Chapter IV: Part 4

Now for a Plantation neer the Sea, which shall be Collonell _Walrond’s_, he being the best seated for a Feast, of any I know: I must say this, that though he be wanting in the first Course, which is Beefe; yet, it will be plentifully supplyed in the last, which is Fish; and that the other wants. And though Collonell _Walrond_, have not that infinite store of the provisions Collonell _Drax_ abounds in; yet, he is not wanting in all the kinds he has, unlesse it be Sheep, Goats, and Beefe, and so for all the sorts of meats, that are in my Bill of Fare, in Collonell _Drax_ his Feast, you shall finde the same in Collonell _Walrond_, except these three, and these are supplied with all these sorts of fish I shall name, to wit, _Mullets_, _Maquerells_, _Parrat fish_, _Snappers_, red and gray, _Cavallos_, _Terbums_, _Crabs_, _Lobsters_, and _Cony fish_, with divers sorts more, for which we have no names. And having these rare kinds of fishes, ’twere a vain superfluity, to make use of all those dishes I have named before, but only such as shall serve to fill up the Table; and when he has the ordering it, you must expect to have it excellent; his fancy and contrivance of a Feast, being as far beyond any mans there, as the place where he dwells is better scituate, for such a purpose. And his Land touching the Sea, his House being not halfe a quarter of a mile from it, and not interposed by any unlevell ground, all rarities that are brought to the Iland, from any part of the world, are taken up, brought to him, and stowed in his Cellars, in two hours time, and that in the night; as, Wine, of all kinds, Oyl, Olives, Capers, Sturgeon, Neats tongues, Anchoves, Caviare, Botargo, with all sorts of salted meats, both flesh and fish for his Family; as, Beefe, Pork, English Pease, Ling, Haberdine, Cod, poor John, and Jerkin Beef, which is husled, and slasht through, hung up and dryed in the Sun; no salt at all put to it. And thus ordered in _Hispaniola_, as hot a place as _Barbadoes_, and yet it will keep longer then powdred Beefe, and is as drie as Stock-fish; and just such meat for flesh, as that is for fish, and as little nourishment in it; but it fills the belly, and serves the turne, where no other meat is. Though some of these may be brought to the inland Plantations well conditioned; yet, the Wines cannot possibly come good; for the wayes are such, as no Carts can passe; and to bring up a But of Sack, or a Hogshead of any other Wine, upon Negres backs, will very hardly be done in a night, so long a time it requires, to hand it up and down the Gullies; and if it be carried in the day-time, the Sun will heat and taint it, so as it will lose much of his spirit and pure taste; and if it be drawn out in bottles at the _Bridge_, the spirits flie away in the drawing, and you shall finde a very great difference in the taste and quicknesse of it. Oyle will endure the carriage better then Wine, but over much heat will abate something of the purity, and excellent taste it has naturally. And for Olives, ’tis well known, that jogging in the carriage causes them to bruise one another; and some of them being bruised, will grow rotten, and infect the rest. So that Wine, Oyle, and Olives, cannot possibly be brought to such Plantations, as are eight or ten miles from the _Bridge_; and from thence, the most part of these commodities are to be fetch’d. So that you may imagine, what advantage Collonell _Walrond_ has, of any inland Plantation, having these materialls, which are the main Regalia’s in a Feast, and his own contrivance to boot, besides all I have formerly nam’d, concerning raw and preserv’d fruits, with all the other Quelquechoses. And thus much I thought good to say for the honour of the Iland, which is no more then truth; because I have heard it sleighted by some, that seem’d to know much of it.

[Sidenote: _Commodities Exported._]

About a hundred sail of Ships yearly visit this Iland, and receive, during the time of their stay in the Harbours, for their sustenance, the native Victualls growing in the Iland, such as I have already named; besides what they carry away, and what is carried away by Planters of the Ile, that visit other parts of the world. The commodities this Iland trades in, are _Indico_, _Cotten-wool_, _Tobacco_, _Suger_, _Ginger_, and _Fustick-wood_.

[Sidenote: _Commodities Imported._]

The Commodities these Ships bring to this Iland, are, _Servants_ and _Slaves_, both men and women; _Horses_, _Cattle_, _Assinigoes_, _Camells_, _Utensills_ for boyling Sugar, as, _Coppers_, _Taches_, _Goudges_, and _Sockets_; all manner of working tooles for Trades-men, as, _Carpenters_, _Joyners_, _Smiths_, _Masons_, _Mill-wrights_, _Wheel-wrights_, _Tinkers_, _Coopers_, &c. _Iron_, _Steel_, _Lead_, _Brasse_, _Pewter_, _Cloth_ of all kinds, both _Linnen_ and _Wollen_; _Stuffs_, _Hatts_, _Hose_, _Shoos_, _Gloves_, _Swords_, _knives_, _Locks_, _Keys_, &c. _Victualls_ of all kinds, that will endure the Sea, in so long a voyage. _Olives_, _Capers_, _Anchoves_, _salted Flesh_ and _Fish_, _pickled Maquerells_ and _Herrings_, _Wine_ of all sorts, and the boon Beer, _d’Angleterre_.

[Sidenote: _What Buildings we found at our first comming upon the Iland._]

I had it in my thought before I came there, what kinde of Buildings would be fit for a Country, that was so much troubled with heat, as I have heard this was; & did expect to find thick walls, high roofes, and deep cellers; but found neither the one nor the other, but clean contrary; timber houses, with low roofes, so low, as for the most part of them, I could hardly stand upright with my hat on, and no cellars at all; besides, another course they took, which was more wonder to me than all that; which was, stopping, or barring out the winde, which should give them the greatest comfort, when they were neer stifled with heat. For, the winde blowing alwaies one way, which was Eastwardly, they should have made all the openings they could to the East, thereby to let in the cool breezes, to refresh them when the heat of the day came. But they, clean contrary, closed up all their houses to the East, and opened all to the West; so that in the afternoones, when the Sun came to the West, those little low roofed rooms were like Stoves, or heated Ovens. And truly, in a very hot day, it might raise a doubt, whether so much heat without, and so much tobacco and _kill-devill_ within, might not set the house a fire; for these three ingredients are strong motives to provoke it, and they were ever there.

But at last I found by them, the reasons of this strange preposterous manner of building, which was grounded upon the weakest and silliest foundation that could be: For they alledged, that at the times of rain, which was very often, the wind drave the rain in at their windowes so fast, as the houses within were much annoyed with it; for having no glasse to keep it out, they could seldome sit or lie drie; and so being constrained to keep out the ayer on that side, for fear of letting in the water, would open the West ends of their houses so wide, (as was beyond the proportion of windows to repair that want) and so let in the fire; not considering at all, that there was such a thing as shutters for windowes, to keep out the rain that hurt them, and let in the winde to refresh them, and do them good at their pleasure. But this was a consideration laid aside by all, or the most part of the meaner sort of Planters. But at last I found the true reason, was their poverty and indigence, which wanted the means to make such conveniences; and so, being compelled by that, had rather suffer painfully, and patiently abide this inconvenience, than sell or part with any of their goods, to prevent so great a mischiefe: So loath poor people are to part with that, which is their next immediate help, to support them in their great want of sustenance. For, at that lock they often were, and some good Planters too, that far’d very hard, when we came first into the Iland. So that hard labour, and want of victualls, had so much deprest their spirits, as they were come to a declining and yielding condition. Nor can this be called slothfulnesse or sluggishnesse in them, as some will have it, but a decay of their spirits, by long and tedious hard labour, sleight feeding, and ill lodging, which is able to wear out and quell the best spirit of the world.

[Sidenote: _What materialls grow in the Iland fit to build with, which may be call’d the Elements of Architecture. And first, for Timber._]

The _Locust_ is a tree of such a growth, both for length and bignesse, as may serve for beams in a very large room: I have seen many of them, whose straight bodies are above fifty foot high, the diameter of the stem or body, three foot and halfe. The timber of this tree is a hard close substance, heavie, but firme, and not apt to bend, somewhat hard for tooles to cut; brittle, but lasting. _Mastik_, not altogether so large as he, but of a tougher substance, and not accounted so brittle. The _Bully-tree_ wants something of the largnesse of these, but in his other qualities goes beyond either; for, he is full out as lasting, and as strong, but not so heavie, nor so hard for tooles to work. The _Redwood_ and _prickled yellow wood_, good for posts or beams, and are lighter then the _Locust_; both are accounted very lasting, and good for building. The _Cedar_ is, without controul, the best of all, but by reason it works smoth, and looks beautifull, we use it most in Wainscot, Tables, and Stooles. Other timber we have, as the _Iron-wood_, and another sort, which are excellent good to endure wet and drie; and of those we make Shingles, which being such a kinde of wood, as will not warpe nor rive, are the best coverings for a house that can be, full out as good as Tiles, and lie lighter upon the Rafters.

[Sidenote: _Stone fit for Building._]

We have two sorts of Stone, and either will serve indifferently well in building: The one we finde on sides of small Hills, and it lies as ours do in _England_, in Quarries; but they are very small, rough, and ill shaped, some of them porous, like Honey combes; but being burnt, they make excellent Lyme, the whitest and firmest when ’tis drie, that I have seen; and by the help of this, we make the better shift with our ill shap’t stone; for this lime bindes it fast together, and keeps it firm to endure the weather. Other Stone we have, which we find in great Rocks, and massie pieces in the ground; but so soft, as with your finger you may bore a hole into it; and this softness gives us the means of cutting it with two handed sawes, which being hard, we could not so easily do, and the easinesse causes the expedition; for by that, we the more speedily fit it for our walls, taking a just bredth of the walls, and cutting it accordingly; so that we need very little hewing. This stone, as we cutt it in the quarry, is no harder then ordinary morter, but being set out in the weather, by pieces as we cut it, growes indifferently hard, and is able to beare all the weight that lyes on it, and the longer it lies, the harder it growes. Many essayes we made, whilst I was there, for the making and burning of bricks, but never could attaine to the perfection of it; and the reason was, the over fatnesse of the clay, which would alwaies crackle and break, when it felt the great heat of the fire in the Clampe; and by no meanes could we find the true temper of it, though we made often trialls. There was an ingenious _Jew_ upon the Iland, whose name was _Solomon_, that undertook to teach the making of it; yet for all that, when it came to the touch his wisedome failed, and we were deceived in our expectation, I doubt not but there is a way of tempering, to make it farre better then ours in England; for the pots which we finde in the Iland, wherein the _Indians_ boyl’d their Porke, were of the same kind of Clay, and they were the best and finest temper’d ware of earth that ever I saw. If we could find the true temper of it, a great advantage might be made to the Iland; for the ayre being moyst, the stones often sweat, and by their moysture rot the timbers they touch, which to prevent we cover the ends of our beams and girders with boards, pitcht on both sides, but the walls being made of bricks, or but lin’d with brick, would be much the wholesomer; and besides keep our wainescot from rotting. Hangings we dare not use, for being spoyld by Ants, and eaten by the Cockroaches, and Rats, yet some of the planters that meant to handsome their houses, were minded to send for gilt leather, and hang their rooms with that, which they were more then perswaded those vermine would not eate; and in that resolution I left them.

Carpenters, and Masons, were newly come upon the Iland, and some of these very great Masters in their Art: and such as could draw a plot, and pursue the designe they framed with great diligence, and beautifie the tops of their doores, windowes, and Chimney peeces, very pretily; but not many of those nor is it needfull that there should be many, for though the Planters talke of building houses, and wish them up, yet when they weigh the want of those handes in their sugar worke, that must be imployed in their building, they fall backe, and put on their considering caps. I drew out at least twenty plots when I came first into the Ilands which they all lik’t well inough, and yet but two of them us’d, one by Captaine _Midleton_, and one by Captaine _Standfast_, and those were the two best houses, I left finisht in the Iland when I came away. Cellars I would not make under ground, unlesse the house be set on the side of a Hill; for though the ayre be moyst above, yet I found it by experience much moyster under ground; so that no moyst thing can be set there, but it will in a very short time grow mouldy, and rotten; and if for coolnesse you think to keep any raw flesh, it will much sooner taint there, then being hung up in a garret, where the Sun continually shines upon it. Nay the pipe-staves hoops, and heads of barrels, and hogsheads, will grow mouldy and rotten: Pavements and foundations of bricks would much help this with glasse windowes, to keep out the ayre.

If I were to build a house for my selfe in that place, I would have a third part of my building to be of an East and West line, and the other two thirds to crosse that, at the West end: in a North and South line, and this latter to be a story higher than that of the East and West line, so that at four a clocke in the afternoone, the higher buildings will begin to shade the other, and so afford more and more shade to my East and West building till night; and not only to the house, but to all the walks that I make on either side that building, and then I would raise my foundation of that part of my house wherein my best roomes were three foot above ground; leaving it hollow underneath for Ventiducts, which I would have come into every room in the house, and by that means you shall feele the cool breese all the day, & in the evening, when they slacken, a coole shade from my North & South building, both which are great refreshings, in hot Countryes: and according to this Modell, I drew many plots, of severall sises and Contrivances, but they did not or would not understand them: at last I grew wearie of casting stones against the wind, and so gave over.

[Sidenote: _The number and nature of the inhabitants._]

It were somewhat difficult, to give you an exact account, of the number of persons upon the Iland; there being such store of shipping that brings passengers dayly to the place, but it has been conjectur’d, by those that are long acquainted, and best seen in the knowledge of the Iland, that there are not lesse then 50 thousand soules, besides _Negroes_; and some of them who began upon small fortunes, are now risen to very great and vast estates.

The Iland is divided into three sorts of men, _viz._ Masters, Servants, and slaves. The slaves and their posterity, being subject to their Masters for ever, are kept and preserv’d with greater care then the servants, who are theirs but for five yeers, according to the law of the Iland. So that for the time, the servants have the worser lives, for they are put to very hard labour, ill lodging, and their dyet very sleight. When we came first on the Iland, some Planters themselves did not eate bone meat, above twice a weeke: the rest of the seven dayes, Potatoes, Loblolly, and Bonavist. But the servants no bone meat at all unlesse an Oxe dyed: and then they were feasted, as long as that lasted, And till they had planted good store of Plantines, the _Negroes_ were fed with this kind of food; but most of it Bonavist, and Loblolly, with some eares of Mayes toasted, which food (especially Loblolly,) gave them much discontent: But when they had Plantines enough to serve them, they were heard no more to complaine; for ’tis a food they take great delight in, and their manner of dressing and eating it, is this: ’tis gathered for them (somewhat before it be ripe, for so they desire to have it,) upon Saturday, by the keeper of the Plantine grove; who is an able _Negro_, and knowes well the number of those that are to be fed with this fruite; and as he gathers, layes them all together, till they fetch them away, which is about five a clock in the after noon, for that day they breake off worke sooner by an houre: partly for this purpose, and partly for that the fire in the furnaces is to be put out, and the Ingenio and the roomes made cleane; besides they are to wash, shave and trim themselves against Sunday. But ’tis a lovely sight to see a hundred handsome _Negroes_, men and women, with every one a grasse-green bunch of these fruits on their heads, every bunch twice as big as their heads, all comming in a train one after another, the black and green so well becomming one another. Having brought this fruit home to their own houses, and pilling off the skin of so much as they will use, they boyl it in water, making it into balls, and so they eat it. One bunch a week is a _Negres_ allowance. To this, no bread nor drink, but water. Their lodging at night a board, with nothing under, nor any thing a top of them. They are happy people, whom so little contents. Very good servants, if they be not spoyled by the English. But more of them hereafter.

As for the usage of the Servants, it is much as the Master is, mercifull or cruell; Those that are mercifull, treat their Servants well, both in their meat, drink, and lodging, and give them such work, as is not unfit for Christians to do. But if the Masters be cruell, the Servants have very wearisome and miserable lives. Upon the arrivall of any ship, that brings servants to the Iland, the Planters go aboard; and having bought such of them as they like, send them with a guid to his Plantation; and being come, commands them instantly to make their Cabins, which they not knowing how to do, are to be advised by other of their servants, that are their seniors; but, if they be churlish, and will not shew them, or if materialls be wanting, to make them Cabins, then they are to lie on the ground that night. These Cabins are to be made of sticks, withs, and Plantine leaves, under some little shade that may keep the rain off; Their suppers being a few Potatoes for meat, and water or Mobbie for drink. The next day they are rung out with a Bell to work, at six a clock in the morning, with a severe Overseer to command them, till the Bell ring again, which is at eleven a clock; and then they return, and are set to dinner, either with a messe of Lob-lollie, Bonavist, or Potatoes. At one a clock, they are rung out again to the field, there to work till six, and then home again, to a supper of the same. And if it chance to rain, and wet them through, they have no shift, but must lie so all night. If they put off their cloths, the cold of the night will strike into them; and if they be not strong men, this ill lodging will put them into a sicknesse: if they complain, they are beaten by the Overseer; if they resist, their time is doubled. I have seen an Overseer beat a Servant with a cane about the head, till the blood has followed, for a fault that is not worth the speaking of; and yet he must have patience, or worse will follow. Truly, I have seen such cruelty there done to Servants, as I did not think one Christian could have done to another. But, as discreeter and better natur’d men have come to rule there, the servants lives have been much bettered; for now, most of the servants lie in Hamocks, and in warm rooms, and when they come in wet, have shift of shirts and drawers, which is all the cloths they were, and are fed with _bone meat_ twice or thrice a week. Collonell _Walrond_ seeing his servants when they came home, toyled with their labour, and wet through with their sweating, thought that shifting of their linnen not sufficient refreshing, nor warmth for their bodies, their pores being much opened by their sweating; and therefore resolved to send into _England_ for rug Gownes, such as poor people wear in Hospitalls, that so when they had shifted themselves, they might put on those Gowns, and lie down and rest them in their Hamocks: For the Hamocks being but thin, and they having nothing on but shirts and drawers, when they awak’d out of their sleeps, they found themselves very cold; and a cold taken there, is harder to be recovered, than in _England_, by how much the body is infeebled by the great toyle, and the Sun’s heat, which cannot but very much exhaust the spirits of bodies unaccustomed to it. But this care and charity of Collonell _Walrond’s_, lost him nothing in the conclusion; for, he got such love of his servants, as they thought all too little they could do for him; and the love of the servants there, is of much concernment to the Masters, not only in their diligent and painfull labour, but in fore seeing and preventing mischiefes that often happen, by the carelessnesse and slothfulnesse of retchlesse servants; sometimes by laying fire so negligently, as whole lands of Canes and Houses too, are burnt down and consumed, to the utter ruine and undoing of their Masters: For, the materialls there being all combustible, and apt to take fire, a little oversight, as the fire of a Tobacco-pipe, being knockt out against a drie stump of a tree, has set it on fire, and the wind fanning that fire, if a land of Canes be but neer, and they once take fire, all that are down the winde will be burnt up. Water there is none to quench it, or if it were, a hundred _Negres_ with buckets were not able to do it; so violent and spreading a fire this is, and such a noise it makes, as if two Armies, with a thousand shot of either side, were continually giving fire, every knot of every Cane, giving as great a report as a Pistoll. So that there is no way to stop the going on of this flame, but by cutting down and removing all the Canes that grow before it, for the breadth of twenty or thirty foot down the winde, and there the _Negres_ to stand and beat out the fire, as it creeps upon the ground, where the Canes are cut down. And I have seen some _Negres_ so earnest to stop this fire, as with their naked feet to tread, and with their naked bodies to tumble, and roll upon it; so little they regard their own smart or safety, in respect of their Masters benefit. The year before I came away, there were two eminent Planters in the Iland, that with such an accident as this, lost at least 10000 l. sterling, in the value of the Canes that were burnt; the one, Mr. _James Holduppe_, the other, Mr. _Constantine Silvester_: And the latter had not only his Canes, but his house burnt down to the ground. This, and much more mischiefe has been done, by the negligence and wilfulnesse of servants. And yet some cruell Masters will provoke their Servants so, by extream ill usage, and often and cruell beating them, as they grow desperate, and so joyne together to revenge themselves upon them.

A little before I came from thence, there was such a combination amongst them, as the like was never seen there before. Their sufferings being grown to a great height, & their daily complainings to one another (of the intolerable burdens they labour’d under) being spread throughout the Iland; at the last, some amongst them, whose spirits were not able to endure such slavery, resolved to break through it, or die in the act; and so conspired with some others of their acquaintance, whose sufferings were equall, if not above theirs; and their spirits no way inferiour, resolved to draw as many of the discontented party into this plot, as possibly they could; and those of this perswasion, were the greatest numbers of servants in the Iland. So that a day was appointed to fall upon their Masters, and cut all their throats, and by that means, to make themselves not only freemen, but Masters of the Iland. And so closely was this plot carried, as no discovery was made, till the day before they were to put it in act: And then one of them, either by the failing of his courage, or some new obligation from the love of his Master, revealed this long plotted conspiracy; and so by this timely advertisment, the Masters were saved: Justice _Hethersall_ (whose servant this was) sending Letters to all his friends, and they to theirs, and so one to another, till they were all secured; and, by examination, found out the greatest part of them; whereof eighteen of the principall men in the conspiracy, and they the first leaders and contrivers of the plot, were put to death, for example to the rest. And the reason why they made examples of so many, was, they found these so haughty in their resolutions, and so incorrigible, as they were like enough to become actors in a second plot; and so they thought good to secure them; and for the rest, to have a speciall eye over them.

[Sidenote: _Negres._]

It has been accounted a strange thing, that the Negres, being more then double the numbers of the Christians that are there, and they accounted a bloody people, where they think they have power or advantages; and the more bloody, by how much they are more fearfull than others: that these should not commit some horrid massacre upon the Christians, thereby to enfranchise themselves, and become Masters of the Iland. But there are three reasons that take a way this wonder; the one is, They are not suffered to touch or handle any weapons: The other, That they are held in such awe and slavery, as they are fearfull to appear in any daring act; and seeing the mustering of our men, and hearing their Gun-shot, (than which nothing is more terrible to them) their spirits are subjugated to so low a condition, as they dare not look up to any bold attempt. Besides these, there is a third reason, which stops all designes of that kind, and that is, They are fetch’d from severall parts of _Africa_, who speake severall languages, and by that means, one of them understands not another: For, some of them are fetch’d from _Guinny_ and _Binny_, some from _Cutchew_, some from _Angola_, and some from the River of _Gambia_. And in some of these places where petty Kingdomes are, they sell their Subjects, and such as they take in Battle, whom they make slaves; and some mean men sell their Servants, their Children, and sometimes their Wives; and think all good traffick, for such commodities as our Merchants sends them.

When they are brought to us, the Planters buy them out of the Ship, where they find them stark naked, and therefore can not be deceived in any outward infirmity. They choose them as they do Horses in a Market; the strongest, youthfullest, and most beautifull, yield the greatest prices. Thirty pound sterling is a price for the best man Negre; and twenty five, twenty six, or twenty seven pound for a Woman; the Children are at easier rates. And we buy them so, as the sexes may be equall; for, if they have more men then women, the men who are unmarried will come to their Masters, and complain, that they cannot live without Wives, and desire him, they may have Wives. And he tells them, that the next ship that comes, he will buy them Wives, which satisfies them for the present; and so they expect the good time: which the Master performing with them, the bravest fellow is to choose first, and so in order, as they are in place; and every one of them knowes his better, and gives him the precedence, as Cowes do one another, in passing through a narrow gate; for, the most of them are as neer beasts as may be, setting their souls aside. Religion they know none; yet most of them acknowledge a God, as appears by their motions and gestures: For, if one of them do another wrong, and he cannot revenge himselfe, he looks up to Heaven for vengeance, and holds up both his hands, as if the power must come from thence, that must do him right. Chast they are as any people under the Sun; for, when the men and women are together naked, they never cast their eyes towards the parts that ought to be covered; and those amongst us, that have Breeches and Petticoats, I never saw so much as a kisse, or embrace, or a wanton glance with their eyes between them. Jealous they are of their Wives, and hold it for a great injury and scorn, if another man make the least courtship to his Wife. And if any of their Wives have two Children at a birth, they conclude her false to his Bed, and so no more adoe but hang her. We had an excellent Negre in the Plantation, whose name was _Macow_, and was our chiefe Musitian; a very valiant man, and was keeper of our Plantine-groave. This Negres Wife was brought to bed of two Children, and her Husband, as their manner is, had provided a cord to hang her. But the Overseer finding what he was about to do, enformed the Master of it, who sent for _Macow_, to disswade him from this cruell act, of murdering his Wife, and used all perswasions that possibly he could, to let him see, that such double births are in Nature, and that divers presidents were to be found amongst us of the like; so that we rather praised our Wives, for their fertility, than blamed them for their falsenesse. But this prevailed little with him, upon whom custome had taken so deep an impression; but resolved, the next thing he did, should be to hang her. Which when the Master perceived, and that the ignorance of the man, should take away the life of the woman, who was innocent of the crime her Husband condemned her for, told him plainly, that if he hang’d her, he himselfe should be hang’d by her, upon the same bough; and therefore wish’d him to consider what he did. This threatning wrought more with him, then all the reasons of Philosophy that could be given him; and so let her alone; but he never car’d much for her afterward, but chose another which he lik’d better. For the Planters there deny not a slave, that is a brave fellow, and one that has extraordinary qualities, two or three Wives, and above that number they seldome go: But no woman is allowed above one Husband.

At the time the wife is to be brought a bed, her husband removes his board, (which is his bed) to another room (for many severall divisions they have, in their little houses, and none above sixe foot square) And leaves his wife to God, and her good fortune, in the room, and upon the board alone, and calls a neighbour to come to her, who gives little help to her deliverie, but when the child is borne, (which she calls her Pickaninnie) she helps to make a little fire nere her feet and that serves instead of Possets, Broaths, and Caudles. In a fortnight, this woman is at worke with her Pickaninny at her back, as merry a soule as any is there: If the overseer be discreet, shee is suffer’d to rest her selfe a little more then ordinary; but if not, shee is compelled to doe as others doe. Times they have of suckling their Children in the fields, and refreshing themselves; and good reason, for they carry burdens on their backs; and yet work too. Some women, whose Pickaninnies are three yeers old, will, as they worke at weeding, which is a stooping worke, suffer the hee Pickaninnie, to sit astride upon their backs, like St. _George_ a horseback; and there spurre his mother with his heeles; and sings and crowes on her backe, clapping his hands, as if he meant to flye; which the mother is so pleas’d with, as shee continues her painfull stooping posture, longer then she would doe, rather than discompose her Joviall Pickaninnie of his pleasure, so glad she is to see him merry. The worke which the women doe, is most of it weeding, a stooping and painfull worke; at noon and night they are call’d home by the ring of a Bell, where they have two hours time for their repast at noone; and at night, they rest from sixe, till sixe a Clock next morning.

On Sunday they rest, and have the whole day at their pleasure; and the most of them use it as a day of rest and pleasure; but some of them who will make benefit of that dayes liberty, goe where the Mangrave trees grow, and gather the barke of which they make ropes, which they trucke away for other Commoditie, as shirts and drawers.

In the afternoons on Sundayes, they have their musicke, which is of kettledrums, and those of severall sises; upon the smallest the best musitian playes, and the other come in as Chorasses: the drum all men know, has but one tone; and therefore varietie of tunes have little to doe in this musick; and yet so strangely they varie their time, as ’tis a pleasure to the most curious eares, and it was to me one of the strangest noyses that ever I heard made of one tone; and if they had the varietie of tune, which gives the greater scope in musick, as they have of time, they would doe wonders in that Art. And if I had not faln sicke before my comming away, at least seven months in one sickness, I had given them some hints of tunes, which being understood, would have serv’d as a great addition to their harmonie; for time without tune, is not an eighth part of the science of Musick.

I found _Macow_ very apt for it of himselfe, and one day comming into the house, (which none of the _Negroes_ use to doe, unlesse an Officer, as he was,) he found me playing on a Theorbo, and singing to it which he hearkened very attentively to; and when I had done took the Theorbo in his hand, and strooke one string, stopping it by degrees upon every fret, and finding the notes to varie, till it came to the body of the instrument; and that the neerer the body of the instrument he stopt, the smaller or higher the sound was, which he found was by the shortning of the string, considered with himselfe, how he might make some triall of this experiment upon such an instrument as he could come by; having no hope ever to have any instrument of this kind to practise on. In a day or two after, walking in the Plantine grove, to refresh me in that cool shade, and to delight my selfe with the sight of those plants, which are so beautifull, as though they left a fresh impression in me when I parted with them, yet upon a review, something is discern’d in their beautie more then I remembred at parting: which caused me to make often repair thither; I found this _Negro_ (whose office it was to attend there) being the keeper of that grove, sitting on the ground, and before him a piece of large timber, upon which he had laid crosse, sixe Billets, and having a hand-saw and a hatchet by him, would cut the billets by little and little, till he had brought them to the tunes, he would fit them to; for the shorter they were, the higher the Notes which he tryed by knocking upon the ends of them with a sticke, which he had in his hand. When I found him at it, I took the stick out of his hand, and tried the sound, finding the sixe billets to have sixe distinct notes, one above another, which put me in a wonder, how he of himselfe, should without teaching doe so much. I then shewed him the difference between flats and sharpes, which he presently apprehended, as between _Fa_, and _Mi_: and he would have cut two more billets to those tunes, but I had then no time to see it done, and so left him to his own enquiries. I say this much to let you see that some of these people are capable of learning Arts.

Another of another kinde of speculation I found; but more ingenious then he: and this man with three or foure more, were to attend mee into the woods, to cut Church wayes, for I was imployed sometimes upon publique works; and those men were excellent Axe men, and because there were many gullies in the way, which were impassable, and by that means I was compell’d to make traverses, up and down in the wood; and was by that in danger to misse of the poynt, to which I was to make my passage to the Church, and therefore was faine to take a Compasse with me, which was a Circumferenter, to make my traverses the more exact, and indeed without which, it could not be done, setting up the Circumferenter, and observing the Needle: This _Negre Sambo_ comes to me, and seeing the needle wag, desired to know the reason of its stirring, and whether it were alive: I told him no, but it stood upon a poynt, and for a while it would stir, but by and by stand still, which he observ’d and found it to be true.

The next question was, why it stood one way, & would not remove to any other poynt, I told him that it would stand no way but North and South, and upon that shew’d him the foure Cardinall poynts of the compass, East, West, North, South, which he presently learnt by heart, and promis’d me never to forget it. His last question was, why it would stand North, I gave this reason, because of the huge Rocks of Loadstone that were in the North part of the world, which had a quality to draw Iron to it; and this Needle being of Iron, and toucht with a Loadstone, it would alwaies stand that way.

This point of Philosophy was a little too hard for him, and so he stood in a strange muse; which to put him out of, I bad him reach his ax, and put it neer to the Compasse, and remove it about; and as he did so, the Needle turned with it, which put him in the greatest admiration that ever I saw a man, and so quite gave over his questions, and desired me, that he might be made a Christian; for, he thought to be a Christian, was to be endued with all those knowledges he wanted.

I promised to do my best endeavour; and when I came home, spoke to the Master of the Plantation, and told him, that poor _Sambo_ desired much to be a Christian. But his answer was, That the people of that Iland were governed by the Lawes of _England_, and by those Lawes, we could not make a Christian a Slave. I told him, my request was far different from that, for I desired him to make a Slave a Christian. His answer was, That it was true, there was a great difference in that: But, being once a Christian, he could no more account him a Slave, and so lose the hold they had of them as Slaves, by making them Christians; and by that means should open such a gap, as all the Planters in the Iland would curse him. So I was struck mute, and poor _Sambo_ kept out of the Church; as ingenious, as honest, and as good a natur’d poor soul, as ever wore black, or eat green.

On Sundaies in the afternoon, their Musick plaies, and to dancing they go, the men by themselves, and the women by themselves, no mixt dancing. Their motions are rather what they aim at, than what they do; and by that means, transgresse the lesse upon the Sunday; their hands having more of motion than their feet, & their heads more than their hands. They may dance a whole day, and neer heat themselves; yet, now and then, one of the activest amongst them will leap bolt upright, and fall in his place again, but without cutting a capre. When they have danc’d an houre or two, the men fall to wrastle, (the Musick playing all the while) and their manner of wrastling is, to stand like two Cocks, with heads as low as their hipps; and thrusting their heads one against another, hoping to catch one another by the leg, which sometimes they do: But if both parties be wary, and that they cannot get that advantage, then they raise their heads, by pressing hard one against another, and so having nothing to take hold of but their bare flesh, they close, and grasp one another about the middle, and have one another in the hug, and then a fair fall is given on the back. And thus two or three couples of them are engaged at once, for an houre together, the women looking on: for when the men begin to wrastle, the women leave of their dancing, and come to be spectatours of the sport.

When any of them die, they dig a grave, and at evening they bury him, clapping and wringing their hands, and making a dolefull sound with their voyces. They are a people of a timerous and fearfull disposition, and consequently bloody, when they finde advantages. If any of them commit a fault, give him present punishment, but do not threaten him; for if you do, it is an even lay, he will go and hang himselfe, to avoid the punishment.

What their other opinions are in matter of Religion, I know not; but certainly, they are not altogether of the sect of the _Sadduces_: For, they believe a Resurrection, and that they shall go into their own Country again, and have their youth renewed. And lodging this opinion in their hearts, they make it an ordinary practice, upon any great fright, or threatning of their Masters, to hang themselves.

But Collonell _Walrond_ having lost three or foure of his best Negres this way, and in a very little time, caused one of their heads to be cut off, and set upon a pole a dozen foot high; and having done that, caused all his Negres to come forth, and march round about this head, and bid them look on it, whether this were not the head of such an one that hang’d himselfe. Which they acknowledging, he then told them, That they were in a main errour, in thinking they went into their own Countries, after they were dead; for, this mans head was here, as they all were witnesses of; and how was it possible, the body could go without a head. Being convinc’d by this sad, yet lively spectacle, they changed their opinions; and after that, no more hanged themselves.

When they are sick, there are two remedies that cure them; the one, an outward, the other, an inward medicine. The outward medicine is a thing they call _Negre-oyle_, and ’tis made in _Barbary_, yellow it is as Bees wax, but soft as butter. When they feel themselves ill, they call for some of that, and annoint their bodies, as their breasts, bellies, and sides, and in two daies they are perfectly well. But this does the greatest cures upon such, as have bruises or strains in their bodies. The inward medicine is taken, when they find any weakness or decay in their spirits and stomacks, and then a dram or two of _kill-devill_ revives and comforts them much.

I have been very strict, in observing the shapes of these people; and for the men, they are very well timber’d, that is, broad between the shoulders, full breasted, well filleted, and clean leg’d, and may hold good with _Albert Durers_ rules, who allowes _twice the length of the head_, to the breadth of the shoulders; and twice the _length of the face_, to the breadth of the hipps, and according to this rule these men are shap’d. But the women not; for the same great Master of Proportions, allowes to each woman, twice the length of the face to the breadth of the shoulders, and twice the length of her own head to the breadth of the hipps. And in that, these women are faulty; for I have seen very few of them, whose hipps have been broader then their shoulders, unlesse they have been very fat. The young Maides have ordinarily very large breasts, which stand strutting out so hard and firm, as no leaping, jumping, or stirring, will cause them to shake any more, then the brawnes of their armes. But when they come to be old, and have had five or six Children, their breasts hang down below their navells, so that when they stoop at their common work of weeding, they hang almost down to the ground, that at a distance, you would think they had six legs: And the reason of this is, they tie the cloaths about their Children’s backs, which comes upon their breasts, which by pressing very hard, causes them to hang down to that length. Their Children, when they are first born, have the palmes of their hands and the soles of their feet, of a whitish colour, and the sight of their eyes of a blewish colour, not unlike the eyes of a young Kitling; but, as they grow older, they become black.

Their way of reckoning their ages, or any other notable accident they would remember, is by the Moon; and so accounting from the time of their Childrens births, the time they were brought out of their own Country, or the time of their being taken Prisoners, by some Prince or Potentate of their own Country, or any other notorious accidents, that they are resolved to remember, they account by the Moon; as, so many Moons since one of these, and so many Moons since another; and this account they keep as long as they can: But if any of them live long, their Arithmetick failes them, and then they are at a dead fault, and so give over the chase, wanting the skill to hunt counter. For what can poor people do, that are without Letters and Numbers, which is the soul of all businesse that is acted by Mortalls, upon the Globe of this World.

Some of them, who have been bred up amongst the Portugalls, have some extraordinary qualities, which the others have not; as singing and fencing. I have seen some of these _Portugall Negres_, at Collonell _James Draxes_, play at Rapier and Dagger very skilfully, with their Stookados, their Imbrocados, and their Passes: And at single Rapier too, after the manner of _Charanza_, with such comelinesse; as, if the skill had been wanting, the motions would have pleased you; but they were skilfull too, which I perceived by their binding with their points, and nimble and subtle avoidings with their bodies, and the advantages the strongest man had in the close, which the other avoided by the nimblenesse and skilfulnesse of his motion. For, in this Science, I had bin so well vers’d in my youth, as I was now able to be a competent Judge. Upon their first appearance upon the Stage, they march towards one another, with a slow majestick pace, and a bold commanding look, as if they meant both to conquer; and comming neer together, they shake hands, and embrace one another, with a cheerfull look. But their retreat is much quicker then their advance, and, being at first distance, change their countenance, and put themselves into their posture; and so after a passe or two, retire, and then to’t again: And when they have done their play, they embrace, shake hands, and putting on their smoother countenances, give their respects to their Master, and so go off. For their Singing, I cannot much commend that, having heard so good in _Europe_; but for their voices, I have heard many of them very loud and sweet.