularly attracted our notice was its ſeed, like beans, three or four in number, encloſed in a broad light-brown pod, that lay ſcattered in quantities at the root of the tree, upon the ground, and taſted like ſome kinds of gingerbread. From the root of this tree a gum exudes, which, properly prepared, affords a var⯑niſh hitherto unequalled for tranſparency and effect.

Innumerable indeed are the various fine trees that this country produces, and which may be had for the cutting; yet, when we conſider the diſtance they uſually grow from navigable rivers, the great labour in felling and [166] working them, the vaſt number of ſlaves required to drag them through the foreſt, where no horſes can be employed, beſides the danger and loſs of time, we may eaſily account for the enormous price generally paid for the beſt timber in Guiana.

This march undoubtedly afforded us the moſt enchant⯑ing proſpects that can be imagined, in a luxuriant and ever-green foreſt, while the dry ſeaſon contributed greatly to beautify the ſcene; and ſimple nature by far outſhone the moſt ſtrenuous endeavours of art. Here we met with immenſe ſavannas of the moſt lovely verdure, in⯑terſperſed with meandring brooks of water, cool and clear as rock cryſtal; their borders adorned with flowers of every lively hue and fragrance. In ſome places we ob⯑ſerved ſmall clumps of elegant ſhrubs, or perhaps a ſin⯑gle tree, whoſe beauty would almoſt induce one to think they had been deſignedly left growing to enrich the ſcene. The whole ſurrounded by a vaſt wood of lofty palm-trees, waving their ſea-green foliage above the va⯑riegated copſe of never-fading verdure, bloſſom, and fruit, as if to invite the panting wanderer under its cooling ſhade, till in the later hours he might enjoy the bracing pleaſures of the limpid flood, and contemplate nature's beauties undiſturbed.—When univerſal ſilence reigned every where around, how often have I thought on my dear friend, and wiſhed with her to glide through life in theſe Elyſian fields!—But I muſt wave the pleaſing recollection.

On the 19th we again marched, and fell in with our [167] old path, which we followed, leading directly to the fields of Gado-Saby, where quantities of rice once more ap⯑peared in full bloom, which we cut down and burned to aſhes. Here, perceiving the poor rebel negro hopeleſs of recovery, not abſolutely to bury him alive, he was overſpread with moſs, leaves, and green boughs; after which we ſlung our hammocks, being almoſt choaked with ſmoke.

In theſe fields I ſaw a lizard above two feet long, which the negro ſlaves killed and ate: they called it ſapagala, it was of a browniſh green colour, but did not reſemble the iguana. Among the ruins of the conſumed town we diſcovered ſome ſcolopendras, or centipedes, no leſs than eight or ten inches in length; this odious reptile is of a yellowiſh-brown colour, walks very faſt backwards or forwards, and bites ſo ſeverely, that the venom it in⯑fuſes, though not deemed fatal, generally produces a fe⯑ver. Some writers aſſign this reptile twenty pair of legs, others forty; I never reckoned them, and can only ob⯑ſerve, that they appeared to me exactly to reſemble the centipedes in Europe. Some of our gentlemen formed large collections of theſe curioſities, which were very va⯑luable, whilſt I contented myſelf with the drawings and deſcriptions only of thoſe I thought moſt uncommon.

On the 20th, we marched to viſit Cofaay, when I per⯑ceiving the unhappy negro captive ſtill alive; after re⯑moving the branches, he was, at my earneſt interceſſion, once more carried along with us; but the ſlaves, being [168] diſcontented with ſuch a load, took every opportunity, in my abſence, of torturing him, by knocking him againſt roots and ſtones, and dragging him through mud and water as they went along. Different patroles were now ordered out to reconnoitre the grounds, while the re⯑mainder of the troops encamped in the weſt part of Co⯑faay; and theſe patroles diſcovered no leſs than four beautiful fields in one chain, ſituated due weſt from Co⯑faay, well ſtocked with caſſava, yams, plantains, piſtachio nuts, with maize and pigeon peas: alſo were ſeen ſeveral human carcaſes, the relicts of our late engagements in Auguſt. We found here a ſpecies of medlars of a crim⯑ſon colour, and of a taſte very much like that of ſtraw⯑berries. This fruit grows on a large green ſhrub, and is cultivated in many gardens at Paramaribo. We alſo met with a kind of wild plum-tree called monpe: the fruit is yellow, oblong, and ſmall; the ſtone is large, the pulp thin, and though of a ſharp acid has an agreeable fla⯑vour.

On the morning of the 21ſt, all theſe and every uſeful vegetable were cut down, and again deſtroyed by fire; after which, returning to our laſt night's camp, we found it alſo in flames, and were obliged to ſling our hammocks in the eaſt ſkirts of the woods. Here, recollecting that the poor diſabled rebel was left alone, I ran back weſt to the burning camp to afford him aſſiſtance; but after ſeek⯑ing him in vain through clouds of ſmoke and darkneſs, I was forced to conſult my own ſafety, by haſtily return⯑ing [169] to my companions; ſome blaming me much for my te⯑merity, others damning the ſkeleton, whether dead or alive.

The devaſtation being now compleated, we marched back to Jeruſalem, where on the 24th we arrived per⯑fectly exhauſted, and Fourgeoud at laſt ſo ill with a phrenzy fever, that he was confined to his hammock, with ſmall hopes of ſurviving the night. But he how⯑ever ſtill continued to command, and the next morning ordered a marine to be baſtonaded, for aſking ſhoes, al⯑though he was bare-footed, and his feet tore to pieces; while another was flogged for coughing, who had a ſe⯑vere cold; a captain was diſmiſſed from actual ſervice, and confined in Fort Zealandia, for having dared to marry without his conſent.—Sickneſs and death now raged through the camp, and every thing was in the utmoſt confuſion.

To compleat the whole, on the 1ſt of November, twenty-five more negro ſlaves ran away; and on the 3d we received intelligence that no leſs than fifty armed rebels had been ſeen ſwimming acroſs the River Cottica, about a muſket-ſhot above Barbacoeba.

In conſequence of this information, Colonel Seyburg was detached, with the few men that remained able to carry arms, who through diſtreſs and famine were now almoſt ready to attack their own officers; and who being unſupplied with their favourite luxury, tobacco ^*, ſat [170] ſmoking grey paper, and chewing leaves and leather as a ſubſtitute for the want of it. Few men, however, were worſe off than I was at this time; ſince, having neither proviſions nor cloaths, I was almoſt naked as well as ſtarved, with a running ulcer in my left foot, ever ſince the ambuſcade and march to Pirica; nor had I a friend in the camp who could give me the ſmalleſt aſſiſtance. To compleat my miſery, the little blood I had remaining was in two ſucceſſive nights again nearly ſucked away by the vampire-bat, or ſpectre: thus I fainted away in my hammock, and was almoſt ſorry to recover, particu⯑larly upon being informed by a letter that Joanna and her boy were dying with a putrid fever at Paramaribo.

At laſt, on the 12th, Serjeant Fowler arrived from Mocha, with one of my boxes; when this poor fellow, notwith⯑ſtanding my ſituation, made me laugh aloud by producing a letter from his mother in Europe, which made him extremely happy; and which I muſt beg leave verbatim to tranſcribe.

The ſame evening Colonel Seyburg's party returned, without having obtained any further intelligence.

On the 14th Colonel Fourgeoud was ſo dangerouſly [171] ill, that he at length was obliged to relinquiſh his com⯑mand, and proceed to town for his recovery. Accord⯑ingly on the 15th, he ſet out by water for Paramaribo: thus, after having ſacrificed all his troops, he became himſelf finally a victim to his unbounded ambition and obſtinate perſeverance in this worſt of all climates, while by toiling leſs and living better both he and his ſoldiers might have rendered the colony, if not ſuperior, at leaſt an equal ſervice.—A barge loaded with ſick and dying was at the ſame time once more ſent to the hoſpital at Devil's Harwar.

The command of the remaining ſcarecrows now de⯑volved upon the Lieutenant Colonel, who (ſtrange to tell!) that very evening inherited the ſame diſtemper, as well as the chief command; the barge that rowed off the old hero having but juſt diſappeared, when this gentle⯑man was attacked alſo by the phrenzy fever; the above complaint was indeed at this time very common amongſt all ranks and degrees who were broiling under a burning ſun at Jeruſalem; it being the dry ſeaſon, when we ought to have been in the woods—but for thoſe expeditions, as I have ſtated before, the rainy ſeaſons were moſt unhappily preferred. Several officers would have before now thrown up their military commiſſions, could they with decency have taken ſuch a meaſure, during an expedition on ac⯑tual ſervice; nor, in my opinion, ought ſuch to be grant⯑ed, caſes of the very greateſt neceſſity excepted. I could myſelf have wiſhed to go for ſome time to Paramaribo, [172] but as this favour was not offered me, while all the others, and even the ſlaves, were relieved, I ſcorned to petition for it while I was able to ſtand.

On the 19th, however, my foot became ſo bad, that the ſurgeon reported me unfit for duty; yet I ſtill remained in the camp, where I could be to none of any ſervice.

A ſupply of freſh troops, ſlaves, and proviſions being arrived on the 20th, Major Medlar, with 150 men, was de⯑tached to make new diſcoveries.

Among other plagues, the whole camp at this time ſwarmed with locuſts, which appeared every where in moſt formidable troops, devouring every thing that lay in their way. Indeed the curſe of Heaven ſeemed to viſit us here in various ſhapes, and every vermin were ſo plenty at this time, that no exertion could keep us per⯑fectly free. Theſe locuſts were brown, two inches in length, and ſhaped like a graſshopper; they did not fly, but crawled by millions on the very tables and ſeats as we ſat at dinner, and at night they tormented us by crawling over our faces by ſcores.

The only deſirable article we found at Jeruſalem was fiſh, of which we ſeldom wanted plenty, particularly new-mara and warrappa, alſo the patakee, and the old wifee, both very excellent; the former of which is about two feet long, ſhaped like a whiting, the other is the ſize of a large perch. A kind of needle-fiſh, called naaynaay-fiſee, was found here in great abundance, theſe were very thin, and about one foot in length; alſo a kind of [173] dung-fiſh, about the ſize of a ſmall herring, but theſe two laſt were only uſed by the negroes.

On the 3d of December, Major Medlar's party returned, after fourteen days abſence, with a captive rebel woman and her boy about eight years old, taken in a ſmall field of bitter caſſava. The poor woman was pregnant, and under great alarms, but was tenderly treated by Medlar, who was always a humane and well-diſpoſed gentleman. He had, however, unluckily loſt two of his beſt men, one Schoelar, a corporal, the other called Philip Van den Bos, a private marine, who having inadvertently eaten a few roots of the above bitter caſſava were poiſoned, and died during the ſame night with the moſt excruciating pain and convulſions: the antidote is ſaid to be Cayenne pep⯑per and ſpirits, neither of which were at that time to be procured.

The black woman confirmed the account that Bonny had been wounded; ſhe alſo told us the poor ſtarved ne⯑gro we had found was called Iſaac, and had been left for dead. That one Captain Arico had formed a new ſettle⯑ment near the ſea, called Fiſſy-Hollo; while Bonny, ſhe aſſured us, maintained the ſtricteſt diſcipline amongſt his troops: he was, ſhe ſaid, abſolutely deſpotic, and had exe⯑cuted two of his men but three days before we took Gado-Saby, viz. during the night of the 17th Auguſt, when we heard the firing and ſhouting, only upon ſuſ⯑picion of having hinted ſome few words in favour of the Europeans, and were the heads which we found ſtuck [174] on the ſtakes. She further aſſured us, that none of his people were truſted with arms, until they had firſt ſerved him ſome years as ſlaves, and given him unqueſ⯑tionable proofs of fidelity and reſolution. But theſe, ſhe obſerved, were but few in number, when compared to his numerous vaſſals, who were bound to do without murmuring whatever he thought proper to command them; yet that he ſtill was more beloved than he was feared, on account of his inflexible juſtice and manly courage.

On the 4th December, this poor woman and her boy were ſent to Paramaribo, with Enſign de Cabaines, who had taken them: he had at the ſame time nearly ſeized a young girl about fifteen, who by her great agility, and being ſtark naked, ſlipped out of his hands:

It being proved at the court that the above woman had been forcibly, carried off by the rebels, though many years before, the poor creature was pardoned, and joy⯑fully returned with her child to her maſter's plantation. It is remarkable, that when the boy ſaw the firſt cow or horſe he almoſt fell into convulſions with terror; nor could be bear to be touched by any white perſon, whom [175] he never had ſeen before, and whom he conſtantly called Yorica, which in his language ſignifies the devil.

About this time a dead ſea-cow, or manatee, by the French called Lamantin, floating paſt Jeruſalem, the ne⯑gro ſlaves fell upon it, like ſo many crows upon a car⯑rion, ſwimming round it, ſome with a ruſty knife, ſome with a bill-hook, and each carrying off a ſlice for his dinner; at laſt they dragged the ſtinking animal on ſhore, of which I inſtantly took a drawing. This manatee was exactly ſixteen feet long, almoſt ſhapeleſs, being an enor⯑mous lump of fat, tapering backwards to a fleſhy, broad, horizontal tail. It had a thick round head, a flattiſh ſnout, large noſtrils, with von briſtles both on its noſe and chin, ſmall eyes, and auditory holes inſtead of ears. In⯑ſtead of feet, it had two excreſcences or fleſhy fins, like thoſe of the ſea-turtle, projecting near its head; with theſe it ſwims, and moves awkwardly to eat the graſs on the banks of the rivers, being an amphibious animal. The colour was a greeniſh black; the ſkin was hard and uneven, covered with large knobs, circular wrinkles, and with a very few ſtiff hairs thinly ſcattered. It had grinders but no fore-teeth, and a very ſhort tongue. The ſea-cow or manatee is, like the whale, a viviparous animal, the female ſuckling its young by the help of its ſwimmers. They are very numerous in the river Ama⯑zons; their fleſh, it is ſaid, reſembles veal, and is very good food. This was, however, too far advanced in a ſtare of putridity, for me to taſte it. It had the marks of being [176] twice ſhot, which muſt have been by the rebels on the 27th, when we heard the report of two muſkets at a diſ⯑tance.

As I am once more on the ſubject of natural hiſtory, I ſhall deſcribe another amphibious animal, called the tapira, which bears ſome diſtant reſemblance to the hip⯑popotamus of the old continent, but it is a great deal leſs. This creature is about the ſize of a ſmall aſs, but much more clumſy. The head is not unlike that of a horſe, but the upper lip much longer, projecting ſomething like the proboſcis of an elephant, and is alſo moveable, but too ſhort to be of uſe, as is the trunk of that animal; the ears are ſhort, the tuſks ſtrong, and ſometimes vi⯑ſible, the mane is briſtly and erect, the limbs are low and ſtrong, with a kind of hoof divided into four claws, and the tail is thick and ſhort, like that of the elephant. The ſkin of this creature is exceſſively thick, of a brown co⯑lour, and when young it is marked with white ſpots, like thoſe of the ſtag or paca, proceeding in longitudinal rows. It feeds on graſs, and other herbs that grow in watery places, and is ſo ſhy, that when alarmed by the ſmalleſt noiſe it plunges under water, alſo like the paca, for ſe⯑curity, where it remains for a conſiderable time. The fleſh of the tapira is delicate, being accounted ſuperior to the beſt ox-beef.—See both the above animals in the annexed plate.

The plain fact, in my humble opinion, is this, that in many rivers between the Tropics, both on the coaſt of Africa and South America, a fiſh ſometimes appears half above the water, that bears a diſtant reſemblance of the human ſpecies, but is ſmaller, nearly ſuch as in 1794 was exhibited in London. The colour is of a blackiſh green; the head is round, with a deformed kind, of a face; a ſtrong fin runs from near the eyes to the middle of the back, which ſomething reſembles flowing hair: and the two ſuppoſed arms and hands, are two fleſhy fins, or rather digitated ſwimmers; the female has breaſts aſſur⯑edly like a woman's, being a viviparous animal; while the tail is exactly that of a fiſh, in moſt of which proper⯑ties it agrees with the ſeal, but this laſt has no fin along the back, and is conſiderably larger, while it never ap⯑pears erect above the water, like the former. The above information I had from ſeveral old negroes and Indians, who all agreed perfectly in the deſcription; ſome added, that they ſang, which I apprehend to be no other than a [178] grunting noiſe which they emit like moſt other tropical fiſh and amphibious animals.

They concluded by aſſuring me, that though they were ſcarce, nothing was more dreaded by their wives and children, than the Watra Mama, which ſignifies the mother of the waters; and by which name, ſtrange to tell, they diſtinguiſh their Sybils.—So much for the mon⯑ſters of the deep; and now I ſhall once more return to thoſe infeſting Terra Firma.

I have juſt mentioned, that, on account of a very bad foot, I had been returned unfit for duty by the ſur⯑geon, on the 19th of November; yet this day, Decem⯑ber 5th, another ſurgeon, with two captains, and the adjutant, were ſent to inſpect both me and Captain Perret, who was alſo ſick. The ſurgeon gave his de⯑claration upon oath, that we were incapable of walking without danger, much more of undergoing fatigue; but Seyburg, who was ſtill in his phrenzy fever, declared we ſhould inſtantly enter the woods, though he ſhould ſee us carried in two wheel-barrows. Poor Captain Perret complied to turn out, though he looked like a ghoſt, and could ſcarcely ſtand; but I ſolemnly ſwore that I would blow out the firſt man's brains who dared diſreſpectfully to touch me: in conſequence of which I was cloſe guard⯑ed by a ſentinel; while the whole camp, upon my ſoul, now ſeemed to be compoſed of none but madmen.

On the 11th we received intelligence that a number of armed rebels had been juſt ſeen oppoſite to Devil's Har⯑war, [179] and afterwards informed they were upon their re⯑treat from the Comawina River, where on the 5th they had burnt to aſhes the dwelling-houſe of the eſtate Kil⯑leſtyn Nova, with Mr. Slighter the overſeer in it, ran⯑ſacked the whole plantation, killed and carried off thirty-three women, and chopped off the limb of a male mulatto child, to be revenged of its father; and that the Pirica rangers were in purſuit of them. Captain Fredericy alſo arrived this day, who had exchanged from the Society troops into Colonel Fourgeoud's regiment of marines, and confirmed to us the above unhappy news.

About this time, after having ſtarved four months, my remaining ſtores arrived at laſt from Mocha, but three-fourths rotted and deſtroyed by the blata or cockroaches: the remaining part I diſtributed among the ſick people. But what proved truly acceptable, was the cheering account that Joanna and Johnny were paſt danger, and recovering at Paramaribo. This intelligence indeed ſo elevated my ſpirits, that the next morning I reported myſelf fit for duty, though God knows that I was not; and to this I was the more induced by the want of freſh air, of which I was perfectly debarred in my confinement, and ſtood ſo much in need. The ſame evening a boat full of Caribbee Indians rowed up Cormoetibo, for the River Marawina, by the communication of the Wana Creek.

In eight days more, which was the 20th of December, being actually recovered of the wound in my foot, and Seyburg of his phrenetic fever, another officer and I played him the following trick, for his bad uſage. [180] Having invited this gentleman, with his adjutant, and a few more, to ſee us act a farce by candle-light, we af⯑fected to quarrel, and beating out the candle, the door being well ſecured, laid on in the dark with ſuch ſucceſs upon a certain ſomebody's ſhoulders, that, calling out Murder! he leaped out at the window. Nothing ever gave me greater entertainment than to perceive his agi⯑lity; but Colonel Seyburg declared he would never more to our play be a ſpectator.

At this time orders arrived from Colonel Fourgeoud, who was alſo better, to break up our camp at Jeruſalem, and march once more to the Wana Creek. In conſe⯑quence the ſick were again ſent down in barges to the hoſpital at Devil's Harwar, which was nearly full, while ſeveral were labouring under a diſeaſe ſomething like the tympany, called here the kook, being a prodigious hardneſs and ſwelling in the belly, occaſioned, it is ſaid, by drinking muddy water without ſpirits, which was in⯑deed our daily and general beverage.

On the 22d, at ſix o'clock in the morning, we all de⯑camped, and ſcrambled up along the banks of the Cormoe⯑tibo Creek, through a perfect bog, while one poor ne⯑gro, who had his head fractured, was left behind, and another knocked over-board one of the barges, who was drowned.

We this day again ſaw great numbers of pingoes or warree-hogs, which as uſual breaking through our line, were cut down by ſabres and ſtabbed, while ſome ran off with the bayonets ſticking in their hams.

[181]This march was peculiarly diſagreeable, upon account of the heavy rains, which now began to fall down in torrents, overflowing the banks of all the rivers; and ſo cold were the damps in the morning, contraſted with the late warm days, that we frequently lay ſhivering in our hammocks as in froſt, eſpecially when ſleeping in wet cloaths. This inconvenience, however, I obviated to day by marching half naked, like the rangers, and putting my ſhirt in one of the reverſed kettles, during the rain— thus my ſkin ſoon drying, after a ſhower, I again put on my linen, and found myſelf much more comfortable than any of my trembling ghaſtly looking companions.

On the evening of the 23d, we encamped near a ri⯑vulet called the Caymans or Alligator Creek; where a tree called Monbiara afforded ſome excellent fruit, but this was entirely ſtripped by the ſlaves before I could either taſte or even ſee it in perfection.

The rains continuing to pour down in a deluge, I again marched ſtripped on the 24th, and we ſlung our hammocks in the evening, near a brook called Yorica, or the Devil's Creek, where we made huts or ſheds to co⯑ver us, and ſtowed the proviſions upon rafters.

On the following day we once more laboured through deep mud and water, in very heavy rains, and encamped at another ſmall brook, called the Java Creek, three miles below the Wana.

On the 26th I was ſelected, with a ſmall party, to re⯑connoitre the old camps at Wana Creek. In the evening [182] we returned, half ſwimming through mud and water, and having literally ſeen nothing, except ſome birds and curious trees, which I cannot paſs unnoticed. The birds were called the Cromback, the Camawarry, and the Crocro. The firſt is a kind of large ſnipe, the ſize of a woodcock, with a crooked bill. The ſecond is alſo a water fowl, but three times as large as the firſt: on ac⯑count of their ſwiftneſs, and diſappearing in a moment, I can give but a very imperfect deſcription of them. The Crocro is ſomething leſs than our ravens, and I be⯑lieve of the ſame ſpecies, being one of the moſt voracious birds of the carnivorous tribe; in Guiana it is of a dark blue colour, has a remarkably ſtrong bill and limbs, and croaks exceſſively loud and diſagreeably, eſpecially by night. The trees were what the negroes called the Ma⯑takee, and the Markoory. The firſt is remarkable for its roots, which ſpread above the ground in ſuch a manner, that they will conceal a ſcore of men from each other; nay ſo large are they ſometimes, that a horſeman may ride through between the interſtices, and one ſingle piece is ſufficient to make a table large enough to hold twelve people.

For a better idea of this wonderful tree, I refer the reader to the annexed plate; where I have placed it upon the oppoſite ſhore of the encampment at Jeruſalem. In the ſame plate, he is alſo preſented with a fair-weather view of the camp at Java Creek.

On the 27th, another patrole was ſent out, but to no better purpoſe than the firſt. I have mentioned that my foot was recovered, and ſo it was, but I had now ex⯑tracted out of my right arm two dreadful inſects, which left behind them very deep ulcers. Theſe are called in Surinam the buſh-worms, and are the ſhape and ſize of the aurelia of the common butterfly, with a pointed tail and black head. They ſtuck extremely faſt in the fleſh, and were extracted with a lancet. They breed naturally in ſtagnated waters, in marching conſtantly through which they had attached themſelves to my fleſh.

My heart now began to ſink with accumulated diſ⯑aſters; my mind was agitated and depreſſed with a con⯑ſtant train of tortures, to which I could ſee no end, and I became weary of life. In this dreadful ſituation I fell upon my naked knees, and invoked the malediction of Heaven to fall on me, if I did not ſeparate myſelf from [184] my preſent commanders and this ſervice, the firſt ho⯑nourable opportunity that ſhould offer itſelf;—how re⯑ligiouſly I have perſevered in obſerving this vow, ſhall be ſeen in the ſequel of theſe pages, before I take my final farewell of my readers.

The place of our preſent encampment was now intoler⯑able beyond every deſcription, being conſtantly overflowed, ſo that the ammunition and proviſions were ſtowed for pre⯑ſervation on wooden rafts; nor could we ſtep out of our hammocks without being up to the knees in mud and water, where it was moſt ſhallow, while the gnats and other inſects devoured us alive The conſequence of all which was, that another barge full of dying wretches was ſent down the Cormoetibo Creek, bound for the hoſpital at Devil's Harwar; among whom the poor old negro with his fractured ſkull, who, had only yeſterday rejoined us in his ſhocking condition. This floating charnel⯑houſe weighed anchor on the laſt day of the year 1775— with which I ſhall beg leave to conclude this gloomy chapter.

CHAP. XXIV. Two Volunteer Companies raiſed, of free Mulattoes and Negroes—Deſcription of the Arrowouka Indian Nation— Colonel Fourgeoud's Regiment receives orders to ſail for Europe—Countermanded—Re-enter the Woods—Trade of the Colony—Deſcription of a Cacao Eſtate—Sample of Sable Heroiſm.

TO what good ſtar I was obliged,CHAP. XXIV. in the midſt of all our confuſion and diſtreſs, I know not, but certain it is, that Colonel Seyburg having ſent for me on the firſt day of the new year, not only ſolicited my future friend⯑ſhip, but declared he was ſorry for all the ill-treatment he had ever occaſioned me, for which he principally blamed Mr. Gibhart, his adjutant and ſpy; then taking me by the hand, as a proof of his real regard, permitted me from that moment to go to Paramaribo, or wherever I pleaſed, to refreſh and refit until further orders; which had ſuch an effect on me, that having inſtantly converted every drop of my rum into grog, we ſat down, together with two other officers, and drowned all former animo⯑ſity in oblivion, till we could hardly ſee each other. In this condition I took my leave that very evening of my new friend and the camp at Java Creek, and rowed down in the beſt ſpirits for Paramaribo.

[186]Next morning, having ſlept during moſt of the paſ⯑ſage, I breakfaſted at Devil's Harwar, where I found that the unfortunate Gibhart had juſt ſet ſail for the other world. In the evening we arrived at the eſtate Beekſlied, as my negroes had made extraordinary diſpatch, fumming wattra ^* all the time to encourage each other.

On the 3d I arrived at the fortreſs Amſterdam, where I was entertained with an excellent fiſh dinner, and where I muſt again intreat the reader's patience, while I attempt to deſcribe the different ſpecies, viz. the paſſary, prare-prare, provoſt, and curema. The paſſary is above two feet long, and weighs ſometimes twenty pounds: the head is broad and flat; it has two long barbs, and no ſcales, and is very delicate eating. The prare-prare is about the ſame ſize, and equally good. The provoſt is large, often five feet, and of a yellowiſh colour; the fleſh of this is leſs agreeable, but the oil it produces comes to good account. As for the curema, this is a ſpecies of mullet, ſometimes above two feet in length, with large ſilvery eyes, and the under jaw longer than the upper. Near this place are alſo found a kind of ſea-ſnails, of which Madam Merian makes mention; and the fore-part of which exactly reſembles thoſe of a ſhrimp.

In the evening at ſix o'clock I arrived once more at Paramaribo, and found Joanna with her little boy per⯑fectly [187] well, after having both been blind for above three weeks; with whom being now invited to lodge, at the houſe of my friend Mr. De Graaf, I was completely happy.

The following day I dined with Colonel Fourgeoud, who now alſo was as ſound as ever, and who gave me a very indifferent meal of ſalt proviſions ^*, but an uncom⯑monly hearty welcome. He acquainted me that two new companies of free mulattoes, and two of free negroes, all volunteers, had juſt been raiſed; that the Serameca and Owca negroes encouraged and favoured the rebels, and were deceitful raſcals; that a few rebels had been killed in the Caſſiwinica Creek; and that he was in hopes of root⯑ing out Fiſſy Hollo; that Bonny, with his people, were almoſt ſtarving in the foreſt, notwithſtanding their late depredations, which could not laſt much longer; and that he was fully determined, if he ſhould loſe his laſt man, to make this rebel ſurrender, or haraſs him till he and his gang, through hunger and diſtreſs, ſhould be obliged to quit the colony. I learned further from him, that a Frenchman had juſt eſcaped hanging for betraying the ſtate of the fortifications, &c. to the governor of Cay⯑enne; that he had pardoned Captain Tulling for his clandeſtine marriage; and that Lieutenant Colonel de Borgnes was juſt entered into matrimony with a rich wi⯑dow, a Mrs. Crawford.

[188]The Colonel, in a word, was now quite the reverſe of what he had been before, and upon the whole ſo very agreeable in his manners, that I would never wiſh to ſpend my time in better company; but how I ſhould be⯑come at once the favourite of both theſe rival com⯑manders, was a ſecret I could never yet diſcover, unleſs it might proceed from a deſire of gaining me from each other, as they ſtill continued mutual enemies: be that as it may, I reſolved to preſerve the moſt inflexible neutra⯑lity, as I alſo did between them and the governor, where I was invited next day, and dined not on ſalt-beef, but found as uſual a truly magnificent entertainment.

Thus I continued daily viſiting my friends, viz. Mrs. Godefroy, the Demellys, the Gordons, the Mac Neyls, &c. I alſo ſpent a very agreeable day with the black Mrs. Sampſon, or Zubly, who was now a widow.

I was preſent too at a mulatto ball, compoſed however not of ſlaves, but of free independant ſettlers. Here the muſic, the lights, the country dances, the ſupper, and, above all, the dreſſes were ſo ſuperb, and their behaviour ſo decent and genteel, that the whole might ſerve as a model for decorum and etiquette to ſome of the fairer and more poliſhed inhabitants.

On the 20th, obſerving a number of Indians and black people of both ſexes ſwimming at the back of Fort Ze⯑landia, young Donald Mac Neyl and myſelf compleated the groupe, by ſtripping and getting in among them; and I muſt confeſs I never beheld more ſurpriſing feats [189] of activity in the water, than were performed by the ne⯑groes, who fought a ſham battle, by plunging or rather tumbling like porpoiſes, when they ſtruck each other with their legs, as they never uſed their hands; while the Indians, who were of the Arrowouka nation, ſwam and dived like amphibious animals.

Being ſufficiently refreſhed, we ſat down upon the beach, near the twenty-one gun battery, where I had an opportunity of examining the features and figure of one of their young females, as ſhe approached us, like Venus riſing out of the ſea. Theſe people being very different from all the other Indian nations that I have already de⯑ſcribed, I ſhall embrace the opportunity of fulfilling my promiſe, and giving a particular account of them.—In the firſt place, the ſkin of the young woman who was now emerging clean from the river, and diveſted of ar⯑notta-paint, appeared much fairer than the copper-co⯑lour of the other Indians; neither were her limbs de⯑formed by thoſe ſtrait-laced bracelets or cotton-bands ſo much in uſe with the reſt; nor did her hair hang down, but was neatly plaited cloſe round the crown of her head, and faſtened in the centre with a broad ſilver plate ^*. Her only dreſs conſiſted, both during the time ſhe bathed and after, of a ſmall ſquare apron made of beads, as I have mentioned before: in every other reſpect ſhe was perfectly naked: nor could a finer figure be imagined— [190] erect, vigorous, active, young, and healthy, which convinced me that when the body is expoſed, as it certainly was ordained by nature, the face is but little noticed.

In her features was diſplayed that beautiful ſimplicity, that native unſuſpecting innocence, which cannot be put on where there is the ſlighteſt conſciouſneſs of guilt. Nor is the olive-colour incompatible with beauty, it is certainly the ſtandard complexion of the human race, while the black and white are ſuppoſed to be only gradations, pro⯑duced probably by the extremes of heat and cold. As this Indian girl was perfectly handſome, ſo ſhe ſeemed to be perfectly happy. — ‘"Happineſs," as the Abbe Reynal wiſely obſerves, "is more frequently found in a pure ſtate of nature, than in that of the moſt refined civilization."’ To be ſure an European woman would bluſh to her fin⯑gers ends at the very idea of appearing publicly ſtark naked; but education and prejudice are every thing, ſince it is an axiom, that where there is no feeling of ſelf-reproach, there can aſſuredly be no ſhame.

I cannot conclude theſe remarks without adding a few words concerning the unſpotted moral character of theſe people, who not only live in peace with moſt of the other Indian nations, but are peculiarly attached to the Euro⯑peans, while theſe in return profeſs for them the ſtrongeſt eſteem.

[192]As a proof of their gratitude, I will only relate one in⯑ſtance: — Some years ago an Indian woman being at Pa⯑ramaribo, and far advanced in a ſtate of pregnancy, a Mr. Van der Mey humanely ordered his ſervants to con⯑duct her and her huſband into his houſe, where, giving them a private apartment, and every other conveniency, he wiſhed them good-night. Before the next morning the woman was delivered; but when the ſervants went in to renew their offers of friendſhip, neither man, wife, nor child were to be found, as they had before day-break quietly marched into the foreſt ^*. Various were at this time the conjectures concerning the boaſted integrity of the Arrowouka Indians, until, no leſs than eighteen months after, the ſame Indian returned to Mr. Van der Mey, with a charming captive boy of the Accawau nation, that he had taken in battle ^†; and whom preſenting to his bene⯑factor, he only ſaid, "That's yours," and without waiting for any anſwer diſappeared.—For this ſlave the above gentleman was offered. £. 200, which he refuſed, and treated him as well as if he had been free.

The education theſe people receive in their infancy being according to the dictates only of ſimple nature, their minds or their bodies are very ſeldom deformed, while a too nice attention to either is poſſibly as detri⯑mental as a total neglect. The ingenious Dr. Bancroft is [193] of the ſame opinion, which he ſupports (I think need⯑leſsly) by a quotation from Quintilian.

Though the Arrowouka Indians live in perfect friend⯑ſhip and harmony with us, and indeed with moſt of their neighbours, they yet ſometimes go to war when pro⯑voked, as I have juſt obſerved; in theſe combats they uſe bows and arrows, and the club called abowtow ^*; but they do not eat their priſoners like the Caribbee In⯑dians, who even devoured the negroes whom they killed at the inſurrection in Berbicè. Notwithſtanding theſe people live at a greater diſtance from the ſea than the Warrows, &c. yet they have canoes, ſometimes fourſcore feet in length, in which they paddle down the rivers, The Arrowouka Indians particularly are great herbaliſts, and for all external accidents have recourſe to ſimples, with which the woods of all Terra Firma abound.— But to proceed:

On the 25th I was ſeized with a fever, and blooded in the foot, in which the orifice being ſtruck too deep, for ſtruck if was as they bleed the horſes, I again became lame; daring which time Colonel Seyburg arrived from the Java Creek to recover, he being at laſt alſo taken very ill.

In the mean time Colonel Fourgeoud, while he was juſt ready to renew his operations, having already ſent a ſmall detachment to the Jew Savannah for intelligence, received letters from the Hague, with expreſs orders to [194] abandon the expedition immediately, and with his few remaining troops to ſail for Holland without delay.

In conſequence of theſe commands on the 27th, the tranſport ſhips were put in commiſſion, and all the officers and privates received their clearance, which made them very happy; and indeed all at Paramaribo were alive with joy, except ſome of the inhabitants and myſelf.

On the 14th of February, ill as I was with a bad foot, a ſore arm, the prickly heat, and all my teeth looſe with the ſcurvy, I found means to ſcramble out on crutches, with a thouſand florins in my pocket, which having di⯑vided between Fourgeoud and Mrs. Godefroy for the redemption of the black boy Quaco, and my mulatto, I returned borne without a ſhilling in my purſe; yet for this ſmall ſum of 500 florins, ſo inadequate to 1800 which I owed that lady, ſhe was induced generouſly to renew her perſuaſions of carrying Joanna and the boy with me to Holland. This, however, Joanna as nobly as firmly refuſed, declaring, ‘"that, independant of all other conſi⯑derations, ſhe could never think of ſacrificing one be⯑nefactor to the intereſt of another; and that her own happineſs or even mine, which was dearer to her than life, ſhould never have any weight, till the debt of her liberty was paid by me, or by her own induſtry, to the utmoſt fraction, and which ſhe did not deſpair to ſee one day compleated."’ She added, ‘"our ſeparation ſhould only be for a time, and that the greateſt proof I could ever ſhew her of my real eſteem, was now to un⯑dergo this little trial of fortune like a man, without [195] ſo much as heaving a ſigh in her preſence;"’ which laſt ſhe ſpoke with a ſmile, next embraced her infant, then turned ſuddenly round, and wept moſt bitterly.—At this moment I was called to Mr. de la Mare's, who was juſt dead, where my melancholy having ſurpaſſed all deſcrip⯑tion, I at laſt determined to weather one or two painful years in her abſence; and in the afternoon went to diſſi⯑pate my mind at a Mr. Roux's cabinet of Indian curioſi⯑ties; where, as my eye chanced to fall on a rattle-ſnake, I will before I leave the colony deſcribe this dangerous reptile.

The rattle-ſnake of Surinam is ſometimes eight or nine feet long, and very thick about the middle, tapering towards the neck and tail. The head is dreadfully de⯑formed, being flat and broad, with two large noſtrils near the ſnout, and a large ſcale or knob like the alligator above his eyes, which are jet-black and ſparkling; at the extremity of the tail are ſeveral thin horny, ſhells joined together, which are very dry, and which, when irritated, the animal ſhakes, ſounding much like a rattle, from which it derives its name. Theſe ſhells augment, it is ſaid, in the proportion of one every year, by which it is ſuppoſed its age may be aſcertained. This whole ſnake is covered over with ſcales, which on the ridge of the back it crects. The colour is a dirty orange mixed with dark-brown and black ſpots, which laſt are alſo on its head, appearing like velvet, and marked in a very conſpi⯑cuous manner; the belly is aſh-coloured, with tranſverſe [196] ſcales like moſt other ſerpents. When this animal is in⯑tent on miſchief, it lies coiled like a rope, with the tail a little in motion, which having rattled, it launches forth upon its prey, making no farther reach than its own length; this done, it coils a ſecond time, and again pro⯑jects itſelf. The bite of the rattle-ſnake is accounted fatal, at leaſt is thought very dangerous over all America; but with regard to the faſcinating qualities of its eyes, ſuch as the ſtory of its cauſing mice, ſquirrels, and birds to run into its mouth, I reject them as fables; the ſuppoſed charm conſiſting in nothing more than this, that the poor animals, finding themſelves ſurprized by the im⯑pending danger, are ſeized with ſuch a trepidation and fear, that even the uſe of their limbs forſakes them, and they are rivetted to the place till they die, or in the act of leaping they are ſeized by their enemy ^*.

Amongſt Mr. Roux's numerous collection of fine but⯑terflies, one of a middle ſize I thought peculiarly beau⯑tiful; all its wings, both above and below, being elegantly ſtreaked with tranſverſe bars of velvet, black, and a va⯑riegated bright green. The amazing height to which they aſcend, and the great velocity with which theſe in⯑ſects fly, make them ſo rare, being, for theſe reaſons, but very ſeldom caught. The caterpillar is a ſea-green, and all covered over with hard feelers, not unlike fea⯑thers.—For a better idea of the above ſnakes, and this fly, ſee the plate annexed, where the laſt was improved from Madam Merian's collection.

I have juſt ſaid that we were ordered to leave the co⯑lony, and that all were overjoyed with the news, myſelf excepted. But on the 15th, by letters from Holland to our chief, our return was again countermanded for ſix months. My companions were therefore ſuddenly caſt down with diſappointment, while I was as ſuddenly re⯑vived, and now determined to ſave all my pay until Jo⯑anna's redemption ſhould be fully accompliſhed: but what [198] grieved me very much was the other news from Europe, viz. that the Scots Brigade had been invited to England by his Britannic Majeſty, while I was lamenting that I could not poſſibly be one of the number^*. I at the ſame time had the offer of an American company under Ge⯑neral Waſhington, but this I refuſed without any heſita⯑tion, as may be ſuppoſed.

In ſhort, on the 18th of February, the poor diſpirited men were again ſent up to Magdenburg, a large party ſtill remaining at the Java Creek; whilſt the temper of the officers was now ſo ruffled, that a Mr. Fiſher of our corps fought no leſs than two duels in two ſucceeding days, dangerouſly wounding both his antagoniſts, who were both officers of the Society regiment.

As I was not yet recovered, I ſtaid ſome time longer at Paramaribo, where at the houſe of a Mr. Reynſdorp, I ſaw a Portugueſe Jew teaching his children the Chriſtian religion, while the pious mother of the charity-houſe kept flogging the poor ſlaves daily, becauſe they were, as ſhe ſaid, unbelievers. To one black woman, in parti⯑cular, ſhe wantonly gave four hundred laſhes, who bore them without a complaint.

But to change the diſagreeable ſubject;—while I have the leiſure and the opportunity, I feel the inclination to ſtate to the public a ſhort account of the trade and in⯑trinſic value of this blood-ſpilling colony; which ſtill [199] might be richer, did they not follow the example of the woman in the fable with her golden eggs.

In the firſt place, in Surinam are computed to be about ſix or eight hundred plantations, producing ſugar, coffee, cacao, and cotton, beſides ſome indigo, and valuable tim⯑bers, &c.—The exportation of which four firſt articles only, and their value, may be ſeen at one view in the following table for four ſucceſſive years.

Which, ſuppoſing it was but 11,000,000 f. makes a yearly income of one million neat in ſterling money.

How the above ſum is divided between the republic of Holland and this colony, ſhall be my buſineſs to ſtate in the ſecond place.

In the third place, I ſhall now ſhow in what manner the internal ex⯑pence of the ſociety of Surinam is defrayed by taxes; which amount to no trifle, as ſhall be ſeen.

Having already mentioned, when ſpeaking of the government, that the public revenue officers were five in number, I will now point out how they collect the caſh reſpectively each, for the ſupport of the above ex⯑pences.

The firſt of theſe is that of Importation and Exportation Duties.

To this is paid, viz.

Having now clearly demonſtrated, partly by the aſſiſt⯑ance of Dr. Fermyn's Tableau de la Colonie de Surinam, and partly by my own experience, that the intrinſic value of this ſettlement is worth yearly above one million of ſterling money, which, by proper management, might be ſtill increaſed; alſo that the greater part of it goes to the republic, while the people are thus burthened on their eſtates by almoſt inſupportable taxation, which induces many to be rogues, who would perhaps otherwiſe be ho⯑neſt; I ſhall, by way of appendix, give ſome ſhort ac⯑count of the trade carried on in this colony by the North Americans: — Theſe people arrive with ſmall brigs, ſloops, and ſchooners from Virginia, Rhode Iſland, New York, Boſton, Jamaica, Grenada, Antigua, Barbadoes, &c. from which places they export flour, beef, pork, her⯑rings, ſalt, mackarel, and leaf-tobacco for the negroes; alſo fir-boards, Engliſh rum, and other ſpirits; loaf-ſu⯑gar [205] ^*, ſpermaceti-candles, onions, &c. Beſides each veſſel is bound to bring in one horſe ^†, which they often ſupply, by a head only; affirming, that they put on board a horſe, but that he died on the paſſage. For the above commo⯑dities the American traders export all the melaſſes of this colony to diſtil into rum at home, and frequently ſhip⯑loads of other productions and merchandize, though this is done in a clandeſtine manner, by which both the ſeller and buyer are conſiderable gainers, being ready caſh for the one, and a cheap bargain for the other. From the Leeward Iſlands theſe veſſels alſo import pri⯑vate mulatto and quaderoon ſlaves, which being gene⯑rally young and handſome, whatever may be their mo⯑ral character, ſell for conſiderable prices.

Having thus ſhewn, according to the beſt information I was able to acquire, in what the commerce and intrinſic wealth of this fine colony conſiſt; I will now take my leave of the ſubject, and continue my narrative.

On the 21ſt of February, Mr. Reynſdorp, the ſon-in-law of Mrs. Godefroy, took me in his ſail barge for change of air to Nuten-Schadelyk, one of his own coffee eſtates; where I ſaw a white man who had lately loſt both his eyes in one night by the bats or vampires, as they are called; and the following day, ſailing up Come⯑wina River, we proceeded to the delightful Cacao plan⯑tation [206] Alkmaar, the property of the above lady; where the negro ſlaves are treated like children by the miſtreſs, to whom they all look up as to their common parent.— Here were no groans to be heard, no fetters to be met with, nor any marks of ſeverity to be ſeen—but all was harmony and content. The ſuperb houſe and other offices of this charming eſtate, where pleaſure and hoſpi⯑tality ever reign, I have already repreſented in plate N^o X.; while the fields and gardens, nay, even the negro houſes, bore all the marks of perfect peace and plenty.

The cacao-trees are ſupplied from nurſeries for the purpoſe, like orchards in England, and planted very re⯑gularly at ten or twelve feet diſtance from each other, where they grow to the height of our Engliſh cherry-trees. But theſe plantations muſt be well ſheltered, both from the hard winds and ſcorching ſun, when young; the roots not entering deep into the ground to ſuccour them, nor can they at that time bear extraordinary heat; on which account the groves are filled up with caſſava-ſhrubs or plantain-trees for their ſhelter, and which at the ſame time anſwer the purpoſe of killing the weeds, which grow ſo luxuriantly in all the tropical climates;— by theſe attentions the trees will bear fruit before they are three years old, when they afford two crops annually, but they are in the higheſt perfection at the age of twelve or fourteen. The leaf of the cacao-tree is above eight inches long, and nearly three broad, thick-pointed, ribbed like the laurel-time, and of a bright green-colour. [207] The fruit is about the ſame ſize, and when young reſem⯑bles a cucumber; but when ripe it becomes yellow like a large lemon, with ribs like the melon, and tubercles which encloſe the feed or nuts, near thirty in number: they lie longitudinally in the fruit, and when fit for uſe are of the ſize of olives, and purple-coloured. The trees are ſuppoſed to bear at each crop from thirty to three hundred pods, each containing about thirty nuts, weigh⯑ing one pound, from which a calculation may be made how much will be the produce of each harveſt. After a few days the nuts are extracted from the pods, and dried in the ſhade; during which time they undergo a very ſtrong perſpiration, when they are put into barrels and fit for tranſportation, to be converted into that well-known and agreeable beverage called Chocolate.

It is ſaid the cacao-trees are natives of Guiana, and grow wild in large quantities near the river Amazon: be that as it may, Governor Chatillon's ſon planted the firſt tree in Surinam in 1684, and the firſt crop was exported to Holland in 1733. A great advantage in cultivating cacao-trees is, that fewer ſlaves are required than in any other branch of the planting buſineſs. How conſider⯑able are the profits will appear by the accounts of the year 1774, when 506,610 lbs. were exported to Amſter⯑dam alone, which produced 202,614 f. Dutch money, being equal to £. 18,419 ſterling. The prices have been fluctuating from 4 d. to 9 d. per lb. the average being [208] about 6 ½ d. The beſt eſtates, of which Alkmaar is one, produce yearly above 80,000 lbs. weight.

In the plate annexed, A is the leaf above, B below ^*; C, the wood; D, the flower; E, the young pulp; F, the ſame in perfection; and G, the ſeeds or nuts to make the chocolate.

On the 27th we returned to town, where the day before a Society ſoldier was ſhot for mutiny; and the day fol⯑lowing a ſhip was burnt in the roads. At this time the celebrated free negro Qwaſi, who was the prophet, prieſt, and king of the rangers, &c. went to Holland on a viſit to the Prince of Orange, with letters of recom⯑mendation from Fourgeoud, whoſe praiſes he was to re⯑ſound, as well as to complain of the Governor for not treating him with due reſpect. This being the period for the ſeſſions, another negro's leg was cut off for ſculk⯑ing from a taſk to which he was unequal; while two more were condemned to be hanged for running away altogether. The heroic behaviour of one of theſe men before the court deſerves particularly to be noticed:—He begged only to be heard for a few moments; which be⯑ing granted, he proceeded thus:

‘"I was born in Africa, where, defending my prince during an engagement, I was made a captive, and ſold for a ſlave on the coaſt of Guinea by my own country⯑men. [] Figure 2. Sprig of the Cacao or Chocolate Tree. [209] —One of your countrymen, who is now to be one of my judges, became my purchaſer, in whoſe ſervice I was treated ſo cruelly by his overſeer, that I deſerted, and joined the rebels in the woods.—Here again I was condemned to be a ſlave to Bonny, their chief, who treat⯑ed me with even more ſeverity than I had experienced from the Europeans, till I was once more forced to elope, determined to ſhun mankind for ever, and inoffenſively to end my days by myſelf in the foreſt. Two years had I perſevered in this manner quite alone, undergoing the greateſt hardſhips and anxiety of mind, preſerving life only for the poſſibility of once more ſeeing my dear family, who were perhaps ſtarving on my account, in my own country; I ſay two miſerable years had juſt elapſed, when I was diſcovered by the rangers, taken, and brought before this tribunal, who are now ac⯑quainted with the hiſtory of my wretched life, and from whom the only favour I have to aſk is, that I may be executed next Saturday, or as ſoon as it may poſſibly be convenient."’

This ſpeech was uttered with the utmoſt moderation, by one of the fineſt-looking negroes that was perhaps ever ſeen; to which his former maſter, who, as he ob⯑ſerved, was now one of the judges, made the following laconic reply — ‘"Raſcal! that is not what we want to know; but the torture this moment ſhall make you confeſs crimes as black as yourſelf, as well as thoſe of your hateful accomplices."’ To which the negro, who [210] now ſwelled in every vein with indignation and ineffable contempt: ‘"Maſſera, the tigers have trembled for theſe hands,"’ holding them up; ‘"and dare you think to threaten me with your wretched inſtrument? No, I deſpiſe the utmoſt tortures you can now invent, as much as I do the pitiful wretch who is going to in⯑flict them."’ Saying which, he threw himſelf down on the rack, where amidſt the moſt excruciating torments he remained with a ſmile, without uttering a ſyllable; nor did he ever ſpeak again, until he ended his unhappy days at the gallows.

Having dined with Colonel Fourgeoud on the 8th of March, when we celebrated the Prince of Orange's birth⯑day, while Mr. Reyndorp gave a treat to all the ſoldiers, he acquainted me that the rangers were now alone encamped at the Wana Creek; that the peſtilential ſpot Devil's Har⯑war was at laſt entirely forſaken; and that the two lately [211] raiſed companies of ſable volunteers had taken a few priſoners, and killed others on the Wanica path, behind Paramaribo. I was at this time a good deal better, but ſtill, not being quite recovered, he who had formerly treated me ſo ſeverely, now even inſiſted on my ſtaying ſome longer time at Paramaribo: nay, gave me an offer to re⯑turn to Europe, which I abſolutely refuſed; in ſhort, about the middle of the month, I was as well as ever I was in my life. At this time Colonel Fourgeoud and myſelf were daily viſitors of the ladies, in whoſe company no man could behave better, while I could often not avoid diſguſt; indeed ſo languid were many in their looks, and ſo unreſtrained were ſome in their converſation, that a Mrs. N— even aſked me, ſans ceremonie, to ſupply the place of her huſband; while ſhe might as well have aſked me to drink, for a reliſh, a tumbler of ſalts.

On the 17th, however, my eyes were better feaſted, when, going to dine with Colonel Texier of the Society troops, I firſt took a walk in the orange grove and the governor's gardens; here, peeping through the foliage, I ſoon diſcovered two moſt elegant female figures after bathing, the one a fine young Samboo, the other a bloom⯑ing Quaderoon, which laſt was ſo very fair complexioned, that ſhe might have paſſed for a native of Greece, while the roſes that glowed in her cheek were equal to thoſe that bloſſomed in the ſhrubbery ^*. They were walking [212] hand in hand, and converſing with ſmiles near a flowery bank that adorned the ſide of a cryſtal brook, in which they plunged the inſtant they heard me ruſtling amongſt the verdure, like two mermaids:

Leaving them to enjoy their innocent amuſement of bathing, I ſpent the remaining hour before dinner amongſt the ſhady fruit-trees, blooming bowers, and ſerpentine gravel walks; where indeed I ſaw greater variety of Eu⯑ropean plants than I imagined were produced in a tro⯑pical climate, ſuch as mint, fennel, ſage, roſemary, gold⯑en-rod and jeſſamine, the ſenſitive plant, pomegranates, roſes, figs, and even ſome grapes.—Of the pomegranate flowers, a ſpecimen may be ſeen in plate, N^o XXIX. The ſigs are both within and without of a beautiful crimſon colour; but the roſes are rather pale. Here were ſome beautiful pine-apples and melons, which, though they are ſo generally known, I will nevertheleſs give ſome account of. The imperial fruit, called Anana or pine-apple grows in the centre of an elegant ſea-green plant, on a ſtalk of the ſame hue, about eight inches in length, its leaves diverging near the ſurface of the earth, which are ſmooth, long, ſtrong, pointed, and dentulated with hard prickles. The ſhape of this fruit is nearly oval, the ſize of a ſugar-loaf, all over chequered, and of [213] a moſt beautiful orange or golden colour, being crowned with a ſea-green tuft, of the ſame leaves as the mother plant, and which when put in the ground produces an⯑other pine-apple in the ſpace of about eighteen months. The delicious taſte and flavour of this fruit has in the ſpace of half a century become ſo well known, that I have introduced it merely to notice its plenty in the country I write of; for ſo ſpontaneouſly indeed do the former grow in this climate, and of ſuch different kinds, without any cultivation, that on many eſtates they ſerve as a common food for hogs.

The muſk and water melons grow alſo plentifully in this country; the firſt is of a globular form, large, like the crown of a ſmall hat, ribbed, buff colour, orange and green. The pulp is yellow, firm, ſweet, and ſucculent; ſtill it is eaten with ſugar, but more frequently with black pepper and ſalt—the ſmell of this fruit is ex⯑cellent.

The water-melon is of an oval or cylindrical ſhape, its colour is a bright poliſhed green, and partly a very pale buff; the pulp of this fruit is a pink colour, and of a mellow watery ſubſtance; its taſte is ſweet, exceedingly cooling, and of a moſt agreeable flavour.

Both the above melons are of the cucumber kind, grow⯑ing on rough ſtalks, with large leaves, that creep along the ground. It is remarkable that the water-melon, which may be freely eaten in all diſtempers without the leaſt pernicious conſequence, thrives beſt in very dry and ſandy [214] places.—In the annexed plate may be ſeen the Anana or pine-apple, with the muſk and water-melon, beſides the ſeed from which this laſt is produced.

I ſent about this period, to a Mr. Reygerſman in Holland, a moſt elegant collection of Surinam butterflies, which are here caught in great abundance and variety, and by which alone ſome people make no ſmall profit; but the very idea of pinning them alive to a ſheet of paper, was ſufficient to prevent me from becoming a fly-catcher:

Being a particular favourite of Governor Nepveu, I one day was induced to aſk him for a piece of unculti⯑vated foreſt ground; when he readily granted me 400 acres: but when I inconſiderately aſked it of him, I had not calculated how large a capital it required to clear away woods, purchaſe negroes, and provide other neceſ⯑ſaries for ſuch an undertaking; and when a little re⯑flection convinced me how difficult it would be to find a partner of abilities to aſſiſt me, I declined accepting this mark of the governor's regard.

Having on the 26th once more ſaved a poor black girl from receiving ſome hundred laſhes, by replacing a dozen of china, which ſhe had broken by accident; while an⯑other was ſtabbed by a Frenchman, who immediately cut his own throat from remorſe, and his companion, an overſeer, hanged himſelf; and having viſited the poor negro whoſe leg had lately been cut off by law, I pack⯑ed my boxes to ſet out next morning on my ſixth cam⯑paign; and once more take the command of the River Comewina: at which moment arrived at my lodgings ſix loaded negro ſlaves with preſents from my hoſpitable friends, of every kind that Guiana could produce, and the colony of Surinam could afford me.

CHAP. XXV. Singular Method of detecting a Theft—Rencounter between the Rangers and Rebels—Amazonian Action of a black Girl—Wonderful Sagacity in wild Bees—The Regiment receives a ſecond Order to return to Europe.

CHAP. XXV.ON the 27th of March, 1776, adieu once more Para⯑maribo, my Joanna, and my boy!

This morning, a little before I ſat out, I ſaw a Mr. d'Halbergh terribly bitten by a large iguana or lizard, at the very moment he was preſſing me and my com⯑panions to ſtay a few days, to be preſent at the cele⯑bration of what he called his Silver-feaſt, being the twenty-fifth anniverſary of his marriage; but after con⯑doling with him upon account of the accident, we em⯑barked in a tent-barge, and arrived that evening at the Sporkſgift eſtate in Matapica. Here we were entertained two days by Captain Mac Neal, with the greateſt hoſpi⯑tality. I was however nearly ſuffocated by the ſteam of ſome green coffee, which was ſpread on the floor of the lodge where I had ſlung my hammock.

Late on the evening of the 29th, we arrived at the Gold-mine plantation, where we found a negro boy and girl, ſuſpended by each others ſide from a high beam, by a rope faſtened to their thumbs, which were tied behind [217] their backs, this almoſt diſlocated their ſhoulders, and muſt have occaſioned the moſt agonizing tortures. Thus I cut the miſerable victims down, without leave or ce⯑remony, and ſwore that inſtant to demoliſh the tyran⯑nical overſeer who had inflicted this new mode of puniſh⯑ment, unleſs he promiſed immediately to forgive them; which he miraculouſly did in my preſence.

On the 30th, a little before we landed at the Hope, I diſcovered that all my ſugar, with the greateſt part of my rum, was gone; and detected the thief by the follow⯑ing laughable ſtratagem (though not my own invention) —I told the negroes, ſix in number, that a parrot's feather was to grow within ſix minutes upon the tip of his noſe who was moſt guilty; at the ſame time pronouncing a few incoherent words, and making two or three circles with my ſabre, I ſhut myſelf within the tilt: here, peeping through the key-hole, and obſerving the rowers with great attention, without their perceiving me, I ſoon ſaw one of them, at every ſtroke of the oar, put up his hand, and feel the tip of his noſe; upon which I inſtantly ran up to him, and cried, ‘"I ſee the parrot's feather! Thou art the thief, thou raſcal!"’ To which the poor ſuper⯑ſtitious fellow inſtantly anſwered, ‘"Yaw, me maſſera!"’ then kneeling to the ſorcerer for mercy, and the others alſo intreating me to ſpare him, I pardoned the credulous thief and his accomplices, who by their candid confeſ⯑ſion obtained a piece of ſalt beef for their dinner, and a gourd full of good grog in the bargain.

[218]Immediately on my arrival I took the command of the whole river, and now was once more the Prince of Comewina. I alſo built an elevated palace, in imitation of Prince Bonny's at Booſy-Cry, on twelve ſtrong ſtakes; which aerial habitation I found very neceſſary, the whole poſt being almoſt under water by the inundations, and by neglect become a perfect mire-pool, while of my former cottage not a veſtige was to be ſeen. Here I found the marines in perfect miſery, being almoſt naked, and hav⯑ing ſold their very ſhoes for a mouthful of freſh provi⯑ſions. Theſe grievances, however, by my labour and interceſſion with Colonel Fourgeoud, whoſe favourite I now became more and more, were ſpeedily redreſſed, and the Hope, in a little time, appeared like a paradiſe, when compared with its former ſtate.

Shooting was now, as formerly, my favourite diverſion; and on the 4th I brought home a kind of plover, a couple of red-breaſts, and near a dozen graſs-ſparrows.

The plover of Guiana is the ſize of a pigeon, its co⯑lour a dark-brown and white, with tranſverſe bars. The wet ſavannahs are full of them, and they are delicate eating. The red-breaſt is a kind of large bull-finch, with the upper part of its body a deep cheſnut; and all the reſt a blood-colour: this is reckoned as good as an ortolan, and abounds on all the plantations. The graſs-ſparrow, which I think is by ſome called the anaca, is a beautiful little creature, like a paroquet; theſe birds are perfectly green, with a white bill and red eyes. They do [219] much damage amongſt the rice and Indian corn, flying in prodigious flocks upon the plantations.

At the Hope the trochulus, or humming-birds, were ſo thick among the tamarind-trees, that they reſembled a ſwarm of bees; a Lieutenant Swildens daily fetching down ſeveral of them, by blowing ſmall peas or Indian corn through a hollow reed.

Of all the tropical birds, this little creature is particu⯑larly worth attention, not only on account of its beauty, but for its diminutive ſize, being ſmaller than the firſt joint of a man's finger; and when deprived of its feathers not larger than a blue-bottle fly. However, there are ſe⯑veral ſpecies, and ſome twice as large. Theſe birds vary much in their colour: in the ſhade they appear generally of a deep ſhining green; which, by the reflection of the ſun, produces a ſplendid purple brown and azure. The head is creſted with a ſmall tuſt of feathers, green, black, and gold; the tail and wings are a gloſſy black; the bill is not much thicker than a pin, it is long, black, and crooked at the end; the tongue is forked, and reſembles a red ſilk thread; with this they ſip the nectar or honey from the flowers, during which time they are ſtationary, exactly like bees, and this juice ſeems to be the only nouriſhment of theſe little creatures. They often make their neſt on the leaf of a wild pine-apple, or dwarf aloe, which is conſtructed moſtly of cotton, and not larger than the huſk of a walnut; their eggs are about the ſize of peas, and only two in number. Madam Merian ſays, that the hum⯑ming-bird [220] ſits on four eggs; which, for my part, I never ſaw or heard of during my reſidence in Guiana.

In the annexed plate I have endeavoured to repreſent them and their little habitation in natural ſize; though I found it impoſſible to make the drawing more perfect, their motion upon the wing being ſo very quick, that the feathers are hardly perceptible; and this motion occa⯑ſions that humming noiſe, from which this delicate little creature derives its name.

Here were alſo immenſe flocks of monkies: I have ſeen above two hundred of them in a field of ſugar-canes, where they make great devaſtation. Theſe wary animals place ſentinels all round the field to give the alarm; and I myſelf have been a witneſs with what ſagacity and fide⯑lity they perform this duty, when the whole company hop into the foreſt, each with his plunder in his paw.

Swimming was another of my favourite amuſements, which contributed to make me more healthy, and ſtronger than moſt of my companions; as it is beautifully expreſſed by the author of the Seaſons:—

Colonel Fourgeoud, though he himſelf remained ſtill at Paramaribo, yet continued attentively to command. Thus, on the 23d, he ordered a detachment of one hun⯑dred men to reconnoitre from Magdenberg to the Wana Creek and Marawina river; but they returned without any new diſcoveries.

As I was now likely to be continued at the Hope for ſome time, I ſent for my ſheep and poultry, from the eſtate where I had left them, preſenting Mr. Gourly with a ram and a ewe, as being of a breed ſuperior to any in the colony; and I found with joy that my flocks had conſiderably encreaſed in numbers.

On the 26th one of my men brought me a ſnake, [222] which he had juſt killed; it was about four feet long, and not thicker than the barrel of a muſket; when per⯑ceiving a knob near its middle, larger than my fiſt, I had the curioſity to cut it open, and an enormous frog made its appearance, perfectly alive and entire, a ſmall ſpot on the back of its head and neck excepted, which was blue and ſlimy, as if beginning to putrify. For the ſake of experiment, I faſtened him with a ſtring to his foot upon a graſs-plat near the river for three days; when finding the poor animal hearty and well, I gave him his liberty, with a caution to keep a better look-out for the future.

On the 28th I paid a viſit to Thomas Palmer, Eſq. late King's counſellor at Maſſachuſett's Bay, upon his eſtate called Fairfield. Here both the maſter and his ſlaves were perfectly happy and contented, chiefly owing to Mr. Palmer's juſt and equitable adminiſtration to all around him; and ſuch were the conſequences of his wiſe govern⯑ment, that few plantations in the Weſt Indies could boaſt of greater proſperity, either in point of produce or popula⯑tion; while the courteſy and hoſpitality of the gentleman-like proprietor to ſtrangers, completed his happy charac⯑ter, which ſhone conſpicouſly throughout the colony.

Upon my return to the Hope I received a letter from the commander in chief, informing me that Mr. Vinſack with his rangers had killed ſeveral rebels, and taken eleven priſoners; but that another party of the rangers had been ſurprized by the enemy, and ſeveral of them ſhot dead while aſleep in their hammocks.

[223]During theſe ſkirmiſhes, an inſtance of preſence of mind was exhibited by a rebel negro, I think but ſeldom equalled:—A ranger having levelled his piece was juſt going to fire at him, when the man called out, holding up his hand, ‘"What, Sir, do you mean to kill one of your own party?"’ Which the ranger believing him to be, replied, ‘"God forbid!"’ and dropping the muzzle of his piece, inſtantly received a ball through the body from his adverſary, which killed him; and who, having thus ſaved himſelf, diſappeared like a flaſh of lightning. One of the captive negroes related, that the evening before they were taken, a rebel, who had formerly deſerted from Fau⯑conberg was cut to pieces with ſabres, by Bonny's com⯑mand, as two others had been before we took Gado-Saby.

On the 6th of May it blew a violent hurricane, accom⯑panied with thunder and lightning, ſo that many trees were torn up by the roots, and moſt of the houſes on the Hope blown down or unroofed; my aerial palace, how⯑ever, by good fortune, withſtood this gale; and upon the 8th, Joanna, with her boy, arriving at this place, I promiſed myſelf a ſcene of happineſs equal to that I experienced in 1774; eſpecially as my family, my ſheep, and my poultry, were now doubled; beſides, I had at this time a beautiful garden, and if I could not with propriety be called a planter, I might at leaſt claim, with ſome degree of juſtice, the name of a little farmer.

On the 9th we all dined with Mr. de Graaff, at his beau⯑tiful [224] plantation Knoppemombo, in Caſſawina Creek, where this worthy man had foretold, before the birth of my boy, that both he and his mother ſhould one day be happy and free. Here I ſaw the following roots and plants, which I have not yet obſerved.—The tayers, which are the hearts of a farinaceous green ſhrub, not above two or three feet high, with remarkable large leaves, in the form of a heart, the trunk ſomething reſembling that of a banana-tree. This plant being cut down, and with a knife diveſted of its outer tegument, has the appear⯑ance and conſiſtency of a yam or potatoe, but is better eating, having a much finer grain. The tayers are of different kinds; the ſmalleſt is preferred, and made uſe of in the ſame manner as the above roots. I have here alſo found a kind of real potatoe, and in large quantities, but they are only uſed by the negroes, being inferior to the hog-potatoes in Great Britain.

The tobacco plant grows here with large downy leaves, full of fibres; it flowers almoſt continually, and will laſt for twelve or fourteen years, but is ſo inferior to the Vir⯑ginia tobacco, that it is only uſed by the ſlaves. This plant derived its name from the iſland Tobago, where it was firſt diſcovered, in 1560.

They have here alſo a kind of wild tea, which is accounted very wholeſome, but in my opinion is no better than Engliſh ground-ivy. I found plenty of tomatè, which being produced in many Britiſh gar⯑dens, I will not attempt to deſcribe; but only obſerve [225] that the Jews are particularly fond of it, and ſtew it with butchers meat inſtead of onions.

The phyſic-nut tree is likewiſe to be met with here; this is a knotty ſhrub, that grows about ten or twelve feet in height, and very ſlender; the nut that it produces has a kernel like an almond, and taſtes as well, provided it be deprived of a thin white ſkin that adheres to it, otherwiſe a violent vomiting and purging is the immediate conſe⯑quence of ſwallowing it. They alſo ſhewed me ſeveral kinds of peas and beans, and other fruits growing in pods; ſuch as the caſſia, a ſhining hard yellow ſeed incloſed in a woody ſhell near ſixteen inches long, and very ſmall, with a black ſoft pulp as ſweet as honey: this is conſi⯑dered as a very ſafe laxative: the caſſia grows on a tree very common in Guiana, and which is called ſoete boonties and cotiaan. Another kind of pod, named ſeve-yaars boontie, is ſo called, becauſe it is ſaid to be in bloſſom ſeven years before it produces. The ſhrub called ſnakee weeree-weeree alſo grows here; they told me it was a ſo⯑vereign remedy for fevers, and I take it to be the ſame as the ſerpentaria Virginiana, or Virginian ſnake-root. Laſtly, I ſaw a vegetable or flower here called ſeven-boom, which is too frequently uſed by the young negro girls to promote abortion, as are alſo the green pine-apples, which are ſaid to have the ſame effect.

Thus having ſpent not only an agreeable but an in⯑ſtructive day at Knoppemombo, we took leave of our very good friend in the evening, and rowed contentedly [226] back to the Hope, our boat being nearly loaded with pre⯑ſents of every kind, amongſt which were ſome fine co⯑coa-nuts, that one of his ſlaves, after walking, I may ſay more properly than climbing^*, up the tree, had brought down in my preſence, and after a fierce engagement with a black ſerpent upon the very top of it, which by the help of his knife he vanquiſhed, and to our admiration dropped it down dead at our feet.

The ſlaves of the Hope and Fauconberg alſo teſ⯑tified their reſpect for Joanna and her boy, by bringing in preſents of fowls, fruit, eggs, veniſon, and fiſh; and Mr. Palmer handſomely preſented us with a large quan⯑tity of Indian corn to feed our poultry. Thus every thing ſeemed to contribute to our felicity, which was however conſiderably allayed by the diſagreeable news we received on the 18th, informing me of the death of my dear friend, Mr. Walter Kennedy, ſhortly after his arrival in Holland^†: it was now alſo confirmed that the Dutch had refuſed the Scots Brigade to his Britannic Ma⯑jeſty; which greatly ſurprized me, as I conſidered it as a claim not only from affinity, but alſo by treaty.

To amuſe my mind from theſe unpleaſing ſubjects, I now paid a ſhort viſit to my French acquaintance Mon⯑ſieur [227] Cachelieu, at his plantation Egmond. Here, amongſt other company, I met with an Italian, a planter called D'O—s, who had but one arm; with which, however, he took up a knife at table, and without the ſmalleſt provo⯑cation, as I ſat next him, made a back thruſt at me, to the aſtoniſhment of all who were preſent. Having fortu⯑nately parried the blow by beating up his elbow, which occaſioned the point of his knife to paſs over my ſhoulder, I ſtarted up, and was going to put him inſtantly to death; but this being prevented, I offered to fight him with one hand tied behind me, and with any inſtrument he choſe, fiſt, bludgeon, ſword, piſtol, or even knife; this the cow⯑ardly aſſaſſin having refuſed, was kicked out of company, and ſent home to his plantation called Hazard.

So violent was this unhappy man's diſpoſition, that ſome little time before, he ordered a poor negro woman, who was advanced eight months in her pregnancy, to be flogged, until her inteſtines appeared, and that only for breaking a tumbler. One of his male ſlaves, trying to evade his ſeverity, was ſhot dead on the ſpot; and there was not a ſlave belonging to his eſtate but was cut by the laſh of his whip from the neck to the heel.

Colonel Fourgeoud now ſending a proper ſupply of men, with a ſurgeon and medicines, the Hope wore a more pleaſing aſpect, and health and content began to be viſible in every countenance. Amongſt other things, I encouraged the men to catch fiſh, which were here in abundance, and the negroes taught them how to make [228] the proper ſnares, ſuch as the ſpring-hook, and manſoa or ſpring-baſket. I have given a repreſentation of both theſe in the plate annexed, where the ſpring-hook is expreſſed by the letter A, being a long elaſtic pole, like a ſtrong fiſhing-rod, ſtuck in the ground under water, at the other end of which is fixed a double line, the ſhorteſt having faſtened to it a ſmall ſtick, ten inches long, and the other the ſame, but a little lower; while at the ex⯑tremity of this line is hooked a ſmall fiſh by the fins, in ſuch a manner as to ſwim to and fro, and be a bait for the larger ſpecies. Two long ſticks being next placed in the ground ſo as to appear above water, a third ſtick much ſhorter, forms them like a gallows; above this gallows is bent and fixed the elaſtic pole, by means of the double line and its beams; but in ſo very ſlight a manner, that upon the leaſt touch the whole ap⯑paratus gives way, and the large pole erects itſelf, when the fiſh that occaſioned the ſpring, by taking the bait, is ſuſpended to the hook in the air, as exhbited by the figure B.

Among the variety of fiſh caught here was the ſiliba, a ſmall oval fiſh, marked not unlike a pine-apple; the ſokay, which is a large fiſh, and very good eating; the torro-torro, and another called tarpoen; the firſt three feet in length; the other, which is white, about two feet ſix inches.

On the 26th, I ſaw a moſt ſurpriſing diſplay of activity, ſtrength, and courage by a young female negro, called Clardina, at the Hope; where a wild ſtag having ſtrayed from the flock, at the moment it came bounding over the foot-path ſhe ſeized it in full ſpeed by the hinder leg, but not being able to ſtop it, ſhe ſuffered herſelf to be dragged to a conſiderable diſtance, nor until ſhe was terribly wounded would ſhe let go her hold.

The Hope was now truly a charming habitation, being perfectly dry even in ſpring-tides, and waſhed by pleaſ⯑ing canals that let in the freſh-water every tide; while the hedges ſurrounding the fields and gardens were [230] neatly cut, and produced fruit and vegetables of many ſpecies for our uſe. The houſes and bridges were alſo all repaired, while the ſtricteſt adherence to cleanlineſs was recommended and enforced among the men: by theſe means not one ſick perſon out of fifty was now to be found, where ſloth, ſtench, and diſeaſe had ſo lately ſpread their deſtructive influence, and to which the land and ſea-ſcurvy had given the moſt fatal aſſiſtance. Of the above ſcorbutic complaints, the former covers the body over with blotches, and the latter chiefly affects the teeth and gums.

I now enjoyed the greateſt flow of health and ſpirits, while moſt of my old ſhip-mates were either dead or re⯑turned to Europe; not a ſingle officer at this time being in rank above me, except only ſuch as had been formerly inured to the Weſt India climate.

But to return to my garden—this at preſent exhibited carrots, cabbages, onions, cucumbers, lettuces, radiſhes, pepper, creſſes, &c. all thriving as well as in Europe; beſides ſorrel of two kinds, the common and the red, this laſt grows upon a ſhrub, and is excellent for making jam or marmalade. The jeſſamine alſo was found here of different ſpecies, that growing on a ſmall tree being moſt admired: it is of a pale but beautiful red colour, and a moſt agreeable ſmell; the leaves are thick, ſhining, and filled with a milky juice. A ſpecies of ſenſitive ſhrub they call ſhame-ſhame, grew alſo here, as did the ſleep⯑ing plant, ſo called from its leaves, which are ſet in pairs, [231] clapping cloſe together from ſun-ſet to ſun-riſe, and ap⯑pearing as if the two were but one; but as ſoon as the ſun is up they again open, and reſume their double form. The above-mentioned ſhrubs were all diſperſed through my hedges, beſides pomegranates and Indian roſes, which blow every day; while a few elegant red-lilies, which alſo grow wild in the ſavannas, adorned the banks of my canals, the leaves of which flower have a very bright and beautiful green poliſh.

Thus ſituated, we were viſited, amongſt others, by a Madame de Z—e, in company with her brother, and a Mr. Schadts, who were lately arrived from Holland; this lady was ſuppoſed the fineſt woman that even Europe produced, as well as the moſt accompliſhed. She ſpoke ſeveral languages, and was a perfect miſtreſs of muſic and painting; ſhe danced elegantly, and rode vaſtly well on horſeback; ſhe even excelled in ſhooting and fencing, &c. In order to make her perfect miſtreſs of all the fa⯑ſhionable exerciſes, I offered her my aſſiſtance in teach⯑ing her to ſwim, which, however, with a ſmile, ſhe thought proper to refuſe.

My ſoldiers, and even negroes, ſeemed now completely happy, amongſt whom the moſt perfect harmony ſub⯑ſiſted; while I frequently indulged them with a merry evening, and a grey-beard of rum.

One night, in the midſt of this feſtivity, I ſecretly or⯑dered the ſentinel to fire his piece, and cauſe a falſe alarm, as if the enemy were on the eſtate; when I had [232] the ſatisfaction to ſee them ſeize their arms, and ruſh out with the utmoſt order and intrepidity. This experi⯑ment I was the rather inclined to put in practice, as it was reported that the rebels intended ſoon to pay a viſit to the River Comewina. But we ſoon experienced that no ſcene of perfect felicity can be laſting, for the dry ſeaſon now ſuddenly ſetting-in, diſeaſe and mortality once more began to rage among us, ten or twelve men dying daily at the Java Creek and Magdenburg, while thoſe under my command at the Hope diminiſhed hourly.

On the 3d, the ſurgeon made me the following report, ‘"That my Enſign, Mr. Decabanes, had his anchor-apeek, and would certainly ſet ſail for the other world with the ebb-tide;"’ which was really the caſe, for he died that very evening. This grieved me the more, as he had obtained his commiſſion through my intereſt, and bore an excellent character.

On the 4th of June, the ſpring-flood broke down my dams while we were drinking the King's health, and laid the whole poſt under water, which created vaſt confu⯑ſion; and in this diſtreſs the overſeer Blenderman re⯑fuſed to lend me any aſſiſtance, which occaſioned ſo vio⯑lent a quarrel, that he was glad to take to his heels, and make his eſcape from the plantation. I ſhall never have done mentioning the inſolence of theſe ſavage brutes, who moſtly are the refuſe of the earth, brought up in Germany, or elſewhere, under the cane of a corpo⯑ral. [233] ‘"Well," ſaid one of theſe miſcreants ironically to an old free negro, "don't you believe that the monkies are a race of damn'd Chriſtians, who have been thus trans⯑formed for ſhewing ſo much lenity to ſuch as you?"’ —‘"No, ſir," replied the black man, "we do not think that the monkies are damn'd Chriſtians; but I, and all of us, believe that many who call themſelves Chriſtians are a pack of damn'd monkies."’ — Which pointed repartee afforded me infinite ſatisfaction.

Of the adminiſtrators I ſhall ſay nothing, nor of the appraiſers of eſtates; having, I believe, already mentioned that the firſt got ten per cent. of all the produce, and many of the latter enrich the purchaſers and themſelves by ſelling under the value ſuch property as is entruſted to their care.

On the 7th, Mr. Moryn, adminiſtrator of the Hope, being in a piece of newly-cultivated ground on the op⯑poſite ſhore, I rowed over to obtain ſatisfaction of the im⯑pertinent Blenderman, who was along with him; but this fellow's cowardice being equal to his inſolence and barbarity, he made every conceſſion, and promiſed like⯑wiſe to repair my dams, rather than run the riſque of broken bones—thus a reconciliation was eſtabliſhed.

Walking through theſe new fields, where a neat houſe was already built, I ſaw ſome beautiful birds, amongſt which was the wood-pecker. I ought indeed to have de⯑ſcribed this bird before, and another, the name unknown to me, having had an opportunity of doing it when I was at Magdenburg, but I then took only drawings of them. [234] The wood-pecker is about the ſize of a thruſh, and of an elegant cinnamon-colour, ſpeckled with dark brown and yellow; near the rump it is entirely yellow; the head is creſted with a fine crown of ſmall feathers, of the ſame colour as the body: the tail is long and black; the bill is ſtraight, and of a ſea-green colour, as are the legs and iris of the eyes, under which on each ſide are two ſpots of beautiful crimſon.

The anonymous bird, which, however, the negroes called woodo-louſo-fowlo, from its feeding on wood⯑lice, is larger than the former, and uncommonly bril⯑liant in its plumage; the head and upper part of its body being of a rich graſs green; the breaſt and belly crimſon, divided by an aſh-coloured bar. The tail is long, and of a dark blue, as are the prime feathers in the wings, which are alſo divided from the green by another aſh-coloured bar; the bill is yellow and hooked, being ſurrounded by a number of ſmall black feathers, as are the eyes, the iris of which is of a blood colour. (Both theſe birds may be ſeen in the annexed plate.)—As I have already obſerved, however rich and beautiful the plumage may be which decorates the groves of Surinam, the melodious ſong there is but ſeldom heard. They had alſo here the tame galinas, or Guinea-hens, called tokay, which being ſo well known in England, require no par⯑ticular deſcription.

In the ſkirts of the ſurrounding woods I ſaw alſo the vanillas, or banilla, which is a ſhrub that climbs up along the trunks of other trees, adhering to the back like ne⯑bees or ivy, by the help of its tendrils: the leaves are prodigiouſly thick, and dark green, the fruit conſiſting of a triangular pod ſix or eight inches long, and filled with ſmall poliſhed ſeeds. Theſe pods, being dried a fortnight in the ſun, become brown, and have a fat rich aromatic taſte, and moſt agreeable flavour; on which ac⯑count they are uſed to ſcent the chocolate. There are different kinds of vanilla, but that is moſt eſteemed which has its pods the moſt long and moſt ſlender. The negroes ſhewed me here alſo a ſmall ſweetiſh ſeed, which they called bongora.

As I returned to the Hope, I met Cojo, Joanna's uncle, who had ſhot one of the bowling baboons, which he brought to the Hope to ſhew it me. Theſe animals are the ſize of a ſmall bull-dog, and the colour a reddiſh-brown, with long hair; they have alſo a beard, and are upon the whole extremely ugly; but what chiefly diſ⯑tinguiſhes them from other monkies is their abominable [236] howl, which they perform in chorus whole groupes to⯑gether, and ſo loud, that it may be heard above a mile; theſe diſcordant concerts, the negroes told me, they ge⯑nerally repeat, both night and day, at the time of high water, which, it is ſuppoſed, the baboons know by in⯑ſtinct.—When ſpeaking of inſtinct in animals, I cannot omit relating the following ſingular fact; after which I ſhall return to the hiſtorical part of my narrative.

On the 16th I was viſited by a neighbouring gentle⯑man, whom I conducted up my ladder; but he had no ſooner entered my aerial dwelling, than he leapt down from the top to the ground, roaring like a madman with agony and pain, after which he inſtantly plunged his head into the river; but looking up, I ſoon diſcovered the cauſe of his diſtreſs to be an enormous neſt of wild bees or waſſee-waſſee, in the thatch, directly above my head, as I ſtood within my door; when I immediately took to my heels as he had done, and ordered them to be de⯑moliſhed by my ſlaves without delay. A tar mop was now brought, and the devaſtation juſt going to com⯑mence, when an old negro ſtepped up, and offered to re⯑ceive any puniſhment I ſhould decree if ever one of theſe bees ſhould ſting me in perſon. ‘"Maſſera," ſaid he, "they would have ſtung you long ere now had you been a ſtranger to them; but they being your tenants, that is gradually allowed to build upon your premiſſes, they aſſuredly know both you and your's, and will never hurt either you or them."’ I inſtantly aſſented to the [237] propoſition, and tying the old black man to a tree, or⯑dered my boy Quaco to aſcend the ladder quite naked, which he did, and was not ſtung; I then ventured to follow, and I declare upon my honour, that even after ſhaking the neſt, which made its inhabitants buz about my ears, not a ſingle bee attempted to ſting me. I next releaſed the old negro, and rewarded him with a gallon of rum and five ſhillings for the diſcovery. This ſwarm of bees I ſince kept unhurt, as my body-guards, and they have made many overſeers take a deſperate leap for my amuſement, as I generally ſent them up my ladder upon ſome frivolous meſſage, when I wiſhed to puniſh them for injuſtice and cruelty, which was not ſeldom.

The above negro aſſured me, that on his maſter's eſtate was an ancient tree, in which had been lodged ever ſince he could remember, a ſociety of birds, and an⯑other of bees, who lived in the greateſt harmony toge⯑ther; but ſhould any ſtrange birds come to diſturb or feed upon the bees, they were inſtantly repulſed by their feathered allies, and if ſtrange bees dared to venture near the birds neſts, the native ſwarm attacked the invaders, and ſtung them to death: that his maſter and family had ſo much reſpect for the above aſſociation, that the tree was conſidered as ſacred, and was not to be touched by an axe until it ſhould yield to all-deſtroying time.

On the 22d, a patrole arrived from Rietwyk, in Pirica, who informed me, that a party of our troops were juſt returned to Java Creek from a cruize to Vredenburg, at [238] the Marawina; and that, in conjunction with the rangers, they had during this campaign deſtroyed many fields of proviſions belonging to the rebels: alſo, that for their faithful ſervices, our ſable allies had been complimented by the Society with new arms, and, for the firſt time, cloathed in green uniform jackets. I further learned that the ambaſſadors to the Owca and Serameca negroes were returned after a fruitleſs journey, as neither of theſe aſſociations would lend the ſmalleſt aſſiſtance. In conſe⯑quence of this refuſal, Colonel Fourgeoud, being wearied himſelf, and having exhauſted his troops in deſtroying moſt of the rebel ſettlements, at length determined to re⯑linquiſh the whole expedition; which reſolution he pre⯑viouſly communicated to his Serene Highneſs the Prince of Orange at the Hague.

On the 23d I received poſitive orders to prepare and be ready on the 15th of July, to break up, with all the troops under my command, leave the River Comewina, and row down to Paramaribo, where the tranſport ſhips were put in commiſſion to convey us back to Holland. This order I inſtantly read before the front to all my men, who received it with unbounded joy and three cheers—but I alone ſighed bitterly. — Oh my Joanna! Oh my boy! who were at this time both dangerouſly ill, the one with a fever, the other with convulſions, ſo that neither were expected to ſurvive. Add to this, that I ran a nail quite through my foot—thus was completely miſerable.

During this ſcene of ſickneſs and diſtreſs, the ſtrix or [239] night-owl of Guiana regularly paid us his nocturnal vi⯑ſits, even in the apartment where we lay, pouring out his melancholy hootings, until he was killed by one of my black attendants. This bird is here called Ooroocoocoo, from its note, to which this word has ſome affinity. It is about the ſize of a pigeon; the bill is yellow, and hooked like that of a ſparrow-hawk; the eyes are alſo yellow; the tongue is cloven; the ears very viſible; the legs ſtrong, ſhort, and armed with ſharp claws: the ge⯑neral colour of this bird is a pale brown, except the breaſt and belly, which are white, intermixed with ſome ſpots of amber. The ſuperſtitious negroes generally believe that where the night-owl makes his appearance morta⯑lity muſt enſue: which prejudice is the more excuſable, as this creature only frequents the apartments of the ſick; but the real cauſe which attracts the animal, I ap⯑prehend to be the lights that upon theſe occaſions are generally kept burning all night, or poſſibly the morbid and putrid air, which excites its appetite for prey.

An old Indian woman of Joanna's acquaintance being now ſent for to the Hope, I myſelf was ſoon cured by her ſkill and attention; but my little family continued ſo very unwell, that I thought it right to ſend them to Parama⯑ribo before it was too late. And on the 10th of July I ſent all my ſheep and poultry to Fauconberg, one couple of fat ewes excepted, which I killed, and with which, by the addition of fiſh and veniſon, I entertained for two days following twenty-four of the moſt reſpectable inha⯑bitants [240] in the river, while the white bread, fruit, and Spaniſh wines to help out the feaſt, I received as a pre⯑ſent from my very worthy friend, Mr. James Gourland, at Berghoven.

On the 13th I ordered down the troops from Claren⯑beek, where an hoſpital had been a ſecond time erected, and they this evening anchored off the Hope.

On the 14th, an officer of the Honourable Society troops arrived to relieve me in the command of the river; and his men from that moment began to perform the duty.

I now removed my flag from the Hope to the barges; and in the evening took my laſt farewel of Joanna's relations on the Fauconberg eſtate; who, crouding round me, expreſſed their ſorrow aloud for my departure, and with tears invoked the protection of Heaven for my ſafe and proſperous voyage.

On the 15th we finally left the Hope, having marched my troops on board the barges at ten o'clock, A. M.; and at noon I fired my piſtol as a ſignal to weigh anchor, when we immediately proceeded down the River Come⯑wina for the roads of Paramaribo, to be embarked on board the tranſport ſhips for Europe.

CHAP. XXVI. The Troops on Board—Again ordered to diſembark—Great Dejection—Mutiny—Inſolent Conduct of an Owca Negro Captain—Near two hundred Sick ſent to Holland—Gene⯑ral Deſcription of the African Negroes.

ON the evening of the 15th of July,CHAP. XXVI. we anchored off the eſtate Berkſhoven, where I ſpent the night aſhore with my friend Gourley; and in the morning we continued to row down the river, when I took my laſt farewel of Mr. Palmer. I paſſed the evening of the 17th with Captain Mac Neyl; and, on the 18th, the whole fleet, conſiſting of my own barges, together with three from Magdenberg, and thoſe from the River Cottica, ar⯑rived ſafe at anchor in the roads of Paramaribo, where three tranſports lay ready to receive us, on board of which veſſels I immediately embarked all the troops that had come down under my command.

This ſervice being accompliſhed, I went aſhore, and made my report to Colonel Fourgeoud; after which I went to viſit Joanna and her boy, whom, to my great joy, I found very much recovered.

The following day I was again ſent on board, to make the neceſſary arrangements for the voyage; and on the 20th I dined with Colonel Fourgeoud, where, to my [242] ſurprize, I found two ſpecies of fiſh, which I have never mentioned; the one is called the haddock, being much like ours, but rather larger and whiter coloured: the other the ſeparee, which a little reſembles the ſkait. At the deſſert was a fruit called in Surinam zurzacka, which I believe by the Engliſh is called the ſour-ſap. It grows upon a tree of a moderate ſize, with a grey bark, and leaves like thoſe of the orange-tree, but ſet in pairs; the fruit is of a pyramidical form, heavier than the largeſt pear, and all covered over with inoffenſive prickles: the ſkin is very thin, the pulp a ſoft pithy ſubſtance as white as milk, and of a ſweet taſte, mixed with a moſt agreea⯑ble acid, in which are ſeeds like the large kernels of an apple. Another ſpecies of ſmall zurzacka grows in this country, ſomething reſembling hops, but is of no uſe whatever. We had alſo the fruit called ſabatille, which grows on a large tree, the leaves like thoſe of the laurel. This fruit is the ſize of a peach, very round, and of a brown colour, covered over with a ſoft down: when cut in two, the pulp is not unlike marmalade, in which are found the ſeeds; it is ſuch a luſcious ſweet, that to many palates it is even diſagreeable.

On the 21ſt we once more received our clearance, but in card money, by which we all loſt very conſiderably; however, I inſtantly went to Mrs. Godefroy, and again gave her all the money that was in my pocket, being no more than £. 40. This excellent woman now renewed her entreaties that I ſhould carry my boy and his mother [243] with me to Holland, but to no purpoſe; Joanna was perfectly immoveable, even to a degree of heroiſm, and no perſuaſion could make the leaſt impreſſion upon her, until her redemption ſhould be made complete by the payment of the very laſt farthing. In this ſituation we affected to bear our fate with perfect reſignation, though what each of us felt in particular may much more eaſily be imagined than deſcribed.

The regiment's colours were now carried on board on the 23d in great ſtate, which put a final cloſe to the ex⯑pedition, but without receiving any honours from Fort Zealandia, not a ſingle gun being fired, nor even the flag hoiſted on the occaſion, to the great mortification of Co⯑lonel Fourgeoud, though in effect it was chiefly owing to his own neglect, as he had never given the Governor official notice of his intended departure. The baggage was alſo ſent on board the ſhips; and a gentleman of the name of Van Heyſt entertained the marines at his private expence with three hundred bottles of wine, fruit, &c.

I have often remarked the hoſpitality and generoſity of theſe people, which I now alſo once more experienced, receiving various preſents of fruits and preſerves from my numerous friends, to refreſh me at ſea while on the voyage; amongſt the preſerves were the female pappayas, the male bearing no fruit. This grows on a grey trunk, near twenty feet high, ſtraight, and pithy within, the top being covered with a crown, and only fourteen or ſixteen diverging leaves, extremely large and digitated. The fruit grows cloſe to the trunk; the flower or bloſſom has [244] a moſt delicious fragrance. When ripe, it is the ſize and ſhape of a water-melon, and turns from green to yellow, but its pulp is more firm and ſolid: the inner pulp is ſoft and ſlimy, filled with innumerable ſeeds. This fruit at full maturity is cut in pieces and boiled, when it eats like Engliſh turnips; but they uſe it principally for confec⯑tionary and ſweetmeats, when young, and with its bloſ⯑ſoms being both extremely delicate and wholeſome. I had alſo ſent me ſome fine preſerved ginger; this is the root of a kind of reedy ſtalk, that never exceeds two feet in height, with long, narrow pointed leaves. Theſe roots are tuberous, flattiſh, ſmall, and cluſtered in many different ſhapes, not unlike pig-potatoes, and of nearly the ſame colour in the inſide, but fibrous, acid, hot, and aromatic; the ſmell is highly fragrant: it is well known to be not only an agreeable preſerve, but in many caſes an excel⯑lent medicine.—But to proceed.

On the 24th of July, the ſails being bent to the yards, we at laſt proceeded in corps to take leave of his Excellency the Governor of the colony, who, while he ſtill received us with the greateſt politeneſs, yet gave our hero to under⯑ſtand, that were his colours now to be ſent on board, they ſhould moſt certainly be ſaluted with thoſe honours which indiſputably were their due. After which he ſent the whole corps of Society officers to the head-quarters in ſtate, to wiſh us a proſperous voyage to Holland; and in this conteſt of etiquette his Excellency moſt aſſuredly led the van; for hinting which, however, to ſome of Four⯑geoud's favourites, I had nearly engaged myſelf once more [245] in a ſerious quarrel. Our men, who had been on board ſince the 18th, being now joined by their officers, the poor remains of this fine regiment were thus finally em⯑barked, and in the higheſt flow of ſpirits, expecting to ſet ſail the following day for Europe; while (one alone excepted) every countenance wore the appearance of happineſs and joy; and nothing indeed could equal the exultation of the few ſurviving troops, when the next morning the orders were iſſued for the ſhips to weigh anchor and put to ſea.

But it was by fate ordained that their eager hopes and expectations once more ſhould be blaſted: for on the very moment of departure, a ſhip entered the river with diſpatches, incloſing an order for the regiment immediately to re-enter the woods, and remain in the colony until relieved by freſh troops to be ſent out from Holland for that purpoſe. The SINCERE THANKS of his Serene Highneſs the Prince of Orange were now read to the men from the quarter-deck of each veſſel, ‘"for the manly and ſpirited conduct they had diſplayed during ſo long a trial, and ſo many great and unpre⯑cedented hardſhips;"’ but as they concluded with or⯑ders for the troops to diſembark, and remain in this dreadful ſervice, I never ſaw dejection, diſappointment, and deſpair ſo ſtrongly marked: while at this moment I, who but juſt before had been completely miſerable, was now in turn the only one who was not depreſſed with ſorrow.

[246]In the midſt of this gloomy ſcene, the men were or⯑dered to give three cheers, which the marines on board one of the veſſels abſolutely refuſed to comply with: Colonel Scyburg, and unluckily myſelf, were in conſe⯑quence ordered to compel them; which he undertook, with a cane in one hand, and a loaded piſtol cocked in the other. Knowing his temper to be fiery and iraſcible, what did I not feel at this moment? I ſuddenly leapt into the boat that lay along-ſide, where, after haranguing thoſe few that leaned over the gunwale, I promiſed the ſhip's crew twenty gallons of Holland's gin if they would only begin the melancholy chorus. Then mounting again the quarter-deck, I acquainted the Colonel that all were now ready and willing to obey his commands; we then re-entered the boat, and in ſhoving off had the ſatisfaction to receive three hearty cheers from the ſailors, in which joined a few marines, but with ſuch languid looks and heavy hearts as cannot be deſcribed.

At this time however the Prince of Orange's goodneſs of heart appeared in a conſpicuous light, as he ordered all private accounts due by the troops to ſurgeons and phyſicians to be paid by the treaſury; which, however trifling it may appear, was no trifle to many of the offi⯑cers, &c. and evinced an attention in his Serene Highneſs which is not always to be found in princes, while all knew his ſorrow for the hard lot of his ſoldiers, but which could not yet be diſpenſed with, conſiſtent with the general good.

[247]If our diſembarkation diſtreſſed the troops, it afforded joy to moſt of the coloniſts; as indeed a petition, ſigned by the principal inhabitants, had been preſented to Co⯑lonel Fourgeoud but two days before, ‘"praying that our regiment might ſtay ſome time longer, and give the finiſhing ſtroke to the rebels, as we had ſo gloriouſly begun, and perſevered in routing and haraſſing them;"’ which indeed was certainly true, for our regiment, in conjunction with the Society and rangers, had demoliſhed moſt ſettlements the rebels poſſeſſed in the colony, and had driven them to ſo conſiderable a diſtance, that their depredations, and the deſertion of ſlaves, were incompa⯑rably leſs than upon our arrival; and this was aſſuredly much better than the Dutch making a ſhameful peace with them, as had been done with the rebels of the Owca and Sarameca ſettlements before, yet which would probably again have been the conſequence had we not landed in Guiana.

As an inſtance of the inſolence of ſavages, when per⯑fectly independant, I muſt relate a converſation which paſſed between one of this deſcription and myſelf at Pa⯑ramaribo, where the troops were allowed ſome time to refreſh themſelves before they again retook the field:— Dining one day at Captain Mac Neyl's, who was now come to town from his eſtate, a captain of the Owca ne⯑groes, our ſuppoſed allies, came in to demand money from his lady; and being very importunate, I deſired her in Engliſh to ‘"give him a dram, and he would be gone;"’ which the fellow underſtanding, called me without the [248] door, and lifting up his ſilver-headed cane, aſked me, ‘"If that houſe was my own? and if not, what buſineſs I had to interfere?"’ ‘"I am, ſaid he, in a thundering voice, "Captain Fortune Dago-So; and, if I had you in my country at Owca, I would make the very earth drink up your blood."’ To which I replied, drawing my ſword, ‘"That my name was Stedman; and that if he dared to utter one inſolent expreſſion more, my wea⯑pon ſhould find the ſhorteſt way through his body."’ Upon which he ſnapped his fingers, and marched off, leaving me much diſpleaſed, and blaming Fourgeoud for ſhewing ſo much indulgence to ſuch a ſet of banditti. In the evening, as I returned from dinner, I met the ſame black fellow again, who, ſtepping ſhort up to me, ſaid, ‘"Maſſera, you are a man, a very brave fellow; won't you now give ſome money to the Owca Captain?"’ This I ſternly refuſed; he then kiſſed my hand, and ſhewed his teeth (he ſaid) in token of reconciliation, promiſ⯑ing to ſend me a preſent of piſtachio-nuts, which, how⯑ever, never did arrive, nor indeed ſhould I have taſted.

Though we continued in Surinam ſome time longer, our future ſervices could add but very little to its pro⯑ſperity, as our numbers were now ſo very few, and out of this number, ſmall as it was, nine officers and above one hundred and ſixty privates, all ſick and incurable, embark⯑ed again for Holland on the 1ſt of Auguſt. I was ill with an ague at this time, and had the offer of making one of the party, but declined it, being determined to ſee the end of the expedition if I could; I however availed myſelf [249] of the opportunity to ſend ſome preſents to my friends in Europe; amongſt theſe were a couple of beautiful parrots, two curious monkies, an elegant collection of fine butterflies, three cheſts of ſweetmeats, and ſome pickles, all ſhipped on board the ſhip Paramaribo, and under the care of Serjeant Fowler, who was, poor fellow, one of the invalids bound for Amſterdam.

Major Medlar being quite emaciated with fatigue and hardſhips, now alſo ſailed for Holland; thus, during his abſence acting as major, I began to entertain an expec⯑tation that I ſhould one day carry home the regiment myſelf, ſo very rapidly were our officers daily diminiſh⯑ing; and yet amongſt thoſe few who remained two had the courage at this time to venture upon matrimony, and married two Creole ladies, both widows.

Every thing now being peaceable and quiet, I recover⯑ed my ſtrength ſo far as on the 10th to walk to Mrs. Godefroy, when I acquainted her that I wiſhed much to emancipate at leaſt Johnny Stedman; and requeſted her to become bail before the court, for the uſual ſum of £. 300, as he ſhould never be any charge to the colony of Surinam. But this ſhe peremptorily declined, though there was no riſque, it being only a matter of form; at which I could not help feeling ſome aſtoniſhment, till I was acquainted that ſhe had actually refuſed the ſame favour to her own ſon.

The mention of ſlavery reminds me of a debt which I ſeem to have incurred to my reader. I have from time to time given ſome account of the mode in which [250] ſlaves are brought to this market, and of the man⯑ner in which they are treated—But I feel that I have not been ſufficiently full upon this ſubject; and I am the more diſpoſed to bring forward all the infor⯑mation that I have gained concerning the negroes, be⯑cauſe I flatter myſelf that I ſhall be able to bring ſome truths to light, that have hitherto been unobſerved or im⯑perfectly related, at leaſt to the generality of Europeans.

In the firſt place, as to the complexion of a negro, this, as I have obſerved before, is I am perſuaded en⯑tirely owing to the burning climate in which he lives, and an atmoſphere ſtill more heated by the ſandy deſarts, over which the trade winds paſs before they reach the habitable parts. The Indians of America, on the contrary, who indeed live under the ſame degree of latitude, have this wind refreſhed by the Atlantic Ocean, and are cop⯑per-coloured; and the inhabitants of Abyſſinia, who re⯑ceive it cooled by the Arabian and the Indian Seas, are entirely olive. Thus north of the great River Senegal the complexion changes from black to brown amongſt the Moors, as it does toward the ſouth amongſt the Caffrarians and the Hottentots; and I am of opinion, that the woolly texture of their hair is an effect proceeding from the ſame cauſe. The epidermis or cuticle of the negroes I have ſeen diſſected more than once; it is clear and tranſ⯑parent, but between this and the real ſkin lies a thin fol⯑licle, which is perfectly black, which being removed by ſevere flagellation, or by ſcalding, expoſes a complexion not inferior to that of an European.

[251]On the eſtate Voſſenbergh, in Surinam, were born two white negroes, whoſe parents were both perfectly black; the one was a female, ſent to Paris in 1734; the other a boy, born in March 1738. And in 1794, a ſimilar woman, Emelia Lewſam, was exhibited in England, whoſe children (though ſhe is married to an European) are all mulattoes. The ſkin of theſe people is not of the European white, but more reſembles chalk; their hair the ſame; their eyes are often red ^*, and they ſee very little in the ſun-ſhine, neither are they fit for any kind of labour; while their mental faculties, I have been told, uſually correſpond with the debility of their bodies.

With reſpect to the ſhape of the African negroes, it is from head to foot certainly different from the European mould, though not, in my opinion, in any degree in⯑ferior, prejudice being laid aſide. Their ſtrong features, flat noſes, thick lips, and high cheek bones, may appear deformities to us, and yet amongſt themſelves may be eſ⯑teemed the reverſe; their bright black eyes, and fine white teeth, we are forced to admire; and one decided advantage in a black complexion is, that all thoſe languid pale ſickly-looking countenances, ſo common in Europe, are never exhibited among them, nor are the wrinkles and ravages of age equally conſpicuous; though I muſt confeſs that when a negro is very ill, his black changes to a very diſagreeable ſallow olive.

[252]For exertion and activity, their ſhape is aſſuredly pre⯑ferable to ours, being generally ſtrong and muſcular near the trunk, and ſlender towards the extremities; they have moſtly a remarkable fine cheſt, but are ſmall about the hips; their buttocks are more prominent, and their necks are thicker than ours; the thighs are ſtrong, as alſo the arms above the elbow, but the wriſts and lower part of the legs are very ſlender; and a good deal indeed of the Herculean make of the late Broughton the pugiliſt may be traced in the form of a vigorous negro. As to the crookedneſs of their limbs, it is to be accounted for by the manner in which they are carried whilſt infants upon the mother's back, their tender legs being tied cloſe round each ſide of her waiſt, which occaſions that unnatural bent, with which they are not born: nor are their children ever taught to walk, but left to creep amongſt the ſand and graſs, until they gradually acquire ſtrength and inclination to erect themſelves, which they do very ſoon; by this cuſtom, however, the poſition of their feet is much neglected, yet by exerciſe, and daily bathing, they acquire that ſtrength and agility, for which they are ſo remarkable.

Another cuſtom which, in their opinion, conduces much to their health and vigour is, that, during the two years in which the mothers ſuckle their children, they frequently make them ſwallow large quantities of water, after which they ſhake them twice a day, with much violence; they are then taken by a leg or an arm, and [253] toſſed into the river, to be well ſcoured outwardly; nor are the females exempt from this mode of rearing youth, which renders them not inferior to the men, in ſize alone excepted, while ſome in running, ſwimming, climbing, and dancing, as well as wreſtling, are even their ſu⯑periors: thus, that it depends on education to form a race of Amazonian females, is a propoſition of which I have very little doubt.

Nor are theſe hardy daughters of the Torrid Zone leſs remarkable for propagation. I knew a female ſer⯑vant at Mr. de Graaf's, called Leſperanza, who actu⯑ally bore nine children in the courſe of three years, the firſt year four, the next two, and the third three. They bring their offspring into the world without pain, and like the Indian women reſuming their domeſtic em⯑ployments even the ſame day. During the firſt week their infants are as fair as any Europeans, except that in the males there is a little appearance of black in a certain part, and the whole body becomes gradually of that co⯑lour. Their females arrive early at the age of puberty; but, as in the fruits of this climate, this early maturity is ſucceeded by a ſudden decay. Many of the negroes, however, live to a very conſiderable age: I have ſeen one or two that were above one hundred; and the London Chronicle for October 5, 1780, makes mention of a negro woman, called Louiſa Truxo, at Tucomea, in South Ame⯑rica, ſtill living, at the ſurprizing age of one hundred and ſeventy-five years. In what tables of longevity is there ſuch an European to be found? though moſt pro⯑bably [254] this venerable perſon ſpent her youth in hard labour, like other ſlaves; which, though a negro can bear much better in a tropical climate than a native of Europe, yet cannot be natural, either on the coaſt of Guinea or Guiana, where, without toil, the neceſſaries of life are produced, and vegetation flouriſhes ſponta⯑neouſly for ever.

In the conſtitution of the negroes I have ſtill obſerved this ſingularity, that while they bear the fatigue of labour in the hotteſt days, they can alſo bear the cold and damp better than an European, at leaſt better than I could; ſleeping all night on the wet graſs, perfectly naked, without any injury to their health, while I have been glad, eſpecially early in the morning, to have a fire lit under my hammock, and while the marines for want of it lay in a ſhiver. They alſo bear hunger and thirſt, and pain or ſickneſs, with the greateſt patience and reſo⯑lution.

I have formerly mentioned the names of more than a dozen of negro tribes: all theſe know each other by the different marks and inciſions made on their bodies — for inſtance, the Coromantyn negroes, who are moſt eſteemed, cut three or four long gaſhes on each of their cheeks, as repreſented in the face of the armed free negro or ranger, in plate VII.

The Loango negroes, who are reckoned the worſt, diſ⯑tinguiſh themſelves by puncturing or marking the ſkin of their ſides, arms, and thighs with ſquare elevated figures, ſomething like dice. (See plate LXVIII.) Theſe [255] alſo cut their fore-teeth to a ſharp point, which gives them a frightful appearance, reſembling in ſome degree thoſe of a ſhark: and all their males are circumciſed, after the manner of the Jews.

Among the ſtrange productions of nature, a ſpecies of people known by the name of Accorees, deſerves to be particularly noticed.—The Accorees, or Two-fingers, live amongſt the Seramaca negroes, in the very upper parts of the river of that name. This heterogeneous tribe are ſo deformed in their hands and feet, that while ſome have three or four fingers and toes on each hand and foot, others have only two, which reſemble the claws of a lobſter, or rather limbs that have been cured after mu⯑tilation by fire, or ſome other accident. This deformity in one perſon would cauſe but ſmall admiration; but that a whole community ſhould be afflicted with this ſingula⯑rity, is certainly a moſt wonderful phaenomenon. Having ſeen but two myſelf, and that at too great a diſtance to take a drawing of them, I cannot pretend to vouch for the truth of what I have only heard; but an engraving of one of theſe figures was poſitively ſent to the Society of Arts and Sciences at Haerlem; while I beg leave to introduce, as a further voucher, the following extract from an old book of ſurgery and anatomy, procured me by the ingenious and learned Owen Cambridge, Eſquire, of Twickenham.

‘"After Michaelmas term, in the year 1629, a body was brought from the place of execution to the College of Phyſicians, to be cut up for an anatomy; and by chance [256] the officer of the college brought the body of a cruel wretch, who had murdered the ſon of one Maſter Scot, a ſurgeon of good note in this city. This wretch was of a very truculent countenance and aſpect; his hair was black and curled, not very long, but thick and buſhy; his forehead little above an inch high; his brows great and prominent; his eyes ſet deep in their ſockets; his noſe crooked, with a round knob or button at the end, which alſo ſomewhat turned upwards; on his upper lip he had ſome quantity of black hair, on his chin very few, ſtraggling, black and ſtiff; and his nether lip was as big as three lips. Such was his face: but the greateſt deformity was his feet, and that almoſt to admiration; for they were both cloven, but not alike. One foot was equally divided between four and five inches deep into two toes, jointed like other men's toes, but as large each of them as half the foot could make them, with nails proportionable. The left foot was divided likewiſe in the middle, but the diviſion was not above three inches deep, or ſcarce ſo much; the one half, which was towards the body, made one large toe, with a nail proportionable, like the inward half of the right foot; but the outward half was com⯑pounded of two toes, yet growing cloſe and faſt to⯑gether. This monſtrous ſhape of a man I have thought good to give this relation of, from certain knowledge, for there were a thouſand witneſſes of it preſent."’

With the languages of the African negroes I am but [257] little acquainted; as a ſpecimen, however, I will inſert a few ſentences of that called the Coromantyn, upon the credit of my boy Quaco, who belonged to that nation, to⯑gether with a tranſlation in Engliſh; and only obſerve, that they break off their words very ſhort, in a kind of guttural manner, which I cannot eaſily deſcribe:—For in⯑ſtance — ‘"Co fa anſyo, na baramon bra, Go to the river, and bring me ſome water."’ — ‘"Mee yeree, naco⯑meda mee, My wife, I want ſome food."’ —So much for the Coromantyn language, as ſpoken by the negroes on the coaſt of Guinea.

But as to that ſpoken by the black people in Suri⯑nam, I conſider myſelf a perfect maſter, it being a com⯑pound of Dutch, French, Spaniſh, Portugueſe, and Eng⯑liſh. The latter they like beſt, and conſequently uſe the moſt. It has been already obſerved, that the Engliſh were the firſt Europeans who poſſeſſed this colony, hence probably the predilection for that language, which they have ſtill retained. In this mixed dialect, for which I have ſeen a printed grammar, the words end moſtly with a vowel, like the Indian and Italian, and it is ſo ſweet, ſo ſonorous and ſoft, that the genteeleſt Europeans in Su⯑rinam ſpeak little elſe; it is alſo wonderfully expreſſive and ſentimental, ſuch as, ‘"Good eating, ſweety-muffo."’— ‘"Gun-powder, man ſanny."’— ‘"I will love you, with all my heart, ſo long as I live, Mee ſaloby you, langa alla mee hatty, ſo langa me leeby."’ — ‘"A pleaſing tale, ananaſſy [258] tory."’ —‘"I am very angry, me hatty brun."’— ‘"Live long, ſo long until your hair become white as cotton, Lebee langa, tay, tay, ta-y you weeree weeree tan wity likee catoo."’ —‘"Small, peekeen."’— ‘"Very ſmalle, peekeenee⯑nee."’ — ‘"Farewel! Good-bye! I am dying, and going to my God, Adioſo, cerroboay, mee de go dede, me de go na mee Gado."’ —In this ſample, many corrupt Engliſh words are perceptible, which however begin to grow out of uſe near the capital, but are ſtill retained in the diſtant plan⯑tations; for inſtance, at the eſtate Goet-Accoord, in Cottica, I have heard an old negro woman ſay, ‘"We lobee fo lebee togeddere,’ by which ſhe meant, we love to live toge⯑ther; and at Paramaribo to expreſs the ſame ſentence, ‘"Wee looko for tanna macandera."’

Their vocal muſic is like that of the birds, melodious, but without time, and in other reſpects not unlike that of a clerk performing to the congregation, one perſon con⯑ſtantly pronouncing a ſentence extempore, which he next hums or whiſtles, and then all the others repeat the ſame in chorus; another ſentence is then ſpoken, and the chorus is a ſecond time renewed, &c.

This kind of ſinging is much practiſed by the barge rowers or boat negroes on the water, eſpecially dur⯑ing the night in a clear moonſhine; it is to them pe⯑culiarly animating, and may, together with the ſound of their oars, be heard at a conſiderable diſtance.

As a ſpecimen, I have tried to ſet the following words [259] to muſic, ſuppoſing a ranger going to battle, and thus taking leave of his girl:

Such is their vocal melody; and of their inſtrumental muſic, and dancing, which is perfectly to time, I ſhall ſpeak hereafter, having already given a ſhort account of that which is practiſed by the Loango negroes. That theſe people are neither diveſted of a good ear, nor poetical genius, has been frequently proved, when they have had the advantages of a good education. Amongſt others, Phillis Wheatley, who was a ſlave at Boſton in New England, learned the Latin language, and wrote thirty-eight elegant pieces of poetry on different ſubjects, which were publiſhed in 1773. As a ſpecimen, I cannot refrain here inſerting the following extract from that en⯑titled, "Thoughts on Imagination."

What can be more beautiful and ſublime? —

Ignatius Sancho, a negro, many years ſervant to the Duke of Montagu, whoſe ſentimental letters, ſo generally known, would not diſgrace the pen of an European, may alſo be mentioned on this occaſion; and with regard to their powers of memory and calculation, I ſhall only notice Thomas Fuller, a negro, the property of a Mrs. Cox in Maryland, North America; and quote one ſingular anec⯑dote, as it is related by Dr. Ruſh of Philadelphia, in a letter to a gentleman at Mancheſter.

‘"Being travelling," ſays the Doctor, "with ſome other gentlemen of this city, through Maryland, and having heard of the aſtoniſhing powers of memory in arith⯑metical calculation poſſeſſed by Thomas Fuller, a negro, we ſent for him; when one of the gentlemen in com⯑pany aſked him, how many ſeconds a man of ſeventy years, ſome odd months, weeks and days, had lived? He told the exact number in a minute and a half. [261] When the gentleman who had aſked the queſtion took his pen, and having calculated the ſame by figures, told the negro he muſt be miſtaken, as the number he had mentioned was certainly too great. 'Top, Maſſera,' ſaid the negro, 'you have omitted the leap-years;' when having calculated the ſeconds contained in the number of leap-years, and added them, the number was found exactly the ſame as that calculated by the negro. This ſame man multiplied nine figures by nine, by me⯑mory, before another company."’ Another lately repeat⯑ed the Alcoran from recollection only.—What amazing mental faculties in African negroes, who could neither read nor write! Yet that ſuch things are, is well authen⯑ticated.

To what I have already advanced, I may add, that all negroes firmly believe the being of a God, upon whoſe goodneſs they rely, and whoſe power they adore, while they have no fear of death, and never taſte food without offering a libation. In the rivers Gambia and Senegal they are moſtly Mahometans; but generally the worſhip and religious ceremonies of the Africans vary, as do the num⯑berleſs ſuperſtitious practices of all ſavages, and indeed of too many Europeans. Perceiving that it was their cuſtom to bring their offerings to the wild cotton-tree^*, [262] I enquired of an old negro, why they paid ſuch particular reverence and veneration to this growing piece of timber. ‘"This proceeds (ſaid he) maſſera, from the following cauſe: having no churches nor places built for public worſhip (as you have) on the Coaſt of Guinea, and this tree being the largeſt and moſt beautiful growing there, our people, aſſembling under its branches when they are going to be inſtructed, are defended by it from the heavy rains and ſcorching ſun. Under this tree our gadoman, or prieſt, delivers his lectures; and for this reaſon our common people have ſo much veneration for it, that they will not cut it down upon any ac⯑count whatever."’

No people can be more ſuperſtitious than the gene⯑rality of negroes; and their Locomen, or pretended pro⯑phets, find their intereſt in encouraging this ſuperſtition, by ſelling them obias or amulets, as I have already men⯑tioned, and as ſome hypocrites ſell abſolution in Europe, for a comfortable living. Theſe people have alſo amongſt them a kind of Sibyls, who deal in oracles; theſe ſage matrons dancing and whirling round in the middle of an aſſembly, with amazing rapidity, until they foam at the mouth, and drop down as convulſed. Whatever the pro⯑pheteſs orders to be done during this paroxiſm, is moſt ſacredly performed by the ſurrounding multitude; which renders theſe meetings extremely dangerous, as ſhe fre⯑quently enjoins them to murder their maſters, or deſert to the woods; upon which account this ſcene of exceſſive fanaticiſm is forbidden by law in the colony of Surinam, [263] upon pain of the moſt rigorous puniſhment: yet it is often practiſed in private places, and is very common amongſt the Owca and Seramica negroes, where captains Fredericy and Van Geurick told me they had ſeen it per⯑formed. It is here called the winty-play, or the dance of the mermaid, and has exiſted from time immemorial; as even the claſſic authors make frequent mention of this ex⯑traordinary practice. Virgil, in his ſixth book, makes Eneas viſit the Sibyl of Cuma; and Ovid alſo mentions the ſame ſubject, lib. 14. where Eneas wiſhes to viſit the ghoſt of his father.

But what is ſtill more ſtrange, theſe unaccountable women by their voice know how to charm the ammo⯑dytes, ^* or papaw ſerpent, down from the tree. This is an abſolute fact; nor is this ſnake ever killed or hurt by the negroes, who, on the contrary, eſteem it as their friend and guardian, and are happy to ſee it enter their huts. When theſe ſibyls have charmed or conjured down the ammodytes ſerpent from the tree, it is common to ſee this reptile twine and wreathe about their arms, neck and breaſt, as if the creature took delight in hearing her voice, while the woman ſtrokes and careſſes it with her hand. The ſacred writers ſpeak of the charming of adders and ſerpents in many places, which I mention [264] only to prove the antiquity of the practice ^*; for nothing is more notorious, than that the Eaſtern Indians will rid the houſes of the moſt venomous ſnakes by charming them with the ſound of a flute, which calls them out of their holes. And it is not many years ſince an Italian woman brought over three tame ſnakes, which crawled about her neck and arms: they were four or five feet long, but not venomous.

Another inſtance of ſuperſtition amongſt the negroes I muſt relate; there is a direct prohibition in every family, handed down from father to ſon, againſt the eating of ſome one kind of animal food, which they call treff; this may be either fowl, fiſh, or quadruped, but whatever it is, no negro will touch it; though I have ſeen ſome good Catholics eat roaſt-beef in Lent, and a reli⯑gious Jew devouring a ſlice from a fat flitch of bacon.

However ridiculous ſome of the above rites may appear, yet amongſt the African blacks they are certainly neceſ⯑ſary, to keep the rabble in ſubjection; and their gadomen or prieſts know this as well as the infallible Pontiff of the Roman church. Theſe illiterate mortals differ, how⯑ever, in this reſpect from the modern Europeans, that whatever they believe, they do it firmly, and are never ſtaggered by the doubts of ſcepticiſm, nor troubled with [265] the qualms of conſcience; but whether they are, upon this account, better or worſe, I will not pretend to determine. —I however think that they are a happy people, and poſſeſs ſo much friendſhip for one another, that they need not be told to "love their neighbour as themſelves;" ſince the pooreſt negro, having only an egg, ſcorns to eat it alone; but were a dozen preſent, and every one a ſtranger, he would cut or break it into juſt as many ſhares; or were there one ſingle dram of rum, he would divide it among the ſame number: this is not done, however, until a few drops are firſt ſprinkled on the ground, as an oblation to the gods.—Approach then here, thou canting hypocrite, and take an example from thy illiterate ſable brother! — From what I ſometimes throw out, however, let it not be underſtood that I am an ene⯑my to religious worſhip—God forbid! But I ever will profeſs myſelf the greateſt friend to thoſe whoſe actions beſt correſpond with their doctrine; which, I am ſorry to ſay, is too ſeldom the caſe amongſt thoſe nations who pretend moſt to civilization.

If ſavage nations be commonly generous and faithful, they are not, however, without their dark ſhades; and among theſe, the moſt conſpicuous is a proneneſs to an⯑ger and revenge. I never knew a negro indeed forgive thoſe who had wilfully offended him. The ſtrength of this paſſion can only be equalled by their gratitude; for, amongſt them, it may be truly ſaid, that

Their abominable cruelties alſo, like thoſe of all barba⯑rous nations, are truly ſhocking. In the colony of Ber⯑bicè, during the late revolt, they made no ſcruple of cut⯑ting up their miſtreſſes with child, even in their maſter's preſence, with many other ſavage devices too dreadful to relate ^*.—In the art of poiſoning, not even the Accawaw Indians are more expert; they can carry it under their nails, and by only dipping their thumb into a tumbler of water, which they offer as a beverage to the object of their revenge, they infuſe a ſlow but certain death ^†. Whole eſtates, as well as private families, have become the victims of their fury, and experienced their fatal ven⯑geance, even putting to death ſcores of their own friends and relations, with the double view of depriving their [267] proprietors of their moſt valuable poſſeſſions. Theſe monſters are diſtinguiſhed by the name of Wiſſy-men, perhaps from wiſe, or knowing, and by their fatal genius carry deſtruction to a moſt dreadful length before they are detected.

All barbarous and uneducated people have indiſtinct notions of property; nor can we wonder that ſlaves, who in their own perſons ſuffer the moſt flagrant viola⯑tion of every right, ſhould be diſpoſed to retaliate. The ſlaves on the plantations are therefore too commonly thieves, plundering whatever they can lay their hands upon with impunity; nor can any bounds be ſet to their intemperance, eſpecially in drinking. I have ſeen a ne⯑gro girl empty a china-bowl at one draught, containing two bottles of claret, which I had given her by way of experiment, till ſhe could no more ſtand.

I ſhould not forget to mention that the Gango negroes are ſuppoſed to be anthropophagi or cannibals, like the Caribbee Indians, inſtigated by habitual and implacable revenge. Amongſt the rebels of this tribe, after the taking of Boucou, ſome pots were found on the fire with human fleſh; which one of the officers had the curioſity to taſte, and declared it was not inferior to ſome kinds of beef or pork.

I have been ſince aſſured by a Mr. Vangills, an Ame⯑rican, that having travelled for a great number of miles inland in Africa, he at length came to a place where human legs, arms, and thighs hung upon wooden ſham⯑bles, [268] and were expoſed to ſale, like butchers meat in Leadenhall market. And Captain John Keene, formerly of the Dolphin cutter, but late of the Naimbana ſchooner, in the Sierra Leona company's ſervice, poſitively aſſured me, that when he, a few years ſince, was on the coaſt of Africa, in the brig Fame, from Briſtol, Mr. Samuel Biggs owner, trading for wood, iron, and gold-duſt, a Cap⯑tain Dunnigen, with his whole crew, belonging to the Naſſau ſchooner, which was her tender, were cut in pieces, ſalted, and eaten by the negroes of Great Drewin, about thirty miles North of the River St. Andrew's; who having torn the copper off her bottom, burned the veſſel.

But from theſe deformities of character I will now re⯑lieve the attention of the reader, and proceed in juſtice to diſpel the gloomy cloud, by introducing the ſun-ſhine of their virtues.

Their genius has been already treated of, ſo has their gratitude; which laſt they carry to ſuch a length, that they will even die for thoſe who have ſhewn them any particular favour. Nothing can exceed the fidelity and attachment they have for thoſe maſters who uſe them well, which proves that their affection is as ſtrong as their hatred. Negroes are generally good-natured, particu⯑larly the Coromantyn, and thoſe of Nago. They are alſo ſuſceptible of the tender paſſion, and jealouſy in their breaſts has produced the moſt dreadful effects. The de⯑licacy of theſe people deſerves likewiſe to be noticed: I do not remember, amongſt the many thouſands I have [269] ſeen during ſeveral years reſidence among them, ever to have obſerved even an offer to kiſs a woman in public. Maternal tenderneſs for their children is alſo natural to the females, for in general, during the two years which they uſually ſuckle them, they never cohabit with their huſbands; this they conſider as unnatural, and preju⯑dicial to the infants: and the caſe of Leſperanza (who bore ſo many children in a ſhort time) is no exception, as her children died almoſt as ſoon as they came into the world. The cleanlineſs of the negro nation is peculiarly remarkable, as they bathe above three times a day. The Congo tribe in particular are ſo fond of the water, that they may, not improperly, be called amphibious ani⯑mals.

The negroes are likewiſe ſpirited and brave, pa⯑tient in adverſity, meeting death and torture with the moſt undaunted fortitude. Their conduct, in the moſt trying ſituations, approaching even to heroiſm; no ne⯑gro ſighs, groans, or complains, though expiring in the midſt of ſurrounding flames. Nor do I remember, upon any occaſion whatever, to have ſeen an African ſhed a tear, though they beg for mercy with the greateſt ear⯑neſtneſs when ordered to be flogged for offences which they are conſcious deſerve to be puniſhed; but if they think their puniſhment unmerited, immediate ſuicide is too often the fatal conſequence, eſpecially amongſt the Coromantyn negroes, who frequently, during the act of flagellation, throw back their heads in the neck, and [270] ſwallow their tongue, which choaks them upon the ſpot, when they drop dead in the preſence of their maſters. But when negroes are ſenſible of having deſerved correc⯑tion, no people can be more humble, or bear their un⯑happy fate with greater reſignation. The ſwallowing of the tongue, which they only practiſe during the moments of ſevere diſcipline, has of late been prevented in Suri⯑nam by the humane method of holding a fire-brand to the victim's mouth, which anſwers the double purpoſe of burning his face, and diverting his attention from the exe⯑cution of his fatal determination. Some have a practice of eating common earth, by which the ſtomach is pre⯑vented from performing its ordinary functions, and thus diſpatch themſelves without any immediate pain, but linger perhaps for a twelvemonth in the moſt debilitated and ſhocking condition. Againſt theſe ground-eaters the ſevereſt puniſhments are decreed by the laws, but without much effect, as they are ſeldom detected in this act of deſperation.

After theſe general remarks upon the mental and bo⯑dily faculties of the African negroes, we ſhall next pro⯑ceed to view them in a ſtate of bondage, under all the oppreſſion they are expoſed to from the rod of barbarous tyranny; then, reſcuing them from this horrid ſcene, we will next conſider them as protected by impartial juſtice, and foſtered by the mild hand of tenderneſs and huma⯑nity.

The reader may remember that I have already intro⯑duced [271] the ſlaves as landing from on board the Guinea ſhips, and generally ſhocking inſtances of debility and miſery:— ‘"Their viſage is blacker than a coal, they are not known in the ſtreets, their ſkin cleaveth to their bones, it is withered, it is become like a ſtick."’ I have alſo obſerved, that under the care of ſome old ne⯑groes, appointed for that purpoſe, they ſoon become fat and ſleek, and learn the language of the colony: they then are ſent to work in the fields, to which they chear⯑fully ſubmit; though I have ſeen ſome inſtances of newly-imported negroes refuſing to work, nor could promiſes, threats, rewards, nor even blows prevail; but theſe had been princes or people of the firſt rank in their native country, who by the caſualties of war had the mis⯑fortune to become ſlaves, and whoſe heroic ſentiments ſtill preferred inſtant death to the baſeneſs and miſeries of ſervitude. Upon theſe occaſions I have ſeen the other ſlaves fall upon their knees, and intreat the maſter to permit them to do the work required, in addition to their own taſks; which being ſometimes granted, they conti⯑nued to ſhew the ſame reſpect for the captive prince that he had been accuſtomed to receive in his own coun⯑try. I remember once to have had a remarkable good-looking new negro to attend me, whoſe ancles and wriſts being much galled by chains, I enquired the cauſe. ‘"My father," ſaid he, "was a king, and treacherouſly mur⯑dered [272] by the ſons of a neighbouring prince. To re⯑venge his death, I daily went a hunting with ſome men, in hopes of retaliating upon his aſſaſſins; but I had the misfortune to be ſurprized, taken, and bound; hence theſe ignoble ſcars. I was afterwards ſold to your European countrymen on the coaſt of Guiana—a puniſhment which was deemed greater than inſtant death."’

The hiſtory of Quaco, my black boy, was ſtill more extraordinary:—‘"My parents," ſaid he, "lived by hunt⯑ing and fiſhing: I was ſtolen from them very young, whilſt playing on the ſands with two little brothers; I was put into a ſack, and carried for ſeveral miles. I afterwards became the ſlave of a king on the coaſt of Guinea, with ſeveral hundreds more. When our maſter died, the principal part of his ſlaves were beheaded and buried along with him; I, with ſome other chil⯑dren of my age, were beſtowed as preſents to the dif⯑ferent captains of his army; and the maſter of a Dutch ſhip afterwards had me, in exchange for a muſket and ſome gun-powder.’ — Each loves his country beſt, if mild its laws, or rigid:

[273]No ſooner do theſe wretched ſtrangers begin to flag at their labour, than whips, cow-ſkins, bamboos, ropes, fet⯑ters, and chains are introduced, until they are ready to ſink under accumulated oppreſſion. With ſome maſters their taſks can never be performed, as they muſt toil on, day and night, even Sundays not excepted. I recollect a ſtrong young negro, called Marquis, who had a wife he loved, with two fine children; he laboured hard, and ge⯑nerally finiſhed his taſk of digging a trench of five hun⯑dred feet by four o'clock in the afternoon, that he might have ſome time to cultivate his little garden, and go to fiſh or fowl to ſupport his beloved family: hard did Mar⯑quis ſtrive to earn this additional pittance, when his hu⯑mane maſter, apprized of his induſtry, for his encourage⯑ment informed him, that if he could delve five hundred feet by four o'clock, he could certainly finiſh ſix hundred before ſun-ſet; and this taſk the unfortunate young man was condemned from that day ever ſince to perform.

In Surinam the ſlaves are kept nearly naked, and their daily food conſiſts of little more than a few yams and plantains; perhaps twice a year they may receive a ſcanty allowance of ſalt-fiſh, with a few leaves of tobacco, which they call ſweety-muffo, and this is all: but what is pecu⯑liarly provoking to them is, that if a negro and his wife have ever ſo great an attachment for each other, the woman, if handſome, muſt yield to the loathſome em⯑brace of an adulterous and licentious manager, or ſee her huſband cut to pieces for endeavouring to prevent it. [274] This, in frequent inſtances, has driven them to diſtrac⯑tion, and been the cauſe of many murders.

It is in conſequence of theſe complicated evils, that ſo many alſo deſtroy themſelves by ſuicide, run away to the woods to join their countrymen in rebellion, or if they ſtay, grow ſad and ſpiritleſs, and languiſh under diſeaſes, the effects of bad uſage; ſuch as the lota, which is a white ſcorbutic ſpot that externally covers the body. The craſſy-craſſy, or itch, which with us comes from poorneſs of diet, is of courſe very common with them. The yaws, a moſt diſagreeable diſorder, by many compared to the ve⯑nereal diſeaſe, which renders the patient a ſhocking ſpec⯑tacle, all covered over with yellow ulcers. To this laſt-mentioned loathſome malady moſt negroes are ſubject, yet but only once in their lives, in which, and being very infectious, it reſembles the ſmall-pox: indeed if a fly which has been feeding upon the diſeaſed (and they are generally covered with them) lights upon the ſlighteſt ſcratch on a healthy perſon, it communicates this dread⯑ful diſorder, which always confines him for ſeveral months. The moſt general cure for the yaws in Suri⯑nam, is ſalivation and ſpare diet, with continual exerciſe to promote perſpiration; and, during this proceſs, the poor wretches abſolutely look like decayed carcaſes.

Still more dreadful is the boaſſy, or leproſy, which is deemed incurable: the face and limbs in this complaint ſwell, and the whole body is covered with ſcales and ul⯑cers; the breath ſtinks, the hair falls off, the fingers and [275] toes become putrid, and drop away joint after joint. The worſt of which is, that though the diſeaſe is hopeleſs, the unhappy ſufferer may linger ſometimes for many years. The lepers are naturally laſcivious, and the diſeaſe being infectious, they are of neceſſity ſeparated from all ſociety, and condemned to a perpetual exile in ſome remote cor⯑ner of the plantations.

The clabba-yaws, or tubboes, is alſo a very troubleſome and tedious diſorder; it occaſions painful ſores about the feet, moſtly in the ſoles, between the ſkin and the fleſh. The uſual remedy in this caſe is, to burn out the morbid part with a red-hot iron, or cut it out with a lancet; and then the warm juice of roaſted limes is introduced into the wound, though with great pain yet with great ſucceſs.

The African negroes are alſo ſubject to many ſpecies of worms, both extraneous and internal, owing to the wading much in ſtagnated waters, and to the crudity of their diet. Of the former ſpecies is the Guinea or tape-worm, which breeds between the ſkin and the fleſh, and is ſometimes two yards in length, of a ſhining ſilvery co⯑lour, and not thicker than the ſecond ſtring of a baſs⯑viol. It occaſions dangerous and painful ſwellings where-ever it inſerts itſelf, which is moſtly about the legs. The method of cure, is to ſeize the head of the worm when it appears above the ſkin, and extract it by winding it gently round a ſtick or card; this operation cannot be performed with too much caution, for if it breaks, the [276] loſs of the limb, or even of life itſelf, is frequently the fatal conſequence. Some are infeſted with ſeven or eight of theſe worms at a time.

Beſides theſe dreadful calamities, peculiar to them⯑ſelves, the negroes are ſubject to every complaint com⯑mon to the Europeans; who, in their turn, are not ex⯑empt in Guiana from the afflicting and dangerous diſ⯑tempers I have juſt deſcribed.

It is therefore not to be wondered at if many of the plantations are crouded with miſerable objects, left under the care of the dreſſy negro or black ſurgeon only, whoſe whole ſkill conſiſts in adminiſtering a doſe of ſalts, or ſpreading a plaiſter. As to the numbers who are exco⯑riated from their neck to their heel, by conſtant whip⯑ping, they may cure themſelves, or do their work with⯑out a ſkin, if they think proper.

Thus from accumulated miſeries, ſome naturally ſuc⯑ceeding from the climate and their poor diet, but more from the inordinate cruelty of managers, it muſt follow that numerous ſlaves become unfit for work, many from weakneſs and depreſſion of ſpirits, and others from ex⯑treme labour becoming old before their time. But for all theſe evils, this plantation deſpot finds an infallible re⯑medy, which is no other than to put them to death at once: the loſs does not affect him but his maſter, and he is proud of ſhewing only ſuch negroes as are able to do their taſk, aſſuring the owner that they moſtly died by [277] the venereal diſeaſe; and the word of the human carcaſe-butcher is quite ſufficient, as no negro is allowed to give evidence in any caſe whatever. ‘"Dictio teſtimonii non eſt ſervo homini."’ Yet ſhould ſome fair European by accident prove the murder, the delinquent eſcapes, as I have obſerved, by paying a fine of £. 50 and the value of the ſlave, if the owner requires it; and for this price of blood he may ſlaughter the poor wretches whenever a temporary paſ⯑ſion or a habit of cruelty, which is too commonly gene⯑rated in this ſituation, prompts his rage.

They have moreover many ſtratagems to evade the penalty, ſhould even the magiſtrates be preſent. I have known it happen when one of theſe ſcourges of the hu⯑man race became tired of a negro, that he has taken him out with him a ſhooting; and ordering him to diſcover the game, the firſt bird that ſtarted he has ſhot the poor man dead upon the ſpot. This was called an accident, and no farther enquiry was made concerning it. Others have been diſpatched by the following method:—A ſtake being faſtened in the middle of an open plain, the ſlave is chained to it, and expoſed to the burning ſun, where one jill of water and a ſingle plantain is brought him daily, until he pines to death. But this is not called ſtarving, as his maſter declares that he neither wanted victuals nor drink until he expired—thus he is honourably acquitted.

[278]Another plan of murdering with impunity has often been put in practice. The ſlave is faſtened naked to a tree in the foreſt, with his arms and legs extended, under pretence of ſtretching his limbs; but here he is left, and regularly fed, until he is actually ſtung to death by the muſquitoes and other inſects—a moſt infernal puniſh⯑ment, and ſuch as may be with truth aſcribed to the in⯑ſtigation of the devil! Drowning them, by kicking them overboard with a weight chained to their legs, is called accidental death. It has been known that by the orders of a woman, negro ſlaves have been privately burnt to death, miſerably chained in a ſurrounding pile of flam⯑ing faggots. As to the breaking out of their teeth, mere⯑ly for taſting the ſugar-cane cultivated by themſelves, ſlitting up their noſes, and cutting off their ears, from private pique, theſe are accounted mere ſport, and not worthy to be mentioned.

By ſuch inhuman uſage this unhappy race of men are ſometimes driven to ſuch a height of deſperation, that to finiſh their days, and be relieved from worſe than Egyp⯑tian bondage, ſome even have leaped into the caldrons of boiling ſugar, thus at once depriving the tyrant of his crop and of his ſervant.

From theſe ſketches can it be a matter of ſurprize, that armies of rebels are aſſembled in the foreſt, and at every opportunity thirſting for revenge?

I ſhall now conclude this dreadful ſcene by one general [279] remark, ſhewing how far population is affected by this moſt infamous treatment.

In Surinam there are, upon an average, about 75,000 negro ſlaves, as I have ſtated; from which if we ſubtract children, and ſuperannuated men and women, there will not be found above 50,000 really fit for labour. There are from ſix to twelve Guinea ſhips, that import from 250 to 300 ſlaves each from Africa annually: we may there⯑fore compute the yearly importation at an average of 2,500, neceſſary to ſupply and keep complete the above 50,000; ſo that the annual deaths exceed the births by the number of 2,500, though each man negro has a wife or two if he chuſes, which is, upon the maſs, juſt 5 per cent. and conſequently proves that the whole race of healthy ſlaves, conſiſting of 50,000, are totally extinct once every twenty years.

Truth and juſtice however oblige me to declare, that the inhuman barbarities I have been juſt deſcribing are not univerſal. Compaſſionate Heaven has ordained ſome exceptions, as I ſhall impartially ſhew, by reverſing the picture: not, like ſome writers who have treated this ſubject, and carefully concealed the moſt pleaſing touches of goodneſs and humanity, whilſt only the darkeſt ſhades have been expoſed to the public eye, but by candidly exhibiting both ſides with equal juſtice and preciſion; and it is indeed with pleaſure I can affirm, that the negro ſlaves on ſome eſtates are treated, in my opinion, as men [280] ought to be treated; and this mode of conduct might ſtill be more general, by amending the laws, which ought not corruptly to inveſt human nature with what it is certain to abuſe—an authority completely deſpotic. No maſter ſurely ought to be entruſted with the dangerous power of taking away the life of his ſlaves with impu⯑nity; and it ought to be conſidered an equal crime in the eye of the law to kill a negro or a white man, as it is equally murder in the ſight of God.

So much for his body; and with regard to his ſoul, it is ſeldom troubled with any qualms of conſcience, or fear of death, as I have ſtated, being firm and unſhaken in what he was taught to believe, which is indeed little, but plain; and when he is no more, his companions or rela⯑tions carry him to ſome grove of orange-trees, where he [283] is not interred without expence, being generally put in a coffin of the very beſt wood and workmanſhip, while the cries and lamentations of his ſurviving friends, who ſing a dirge, pierce the ſky. The grave being filled up, and a green turf neatly ſpread over it, a couple of large gourds are put by the ſide, the one with water, the other with boiled fowls, pork, caſſava, &c. as a libation, not from a ſuperſtitious notion, as ſome believe, that he will eat or drink it, but as a teſtimony of that regard which they have for his memory and aſhes; while ſome even add the little furniture that he left behind, breaking it in pieces over the grave. This done, every one takes his laſt farewell, ſpeaking to him as if alive, and teſtifying their ſorrow at his departure; adding, that they hope to ſee him, not in Guinea, as ſome have written, but in that better place, where he now enjoys the pleaſant company of his parents, friends, and anceſtors; when another diſ⯑mal yell ends the ceremony, and all return home. Next a fat hog being killed, with fowls, ducks, &c. a general feaſt is given by his friends to all the other negroes, which concludes not till the following day. The neareſt connections and relations of the deceaſed, both male and female, now cut their hair ^* and ſhave their heads, round which having tied a dark blue handkerchief, they wear this mourning for a whole year; after which, once more viſiting the grave, they offer a laſt libation, and taking their final farewell, another hog and fowls being killed, [284] the funeral rites are quite ended by a ſecond feaſt, which finiſhes with a joyful dance, and ſongs in memory and praiſe of their dear departed friend or relation.

No people can more eſteem or have a greater friend⯑ſhip for one another than the negro ſlaves; they appear to have unbounded enjoyment in each other's company, and are not deſtitute of ſocial amuſements, ſuch as the ſoeſa, which conſiſts in footing oppoſite to each other, and clapping with their hands upon their ſides to keep in time. So very eager are they at this animating play, in which ſometimes ſix or eight couple are engaged at once, that the violent exerciſe having been known to kill ſome of the negroes, it is forbidden by the magiſtrates at Pa⯑ramaribo. Awaree is an innocent amuſement, conſiſting in pitching with a large kind of marbles, in defect of which they uſe the awaree nuts or large pebbles.

The men alſo cudgel and wreſtle; yet at this I think them inferior to either thoſe of Cornwall or Devon. Moſt negroes are ſtrong and active ^*. But ſwimming is their favourite diverſion, which they practiſe every day at leaſt twice or thrice, promiſcuouſly, in groupes of boys and girls, like the Indians, when both ſexes exhibit aſto⯑niſhing feats of courage, ſtrength, and activity. I have not only ſeen a negro girl beat a hardy youth in ſwim⯑ming acroſs the River Comewina (while I was one of the party) but on landing challenge him to run a two mile [285] race, and beat him again, naked as they were; while all ideas of ſhame on the one ſide, and of inſult on the other, are totally unknown.—I ſhall now ſay ſomething of their inſtrumental muſic and dancing. I have already men⯑tioned the ſinging and the dancing of the Loango tribe in particular; and will now deſcribe that practiſed by the other negro nations in general.

Their inſtruments of muſic, which are not a little in⯑genious, are all made by themſelves, and conſiſt of thoſe repreſented in the annexed plate; where

N^o 1, which is called qua-qua, is a hard ſounding-board, elevated on one ſide like a boot-jack, on which they beat time as on a drum, with two pieces of iron, or two bones.

N^o 2, is the kiemba-toetoe, or hollow reed, which is blown through the noſtrils, like the naſal flute of Ota⯑heite: it has but two holes, one at each end, the one ſerving to ſound it, the other to be touched by the finger.

N^o 3, is the Anſokko-baina, which is a hard board, ſup⯑ported on both ſides like a low ſeat, on which are placed ſmall blocks of different ſizes, which being ſtruck with two ſmall ſticks like a dulcimer, give different ſounds, that are not at all diſagreeable.

N^o 4, is the great Creole drum, being a hollow tree, open at one end, and covered at the other with a ſheep-ſkin, on which they ſit aſtride, and ſo beat time with the palms of their hands; anſwering the effect of a baſs-viol to the qua-qua board.

[286]N^o 5, is the great Loango drum, being covered at both ends, and ſerves the ſame purpoſe as a baſs drum.

N^o 6, is the Papa drum, beaten as the others.

N^o 7, is the ſmall Loango drum, beaten together with the great one.

N^o 8, the ſmall Creole drum, for the ſame uſe.

N^o 9, is called coeroema; this is a wooden cup, inge⯑niouſly made, covered alſo with a ſheep-ſkin, and beaten with two ſmall rods or drum-ſticks, after the manner of the qua-qua board.

N^o 10, is the Loango-bania. This I thought exceedingly curious, being a dry board, on which are laced, and kept down by a tranſverſe bar, different ſized elaſtic ſplinters of the palm-tree, like pieces of whalebone, in ſuch a manner that both ends are elevated by two other bars that are fixed under them; and the above apparatus being placed on

N^o 11, which is a large empty callebaſh to promote the ſound; the extremities of the ſplinters are ſnapt by the ſingers, ſomething in the manner of a piano-forte, when the muſic has a ſoft and very pleaſing effect.

N^o 12, is called by the negroes ſaka-ſaka, being a hol⯑low gourd, with a ſtick and handle fixed through it, and filled with ſmall pebbles and peaſe, not unlike the magic ſhell of the Indians. This they hold above their heads, and while they dance rattle it to meaſure.

N^o 14, is called benta, being a branch bent like a bow by means of a ſlip of dry reed or warimbo; which cord, when held to the teeth, is beaten with a ſhort ſtick, and by being ſhifted backwards and forwards ſounds not un⯑like a jew's-harp.

N^o 15, is the Creole-bania, this is like a mandoline or guitar, being made of a half gourd covered with a ſheep-ſkin, to which is fixed a very long neck or handle. This inſtrument has but four ſtrings, three long and one ſhort, which is thick, and ſerves for a baſs; it is played by the fingers, and has a very agreeable ſound, but more ſo when accompanied by a ſong.

N^o 16, is the trumpet of war, to command advancing, retreating, &c. and is called by the negroes the too-too.

N^o 17, is a horn uſed to ſupply the place of the other, or on the plantations to call the ſlaves to work.

N^o 18, is the Loango too-too or flute, which they blow as the Europeans do, after the common way. It has but four holes for the fingers, and yet they make it produce a variety of ſounds.—Such are the muſical inſtruments of our African brethren, to which they dance with more ſpirit than we do to the beſt band in Europe.

To what I have ſtated, I will only add, that they always uſe full or half meaſure, but never triple time, in their dancing muſic, which is not unlike that of a baker's [288] bunt, when he ſeparates the flour from the bran, ſound⯑ing tuckety-tuck and tuckety-tuck ad perpetuum. To this noiſe they dance with uncommon pleaſure, and moſt times foot it away with great art and dexterity.

Every Saturday evening, the ſlaves who are well treated cloſe the week with an entertainment of this kind, and generally once a quarter are indulged with a grand ball, to which the neighbouring ſlaves are invited; the maſter often contributing to their happineſs by his pre⯑ſence, or at leaſt by ſending them a preſent of a few jugs of new rum.

At theſe grand balls the ſlaves are remarkably neat, the women appearing in their beſt chintz petticoats, and many of the men in fine Holland trowſers. So indefati⯑gable are they at this diverſion, that I have known the drums continue beating without intermiſſion from ſix o'clock on Saturday night till the ſun made its appear⯑ance on the Monday morning; thus had paſſed ſix-and-thirty hours in dancing, cheering, hallooing, and clap⯑ping of hands. The negroes dance always in couples, the men figuring and footing, while the women turn round like a top, their petticoats expanding like an um⯑brella; and this they call waey-cotto. During this, the by-ſtanding youths fill about the liquor, while the girls encourage the performance, and wipe the ſweat from the brows and ſides of the unwearied muſicians.

[289]It is indeed upon the whole aſtoniſhing to ſee with what good-nature and even good-manners theſe dancing ſocieties are kept up, of which I repeat it they are ſo fond, that I have known a newly-imported negro, for want of a partner, figure and foot it for nearly the ſpace of two hours, to his ſhadow againſt the wall.

If to what I have ſtated relative to negro ſlaves, when under a candid and humane maſter, we further add, their never being ſeparated from each other; parents ſeeing their children around them, ſometimes till the third and fourth generation, beſides the confidence that they are all provided for to the end of their lives;—then if we draw the compariſon between this claſs of people, and the num⯑berleſs wretched objects that diſgrace the ſtreets of Eu⯑rope, we can aſſuredly not call thoſe Africans who fall under the above deſcription—unhappy.

And now, to ſum up all I have to ſay on the ſubject of ſlaves in the feweſt words, for the ſake of the reader, and alſo for my own, leſt I ſhould ſeem to contradict myſelf, by having ſo frequently animadverted on the ſhocking cruelties of ſome maſters, and occaſionally done juſtice to the humane and liberal diſpoſitions of others, I beg leave to ſay one word more on the projected abo⯑lition.—Could we perſuade all our commercial neigh⯑bours to join in that meaſure, the caſe would be different: but ſince I have ſeen cruelties exerciſed ſo commonly in Surinam, which I never heard of in the Britiſh iſlands, and from my certain obſervation have declared the ſoil [290] of that country to be ſo much more rich and productive than our Weſt Indies, ſhall we not drive our planters from their worn-out lands, to ſettle on the more fertile ſpot, under a government which will allow a free impor⯑tation of negroes, while our object (if we knew how to compaſs it) is to reduce an unlimited infliction of puniſh⯑ment, which indeed our planters have by their own laws moſt humanely reſtrained ^*?

Such is indeed the love and confidence of ſome planters for their ſlaves, that they often entruſt their infants to a negro wet-nurſe, in preference to an European, where both may be had; and ſuch the attachment of ſome ſlaves to their maſters, that I have known many refuſe to accept of their emancipation, and even ſome, who had their liberty, voluntarily return to dependence. No one is perfectly free in this world, all mankind is depending upon one another—while I will beg leave to conclude this laborious chapter, by this general remark, that all ſublunary happineſs exiſts only in imagination, and may ever be obtained, where health of body and peace of mind are not cruſhed by deſpotic oppreſſion.

CHAP. XXVII. The Rape of the Sabines—Shocking Execution, and African Fortitude — Deſcription of an Indigo Plantation — The Spanſo Bocko, a Puniſhment—The Troops again re-enter the Woods—The Expedition draws to a Concluſion.

NOTWITHSTANDING the ſucceſſive defeats and re⯑peated diſtreſſes of the rebels,CHAP. XXVII. news was brought to Paramaribo, on the 12th of Auguſt, that they had fallen upon the eſtate Bergendal, or the Blue Bergh, which is alſo called Mount Parnaſſus, ſituated in the higher parts of the River Surinam, and carried away all the black women, although a military poſt was ſtationed near the above place, but without committing any kind of cruelty, as too generally had been their cuſtom. Upon this intelligence a party of the rangers was inſtantly detached thither to aſſiſt in purſuing them; and about this ſame time the long-projected cordon, or path of circumvallation round the colony, was alſo began to be cut, by ſeven hundred negro ſlaves; which path was henceforth to be manned with military piquets at proper diſtances, to defend the eſtates againſt any farther invaſions from without, and to pre⯑vent deſertion to the enemy from within.

Mount Parnaſſus, which was the ſcene of the late rape of the Sabines, is ſituated on the weſt ſide of the River [292] Surinam, diſtant from Paramaribo, if we include the windings of the river, above one hundred miles; and as the ſituation is pleaſant, I preſent the reader with a view of it, in the plate annexed, as alſo of the village, called the Jews Savannah, which is diſtant from town, in a ſtraight line, ſomething more than forty, but by water above ſixty Engliſh miles. Here the Jews have a beautiful ſy⯑nagogue, and keep their ſolemn faſts and feſtivals; here they alſo have their capital ſchools and ſeminaries, for at this village reſide ſome very reſpectable Jewiſh families. Theſe people poſſeſs particular rights and privileges in this colony, with which they were endowed by King Charles the Second, when the ſettlement of Surinam was Engliſh; and ſuch are theſe privileges I never knew Jews to poſſeſs in any other part of the world whatever.

If, as I have juſt mentioned, cruelties were become leſs common in the rivers by the rebels, barbarities ſtill con⯑tinued in a ſhocking degree in the metropolis; where my ears were deafened with the clang of the whip, and the ſhrieks of the negroes. Among the moſt eminent of theſe tyrants was a Miſs Sp—n, who lived next door to Mr. de Graav, and who I ſaw with horror from my window give orders that a young black woman ſhould be flogged principally acroſs the breaſts, at which ſhe ſeemed to enjoy peculiar ſatisfaction. To diſſipate the im⯑preſſion this ſcene had left on my mind, I got into a whiſkey, and rode out; when the firſt thing I ſaw was a negro girl fall naked from a garret window on a heap of broken bottles: this was indeed an accident, but ſhe was ſo mangled, though not dead, that ſhe exhibited a ſpecta⯑cle nearly as wretched as the other.—Curſing my unlucky fate, I turned the horſes, and drove to the beach, as the only place to avoid every ſcene of cruelty and miſery; but here I had the mortification to ſee two Philadelphia ſailors (while they were fighting on the forecaſtle of their veſſel) both fall over the ſhip's bow into the ſtream, where they ſunk, and were no more ſeen. On board another Ame⯑rican brig, I diſcovered a little tar defending himſelf from the croſs-trees with a hatchet, againſt a ſerjeant and four armed men, for a conſiderable time; till they threatening [294] to ſhoot him out of the rigging, he at laſt ſurrendered, and being brought aſhore, was dragged to fort Zelandia, in company with two others, by a file of muſketeers, where, for having been drunk on duty, they received a fire-cant each, at the captain's requeſt; that is, they were baſtinadoed or beaten on the ſhoulders by two corporals with bamboo canes, till their backs were black, and ſwelled like a cuſhion. However arbitrary this mode of correction, the captain endeavoured to explain the neceſſity of it; the private American ſailors being of a turbulent ſpirit indeed when drunk, although when ſober they may be fairly claſſed among the beſt ſeamen in the world.

Early the next morning, while muſing on all the dif⯑ferent dangers and chaſtiſements to which the lower claſs of people are expoſed, I heard a crowd paſs under my window. Curioſity made me ſtart up, dreſs in a hurry, and follow them: when I diſcovered three ne⯑groes in chains, ſurrounded by a guard, going to be exe⯑cuted in the ſavannah. Their undaunted look, however averſe I may be to the fight of cruelties, ſo attracted my attention, as to determine me to ſee the reſult, which was thus:—The ſentence being read in Low Dutch (which they did not underſtand) one was condemned to be flogged below the gallows, and his accomplice to have his head ſtruck off with an ax, for having ſhot a ſlave who had come to ſteal plantains on the eſtate of his miſ⯑treſs. The truth however was, that this had been done by that lady's abſolute command; but the murder being [295] diſcovered, ſhe, in the hopes of ſaving her character, be⯑ſides the expence of paying the penalties, gave up her valuable ſlave, and permitted the unhappy man to be thus ſacrificed. He laid his head upon the block with great indifference, ſtretching out his neck; when, with one blow of the ax, it was ſevered from his body.

The third negro, whoſe name was Neptune, was no ſlave, but his own maſter, and a carpenter by trade; he was young and handſome, but having killed the over⯑ſeer of the eſtate Altona, in the Para Creek, in conſe⯑quence of ſome diſpute, he juſtly forfeited his life. The particulars, however, are worth relating: This man having ſtolen a ſheep, to entertain a favourite young woman, the overſeer, who burnt with jealouſy, had determined to ſee him hanged; to prevent which, the negro ſhot him dead among the ſugar-canes; for theſe offences of courſe he was ſentenced to be broken alive upon the rack, with⯑out the benefit of the coup de grace or mercy-ſtroke. Informed of the dreadful ſentence, he compoſedly laid himſelf down on his back on a ſtrong croſs, on which, with arms and legs expanded, he was faſtened by ropes: the executioner, alſo a black man, having now with a hatchet chopped off his left hand, next took up a heavy iron bar, with which, by repeated blows, he broke his bones to ſhivers, till the marrow, blood, and ſplinters flew about the field; but the priſoner never uttered a groan nor a ſigh. The ropes being next unlaſhed, I ima⯑gined him dead, and felt happy; till the magiſtrates [296] ſtirring to depart, he writhed himſelf from the croſs, when he fell on the graſs, and damned them all, as a ſet of barbarous raſcals; at the ſame time removing his right hand by the help of his teeth, he reſted his head on part of the timber, and aſked the by-ſtanders for a pipe of tobacco, which was infamouſly anſwered by kicking and ſpitting on him; till I, with ſome American ſeamen, thought proper to prevent it. He then begged that his head might be chopped off; but to no purpoſe. At laſt, ſeeing no end to his miſery, he declared, ‘"that though he had deſerved death, he had not expected to die ſo many deaths: however, (ſaid he) you chriſtians have miſſed your aim at laſt, and I now care not, were I to remain thus one month longer."’ After which he ſung two extempore ſongs (with a clear voice) the ſubjects of which were, to bid adieu to his living friends, and to acquaint his deceaſed relations that in a very little time he ſhould be with them, to enjoy their company for ever in a better place. This done, he calmly entered into converſation with ſome gentlemen concerning his trial; relating every particular with uncommon tranquillity— ‘"But," ſaid he abruptly, "by the ſun it muſt be eight o'clock; and by any longer diſcourſe I ſhould be ſorry to be the cauſe of your loſing your breakfaſt."’ Then, caſting his eyes on a Jew, whoſe name was De Vries, ‘"A-propos, ſir," ſaid he, "won't you pleaſe to pay me the ten ſhillings you owe me?"’ —‘"For what to do?"’— ‘"To buy meat and drink, to be ſure—don't you perceive I am [] Figure 8. The Execution of Breaking on the Rack. [297] to be kept alive?"’ Which ſpeech, on ſeeing the Jew ſtare like a fool, this mangled wretch accompanied with a loud and hearty laugh. Next, obſerving the ſoldier that ſtood ſentinel over him biting occaſionally on a piece of dry bread, he aſked him ‘"how it came to paſs, that he, a white man, ſhould have no meat to eat along with it?"’ —‘"Becauſe I am not ſo rich,"’ anſwered the ſoldier. —‘"Then I will make you a preſent, ſir," ſaid the negro; "firſt, pick my hand that was chopped off clean to the bones, next begin to devour my body, till you are glutted; when you will have both bread and meat, as beſt becomes you;"’ —which piece of humour was followed by a ſecond laugh; and thus he continued, until I left him, which was about three hours after the dread⯑ful execution.

Wonderful it is indeed, that human nature ſhould be able to endure ſo much torture, which aſſuredly could only be ſupported by a mixture of rage, contempt, pride, and the glory of braving his tormentors, from whom he was ſo ſoon to eſcape^*.

Though I never recal to my remembrance, without the moſt painful ſenſation, this horrid ſcene, which muſt revolt the feelings of all who have one ſpark of huma⯑nity, I cannot forbear exhibiting to the public the dread⯑ful ſpectacle in the annexed drawing. If the reader, [298] however, ſhould be offended with this ſhocking exhibi⯑tion, and my dwelling ſo long on this unpleaſant ſubject, let it be ſome relief to his reflection, to conſider this pu⯑niſhment not inflicted as a wanton and unprovoked act of cruelty, but as the extreme ſeverity of the Surinam laws, on a deſperate wretch, ſuffering as an example to others for complicated crimes; while at the ſame time it cannot but give me, and I hope many others, ſome conſolation to reflect that the above barbarous mode of puniſhment was hitherto never put in practice in the Britiſh colonies.

I muſt now relate an incident, which, as it had a mo⯑mentary effect on my imagination, might have had a laſt⯑ing one on ſome who had not inveſtigated the real cauſe of it, and which it gave me no ſmall ſatisfaction to diſcover. About three in the afternoon, walking towards the place of execution, with my thoughts full of the affecting ſcene, and the image of the ſufferer freſh in my mind, the firſt object I ſaw was his head at ſome diſtance, placed on a ſtake, nodding to me backwards and forwards, as if he had really been alive. I inſtantly ſtopped ſhort, and ſeeing no perſon in the ſavannah, nor a breath of wind ſufficient to move a leaf or a feather, I acknowledge that I was rivetted to the ground, where I ſtood without having the reſolution of advancing one ſtep for ſome time; till reflecting that I muſt be weak indeed not to approach this dead ſkull, and find out the wonderful phaenomenon, if poſſible, I boldly walked up, and inſtantly diſcovered the natural cauſe, by the return of a vulture to the gallows, [299] who perched upon it, as if he meant to diſpute with me for this feaſt of carrion; which bird, having already picked out one of the eyes, had fled at my firſt approach, and ſtriking the ſkull with his talons, as he took his ſudden flight, occaſioned the motion already deſcribed. I ſhall now only add, that this poor wretch, after living near ſix hours, had been knocked on the head by the com⯑miſerating ſentinel, the marks of whoſe muſket were perfectly viſible by a large open fracture in the ſkull.

Vultures are compared by ſome to the eagle, though thoſe of Surinam poſſeſs very oppoſite qualities. They are indeed birds of prey, but inſtead of feeding on what they kill, like the other noble animal, their chief pur⯑ſuit is carrion; wherefore they generally reſort to burial-grounds and places of execution, which they diſcover by their very acute ſmell, ſo much ſo, that by the negroes they are called tingee-fowlo, or the ſtinking bird. The Guiana vultures are the ſize of a common turkey; they are of a dark-grey colour, with black wings and tail; the bill is ſtraight with a crooked point, and very ſtrong; the tongue is cloven, the neck without feathers, and the legs very ſhort. Beſides carrion, theſe birds will often deſtroy and eat ſerpents, and indeed every thing that comes in their way, until they are ſo much gorged that they can hardly fly.

The bird called the king of the vultures is not very common in Surinam, though ſometimes the Indians bring one or two to Paramaribo for ſale, on account of its great [300] beauty. This is larger than any turkey-cock, with a naked head and neck, the ſkin of which is partly brown, yellow, and ſcarlet: round its neck it has a duſky, long, feathered collar, in which it can at pleaſure withdraw, and ſo far hide its neck, that nothing but part of the head is perceptible. This bird likewiſe feeds on carrion, ſerpents, rats, toads, and even excrements.

Among the other birds of prey in the foreſt of Surinam, is found the creſted eagle. This is a very fierce bird, and alſo very ſtrong; the back is black, but yellowiſh at the baſe; the breaſt and belly white, with black ſpots, as are its thighs, and even the feathers of its legs; the reſt of the body is entirely brown, and the claws perfectly yel⯑low. The head of this bird is flat, ornamented with four feathers, two long and two ſhort, which it can erect or depreſs at pleaſure.

About this time the Hind, an Engliſh frigate, with her tender, were on the coaſt, looking out for American prizes.

The 24th, being the Prince of Orange's birth-day, the whole corps of officers were entertained with ſalt beef, ſalt pork, barley puddings, and hard peaſe, by Colonel Fourgeoud. And this day (poor Joanna being inflexible in her reſolutions) I ratified the agreement with the good Mrs. Godefroy, in preſence of her mother and other re⯑lations, whereby the above lady bound herſelf ‘"never to part with her, except to myſelf alone, as long as ſhe liv⯑ed; and that upon her death, not only her full liberty, [301] but a ſpot of ground for cultivation, beſides a neat houſe built upon it, ſhould be her portion for ever, to diſpoſe of as ſhe pleaſed."’ After this ſhe returned my remaining bond of 900 florins, and gave Joanna a purſe with gold containing near twenty ducats, beſides a couple of pieces of Eaſt India chintz, adviſing me at the ſame time ‘"to give in a requeſt to the court for little Johnny's imme⯑diate manumiſſion; which," ſhe obſerved, "was a ne⯑ceſſary form, whether I ſhould be able to obtain the bail uſually required or not; and without which formality, even if I had the bail ready to appear, nothing would be done in the courſe of buſineſs."’

Having both of us thanked this moſt excellent woman, I went to ſup with the Governor, where being tranſ⯑ported with joy, I gave him my requeſt in full form, which he coolly put in his pocket with one hand, while he gave me a hearty ſqueeze with the other; and ſhaking his head, told me frankly, ‘"that he would lay it before the court; but at the ſame time was perfectly con⯑vinced my boy muſt die a ſlave, unleſs I could find the neceſſary bail, which he was at the ſame time well per⯑ſuaded very few people would wiſh to appear for."’ Thus, after ſpending ſo much time and labour, beſides the expence of above a hundred guineas already paid, I had ſtill the inexpreſſible mortification to ſee this dear little fellow, of whom I was both the father and the maſter, expoſed to perhaps eternal ſervitude; as for Joanna, ſhe was now perfectly ſafe, to my heartfelt ſatisfaction.

[302]One conſolation, however, in the midſt of this diſap⯑pointment, moſt opportunely preſented itſelf. The fa⯑mous negro, Graman-Qwacy, formerly mentioned, who was juſt returned from Holland, brought the news, that partly by his intereſt a new law was there enacted, by which all ſlaves were to be free ſix months after their landing at the Texel; which, indeed, on application of their maſters, might be extended to twelve, but not a ſingle day longer on any account whatſoever.—Thus be⯑ing perſuaded that I ſhould one day joyfully carry both him and his mother over the Atlantic, my heart was greatly relieved.

Of this Graman-Qwacy I will beg leave to give a ſhort account, before I take farewell of the reader. Suffice it for the preſent to ſay, that the Prince of Orange, beſides paying his out and homeward paſſage, and giving him ſeveral preſents, ſent him back to Surinam dreſſed in a ſuit of blue and ſcarlet, trimmed over with broad gold lace: on his hat he wore a white feather, and looked upon the whole not unlike one of the Dutch generals; which goodneſs made this king of the negroes, however, very proud, and even frequently very ſaucy.

On the 25th, the Governor of the colony gave a very ſumptuous feaſt to ſeveral of his friends at his indigo-plantation, which was ſituated but a few miles at the back of his palace, where I had the honour to be invited as one of the party, and had the pleaſure of inſpecting the [303] proceſs of making indigo, a detail of which will probably be acceptable.

In the firſt place, therefore, I ſhall preſent the curious with a drawing of the indigo plant, which is a knotty ſhrub produced from ſeed, which grows to about two feet from the ground, and comes to perfection in the ſpace of two months. This plant requires a very rich ſoil, which beſides ought to be kept perfectly clean from weeds. In the plate, A is the colour of the ſprig; B, the leaves above; C, the ſame below; D, the ſeed incloſed in ſmall brown pods; E, the ſize of the leaf as it grows; F, a piece of indigo ready made for uſe. The above ſprig was deſigned from nature on the ſpot, but on a ſmall ſcale: it has ſomething the appearance of the tamarind branch, principally in the ſize of the leaf, which alſo grows in pairs, and is darker above than below; but at the extremity of each ſhoot in this ſhrub, one leaf grows ſingle, which is not the caſe in the other. The young ſhoot in the tamarind-trees alſo appears at the extremity of the branches; but in this they ſpring forth, as may be ſeen, from the baſe.

The mode in which this plant is converted into in⯑digo is as follows: —When all the verdure is cut off, the whole crop is tied in bunches, and put into a very large tub with water, covered over with very heavy logs of wood by way of preſſers: thus kept, it be⯑gins to ferment; in leſs than eighteen hours the water ſeems to boil, and becomes of a violet or garter blue co⯑lour, extracting all the grain or colouring matter from [304] the plant: in this ſituation the liquor is drawn off into another tub, which is ſomething leſs, when the remain⯑ing traſh is carefully picked up and thrown away; and the very noxious ſmell of this refuſe it is that occaſions the peculiar unhealthineſs which is always incident to this buſineſs. Being now in the ſecond tub, the maſh is agitated by paddles adapted for the purpoſe, till by a ſkilful maceration all the grain ſeparates from the water, the firſt ſinking like mud to the bottom, while the latter appears clear and tranſparent on the ſurface: this water, being carefully removed till near the coloured maſs, the remaining liquor is drawn off into a third tub, to let what indigo it may contain alſo ſettle in the bottom; after which, the laſt drops of water here being alſo re⯑moved, the ſediment or indigo is put into proper veſſels to dry, where being diveſted of its laſt remaining moiſ⯑ture, and formed into ſmall, round, and oblong ſquare pieces, it is become a beautiful dark blue, and fit for ex⯑portation. The beſt indigo ought to be light, hard, and ſparkling. In Surinam but little of it is cultivated, for what reaſon I know not, ſince one pound is ſold for about four florins, which is about ſeven ſhillings in ſter⯑ling money.

Dinner being over at the Governor's indigo-plantation, I now departed in his excellency's coach to the water-ſide, where a tent-barge and eight oars lay in waiting to row me down to the eſtate Catwyk, in the River Come⯑wina, whither I was invited by Mr. Goetzee, a Dutch naval officer, who was the proprietor of this beautiful country-ſeat. In this charming ſituation, no amuſements [306] were wanting. There were carriages, ſaddle-horſes, ſail-boats, billiard-tables, &c. all ready for immediate uſe. But what embittered the pleaſure was, the inhu⯑man diſpoſition of Mr. Goetzee's lady, who flogged her negro ſlaves for every little trifle. For inſtance, one of the foot-boys, called Jacky, not having rinſed the glaſſes according to her mind, ſhe ordered him to be whipped the next morning; but the unfortunate youth ſoon put himſelf beyond the reach of her reſentment: for, having taken farewell of the other negroes on the eſtate, he went up ſtairs, laid himſelf down upon his maſter's own bed, where, placing the muzzle of a loaded fowling-piece in his mouth, by the help of his toe he drew the trigger, and put an end to his exiſtence. A couple of ſtout ne⯑groes were now ſent up to ſee what was the matter; who, finding the bed all over beſpattered with blood and brains, got orders to throw the body out of the window to the dogs, while the maſter and miſtreſs were ſo very much alarmed, that they never got the better of it^*; nor would any perſon conſent to lie in the ſame apartment, till I choſe it in preference to any other, being aſſuredly the moſt pleaſant room, and the very beſt bed, in the houſe. What added much to the alarm of the family, was the circumſtance of a favourite child lying faſt aſleep in the ſame apartment where this ſhocking cata⯑ſtrophe happened. They were, however, relieved from [307] their alarms on this ſcore, by being informed that it had not received the ſmalleſt injury.

I had not been fourteen days on this plantation, when a female mulatto ſlave, called Yettee, for having jocoſely ſaid "her miſtreſs had ſome debt as well as herſelf," was ſtripped ſtark naked, and in a very indecent as well as inhuman manner flogged by two ſtout negroes before the dwelling-houſe door (while both her feet were locked to a heavy iron bolt) until hardly any ſkin was left on her thighs or ſides. Five days after this I had the good for⯑tune, however, to get her relieved from the iron-bolt, which was locked acroſs her ſhins: but a Mrs. Van Eys, alledging ſhe had affronted her alſo by her ſaucy looks, prevailed on Mrs. Goetzee to renew the puniſhment the ſame week; when ſhe was actually ſo cruelly beaten, that I expected ſhe could not have ſurvived it.

Diſguſted with this barbarity, I left the eſtate Catwyk, determined never more to return to it: but I ſtill accom⯑panying Mr. Goetzee to viſit ſome of his other plantations from curioſity, in Cottica and Pirica Rivers, at one of theſe, called the Alia, a new-born female infant was preſented me by way of compliment, to give it a name, which I called Charlotte. But the next morning, during breakfaſt, ſe⯑ven negroes were here again tied up and flogged, ſome with a cow-ſkin, which is very terrible.—Hence I made my retreat to the eſtate Sgraven-Hague, and there, meet⯑ing a mulatto youth in chains, whoſe name was Douglas, I with horror recollected his unhappy father, who had [308] been obliged to leave him a ſlave, and was now dead. Heartily tired of my excurſion, I was now glad to make haſte back to Paramaribo; where, as ſoon as I arrived, the firſt news I heard was that Colonel Fourgeoud's French valet-de-chambre, poor Monſieur Laurant, had actually been buried before he was quite dead;—and that, for hav⯑ing been found drunk in an ale-houſe, no leſs than thir⯑teen of our men had moſt ſeverely run the gauntlet, and as many been terribly baſtinadoed, the greateſt number of which no more ſaw Europe;—alſo, that a Quaderoon youth and a Dutch ſailor were found murdered on the beach.— I was now proceeding to take a walk on the plain or eſpla⯑nade, but here I was called in by Mr. St—k—r, who con⯑ducting me three ſtories high: "From this window (ſaid he) a ‘"few days ſince, leaped one of my black boys, to eſ⯑cape a gentle flogging; however, having only fainted in conſequence of his fall, we ſoon brought him to life again by a hearty ſcouring on the ribs, ſo he did not eſcape; after which, for having riſked himſelf, that is to ſay his maſter's property, and frightened my wife, ſhe ordered him to be ſent to Fort Zelandia, where he re⯑ceived the intereſt, that is a moſt confounded ſpanſo-bocko."’

The puniſhment called ſpanſo-bocko is extremely ſe⯑vere indeed, and is executed in the following manner:— The priſoner's hands being laſhed together, he is laid down on the ground on one ſide, with his knees thruſt between his arms, and theſe confined by a ſtrong ſtake, [309] which ſeparates them from his wriſts, and is driven per⯑pendicularly into the ground, inſomuch that he can no more ſtir than if he was dead. In this locked poſition, truſſed like a fowl, he is beaten on one ſide of his breech by a ſtrong negro, with a handful of knotty tamarind branches, till the very fleſh is cut away; he is then turned over on the other ſide, where the ſame dreadful flagellation is inflicted, till not a bit of ſkin is left, and the place of execution is dyed with blood: after which the raw lacerated wound is immediately waſhed with le⯑mon-juice and gun-powder to prevent mortification, and then he is ſent home to recover as well as he can.

The above cruel and indecent puniſhment is ſometimes repeated at every ſtreet in the town of Paramaribo, to men and women indiſcriminately, which is a ſeverity abſo⯑lutely beyond conception; however, it is never thus in⯑flic;ted without a condemnation from the court. But a ſingle ſpanſo-bocko, without regard to age or ſex, as I have juſt mentioned, may be ordered by any proprietor, either at home, or by ſending the victim to the fortreſs, with a note to the public executioner, to whom ſome trifle in money is paid as a fee of office.

I next was addreſſed by a Monſieur Rochetaux, whoſe Coromantyn cook, having ſpoiled his ragout, had juſt cut his own throat to prevent a whipping; and Mr. Charles Reynſdorp's lately did the ſame.

After theſe facts, can it be a matter of ſurprize, that [310] the negro ſlaves riſe up in rebellion againſt maſters who treat them with ſo very much ſeverity?

As I do not recollect that I have deſcribed in what man⯑ner theſe inſurgents generally attack the eſtates, I cannot introduce it on a more proper occaſion.

Having lain during the night lurking in the buſhes that ſurround the eſtate, they always appear a little be⯑fore day-break, when unexpectedly falling on and maſ⯑ſacring the Europeans, they plunder the dwelling-houſe, which they next ſet on fire, and then carry off the negro women, whom they load with the ſpoil, and treat with the utmoſt inſolence ſhould they make oppoſition ^*.

And now farewell, I hope, ye wretched objects, who have not made the leaſt conſpicuous figure in theſe bloody pages! for which I ſhould be more ready to apo⯑logize to the reader, had I not been induced to make cruelty aſhamed of itſelf, and humanity gain ground: that at laſt, in ſome meaſure, my motive may be crown⯑ed with ſucceſs, I moſt ſincerely wiſh, abhorring every act of barbarity from the very bottom of my ſoul.

I have already ſtated that on the 24th of Auguſt I gave in a hopeleſs requeſt to the Governor for my boy's eman⯑cipation; and on the 8th of October I ſaw with equal joy and ſurprize the following advertiſement poſted up, ‘"That if any one could give in a lawful objection why John Stedman, a Quaderoon infant, the ſon of Captain Stedman, ſhould not be preſented with the bleſſing of freedom, ſuch perſon or perſons to appear before Ja⯑nuary 1ſt, 1777."’ —I no ſooner read it, than I ran with the good news to my good friend, Mr. Palmer, who aſ⯑ſured me, ‘"that the above was no more than a form, put in practice on the ſuppoſition of my producing the bail required, which undoubtedly they expected, from my having ſo boldly given in my requeſt to the Governor of the colony."’ —Without being able to utter one ſyllable in reply, I retired to the company of Joanna, who, with a ſmile, bid me ‘"never to deſpair, that Johnny certainly one day would be free;"’ nor did ſhe ever fail in giving me ſome conſolation, whatever deſperate were my expec⯑tations.

About this time we were informed, that in the Utrecht paper an impertinent libel had appeared againſt the good [312] Fourgeoud, ridiculing him for his embaſſy to the Owca and Serameca negroes: which gentleman, though he had no aſſiſtance from theſe allies to expect, and his troops now melted down almoſt to nothing, nevertheleſs ſcorned to keep thoſe that could ſtand upon their feet inactive. Thus, having provided the few remaining privates with new cloathes (the firſt they had received ſince 1772) beſides new ſabres, bill-hooks, &c. he ſent them all once more up, accompanied only by the ſubalterns, to be encamped at the mouth of the Caſſipore Creek, in the upper parts of the Cottica river; the ſtaff officers and captains being ordered ſoon to follow: and on the 7th we were treated by our commander, for the firſt time, with a ſirloin of good roaſt-beef, which, however, was ſent him from Amſterdam, prepared as I have already deſcribed. At the deſſert was a kind of fruit called in Surinam pomme de canelle, or cinnamon-apple: it grows on a ſhrub in moſt gardens at Paramaribo, and has ſomething the ap⯑pearance of a young artichoke, being covered with a kind of green ſcales. The ſkin of this fruit is half an inch thick, and the pulp like clotted cream mixed with brown ſugar: it is very ſweet, but not much eſteemed by many palates, being rather too luſcious; the ſeeds, which are black, hard, and large, are contained in the pulp or creamy ſubſtance.

Having now prepared myſelf once more for actual ſer⯑vice, and again received a profuſion of wine, ſpirits, and refreſhments of every kind, to carry with me to the [313] woods, from different friends at Paramaribo; I left my dear mulatto and her boy to the care of that excellent woman Mrs. Godefroy, in order the following day to ſet out on my ſeventh campaign, and help, if poſſible, to compleat that buſineſs we had ſo long and ſo ardently un⯑dertaken, for the ſafety and welfare of this valuable co⯑lony, and its lawful inhabitants of every denomination; while happily my health and my ſpirits were at this time once more juſt as vigorous and as ſtrong, with all my limbs as perfectly ſound, as the very firſt day that I land⯑ed, with Colonel Fourgeoud and his regiment of marines, in Terra Firma.

CHAP. XXVIII. The Rebels fly for Protection to Cayenne—Third March to Gado-Saby—A ſecond Re-inforcement of Troops arrive from Holland—Shipwreck of the Tranſport Paramaribo —March to Rio Comewina—Diſmal Picture of Diſtreſs and of Mortality—The Peace of the Colony reſtored.

CHAP. XXVIII.ON the 10th of November, in company with ſeveral other gentlemen, I now once more ſet out in a tent barge for the encampment at the Caſſeepore Creek; and this day the whole colony was full of ſmoke, the woods hav⯑ing taken fire near the ſea fide by ſome unknown accident. On our paſſage we met Colonel Texier, who came from the poſt Vredenburgh, at the Marawina, with a detachment; and aſſured us, that ſince the blow we gave to the rebels at Gado-Saby, they were moſtly fled to the other ſide of that great river, where they found refuge amongſt the French who were ſettled in Cayenne; he had, however, taken a woman, and lieutenant Keen took two men, and killed two more, while the two new black volunteer companies ſupported the honour of their colours, which they had received with ſo much ceremony from the governor, by occaſionally bringing in captives from the ſea ſhore be⯑hind Paramaribo, in which they were aſſiſted by the In⯑dians, who had voluntarily fought and defeated the enemy [315] there, more than once. Thus every thing promiſed fair to crown our endeavours with ſucceſs, and finally to re-eſtabliſh ſafety and tranquillity in the colony.

On our paſſage we ſtopped at the eſtate Saardan, the proprietor of which (by a late marriage) was our Lieu⯑tenant Colonel Des Borgnes. I found here an American ſailor who came to load molaſſes, and having an inclina⯑tion to try the ſkill of the new planter (and his overſeer) in rum, I deſired the tar to colour a couple of gallons of kill-devil made at the very ſame plantation, and bring them aſhore as rum brought from Antigua. He did ſo, and they gave him in exchange for it a ſix gallon keg of the very ſame ſpirits; declaring it was much better than their own, and then drank the contents in punch, to my very great entertainment. The ſailor ſaid he ſhould colour the ſix gallons alſo, and did not doubt of loading his boat to the water's edge before he reached Paramaribo. —Such, in all countries, is the force of prejudice.

Having been very well entertained at Saardan, we ſet forward, and arrived ſafe in the encampment at the Caſſeepore Creek, in Cottica River, on the 13th; where, in ſtepping aſhore, being without ſhoes and ſtockings, I narrowly eſcaped being bitten by a land-ſcorpion. This inſect is of the ſize of a ſmall cray-fiſh, and has an oval body; its colour is like that of ſoot, and it is jointed in moveable rings: it has eight legs, divided by joints, and two jointed claws projecting from the head, appearing like part of the body, with ſuch ſmall eyes that they are [316] hardly perceptible: the tail is formed by ſeven globular diviſions like beads, which terminate in a double ſting; this it bends over its back, to protect its young ones from the attacks of other inſects: for to the creature's back the young reſort, after being hatched from eggs like pin-heads, in a ſmall web ſpun by the female. The ſting of the land-ſcorpion is not accounted fatal, but occaſions a violent pain, and throws the patient into a fever: it is ſaid they change their ſkins, as crabs do their ſhells. The ſcorpions generally frequent old trees and old furniture, and are often found amongſt dry rubbiſh and faded graſs.

Almoſt the firſt accidents that I ſaw here was a poor fellow, a marine, going to bathe in the river, who was inſtantly ſnapt away by a large alligator. I no ſooner beheld him ſink and diſappear, than having ſtripped, I actually dived after the poor man, by the help of a long oar, which a negro held perpendicular under water for the purpoſe, conſtantly taking care to keep all my limbs in motion. However I found him not, and tugging the oar as a ſignal to pull it up, the fellow, by miſcomprehen⯑ſion, puſhed both it and myſelf down with ſuch violence, that we did not riſe again to the ſurface till near the middle of the ſtream, which carried down the oar, while I regained the ſhore by ſwimming and very great exertion.

On the 20th, being now once more ordered to march on diſcovery to Gado-Saby, I ſet out at ſix o'clock in the morning, with two ſubaltern officers, three ſerjeants, [317] ſeven corporals, and fifty privates, beſides a ſurgeon, and the noted free negro Gouſary (whom we loſt for three or four hours) and encamped near the banks of the ſame creek, not having been able to advance above ſix miles due weſt from its mouth.

On the 21ſt we marched north for about ſeven or eight miles, without meeting with one drop of water to alle⯑viate our burning thirſt, it being at this time in the very heart of the dry ſeaſon, which this year was more ſcorch⯑ing than I ever remembered it before.

Having now changed my courſe to the north-eaſt, and paſſed the quagmire, about noon the following day we marched dry through the late fatal marſh, and an hour after we kept due weſt; when, falling in with a large field of yams, we demoliſhed it; then proceeding for⯑ward, I encamped in the old ſettlement Cofaay, almoſt choked for want of water, not having met with any thing like it from the moment we ſat out. Here, how⯑ever, the negro ſlaves found means to procure us ſome, which, though ſtagnant and ſtinking like a kennel, we drank, ſtraining it through our ſhirt-ſleeves.

During this march, I nevertheleſs took notice of the following trees, not yet deſcribed, viz. the canavatepy, and the berklack, which are extremely fit for domeſtic uſe. The firſt is beautifully ſtriped, black and brown, and has much the appearance of that uſually called brazil, while it diffuſes a ſmell in working not inferior to that of a carnation. The ſecond is a pale red or pink colour, and is [318] equally good for almoſt every purpoſe. I was this day alſo preſented with a ſingular kind of fruit, called here the marmalade box, being about the ſize of a large apple, rather oval, and all covered over with down. This fruit in the beginning is green, and when ripe it turns to a brown colour: the huſk is hard, and by a certain motion opens in halves like a walnut, when the pulp appears like that of a medlar, being a ſweet brown ſubſtance, and adhering to large kernels, which the inhabitants ſuck off with avidity; and from this it derives the above name. As I took no particular notice of the tree, I am ſorry not to have it in my power to give any account of it whatſoever.

The 23d I marched eaſt from Cofaay, with a view of obtaining ſome freſh accounts of the rebels; and pro⯑ceeded by a path of communication through cultivated fields, but fell in with nothing, ſome delightful views, and a large herd of warree hogs, excepted, which from the gnaſhing of their teeth and their ſtamping the ground before we ſaw them, we had actually miſtaken for a ſtraggling party of the enemy, and had conſequently freſh-primed, and prepared to engage them.

About noon we returned to Gado-Saby, where, ſitting down to reſt from our fatigue, a tall old rebel negro ap⯑peared ſuddenly in the very midſt of us, with a long white beard, a white cotton ſheet tied about his ſhoulders, and a broken cutlaſs in his hand. Seeing this venerable apparition, I inſtantly ſtarted up, and forbidding my [319] people to fire at him, I civilly deſired him to approach me, pledging myſelf that no perſon under my command ſhould dare to hurt him; but that he ſhould have every thing for his relief that I could afford.—He anſwered, "No, no, maſſera!" with the utmoſt deliberation, and ſhaking his head in an inſtant diſappeared; while two of my men (contrary to my orders) fired after him, at the diſtance of perhaps ſix paces only, yet both miſſed their object, to my great ſatisfaction, he being a poor for⯑ſaken creature, that had been left behind the reſt, glean⯑ing a precarious ſubſiſtence from his own deſerted fields which we had formerly deſtroyed. What renders the negroes ſo difficult to hit with a ball is this, that they never run ſtraight forward, but zig-zag, like the forked lightning in the elements.

I now, to fulfil my orders, once more ranſacked Cofaay, with its adjoining plains, though with a ſore heart, on account of the poor lonely old rebel. Here, having cut down ſeveral cotton and plantain-trees, okeor or althea, pigeon-peaſe, maize, pine-apples, and ſome rice, moſt of which had ſpontaneouſly ſprung up again ſince our laſt devaſtation, I could not help leaving, before a little ſhed, where was ſome freſh aſhes and banana ſhells, a few ruſk biſcuits and a good piece of ſalt beef, as alſo a bottle of new rum, for the unfortunate ſolitary old man, this being his retreat; after which we once more en⯑camped in the fields of Cofaay.

Having ſo frequently mentioned rice, it may be ex⯑pected [320] that I ſhould ſay ſomething concerning its growth and cultivation. It riſes to the height of four feet, with furrowed ſtalks, and in appearance is not unlike wheat, but the ſtalks are knotted by intervals, and ſtronger; the leaves are like thoſe of reeds: the ſeeds are produced ſomewhat like barley, and grow on each ſide of the ſpikes or ears alternately. The oryza or rice is cultivated in a warm and marſhy ſoil; the grains are oval, and if good ought to be white, hard, and tranſparent. As for the uſe of this commodity for food, it is ſo well known, that I ſhall only ſay, that without this grain our poor marines muſt long ago have all been ſtarved, particularly in Au⯑guſt 1775; when, for all allowance, they got per day one ruſk biſcuit, and three ſpikes of maize or Indian corn, for five men; rice alone ſupplying, as I have intimated, the reſt of the allowance.

Having now fully compleated my commiſſion, I, with my detachment, marched back for the Caſſeepore Creek, directing my courſe through the ruined fields of Gado-Saby, which were at preſent choked up to a perfect wilderneſs. Hence we kept firſt to the ſouth-weſt, and then due ſouth, after which we ſlung our hammocks near a former encampment. It is to be obſerved, that at this time all the marſhes were nearly dry, on account of the hotteſt ſeaſon I ever remember; while the foetid ſmell occaſioned by the quantities of dead warrapa fiſh, that had been deſerted by the water, was an intolerable nui⯑ſance. From amongſt theſe putrid fiſhes, our negro [321] ſlaves nevertheleſs ſelected the moſt tolerable, which, fried in the evening, ſerved them for a delicate morſel.

The morning following we again marched ſouth-weſt by weſt, when we ſlung our hammocks not above four miles from the Caſſepore Creek; and on the 26th (keep⯑ing ſouth-ſouth-weſt) we arrived in the grand camp, much fatigued and emaciated, myſelf with a ſwelled face or eryſipelas; when I gave in my journal to Lieutenant-Colonel de Borgnes, who commanded ^*: and I believe, upon my honour, that had we been ordered to remain twenty years on this expedition, with a poſſibility of ſaving our lives, the different diſeaſes, plagues, and torments, would ſtill have accumulated and varied without end.

A detachment of fifty men was next ſent out to recon⯑noitre at Jeruſalem, &c.; and on the 6th of December the long-expected relief, conſiſting of three hundred and fifty men, arrived in the river Surinam from Holland, after a voyage of nine weeks and three days, of which they ſpent a fortnight at Plymouth.

By theſe the unfortunate account was brought, that Captain Jochem Meyer (who had on board a conſiderable ſum of money for our troops) was taken by the Moors, and carried with his crew to Morocco, where they were condemned to be ſlaves to the emperor ^†; and that the [322] ſhip Paramaribo, Captain Spruyt (being one of the veſſels that carried over the ſick, in the beginning of Auguſt) was wrecked and entirely loſt in the channel, on the rocks of Uſhant; but that, by the exertions of ſome French fiſhing-boats, the crew and troops had all been ſaved, and carried into Breſt, whence they had taken a freſh paſſage for the Texel; after which the Prince of Orange (who was ever diſtinguiſhed for benevolence, and doing good and hu⯑mane actions) ordered the officers and private men, above one hundred in number, to receive the following ſums, by way of defraying their loſs, viz. each marine received about four, the ſubalterns thirty, the captains forty, and Major Medlar, who commanded, fifty pounds ſterling. However, by this ſhipwreck, I loſt all my three cheſts of ſweetmeats and pickles, beſides parrots, butterflies, monkies, &c. intended as preſents to my friends in Eu⯑rope, which indiſcriminately went to the bottom, to my no ſmall mortification.

Having now for above a month been lodged in a paltry hut, beaten by the wind and ſhowers of rain (which began to ſet in unexpectedly); and being informed, that not⯑withſtanding the arrival of the relief, we were ſtill to ſtay ſome time longer in the woods, which broke many hearts; I, on the 12th of December, earneſtly ſet about building for myſelf a comfortable houſe, and which was finiſhed, without either nail or hammer, in leſs than ſix days, though it had two rooms, a piazza with rails, and a [323] ſmall kitchen, beſides a garden, in which I ſowed, in pepper-creſſes, the names of Joanna and John; while my next-door neighbour, who was my friend Captain Bolts, made ſhift to keep a goat, and thus we lived not alto⯑gether uncomfortably. Others kept hens and ducks, but not a cock was to be ſeen in the camp; for theſe, having firſt had all their tongues cut out to prevent their crow⯑ing (though to no purpoſe) had been ſince condemned to loſe their heads. In ſhort, our gentlemen built a row of very curious houſes indeed, all projecting from the beech; while, on the oppoſite ſide, above a hundred green huts being conſtructed to receive the new-come troops, the whole together formed no contemptible ſtreet, though it muſt be confeſſed its inhabitants were little better than ſcare-crows.

What was moſt remarkable in my own habitation, however, was its entry, which was not by the door, nor yet by the window, but only by the roof, where I crept in and out, allowing abſolutely no other admittance; and by this contrivance alone I was effectually guarded from thoſe frequent viſitors who ſmelt my pancakes, and uſed to make too free with my eggs and bacon, beſides inter⯑rupting me while I was drawing, writing, or reading. Upon the whole, I muſt acknowledge, that this encamp⯑ment was agreeable enough (more ſo as being on elevated ground), had it not been for the peſtilential damps and mephitic vapours that exhale conſtantly from the earth, and had already ſent numbers to the other world.

[324]During this ſhort ſpace of tranquillity I conſtructed in miniature my cottage in which I lived at the Hope, on an oblong board of about eighteen inches by twelve, which being entirely made of the manicole-tree and branches, like the original, was eſteemed a maſter-piece; and this I ſent as a preſent to my friend Mr. de Graaff at Paramaribo, who ſince placed it in a cabinet of natural curioſities at Amſterdam. As I am upon this ſubject, I am tempted to preſent the reader with a view of two of my habita⯑tions, the one that at the Hope, where I ſpent ſuch happy days; and the other temporary, ſuch as in the woods we conſtructed to be ſheltered from the weather:—the firſt may be conſidered as the emblem of domeſtic felicity; the ſecond of ruſtick hardſhip and fatigue.

The troops of the Society of Surinam, who had been encamped at the Wana Creek (the rainy ſeaſon prema⯑turely ſetting in) now wiſely broke up, and on the 26th paſſing by us, rowed down the river Cottica on their way to the plantations in the Pirica Creek; but as for us, we were as uſual condemned to linger in the Caſſipore camp, while Fourgeoud ſtill kept ſnug at Paramaribo. With the above officers we received intelligence that a few more rebels had been taken at the Marawina; while we ourſelves daily continued to ſend out patroles to the right and left, but met with nothing to capture.

A confounded tumble through my hammock having uſhered in the morning of 1777, we went to the com⯑manding officer of the camp, to pay him the compli⯑ments of the ſeaſon; where I was ſhown the philander, [326] or Mexican oppoſſum, here called awaree, which had been juſt taken alive, and with all its young.

I have already mentioned the murine oppoſſum; thus ſhall now only deſcribe ſuch peculiarities as I was able to remark, and which were indeed but few in number, the animal being in the bottom of an empty hogſhead when I ſaw it, its biting preventing me to take it in my hand.— In the firſt place, it was much larger than the former, this being the ſize of an over-grown Norway rat: the colour was a yellowiſh grey all over, and the belly and limbs a dirty white; the muzzle was more blunt than that of the murine oppoſſum, with long whiſkers; its eyes not black but tranſparent, with a black ring round the iris; the tail extremely long, thick, and hairy, par⯑ticularly near the root, and its ſmell was very offenſive. This oppoſſum had a pouch under its belly, formed by the folding of the ſkin, which is hairy within as well as without; from this pouch I ſaw the young ones (five or ſix in number) ſeveral times run out, when the mother was not diſturbed, and as often run into it upon the ſmalleſt noiſe, or ſhaking the hogſhead.—As I pitied the poor creature, after its having been ſo long tormented, I ſuddenly kicked up the hogſhead, when the oppoſſum with all its young eſcaped, and ran ſwiftly up a very high tree before Colonel Seyburg's cottage, and there it hung by the tail to one of the branches; but as it is a dread⯑ful deſtroyer of poultry, and the Colonel apprehended that [327] it would kill every one of his fowls, he ordered it, to my ſorrow, to be ſhot down, with all its young ones.—The Virginian oppoſſum I never ſaw; and my only further remark on this ſhall be, that its activity very much ſur⯑prized me, as many writers have denied it this quality. For further particulars, I refer the reader to the murine or mouſe oppoſſum above-mentioned, as in moſt circum⯑ſtances theſe two animals perfectly agree.

Among the deſtroyers of poultry, there is another ani⯑mal in this country, known by the name of quacy-quacy: ſome call it the racoon, but which properly is the coati⯑mondi, or Braſilian weaſel; though many people, with ſome degree of propriety, compare it to a fox, as it is often able to carry away a gooſe or a turkey, and is alſo extremely cunning. This creature is ſometimes near two feet long, the body ſhaped like that of a dog, and com⯑monly black, or rather dark brown, though many are of a bright bay colour: the tail is long, hairy, and annulated with black, and a deep buff; the breaſt and belly are a dirty white; the head is a light brown, with long jaws, and a black ſnout that projects upwards for near two inches, and is moveable like that of the tapira; the eyes are ſmall, the ears are ſhort and rounded, while on each ſide a curved ſtripe connects them and the muzzle; the legs of the coati are ſhort, eſpecially the foremoſt; the feet are very long, with five toes on each, and long claws, while the animal, like the bear, always walks on the heel, and ſtands on thoſe behind. No quadrupeds (the mon⯑kies [328] not excepted) are better climbers on the trees, where theſe creatures commit dreadful ravages amongſt birds-neſts, every ſmall animal which they can conquer be⯑coming their prey. In the poultry-yards in particular they commit great devaſtations, on which account every contrivance that can be invented is put in practice to deſtroy them.

As I am upon the ſubject of animals, before I leave the woods I muſt deſcribe another creature, which inhabits them, and which (though more than twice the ſize of the laſt) lives chiefly on ants; this is the great ant-eater, or ant-bear, called alſo the tamanoir, and by the Spa⯑niards the oſa palmera. The body of this animal is co⯑vered over with very long ſhaggy hair; on the back and belly it is black, and on the neck and ſides a grey or yellowiſh white; the head is extremely long and ſlender, Qf a light bay colour, with very ſmall eyes; the ears are ſhort and round, and the mouth (which has no teeth) juſt large enough to admit its tongue; the tail is of an enor⯑mous ſize, with very long black hair, ſomething like that of a horſe: with this extraordinary tail, when aſleep (which is generally in the day time, or during a hard ſhower of rain) the animal covers itſelf like a ſquirrel; at other times he trails it along, and ſweeps the ground. The limbs are ſlender, but covered with long hair; the hindmoſt legs being ſhorteſt and black, with five claws; thoſe before are of a dirty white, with but four claws, the two middle claws being of an extraordinary length.

[329]The great ant-eater is a very bad walker, reſting always on the heel of his awkward long feet, like the coati and bear; but he is a better climber, and ſo good a fighter, that no dog will hunt him, ſince whatever animal he catches between his fore claws (nay even the jaguar or tiger) he will not releaſe while he has life. His food, as I have ſaid, conſiſts of ants, which he takes in the follow⯑ing manner:—when he comes to an ant-hillock, he unfolds his ſlender tongue, which is about twenty inches long, moſt exactly reſembling a worm; this being covered over with a clammy matter or ſaliva, the ants get upon it in great numbers, and by drawing it into his mouth, he ſwallows thouſands all alive, and renews the operation, till no more are to be found, when he marches in queſt of another mountain, and in the ſame manner deſtroys the unwary inhabitants. He alſo climbs in queſt of wood⯑lice and wild honey; but ſhould he meet with little ſuc⯑ceſs in his devaſtations, he is able to faſt a conſiderable time without the ſmalleſt inconvenience. It is ſaid that the great ant-bear is tameable, and that then he will pick crumbs of bread, and ſmall pieces of fleſh; alſo that when killed, he affords good food to the Indians and ne⯑groes, the laſt of which I have ſeen devour his fleſh with pleaſure. Some ant-bears meaſure, from the ſnout to the tip of the tail, no leſs than eight feet.—See the two laſt- deſcribed animals in the plate annexed.

A ſmall ſpecies of ant-bear, called the tamandua, is alſo found in Surinam, though not very common. This [330] differs from the former in having twenty toes, the head being thicker in proportion, and the tail ſmaller, which is variegated with bands of black and yellowiſh white.— A leſſer ſpecies ſtill is called the fourmillier, which, how⯑ever, never came within my obſervation.—But to pro⯑ceed.

On the 3d, ſix more barges with troops came up from Paramaribo, which compleated the number of three hun⯑dred and fifty men arrived from Holland. Amongſt theſe, being informed there was a Captain Charles Small, come from the Scots Brigade, this gentleman having exchanged with poor Enſign Macdonald (who was ſent over ſick) I inſtantly ſculled down the river alone in a canoe to meet him, and offer him my aſſiſtance. I had no ſooner got on board his barge, than I found him ſuſpended in a hammock with a burning fever. He, not knowing me on account of my dreſs, which was no better than that of the moſt ragged ſailor, aſked me what I wanted; but when he ſaw in me his poor friend Stedman, changed from a ſtout ſprightly young fellow, to a miſerable debi⯑litated tatterdemallion, he graſped me by the hand, with⯑out uttering a word, and burſt into tears: which agitation, while it increaſed his illneſs, ſhewed the goodneſs of his heart to me, more than any thing he could have uttered on the ſubject.—‘"D—n your blubbering, Charles!" ſaid I; "turn out of this ſtinking cockle-ſhell: I'll preſently cure thee;"’ —and getting him hoiſted into my canoe, I brought him on ſhore to my own habitation, but with [331] the greateſt difficulty, being obliged to thruſt him through a crevice made on purpoſe, as the hole in the roof was not calculated even for any healthy perſon's admittance, myſelf excepted. Having here ſlung his hammock near to my own, and boiled ſome water, I treated him with warm grog and a toaſted biſcuit, and he became much better from that very moment. He now acquainted me that one of his men was drowned on the paſſage; and that Colonel Fourgeoud having en⯑tertained the officers with a ball after their landing, at which one of his cooks, and a couple of meagre marines, had been the fidlers, he concluded his illneſs to be the conſequence of too much dancing. A little after this, Co⯑lonel Fourgeoud himſelf appearing in perſon in the camp amongſt us, he ſoon, however, entertained us with muſick of a different kind; which was no leſs than the diſcourag⯑ing news, that by the newly-arrived corps of officers ſe⯑veral of us had loſt our rank (both in the regiment and in the army) after parching above four years in a burning ſun, toiling ourſelves almoſt to death, and ſubſiſting upon ſtinking meat and black ruſk. To add to this grievance, while the above gentlemen uſurped our preferment, we were, inſtead of being relieved, ordered to continue in the woods, in order to teach them their duty.

During the above unpleaſing probation, the major's duty again fell to my ſhare; which was at this time ex⯑tremely diſagreeable, being obliged daily to chaſtiſe the men, many of whom pilfered the magazine to alleviate [332] hunger, having been without the article of bread for ſeven days, the oven being dropped to pieces. Amongſt others, one poor fellow was nearly flogged to death for having borrowed one of the colonel's Bologna ſauſages; for, let it be remembered, that our commander in chief, whatever might be the diſtreſs and hardſhips of the reſt, never forgot to ſupport his own dignity, by at leaſt half a dozen of ſtout negroes loaded with bacon hams, Bo⯑logna ſauſages, bullocks tongues, tea, coffee, ſugar, Ma⯑deira wine, Holland's gin, &c.—

At length, on the 8th, a barge arrived, not only with a ſupply of ſalt beef and ruſk, but a bullock and two hogs, as a preſent from Mr. Felman, who, accompanied by his lady, &c. came actually on a viſit to Fourgeoud, in this very ſtrange encampment. The above animals being immediately killed, they were diſtributed among four hundred people; ſo that it may well be conceived the ſhares, though ſweet, were not very large, after which the company walked about to view our different habitations. Being arrived at my dwelling, Fourgeoud led them round and round, but ſeeing no door to get in, he called out, "Nobody at home?" When [333] I inſtantly thruſt my head through the thatch, with a pan⯑cake in my hand, and offered to haul in the ladies; but this they civilly declined. I never ſaw Fourgeoud laugh ſo much in my life. As ſoon, however, as he was able to re⯑cover his gravity, he exclaimed, ‘"Sacre Dieu! Il faut être Stedman,—il faut être original comme lui;"’ and re-con⯑ducted the company to his own apartment, where he gave me an invitation to follow them. Indeed, when Captain Small and I went out, we generally ſpent our time in a beautiful ſavannah, where we had erected a green ſhed, to be free in converſation, and called it Ranelagh; here we carouſed and cracked a bottle in private, till we could crack no longer, having lived ſo well that in a little time more than a week my cheeſe and bacon hams quite diſappeared, and not a drop of wine or rum was left in the flaſks.—After this he, as well as I, were obliged to live on ſhort allowance; while Small had the ſatisfaction, however, to ſee his ſhip⯑mates do the ſame: who, not being acquainted with the oeconomy neceſſary in a foreſt, had made all their flour into plum-pudding, and were already obliged to break their teeth on a piece of rye ruſk.

In ſhort, ſo early as the 12th, one hundred and fifty of theſe newly-arrived people were already ordered to march; when, by the way of ſeaſoning them, beſides heavy ac⯑coutrements and a hammock, they had orders each man to carry a ſtuffed knapſack on his back. Of this party, my friend Small happened to be one, who being as corpulent as Sir John Falſtaff, and I having accoutred him in the above [334] manner, the poor fellow could hardly walk at all; till declaring to Fourgeoud that I muſt roll him along like a hogſhead, he got leave to be diſengaged from a part of his unweildy encumbrances.

Every thing being ready, this loaded detachment now faced to the right, and ſet out, with Colonel Fourgeoud at their head, for the river Marawina: and while I muſt here acknowledge that this chief was now become to my⯑ſelf as civil as I could expect or deſire, yet juſtice compels me to add, that to all others he remained juſt as inflexible a tyrant as ever I had known him; which character he unhappily ſeemed to think incompatible with his rank.

During their abſence, I croſſed the water, and cut down a cabbage-tree on the other ſide of the river Cottica, not only for the cabbage, but for the ſake of the groe-groe worms, with which I knew it would ſwarm in about a fortnight.

Straying here through the woods with my black boy Quaco, I met with the following trees, ſtill left for de⯑ſcription, viz. the cedar, the brown-heart, and the bul⯑let-tree. The firſt, though it bears that name, is different from the cedars of Lebanon, which grow in a pyrami⯑dical form. The Surinam cedar, however, grows alſo to a great height, but is principally eſteemed becauſe the wood is never eaten by the worms or other inſects, on account of its great bitterneſs; it has alſo a moſt agree⯑able ſmell, and is therefore uſed in preference to moſt others for making cheſts, cupboards, lockers, and all ſorts [335] of joinery; beſides which, it is employed in making the tent-barges and other boats. The colour of the timber is a pale orange: it is both hard and light, and from the trunk exudes a gum (not unlike the gum Arabic) which is tranſparent, and diffuſes a moſt agreeable flavour.

The brown-heart is in hardneſs of the ſame conſiſtency as the purple-heart, and the green-heart already men⯑tioned, and is ſhaped into heavy timber for the ſame purpoſes, ſuch as conſtructing ſugar-mills, &c.: the co⯑lour of this wood is a beautiful brown.—The other is the bullet-tree; this tree grows ſometimes to ſixty feet, but is not ſo thick in proportion as many others: the bark is grey and ſmooth, the timber brown, variegated or pow⯑dered with white ſpecks. No wood in the foreſt is equal to this in weight, being heavier than ſea-water, and ſo very durable, that when expoſed to the open air neither rain or ſun have any effect on it; for this reaſon, beſides its other various uſes, it is ſplit into ſhingles to roof the houſes, inſtead of ſlates or tiles, which, as I formerly men⯑tioned, would be too heavy and too hot. Theſe ſhingles are ſold for, £. 4 ſterling a thouſand at Paramaribo, and continue ſometimes twenty-four years before they are renewed.

I ought to mention alſo a kind of mahogany, which is found in the woods of Guiana, called the ducolla-bolla, and which is of a ſuperior quality to any which is im⯑ported here, being of a deeper red colour, and of a finer, more equal, and compact grain; alſo of greater hardneſs [336] and weight, and thus capable of receiving a more elegant poliſh.

About this period the whole camp was infeſted with a kind of wood-lice, ſo called in Surinam, but with more propriety they might be termed white ants, reſembling them almoſt in every particular, except that the ants dwell in the ground, and theſe build their neſts on the trunks of trees: theſe neſts, being black, round, and ir⯑regular, are not unlike the woolly head of a negro, but ſometimes as large as the half of a hogſhead, and com⯑poſed of a ruſt-coloured incruſtated earth, which is ex⯑tremely hard, and impenetrable to the weather. In this maſs, which internally conſiſts of innumerable croſs roads, each the ſize of a gooſe-quill, they live together in myriads, whence they ſally forth, and commit their depredations, unequalled by any other inſect in Guiana, piercing through the hardeſt wood, leather, linen, or whatever comes in their way. They alſo frequently get into the houſes by an incruſted covered road made againſt the wall, reſembling the half of a ſliding pencil, which is with its windings ſometimes ſeveral hundred feet long: if this is not deſtroyed upon its firſt appearance (which muſt be done by arſenick or the oil of turpentine) as they crumble every thing to duſt, whole dwellings will be entirely demoliſhed, and come down to the ground in rubbiſh. Theſe inſects (notwithſtanding their fetid abo⯑minable ſmell) are reckoned a very good food for poultry, who are ſaid to thrive on them even better than on In⯑dian [337] corn. I ought not to forget their extreme induſtry in repairing their habitation when injured, and their wonderful power of propagation, which (let ever ſuch numbers be deſtroyed) brings them in a very ſhort time to their former unaccountable multiplicity.

To another peſt we were alſo frequently ſubjected in this camp, and this was no leſs than clouds of flying lice, which covered our clothes ſometimes ſo thick, that they abſolutely gave them the appearance of grey cloth. This was owing to the ſhedding of their wings, which, being four in number; they generally left behind them after they alighted, and being thus without the means of fly⯑ing off again, they remained on our jackets; except however thus covering us all over, they cauſed us no other inconvenience. It is the opinion of ſome natura⯑liſts, that theſe flying lice are no other than the above⯑mentioned wood-lice, which when they become old get wings, leave their neſts, and fly about, like ſome other ants, both in Europe and in America.

About this time the diſcipline was peculiarly ſtrict in the camp, ſo that whoever made the very leaſt noiſe was moſt ſeverely puniſhed, nay, threatened to be ſhot; and even the ſentinels were ordered to challenge rounds and patrols by no other ſound than whiſtling, which was anſwered in the ſame manner.

On the 18th, one of theſe being condemned to be flogged for ſpeaking loud, I however found means (Four⯑geoud not being yet returned) to get him pardoned, after [338] he was already ſtripped. The following day, nevertheleſs, evinced that I could puniſh when things were carried too far; for ſeeing a large piece of boiled pork (about two pounds weight) flying paſt me with great velocity, and finding it was thrown by one marine to another, while they had got a quarrel, I inſtantly ordered them to pick it up, and (having cut it in two) I ſtood over them my⯑ſelf till they ſwallowed every morſel of it in my preſence, ſand and all, without either bread or drink: which they ſince declared was ſuch a puniſhment as ſurpaſſed my conception, and they ſhould remember it to the end of their lives.

On the 23d, I received from town a well-timed ſupply of wine and freſh proviſions; and the ſame day Colonel Fourgeoud, with his detachment, arrived from the Mara⯑wina. During this trip, our active commander had again diſcovered and deſtroyed fifty-nine houſes, beſides three fields of proviſions. This certainly gave the finiſh⯑ing blow to the rebel negroes, ſince, having no further ſupply on this ſide the water, they entirely abandoned it, and went to ſettle in the French colony Cayenne. In this hard though neceſſary ſervice the men had ſuffered pro⯑digiouſly, eſpecially thoſe newly arrived; numbers of whom were carried in hammocks on poles, while near thirty were left ſick at the Marawina, and my friend Small was at leaſt one ſtone lighter.

At this time, in the camp hoſpital, above one hundred were alſo dangerouſly ill. Nothing was heard but ſighs [339] and the ſhrieking of the ſtrix or Guiana owl, which for ever kept them company during the diſmal nights. Cramps, ſo common in Surinam, alſo infeſted thoſe that were able to do duty; and there reigned a general melan⯑choly all around.

Here one man was to be ſeen covered over with bloody boils from head to foot; there another led along by two of his comrades in a deep lethargy, who, in ſpite of pinch⯑ing and pricking, doſed into eternity; a third, ſwelled by the dropſy, and imploring the ſurgeon in vain to tap off the water (who generally anſwered that it was too late) was left to expire by ſuffocation. In the hoſpital ſome were obſerved claſping their hands, and praying aloud to God to be relieved; while others lay at their ſide in a frenzy fever, tearing their hair, blaſpheming Providence, and curſing the day that they were born.—In ſhort, all was dreadful beyond deſcription, by the pen of a Milton excepted.

From day to day mortality now gained ground, while by ſome accident, to compleat the diſtreſs, part of the camp got on fire; but this was fortunately extinguiſhed without any material ill conſequences, by the activity and exertions of the poor negroes.

On the 26th my miſery, however, drew towards an end, when, to my aſtoniſhment, and without my aſking it, Colonel Fourgeoud gave me a leave of abſence, if I choſe it, to accompany him, and ſtay henceforth at Paramaribo; which, without heſitation, I moſt joyfully accepted. Thus, having made my friend Captain Small a preſent of my houſe, my Ranelagh, and all my freſh proviſions, beſides entertained him and ſome other officers on a diſh of mountain-cabbage, and my groe-groe worms, which were juſt come to perfection, beſides a hearty glaſs of wine, I took my laſt adieu from them all; and at midnight, with Colonel Fourgeoud, rowed down the River Cottica in an elegant barge with ten oars, in company with two more of his officers.—And now farewell once more, ye ſhady [341] woods, thou pleaſing gloomy foreſt, pregnant with ſo many wonders, and ſo many plagues, and which, in the opinion of ſo many ſufferers, even ſurpaſſed the ten plagues of Egypt! ^*

The boat being ſhoved off, Colonel Fourgeoud now declared to us, that having ranſacked the foreſt in every direction, and driven the rebels over the Marawina in Cayenne, he was determined no more to return to the woods, but in a few weeks to draw the long and painful expedition to a concluſion.

Now, reader, it remains with you to acknowledge that I have not led you about the buſh, but through it, with in⯑defatigable perſeverance: the more ſo, when it is to be conſidered that in the middle of the above hurry and diſtreſs, under which ſo many have ſunk, I have often been deprived of pen, ink, and paper to make proper an⯑notations; which laſt defect I have even more than once ſupplied by writing with a pencil on my cartridges, or on a bleached bone: had this not been unavoidably the caſe, more accuracy and many more remarks might with [342] juſtice have been expected, which one need never be at a loſs to make in a country ſo replete with different ob⯑jects for ſpeculation.

Having rowed all night, and breakfaſted at the new cordon (which was begun to be cut not far from our former poſt Devil's Harwar) on a dram and a biſcuit, we came about noon to the eſtate Lapaix, where we dined with the planter, Monſieur Rivieres; after which Fourgeoud, with his adjutant, proceeded on their voyage to town, while I with another officer went to the ſea-ſide at the back of the plantation to ſhoot ſnipes and curlews.

On our march thither and back again, paſſing two poſts of the Society, the flag was hoiſted, refreſhments offered us, and every other civility ſhewn us that was in the power of the commanding officers. In ſhooting, however, we had very little ſport, except that of killing ſome ſnipes, which flew in ſuch clouds that they almoſt darkened the ſky; ſo that by only firing from time to time above our heads at random, we brought down ſcores at every ſhot, but they were of ſuch a diminutive ſpe⯑cies, that they were ſcarcely worth the picking up. We might have here killed birds of greater ſize, ſuch as ſpoon-bills, cranes, red curlews, and wild ducks of many kinds, had we not unluckily been cut off from the banks on which they were ſcattered, by the ſea over⯑flowing the quickſands betwixt us and them. They afforded us, nevertheleſs, a moſt delightful view, the beech appearing at a diſtance like a ſheet of ſcarlet and purple, embroidered with every other colour.

[343]The ſhoveler or ſpoon-bill (which has ſome affinity to the cranes) is about the ſize of a gooſe: the legs are not very long, and it is web-footed but for a little way be⯑tween the toes: the feathers are a beautiful roſe-colour, though they are white when young; but the bill is truly remarkable in this bird, being flat, much broader before than at any other part, and circular, in ſome degree re⯑ſembling a ſpoon, from which it takes its name. They are ſaid to feed on frogs, rats, and lizards, yet fiſh is evi⯑dently their principal nouriſhment, from their frequent⯑ing the ſea-ſide, and having a fiſhy taſte when they are killed.

The crane or jabiru of Surinam, I can beſt compare to a ſtork, of which it has much the appearance, but is larger. The body of this bird is milk white, but the prime feathers of the wings and tail are black: the limbs and toes are exceſſively long; but I obſerved one pecu⯑liarity which diſtinguiſhes it from all other birds, viz. that it frequently ſits upon the heel: the neck and bill are of an uncommon length, the latter being ſtrong, and a little hooked at the point. The head of the crane or jabiru is perfectly black, on account of which, among the Dutch, it obtained the appellation of a negro-cop. It fre⯑quents the coaſt, like the others above mentioned, and lives entirely on fiſh: this bird is eaſily tamed. I have ſeen a couple of them in the poultry-yard belonging to Colonel Fourgeoud.—(See both theſe ſpecies of ſea-fowls in the plate annexed, where the laſt is repreſented ſitting in the poſture I have deſcribed.)

[344]To delineate the different ſpecies of wild ducks that are in Surinam with any degree of accuracy, is a taſk which I acknowledge to be far beyond my reach. Suffice it therefore to ſay, that in general they are not very large, but adorned with the moſt ſplendid tints and moſt beau⯑tiful plumage that can be imagined, particularly thoſe they call the cawereerkee, the ſookooroorkee, and the anna⯑kee, which laſt are the ſmalleſt. No water-fowl of any kind, without exception, can be more delicate eating than all thoſe I have juſt mentioned; while ſome of them are tameable, and frequently ſeen amongſt the poultry on the plantations.

Having the following day the opportunity of a boat, I proſecuted my voyage down the Cottica River till I came to Paramaribo, where in fine ſpirits and perfect health (however ſtrange) I arrived that very ſame evening, and where I was moſt heartily welcomed by my many friends with the warmeſt congratulations on my ſtill exiſting, after having eſcaped ſo many dangers, and been ſo long deprived of every comfort—torn by thorns, ſtung by in⯑ſects—ſtarved, tormented, emaciated, and wounded—often without clothes, health, reſt, money, refreſhments, medi⯑cines, or friends;—and after having loſt ſo many of my brave companions, who lay buried in the duſt.—Thus ended my ſeventh and laſt campaign in the foreſt of Guiana.

CHAP. XXIX. Some Account of a remarkable Negro.—The Troops prepare for Europe.—Deſcription of a Coffee Plantation.—Plan of Reform for the Increaſe of Population, and univerſal Happineſs.—One more Inſtance of horrid Barbarity; and Example of Humanity.—The Regiment embarks.

BEING now once more arrived in town,CHAP. XXIX. and wiſhing to be no longer troubleſome to any body, I hired a very neat ſmall houſe by the water-ſide, in which we lived nearly as happy as we had done at the Hope.

The firſt perſon that viſited me here was the American Captain Lewis, of the Peggy, who, to my great concern, told me, that poor Macdonald, the grateful ſailor, had died on the homeward paſſage, after being twelve days at ſea; and deſired him in his laſt words to return me, with his good wiſhes, the mother-of-pearl cork-ſcrew I had formerly given him. He farther acquainted me alſo, to my ſorrow, that three Engliſh veſſels had been captured by the American Revenue privateer ſloop, which lay at this time, with her prizes, in the road before Paramaribo; one of which, belonging to Ireland, was valued at above £. 50,000 ſterling.

Having been waited on by a number of planters and [346] others with congratulations on our ſucceſs againſt the re⯑bels; amongſt the reſt appeared the celebrated Gramman Quacy, who came to ſhew me his fine coat, gold medal, &c. which he had received as a preſent from the Prince of Orange, in Holland. This man, being one of the moſt extraordinary characters of all the negroes in Surinam, or perhaps in the world, I cannot proceed without giving ſome account of him; the more ſo, as he has made his appearance once or twice already in the courſe of this hiſtory.—This African (for he was born on the coaſt of Guinea) by his inſinuating temper and induſtry, not only obtained his freedom from a ſtate of ſlavery, but by his wonderful ingenuity and artful conduct found the means of procuring a very competent ſubſiſtence.

Having got the name of a lockoman, or ſorcerer, among the lower ſlaves, no crime of any conſequence was com⯑mitted, eſpecially at the plantations, but Gramman Quacy, which ſignifies Great-man Quacy, was inſtantly ſent for to diſcover the perpetrators, which he ſo very ſeldom miſſed, owing, in fact, to their faith in his ſorceries, added to his penetrating look ^* and authority among them, that he has often prevented farther miſchief to their maſters; and, for theſe ſervices, occaſionally received very capital rewards. The corps of rangers, and all fighting free negroes, are under his influence; to whom he ſells his obias or amulets, in order to make them in⯑vulnerable, [347] and, of courſe, to engage without fear: by which deceit he has moſt certainly done much good to the colony, and at the ſame time filled his pockets with no inconſiderable profit to himſelf; while his perſon by the blacks is adored and reſpected like a God. The traſh of which his amulets are made coſts him in reality no⯑thing; being neither more nor leſs than a collection of ſmall pebbles, ſea-ſhells, cut hair, fiſh-bones, feathers, &c. the whole ſewed up together in ſmall packets, which are tied with a ſtring of cotton round the neck, or ſome other part of the bodies of his credulous votaries.

But beſides theſe, and many other artful contrivances, he had the good fortune, in 1730, to find out the valuable root known by the name of Quaciae bitter, of which he was actually the firſt diſcoverer, and from which it took its name: and, notwithſtanding this medicine is now leſs in repute in England than formerly, it is highly eſteemed in many other parts of the world for its efficacy in ſtrengthening the ſtomach and reſtoring the appetite. It has, beſides this valuable property, that of being a powerful febrifuge, and may be ſucceſsfully uſed when the bark is nauſeated, as is frequently the caſe.

In 1761, it was made known to Linnaeus by Mr. d'Ahlberg, formerly mentioned; and the Swediſh natura⯑liſt has ſince written a treatiſe upon it. By this drug alone Quacy might have amaſſed riches, were he not entirely abandoned to indolence and diſſipation; the con⯑ſequence of which is, a complication of loathſome diſ⯑tempers, [348] of which the leproſy is one: and that diſorder is, as I have already ſtated, abſolutely incurable. Never⯑theleſs his age, though he could not exactly aſcertain it, muſt have been very great, ſince he uſed frequently to repeat that he acted as drummer, and beat the alarm on his maſter's eſtate, when the French commodore, Jacques Caſſard, put the colony under contribution, in the year 1712.

Having taken a portrait of this extraordinary man, with his grey head of hair, and dreſſed in his blue and ſcarlet with gold lace, I, in the annexed plate, beg leave to introduce it to the reader.

This very ſame week we had indeed a freſh proof of the good effects of Gramman Quacy's animating obias or amulets, a captain of the rangers, named Hannibal, bringing in the barbacued hands of two rebel negroes, which he had himſelf encountered and ſhot; and one of theſe hands proved to be that of the noted rebel Cupido, formerly taken, in 1774, and brought to Colonel Four⯑geoud in the foreſt, but from whom he had ſince that time, though loaded with chains, found means to run away.

Having ſignified my ſurprize at this peculiar attention and reſpect to two ſixpences, he declared to me that they were all the money he had in the world when he firſt came to Surinam from his own country, Sweden. ‘"Did you work?"’ ſaid I. ‘"No."’—‘"Did you beg?"’—‘"No."’ —‘"You did not ſteal, ſir?"’— ‘"No: but, entre nous, I whined and acted the enthuſiaſt, which ſometimes is very neceſſary, and I found preferable to the other three."’ —To which I anſwered, ‘"Sir, your candid con⯑feſſion brings back to my remembrance your uſage of your negro ſlave, Baron, after having promiſed him his manumiſſion in Amſterdam, and fully proves what you have juſt aſſerted."’ —One inſtance more of the ex⯑travagance and folly of the inhabitants of this colony, and I have done: Two of them diſputing about a moſt elegant and expenſive carriage that was imported from Holland, a law-ſuit enſued immediately, to determine who was to poſſeſs it, during which time the coach was left uncovered in the ſtreet till it fell to pieces, and was totally deſtroyed.

On the 10th of February, moſt of our officers being now arrived at Paramaribo from the camp, Colonel [350] Fourgeoud entertained the whole with a feaſt, as he was pleaſed to call it, at the head-quarters; an old ſtable lan⯑thorn, with broken panes of glaſs, hanging over our heads, which I expected every moment to drop into the ſoup. And here he acquainted us, with evident marks of ſatis⯑faction, that he had at laſt put a final end to the expe⯑dition; having, notwithſtanding there was ſo little blood⯑ſhed, perfectly accompliſhed his aim in rooting out the rebels, by deſtroying TWENTY-ONE TOWNS or VILLAGES, and demoliſhing TWO HUNDRED FIELDS with vegetables of every kind, on which they depended for ſubſiſtence: alſo, that the intelligence was now confirmed, that the negroes were to a man fled over the River Marawina, where they and their friends were ſettled, and protected by the French colony of Cayenne, who not only gave them ſhelter, but ſupplied them with every thing they wanted. On which good news we all heartily congratu⯑lated him, and drank further proſperity to the colony of Surinam with three cheers; the future ſafety of which now depended on the new cordon or path of circumval⯑iation, defended by the troops of the Society, and the corps of black ſoldiers or rangers.

In Dr. Firmyn's works, Colonel Fourgeoud and his troops are twice mentioned as the ſaviours of the co⯑lony; and by the Abbè Reynal they are noticed as a very brave and valiant corps: compliments to which they are with truth entitled. And what cannot but redound to his honour, is, that at the time he impoſed ſuch hard⯑ſhips [351] on his own troops, he never deliberately put a rebel negro captive to death, nor even, if he could avoid it, delivered them into the hands of juſtice; well knowing, that while it was his duty to expel them, nothing but the moſt barbarous uſage and tyranny had driven theſe poor people to this laſt extremity. Indeed I myſelf, whom during the firſt three years he perſe⯑cuted with unremitting ſeverity, muſt do him the juſ⯑tice to ſay, that he was indefatigable in doing his duty; and that, though confuſed, I believe him at bottom to have been an undaunted and very BRAVE OFFICER.

He further acquainted us, that the veſſels, with a freſh ſupply of proviſions from Holland, had been caſt on the lee-ſhore in the Texel Roads, one of them having her upper cabin ſtove away, with the ſecond mate and three of her men waſhed overboard; he added, however, that part of the ſtores had been ſaved, and loaded on hoard two bilanders, which were this very day arrived in the River Surinam. And now, ſo much in particular was I become his favourite, that he even made me his confi⯑dant; and declared, that he propoſed keeping the laſt ar⯑rived troops, however faſt they were dying away (and who had lately loſt a man by ſtraying in the woods) en⯑camped for many months after our departure. He then began to tell me what officers he meant, if poſſible, to ruin on their return, and which, by his recommendation, he intended to promote: but here I took the liberty to ſtop him ſhort, by declaring, upon my honour, that thoſe very gentlemen ſhould be appriſed by myſelf of their im⯑pending [352] danger, if he perſiſted in carrying this cruel plan in execution. This at leaſt had the effect to end the diſ⯑agreeable converſation: when, in my turn, I added, ‘"Sir, permit me farther to put you in remembrance of theſe very troops you have juſt mentioned, in regard to their truly diſtreſſed ſituation at the Caſſeepore Creek; while their ſurgeon is gaining gold watches and dia⯑mond rings by curing faſhionable diſeaſes among the gentry at Paramaribo."’ To which he replied, ‘"Vous êetes un brave garçon;"’ and promiſed to take my hints into conſideration.

I was now invited once more by Captain Mackneal to ſpend a few days on his coffee eſtate, Sporkſgift; but though I was prevented on this occaſion from accepting the invitation, I will take this opportunity to deſcribe that uſeful berry, which, not being a native of Guiana, it is ſaid was firſt planted in Surinam by the Count de Neale, though others aſcribe it to one Hanſbach, a ſilver-ſmith, in 1720 ^*.

To give the curious a better idea of this uſeful plant, I preſent him with a ſprig of it, copied from nature in the annexed plate;—in which the figure A refers to the wood, where it was cut off; B is the upper ſide of the leaf; C the lower ſide of the ſame; D is the berry juſt beginning to change; E the ſame in full perfection, being of a beau⯑tiful crimſon; and F the kernels or beans as they appear when they are diveſted of their huſk, and ready for ex⯑portation.

The buildings on a coffee eſtate are, firſt, the dwelling houſe, which is uſually ſituated for pleaſure near the banks of a river; and for convenience adjoining to it are erected the outhouſes for the overſeer and book⯑keeper, with ſtore-houſes and ſmall offices: the other neceſſary buildings are a carpenter's lodge, a dock and boat-houſe, and two capital coffee-lodges, the one to bruiſe and ſeparate the pulp from the berries, the other to dry them; the reſt conſiſt of negro-houſes, a ſtable, hoſpital, [354] and warehouſes, which altogether appear like a ſmall vil⯑lage. The coffee-lodge alone ſometimes coſts five thouſand pounds ſterling, and ſometimes more. But to give a more complete idea of the whole apparatus, I muſt refer to the plate, where all the buildings, fields, paths, gardens, floodgates, and canals are marked, and explained by the neceſſary references. The plan, as exhibited in this plate, is intended to unite at once elegance, convenience, and ſafety. It is elegant, as being perfectly regular; conve⯑nient, as having every thing at hand and under the planter's own inſpection; and ſafe, being ſurrounded by a broad canal, which by floodgates lets in the water freſh from the river, beſides a draw-bridge, which during the night cuts off all communication from without.

I ſhall now proceed to the planting-ground, which is divided into large ſquare pieces, in each of which are ge⯑nerally two thouſand beautiful coffee-trees, growing at eight or ten feet diſtance from each other. Theſe trees, which begin to bear at about the age of three years, are in their prime at ſix, and continue to produce fruit till they are thirty; the manner of ſupplying them being from good nurſeries, which no coffee eſtate is ever with⯑out, having already mentioned that they afford two crops every year, which is about Midſummer and Chriſt⯑mas.

I will now conduct them before the overſeer's preſence, where, all the baſkets being inſpected, the flogging com⯑mences, which is moſtly inflicted with impartial ſeverity on all who have not fulfilled their taſks, whether from idleneſs or incapacity. This ceremony concluded, the berries are carried home into the bruiſing-lodge, and the ſlaves re⯑turn home to their houſes. The berries being bruiſed in a mill for that purpoſe, in the above lodge, to ſeparate the kernels from the huſks or pulpy ſubſtance, they are next ſteeped in water one night to cleanſe them, and then ſpread on the drying-floor, which is expoſed to the open air, and is conſtructed of flat ſtones; after which they are ſpread on garrets made for the purpoſe, to let them evaporate and dry internally, during which time they muſt be turned over every day with wooden ſhovels: this done, they are once more dried in large coolers or drawers, that run eaſily on rollers in and out of the win⯑dows, to prevent them from being overtaken by ſhowers of rain: then they are put into wooden mortars, and beaten by candle-light with heavy wooden peſtles, like the rice at Gado-Saby, to diveſt them of a thin coat or pellicle that unites the two kernels in the pulp. At this exerciſe the negroes wonderfully keep time, and always ſing a chorus. Being next ſeparated from the chaff through a bunt-mill once more thoroughly dried on the [356] coolers, and the whole beans picked from the bruiſed, which laſt are conſumed in the colony: they are finally put into caſks or barrels, of about three or four hundred weight each, for exportation.

I ſhall only farther obſerve, that in Surinam ſome coffee plantations produce above 150,000 pounds weight per annum; and that, as I have already mentioned, in the year before our arrival no leſs was exported to Amſterdam alone than 12,267,134 pounds of this valuable article, the prices of which have fluctuated, from three-pence half⯑penny to eighteen pence; but which, calculated at the average price of eight-pence halfpenny, produces a yearly income of not leſs than 400,000 pounds ſterling; (which is no deſpicable revenue) beſides what goes to Rotterdam and Zealand.

This is ſufficient to prove that the cultivation of coffee is highly worthy the attention of the planters: and as for the virtues of this excellent berry, without entering into particulars, I will only refer the reader to that highly-approved pamphlet, entitled ‘"A Treatiſe concerning the Properties and Effects of Coffee; by Benjamin Moſely, M. D. Author of Obſervations on the Dyſentery of the Weſt Indies;"’ from which I cannot reſiſt the temptation of extracting the following paſſage:— ‘"Bacon ſays, coffee comforts the head and heart, and helps digeſtion. Doctor Willis ſays, being daily drunk, it wonderfully clears and enlivens each part of the ſoul, and diſperſes all the clouds of every function. The celebrated [357] Doctor Harvey uſed it often. Voltaire lived almoſt en⯑tirely on it; and the learned and ſedentary of every country have recourſe to it to refreſh the brain, op⯑preſſed by ſtudy and contemplation."’

With the above deſcription I muſt conclude the obſer⯑vations which I have been able to make on ſuch of the vegetable productions of this colony, as have offered themſelves to my examination. But ſo abundant is the variety, and ſo extraordinary the properties, of the trees, plants, roots, &c. of this country, that by far the greater number are as yet perfectly unknown to the oldeſt inha⯑bitants of this ſettlement, and to all the world beſides.

A few years ago a Count Gentelly, an ingenious noble⯑man, travelled through the deſarts of Guiana with ſome Indians, and had acquired conſiderable knowledge in this his favourite ſtudy. But alas! his labours, which pro⯑miſed fair to be of material benefit to the Botanic So⯑ciety, and to mankind in general, were interrupted by a fever, which, owing to his exceſſive fatigue, he caught at the River Correntine, and cut him off in the midſt of his uſeful and entertaining reſearches.

Having now concluded my account of the different productions of the colony, particularly cotton, ſugar, ca⯑cao, indigo, and coffee, to which it is indebted for its riches; and having once more repeated that the different trees, ſhrubs, plants, roots, gums, and perfumes, are equally as innumerable as they are excellent; I cannot have a fairer opportunity of fulfilling my promiſe of [358] ſubmitting to the reader a few conſiderations, by an at⯑tention to which I cannot help thinking that not only Surinam, but the Weſt India colonies in general, might accumulate wealth to themſelves, and promote the per⯑manent happineſs of the ſlaves that are under their ſub⯑jection, without having recourſe to the Coaſt of Guinea to ſupply the almoſt hourly conſumption of that unfortu⯑nate people. But before I proceed, it will be neceſſary to ſtate the manner in which the negro ſlaves are diſtri⯑buted and treated, by the cuſtoms of this ſettlement only, without adverting to the diſtribution or govern⯑ment of them in other colonies; from which, however, thoſe may equally derive ſome profit;—and then I ſhall endeavour to point out how, in my opinion, they ought to be diſtributed and treated, according to the laws, not only of humanity but of common ſenſe.

I have before obſerved that in Surinam there are ſup⯑poſed to be on an average about 75,000 negro ſlaves of all denominations, which (allowing them, for the ſake of a round number, to amount to 80,000) are here diſtri⯑buted in the following extraordinary manner, viz. The plantations, being about 800 in number, though ſome have but 24 negroes, and others 400, we will ſuppoſe them to poſſeſs 100 ſlaves each, which complement is exactly the above number of 80,000 people. Theſe are employed in this ſettlement as follows; the firſt column of figures alluding to one eſtate, the ſecond ditto to eight hundred.

[359]

[360]By this it appears, that no more than 20,000, or only one-fourth of the whole number, are condemned to do all the labour of the fields, on whom it may be ſaid chiefly falls the dreadful lot of untimely mortality that I have formerly mentioned. Now it is evident, that if the 50,000 able-bodied ſlaves that are in the colony of Surinam were put to equal drudgery, the mortality, which is now at the rate of five per cent. would then increaſe to at leaſt the number of twelve out of every hundred, and would compleatly extirpate the whole maſs in little more than eight years time.

Having thus at an average demonſtrated how they are diſtributed, I muſt briefly obſerve, that while full 30,000 live better than the common people of England, and near 30,000 are kept in idleneſs, and do no work in the fields; the remaining 20,000 may be claſſed (that is in general) among the moſt miſerable wretches on earth; and are worked, ſtarved, inſulted, and flogged to death, without being ſo much as allowed to complain for redreſs, with⯑out being heard in their own defence, without receiving common juſtice on any occaſion, and thus may be con⯑ſidered as dead-alive, ſince cut off from all the common privileges of human ſociety.

I will now proceed, by candidly aſking the world, If the above is not an improper and ſenſeleſs miſapplication, not only of wealth, but of human life and labour; which, only by a proper diſtribution and management, might accumulate the one and relieve the other?

[361]Now would this inconſiderate colony but give up their habits of pride and luxury, nay, in a moderate degree, 20,000 negroes at leaſt might be added to thoſe now la⯑bouring in the fields, which (providing the whole were treated with leſs ſeverity) muſt at the ſame time keep the above ſuperfluous number of idlers employed; and by aſſiſting the others in their neceſſary occupations, could not but tend greatly to prevent that ſhocking mor⯑tality, to which they are at preſent expoſed by unbound⯑ed ill-uſage and barbarity.

But every reform muſt begin at that which is the ſource of manners as well as of juſtice; and thoſe therefore who are entruſted with the executive government ſhould have no temptation to overlook the breaches of a law, while it ought to be a ſacred and invariable rule never to allow either the governor or the magiſtrates of ſuch a colony to be the proprietors of more ſlaves than merely a limited number, to attend on their perſons, according to their ranks: ſince more than once, even to my obſervation, it has occurred that thoſe who made, and thoſe who were appointed to enforce the laws, have been the firſt that broke them, for the paltry benefit of cauſing their ne⯑groes to work on a Sunday, or to follow the bent of their unbounded paſſions; from which ſhameful example from the magiſtrate, the contagion muſt neceſſarily ſpread among the individuals.

Let the governor and principal magiſtrates, there⯑fore, be ſent out from Europe; let them be gentle⯑men of fortune and education; and, above all, men [362] of liberal minds, men that are firm and proof againſt the allurement of a bribe, or the glittering of gold, and whoſe paſſions are reſtrained by ſentiment and manly feelings. Let theſe men be handſomely rewarded by that nation whom they ſo materially ſerve, and the co⯑lony which they ſo conſpicuouſly protect; but let their ſalaries be aſcertained, without depending on the blood and ſweat of the miſerable Africans. Then let ſuch men enact impartial regulations, by which the negro ſlaves are to perform no more than their fair taſk and labour a rea⯑ſonable number of hours in the twenty-four: let theſe be followed by protecting laws, and let them be no longer racked, tormented, wantonly murdered, or infamouſly rob⯑bed of all that is dear to the human affections, their wives and daughters. Let regulations be adopted, by which they may be properly fed, and attended to when ſick or indiſpoſed; and, above all, let equal juſtice be adminiſ⯑tered; ſuffer them, when outraged or plundered, to obtain a hearing; permit them to complain, and enable them to prove by evidence the grievances by which they are op⯑preſſed. Even give them what we ſo much value our⯑ſelves, AN INDEPENDANT JUDGE, and AN IMPARTIAL JURY, nay, partly compoſed of their own ſable compa⯑nions. Thus, would you have them work and act like men, firſt ſuffer them to be ſuch.

When regulations conform to theſe ſhall be adopted and enforced, then I venture to ſay, that nations will feel the benefit of their colonies—then planters will become rich, and their overſeers become honeſt; then ſlavery will be little [363] more than a name; and ſubjects will, with pleaſure, fulfil their limited taſk: then, and not till then, will population ſufficiently encreaſe for the neceſſary work, and the exe⯑crable Guinea trade be totally aboliſhed, which is now too frequently carried on with barbarity and unbounded uſur⯑pation. Then the maſter will with pleaſure look on his ſable ſubjects as on his children, and the principal ſource of his happineſs, while the negroes will bleſs the day their anceſtors did firſt ſet foot on American ground.

Having thus, according to my opinion, pointed out the way, and the only way (if well conſidered) to redreſs the grievances of this and many other colonies, I would alſo recommend to planters and overſeers in general, to peruſe with attention a ſmall work, entitled ‘"Letters to a young Planter; or Obſervations on the Management of a Sugar Plantation: to which is added, the Planter's Calendar. Written on the Iſland of Grenada, by an old Planter,"’ and publiſhed in London in 1785, 8vo. price One Shilling and Sixpence, and ſold by Strachan.

Let them next take an example by that incomparable woman Mrs. Godefroy, by Mr. Thomas Palmer, and a few others, who conſider their ſlaves as their fellow-creatures, without paying the ſmalleſt regard either to their paga⯑niſm or complexion; and who increaſe both their wealth and their happineſs by their humanity.—I will now once more proceed with my narrative.

On the 16th, being invited to dine with his excellency the governor, I laid before him my collection of draw⯑ings, [364] and remarks on the colony of Surinam, which I had the ſatisfaction to ſee him honour with the higheſt approbation. I then returned him my thanks, not only for the material aſſiſtance he had afforded me in com⯑pleting this work, but for the unlimited marks of regard and diſtinction with which he had treated me from firſt to laſt, during the whole time I reſided in Guiana.

Availing myſelf of his friendſhip, I ventured, two days after, to give him the following very uncommon requeſt, praying him to lay it before the court; which, with a ſmile on his countenance, and a hearty ſhake by the hand, he actually promiſed me to perform; viz.

Having now done the utmoſt that lay in my power, I for ſeveral days waited the reſult with anxiety, but with⯑out meeting with the ſmalleſt hopes of ſucceſs; thus, with a broken heart, I was obliged at laſt to give him (ſweet fellow) over for loſt, or take him with me to Europe, which muſt have been plunging a dagger in the boſom of his mother.

[365]While I remained in this ſituation, the tranſport ſhips were put in commiſſion on the 26th for our depar⯑ture, and I myſelf ordered as one of the commiſſaries to ſee them wooded and watered; the officers were alſo cleared their arrears, and thirteen men diſcharged at their own deſire, to puſh their fortune at Paramaribo. I ought here not to omit, that the induſtrious Colonel Fourgeoud once more paid us all in paper, by which, as uſual, we loſt ten per cent.; which, by letting the Jews have the gold and ſilver, he prudently lodged in his own pocket; and while the many hundreds of florins allowed us by government to defray exciſe duties, taxes, &c. were never brought to account, or, rather, we were forbidden to enquire after them at all. Theſe were trifles indeed, when divided among ſo many gentlemen; but, in one ſolid maſs, they were no contemptible picking.

On the 1ſt of March a ſerjeant arrived from the camp at the Caſſeepore Creek, in Rio Cottica, where the laſt-arrived troops were hourly dying away; and brought the almoſt incredible account, that the man I mentioned to have been loſt in the woods on the 10th of February, was actually returned, after having been miſſing ſix-and-twenty days, nine of which he ſubſiſted on a few pounds of ruſk biſcuit, and ſeventeen on nothing at all but water. He added, that he had entirely loſt his voice, and was reduced to a perfect ſkeleton: however, by the care taken of him by the officers, there were ſtill hopes of his life. Should [366] any perſon heſitate to believe this extraordinary fact, let them read Monſieur Godin's well-authenticated letter to his friend Monſieur de la Condamine, wherein he gives an account of the dreadful ſufferings of his lady during her route from Rio Hamba to Laguna, through the woods of South America, in October 1769; where a delicate woman, after being deſerted by the Indian guides, and after both her brothers had fallen martyrs to their hard⯑ſhips and miſery, ſubſiſted ten days alone in a wild foreſt without food, without knowing where ſhe was, and ſur⯑rounded with tigers, ſerpents, and dangers of every de⯑ſcription: I ſay, let them only read the narrative of this lady's ſufferings, and their credulity will no longer be ſtaggered at what I myſelf have related. I have, in⯑deed, even omitted facts, which, on account of their ſingularity, muſt in the eyes of ſome have appeared to border on the marvellous. But in the foreſts of South America ſuch extraordinary realities are to be found, that there is aſſuredly no need to have recourſe to fiction or the leaſt exaggeration.

Who, for inſtance, would believe, that almoſt a whole detachment of eighty marines, one day marching through a thick wood, imagined to a man that they were ſtepping one after another over a large fallen tree, that obſtructed their way; till at length it began to move, and proved to be no other than a full grown ſerpent of the aboma kind, meaſuring, according to Colonel Fourgeoud's computa⯑tion, between thirty and forty feet in length? yet this [367] is an indubitable truth. The above animal was neither killed nor hurt; the Colonel ordering the remaining party to form in a half circle and march around it, in order that they themſelves at the ſame time might eſ⯑cape every danger from the monſter's matchleſs ſtrength.

In this place I ſhall mention another extraordinary circumſtance, which is, that one morning Colonel Four⯑geoud reſting in his hammock, with one hand careleſsly leaning over the ſide, a large rattle-ſnake that lay coiled up among the long graſs which was under it, was actually ſevered in two by the ſentinel, during the very moment of action that it made a ſpring to bite him: of which the ſoldier, whoſe name was John Kiefhaber, had been appriſed firſt by the ſound of its rattle, and next by ſeeing the ſnake's head erected, while it was brandiſhing its forked tongue.

As I am treating of theſe reptiles, I cannot reſiſt the temptation of inſerting a fact, which I learned from Mr. Francis Rowe of Philadelphia, a reſpectable old man; who informed me, that riding out one morning to viſit a friend, his horſe refuſed to go forward, being terrified at a large rattle-ſnake that lay acroſs the road. Mr. Rowe having heard of its power of faſcination, in which he was a believer, alighted to lead the animal round it; but during that time the ſnake, having coiled himſelf up, ſounded its rattle, and ſtared him ſo full in the face, and with ſuch fire in its eyes, that the cold ſweat broke out upon him; thus, whilſt he durſt neither retreat or advance, [368] he imagined himſelf gradually rivetted to the ſpot. ‘"However," continued he, "my reaſon remained; and my reſolution getting the better of my alarm, I ſud⯑denly approached him, and with one ſtroke of my cudgel knocked out his brains."’

On the 3d of March my friend de Graaf ſailed for Hol⯑land, but firſt for St. Euſtatia, where his brother was governor; and to my great ſatisfaction took with him Joanna's youngeſt brother, Henry, for whom he has ſince obtained his freedom. I ſailed with them down the river as far as Bram's Point, and wiſhed them a ſucceſsful voyage. As I here went aſhore in a fiſhing-boat, I was tempted to leap into the ſea, and enjoy the cooling and healthy pleaſure of ſwimming in the At⯑lantic ocean. The fiſher-men having caught a quantity of large fiſh, I diſcovered one among them not yet men⯑tioned in my narrative, this was the yellow-back, between two and three feet long, thus called from its colour, which almoſt reſembles that of a lemon, but the belly is white: the head is very large, with two long barbs; but the body is ſmall, and without ſcales, like the cod; it is, however, not near ſo good, being coarſe and inſipid eating. Two other ſmall fiſhes I alſo ſaw in the boat, the one called here the weepee, reſembling a whip-laſh; he other waracoo, which is a delicate eating, but has nothing in its form or habits deſerving a particular deſcription.

The 8th of March, being the Prince of Orange's birth⯑day, [369] it was celebrated at the head quarters; where, after dinner, in the court ledge, hearing Captain Bolts in an undeſerved manner cenſured by the colonel's adjutant, for recommending one of the young volunteers of an ex⯑cellent character, but who had no friends to ſupport him ^*, I broke through the ring that ſurrounded them in a paſ⯑ſion, and not being able to reſtrain myſelf, publicly re⯑proved the aggreſſor, even in Fourgeoud's preſence, when a furious altercation and very high words immediately enſued; the conſequence of which was, that next morn⯑ing at ſun-riſe we walked to the ſavannah without ſe⯑conds, where, near the gallows, we drew our ſmall ſwords, and after making a few paſſes at each other, Captain Van Geurick's point met my ſhell, which having nearly pierced, his blade ſnapped in two pieces, and the fortune of war put him entirely in my power. Diſdaining, how⯑ever, to take a mean advantage, I inſtantly dropped my ſmall ſword, and deſired him to ſtep home and re⯑place his own, in order to renew the battle: but this propoſal he was pleaſed to call ſo generous, that taking me by the hand, he requeſted a renewal of friendſhip; thus acknowledging we had been too haſty on both ſides, we went to viſit poor Bolts, who knew nothing of our morning's walk, and was (though not without difficulty) perſuaded alſo to enter into the amicable treaty: by which a ſecond rencounter was happily prevented, and a ge⯑neral reconciliation took place.

[370]On the 10th, having ſpent moſt of the day with the governor, I in the evening went on board the ſhips with Captain Bolts, to inſpect the preparations for the voyage; where we found that the mice and rats had made ſuch havock among our proviſion, with which we were now very well ſtocked, that I was under the neceſſity of pro⯑curing half a dozen cats to deſtroy them, which uſeful animals are in Surinam neither ſo plenty, nor ſo good, as in Europe, being lazy and indolent, on account of the climate. I obſerved they were alſo ſmaller and ranker, with remarkably long muzzles and ſharp ears.

The following day I was ſhocked and ſurpriſed be⯑yond the power of expreſſion, at ſeeing a Miſs Jettee de la Mare, daughter to the lately deceaſed gentleman of that name, a lovely mulatto girl, aged fourteen, who had been chriſtened in 1775, and educated as a young lady, dragged to court in chains, with her mother and a few more of her relations, the whole ſurrounded by a mi⯑litary guard. I had almoſt attempted a reſcue, when, having enquired the cauſe, ſhe called out to me herſelf, weeping moſt bitterly; and informed me, that ‘"ſhe was going to be tried by Mr. Schouten, her mother's maſter, for refuſing to perform the work of a common ſlave, which ſhe was utterly unable to perform, and could never have expected, from the footing upon which ſhe had been educated till that unhappy moment."’

By the laws of the country, however, ſhe was not only obliged to ſubmit, but at his deſire was condemned, for diſobedience, together with her poor mother, and all her [371] relations, who had preſumed to ſupport her claim to li⯑berty, to be privately whipped; and had it not been for the humanity of Mr. Wickers, who was at that time the fiſcal or town clerk, and ſince was governor, this infamous ſentence would moſt certainly have been put in execu⯑tion. The unfortunate Miſs Jettee de la Mare was, from this period, nevertheleſs forced to ſubmit to the tyranny of her unmanly maſter, while pitied by all her acquaint⯑ance, and lamented by every ſtranger that was a witneſs to the inhuman tranſaction.

Such were the fatal conſequences of not having been timely emancipated; and ſuch were they indeed, that they made me tremble for my little boy. Happily my uneaſineſs was not of long duration; for, however impro⯑bable and unexpected, I was ſurprized on the very ſame day with a polite meſſage from the governor and the court, acquainting me that, ‘"having taken my former ſervices into conſideration, together with my humanity and gallantry, in offering my honour as bail to ſee my child, before I left him, made a free citizen of the world; they had unanimouſly decreed, without farther cere⯑mony or expence, to compliment me with a letter, which was at the ſame time officially preſented to me, containing HIS EMANCIPATION FROM THAT DAY, FOR EVER AFTER."’

No man could be more ſuddenly tranſported from woe to happineſs than I was at this moment; while his poor mother ſhed tears for joy and gratitude; the more ſo, as we had loſt all hopes, and the favour came perfectly un⯑expected, [372] and while near forty beautiful boys and girls were left to perpetual ſlavery by their parents of my ac⯑quaintance, and many of them without being ſo much as once enquired after at all.

What is moſt extraordinary indeed is, that while the well-thinking few highly applauded my ſenſibility, many not only blamed, but publicly derided me for my paternal affection, which was called a weakneſs, a whim. So extra⯑vagant was my joy on this day, however, at having acted the reverſe part of Inkle to Yarico, that I became like one frantic with pleaſure. I not only made my will in his favour (though, God knows, I had little to diſpoſe of) but I appointed my friends Mr. Robert Gordon and Mr. James Gourlay to be my executors and his guardians during my abſence, in whoſe hands I left all my papers ſealed, till I ſhould demand them again, or they ſhould be in⯑formed of my death: I then ordered all my ſheep, poul⯑try, &c. which had prodigiouſly encreaſed, to be tranſ⯑ported, and put under their care; and making a new ſuit of cloaths for the occaſion, which coſt me twenty guineas, I waited on a Mr. Snyderhans, one of the clergymen at Paramaribo, to appoint a day when my boy, my Johnny Stedman, ſhould be made a Chriſtian ^*.

[373]On the 18th Colonel Fourgeoud's remaining troops at laſt came down from the encampments at Caſſeepore Creek, and every preparation was made for our departure. At the ſame time, the extacy of the few ſurviving ma⯑rines at their quitting this country was ſo great, having now alſo received part of their clearance, that ſuch intem⯑perance, riot, and diſorder enſued as produced the moſt formidable quarrels between them and the troops of the Society, till, ſome being wounded and ſome being flogged, peace was finally, though with difficulty, re-eſtabliſhed.

This ſame day a poor ſailor, while I was on board, was drowned in my preſence, who fell from the gunwale into the river, with the ſheet anchor, which had been neg⯑lected to be laſhed to the ringbolts. I inſtantly leaped into a boat to try to ſave him, but could only get his hat; the man went to the bottom, and never more was ſeen.

The day of our departure now approached faſt, and I gave up my houſe; when, at Mrs. Godefroy's preſſing in⯑vitation, I ſpent the few remaining moments in that which ſhe had prepared for the reception of Joanna and her boy, in her beautiful garden, charmingly ſituated under the ſhade of tamarind and orange trees; which houſe ſhe alſo had neatly furniſhed with every accommo⯑dation that could be deſired, beſides allowing Joanna a negro woman and a girl to attend on her for life. Thus ſituated, how bleſt ſhould I have been in this ſpot to end my days!—But fate ordained it otherwiſe.

[374]On the 22d, I made it my buſineſs with Captain Small (who was come down with leave of abſence) to wait on the Reverend Mr. Snyderhans, according to appoint⯑ment, but who, to both our great ſurprize, peremptorily refuſed to chriſten the boy; alledging for his reaſon, that as I was going to Holland, I could not anſwer for his chriſtian education. We replied, that he was under two very proper guardians: the blackſmith's ſon (for ſuch was this divine) perſiſted, and we remonſtrated, but to no purpoſe, for he was juſt as deaf as his father's anvil, and I believe, upon my ſoul, quite as empty as his bellows; till at length, wearied out with his fanatical impertinence, I ſwore that I would ſooner ſee the boy die a heathen, than chriſtened by ſuch a blockhead; while my friend Small could not help beſtowing on him a hearty curſe, and, ſlapping the door with a vengeance, we departed.

Feaſting and conviviality now prevailed once more at Paramaribo, as on our firſt arrival. Grand dinners, ſup⯑pers, and balls were heard of in every quarter. But I only viſited a few of my ſelect friends, amongſt which number had conſtantly been Governor Nepveu, and where, for the laſt time, I made one of the company at a truly magnificent entertainment, which ended the ſcene of liberality and hoſpitality, for which the inhabitants of Surinam are ſo juſtly conſpicuous; and on the 25th the baggage was ſhipped on board the veſſels.

Numberleſs, indeed, were the preſents for the voyage, with which I in particular was now overſtocked from every quarter; and my proviſions of live cattle, poultry, [375] wine, rum, &c. &c. were almoſt ſufficient to carry me round the globe: amongſt the reſt, in a ſmall bottle caſe, containing liquors, I found a cryſtal phial filled with eſſential oil of orange, and a parcel of what they called here tonquin beans.—The firſt is extracted from the rind or peel of the oranges: which is done here by the tedious and laborious method of ſqueezing it between the finger and thumb. A few drops of this on a ſmall piece of ſugar, is ſaid to be an excellent remedy to ſtrengthen the ſtomach, create an appetite, and help digeſtion; and one ſingle drop ſmells ſo ſtrong, that it is ſufficient to per⯑fume a whole apartment. The tonquin beans are ſaid to grow in a thick pulp, ſomething like a walnut, and on a large tree. I never ſaw them otherwiſe than dried, when they bear ſome reſemblance to a prune or dried plumb, and are made uſe of to ſcent ſnuff and tobacco, to which they impart a moſt agreeable odour.

On the 26th, we took our laſt leave of his Excellency the Governor, en corps, as aſſuredly was his due; after which all the officers of the Society troops waited on Colonel Fourgeoud, at the head quarters, to wiſh us a proſperous voyage to Holland, and the day was ſpent by a regale, en militaire, viz. a dinner, as uſual, of ſalt pro⯑viſions; but I muſt acknowledge, accompanied with as much good liquor of every kind, as Surinam could fur⯑niſh, and a very hearty welcome.

I believe that now a hundred times Fourgeoud ſhook me by the hand, declaring, ‘"That there was not a young [376] man he loved better in the world; that had he com⯑manded me to march through fire as well as water, he was convinced I ſhould never have left it, without ac⯑compliſhing his orders;"’ with many other fine com⯑pliments. But I muſt candidly acknowledge, that though I had a heart to forgive, my mind would never per⯑mit me to forget the many and unneceſſary difficulties and miſeries to which I had been too wantonly expoſed. At the ſame time he informed me, that he did not pro⯑poſe to depart with us, but intended to follow the regiment very ſoon, with the remains of the laſt-come relief, when he would render me every ſervice in his power. What⯑ever were his real motives for ſuch a ſudden change in his diſpoſition towards me, ſuffice it to ſay, that few peo⯑ple at this time were better friends, than were the old Colonel Fourgeoud and Captain Stedman.

In the evening I went to take a ſhort farewell of my moſt valuable acquaintances, ſuch as Mrs. Godefroy, Mr. and Mrs. Demelley, Mr. and Mrs. Lolkens, Mr. and Mrs. Gor⯑don, Mr. Gourlay, Captain Mackneal, Doctor Kiſſam, &c. who had all (beſides Mr. Kennedy and Mr. de Graaf, now gone to Holland) treated me with the moſt conſtant and diſtinguiſhed civility ſince I had been in the co⯑lony: but my ſoul was too full of a friend that was ſtill dearer, to be impreſſed with that ſenſibility on ſeparating from them, that it muſt have felt on another occaſion.— And here I cannot in juſtice omit remarking, that while I gave the moſt impetuous vent to my feelings, not the ſmalleſt expreſſion of poignant ſorrow, or even of dejec⯑tion, [377] eſcaped from Joanna's lips; while her good ſenſe and fortitude even reſtrained the tear from ſtarting in my afflicted preſence. I now once more earneſtly preſſed her to accompany me, in which I was ſeconded by the ineſtimable Mrs. Godefroy and all her friends; but ſhe remained equally inflexible, and her ſteady anſwer was as before— ‘"That, dreadful as appeared the fatal ſeparation, perhaps never more to meet, yet ſhe could not but prefer remaining in Surinam: firſt, from a conſci⯑ouſneſs that, with propriety, ſhe had not the diſpoſal of herſelf; and, ſecondly, from pride, wiſhing in her preſent condition rather to be one of the firſt among her own claſs in America, than a reflection or burthen on me in Europe, as ſhe was convinced muſt be the caſe, unleſs our circumſtances became one day more independent."’ Here Joanna ſhewed great emotion, but immediately retired to weep in private.—What could I ſay or do?—Not knowing how to anſwer, or ſufficiently to admire her firmneſs and reſignation, which ſo greatly exceeded my own, I determined, if poſſible, to imitate her conduct, and calmly to reſign myſelf to my fate, pre⯑paring for the fatal moment, when my heart forebode me we were to pronounce the LAST ADIEU, and ſeparate for ever.

[378]The whole corps being ordered, at ſeven o'clock on the morning of the 27th, to wait on Colonel Fourgeoud at the head quarters, I tore myſelf away from all that was dear to me in this world without diſturbing them, in order to prevent the tender ſcene of parting. He then conducted us to the water-ſide, where the boats lay in waiting; and we were immediately embarked, under a general ſalute, and colours flying, from the fortreſs and the veſſels in the roads. The whole corps now having dined on board the ſtaff-ſhip with Lieutenant Colonel de Borgnes, Colonel Fourgeoud politely invited me to accompany him back to town till next morning; but which, with a broken heart, I thought beſt to decline. He then took his final leave, and wiſhing us all a ſafe and proſperous voyage to Europe, he returned, under a ſalute of nine guns and three cheers, with Cap⯑tain Van Geurike, his adjutant, back to Paramaribo.

On the 29th of March, at midnight, the ſignal-gun being fired, the two ſhips got under way, and dropped down till before the fortreſs New Amſterdam, where they once more came to an anchor.

Here my friends Gordon and Gourlay, the guardians of my boy, after the convivial Colonel Seyburg (for ſuch he certainly was) had entertained them on board his veſſel, the Hollandia, affectionately coming to viſit me, they did no leſs than actually prevail on me to accompany them back to Paramaribo. My ſoul could not reſiſt this ſecond invita⯑tion of once more beholding what was ſo dear to me.— I went, and, muſt I ſay it?—found Joanna, who had diſ⯑played [379] ſo much fortitude in my preſence, now bathing in tears, and ſcarcely alive, ſo much was ſhe become the victim of melancholy and deſpair. Nor had ſhe partaken of food, or ſleep, ſince my departure, nor ſpoken to any living creature, indeed not ſtirred from the ſpot where I had left her on the morning of the 27th.

The ſhips not being quite ready to go to ſea till two days after, I was prevailed upon to ſtay on ſhore a little longer, with poor Joanna and her boy, which ſeemed to chear her: But, alas! too dear we paid for this too ſhort reprieve! ſince, but few hours had elapſed, when a ſailor abruptly came in, with the meſſage that the ſhip's boat lay in waiting that minute to carry me on board.—At that inſtant—Heavens! what were my feelings! —Joanna's mother took the infant from her arms, the all-worthy Mrs. Godefroy ſupporting herſelf — her brothers and ſiſters hung around me, crying, and invoking Heaven aloud for my ſafety — while the unfortunate Joanna (now but nineteen) gazing on me, and holding me by the hand, with a look ten thouſand times more dejected than Sterne's Maria,—was unable to utter one word!!!—I perceived ſhe was diſtracted — the hour was come— I ex⯑changed a ringlet of their hair, and fondly preſſed them both to my boſom:—the power of ſpeech alſo forſook me, and my heart tacitly invoked the protection of Pro⯑vidence to befriend them. — Joanna now ſhut her beau⯑teous eyes—her lips turned the pale colour of death—ſhe bowed her head, and motionleſs ſunk in the arms of HER ADOPTED MOTHER:—Here I rouſed all my remaining [380] fortitude, and leaving them ſurrounded by every care and attention departed, and bid GOD BLESS THEM!!!

The boat ſtill delaying a few moments, I now ſtepped up to poor Fourgeoud, ſurrounded by my friends, and graſp⯑ing his veteran hand, I could not, for my ſoul, but for⯑give him all the hardſhips he had ever occaſioned me.— He was affected. — This was a debt he owed me. — I wiſhed him every good, and finally rowed down the river Surinam.

At this time the ſhips were riding off Bram's Point, where Mr. Texier, the deputy governor, came on board to wiſh us a proſperous voyage; and, after dinner, under a ſalute of ſeven guns, together with Captains Small and Fredericy, who had accompanied me hither, he returned back to Paramaribo.

CHAP. XXX. The Ships weigh Anchor, and put to Sea—Review of the Troops—Account of the Voyage—The Arrival in the Texel —Deſcription of the Pampus near Amſterdam—Final Debarkation in the Town of Bois-le-Duc—The Death of Colonel Fourgeoud—End of the Expedition—Short Hiſtory of the late Scotch Brigade—Concluſion.

EVERY thing being at laſt perfectly adjuſted for our departure, both veſſels,CHAP. XXX. under the command of Lieu⯑tenant Colonel des Borgnes, weighed anchor on the morning of the 1ſt of April, 1777, when, with a freſh breeze at E. we put to ſea, and kept courſe N. and N. W.— Motionleſs and ſpeechleſs, I hung over the ſhip's ſtern till the land quite diſappeared. After ſome days, however, by conſiderable exertions, I got the better of my melan⯑choly, though not of my affection, and my mind became once more compoſed and calm. What chiefly contributed to the reſtoring of my peace, was the comfortable reflec⯑tion, that if I had in ſome meaſure injured myſelf, I had at leaſt done good to a few others, by relieving three ^* innocent and deſerving young people from a ſtate of bondage. Yet, for this action, I was aſſuredly moſt amply [382] rewarded by the preſervation of my life, principally owing to their unremitting care and attention, while ſuch num⯑bers fell all around me, and more were ruined in their conſtitution, the victims of the climate and the ſervice, ſome having loſt the uſe of their limbs, and ſome of their memory; nay, one or two were entirely deprived of their mental faculties, and continued in a ſtate of incurable in⯑ſanity for ever.

In ſhort, out of the number of near twelve hundred able-bodied men, not one hundred returned to their friends and their country: and perhaps not twenty amongſt theſe were to be found in perfect health. A⯑mong the dead were (including the ſurgeons) between twenty and thirty officers; three of which number were colonels, and one a major. So very deſtructive was the ſervice to Europeans in ſuch a climate; and ſuch ever muſt be the reſult of the moſt ſucceſsful operations in the unwholeſome atmoſphere of woods and marſhes.

One or two remarks I muſt make before I conclude this ſubject, which are:—Firſt, that among the officers and private men who had formerly been in the Weſt In⯑dies, none died, while among the whole number of above one thouſand privates, I can only recollect one ſingle ma⯑rine who eſcaped from ſickneſs; and next, that of the few belonging to the corps that were now on their voyage for the Texel (thoſe gentlemen alone excepted, who at this time belonged to the ſtaff) I myſelf was the only officer who had ſailed out with the regiment in 1772. This laſt was a [383] pleaſing reflection indeed, and which could not but render me ſincerely thankful to Providence.

About the 14th of April, having paſſed the Tropicks, and changed courſe to N. N. E. and N. E. we were becalmed for ſome days. I ought not to omit that when in about 15 degrees N. latitude, we ſailed through what is vulgarly called the Graſs Sea, from its being covered over with a floating kind of green and yellow weed, called gulph weeds; ſome of which, when dried in the ſun, and ſpread between two ſheets of paper, are very curious, reſembling trees, flowers, ſhrubs, &c. and in which are harboured ſmall cruſtaceous fiſh, ſcollops, muſcles, and ſhells of many thouſand different ſpecies. Among the laſt is often found that wonderful ſea reptile, called the hippocampus, or ſea-horſe, which I could compare to nothing better than the chevalier of a cheſs-board; though it is gene⯑rally larger, and ſometimes eight or nine inches in length. The body is compoſed of cartilaginous rings: the head, ſnout, and mane are incruſted all over; and the tail, which is curvated upwards in the figure of an S, termi⯑nates in a point.

On the 19th, the calm ſtill continuing, we were daily entertained by ſwarms of flying fiſh, and ſeveral doradoes and grampuſſes ſwimming and tumbling before and after the ſhips, as if delighting to keep us company. The grampus is a fiſh of the cetaceous kind, ſomething re⯑ſembling the dolphin, but much larger, and approaching the whale in ſize, ſome being near twenty feet in length, and prodigiouſly fat. This fiſh has forty ſtrong teeth; is of [384] a dark brown colour, and ſpouts water with conſiderable force. We alſo ſaw at ſome diſtance from the veſſels ſe⯑veral times above the water a large north-caper. This fiſh, which very much reſembles the Greenland whale, is more dangerous, on account of its being more active, which proceeds from the body being ſmaller and flatter than that of the former. The jaw is ſhorter, with very ſmall barbs: the ſkin is whiter, and the produce of its blubber amounts ſeldom to more than thirty tons.

About the 22d, the weather began to change conſider⯑ably, and the whole ſhip's company were attacked with a ſevere cold and cough, and many alſo with the ague.

On the 30th, the crew was ſo weak as to be hardly able to do their duty; two of them indeed, and one marine, were already dead and overboard. Colonel de Borgnes was alſo at this time ſo much indiſpoſed, that the com⯑mand devolved upon me for a few days during his ill⯑neſs, when obſerving the other ſhip ahead, and almoſt out of ſight, I availed myſelf of my commodoreſhip, by hoiſting a flag at the main-top, and firing a gun to windward to bring her to, which ſhe punctually obeyed.

The remora, or ſucking-fiſh, is frequently found ſticking to ſharks, and to ſhips bottoms: this fiſh is aſh-coloured, and long, about twenty inches; the body roundiſh, and tapering near the tail; the fins are placed as thoſe of the ſhark, and the under ſkin is projecting; its ſucker is, how⯑ever, what makes it moſt remarkable, being an oval griſtly plate above its head, with tranſverſe bars, like the palate of a ſheep. This ſucker has ſo much attraction, that no waves, however violent, can beat it off.—(For both theſe fiſhes, ſee the Plate annexed.)

The pilot-fiſh ought here alſo to be noticed: this is ſmall, with brilliant colours, and is ſaid not only to feed upon [386] the gills of the ſhark, but to direct it to its prey, from which ſingularity originates its name.

On the 1ſt of May, being exactly one month at ſea, during which time, by way of making a trial, I had con⯑tinued bare-footed and bare-headed, without catching cold; I this day, for the firſt time, not only dreſſed like my ſhip-mates, but wore every thing double, and ſome things triple, which I found exceedingly comfortable.

About this time a Mr. Neyſeus, one of our ſurgeons, having on board a crabbodago or griſſon (whoſe ferocity I have already deſcribed) to carry home as a curioſity, the miſchievous creature broke looſe, and in one night mur⯑dered all the monkies, parrots, poultry, and other ani⯑mals that were upon deck, while it drove moſt of the crew who had the watch down the hatchway; till luckily one of them with a hand-ſpike knocked out his brains.

On the 3d, we had hard gales and heavy ſhowers at S. E. Latitude about 40°. From this time the gale daily encreaſed, till the ninth, when the weather began to mo⯑derate.

We now ſaw ſeveral porpoiſes, herring-gulls, &c. The firſt is a fiſh about five or ſix feet long, exceſſively fat, of a bluiſh black colour, and without ſcales; the head has ſmall eyes, and no gills, but a long ſnout, and ſharp teeth. The fins are but one dorſal, and two ventral, and the tail is horizontal, to enable it to leap above the water, which it does frequently to blow or breathe, at which time its ſnorting may be heard at a great diſtance. The [387] fleſh of the porpoiſe when killed is red, and looks like ſome kinds of pork.

The herring-gull is a bird as large as a tame duck, per⯑fectly white, part of the beak and prime feathers except⯑ed, which are of a dark aſh-colour; the eyes are grey, the bill and feet are yellow; the claws are black, and the length of its wings is between four and five feet, from the extremity of the one to the other.

On the 13th, in the morning-watch, being not far from the Azores or Weſtern Iſles, the veſſel was nearly laid on her beam-ends, though then under double-reefed top⯑ſails, by a ſudden ſquall at E. At this time a broken top⯑gallant-maſt, a new hand-ſpike, &c. floated paſt the ſhip, the melancholy remains of a ſhipwreck, which we ſince were informed to be a Dutch homeward-bound Eaſt Indiaman, that had foundered with all the crew near the iſland of Terceira.

On the 14th the wind was violent, carrying away our fore-top-gallant-maſt, and ſplitting the main-ſail, while the other veſſel loſt her bowſprit, &c.; and on the evening of the 15th it blew a perfect ſtorm, accompanied with thunder and lightening, and very heavy rain, which con⯑tinued during the night, and which brought our main⯑top-maſt by the board, while the ſhip's crew were ſo very much reduced as to be hardly able to clear the wreck, in which I cheerfully aſſiſted, by cutting away with a hatchet.

The two following days we continued ſcudding before [388] the wind, with a reef in the fore-ſail, the ſea running mountains high, and conſtantly breaking over the veſſel —pumps going day and night; ſoon after which we ſaluted the Alarm frigate from Holland, which compli⯑ment they returned.

At length, the weather becoming fair, we were carried within ſoundings, on the 19th, when we hove the lead in ninety fathom water; but the wind ſhifting to the N. E. with foul weather, we beat about in the chops of the Channel, till the morning of the 21ſt, when at half paſt one a ſignal gun was fired for the other veſſel, that we ſaw the light off Scilly; and at four o'clock P. M. got the pilot on board.

Having been becalmed two days off Dover, it was the 27th before we firſt ſaw the Dutch coaſt: here we purchaſed ſome excellent fiſh from a Schevelin boat, with which we entertained the whole crew, though during this ſea voyage no ſhip's company could be better provided.

Having kept off ſhore during the night, we at laſt doubled Keykduyn and the Helder; and on the 28th, at three o'clock P. M. both ſhips, under a diſcharge of nine guns, dropped anchor in the Texel roads.

On the 30th, having paſſed the ſmall iſland of Urk, in the Zuyder Sea, which is the only rock in the province of Holland, both veſſels running before the wind with a fine breeze, premeditatedly ſtuck faſt upon the Pampus— this is a large bank of ſoft mire, covered with ſhoal water, and not far from Amſterdam, which it naturally protects [389] like a barrier from all foreign invaders; ſince all ſhips whatever muſt either be lifted over or dragged through this bank of mud.

The firſt is done by ſinking two concave veſſels, called camels, which being chained together under the bottom of an Indiaman or man-of-war, of whatever burthen, the water is pumped out of them, when riſing gradually to the ſurface with their burthen, they carry it to where there is to be found ſufficient depth to keep it afloat.

The ſecond method is practiſed on ſmaller veſſels, and conſiſts of half a dozen ſail boats, called water-manakins, towing them through the mud, which can never be done but when ſtraight before the wind: at which time not only the ſhip itſelf, but the boats that have her in tow, muſt crowd all the ſail they poſſibly can carry.

On the morning of the 31ſt, having been becalmed all night, a freſh breeze at E. again ſprung up, when we fired a gun as a ſignal, and five or ſix water-manakins inſtantly came off, by the help of which we were dragged over the Pampus, not at the rate of fourteen knots an hour, but at that of fourteen hours a knot, ſince we did not get clear of it in leſs than three days ſailing, though not four miles in length: however, I muſt confeſs, that the laſt day we had ſcarcely any wind at all.

During this tedious paſſage, it was no bad entertain⯑ment, to obſerve the contraſt between ſome newly-arrived Norwegians and us; thoſe people ſitting upon deck in [390] their ſhirts, and wiping off the perſpiration, while we were ſtrutting in great coats and fur caps, like ſo many Muſcovites, to keep us from the cold.

Having at this time received a conſiderable preſent of refreſhments, ſent by the city of Amſterdam to the de⯑liverers of their favourite colony, and being ſo near re⯑viſiting their old friends and acquaintances, all on board were in the higheſt flow of ſpirits, and exulting with gladneſs—excepting one!—from whoſe mind every hap⯑pineſs was baniſhed.

I muſt here ſtill relate the following ſingular circum⯑ſtance: A man-of-war's boat coming alongſide the Hol⯑landia, the officer and crew no ſooner entered on board, than one of them, without ſpeaking, ran up aloft, with a knife in his teeth, to cut down the pennant. At this time Lieutenant Colonel Seyburg, preſenting a muſquet, and ſwearing he would ſhoot him out of the rigging, the poor fellow came down by the back-ſtays like a ſhot, to our great entertainment; next, having explained to him that both veſſels had been put in commiſſion by the Prince of Orange, the amazed lieutenant made a handſome apo⯑logy, and left the ſhip.

On the 3d of June, every thing being in readineſs, the troops were put on board ſix lighters, appointed to tranſ⯑port them to Bois-le-Duc, in which town they were next to be compleated, and do the duty as part of the gar⯑riſon. On leaving the veſſels we were once more ſaluted [391] with nine guns from each; which having returned with three cheers, we ſet ſail for the place above mentioned. As we paſſed in the lighters through the inland towns, ſuch as Saardam, Haerlem, and Tergow, I thought them truly magnificent, particularly the glaſs painting in the great church of the latter; but their inhabitants, who crouded about us, from curioſity to ſee us, appeared but a diſguſting aſſemblage of ill-formed and ill-dreſſed rab⯑ble, ſo much had my prejudices been changed by living among the Indians and blacks: their eyes ſeemed to re⯑ſemble thoſe of a pig; their complexions were like the colour of foul linen; they ſeemed to have no teeth, and to be covered over with rags and dirt. This prejudice, however, was not againſt theſe people only, but againſt all Europeans in general, when compared to the ſparkling eyes, ivory teeth, ſhining ſkin, and remarkable cleanli⯑neſs of thoſe I had left behind me. But the moſt ludi⯑crous circumſtance was, that during all this we never once conſidered the truly extraordinary figure that we made ourſelves, being ſo much ſun-burnt and ſo pale, that we were nearly the colour of dried parchment, by heat and fatigue; and ſo thin, that we looked like moving ſkeletons; to which I may add, that having lived ſo long in the woods, we had perfectly the appearance of wild people; and I in particular, very deſervedly, obtained the characteriſtic title of le Sauvage Anglois, or the Engliſh ſavage.

In this ſtate we arrived, on the 9th, at the town [390] [...] [391] [...] [392] of Bois-le-Duc, where the troops were finally diſem⯑barked.

Thus ended, perhaps, one of the moſt extraordinary ex⯑peditions that was ever undertaken by European troops; and to which only the exploits of the American Buccaneers have any, and even that a very diſtant, reſemblance.

On our arrival I found that Lieutenant Colonel Weſ⯑terlo, who went ſick to Europe, in 1773, was not yet quite recovered. This gentleman now invited me, in company with ſome others, to dine with him at the public meſs; where, while ſome Dutch officers complained that the ſoup was ſmoaky, and the beef was tough, we adventurers declared that we never had taſted a more delicious repaſt; and at the ſame time, while they praiſed the ſtrawberries, cherries, and other European fruits, we thought them very indifferent, and greatly inferior to the avogado-pear, the water-melon, and the pine-apple, to which we had been lately accuſtomed—which ſhews that every thing in this world is only good or bad by compariſon.

The following day we were introduced, on the parade, to the Lieutenant Governor, General Hardenbrook, and ſpent the evening at his lady's card aſſembly, where I muſt acknowledge I was charmed with ſome very ſweet faces, freſh as the roſe and the lily, while they were no leſs entertained with our groteſque appearance, though [393] we had now borrowed the aſſiſtance of powder and pomatum.

On the 18th the troops were finally cleared with, and paid their remaining arrears, and thoſe who choſe it per⯑mitted to return to their former regiments. Some of the privates had from thirty to forty pounds to receive, which, ſailor-like, having earned it like horſes, they ſpent like aſſes. Among others, a young fellow of my company, whoſe late regiment chanced to be quartered in the very ſame town, hired three poſt-chaiſes to carry him the length of one ſtreet only, ordering a couple of drunken fiddlers in the firſt, his knapſack in the ſecond, and placing himſelf in the third, ſupported by a brace of the frail ſiſterhood: he was, however, unfortunately ſhipwrecked in his courſe, being run foul of by the major de place, who, having broken the fiddles, and ſet the ladies adrift, towed the roaring adven⯑turer himſelf, after a hard tug, to the quarter-guard, where he came to an anchor in the bilboes, till the gale of his diſſipation was quite ſpent, and he had got rid of all his cargo. In a ſimilar manner went moſt of the money which had been earned with ſo much danger, hardſhip, and fatigue.

Now came the time to keep my long-made reſolution of bidding a laſting farewell to Colonel Fourgeoud's regi⯑ment; from which, on the 10th day of Auguſt, I obtained my free diſmiſſion, having requeſted it, immediately after my debarkation, from the Prince of Orange, who at the ſame time honoured me with a freſh Captain's [394] commiſſion in the Honourable General Stuart's regiment, which I had left in September 1772; while from that date to this very day my full pay had amounted to little more than four hundred and fifty pounds ſterling, hav⯑ing regularly been ſtopped out of this ſum ten pounds per annum for the putrid beef, pork, ruſk-bread, and hard peaſe, that ſo miraculouſly had kept ſoul and body toge⯑ther.

Let me not, however, be conſidered as wiſhing to caſt a reflection on the Dutch nation in general, who indeed omitted nothing for our preſervation and encouragement during this long and painful ſervice: a people whoſe virtues have been for ages as conſpicuous as their valour —one man alone was the cauſe of all our ſufferings.

Having now exchanged my blue coat for a ſcarlet one, bought a very handſome horſe, and put Quaco in a bril⯑liant livery, I for the laſt time entertained my ſhip-mates, with whom, without exception, I drank an everlaſting friendſhip: then taking my final farewell of them all, I the next morning ſet out to rejoin the old Scotch regi⯑ment, where I was received with the ſtrongeſt marks of joy and unfeigned friendſhip by the corps.

On the 25th of Auguſt I repaired to the palace of Loo, in Guelderland, where, by the Colonel of the regiment, I was introduced to his Serene Highneſs the Stadtholder; who not only was pleaſed to give me a gracious recep⯑tion, remarking, that by my looks I muſt have ſuffered much, but ſoon after promoted me to the rank of Major in the ſame Scottiſh regiment.

As I had now the pleaſure alſo to ſee a few others of my fellow ſufferers recompenſed after their hardſhips, I had reaſon to think the leſs of our former troubles; thus, in⯑ſtead of indulging in cenſure, I found a more ſolid conſo⯑lation in the triumph of truth, which was brought to light without my farther interference.

On the 24th of September I went to the Hague, where I preſented his Serene Highneſs with eighteen figures in wax, made by myſelf, for his muſeum, which were moſt [396] graciouſly accepted. They repreſented the free Indians of Guiana, and negro ſlaves of Surinam, engaged in dif⯑ferent occupations, on an iſland, ſupported by a cryſtal mirror, and ornamented with gold.

I now alſo, with his own conſent, made a preſent of my faithful black boy, Quaco, to the Counteſs of Roſen⯑daal, to whoſe family I was under very great obligations; and who ſince, on account of his honeſty and ſober con⯑duct, not only chriſtened him, by the name of Stedman, at my deſire, but promoted him to be their butler, with a promiſe to take care of him as long as he lived; which was particularly grateful to me, being ſuch advantages as I could never have procured for him myſelf.

Here I cannot omit an anecdote of attachment in this boy:—Having ſet out by myſelf on a ſhort journey, I found a crown-piece more than I expected in my purſe, and for which I was at a loſs to account; till on my return, when I queſtioned Quaco, he ſaid, ‘"that fearing I might be ſhort of caſh, where people ſeemed ſo fond of it, he had put his five-ſhilling piece in my pocket."’ —This action was the more generous, not only in the manner it was done, but being at that time the only crown poor Quaco poſſeſſed in this world.

About the latter end of October, I was offered by the directors of the ſettlement to be ſent over as a lieutenant governor to the colony of Berbicè, ſituated next to Suri⯑nam. In conſequence, I immediately went to Amſterdam, to wait on them, and hear the propoſals, in which they [397] indeed offered me a higher ſalary, and greater advantages, than they had ever offered to any other gentleman in that ſituation; but I inſiſted on having either the govern⯑ment if I ſurvived, or a decent penſion after a certain number of years at my return; which being out of their power, they ſaid, to grant, I declined accepting of the offer altogether, judging it more prudent to recover my health and vigour in Europe with a Scottiſh company, than to parch any longer under the Torrid Zone, with⯑out a proſpect of ſettling at home with honour and a competent fortune. Nor was it long before I perfectly recovered, and became as ſtout and healthy as I had ever been in all my life: a happineſs of which not one among one hundred of my late ſhip-mates could boaſt.

Among others, poor COLONEL FOURGEOUD did not long enjoy his good fortune; for he was ſcarcely arrived in Holland, with the remaining few who ſtayed ſome time behind us, than his beloved ptiſan having failed him, he was one morning found dead in his bed, attended only by a negro, and buried with military honours at the Hague.

Not long after this, expired alſo in Surinam Four⯑geoud's mortal enemy, the GOVERNOR of the colony; which vacancy was moſt worthily filled up by Colonel Texier, and ſince by the deſerving Mr. Wichers ^*.

From this period nothing worth recording occurred [398] till the year 1782, when the Emperor of Germany hav⯑ing retaken the barrier towns from the States of Holland, General Stuart's regiment was the laſt that evacuated the city of Namur, and on the ſame day the Imperial troops marched in to take poſſeſſion: after which the Emperor ordered, in the year 1783, all the fortifications to be de⯑moliſhed. Soon after this, the Scotch brigade, the pri⯑vates of which now conſiſted of all nations, was natura⯑lized by the States of Holland, that is, formed into three Dutch regiments, on account of the war with Great Bri⯑tain; and this circumſtance induced myſelf and moſt of the principal officers immediately to reſign—as we refuſed to ſerve againſt our King and Country.

Having thus left the Dutch ſervice, on which day, by the Prince of Orange, I was complimented with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, the above gentlemen went to Eng⯑land, where, in conſequence of their loyalty, they were taken under his Britannic Majeſty's protection; and, on the 18th of June, eleven of them, of which number I was ſo happy to make one, were, by General Conway, introduced at St. James's, where we had the honour to kiſs his Majeſty's hand.

On the 27th of the ſame month, the half-pay was voted for them all by the Britiſh Houſe of Commons, accord⯑ing to the rank in which each individual had actually ſerved while abroad ^*.—But, that the reader may have [399] ſome idea of what is meant by the SCOTCH BRIGADE, and of what they formerly conſiſted, I will beg leave to inſert the following particulars:

‘"In 1570 this ancient corps firſt landed in Holland, as independent companies, commanded by ſome of the firſt noblemen in Scotland.’

‘"In the year 1578 their gallant behaviour, together with the Engliſh, at the battle of Reminat, near Mech⯑lin, is mentioned particularly by Strada.’

‘"In 1579 Menin was ſurpriſed, and the Spaniſh and Walloon guards taken priſoners by Colonel Balfour, with his regiment alone.’

‘"In 1588, at the memorable blockade of Bergen-op-Zoom by the Prince of Parma, the Scots, under the command of General Balfour and Colonel Scott, made a ſortie, and demoliſhed the greateſt part of the Spaniſh lines, by which the enemy were forced to break up the ſiege, with conſiderable loſs of men and ammunition.’

‘"In 1590, at the ſiege of Zutphen-Deventer, Nimeguen and Hulſt, their bravery is well known.’

‘"In 1593 they ſhared ſo much of the glory at the taking of Gertrudenberg, that both General Balfour and his regiment were highly diſtinguiſhed by Prince Maurice. The general he made governor to command the garriſon, inſtead of his brother Prince Henry; and the regiment he appointed, as the moſt ſpirited corps, to defend it.’

[400] ‘"In 1599, at the taking of Bommel, the Scots ſuffered moſt conſiderably.’

‘"In 1600 two field officers, eight captains, with above ſix hundred private men, were left dead on the field, after the famous Battle of the Downs, near Nieuport, where both they and the Engliſh behaved with the greateſt gallantry; and to the valour of theſe united bands was attributed the ſucceſs of the day.’

‘"In 1601, at the ſiege of Oſtend, which laſted three years, and at which was levelled the whole power of Spain, nothing could equal the valour and courage both of the Scotch and Engliſh, the firſt commanded by Generals Balfour and St. Clair, the latter by Lords Willoughby and Vere; who, after a great ſlaughter of the Spaniards (including all their beſt officers) forced the aſſailants to raiſe the ſiege, and retreat with great ſhame and confuſion.’

‘"During the government of the three firſt Princes of Orange, William, Maurice, and Frederick-Henry, the Scotch behaved with ſo much bravery, honour and reputation, that by the laſt prince (beſides many other marks of diſtinction which he conferred on them) they were called the bulwarks of the republick.’

‘"The neceſſary limits of this chapter compel me to omit many memorable ſervices which were rendered by this diſtinguiſhed body of men to the provinces of Holland; but I cannot overlook the laſt ſiege of Bergen-op-Zoom by the French, in 1747; where, while others [401] ſhamefully ran away, one regiment of Scots in the middle of the town, having twice repulſed the enemy, fought alone till they were nearly cut to pieces, leaving fifteen officers and above five hundred privates on the field."’ —Such is the hiſtory of the late Scotch brigade in the Dutch ſervice; and ſuch were the outlines of its military character, till the day of its diſſolution, in 1783.

I muſt now draw this narrative to a concluſion, by once more mentioning the name of Joanna, and ac⯑quaint the reader, that, alas!—JOANNA IS NO MORE!!!—

In the month of Auguſt 1783, I received the melan⯑choly tidings from Mr. Gourlay (which pierced me to the ſoul) that on the fatal fifth of November this vir⯑tuous young woman departed this life, as ſome ſuſ⯑pected by poiſon ^*, adminiſtered by the hand of jea⯑louſy and envy, on account of her proſperity, and the marks of diſtinction which her ſuperior merit had ſo juſtly attracted from the reſpectable part of the colony.

But ſhe is no more! — Reader! — the virtuous Joanna, who ſo often ſaved my life, is no more!!!—Her adopted mother, Mrs. Godefroy, who bedewed her beauteous body with tears, ordered it to be interred with every mark of reſpect, under the grove of orange-trees where ſhe had lived. Her lovely boy was ſent to me, with a bill of near two hundred pounds, his private property, by inheri⯑tance from his mother.—Soon after which expired both his very faithful guardians.

[402]This CHARMING YOUTH, having made a moſt com⯑mendable progreſs in his education in Devon, went two Weſt India voyages, with the higheſt character as a ſailor; and during the Spaniſh troubles ſerved with honour as a midſhipman on board his Majeſty's ſhips Southampton and Lizard, ever ready to engage in any ſervice that the advantage of his king and country called for.—But, Oh! —he alſo is no more, having ſince periſhed at ſea off the iſland of Jamaica.

The effect which the following lines had on the ſym⯑pathetic and ingenious Mrs. Cowley, could alone induce me to intrude them on the Public. — Let this be my apology—Oh! more than bitter taſk!!! —

[404]And now farewell, my friends, who have been pleaſed to peruſe this narrative of my diſtreſſes with ſympathetic ſenſibility; particularly thoſe whoſe goodneſs of heart can forgive my inaccuracies and foibles.—I ſay, farewell: claiming no other merit whatever throughout theſe pages, than that of having ſpoke the ſimple truth; which, if I wilfully have violated, may theſe volumes periſh, and be forgotten with their author!—But ſhould this treaſure, TRUTH, ſo rarely to be met with, be found in this performance:—