Chapter XXX: Page 381 (11)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

EMPLOYMENTS.

On One On 800
Estate. Estates.

Four boys or male servants to attend about
the house 4 3,200
Maids or female servants to wash, sew,
iron, &c. 4 3,200
A cook for the planter, overseer, &c. 1 800
A fowler, or huntsman, to provide game for
the table 1 800
A fishing negro to provide fish for ditto 1 800
A gardener to provide the table and the
flower garden 1 800
To attend the bullocks and horses on the
estate 1 800
To attend the sheep on the estate 1 800
To attend the hogs on the estate 1 800
To attend the poultry that is on the
estate 1 800
Carpenter negroes, to build, houses,
boats, &c. 6 4,800
Cooper negroes, to make and repair
hogsheads 2 1,600
A mason, to build and repair the brick
foundations 1 800
At Paramaribo, some to trades, others for
shew 15 12,000
A negro surgeon, to attend the sick
negroes 1 800
Sick and incurable, that are in the
hospitals 10 8,000
A nurse for the negro children that cannot
be with their parents 1 800
Children under age, that can do no work of
any kind 16 12,800
Superannuated negroes, worn out by slavery 7 5,600
To work in the fields no more than 25 25 20,000
miserable wretches 25 20,000
--- ------
Total, or compleat number of slaves in the
colony 100 80,000

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I, the under-subscribed, do pledge my word of honour, (being all I
possess in the world besides my pay) as bail, that if my late
ardent request to the court for the emancipation of my dear boy
Johnny Stedman be granted, the said boy shall never to the end of
his life become a charge to the colony of Surinam.

(Signed) John G. Stedman.”

“Paramaribo,
Feb. 18th, 1777.”

Having now done the utmost that lay in my power, I for several days waited the result with anxiety, but without meeting with the smallest hopes of success; thus, with a broken heart, I was obliged at last to give him (sweet fellow) over for lost, or take him with me to Europe, which must have been plunging a dagger in the bosom of his mother.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The 8th of March, being the Prince of Orange’s birthday, it was celebrated at the head quarters; where, after dinner, in the court ledge, hearing Captain Bolts in an undeserved manner censured by the colonel’s adjutant, for recommending one of the young volunteers of an excellent character, but who had no friends to support him [51], I broke through the ring that surrounded them in a passion, and not being able to restrain myself, publicly reproved the aggressor, even in Fourgeoud’s presence, when a furious altercation and very high words immediately ensued; the consequence of which was, that next morning at sun-rise we walked to the savannah without seconds, where, near the gallows, we drew our small swords, and after making a few passes at each other, Captain Van Geurick’s point met my shell, which having nearly pierced, his blade snapped in two pieces, and the fortune of war put him entirely in my power. Disdaining, however, to take a mean advantage, I instantly dropped my small sword, and desired him to step home and replace his own, in order to renew the battle: but this proposal he was pleased to call so generous, that taking me by the hand, he requested a renewal of friendship; thus acknowledging we had been too hasty on both sides, we went to visit poor Bolts, who knew nothing of our morning’s walk, and was (though not without difficulty) persuaded also to enter into the amicable treaty: by which a second rencounter was happily prevented, and a general reconciliation took place.

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

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

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

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

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

What is most extraordinary indeed is, that while the well-thinking few highly applauded my sensibility, many not only blamed, but publicly derided me for my paternal affection, which was called a weakness, a whim. So extravagant was my joy on this day, however, at having acted the reverse part of Inkle to Yarico, that I became like one frantic with pleasure. I not only made my will in his favour (though, God knows, I had little to dispose of) but I appointed my friends Mr. Robert Gordon and Mr. James Gourlay to be my executors and his guardians during my absence, in whose hands I left all my papers sealed, till I should demand them again, or they should be informed of my death: I then ordered all my sheep, poultry, &c. which had prodigiously encreased, to be transported, and put under their care; and making a new suit of cloaths for the occasion, which cost me twenty guineas, I waited on a Mr. Snyderhans, one of the clergymen at Paramaribo, to appoint a day when my boy, my Johnny Stedman, should be made a Christian [52].

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I believe that now a hundred times Fourgeoud shook me by the hand, declaring, “That there was not a young man he loved better in the world; that had he commanded me to march through fire as well as water, he was convinced I should never have left it, without accomplishing his orders;” with many other fine compliments. But I must candidly acknowledge, that though I had a heart to forgive, my mind would never permit me to forget the many and unnecessary difficulties and miseries to which I had been too wantonly exposed. At the same time he informed me, that he did not propose to depart with us, but intended to follow the regiment very soon, with the remains of the last-come relief, when he would render me every service in his power. Whatever were his real motives for such a sudden change in his disposition towards me, suffice it to say, that few people at this time were better friends, than were the old Colonel Fourgeoud and Captain Stedman.

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

“Zaïre, il est trop vrai que l’honneur me l’ordonne,
Que je vous adorai! que je vous abandonne!
Que je renonce a vous! que vous le désirer!
Que fous un autre loix——Zaïre vous pleurer.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

CHAP. XXX.

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

Every thing being at last perfectly adjusted for our departure, both vessels, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel des Borgnes, weighed anchor on the morning of the 1st of April, 1777, when, with a fresh breeze at E. we put to sea, and kept course N. and N. W.—Motionless and speechless, I hung over the ship’s stern till the land quite disappeared. After some days, however, by considerable exertions, I got the better of my melancholy, though not of my affection, and my mind became once more composed and calm. What chiefly contributed to the restoring of my peace, was the comfortable reflection, that if I had in some measure injured myself, I had at least done good to a few others, by relieving three [53] innocent and deserving young people from a state of bondage. Yet, for this action, I was assuredly most amply rewarded by the preservation of my life, principally owing to their unremitting care and attention, while such numbers fell all around me, and more were ruined in their constitution, the victims of the climate and the service, some having lost the use of their limbs, and some of their memory; nay, one or two were entirely deprived of their mental faculties, and continued in a state of incurable insanity for ever.

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

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

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

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

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

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

A large shark now swimming alongside the ship, we did all that lay in our power to take it, but to no purpose. Sharks are in these seas of different kinds; but what is generally called the white shark is the most terrible of its species, on account of its size, weighing often one thousand pounds, and measuring sixteen or eighteen feet in length; the head, which is something depressed, is large; it has two spouting holes, and prominent eyes, which it can turn in every direction, and bespeak the malignity of its all-devouring nature; nearly under these are its mouth and throat, of such an enormous size, that it will swallow a bull-dog: its teeth, which are placed in five or six rows, are so sharp and strong, that they will snap off a man’s arm or his leg with ease, which has very frequently happened. The whole shape of this fish is in every respect like that of the dog-fish, found in the North Seas, with very strong fins, one dorsal, two ventral, and two abdominal: the tail is bifurcated, the upper part being longest; the skin is slimy, rough, and used for what we call shagreen. The shark always swims with velocity, but must turn upon its side to take its prey, by which many fish escape its jaws.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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