Chapter XXX: Page 381 (3)

The evening of the 15th I reached Fauconberg, where I was met by a packet of six or eight letters from different friends, accompanied with presents of hung-beef, bullocks tongues, Madeira, porter, rum, and two gallons of excellent shrub, besides a fine bacon ham, and a beautiful pointer; both the last from the identical Charles Macdonald, the English sailor, which he had brought me from Virginia, in return for the little civility I had formerly shewn him so unexpectedly at the Hope. This mark of the poor fellow’s gratitude and generosity, the true characteristics of a British tar, gave me greater pleasure than all the things I received put together. But still I must except two letters, the one from Mr. Lude at Amsterdam, and the other from Mr. de Graav, his administrator at Paramaribo, acquainting me finally, and to my heartfelt satisfaction, that the amiable Joanna and the little boy were at my disposal, but at no less a price than two thousand florins, amounting, with other expences, to near two hundred pounds sterling, a sum which I was totally unable to raise. I already owed the sum of fifty pounds, that I had borrowed for the black boy Quaco’s redemption; but Joanna was to me invaluable, and though appraised at one-twentieth part of the whole estate, which had been sold for forty thousand florins, no price could be too dear for a young woman, possessing so much excellence, provided I could pay it.

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

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

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

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

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

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

In another place she declares, that grapes are common in Guiana—which I also must contradict; for it is well known, that no thin-skinned fruit can ever come to perfection in a tropical climate, such as grapes, cherries, currants, strawberries, plums, apricots, and peaches, nor even common apples or pears.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The public revenue offices are:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I know, good Stedman, the present feelings of your heart, and the incapacity of an officer, from his income only, to accomplish such a purpose as the completion of your wishes. But know, that even in Surinam virtue will meet with friends. Your manly sensibility for that deserving young woman and her child must claim the esteem of all rational persons, in spite of malice and folly: and so much has this action recommended you to my attention in particular, that I should think myself culpable in not patronizing your laudable intentions. Permit me then to participate in your happiness, and in the future prospect of the virtuous Joanna and her little boy, by requesting your acceptance of the sum of two thousand florins, or any sum you stand in need of; with which money go immediately, Stedman, go and redeem innocence, good sense, and beauty from the jaws of tyranny, oppression, and insult.”

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

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

I was no sooner returned home, than I acquainted Joanna with all that had happened; who, bursting into tears, called out, “Gado sa bresse da woma!”—“God will bless this woman!” and insisted that she herself should be mortgaged to Mrs. Godefroy till every farthing should be paid: she indeed was very anxious to see the emancipation of her boy, but till that was done, she absolutely refused to accept of her own freedom. I shall not here endeavour to paint the contest which I sustained between affection and duty, but bluntly say that I yielded to the wish of this so charming creature, and whose sentiments endeared her to me still more. Thus I instantly drew up a paper, declaring my Joanna, according to her desire, from this day to be the property of Mrs. Godefroy, till the last farthing of the money she lent me should be repaid; and, on the following day, with the consent of her relations [3], I conducted her to Mrs. Godefroy’s house, where, throwing herself at the feet of that incomparable woman, Joanna herself put the paper into her hands; but this lady having raised her up, no sooner had read the contents, than she exclaimed, “Must it be so? Then come here, my Joanna, I have a spirit to accept of you not as my slave, but more as my companion: you shall have a house built in my orange-garden, with my own slaves to attend you, till Providence shall call me away, when you shall be perfectly free, as indeed you now are the moment you wish to possess your manumission; and this you claim both by your extraction and your conduct [4].” On these terms, and on no other, I accepted of the money on the 5th, and carrying it in my hat to Mr. de Graav’s, I laid it on his table, demanding a receipt in full; and Joanna was transferred from the wretched estate Fauconberg, to the protection of the first woman perhaps in all the Dutch West-Indies, if not in the world; and for which she thanked me with a look that could only be expressed by the COUNTENANCE OF AN ANGEL.

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

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

On the 7th of April, matters being thus far settled, I wrote a letter to Mr. Lude, at Amsterdam, to give him intelligence, and to thank him for having parted with the most valuable property of his estate; and my ancle being now pretty well recovered, I also wrote to Colonel Fourgeoud, that I should have the honour to join him in a few days. This letter I directed to Barbacoeba, for there he still continued, while the intrepid and active militia captain, Stoeleman, was beating up the woods with a few rangers at another quarter, and who this day sent in four captive rebel negroes to Paramaribo [5].

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

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

CHAP. XX.

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

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

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

This whole day our course was due E.; and after proceeding about eight miles (which is a great distance in this country, where the pioneers with bill-hooks must constantly open a path), we erected huts, and encamped. Having frequently mentioned the rebel-negroes with whom we were now certain to have a rencontre, I present the reader with the figure of one of these people, upon his guard, as alarmed by a rustling amongst the bushes. At a distance are supposed a couple of our rangers, waiting the moment to take him by surprize. This rebel negro is armed with a firelock and a hatchet; his hair, though woolly, may be observed to be plaited close to his head, by way of distinction from the rangers, or any other straggling negroes, who are not yet accepted amongst them; his beard is grown to a point, like that of all the Africans, when they have no opportunity of shaving. The principal dress of this man consists of a cotton sheet, negligently tied across his shoulders, which protects him from the weather, and serves him also to rest on; while he always sleeps under cover in the most obscure places he can find, when detached from his companions. The rest of his dress is a camisa, tied around his loins like a handkerchief; his pouch, which is made of some animal’s skin; a few cotton strings for ornament around his ancles and wrists; and a superstitious obia or amulet tied about his neck, in which he places all his confidence. The skull and ribs are supposed to be the bones of his enemies, scattered upon the sandy savannah.

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

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

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

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

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

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

This evening we encamped about four o’clock. Colonel Fourgeoud being seized with a cold fit of the ague.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hannibal now observing that we should certainly see the enemy to-morrow, asked me if I knew in what manner negro engaged against negro? Having answered in the negative, he gave me the following relation, while smoking his pipe under my hammock.—“Massera,” said he, “both parties are divided in small companies of eight or ten men, commanded by a captain, with a horn, such as this (shewing me his) by which they do every thing, and fight or run away. When they fight they separate immediately, lie down on the ground, and fire at the flash of each other’s pans through the trees; while each warrior is supported by two negroes unarmed, the one to take his place if he is killed, and the other to carry away the dead body, to prevent its falling into the hands of their adversaries [6].”

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

The two columns E and F are supposed to be first engaged, where No 1 in the column E commences the attack by firing at random in the opposite bushes; and instantly retires, by shifting his place to No 1 in the column C, where he re-loads; while No 2 in the column F, having fired at the flash of his pan, advances in the same manner, shifting his station to re-load at No 2 in the column D; and at the flash of whose pan No 3 fires in E, and receives the fire of No 4 in F, &c. &c. Thus continuing through both lines, till No 8 has fired in F, when the whole have shifted their stations; and the same manœuvre is continued with the columns C and D, beginning again with the identical numbers 1, 2, 3, &c. at the top; while these lines, having shifted their places, still the firing is repeated by the lines A and B, and thus ad infinitum, until by sounding the horn one of the parties gives way in flight, and the battle is over. I shall only add, that when the forest is thick, instead of lying on their bellies, or kneeling, each negro skulks behind a thick tree, which serves him as a bulwark, and from which he fires at his adversary with more certainty and less danger, usually resting his piece against the trunk, or in the forked branches, like the Shawanese and Delaware Indians.

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

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

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

Boucoo I shall moulder before I shall be taken.
Gado Saby God only knows me, and none else.
Cofaay Come try me, if you be men.
Tessee See Take a tasting, if you like it.
Mele me Do disturb me, if you dare.
Boosy Cray The woods lament for me.
Me Salasy I shall be taken.
Kebree me Hide me, O thou surrounding verdure.

The others were:

Quammi Condre From Quammi, the name of the chief.
Pinenburgh From the pines or manicole-trees which formerly
surrounded it.
Caro Condre From the quantity of maize it afforded.
Reisee Condre From the quantity of rice it produced.

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

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

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

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

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

“And ’tis most true, while Time’s relentless hand
With sickly grasp drags others to the tomb;
The soldier scorns to wait the dull command,
But springs impatient to a nobler doom.

“Tho’ on the plain he lies, outstretch’d and pale,
Without one friend his stedfast eyes to close,
Yet on his honour’d corpse shall many a gale
Waft the moist fragrance of the weeping rose.

“O’er the dread spot the melancholy moon
Shall pause a while—a sadder beam to shed;
And starry night amidst her awful noon
Sprinkle light dews upon his hallowed head.

“There too the solitary bird shall swell
With long-drawn melody her plaintive throat;
While distant echo from responsive cell
Shall oft with fading force return the note.

“Such recompence be valour’s due alone.”

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

Having so frequently had occasion to speak of marching through a swamp, it may not be improper to illustrate the description by the annexed drawing. The first figure represents Colonel Fourgeoud (preceded by a negro slave, as a guide, to give notice by his swimming when the water deepens) followed by myself, some other officers and marines, wading through the marsh above our middle, and carrying our arms, ammunition, and accoutrements above our heads, to prevent their being damaged by the wet.

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

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

“No force, no firmness, the pale coward shews:
He shifts his place, his colour comes and goes;
A dropping sweat creeps cold on every part,
Against his bosom beats his quivering heart:

Terror and death in his wild eye-balls stare;
With chattering teeth he stands, and stiff’ning hair,
And looks a bloodless image of despair.”

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