Chapter XXI

Richard Lander leaves Brass Town — The Natives’ idea of an Echo — Arrival on board an English brig in the river Nun — Reception — Disappointment of Richard Lander — Conduct of the Commander of the brig — Anxiety of Richard Lander — Arrival of John Lander on board the brig — Narrative of John Lander — Proceedings on board the brig — Attempts to leave the river — Perilous condition of the brig — A vessel of war — Arrival at Fernando Po — Description of Clarence — Natives of the island — The Gulf of Guinea — Tornadoes — The Calebar River — Ephraim Town — Passage to Rio Janeiro — Return to England.

Wednesday, November 17th.—I had determined that one of our men should accompany me down the river; and at ten o’clock, having taken leave of my brother and the rest of our party, we embarked in King Boy’s canoe, with a light heart and an anxious mind. Although distant about sixty miles from the mouth of the river, our journey appeared to me already completed, and all our troubles and difficulties I considered at an end. Already, in fond anticipation, I was on board of the brig, and had found a welcome reception from her commander,—had related to him all the hardships and dangers we had undergone, and had been listened to with commiseration,—already had I assured myself of his doing all he could to enable me to fulfil my engagements with these people, and thought ourselves happy in finding a vessel belonging to our own country in the river at the time of our arrival. These meditations and a train of others, about home and friends, to which they naturally led, occupied my mind, as our canoe passed through the narrow creeks, sometimes winding under avenues of mangrove-trees, and at others expanding into small lakes occasioned by the overflowing of the river. The captain of the canoe, a tall sturdy fellow, was standing up, directing its course, occasionally hallooing, as we came to a turn in the creek, to the fetísh, and where an echo was returned, half a glass of rum, and a piece of yam and fish, were thrown into the water. I had never seen this done before; and on asking Boy the reason why he was throwing away the provisions thus, he asked, ‘Did you not hear the fetísh?’ The captain of the canoe replied, ‘Yes.’ ‘That is for the fetísh,’ said Boy; ‘if we do not feed him, and do good for him, he will kill us, or make us poor and sick.’ I could not help smiling at the ignorance of the poor creatures, but such is their firm belief.

We had pursued our course in this manner, which had been principally to the west, till about three in the afternoon, when we came to a branch of the river about two hundred yards wide, and seeing a small village a short distance before us, we stopped there for the purpose of obtaining some dried fish. Having supplied our wants and proceeded on, about an hour afterwards we again stopped, that our people might eat something. Boy very kindly presented me with a large piece of yam, reserving to himself all the fish we had got at the village, and after making a hearty meal off them, he fell asleep: while he was snoring by my side, the remainder of the fish attracted my notice, and not feeling half satisfied with the yam he had given me, I felt an irresistible inclination to taste them. Conscience acquitted me on the score of hunger, and hinted, that such an opportunity should not be lost; and accordingly, I very quickly demolished two small ones. Although entirely raw, they were delicious, and I do not remember to have enjoyed anything with a better relish in all my life.

There is scarcely a spot of dry land to be seen any where, all is covered with water and mangrove trees. After remaining about half an hour here, we again went forward, and at seven in the evening, arrived in the Second Brass River, which is a large branch of the Quorra. We kept our course down it about due south, and half an hour afterwards, I heard the welcome sound of the surf on the beach. We still continued onwards, and at a quarter before eight in the evening, we made our canoe fast to a tree for the night, on the west bank of the river.

Thursday, November 18th.—This morning I found my clothes as thoroughly wet from the effects of the dew, as if I had been lying in the river all night instead of the canoe. This was disagreeable enough, but I had gone through as bad before, and a short time I flattered myself would put an end to all such trouble. At five in the morning, we let go the rope from the tree, and took our course in a westerly direction up a creek. At seven we arrived in the main branch of the Quorra, which is called the river Nun, or the First Brass River, having entered it opposite to a large branch, which King Boy informed me runs to Benin. The direction of the river Nun was here nearly north and south, and we kept on our course down the stream.

About a quarter of an hour after we had entered the river Nun, we descried, at a distance before us, two vessels lying at anchor. The emotions of delight which the sight of them occasioned are quite beyond my powers of description. The nearest to us was a schooner, a Spanish slave-vessel, whose captain we had seen at Brass-town. Our canoe was quickly by her side, and I went on board. The captain received me very kindly, and invited me to take some spirits and water with him. He complained sadly of the sickly state of the crew, asserting that the river was extremely unhealthy, and that he had only been in it six weeks, in which time he had lost as many men. The remainder of his crew, consisting of thirty persons, were in such a reduced state, that they were scarcely able to move, and were lying about his decks more resembling skeletons than living persons. I could do no good here, so I took my leave of the captain, and returned into the canoe.

We now directed our course to the English brig, which was lying about three hundred yards lower down the river. Having reached her, with feelings of delight mingled with doubt, I went on board. Here I found everything in as sad a condition as I had in the schooner: four of the crew had just died of fever; four more, which completed the whole, were lying sick in their hammocks, and the captain appeared to be in the very last stage of illness. He had recovered from a severe attack of fever, and had suffered a relapse in consequence of having exposed himself too soon, which had nearly been fatal to him. I now stated to him who I was, explained my situation to him as fully as I could, and had my instructions read to him by one of his own people, that he might see I was not imposing on him. I then requested that he would redeem us by paying what had been demanded by King Boy, and assured him that whatever he might give to him on our account, would certainly be repaid him by the British government. To my utter surprise and consternation, he flatly refused to give a single thing, and ill and weak as he was, made use of the most offensive and shameful oaths I ever heard. ‘If you think,’ said he, ‘that you have a —— fool to deal with, you are mistaken; I’ll not give a b——y flint for your bill, I would not give a —— for it.’ Petrified with amazement, and horror-struck at such conduct, I shrunk from him with terror. I could scarcely believe what I had heard, till my ears were assailed by a repetition of the same. Disappointed beyond measure by such brutal conduct from one of my own countrymen, I could not have believed it possible, my feelings totally overpowered me, and I was ready to sink with grief and shame. I returned to the canoe, undetermined how to act, or what course to pursue. Never in my life did I feel such humiliation as at this moment. In our way through the country we had been treated well; we had been in the habit of making such presents as had been expected from us; and, above all, we had maintained our character among the natives, by keeping our promises. This was now no longer in my power, as my means were all expended; and when, as a last, and, as I had imagined, a certain resource, I had promised the price of our ransom should be paid by the first of our countrymen, that we might meet with, on the best of all securities, to be thus refused and dishonoured by him, would, I know, degrade us sadly in the opinion of the natives, if it did not lessen us in our own.

As there were no hopes that the captain of this vessel would pay any thing for us, I went on board again, and told King Boy that he must take us to Bonny, as plenty of English ships were there. ‘No, no,’ said he, ‘dis captain no pay, Bonny captain no pay, I won’t take you any further.’ As this would not do, I again had recourse to the captain, and implored him to do something for me, telling him that if he would let me have only ten muskets, Boy might be content with them, when he found that he could get nothing else. The only reply I received was, ‘I have told you already I will not let you have even a flint, so bother me no more.’ ‘But I have a brother and eight people at Brass-town,’ I said to him; ‘and if you do not intend to pay King Boy, at least persuade him to bring them here, or else he will poison or starve my brother before I can get any assistance from a man of war, and sell all my people.’ The only answer I received was, ‘If you can get them on board, I will take them away, but as I have told you before, you do not get a flint from me.’ I then endeavoured to persuade Boy to go back for my people, and that he should be paid some time or other. ‘Yes,’ said the captain, ‘make haste and bring them.’ Boy very naturally required some of his goods before he went, and it was with no small difficulty I prevailed on him afterwards to go without them.

The captain of the brig now inquired what men I had; and on my telling him that I had two seamen, and three others, who might be useful to him in working his vessel, his tone and manner towards me softened a little. He agreed with me that they might be useful in getting the brig out of the river, as half of his crew were dead, and the other half sick, so I took courage and asked him for a piece of beef to send to my brother, and a small quantity of rum, which he readily gave me. I knew that my brother, as well as myself, much needed a change of linen, but I could not venture to ask such a thing from the captain with much hopes of success, so the cook of the brig, appearing to be a respectable sort of man, I applied to him, and he produced me instantly three white shirts. King Boy was now ready to depart, not a little discontented, and I sent my man into his canoe with the few things I had been able to obtain, and a note for my brother. I desired him to give Antonio an order on any English captain that he might find at Bonny, for his wages, and also one for the Damuggoo people, that they might receive the small present I had promised to their good old chief, who had treated us so well. At two in the afternoon King Boy left me, promising to return with my brother and people in three days, but grumbling at not having been paid his goods.

I now endeavoured to make myself as comfortable as I could in the vessel; and thinking that the captain might change his behaviour towards me when he got better, I determined to have as little to say to him till then as possible.

Friday, November 19th.—This morning Captain Lake seemed to be much better, and I ventured to ask him for a change of linen, of which I was in great want. He readily complied with my request, and I enjoyed a luxury which I had not experienced a long time. In the course of the morning I conversed with him about our travels in the country, and related the whole particulars of the manner in which we had been attacked and plundered at Kirree. I explained to him how King Boy had saved us from slavery in the Eboe country, and how much we felt indebted to him for it. I endeavoured to impress this on his mind particularly, as I still hoped to bring him round to pay Boy what I had promised him. Having laid all before him, as fully as I was able, and pointed out to him the bad opinion Boy would have of us, and the injurious tendency towards Englishmen in general that would result from not keeping our word with him, which it was in his power to enable us to do, I asked him to give me ten muskets for my bill on government. He had listened to my story with attention, but I no sooner advanced my wants, than, with a furious oath, he repeated his refusal, and finding him as determined as ever he had been, I mentioned it no more. He moreover told me, in the most unkind and petulant manner, ‘If your brother and people are not here in three days, I go without them.’ This I believed he would not do, as the men would be of service to him, but I had Boy’s promise that they should be with me at that time.

In the middle of the day, the pilot, who had brought the vessel into the river, came on board and demanded payment for it, which gave me an opportunity of seeing more of the disposition of Mr. Lake. The pilot had no sooner made his business known than Lake flew into a violent rage, cursing him and abusing him in the most disgusting language he could use; he refused to pay him anything whatever, and ordered him to go out of the ship immediately. Whether Lake was right or wrong in this I know not, but I was shocked at his expressions, and the pilot reluctantly went away, threatening that he would sink his vessel if he offered to leave the river without paying him his due. I was rather surprised to hear such language from the pilot, and doubted his meaning, till I found that he had a battery of seven brass guns at the town on the eastern side of the river near its entrance, which, if well managed, might soon produce that effect. This town, as before observed, is named Pilot’s-town, being the established residence of those who conduct vessels over the bar.

Saturday, November 20th.—Captain Lake continues to recover from his illness. This morning I asked him if he would take us to Fernando Po when we left the river. This he refused, saying that the island had been given up, that there was not a single white man on it, and that we could get no assistance there; but that if all my people should arrive by the morning of the 23d, he would land us at Bimbia, a small island in the river Cameroons, whither he was going to complete his cargo, and at this island he said I should find a white man, who keeps a store for Captain Smith. I was quite satisfied with this arrangement, feeling assured that I should get everything I might want from him.

My chief concern was about my brother, and I much feared that the vessel would sail without him, for there was no dependence on the captain, so little did he care for us, or the object of our visiting the country. I took an opportunity of begging him, in the event of my brother and the men not arriving by the 23d, to wait a little longer for them, asserting at the same time, that if he went away without them they would be assuredly starved, or sold as slaves, before I could return to them with assistance. I might have just as well addressed myself to the wind. ‘I can’t help it, I shall wait no longer,’ was the only reply he made me, in a surly, hasty tone, which convinced me that all attempts to reason with him would be fruitless.

In the afternoon, the chief mate and three Kroomen were sent away by his direction to sound the bar of the river, in order to know whether there was sufficient depth of water for the vessel to pass over it. The pilot, who had been dismissed so peremptorily yesterday, was determined to have his revenge, and being naturally on the look out, had observed the movements of the boat. So favourable an opportunity was not to be lost; and accordingly, watching her, he despatched an armed canoe, and intercepted her return at the mouth of the river. The mate of the brig and one of the Kroomen were quickly made prisoners and conveyed to the Pilot’s-town, and the boat with the remainder sent back with a message to the captain, that they would not be given up until the pilotage should be paid. Lake must have felt annoyed at this; but whether he did or not, he treated it with the greatest indifference, saying that he did not care, he would go to sea without his mate or the Krooman either, and that he was determined not to pay the pilotage.

Sunday, November 21st.—Nothing remarkable occurred to-day. My thoughts were entirely occupied by my brother, and I felt very anxious for his return.

Monday, November 22d.—My anxiety for my brother’s safety made me very unhappy, and I was on the look out the whole day for him and our men. Lake, observing the distress I was in, told me not to trouble myself any more about them; adding, that he was sure he was dead, and that I need not expect to see him again. ‘If he had been alive,’ said Lake, ‘he would have been here by this time; to-morrow morning I shall leave the river.’ Such unfeeling and inhuman conduct from this man only tended to increase my dislike for him, and without paying him any attention I kept looking out for my party. Such was my anxiety, that I was on the look out long after dark, and could not sleep all night.

Tuesday, November 23d.—This morning, to my great joy and to the mortification of Lake, the sea breeze was so strong that it raised a considerable surf on the bar and prevented us from getting out. This was an anxious time, and the whole of the day my eyes were riveted to the part of the river where I knew my brother must come, without my seeing anything of him. The day passed away in tedious watching, and the night was far spent without my seeing him. About midnight, I saw several large canoes making their way over to the west bank of the river, in one of which I imagined that I could distinguish my brother. I observed them soon after land, and saw, by the fires which they made, that they had encamped under some mangrove trees. All my fears and apprehensions vanished in an instant, and I was overjoyed with the thoughts of meeting my brother in the morning.

The captain of the brig, having observed them, suddenly exclaimed, ‘Now we shall have a little fighting to-morrow; go you and load seventeen muskets and put five buck shot into each. I will take care that the cannon shall be loaded to the muzzle with balls and flints, and if there is any row, I will give them such a scouring as they never had.’ He then directed me to place the muskets and cutlasses out of sight, near the stern of the vessel, and said to me, ‘The instant that your people come on board, call them aft, and let them stand by the arms. Tell them, if there is any row, to arm themselves directly, and drive all the Brass people overboard.’ This was summary work with a vengeance, and everything betokened that Lake was in earnest. I saw clearly that he was resolved on adopting severe measures, and he appeared to possess all the determination necessary to carry them through.

I could not help feeling otherwise than distressed and ashamed of leaving the Brass people in this manner, but I had no alternative. There was no one to whom I could apply for assistance in my present situation except the captain of this vessel, and to him I had applied in vain. My entreaties were thrown away on him, and even the certainty of an ample recompense by the British government, which I had held out to him, had been treated with contempt. I had no hopes, therefore, from this quarter. Boy had refused to take us to Bonny, asserting that if he could not be paid here, he should not be there, and to go back to Brass-town would be deliberately returning to starvation; my last resource, therefore, was to put the best face on the business that I could, and as no other plan was left me, to get away by fair means or foul, and let the blame fall where it was incurred.

Wednesday, November 24th.—This morning at day break I was on the look out for my brother, and observed him and the people get into the canoe. They were no sooner embarked than they all landed again, which I could account for in no other way, than by supposing that it was the intention of Boy to keep them on shore until he had received his goods. I was not long in this state of anxiety, for at about seven o’clock they embarked and were brought on board.

My brother’s journal, which here follows, contains an account of the events which fell under his notice at Brass-town, and his proceedings during the time we were absent from each other.

‘Wednesday, November 17th.—This morning my brother, attended by one of our men, quitted this town with King Boy and suite, leaving the remainder of the party and myself behind, as hostages for the fulfilment of the conditions which we entered into with him in the Eboe country. For myself, though greatly chagrined at this unforeseen arrangement, I could not from my heart altogether condemn the framer of it, for it is quite natural to suppose that a savage should distrust the promises of Europeans, when he himself is at all times guilty of breach of faith and trust, not only in his trading transactions with foreigners, but, likewise in familiar intercourse with his own people. Forday is the cause of it, and he displays all the artifice, chicanery, and low cunning of a crafty and corrupt mind. Therefore, after a moment’s reflection, I was not much surprised at the step which King Boy has taken, nor can I be very angry with him; and I am resolved to wait with composure his return, and, consequently, my release from this miserable place, though I have begun to consider with seriousness what will become of us in the event of Lake’s refusal to honour the bill which we have sent him. Besides I am rather uneasy on our people’s account, for during these two or three days past they have had scarcely anything to eat, and we are now left entirely destitute, nor do I know where to obtain relief. The Damuggoo people are with us likewise, and they are interested in my brother’s return equally as much as myself. Instead of being our guides and protectors, these poor creatures have shared in our calamity; their little all has either been lost or stolen, or else expended in provisions; and, like us, they are reduced to great distress and wretchedness. They will remain here in order to receive the few things which we have promised them and their chief: but, should Lake object to part with his goods, we shall give them a note to the master of any English vessel at Bonny, whither they are destined to go, requesting him to pay the poor strangers their demands.

‘Thursday, November 18th.—After a good deal of solicitation and importunity, we received this morning four small yams from the wives of King Boy, who informed us that the same number of yams will be given us daily. Our people, having nothing else to eat, make a kind of broth of this vegetable; at first, it was of course a most insipid mess, but, with the addition of a little salt, it is rendered more palatable. We sent to King Forday, in the afternoon, for a few plantains, or anything that could be eaten; but the gloomy old savage shook his head, folded his arms, and refused. All our people complaining this evening of hunger, languor, and indisposition. For myself I am fast recovering.

‘Friday, November 19th.—The man that accompanied my brother to the brig in the river, returned this afternoon without him, and gave me the following letter from my brother, which is dated from

“Brass River, November 18th, 1830.

“Dear John,—You will be surprised to learn that I did not arrive here till this morning; when I came on board, I experienced a very cool reception from Lake, the master. He is apparently in the last stage of fever; but though in so alarming a state, he told me with an oath, after I had made my business known to him, that he would not give a —— flint for any government bill whatever; as for King Boy, he swore that he would rather send him to the —— than give him anything. You my guess my emotion on this intelligence; I knew not what to say or do. I wished to return to Brass with King Boy, and proposed his taking us to Bonny, where I told him that I had no doubt we should be more kindly received; but Boy answered that if Lake, who is in his own river, refuse to pay him, how could he expect to be paid in a strange country? Therefore he would not take me from the vessel. In this dilemma I remonstrated earnestly with Lake, who has at length agreed to tamper with Boy, and promises to enter into an arrangement with him for the payment of the debt, as soon as he shall have brought you and the people in safety to the vessel, but not till then. Poor Boy looked sullen and disconcerted at this proposal, though he has agreed to act as desired. My dear brother, I have little news to tell you from England, because the captain’s manners are uncivil and repulsive, and I do not like to weary him with superfluous questions in the present irritable state of his feelings; I can only learn, and I tell you of it with deep sorrow, that our good King George is dead. I herewith send you a piece of beef and a bottle of rum, which have cost me much pains to procure, but I knew how greatly all of you stood in need of something, and therefore I have sacrificed my feelings to necessity. I am sorry that I cannot fulfil my promise of sending you wearing apparel; a couple of shirts, which belonged to a seaman who died lately, is all that I can get. I suppose you will leave Brass-town to-morrow evening; in that case you will be with me on Saturday, and it is needless to say I shall wait your arrival here with impatience. Lake is extremely peevish and ill-tempered, but, as I have already told you, he is alarmingly ill, and therefore every allowance is to be made for him of course. His mate and great part of his crew have died of fever, and the others (except two) are either down with the same disorder, or slowly recovering from the effects of it.

“I am, &c., &c.—R. Lander.”

‘Nothing could exceed my regret and consternation on the perusal of this letter; and somehow, I almost dreaded to meet with King Boy. Well knowing how much it would influence his behaviour towards us, we had been careful to represent to that individual the thanks and cheering which he would receive from our countrymen the moment he should take us on board the English brig; that he would be favoured and caressed beyond measure, and receive plenty of beef, bread, and rum. His face used to shine with delight on anticipating so luxurious a treat; and he had uniformly been in a better humour after listening to these promises of ours, than anything else could have made him. The contrast between his actual reception on board the Thomas, to that which his own fancy and our repeated assurances had taught him to expect, was too dreadful to think on even a moment; and for this reason, as much as any other, I looked forward with something of apprehension and anxiety to an interview with this savage; because I knew, that after the cutting disappointment which he had experienced, he would be under the influence of strongly excited feelings and stormy passions, over which he exercises no control. I was convinced, too, that the whole weight of his resentment, and the fury of his rage, would fall upon me, for I am completely in his power.

‘The interesting moment at length arrived. We heard King Boy quarrelling with his women, and afterwards walking through their apartments towards ours, muttering as he went along. He entered it, and stood still. I was reposing, as I usually do for the greater part of the day, upon a mat which is placed on the seat of wet clay; but on perceiving him, I lifted my head without arising, and reclined it on my hand. He looked fixedly upon me, and I returned his glance with the same unshrinking steadfastness. But his dark eye was flashing with anger; whilst his upturned lip, which exposed his white teeth, quivered with passion. No face in the world could convey more forcibly to the mind the feeling of contempt and bitter scorn, than the distorted one before me. It was dreadfully expressive. Drawing up the left angle of his mouth on a parallel with his eyes, he broke silence with a sneering, long-drawn “Eh!” and, almost choked with rage, he cursed me; and in a tone and manner, which it is infinitely out of my power to describe, he spoke to the following effect:—“You are thief man; English captain no will! You assured me, when I took you from the Eboe country, that he would be overjoyed to see me, and give me plenty of beef and rum; I received from him neither the one nor the other. Eh! English captain no will. I gave a quantity of goods to free you from the slavery of Obie; I took you into my own canoe; you were hungry, and I gave you yam and fish; you were almost naked; I was sorry to see you so, because you were white men and strangers; and I gave each of you a red cap and a silk handkerchief. But you are no good—you are thief man. Eh! English captain no will; he no will. You also told me that your countrymen would do this, (taking off his cap and flourishing it in circles over his head,) and cry Hurra, hurra, on receiving me on board their vessel; you promised my wife a necklace, and my father four bars. But Eh! English captain no will; he tell me he no will; yes I will satisfy your hunger with plenty more of my fish and yams; and your thirst will I quench with rum and palm-wine. Eh! you thief man, you are no good; English captain no will!” He then stamped on the ground, and gnashing at me with his teeth like a dog, he cursed me again and again.

‘It is true, I did not feel perfectly easy at this severe rebuke, and under such taunting reproaches; but I refrained from giving utterance to a single thought till after he had concluded his abuse and anathematizing. Had a spirited person been in my situation, he might have knocked him down, and might have had his head taken off for his pains; but as for me, all such kind of spirit is gone out of me entirely. Besides, we had unintentionally deceived King Boy, and I also bore in mind the kindness which he had done us in ransoming us from a state of slavery. Most of what he had asserted was most unquestionably true; and in some measure, I was deserving his severest reprehension and displeasure.

‘The fury of Boy having been somewhat appeased by my silence and submission, as well as by his own extraordinary and violent agitation, I ventured mildly to assure him, on the strength of my brother’s letter, that his suspicions were entirely groundless; that Mr. Lake had certainly a will or inclination to enter into arrangements with him for the payment of his just demands; and that when he should convey our people and myself to the Thomas, everything would be settled to his complete satisfaction. He half believed, half mistrusted my words; and shortly afterwards quitted the apartment, threatening, however, that we should not leave Brass till it suited his own pleasure and convenience.

‘It is really a most humiliating reflection, that we are reduced to the contemptible subterfuges of deceit and falsehood, in order to carry a point, which might so easily have been gained by straightforward integrity. But Lake’s conduct has left us no alternative; and whatever my opinion of that individual may be, he must surely be destitute of all the manly characteristics of a British seaman, as well as of the more generous feelings of our common nature, to be guilty, on a sick bed, of an action which might, for aught he knew or cared, produce the most serious consequences to his unfortunate countrymen in a savage land, by exposing them to the wretchedness of want, and the miseries of slavery;—to mockery, ill-usage, contempt, and scorn; and even to death itself.

‘Saturday, November 20th.—King Boy has not visited us to-day, though we have received the customary allowance of four yams from his women. In addition to which, Addizetta made us a present of half a dozen this morning, as an acknowledgment for the benefit she had derived from a dose of laudanum which I gave her last night for the purpose of removing pain from the lower regions of the stomach, a complaint by which she says she is occasionally visited. People are in better spirits this evening, on account of the increased quantity of yams received.

‘Sunday, November 21st.—This morning I dismissed the poor Damuggoo people with a note to the master of either of the English vessels lying in the Bonny river, requesting him to give the bearers three barrels of gunpowder, and a few muskets, on the faith of his being paid for the same by his Majesty’s government. They left Brass in their own canoe, quite dejected and out of heart; and Antonio, the young man who volunteered to accompany us from his Majesty’s brig Clinker, at Badágry, went along with them on his return to his country, from which he has been absent two or three years. He is brother to the present, and son of the late king of Bonny.

‘Monday, November 22nd.—One or two crafty little urchins, who are slaves to King Boy, have brought us a few plantains to-day as a gift. They had been engaged in pilfering tobacco-leaves from an adjoining apartment, to which our people were witnesses; and the juvenile depredators, fearing the consequences of a disclosure, bribed them to secrecy in the manner already mentioned. Boy’s women have also been guilty, during the temporary absence of their lord and master, of stealing a quantity of rum from the store-room, and distributing it among their friends and acquaintance; and they have resorted to the same plan as the boys to prevent the exposure which they dreaded. One of them, who acts as duenna, is the favourite and confidante of Boy, and she wears a bunch of keys round her neck in token of her authority. She has likewise the care of all her master’s effects; and as a further mark of distinction, she is allowed the privilege of using a walking-stick with a knob at the end, which is her constant companion. This woman is exceedingly good-natured, and indulges our men with a glass or two of rum every day.

‘Last evening King Boy, stripped to the skin, and having his body most hideously marked, ran about the town like a maniac, with a spear in his hand, calling loudly on his Dju Dju; and uttering a wild, frantic cry at every corner. It appears, that one of his father’s wives had been strongly suspected of adulterous intercourse with a free man residing in the town; and that this strange means was adopted, in pursuance of an ancient custom, to apprize the inhabitants publicly of the circumstance, and implore the counsel and assistance of the god at the examination of the parties. This morning the male aggressor was found dead, having swallowed poison, it is believed, to avoid a worse kind of death; and the priest declaring his opinion of the guilt of the surviving party, she was immediately sentenced to be drowned. Therefore, this afternoon the ill-fated woman was tied hand and foot, and conveyed in a canoe to the main body of the river, into which she was thrown without hesitation, a weight of some kind having been fastened to her feet for the purpose of sinking her. She met her death with incredible firmness and resolution. The superstitious people believe, that had the deceased been innocent of the crime laid to her charge, their god would have saved her life, even after she had been flung into the river; but because she perished, her guilt is with them unquestionably attested. The mother of the deceased is not allowed to display any signs of sorrow or sadness at the untimely death of her daughter; for were she to do so, the same dreadful punishment would be inflicted upon her: “for,” say the Brass people, “if a parent should mourn and weep over the fate of a child guilty of so heinous a crime, we should pronounce her instantly to be as criminal as her daughter, and to have tolerated her offence. But if, on the contrary, she betrays no maternal tenderness, nor bewail her bereavement in tears and groans, we should then conclude her to be entirely ignorant of the whole transaction; she would thus give a tacit acknowledgment to the justice of her sentence, and rejoice to be rid of an object that would only entail disgrace on her as long as she lived.”

‘Our people are become heartily tired of their situation, and impatient to be gone. They were regaled with an extra quantity of rum last evening, by their female friend, the duenna; when their grievances appearing to them in a more odious light than ever, they had the courage to go in a body to King Boy, to demand an explanation of his intentions towards them. They told him indignantly, either to convey them to the English brig, or sell them for slaves to the Spaniards; for, said they, we would rather lose our liberty than be kept here to die of hunger. Boy returned them an equivocating answer, but treated them much less roughly than I had reason to anticipate. Afterwards, I went myself to the same individual, and with a similar motive; but for some time I had no opportunity of conversing with him. It is a kind of holiday here, and most of the Brass people, with their chiefs, are merry with intoxication. As well as I can understand, during the earlier part of the day they were engaged in a solemn, religious observance; and since then King Forday has publicly abdicated in favour of Boy, who is his eldest son. I discovered those individuals in a court annexed to the habitation of the former, surrounded by a great number of individuals with bottles, glasses, and decanters at their feet; they were all in a state of drunkenness, more or less; and all had their faces and bodies chalked over in rude and various characters. Forday, alone, sat in a chair; Boy was at his side; and the others, amongst whom was our friend Gun, and a drummer, were sitting around on blocks of wood, and on the trunk of a fallen tree. The chairman delivered a long oration, but he was too tipsy, and perhaps too full of days, to speak with grace, animation, or power; therefore, his eloquence was not very persuasive, and his nodding hearers, overcome with drowsiness, listened to him with scarcely any attention. They smiled, however, and laughed occasionally; but I could not find out why they did so; I don’t think they themselves could tell. The old chief wore an English superfine beaver hat, and an old jacket that once belonged to a private soldier; but the latter was so small, that he was able only to thrust an arm into one of its sleeves, the other part of the jacket being thrown upon his left shoulder. These, with the addition of a cotton handkerchief, which was tied round the waist, were his only apparel. By far the most showy and conspicuous object in the yard was an immense umbrella, made of figured cotton of different patterns, with a deep fringe of coloured worsted, which was stuck into the ground. But even this was tattered and torn, and dirty withal, having been in Forday’s possession for many years, and it is used only on public and sacred occasions. I had been sitting amongst the revellers till the speaker had finished his harangue, when I embraced the opportunity, as they were about to separate, of entreating King Boy to hasten our departure for the vessel. He was highly excited and elated with liquor, and, being in an excellent temper, he promised to take us to-morrow.

‘Tuesday, November 23d.—It required little time to take leave of the few friends we have at Brass, and we quitted the town not only without regret, but with emotions of peculiar pleasure—King Boy, with three of his women, and his suite, in a large canoe, and our people and myself in a smaller one. Addizetta would gladly have accompanied her husband to the English vessel, for her desire to see it was naturally excessive; but she was forbidden by old Forday, who expressed some squeamishness about the matter, or rather he was jealous that on her return to her father’s house in the Eboe country, she would give too high and favourable an opinion of it to her friends, which might in the end produce consequences highly prejudicial to his interests.

‘We stopped awhile at a little fishing village, at no great distance from Brass, where we procured a few fish, and abundance of young cocoa-nuts, the milk of which was sweet and refreshing. Continuing our journey on streams and rivulets, intricately winding through mangroves and bramble, which have been already spoken of, we entered the main body of the river in time to see the sun setting behind a glorious sky, directly before us. We were evidently near the sea, because the water was perfectly salt, and we scented also the cool and bracing sea-breeze, with feelings of satisfaction and rapture. However, the wind soon became too stormy for our fragile canoe; the waves leaped into it over the bow, and several times we were in danger of being swamped. Our companion was far before us, and out of sight, so that, for the moment, there was no possibility of receiving assistance, or of lightening the canoe; but happily, in a little while, we did not require it, for the violence of the wind abating with the disappearance of the sun, we were enabled to continue on our way without apprehension. About nine o’clock in the evening we overtook the large canoe, and the crews both having partaken of a slight refreshment of fish and plantain together, we passed the “Second Brass River,” which was to the left of us, in company. Here it might have been somewhat more than half a mile in breadth; and though it was dangerously rough for a canoe, with great precaution we reached the opposite side in safety. From thence we could perceive, in the distance, the long-wished-for Atlantic, with the moon-beams reposing in peaceful beauty upon its surface, and could also hear the sea breaking and roaring over the sandy bar which stretches across the mouth of the river. The solemn voice of ocean never sounded more melodiously in my ear than it did at that moment; O! it was enchanting as the harp of David. Passing along by the left bank, we presently entered the “First Brass River,” which is the “Nun” of Europeans, where, at midnight, we could faintly distinguish the masts and rigging of the English brig in the dusky light, which appeared like a dark and ragged cloud above the horizon. To me, however, no sight could be more charming. It was beautiful as the gates of paradise, and my heart fluttered with unspeakable delight, as we landed in silence on the beach opposite the brig, near a few straggling huts, to wait impatiently the dawn of to-morrow.

‘Wednesday, November 24th.—This was a happy morning, for it restored me to the society of my brother, and of my countrymen. The baneful effects of the climate are strongly impressed upon the countenances of the latter, who, instead of their natural healthy hue, have a pale, dejected, and sickly appearance, which is quite distressing to witness. However, the crew of the Spanish schooner look infinitely more wretched: they have little else but their original forms remaining; they crawl about like beings under a curse; they are mere shadows or phantoms of men looking round for their burying-place. No spectacle can be more mortifying to man’s pride than this; nothing can give him a more humiliating sense of his own nothingness. It is very much to be wondered at why Europeans in general, and Englishmen in particular, persevere in sending their fellow-creatures to this Aceldama or Golgotha, as the African coast is sometimes not inappropriately called: they might as well bury them at once at home, and it is pleasanter far to die there; but interest, and the lust of gain, like Aaron’s rod, seem to swallow up every other consideration.’

My brother had now joined me, and my station during the time the canoe was coming from the shore to the vessel had been by the cannon; it was the only one on board, but it had been loaded as Lake had directed, and pointed to the gangway of the brig, where the Brass people must come. The muskets were all ready lying concealed where Lake had directed them to be placed, and he repeated the same orders that he had given me yesterday, respecting the part my people were to take in the business. Lake received my brother civilly, but immediately expressed his determination to dismiss Boy without giving him a single article, and to make the best of his way out of the river. A short time after his arrival, a canoe arrived at the beach with Mr. Spittle, the mate of the brig, as prisoner, who immediately sent a note off to the captain, informing him that the price of his liberation was the sum demanded for the pilotage of the vessel over the bar of the river. He said further, that he was strictly guarded, but that notwithstanding this he did not despair of making his escape if Lake could wait a little for him. The vessel had been brought into the river about three months before, but Lake would never pay the pilotage, and now all he did was to send Mr. Spittle a little bread and beef. The amount demanded was about fifty pounds worth of goods, which it was quite out of the question that Lake would ever pay.

Meanwhile King Boy, full of gloomy forebodings, had been lingering about the deck. He had evidently foresight enough to suspect what was to take place, and he appeared troubled and uneasy, and bewildered in thought. The poor fellow was quite an altered person; his habitual haughtiness had entirely forsaken him, and given place to a humble and cringing demeanour. A plate of meat was presented to him, of which he ate sparingly, and showed clearly that he was thinking more of his promised goods than his appetite, and a quantity of rum that was given to him was drunk carelessly, and without affording any apparent satisfaction.

Knowing how things were likely to terminate, we endeavoured to get Boy into a good humour, by telling him that he should certainly have his goods some time or other; but it was all to no purpose; the attempt was a complete failure; the present was the only time in his mind. We really pitied him, and were grieved to think that our promises could not be fulfilled. How gladly would we have made any personal sacrifice rather than thus break our word; for although we had been half-starved in his hands, yet we felt ourselves indebted to him for having taken us from the Eboe people and bringing us to this vessel. I rummaged over the few things left us from our disaster at Kirree, and found to my surprise five silver bracelets wrapped up in a piece of flannel. I was not aware of having these, therefore I immediately offered them to him, along with a native sword, which being a very great curiosity, we had brought with us from Yarriba with the intention of taking it to England. Boy accepted of these, and my brother then offered him his watch, for which he had a great regard, as it was the gift of one of his earliest and best friends. This was refused with disdain, for Boy knew not its value; and calling one of his men to look at what he said we wished to impose on him in lieu of his bars, both of them, with a significant groan, turned away from us with scorn and indignation, nor would they speak to us or even look at us again. Our mortification was now complete; but we were helpless, and the fault was not with us.

Boy now ventured to approach Captain Lake on the quarter-deck, and, with an anxious, petitioning countenance, asked for the goods which had been promised him. Prepared for the desperate game he was about to play, it was the object of Lake to gain as much time as possible, that he might get his vessel under way before he came to an open rupture. Therefore he pretended to be busy in writing, and desired Boy to wait a moment. Becoming impatient with delay, Boy repeated his demand a second and a third time, ‘Give me my bars.’—‘I no will!’ said Lake in a voice of thunder, which one could hardly have expected from so emaciated a frame as his. ‘I no will, I tell you; I won’t give you a —— flint. Give me my mate, you black rascal, or I will bring a thousand men of war here in a day or two; they shall come and burn down your towns and kill every one of you; bring me my mate!’ Terrified by the demeanour of Lake, and the threats and oaths he made use of, poor King Boy suddenly retreated, and seeing men going aloft to loosen the sails, apprehensive of being carried off to sea, he quickly disappeared from the deck of the brig, and was soon observed making his way on shore in his canoe, with the rest of his people; this was the last we saw of him. In a few minutes from the time Boy had left the vessel the mate Mr. Spittle was sent off in a canoe, so terrified were the Brass people that a man of war would come and put Lake’s threats into execution.

At ten in the morning the vessel was got under way, and we dropped down the river. At noon the breeze died away, and we were obliged to let go an anchor to prevent our drifting on the western breakers at the mouth of the river. A few minutes more would have been fatal to us, and the vessel was fortunately stopped, although the depth of water where she lay was only five fathoms. The rollers, as the large high waves are called, which came into the river over the bar, were so high, that they sometimes passed nearly over the bow of the vessel, and caused her to ride very uneasily by her anchor. We had been obliged to anchor immediately abreast of the Pilots’ town, and expected every moment that we should be fired at from their battery. Time was of the greatest importance to us; we had made Boy our enemy, and expected, before we could get out of the river, he would summon his people and make an attack on us, while our party amounted only to twenty men, two thirds of whom were Africans. The pilot also, whom Lake had offended so much, is known to be a bold and treacherous ruffian. He is the same person who steered the brig Susan among the breakers, by which that vessel narrowly escaped destruction, with the loss of her windlass and an anchor and cable. The fellow had done this merely with the hopes of obtaining a part of the wreck as it drifted on shore. Another vessel, a Liverpool oil-trader, was actually lost on the bar by the treachery of the same individual, who, having effected his purpose by placing her in a situation from which she could not escape, jumped overboard and swam to his canoe, which was at a short distance. The treatment of the survivors of this wreck is shocking to relate; they were actually stripped of their clothes and allowed to die of hunger. It would be an endless task to enumerate all the misdeeds that are laid to this fellow’s charge, which have no doubt lost nothing by report; but, after making all reasonable allowances for exaggeration, his character appears in a most revolting light, and the fact of his running these vessels on the bar proves him to be a desperate and consummate villain. This same fellow is infinitely more artful and intelligent than any of his countrymen, and is one of the handsomest black men that we have seen.

Not long after we had dropped the anchor we observed the pilot, with the help of a glass, walking on the beach and watching us occasionally. A multitude of half-naked suspicious-looking fellows were likewise straggling along the shore, while others were seen emerging from a grove of cocoa-trees and the thick bushes near it. These men were all armed, chiefly with muskets, and they subsequently assembled in detached groups to the number of several hundreds, and appeared to be consulting about attacking the vessel. Nothing less than this, and to be fired at from the battery, was expected by us; and there is no doubt that the strength and loftiness of the brig only deterred them from so doing. The same people were hovering on the beach till very late in the evening, when they dispersed; many of them could be seen even at midnight, so that we were obliged to keep a good look out till the morning.

Thursday, November 25th.—The vessel rode very uneasily all night, in consequence of the long heavy waves which set in from the bar: these are technically called by sailors ground-swell, being different from the waves which are raised while the wind blows; the latter generally break at the top, while the former are quite smooth, and roll with great impetuosity in constant succession, forming a deep furrow between them, which, with the force of the wave, is very dangerous to vessels at anchor. Our motions were still closely watched by the natives. About eleven we got under way, but were obliged to anchor again in the afternoon, as the water was not deep enough for the vessel to pass over the bar. The mate sounded the bar again, and placed a buoy as a mark for the vessel to pass over in the deepest water.

Friday, November 26th.—The wind favouring us this morning, we made another attempt at getting out of the river. We had already made some progress when the wind again died away, and the current setting us rapidly over to the eastern breakers, we were obliged to let go an anchor to save us from destruction. We could see nothing of the buoy, and have no doubt that it was washed away by the current; our anchorage was in three and a half fathoms water, and the ground-swell, which now set in, heaved the vessel up and down in such a frightful manner, that we expected every moment to see the chain-cable break. As soon as we dropped our anchor, the tide rushed past the vessel at the rate of eight miles an hour. After the ebb-tide had ceased running, the swell gradually subsided, and the vessel rode easily.

The mate was again sent to sound the bar, and in about three hours afterwards returned with the information that two fathoms and three-quarters was the deepest water he could find. The bar extends across the mouth of the river in the form of a crescent, leaving a very narrow and shallow entrance for vessels in the middle, which is generally concealed by the surf and foam of the adjacent breakers. When the wind is light and the tide high, and the surface of the water smooth, excepting in a few places, the bar is then most dangerous. We observed several fires made by the natives on the beach, which were supposed to be signals for us to return.

Saturday, November 27th.—We passed a restless and most unpleasant night. The captain and the people were much alarmed for the safety of the brig. The heavy ground-swell which set in increased by the strength of the tide, caused her to pitch and labour so hard, that a man was placed to watch the cable, and give notice the moment it complained, a technical expression which meant the moment it gave signs of breaking. Daylight had scarcely dawned when the pall of the windlass broke. The purpose of this is to prevent the windlass from turning round on its axis against any strain to which it may be subjected, and consequently it was no sooner broken than the windlass flew round with incredible velocity, having nothing to resist the strain of the cable which was passed round it. The chain cable ran out so swiftly, that in half a minute the windlass was broken to atoms. My brother and I with our people rendered all the assistance in our power to prevent the ship from drifting. We succeeded in fastening the cable to ring bolts in the deck, until we got sufficient of it clear to go round the capstan, which we had no sooner effected, than the ringbolts were fairly drawn out of the deck by the strain on the cable.

About eight A.M., a terrific wave, called by sailors a sea, struck the vessel with tremendous force and broke the chain cable. ‘The cable is gone!’ shouted a voice, and the next instant the captain cried out in a firm, collected tone, ‘Cut away the kedge!’ which was promptly obeyed, and the vessel was again stopped from drifting among the breakers. The man who had been stationed to look out on the cable came running aft on deck as soon as he had given notice of the danger, calling out that all was over.—‘Good God!’ was the passionate exclamation of every one, and a slight confusion ensued. But the captain was prepared for the worst; he gave his orders with firmness, and behaved with promptness and decision.

We were riding by the kedge, a small anchor, which, however, was the only one left us, and on which the safety of the brig now depended. The breakers were close under our stern, and this was not expected to hold ten minutes,—it was a forlorn hope—every eye was fixed on the raging surf, and our hearts thrilled with agitation, expecting every moment that the vessel would be dashed in pieces. A few long and awful minutes were passed in this state, which have left an indelible impression on our minds. Never shall I forget the chief mate saying to me, ‘Now, Sir, every one for himself, a few minutes will be the last with us.’ The tumultuous sea was raging in mountainous waves close by us, their foam dashing against the sides of the brig, which was only prevented from being carried among them by a weak anchor and cable. The natives, from whom we could expect no favour, were busy on shore making large fires, and other signals, for us to desert the brig and land at certain places, expecting, no doubt, every moment to see her a prey to the waves, and those who escaped their fury to fall into their hands. Wretched resource! the sea would have been far more merciful than they.

Such was our perilous situation, when a fine sea-breeze set in, which literally saved us from destruction. The sails were loosened to relieve the anchor from the strain of the vessel, and she rode out the ebb-tide without drifting. At ten A.M., the tide had nearly ceased running out, and the fury of the sea rather abated, but it was quite impossible that the brig could ride out another ebb-tide where she lay, with the kedge anchor alone to hold her: the only chance left us, therefore, was to get to sea, and the captain determined on crossing the bar, although there appeared to be little chance of success. At half-past ten A.M. he manned the boat with two of our men, and two kroomen belonging to the brig, and sent them to tow, while the anchor was got on board. This had no sooner been done, than the wind fell light, and, instead of drifting over to the western breakers as yesterday and the day before, the brig was now set towards those on the eastern side, and again we had a narrow escape. With the assistance of the boat and good management, we at length passed clear over the bar on the edge of the breakers, in a depth of quarter-less three fathoms, and made sail to the eastward. Our troubles were now at an end; by the protection of a merciful Providence we had escaped dangers, the very thoughts of which had filled us with horror; and with a grateful heart and tears of joy for all his mercies, we offered up a silent prayer of thanks for our deliverance.

The bar extends about four or five miles from the mouth of the river in a southerly direction, but is by no means known. This river is by far the best place on the whole coast at which small vessels may procure oil, as it is the shortest distance from the Eboe country, where the best palm-oil is to be had in any quantity. The Eboe oil is pronounced to be superior to that of any other part of the country which is brought to the coast. The river is not much frequented, owing probably to its being unknown, and the difficulty of crossing the bar, for not more than five English vessels have been known to come to it, two of which are stated to have been lost and a third to have struck on the bar, but being a new strong vessel, she beat over it into deep water. I would recommend the master of any vessel going to the river for palm-oil to provide himself with two good strong six-oared boats for towing, and a double complement of kroomen. The expense of ten or twelve kroomen would be trifling, as they only require a few yams and a little palm-oil to eat, and they are always ready to perform any laborious work which may be required of them. If masters of vessels coming to the river would send a boat before to sound, and have two good six-oared boats towing, I think there would be no danger of any being lost, as has been the case with some from being weakly-manned. Vessels are got under way with a fine breeze, and when they arrive in the most dangerous part, it dies away, and if there are no boats ready for towing, nothing can save them from destruction.

Vessels going out of the river are usually recommended to keep as near as possible to the western breakers, but I should think this very dangerous, unless there is sufficient wind to keep command of them. When a vessel leaves her anchorage in the river, she will be set by the current over to the western breakers, and, when half way to the bar, will be set over to the eastern, as we were. The river in the month of December and January would, I think, be safest, as the rains in the interior will then be over, and all the extra water will have been discharged, which it has received in the extent of country through which it runs. When no English vessels are in the river, the people of Bonny come and purchase the palm-oil from the Brass people, probably for the purpose of supplying the ships in their river, as well as for their own uses.

Sunday, November 28th.—This morning we discovered a strange vessel on our starboard beam, which directly made sail in chase of us. After firing a gun to make us stop, or bring us to, as the sailors expressed it, she sent a boat on board of the brig, and we found her to be the Black Joke, tender to the British commodore’s ship. We reported ourselves to the Lieutenant commanding her, in the hopes of his taking us on board of his vessel and landing us at Accra, from whence I thought it would be easy to find our way by one of his Majesty’s ships to Ascension or St. Helena, from either of which places an opportunity would offer for us to get home without delay. His orders, however, were to run down the coast as far as the Congo, and he recommended us to go to Fernando Po, where we should find every assistance and a vessel about to sail soon for England. Having obtained from us the intelligence that the Spanish slaver was lying in the river Nun ready to sail, he immediately altered his course for that river for the purpose of capturing her. Captain Lake agreed to land us in his boat at Fernando Po, as he passed the island on his way to the river Cameroons, and we again made sail to the eastward.

Wednesday, December 1st.—The last two days were employed in making the passage to Fernando Po, and this morning, to our great satisfaction, we discovered the island. We were glad to get out of this vessel, for the unfeeling commander, notwithstanding that our men had rendered him every assistance in getting his brig out of the river, and had done everything required of them, afterwards employed every means he could think of, to annoy us and make us uncomfortable while we were with him. At night, while the people were sleeping, he would make his men draw water and throw it over them for mere amusement. There are many commanders as bad as he is on the coast, who seem to vie with each other in acts of cruelty and oppression. The captain of the palm-oil brig Elizabeth, now in the Calebar river, actually whitewashed his crew from head to foot, while they were sick with fever and unable to protect themselves; his cook suffered so much in the operation, that the lime totally deprived him of the sight of one of his eyes, and rendered the other of little service to him.

In the afternoon we were happily landed at Clarence Cove, in the island of Fernando Po, where we were most kindly received by Mr. Becroft, the acting superintendent. This worthy gentleman readily supplied us with changes of linen, and everything we stood in need of, besides doing all he possibly could to make us comfortable. The kindness and hospitality we received from him, and Dr. Crichton in particular, we shall be grateful for as long as we live.

Accustomed as we had been during the last month to the monotonous sameness of a low, flat country, the banks of the river covered with mangroves overhanging the water, and in many parts, in consequence of its extraordinary height, apparently growing out of it; the lofty summit of Fernando Po, and the still loftier mountains of the Cameroons on the distant main land, presented a sublime and magnificent appearance. The highest mountain of the Cameroons is a striking feature on this part of the coast, being more than thirteen thousand feet high. The land in its vicinity is low and flat, which renders the appearance of this mountain still more imposing, as it towers majestically over the surrounding country in solitary grandeur. It divides the embouchures of the spacious rivers old Calebar and Del Rey, on the west, from the equally important one of the Cameroons on the east. The island of Fernando Po is detached about twenty miles from the coast, and appeared to us, when we first saw it, in two lofty peaks connected by a high ridge of land. The northern peak is higher than the other, which is situated in the southern part of the island, and rises gradually from the sea to the height of ten thousand seven hundred feet. In clear weather the island can be seen at the distance of more than a hundred miles; but this is not always the case, as the summit is most frequently concealed by clouds and fogs, which are common at certain seasons of the year.

As we approached the island in fine weather and with a moderate wind, we had ample time to observe it. The shore is formed mostly of a dark-coloured rock, and covered with trees which reach down to the water’s edge. The whole of the lower part of the island is covered with fine forest trees of various descriptions, extending about three-fourths up the sides of the mountain, where they become thinly scattered, stinted in their growth, and interspersed with low bushes and a brown dry grass. In various parts patches of cultivated ground may be seen along with the huts of the natives, presenting, with the luxuriant foliage of the trees, a mass of verdure in the most flourishing condition. Nature has here done her utmost; the whole appearance of the island is of the most beautiful description, and fully justifies its title to the name of Ilha Formosa, signifying ‘Beautiful Island,’ which it first received. As we approached it still nearer, the stupendous precipices and wide fissures near the summit of the principal mountain became more distinct by the contrast between their dark recesses and the lights on the projecting rocks, until, by our proximity to the shore, the whole became concealed behind the lesser heights next to the sea.

Until the year 1827, the island lay forsaken and neglected in its primitive condition, neither the Portuguese nor Spaniards having thought it worth their consideration. At length the attention of the British government was directed to it, in consequence of its favourable position for putting a stop to the slave-trade in that quarter of Africa. Situated within a few hours’ sail of the coast, in the immediate vicinity of those rivers, commencing with the Cameroons on the east, and extending along the whole of the Gold Coast, where the principal outlets of this unlawful traffic are found, Fernando Po presented advantages which were sufficient to authorize a settlement being formed on it, and Captain W. Owen sailed from England for this purpose in his Majesty’s ship Eden, with the appointment of Governor, and with Commander Harrison under his orders. Captain Owen had been previously employed on an extensive and difficult survey of the coasts of Africa both in the Atlantic and Indian oceans, in which the shores of this island were included; and therefore, having visited it before, he was no stranger either to its nature and resources, or to the climate in which it is situated. Previous to the arrival of Captain Owen, the island had been occasionally visited by some of the ships of war on the African station, for the purposes of obtaining supplies of vegetables and water; and perhaps now and then a Liverpool ship would be seen there waiting for palm-oil, or recovering the health of her crew from fevers obtained in the rivers on the coast. As the natives reside at some distance in the interior, the arrival of a ship of war at the island was announced to them by the discharge of a cannon on board, which was sufficient to bring them to the sea-side with whatever vegetables, poultry, and other articles they might wish to sell. The articles most demanded by them in return were pieces of iron hoop, knives, and nails. At first a piece of iron hoop about six inches long would purchase a pair of fowls or four yams, so much value being attached by the natives to iron.

The business of forming a new settlement is a species of service that requires the exercise of certain qualities of the mind which it is not the good fortune of every one to possess. In addition to the pernicious effects of the climate on European constitutions, there were people on the island who, although they might be unable to offer any serious impediment to the progress of the settlement, it was necessary to conciliate rather than to treat with hostility, and for this no one could have been better calculated than Captain Owen. Whatever may have induced him to relinquish the appointment of governor, no measures for gaining the friendship of the natives, and thereby securing their good will towards the colony, could have been better than those which he adopted, and the chiefs even now frequently mention his name.

The part selected as the site of the proposed settlement was on the northern side of the island, on the borders of a small cove formed by a narrow neck of land projecting out from the shore on the eastern side of it. This was named ‘Point William;’ and the cove, together with the whole establishment, was called ‘Clarence,’ after his most gracious Majesty, who was then Lord High Admiral of Great Britain. Point Adelaide, with two small islets off it connected by a sand bank, forms the western boundary of the cove, and is distant about half a mile from Point William. Goderich Bay lies to the east, and Cockburn Cove to the west of Clarence Cove. Under the able directions of Captain Owen, the various buildings were planned, while the operation of clearing the ground was going forward. A flagstaff, which formerly stood on the extremity of Point William, has been removed to the governor’s house, and a large commodious building, with a few solitary palm-trees near it, is the first which attracts attention. This building is assigned as the hospital, and is judiciously situated here, as it is the most exposed to the sea-breeze, and stands completely isolated from the rest of the settlement, both which precautions are of no small importance in the climate of Fernando Po. A small round-topped building at a short distance from the hospital, with a few huts near it, and surrounded by stakes, was formerly the magazine; and near it is another large building used as the marine barracks. The officers’ quarters and those of the African corps are next in succession, and announce their military character by a piece of artillery mounted close to them, and pointed towards the cove. The governor’s house, a large, spacious building, stands eminently conspicuous on the precipice of the shore beneath, which is the landing-place. From hence a fatiguing walk leads immediately to it up an ascent of about one hundred feet. A battery of seven guns were landed for this purpose from his Majesty’s ship Esk, which are placed in a very commanding situation in front of the governor’s house. The house of the mixed commission for the adjudication of captured slave-vessels stands in an unfinished condition at a short distance from the governor’s; various other buildings occupy Point William, which are diversified by a few trees, that give it a pleasing and picturesque appearance from the sea. This remark is generally made by those who first visit Clarence Cove, and all are pleased on first seeing it. In addition to the buildings we have enumerated, Mr. Lloyd has a tolerably good house just finished, and the surgeon of the colony, who is a naval officer, has one also assigned for his residence. The Kroomen and free negroes, who amount to about two thousand in number, have a collection of small neat huts at a short distance from Government-house, which are constructed of wood and thatched with palm leaves. They are very careful of them, and have a small garden in the front as well behind, in which they cultivate Indian corn, bananas, and peppers. These huts form two small streets, but they are daily receiving additions from new comers.

The work of clearing the ground is constantly going forward, and is performed by the free negroes, the African troops, and the Kroomen. The principal disease among these people, which arises from accidents in cutting down the trees, is ulcerated legs, and sixteen of them were in the hospital from this cause alone. The Kroomen are a particular race of people, differing entirely from the other African tribes. They inhabit a country called Settra Krou, on the coast near Cape Palmas, their principal employment being of a maritime nature. Their language, as well as their general character, is also different from that of their neighbours. A certain number of these men are always employed on board of the ships of war on the African coast, for the purpose of performing those duties where considerable fatigue and exposure to the sun is experienced. In consequence of their roving employment, they are to be found on all parts of the coast, and are sufficiently acquainted with it to serve as pilots. It is customary with them to establish themselves on various parts of the coast for this purpose, and to leave the elders of the tribes in their own country, unless their presence should be required by any war that might take place. They are said to return to their country after an absence of several years, when they have amassed by their industry sufficient to maintain themselves, and some among them are intelligent and active, but they are not always to be trusted, although they are a very superior class of people in comparison with other African tribes.

Besides a watering-place at a short distance to the right of the governor’s house, two small streams, Hay Brook and Horton Brook, run into Goderich Bay, affording plenty of excellent water, and capable of admitting boats. The watering-place above-mentioned is generally frequented, from the convenience with which the water is obtained, being conducted to the sea-side by a wooden aqueduct, under which boats may lie and fill their casks very easily without removing them.

Clarence establishment when we arrived consisted of the superintendent, or acting governor, Mr. Becroft, who was generally known by the title of Captain; Captain Beattie, the commander of the Portia, colonial schooner; Mr. Crichton, a naval surgeon; Lieutenant Stockwell, with a party of five or six marines; a mulatto ensign of the Royal African corps, with two black troops from Sierra Leone, and some carpenters and sailmakers, besides a mulatto who filled the office of clerk or secretary to Mr. Becroft. An English merchant, by the name of Lloyd, in the employment of Mr. Smith, we also found here, whose residence we have just mentioned.

No place, in point of convenience, could have been better selected for a settlement than that on which Clarence is situated. The bay affords safe anchorage for shipping from the furious tornadoes which are common in this part of the world, and is sufficiently capacious to shelter as many vessels as are likely to visit the island: it abounds with fish, and is free from sunken rocks, and the shore is steep and easy of access to boats. There is another bay, called George’s Bay, on the western side of the island, but it has the disadvantage of being open to that quarter, and consequently affords no safety to shipping. The proximity of Clarence Cove to the coast of Africa is also another important point in favour of the object for which the establishment was formed.

The natives of Fernando Po are the filthiest race of people in the whole world. They are different in their manners and appearance from their neighbours on the coast, to whom we have been so much accustomed of late, and possess no single trait of character similar to them, except that of pilfering. In point of civilization, to which the natives of Brass Town have not the most distant pretensions, these people have even still less; their language is totally different, and they have no resemblance whatever to them. This in itself affords a tolerable proof of the little intercourse they have had with the world, for while the other islands of the Gulf are plentifully stocked with the same race of people as those of the coast, Fernando Po, which is so much nearer to it, is inhabited by a totally different class. They are, generally speaking, a stout, athletic, and well made race of people, and peculiarly harmless and peaceably inclined in their dispositions, although each individual is generally armed with a spear about eight feet in length, made of a hard wood and barbed at one end. They appear also to be a healthy race of people, for although here and there one or two might be less favoured by nature in their persons, no signs of the diseases so common among the natives of Africa were to be seen among them.

We have said that they are a filthy race, but no words can convey an idea of their disgusting nature. They have long hair, which it is difficult to distinguish, from being matted together with red clay and palm-oil. The clay and oil are so profusely laid on, that it forms an impenetrable shield for the head, and the long tresses, which descend to their shoulders, are generally in a moist condition. Although this covering is a complete safeguard to all inconvenience from without, they still further adorn their heads with a kind of cap made of dried grass, ornamented round the border with the feathers of fowls or any other birds, carefully stuck into it apart from each other. Some are so vain as to fix the horns of a ram in front of this cap, which gives them a most ludicrous and strange appearance. Finally, the cap with all its ornaments of feathers, horns, shells, &c., is secured in its place with a piece of stick, which answers the purpose by being forced through it on one side and out on the opposite after passing underneath the hair. Sometimes this elegant pin, as it may be called, is formed of the leg bone of some small animal, and is pointed at one end for the purpose of penetrating more easily. The expression of their countenance, scored and marked as it is, and surmounted by the cap above described, is wild and barbarous. They smear their faces entirely over with red clay mixed with palm oil; sometimes a kind of grey dust is used instead of the clay, and this preparation being equally distributed over their whole persons, renders their presence scarcely tolerable. It is difficult to find out the colour of their skin under the filthy covering of oil and clay by which it is concealed, but we believe it is not so dark as the African negro, and more resembling a copper colour.

The natives make use of no other dress than the cap which they wear on their heads; but a few leaves, or a bunch of dried grass, are usually secured round the middle by the people of both sexes, while the younger, naturally unconscious of indecency, go entirely naked. The vertebræ of snakes, the bones of fowls and birds as well as sheep, broken shells, small beads, and pieces of cocoa-nut shell, are put in requisition by the natives for the ornament of their persons. A profusion of these strung together hang round the waist, which it seems to be their principal care to decorate in this manner, while their necks are scarcely less favoured with a proportion of these articles. Strings of them are also fastened round the arms and legs, but not in such quantities as round the waist. The pieces of hoop they have obtained from the ships which have visited the island are formed into rude knives, or polished and worn on the arm in a kind of band made of straw, and are much valued. In their first intercourse with our people, the natives were very shy, and displayed much fear, but this gradually wore off, and they now venture boldly on board, for the purpose of obtaining knives, hatchets, or anything they can get. They have a few canoes of small dimensions, capable of containing ten or twelve people, but are not very expert in the management of them, although they are so far advanced as to make use of a mast and sail, which latter is constructed of a sort of mat. They seem to be little addicted to the water, and we did not see any among them who could swim. In their fishing excursions the natives are generally very successful, and those who pursue this mode of obtaining their livelihood are compelled to adhere to it, and allowed to have nothing to do with cultivating the island. They exchange their fish for yams, and thus the wants of the fishermen and the cultivators are both supplied.

In the first visits of ships to the island, very considerable aversion was shown by the natives to any of their people attempting to go to their huts, or even to their endeavouring to penetrate into the woods, although only a short distance from the shore, from a fear perhaps of their plantations being plundered[2]. Their huts, which are of the rudest construction imaginable, may be distinctly seen among the trees in small groups, surrounding a cleared space of ground, in which they cultivate the yam; and are formed of a few stakes driven firmly into the ground, thatched over with the palm leaf, the sides being completed with a sort of wicker work. They are about ten or twelve feet long, and half that in breadth, and not more than four or five feet in height. Their only furniture consists of some long, flat pieces of wood, raised a few inches from the ground, and slightly hollowed out, to answer the purpose of sleeping in.

Numerous instances have occurred of the thieving propensities of the natives; and it required, at first, a considerable degree of vigilance to prevent them from being successful; but it is due to the chiefs to say, that since the establishment of Clarence, they have invariably taken an active part in putting a stop to it. Whatever may have been their habits previous to the formation of the settlement, they seem to be little improved by their intercourse with the settlers. Their principal chief has received the formidable appellation of Cut-throat from Captain Owen, a name by which he will be known as long as he lives. This fellow is a most determined savage, and seems to have lost none of his natural propensities by communication with the settlers. He has received innumerable presents from the English, of clothes, and a variety of things, which are all thrown away on him, and he goes about, as usual, wearing his little hat, with feathers stuck in it, and the long grass about his waist, disdaining such useless coverings as he imagines them. This is not to be wondered at; for, accustomed as he has been all his lifetime to the unrestrained freedom of his whole person, it would be rather a matter of surprise to see him make use of them, particularly in the climate of Fernando Po, where one almost wishes to follow the example of the natives, excepting in the use of their clay and palm oil. No doubt Cut-throat thinks this quite a sufficient covering.

The natives pay frequent visits to the colony, and however they may deal out justice among themselves, are by no means backward in seeing it administered among the free negroes and Kroomen of Clarence. It frequently happens that, in the scarcity of live stock, some of the former, unable to restrain their desire for more substantial food, and tired of their Indian corn, venture to help themselves to what the natives will not bring them. Parties of these people are accordingly formed, who find their way to the huts of the natives in the interior, and steal their yams, goats, and sheep, or whatever they meet with. These depredations are sure to bring the unfortunate owners to the colony with complaints of their losses, which are laid before the governor. The negroes are then mustered before them, and the native who has been plundered is allowed, if he can do so, to point out the thief. If he should be successful, which is frequently the case, he is allowed to witness the punishment which the offender is sure to receive, and generally gets some recompense for his loss. On the Sunday after our arrival at Clarence, a party of four Kroomen set off into the interior, with a full determination of plunder, let the consequence be what it might. They had not gone far before they met with a goat belonging to a native, which they immediately shot, and returned with it carefully concealed, that they might not be discovered. Their precautions, however, were of little avail, for the owner of the animal, accompanied by a party of his friends, made his appearance at Clarence the next morning, and preferred his complaint in strong terms against the luckless Kroomen, whom it appeared, he perfectly well knew. The Kroomen were accordingly mustered, and the very four who had gone on this unfortunate expedition were pointed out with exultation by the natives. The law took its course; the Kroomen each received one hundred and fifty lashes from the African drummer usually employed on these occasions, while the natives stood by to see that the punishment was duly performed. This they did to admiration, by counting the number of lashes they each received; and having witnessed the last punished with eyes sparkling with brutal satisfaction at the tortures of the unfortunate sufferers, they went away quite satisfied. The place where this disagreeable operation is performed, is in the barrack-yard on Point William, between the officers’ house and the hospital. The culprit is tied up to a kind of strong gallows, erected for the purpose. Two stout pieces of timber, about seven or eight feet high, are driven perpendicularly into the ground, about four feet apart from each other; a piece is secured firmly across them at the top, and another at a short distance from the ground. The hands of the man who is to be punished are tied at each end of the upright pieces, and his legs are secured to the same on each side below, in which position he is exposed to the merciless scourge of the drummer, which is a common cat-o’-nine-tails. It is painful even to think of such scenes as these, and when they take place at the mere whim and caprice of the hardened slave-merchant, such a picture is revolting in the extreme. Here, however severe as it may appear, it must be looked on in a different point of view. The punishment is great; but with a certainty of receiving it if discovered, the negro will run the risk of incurring it by what may be termed a breach of the first law of civilized society. In addition to the tendency it has to keep the free blacks in control, such a proceeding convinces the natives of the island that their depredations are not sanctioned by the colony. Were some punishment not instituted to curb the restless, pilfering propensities of these people, no order could be maintained; they would return to a worse condition than that from which they were in at first, and the colony would be no longer secure; for the natives of the island, finding their homes invaded, and their property carried off, unable to obtain redress, would soon take the law into their own hands, and would either murder the colonists or drive them from the island. Therefore, although a severe one, it is a salutary measure, and it has no doubt done much towards keeping the natives themselves honest. What punishment is adopted among the natives we have been unable to ascertain. The chiefs appear to possess considerable authority over them, and it is not improbable that the custom of the settlement is imitated in some shape or other.

The only weapons used by the natives, excepting the knife before-mentioned, is a spear, of about eight feet in length, made of iron wood, and barbed at one end. The nature of the wood is so hard, as not to require the protection of iron at the end, and we did not see any pointed with it. They are very plentiful among the natives, who do not appear to attach any particular value to them. We had no opportunity of witnessing their expertness with them; but they are said to use them for killing monkeys and other animals.