“What’s all that Afric’s golden rivers roll, Her odorous woods, and shining ivory stores? Ill-fated race! the softening arts of peace, And all-protecting freedom, which alone Sustains the name and dignity of man: These are not theirs!” Presuming that our young readers are not uninterested in the accounts of Charles Irving, we shall make a few more extracts from his correspondence. “You tell me,” he observes in reply to the expressed wishes of his sister, “you tell me, my dear Sophy, to give you some information respecting the inhabitants of WhidÁh. I am myself unable “Last week we had quite a gala day, one of the country chiefs paying a visit to the governor at the fort. He was saluted with five guns on his landing: I was much pleased that my duty obliged me to go to the fort at the time. “The ostensible motive of his visit, was respect to the governor; but the real one, to “All the officers of the fort were in full uniform, waiting to receive this chieftain; and, I assure you, it was a very gratifying sight to observe the expecting numbers ready to welcome him. “He and his retinue came in a large and splendid canoe, containing about sixteen persons, all armed with guns and sabres, with a number of drums, upon which they beat with one stick. Two or three women were of the party, and danced to the sound of the drums. They remained at the fort “The natives are, indeed, generally good-natured and obliging, particularly to Europeans; and if the latter are liberal in presents, they seldom find the obligation forgotten. If a favour is asked of them, they will use their utmost efforts to comply, even to their own prejudice. Gentle measures are, indeed, the only means to succeed with them: they then seem to have pleasure in compliance; but if treated with violence, they are obstinate and refractory, and they will take as much pains to injure, as, in the other case, to serve. This, you will say, sufficiently proves their native generosity of disposition. Can such a people require any thing but freedom, and a pure faith, to render them equal to the European, who despises them, and denies that they possess a capability of enjoying freedom? I grant “In my last, I mentioned the employment of the women partly consisted in weaving fine cotton cloths. We frequently barter these with our commodities. The pieces are generally twenty-seven yards long, but never more than nine inches wide. They cut them what length they require, and sew them together very neatly, to serve the use of broader cloths. The cotton is cleared from the seed by hand, and is spun with a spindle and distaff: it is afterwards woven in a loom of very simple and coarse workmanship. These cloths are made up into pairs, one about three yards long, and one and a half broad; with this the shoulders and body are covered. The other is almost of the same breadth, and but two yards long: this is gathered neatly in folds round the waist, and falls loosely over the limbs. Such a pair of cloths is the dress of men and women, with a slight variation in the mode of adjustment. I have seen a pair of such cloths, so beautifully fine “I shall conclude this letter by an account of my visit to Sabi, as I promised you. With European ideas of the state of society and commerce in Africa, I confess, the surprise I experienced was very great, on my entrance into the market of this capital of WhidÁh, which is kept twice in a week. Great regulation is observed in the keeping of these markets, a distinct and proper place being assigned for every different commodity; and the confluence of people, although great, are preserved from disorder and confusion, by a judge or magistrate, appointed by the king; and who, with four assistants, well armed, inspects the markets, hears all complaints, and, in a summary way, decides all differences among the buyers and sellers, having power to seize, and sell as slaves, all who violate the peace. Besides this magistrate, there is another, whose peculiar office it is to inspect “The country manufactures are WhidÁh cloths, mats, baskets, jars, calabashes of various sorts, wooden bowls and cups, red and blue pepper, salt, palm-oil, &c. All these commodities, except slaves, are sold by the women, who are excellent accountants, and set off their goods most judiciously. The “The slaves are paid for in gold-dust, but other payments are made in strings of cowries, which, as I have said, contain forty in a string. Five of the strings make what the natives call a fore; and fifty fores make an alkove, which generally weighs about sixty pounds. The various commodities of these markets, and the order and regularity with which they are disposed, would be a peculiarly pleasing sight to a stranger, were not human beings included in the articles of commerce; but, to behold a number of men, women, and children, linked together, and ranged like beasts to view, is a sight truly shocking to behold; and I will acknowledge, Sophy, I felt a sickness come over my heart, and a glow of shame suffuse my forehead, as I contemplated upwards of sixty individuals, whom a few short hours, perhaps, might separate, for Some years, slaves to the number of two thousand are brought from the interior, by the native merchants, most of whom, they say, are prisoners of war. These merchants purchase them from the different princes, who have made captives of them. Their mode of travelling is by tying them by the neck with leather thongs, at about a yard distant from each other, thirty and forty in a string; having generally a large truss or bundle of corn, or an elephant’s tooth, upon the head of each or many of them. In their way from the mountains, far in the interior, they have to travel through vast woods, where, for several days, perhaps, no water is to be procured. To obviate this distressing scarcity, they carry water in skins. There are a great number of these merchants, who, furnishing themselves with European goods from the slave-factors, penetrate the inland countries, and with them purchase, in their “They use asses as well as slaves to convey their goods, but no camels nor horses. Besides the slaves brought down to the factories by these merchants, many others are bought in the vicinity. These are either taken in war, as the former, or are men condemned for crimes; and, not unfrequently, they are stolen. These the Company never purchase, if able to ascertain the fact. It is worthy of remark, that, since the great demand for slaves, most punishments are changed into slavery; and there being an accruing advantage on such condemnations, they exaggerate faults scarcely more than venial, into crimes, in order to obtain the benefit of selling the criminal. Not only murder and the grosser crimes are punished in this manner, but every trifling misdemeanour renders the culprit obnoxious to the same dreadful penalty. It was not many days since that I had a man brought to me to be sold, for having stolen a tobacco pipe; and I had infinite trouble to persuade the “From what I have seen of the people, they are well disposed and cheerful, excessively fond of dancing, keeping it up to the sound of a drum or a balafeu, for many hours, without any appearance of weariness. Their dances are sometimes pleasing and regular, but at others wild, and apparently confused. The instrument they call a balafeu is very pleasing, sounding something like an organ, when not too near. It is composed of about twenty pipes of very hard wood, finely polished: these pipes gradually diminish, both in size and length, and are tied together with thongs made of very fine thin leather. These thongs are twisted round small round wands, which are placed between each of the pipes, in order to leave a short space. Underneath the pipes are fastened twelve or fourteen calabashes, of different sizes, which have the same effect of sound as organ-pipes. This they play upon with two sticks, covered with a thin skin, taken from the trunk of the ciboa, or with fine leather, in order to soften the sound. (Note F.) “Many of the natives have invited me to their habitations and dancing parties, and brought their wives and daughters to salute me. They, with great artlessness, generally sit down by me, and are never weary in admiring the different articles of my dress; making their comments one to another, with the most lively admiration and astonishment. Some, who had never seen a white man, ran away from me, apparently terrified at my monstrous appearance. “In their persons they are of a good height, well shaped, and extremely black; and, as an instance of the female subjection, I am told, that, when a man has been absent from home, even but for a short time, his wife salutes him upon her knees at his return, and, “They wear necklaces of coral, &c. agreeably disposed; and their arms, wrists, fingers, and legs, are encompassed and ornamented with rings of amber, silver, and even gold, to a considerable value. The inferior ranks wear copper or iron. The men suffer the hair to remain in its natural form, except “I have mentioned that the natives of WhidÁh are idolaters. The object of their worship, you will be surprised to find, is a serpent; an animal to which men, in general, have an antipathy With this account we will close our extracts from Irving’s letters; and as they will give some idea of the people of the country which forms the principal scene of our narrative, it is hoped the digression will not be thought irrelevant. In the next chapter we resume the thread of our story, merely pausing to express our ardent hope, that good may spring out of evil; that even the slave-trade may be the medium of promulgating the gospel of peace; and that good may, in God’s own time, overcome evil. O, ’tis a godlike privilege to save, And he that scorns it is himself a slave. Inform his mind, one flash of heav’nly day Would heal his heart, and melt his chains away: “Beauty for ashes,” is a gift indeed; And slaves by truth enlarg’d are doubly freed. Cowper. |