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LIBE
DOMESTIC MANNERS
AND
SOCIAL CONDITION
OF THE
WHITE, COLOURED, AND NEGRO
POPULATION
OF THE
WEST INDIES.
·
A.C.
BY MRS. CARMICHAEL,
FIVE YEARS A RESIDENT IN ST. VINCENT AND TRINIDAD.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. I.
LONDON:
WHITTAKER, TREACHER, AND CO.
AVE-MARIA LANe.
1833.
2106
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SS1 794
LONDON:
PRINTED BY MANNING AND SMITHSON,
LONDON HOUSE YARD.
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ལ་ལ་ལ་
ADVERTISEMENT.
IN justice to myself, it is necessary to state that
素
​these volumes have not been got up for an occasion.
The whole of the first, and part of the second
men.
volume, were prepared some time ago, before the
agitation of the West India question by the present
government; and the manuscript was then on the
point of publication by an eminent house, with the
special recommendation of an influential body of
Circumstances, however, occurred to sus-
pend the negotiation; and when I consider that, in
return for patronage, more might, perhaps, have
been considered due from me than it would have
been in my power to give, I am not sorry that my
volumes now stand
now stand upon their own imperfect merits.
Although in my sketches of the general manage-
ment of an estate, and of the social condition of the
black population of the colonies, I have been fre-
quently obliged to speak of matters intimately
connected with the question now before Parliament;
a great part of my work has no relation to it, was
not written in reference to it, and might be pub-.
261923
vi
ADVERTISEMENT.
lished with equal propriety at any earlier or later
period, as at this moment, since the domestic
manners and social condition of a people are little
affected by a legislative enactment. At the same
time, there is little that I have written that has not
an indirect bearing upon the matters now in
progress; for it must be obvious, that in legislating
upon the condition of a people, an intimate ac-
quaintance with the character, manners, morals,
and peculiarities of that people, is indispensable
towards wise and wholesome legislation.
These pages are little else than an accumulation
of facts; the results of personal experience and
attentive observation: and if, at times, they warrant
conclusions adverse to popular opinions, I can
only say that I record facts, for which alone I am
answerable, not for the conclusions to which they
lead.
I am fearful that some inaccuracies, particularly
in Negro language, may be found in these pages;
and can only plead, as an apology for them, my
absence from England while the work has been
printed.
CONTENTS-VOL. I.
CHAPTER I.
First impressions-Negro Sunday market-An even-
ing riding on shore
CHAPTER II.
SKETCH OF THE WHITE POPULATION.
State of society; erroneous opinions respecting the
life of a planter-His domestic economy; drudgery,
drones, frugality, and general manners of living-
Markets-A West India ball-Creole children-
Correcting an error-Religion-Trials of planters
and their families-Demoralization: an instance of
negro kindness
CHAPTER III.
SKETCH OF THE COLOURED POPULATION.
Character, habits, and peculiarities-Conduct towards
their children-Coloured free servants, and slave
domestics-Correction of errors
PAGE
•
CHAPTER IV.
SKETCH OF THE NEGRO POPULATION.
Overworking negroes-Different classes-The field
negro-The culture of the sugar cane, and negro
labour in the cultivation-Sugar and rum making-
Various uses of the cane-Negro domestics-Head
servants-A West India kitchen-Nurses, grooms,
and washerwomen-Tradespeople
W
•
►
3
14
69
95
CHAPTER V.
Negro ideas of comfort Houses and furniture
Cooking-Gardens-Correction of prevailing errors 124
viii
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VI.
Negro dress-Expensive notions-Jewellery and per-
fumery-Effects of climate-Erroneous notions.
CHAPTER VIII.
Diseases incident to the negroes, and treatment of the
sick .
•
CHAPTER VII.
Negro food-Provision-grounds-West India fruits
and vegetables, and manner of cooking them—
Prices of the produce of provision-grounds-Stock
rearing-General returns of provision-grounds-
Manner of life of the negro-Negro cookery-Negro
children-Singular custom-Succession to property
-Love of barter
. 161
CHAPTER X.
Idolatry - Obeah; witchcraft-Negro honesty, and
anecdotes-Gentleness-Anecdotes-Affection
▸
Conversations with native Africans
CHAPTER IX.
Instruction of the negroes-Details of an attempt at
private instruction-Wesleyan missions, and their
results-Dancing---Change in the character and
conduct of the negroes-A negro's idea of freedom 219
CHAPTER XI.
Distinction of rank among negroes-Tenaciousness on
this point-Negro amusements-Parties and balls-
Opinions of free service in England
CHAPTER XII.
•
PAGE.
142
CHAPTER XII.-CONTINUED.
The master and slave-Punishment-Alleged over-
working
203
251
282
. 299
323
THE WEST INDIES.
CHAPTER I.
First impressions-Negro Sunday market-An
evening ride on shore.
I beheld the West Indies for the first time
when, at sun-rise, on the last day of December
1820, we anchored in the lonely bay of Callia-
qua, in the island of St. Vincent. I am not
about to enlarge in the way of description ;-
man, rather than nature, is my object; but I
may be permitted to say, that the scene which
rose before me that morning with the sun, was
of the most captivating kind. I saw a suc-
cession of small valleys, covered with canes and
pasturage, intermingled with slight elevations
in the fore-ground, upon which here and there
B
4
WEST INDIES.
a dwelling-house could be distinguished, while
the prospect was terminated by mountain.
heaped upon mountain, in that wild confusion
that told of those awful convulsions of nature
to which these tropical regions have been sub-
ject. The sea, too,—such a sea as in the tem-
perate latitudes is rarely seen, held the island
like a gem in its pure bosom ; and mirrored
there, the anchored ships, the moving boats,
and the varied shores.
S
It was Sunday morning, and a novel spec-
tacle soon awaited me. I saw, for the first
time, bands of negroes proceeding from the
different estates, some with baskets, and others
with wooden trays on their heads, carrying the
surplus produce of their provision-grounds to
market. Accustomed to a devout observance
of the Sabbath day, I could feel little pleasure
in gazing on a scenę, which in other circum-
stances would have given me unfeigned pleasure
-for it was something, to learn that negro slaves
were in possession of, and could sell, the loads of
surplus produce which I saw, and receive their
WEST INDIES.
5
LO
cash in hand; and it was also something to see
that they were, with the exception of very few
individuals, dressed in that manner which in-
dicates an approach to real comfort.
After an unsuccessful attempt to procure
horses on shore that day for so large a party as
ours, and having made the necessary arrange-
ments for landing the following day, we returned
to our ship, and were speedily visited by several
of our own people, who came on board to see
us. I could comprehend little or nothing of
what they said; for though it was English, it
was so uncouth a jargon, that to one unaccus-
tomed to hear it, it was almost as unintelligible
as if they had spoken in any of their native
African tongues. They seemed overjoyed to
see their own master, telling him that if he had
not come they could not have lived much
longer without him. They were soon intro-
duced to all of our party, and presented their
hands, giving ours a hearty shake, and wishing
us all health and happiness. I was again
pleased to observe that all were well clothed;
B 2
6
WEST INDIES.
their clean white linen trowsers and jacket,
with a blue checked shirt, looked tidy and
comfortable. I saw nothing of that servile
manner which I had anticipated: all were
frank, full of life and spirit, and talked to their
master with a freedom which must be seen to
be fully comprehended.
Early next morning, a boat came with fruit:
there were only one negro man and a boy in it
apparently about twelve years of age; they
accompanied the motion of their oars with a
song, or rather a sort of chorus, the words of
which were only a repetition of "Shove her-
shove her up," but repeated so quickly, that to
me it appeared like any language on earth but
English. As soon as the boat came alongside
of us, the first words I heard uttered by our
sailors to the little boy, were "You black devil,
you!" at the same time bestowing a rope's-end
upon him, I could not help shewing undis-
guised disgust at such apparent cruelty; but I
found that the little fellow had been provided
with a knife, and while the elder negro was
WEST INDIES.
7.
engaged in talking with the sailors, the younger
one was busily employed in cutting away a rope.
No doubt he had been previously instructed by
the negro man to do so, and therefore it is
probable he suffered unjustly. I had at first
concluded that the conduct of the sailors was
merely a sample of what I was now daily to
witness from the white towards the black popu-
lation of the West Indies.
About 10 o'clock A. M. we landed, and were
soon mounted, and on the road to Kingstown.
I was delighted to find it much cooler on land
than at sea, for notwithstanding the awning on
board, the rays of the sun had been for the last
few days insupportably hot, while the reflection
from the water was so bright as to affect the
eyes to a painful degree. After riding little
more than two miles, we reached the top of an
ascent from which we had the first peep of
Kingstown. The descent from this elevation
to the town, commands one of the grandest
views imaginable: the Bay of Kingstown,-
the valley in the centre occupied by the town,-
8
WEST INDIES.
the charming cultivation,-the deep green of
the woods, and the noble mountains or the
calm sea terminating the landscape.
Independent of the beauty of the evening,
there is something very novel in the appearance
of a West India town, seen for the first time.
The wooden houses, the green Venetian win-
dows, with their galleries, and house-tops
without chimneys,—all these at first sight arrest
the eye of a traveller: the number of the
windows, too, in the houses is unlike anything
to be seen in England, and reminds one of the
representations of houses on China cups and
saucers, and the absence of the window duty.
My attention in riding from Calliaqua to Kings-
town was continually arrested by some plant
which I now for the first time saw, growing wild
by the road-side, instead of being carefully
cherished in a hot-house. I was particularly
struck by the great luxuriance of the mimosa,
which I could hardly believe was the same as
that which I had seen so carefully nursed in Eng-
land. We occasionally passed some very fine
WEST INDIES.
9
trees, all of which were natural wood. The sour-
sop tree is indigenous to this island, and is only
valuable from its fruit, which was then nearly
ripe. This fruit is something in size and shape
like a bullock's heart, of a deep green, and
covered with prickles like a hedge-hog's back.
The inside resembles cotton wool; and there are
numerous black seeds, about the size of an
almond, interspersed throughout the whole.
The taste of the fruit is agreeable, and it is said
to be cooling and wholesome. The sour-sop,
cocoa-nut, king of these climes,-and a few
plantains, were the only fruit trees I saw on
this road. Charmed, as I could not but be,
during this novel and romantic ride, yet there
were many melancholy reflections continually
forcing themselves upon me; particularly as I
could not help remarking, that most of the
negroes whom we passed were by no means so
well clothed as those I had seen on Sunday:
few of them had on a jacket; a shirt and
trowsers seemed the general costume; and
these not in the best condition, either as re-
10
WEST INDIES.
garded cleanliness or repair. They seemed all
to have hats; but those who were carrying
baskets or trays, invariably put these on their
heads, and carried the hat in their hands.
The few females we passed, were engaged in
washing by the river side; for in this country,
and generally I understand in these colonies,
all the washing is performed with cold water,
by the side of some running stream. The ap-
pearance of those women was disgusting: some
of them, it is true, had apparently good clothes;
but without one exception, the arms were drawn
out of the sleeves, which, with the body of the
gown, hung down as useless appendages; while
from the waist upwards, all was in a state of nu-
dity: sundry necklaces, and a coloured cotton
handkerchief of showy colours, completed their
dress. As we entered the town, although we saw
many well clothed, yet several such disgusting
spectacles were presented; and the little chil-
dren, in by far the greater number of instances,
were literally in a state of nature. We observed
several coloured women (that is, Mulattoes) at
WEST INDIES.
11
the doors and windows of houses, the dresses
of some of whom would have been elegant and
graceful, had they been more modest. We had
now reached the house which was to be our
residence for some time. I was particularly
struck, in approaching, by the Otaheite goose-
berry tree. The tree itself is not remarkable
otherwise than as being of an uncommonly
lively green; but the fruit is very peculiar and
rich in its appearance, growing in clusters, in size
and colour resembling the common Muscadine
grape; the clusters are attached to the stem
and branches of the tree, and are so closely set,
as literally to prevent the stem and branches
from being seen. This gooseberry is extremely
acid, without any other flavour, and is unfit for
use unless when baked in tarts, when it serves
as an humble imitation of the English green
gooseberry. As I entered the house, I was not
sorry to find it, although in a town, very rural
in its appearance. The tamarind tree, and the
beautiful blossoms of a large scarlet rose com-
monly used in the West Indies as an ornamental
B 3
12
WEST INDIES.
fence, with the flowers of the plumeria rubra,
were all growing luxuriantly around the house.
Upon alighting we were received by two of
´s negroes: one, a tall, masculine-
looking woman, clean but ragged; the other,
a young man apparently under thirty; badly
clothed, but clean. They received us very
kindly, and shook hands with us; although
the female by no means looked so well pleased.
This first evening we passed in a gentleman's
house at a short distance from our own: it was
spent much in the same way as in England,
drinking tea between seven and eight, and music
filling up the remainder. The drawing-room we
sat in entered through the hall, and when the
music began, I heard a noise in that direction.
The lady of the house observing me turn round,
said "that is only the little negroes; they are
dancing there; and are all extremely fond of
it." I had every inclination to take a peep,
but I was afraid if they saw me, they would
stop. I have since found by experience, however,
that had I gone, it would have proved no such
WEST INDIES.
13
interruption, for negroes are not at any age at
all abashed by the presence of a stranger. And
thus passed the first twelve hours on shore in a
West India colony.
14
WEST INDIES.
CHAPTER II.
SKETCHES OF THE WHITE POPULATION.
State of society; erroneous opinions respecting the
life of a planter His domestic economy;
drudgery, drones, frugality, and general manners
of living-Markets-A West India ball-Creole
children-Correcting an error—Religion—Trials
of planters and their families-Demoralization;
an instance of negro kindness.
In the last chapter, I have presented something
like a journal; but I purpose now recording
the results of my five years' experience and
observation in St. Vincent and Trinidad, rather
than throw my observations into a regular
narrative. It is evident that the sameness of
a residence could not afford variety for this,
•
WEST INDIES.
15
though, to illustrate my views, it will often be
necessary for me to recur to a personal narra-
tive in my statement of facts.
It is also important to observe, that much of
that which forms the subject of these volumes
is strictly applicable to many, and in a great
degree to all the West India colonies; though
my observations have been made in St. Vin-
cent and Trinidad. Negro character is the
same, whether it be exhibited in St. Vincent's,
or in any other island; so we may say the
interests, and consequently the conduct of the
planters are: and although a greater or a
smaller sphere, and greater or less prosperity,
may in some degree influence the state of the
white society, and perhaps even, the condition
of the negroes; yet the circumstances in which
the white and black population are relatively
placed, their respective occupations, their
interest,—the climate,—are all so similar, that
no very marked dissimilarity can exist in the
character and conduct of the population of the
different islands. In the present chapter, I
16
WEST INDIES.
1
shall offer some observations upon the state of
the white population.
I will venture to assert, that there is no class
of men on earth more calumniated than the
West India planters. I do not speak at pre-
sent (for that I shall enlarge upon in due time)
of their conduct towards the negro population.
I speak of their general character and mode of
life, as members of society. I had heard, and
all have heard, West India planters spoken of
as a peculiar race of men; imperious,-unpo-
lished,-men who had raised themselves from
poverty to affluence, and who reclined in the
lap of luxury in tropical ease,-each, a bashaw
lording it over the creatures of his little com-
munity.
It is no doubt certain, that there are indi-
viduals in the West Indies who have raised
themselves, probably from very low situations,
to what may be called a comfortable independ-
ence, but it is scarcely necessary for me to say,
that the affluence which once in some degree
existed, is to be found no more; and it would
G
WEST INDIES.
17
now be more correct to say, that with very few
exceptions, they, although nominally pro-
prietors, are really nothing else than the farmer
for the British merchant, who receives their
annual produce.
The planters (at least I have not met with
one exception) are hard-working men; up before
sunrise, and often the first in the field of a
morning, and generally the last there at night.
Many of them in these hard times keep no
manager, and have only one or two overseers to
assist in the regulation of the estate, without
whom, the business of the estate could not go
on; and these must be white men, that is to say
not men of colour, for of course there can be no
objection to a Creole.* It has been more
than once attempted in St. Vincent, and I may
say in all the colonies, to introduce a coloured
overseer, but the negroes have uniformly re-
* As the term Creole is often in England understood to
imply a Mulatto, it is best to explain that the word Creole means
a native of a West India colony, whether he be white, black, or
of the coloured population.
18
WEST INDIES.
sisted it, they having a most decided dislike
to the coloured population.
Some fifty years ago, colonial society was
upon a very different footing from what it now
is. I was informed by a very old resident in
the West Indies, who had resided in many colo-
nies, when conversing upon the subject, that
about forty years ago or more, the only distinc-
tion of ranks consisted in white, coloured, and
negro persons. Tradesmen of every description,
if white, were admitted and invited to the best
society; and although moving himself in that
sphere, he told me he distinctly recollected a
young man turning round to him, while stand-
ing the next in a dance, and saying, with a low
bow, "Sir, I will thank you very much for
your custom." The young man was a respect-
able member of society in his way; a black-
smith. It is needless to add that these days
are long gone by, and that there is a suffi-
cient number of a secondary rank among the
white people, to form a society of themselves.
I would say, that the town and country society
WEST INDIES.
19
varies quite as much as it does in Britain.
The country gentlemen, that is to say the plant-
ers, seldom come to the colonial town upon
pleasure, and are always much occupied with
their agricultural concerns, and anxious to
return to their properties. Those, indeed, who
possess estates in the neighbourhood of the
towns, of course mix in some degree with the
inhabitants of the towns, the society of which
may generally be said to be composed of those
who hold situations under Government; of bar-
risters, medical men, and merchants; and to
these must be added, the military, and the
naval officers of such ships as chance to be on
the station, towards whom the utmost hospi-
tality, consistent with their circumstances, is
invariably shewn by the West India proprietors.
With hardly an exception, drinking to excess
is unknown among planters,—or indeed luxury
of any description: destitute of those common
comforts, which every British farmer enjoys,
but which no money can purchase in a tropical
country, they are also without those luxuries
20
WEST INDIES.
#4
which are to be found in the East Indies.
Some few indeed have good houses; but the
majority are contented with a very humble
dwelling, furnished too in the simplest style
imaginable.
The comfort of a family every one knows to
depend greatly on servants; but contrary to the
common belief, planters are miserably off in
this respect. I never saw any servant, whether
male or female, that would have been reckoned
even passable in England; and to a stranger,
it is surprising to see how contentedly they
bear the necessary privations-in fact, consi-
dering daily theft and constant negligence, with
a thousand other grievances of the same nature,
as matters of course.
G
Many families who live in town are not the
proprietors of their servants, but hire them from
their masters, to whom they pay a certain sum,
while they feed and clothe the negro, or, which
is more customary, give an allowance to the
servant, who feeds and clothes himself. Some
few have free servants; but this seldom answers,
WEST INDIES.
21
from various causes which will be afterwards
assigned.
The duties of a planter's wife, are most
arduous; distant from markets, and all the few
comforts that a small West India town even
does afford, she must continue to live upon the
stock raised on the property, or absolutely go
without. The stock therefore becomes her
immediate care; and besides being forced to
superintend pigs, poultry, &c. with sundry
other occupations of the same nature, she must
attend also to the garden, and that most
minutely; otherwise, she would reap little from
it. Then she has to listen to all the stories of
the people on the estate,-young, old, and
middle aged: all their little jealousies and quar-
rels she must enter into, and be in short a kind
of mother to them all. The negro children
must be daily watched; she must see them
swallow their physic when necessary; reward
the good, and admonish the bad; visit the
sick,-encourage them, and take, or appear
to take, an interest in all that concerns them.
.
22
WEST INDIES.
It is more than probable too, that she not only
cuts out, but sews a great proportion of the
clothes, for her house servants. Then again,
the mode of washing in the West Indies greatly
adds to the domestic labours of the planter's
wife the linen is dipped in the river, and soap
rubbed upon it while it is laid over a stone,
after which it is beat with a flat heavy piece
of wood made for the purpose, and lastly the
article itself is dashed upwards and downwards
upon the stone, with which the operation con-
cludes.
It is utterly impossible for those who have not
gone through such scenes, to comprehend the
unnecessary accumulation of work thus thrown
upon the mistress of a family, who must begin
to button and string the whole wardrobe every
time it returns from the wash, as it is a rare
occurrence if any of those appendages return;
the patching and mending of a West India
family is consequently "never ending-still
beginning:" all this a planter's wife must see
done, and also give her own active assistance
WEST INDIES.
23
to the completion of it. The nature of the
climate too renders it necessary that all pan-
tries and store-rooms be out of doors, at least
with very few exceptions. A great increase of
trouble, and consumption of time is thus occa-
sioned; and all is thrown upon the planter's wife,
for none of her servants think of what is re-
quired, and indeed prefer making their mistress
return again and again to the store-room during
the day; as by this, more frequent oppor-
tunities of pilfering are offered to them.
All these avocations require more time,
activity, and temper than many people may be
aware of, and nothing short of a trial of such a life
can give any one a perfect idea of the various
annoyances attendant upon it: nor is this all;
for very many, besides these labours, bake the
pastry, and make the puddings and custards.
Let those who talk of the luxuries of a West
India life, judge whether they would exchange
their home in Britain, however poor it may be,
to undergo all this. I can safely state from
personal experience, that so little reliance is
24
WEST INDIES.
to be put in any servant, even on him who
may call himself head servant, that the every
day work of laying the table for dinner must be
looked at in order to ascertain that nothing is
wanting on the table. I need scarcely say that
those ladies who have young children, have
still more to do; and in their personal attention
towards their offspring during infancy, they
are the most anxious and affectionate of parents,
always suckling their children, and generally
to a longer period than is usual in England;
and never for any party of pleasure, trusting
their infant to the hands of others. Their
conduct in this respect is most exemplary, and
very different from our fashionable mothers in
Britain, who either stint their infant of its
natural support, or abandon it to a mercenary
nurse.
It is much to be regretted, that although
West India parents are anxious about their
children's bodily wants, to such a praiseworthy
degree as to grudge no personal trouble, that
yet they are with hardly an exception indifferent
WEST INDIES.
25
to their conduct in early childhood, neglecting
their religious and moral education to a melan-
choly degree. So soon as a little Creole gets
upon its feet-and this they do much earlier
than in Britain, generally at about two or three
years old-from that time a destructive kind
of accidental education commences.
The house being all open, and the domestics'
houses generally situated very near, they soon
find the way to them, and to the kitchen.
Negroes are like all uneducated people, most
unfit managers of children: they are pleased
with their prattle, so long as they do not
disturb them in what they are about; they are
fond of teaching them to mimic, a talent which
is conspicuous in negroes, and early teach them
deceit, while they easily bribe them over to
silence by something good or sweet.
In St. Vincent, and in most of the colonies,
there are few children who remain in the island
after ten or at most twelve years of age, for there
is no possibility of procuring either public or
private teachers, beyond merely in reading and
26
WEST INDIES.
#
writing, and those of very ordinary attainments;
and it is needless to say that even were a
mother sufficiently well informed, and calcu-
lated from her natural talents and temper to
educate her daughters at home, her other
domestic duties are of so arduous a nature as
totally to preclude her doing so. Some few
families have tried a governess, but it has been
found not to answer; for they almost invariably
marry soon after coming out-so that at present
there is really no alternative, excepting that of
sending children to Europe, or leaving them to
grow up totally ignorant. As for boys, there
is no possibility of educating them in the West
Indies.
To those who have neither personally expe-
rienced nor witnessed such scenes, it is impos-
sible to conceive how much this necessary
sending away of all young Creoles for the means
of education, operates to their disadvantage.
Parents look forward to this necessity almost
from the birth of their darling, who becomes
doubly dear from this consideration. From the
WEST INDIES.
27
moment of this separation indeed, the tie may
be said to be broken: boys in many instances.
never return to their homes; and girls, if they
do return, return only to be almost immediately
taken from it again by marriage.
These much to be dreaded realities, press so
constantly upon the minds of both parents, as
to operate strongly against the future welfare
of the child, who is over-indulged to a great
excess; because, looking forward constantly to
the moment of parting, they cannot bear, as
they say, to cross the poor child. But these
evils, as well as those which are engendered by
the too frequent intercourse of children with
negro servants, are partly unavoidable, owing
to the constant cares and arduous duties which
I have already described as devolving upon the
planter's wife and I may also use an argument
I have frequently heard used by West India
mothers in favour of permitting this intercourse;
that if their children were kept from the
society of the young negroes, they could not
have those kindly feelings towards young
с
28
WEST INDIES.
negroes which they ought to have. And this,
by the by, leads me, before returning to the
upgrown population, to digress for a little upon
an opinion which I have more than once heard
at home, that creole children are permitted
and encouraged to use the negroes, both young
and old, tyrannically.
The fact is, that children brought up as I
have described them to be, are not likely to
treat any one around them either with respect
or self-denying kindness; but in justice both
to parent and child, I must remark, that when
instances of rudeness occur from a white child
to a negro, I feel satisfied, after having minutely
considered the subject, that their conduct is
not produced by any peculiar dislike, or want
of affection, towards the servant as a negro; it
proceeds wholly from their totally neglected
education; and in saying so, I give my reasons
for adopting this opinion, which I formed in
consequence of observing, that young creoles
are infinitely more disobedient, disrespectful,
and clamorous towards their parents, than
WEST INDIES.
29
towards the negroes by whom they are sur-
rounded; nay, in most families, I have ob-
served, that when one servant in particular was
appropriated for the children, she had twice
the authority of either parent; and I have seen
many cases where the affection of the children
towards one or more of the negro domestics was
unbounded, and where they took no pains to
conceal that they preferred the society of those
servants to that of any white person.
I have many times observed the children,
upon going to bed, run to kiss those negroes
who were most about them, and say good night;
and I have seen children, who were habitually
rude upon contradiction, habitually kind and
affectionate to the negro servants. I had
many opportunities of seeing young people of
both sexes, at an early period after their arrival
in the West Indies, after having been absent
six, eight, or ten years for their education, and
in all of those numerous instances, I perceived
the greatest anxiety on the part of these young
and newly arrived creoles, to see those negroes
c 2
30
WEST INDIES.
whom they had best known in their childhood;
and it was evident how well and how kindly
they remembered them, among all the new
objects that Europe had presented to them. In
no case did they omit to bring presents suited
to them; and it would be only a suppression of
truth were I not to add, that there seemed
much more warmth of affection on the part of
the child, than on that of the negro, who upon
such occasions seemed always more lost in
amazement at the great change in "young
massa" or "misses," than in displaying those
affectionate feelings, which are occasionally to
be met with among old English servants
towards their masters' children.
The feelings of negroes are strong, but
quickly evaporate in a few passionate expres-
sions of grief or joy, according to the occasion.
But after an absence of many years, they have
almost forgotten their young friends; and when
they have made a few set speeches, such as
wishing that young massa may grow up to
be a rich man, and have plenty of fine negers ;"
"(
WEST INDIES.
31
or that "misses may soon have a pretty, young,
rich husband," (and here I repeat word for
word what I have heard used upon occasions
of this kind), they shake hands, examine the
dress of the new comer, for they are very
curious and observant as to fashion,-and de-
part; not, however, without first asking what
young massa has brought them out of England.
I shall be happy if I have successfully refuted
the opinion that young creoles are taught to
behave tyrrannically towards negroes, because
they are negroes; it is a point, this, of great
consequence to be represented fairly, and I
think I have explained the real state of the
matter when I admit, that the children of
colonists in general, from being neglected in
their early education, and left without steady
or systematic control from either parent, do
conduct themselves, with few exceptions, in a
manner regardless of the feelings of those
around them; but that they do this to all who
come in their way, and to their parents generally
more determinedly than to any others.
32
WEST INDIES.
Much more might be said upon this subject,
but that it will be found again to occupy our
attention when we come to consider the cha-
racter, customs, and situation of the negro
population.
I repeat, then, once more, that there cannot
be a more unjust aspersion, than that children
are taught to despise a negro. No one who
has lived in the West Indies, at least for some
time back, can adopt such an opinion, unless
he has absented himself from society, and
formed his ideas from any thing but actual and
impartial observation.
But I now return to the upgrown population
and white society. When I first arrived in
the West Indies, there was little of what we
call visiting "in an easy way;" family dinners,
or a quiet cup of tea were unknown; ceremonious
dinner parties were the only media of inter-
course. As my book is not meant merely for
grand people, planters, and M.P.s, some I
think may be pleased with a sketch of a great
dinner in these parts.
WEST INDIES.
33
I will pass over the inconvenience of walk-
ing or riding, under a tropical sun, even the
few hundred yards that separated my house
from that of my entertainer,—and the crowd of
visitors arriving and arrived outside the door,-
and suppose myself ushered in, having smoothed
down my dress, and arranged my curls, and in
some degree recovered from the inconveniences
of heat, a strong breeze, and abundance of dust.
We were invited to dine at five in the after-
noon, and as I had something short of a quarter
of a mile to walk, I had the full benefit of the
concentrated rays of the tropical sun.
Dinner being announced about six, we were
ushered into a room by no means large or lofty:
two long tables were soon filled, and we sat
down, in number between thirty and forty-the
gentlemen greatly predominating; there was
very little general conversation during dinner,
and, so far as I could see, not much even be-
tween those who sat next each other. Every
thing looked brilliant, however, from the
numerous lights (for it was already dusk), and
34
WEST INDIES.
the handsome shades, which are a great orna-
ment to the candlesticks. The windows and
doors all thrown open, displayed one of the
most picturesque scenes imaginable; it was
fine moonlight, and the beauty of a moon-
light view in these latitudes, can be conceived
by those only who have seen it. The dinner
was like all West India dinners-a load of sub-
stantials, so apparently ponderous, that I in-
stinctively drew my feet from under the table,
in case it should be borne to the ground.
Turtle and vegetable soups, with fish, roast
mutton (for in three days I had not seen or heard
of beef, lamb, or veal), and turtle dressed in the
shell, with boiled turkey, boiled fowls, a ham,
mutton and pigeon pies, and stewed ducks,
concluded the first course. Ducks and guinea
birds, with a few ill-made puddings and tarts,
&c. formed the second course. The heat of
the climate formed an excuse for the indifferent
pastry, and experience soon taught me that it
was impossible to make light flaky pastry, such
as we see every day in England. However, it
WEST INDIES.
35
must be admitted that West India cooks do not
excel in the art of making sweet dishes, if I
except a dish yclept "floating island," which
they always succeed in admirably.
I had heard so much at home of the luxury
of the West Indies, and how clever black ser-
vants were, that I looked for something not
only good, but neat and even tasteful; but I
was astonished to see the dishes put down
without the least apparent reference to regu-
larity, and I felt a constant inclination to put
those even, that were placed awry. Many of
the guests brought their servants with them,
and there was therefore an immense concourse
of them, of all descriptions: some with livery,
and some without; some with shoes, but gene-
rally without; some wore white jackets, others
were of coloured striped jean; some were young,
some old; some were coloured, and others
negro men; there was no arrangement, co-
operation, or agreement among the servants,
save only in one thing, and that was in stealing;
for a bottle of wine was hardly opened, until
c 3
36
WEST INDIES.
some clever hand whipped it away, and without
any apparent fear of detection or sense of shame,
openly handed it out of the window to those in
waiting to receive it. In short, the servants'
mouths were stuffed full the whole time; and
so occupied were they all in making the most
of a good opportunity, that the ladies' plates
would never have been changed, had it not
been for the repeated and loud reproof of the
gentlemen.
Such a length of time elapsed before the
second course made its appearance, that I began
to conclude that among the many novelties I
had seen, another might be, that the servants
retired to consume the remains of the first
course before they again made their appearance
with the second; however, after the lapse of a
long, fatiguing, and silent interlude, the second
course did appear, and glad was I that it was
dismissed sooner than the first. A good deal
of wine was drank during dinner, but not more
than is usually consumed at dinner parties in
England. The wine in general use in the West
WEST INDIES.
37
Indies is of the very best quality; and malt
liquor, particularly London porter, acquires a
degree of mildness and flavour far beyond that
which it ever attains in Britain. Beer, porter,
and cider, are all drank at West India dinners,
but sparingly, and I apprehend these are by no
means favourable to health in a tropical climate,
at least to the generality of constitutions. The
most general beverage, and by far the safest,
is either brandy or rum and water, such as
would be drank in England: the gentlemen in
the West Indies make it extremely weak, about
the proportion of one glass of spirits to three
English pints of water :-this beverage is often
rendered more agreeable to the palate by being
milled,—that is, beat in a large jug or glass
rummer with a long three-fingered stick, some-
what resembling a chocolate stick; this being
done quickly, the liquor froths up, and forms
at once the most cooling and safe beverage,
whether before or after dinner.
Punch was
formerly much in fashion, but it is now fairly
exploded, excepting by one or two old people,
38
WEST INDIES.
who naturally prefer what they were accustomed
to in their youth; but these take as small a
proportion of spirits in their lemonade, as the
others do in water-but to return to my dinner
party.
The arduous business of dinner being con-
cluded, for the cheese was put down with the
second course, the cloth was removed, and the
dessert made its appearance. It was January,
and I felt somewhat astonished, when I looked
at the table covered with pines, suppidilloes,
pomme de rose, water lemons, grenadilloes, &c.
that amidst all this, I should see nothing of
the far-famed and really excellent West India
preserves, so much prized in England. Just as
I was meditating upon green limes and pre-
served ginger, the gentleman who sat next to
me offered me some preserved raspberries, just
come from England, by the last ship; the
emphasis which was put on the word rasp-
berries, at once shewed me that English pre-
serves were quite as much esteemed in that
country, as West India preserves are in Eng-
·
WEST INDIES.
39
land. I ventured to tell him how astonished I
was to find that they relished our preserves,
when theirs were so much superior-he assured
me, that before long, I should alter my opinion:
and I found this to be perfectly correct.
The ladies did not remain long at table, but
soon retired to the drawing-room; but there,
nothing like conversation took place,—indeed
the constant domestic drudgery of a female's
life in the West Indies, married or unmarried
(for the latter, although not occupied with the
menage, are engaged in dress-making and
mending-negro servants being wretched needle
women), leaves them no time for improving the
mind, — and in society, the ladies are too
generally found distinguished for that listless-
ness, and meagreness of conversation, which
arise from an uninformed mind.
As soon as the gentlemen came in, coffee and
cake were handed round, and an almost imme-
diate bustle followed; for a heavy, though short
shower of rain had fallen, and the ladies began
to ponder upon the probable results of walking
or riding through a miry, slippery road, in a
40
WEST INDIES.
cloudy night, between nine and ten o'clock.
We had resolved to walk; and wrapped in warm
cloaks, bonnets, and thick shoes, we took our
leave. As we expected, the road was very bad,
and so dark was it, that we could make no
choice where to place our footsteps, some of
our party began seriously to lament the pro-
bable ruin of a satin slip, while the gentlemen
were no less pathetic on the subject of their
silk stockings. Where a party of this kind is
sufficiently numerous, there is generally no
want of amusement; in fact, it was only during
the walk home, that any thing like cheerful-
ness or ease appeared; our adventures, how-
ever, were soon ended; for ten minutes brought
us to our own door, and as I seated myself
quietly at home, I could not help thinking
of Miss Edgeworth's inimitable description
of Mrs. Rafferty's dinner, in her "Tales of
Fashionable Life."
K
Dinners, if I may so express myself, took a
more rational turn before I left the West Indies;
they began to find out that those parties were
both expensive and dull.
WEST INDIES.
41
Small social parties came more into vogue:
the ladies began to talk to the gentlemen-and
certain is it, that the latter were amazingly
improved by the change of system; cards
became, less and less, the resource of the
evening, and dancing succeeded instead: this
gave employment to the young, and amuse-
ment to the old: music first became tolerated,
then listened to with some interest; and before
I left St. Vincent for Trinidad, if there were no
musicians, there were at least many who liked
music and encouraged it; and finally the piano
forte, and quadrilles, to a great extent banished
cards and scandal.
Even small dinners, however, were by and
by found expensive; and times began to get
rapidly so bad for the colonists, that these
could no longer be kept up; and excepting
upon great occasions, these too were completely
abandoned.
i
Small evening parties, which created little
or no expense, except the few additional cups
of tea or coffee, and a few glasses of weak wine
42
WEST INDIES.
and water, now became common. Quadrilles
were the general amusement. These parties
usually met about eight in the evening, and
broke up before, or at eleven, at farthest.
Great balls are not often given. The im-
mense expense is the principal objection; and
the difficulty of collecting the female popula-
tion is another:
In St. Vincent, and many others of the colo-
nies, the roads are hilly and often very bad; it
is almost dangerous for a lady to ride,—and in
many places it is impossible to drive a gig; all
these things combined, prevent many great
balls from being given; but when one is really
in agitation, all the island is in a buz, and the
coloured women are as active as possible, huck-
stering their trays full of satins, gauzes, rib-
bons, and white shoes and gloves, &c. &c. to
the very last hour.
Let me present a sketch of these balls, given
in the house of a gentleman, not far distant
from Kingstown.
The house was situated upon a rising ground
WEST INDIES.
43
just above Kingstown, and we had to walk but
a short distance to reach it. One of his
majesty's ships lay in the bay at the time, and
the officers were all of the party; there was a
number of fine young men, and some uncom-
monly interesting boys, among the midshipmen.
One of the officers happened to be an old
acquaintance and a countryman: those whom
we only know slightly at home, when we meet
abroad, are hailed as dear friends, and we give
a hearty shake of our hand to the man whom
we only bowed ceremoniously to at home. It
was a lovely evening, and as we walked up
the avenue lined with cocoa-nut trees, and
reached the front of the house, a prospect of
singular beauty opened before us.
Kingstown bay lay in moonlit panoramic
splendour; the sea was smooth as glass, and if
an occasional air was wafted over it, the ripple
only served the more to shew the effects of
moonlight.
On one side was Fort Charlotte, and on the
other, Dorsetshire Hill; the town lay as it were
44
WEST INDIES.
at our feet, and the landscape terminated in the
lofty mountain of St. Andrew, covered with
wood to the very summit.
The little parterre and shrubbery around the
house, were extremely neat,-the estate negroes,
and many coloured people, some in full dress,
were already crowded round, or in the house,
and every voice and countenance bespoke
joy and expectation. We found a comfortable
chamber wherein to change our shoes, and lay
aside our shawls,-a luxury often not to be
obtained in St. Vincent, from the very small
and inconvenient houses which most of the
colonists possess. This house, even in England,
would have been reckoned only a pretty cottage,
but still it contained two tolerably sized public
rooms, and a few good chambers, and was so
much more neat and comfortable than any
thing I had seen, or did ever see in St. Vincent,
that I was charmed with it.
The kind proprietor is now no more,-but
should these pages ever meet the eye of the
hospitable lady of that estate, may I hope that
WEST INDIES.
45
she will pardon the liberty I have taken in thus
describing what I felt to be one of the most
interesting and truly beautiful scenes I beheld
in the West Indies.
If I had been rather astonished to see a
public ball-room (which I had some time before)
crowded with coloured people and negroes, I was
still more surprised to find a private one equally
so in proportion: here were young, old, and
middle-aged negroes; and as the children grew
sleepy, they went into their "Misses" chamber,
which opened from the drawing-room, and
quietly snored in full chorus. The band from on
board the man-of-war, played quadrilles and
country dances all the evening,—an extraordi-
nary advantage in the West Indies, where the
only musicians in the country are negro fiddlers,
who play merely a little by the ear: they know
neither sharps nor flats, and when such come
in their way, they play the natural instead, so
that it is very difficult to find out what tune
they are playing. The only comfort to those
who are easily annoyed by discord is, that the
46
WEST INDIES.
music is always accompanied by a tamborine
and one or two triangles, so that the discordant
tones are pretty well drowned.
The negro
muscians soon become sleepy-and it is gene-
rally said, that they play better asleep than
awake. All the while they play, whether
awake or not, they keep time with the foot,
and move their head and body backwards and
forwards in a most ludicrous way.
I was very much amused by observing what
connoisseurs the negro women are of dress,-
standing near me, at one time, I heard them
criticise every thing I wore, both in the mate-
rials and make.
We returned home about two o'clock in the
morning, and our walk was not less delightful
than it had been in the evening going up; the
air was equally balmy and mild, and not the
least chill was perceivable, although we had
just left a crowded room. Strange as it may
appear, a ball-room is much cooler in the West
Indies than in Britain, where the windows
being all shut, and very probably a fire in the
WEST INDIES.
47
room, the air gets disagreeably close; whereas
in the West Indies, the doors and windows
being opened all round, and a free circulation
of air admitted (for the breeze sets in after
sunset), it is seldom or ever uncomfortably warm.
Let me say, with reference to the presence of
the negroes at the ball; that when a proprietor
of negroes thus admits his slaves to participate
in the amusements of his family, there can be
no interested motives, it must proceed from
pure good will, and the wish to see them happy.
This subject, however, will be further elucidated
when we come to speak of the negroes' holidays
and amusements.
The important subject of religion, and espe-
cially, the religious instruction of the negroes,
will form matter for a future chapter; but at
present it is necessary that I should say a single
word respecting the religious feelings of the
white population. It seemed to me, that reli-
gion occupied very little, the attention of the
great majority of society; and still there was
little opposition to it. With many families,
48
WEST INDIES.
there was the strictest decorum on this subject,
as far as this could be proved by regularly
attending church; but in general, they acted as
if the Sabbath day ended when the bell tolled
for the conclusion of the morning service.
During my residence in St. Vincent, there was
no evening service.
The morning service began at eleven o'clock,
and I always regretted that it was at the hottest
time of the day, for walking or riding under a
tropical sun was so oppressive, that many were
prevented altogether from attending service.
Some families, however, and many individuals,
besides managers and overseers, rode several
miles regularly to church. Had there been
evening service, it might have tended greatly to
discountenance Sunday dinners, and parties of
pleasure in the country, both of which were very
common.
I would say generally, however, that satisfied
with a certain form of religion and morality, I
seldom or ever met with any one who seemed
ever to think at all seriously upon the subject
WEST INDIES.
49
of religion. I saw no one read religious books,
nor did there seem any desire to peruse works
of this description.
:
The Sunday market I heard them always
talk of as an evil, neither did I ever in my
life hear it vindicated in the abstract. To the
white population it is a nuisance, and no ad-
vantage; but it is far otherwise to the negro
and coloured people, who derive many peculiar
profits from the market being on Sunday, which
they would be deprived of were it held on a
week day; and therefore, although so disgrace-
ful a scene, yet it is one of those customs which
were it at once abolished, other worse con-
sequences might follow,-which will hereafter
be explained. It is sufficient here to say, that
I conscientiously believe the white population of
the West Indies are by no means advocates for
buying and selling unnecessarily upon the
Sabbath, but they must be aware, as residents
in the colonies, of many difficulties and dangers
in making any sudden change, of which those
living in England can have no idea. As I
50
WEST INDIES.
have spoken of markets, I am reminded that
some things have escaped me which require to
be set down; and that I have not yet suffi-
ciently corrected the absurd notices entertained
of the colonists, by those who have either
trusted to partial information, or who, during
a short visit to the West Indies, have seen but
the outside of society. During all the time
I remained in St. Vincent, the markets were
so bad, and so ill supplied, that I was eighteen
months in the colony before I ever saw or
heard of a bit of fresh beef: the population had
then however so considerably increased, that
an ox was killed once a week generally, when
it was regularly advertised in the newspapers,
and was hailed as a most important piece of
intelligence. Before that time, if you wished
to give even a plain dinner to a friend, you
were compelled to send round the country to
procure a whole sheep, which you were of
course obliged to use; for to keep part of it
was impossible, from two causes-the heat of
of the climate, and the thievishness of your
WEST INDIES.
51
I
servants—therefore having a sheep, it became
almost as cheap to make a great ceremonious
dinner of it, and add the other necessary articles,
such as turtle, fowls, or turkey, ham, ducks, and
guinea birds.
I was nearly two years in the
island before I had ever seen dinners of any
other description than those of which I have
a few pages back given a sketch, and I con-
cluded this was a sure sign of the preference
of the colonists for parade, ceremony, and ex-
pense. I had not thought of the necessity
almost imposed upon them to act nearly in the
way they did; but when I saw more and more
of the real state of society, I found that they re-
gretted this style of entertaining, which was
rendered unavoidable by their being unable to
procure a moderate portion of meat at one time.
Fish forms the chief food of all classes of
white people; and, varied by a fowl, or pork,
is the daily dinner. Irish mess, beef, and
pork are used in every family; and the creole
soups are also much liked-they are never
made altogether with fresh meat; either salt
D
52
WEST INDIES.
beef or pork is used, to season them; with,
at times, salt fish. Puddings and sweet dishes
of any kind are little used in families except.
upon rare occasions, the materials requisite for
either puddings or pies being exorbitantly
dear; so that the common family dinner of a
West India planter is much inferior, both in
quantity and quality, to that of people in the
very middling ranks of life at home; while the
high price of all the real necessaries of life,
renders living upon a limited income little.
better than what would be called misery in
England. How many families are there at
this moment, whose dinner consists daily of
jack-fish,—and either a roasted plantain, or
yam, with occasionally as a treat, a bit of salt
pork. The jack-fish is indeed an excellent fish,
resembling the herring in size, and somewhat
in flavour also; but I suspect our lawyers and
merchants' families, &c. at home would look
upon this as very poor daily living, and would
by no means think they made up for it by
twice a year giving a great dinner, and eating
WEST INDIES.
53
fat mutton. Those who have been long settled,
and who are accustomed to this style of living,
take it very contentedly, and ask their intimate
friend "to come and eat fish with them;" but
they know this is not the style of living in
England, and it is not before a considerable
lapse of time that they consider you sufficiently
creolized, to invite you to come and eat fish,
and when they do, it is a sure sign that they
consider you no longer as a ceremonious visiter.
I was, therefore, as I before remarked, nearly
two years in the West Indies before all this
opened upon me,-I say opened, for it was the
cause of unfolding and explaining the motives
of many actions, which I had before condemned
and misconstrued, considering them as origi-
nating in choice rather than in necessity. I
now saw my error; not only in this, but being
now, as it were, more behind the scenes, I was
convinced, that although a casual observer
generally will conclude all creoles to be lazy,
luxurious, ignorant, proud, and even deficient
in feeling—that the cause of his hastily adopt-
D 2
54
WEST INDIES.
ing such sentiments, proceeds first from coming
out firmly persuaded that a creole must be all
this; and secondly, from seeing only the out-
side of society; for, mixing as a stranger with
the colonists at these sumptuous dinners, he
little dreams that a fried jack-fish, or salted
fish and plantains, is the colonist's daily fare,-
he sees them listless and unemployed during the
evening, but he does not know what fatigues
they have undergone during the day: and him-
self newly arrived, with all the advantages of an
European constitution, he makes no allowance
for the relaxed state of their constitutions,
which have suffered during perhaps twenty
years, from the effects of a tropical sun.
He sees them speak peremptorily to their
servants; and in argument maintain the neces-
ity in the present state of negro civilization,
that corporal punishment should not be entirely
done away with by law; but the new comer
knows nothing, or little or nothing, of the real
state of negro civilization he is totally un-
aware of the difficulty experienced in managing
:
WEST INDIES.
55
negroes; or, if he has just begun to feel it
personally, he blames not the negro; but
argues with boldness, that the difficulty arises
wholly from the bad system of slavery around
him; so that, without even emancipation, he is
sure that mildness, and just, humane manage-
ment, will make it quite as easy to manage
negroes as white servants, and he therefore is
shocked with what he considers the want of
true feeling, humanity, and justice in the white
population.
There is only one way of coming to a
different, and a juster conclusion; and that is,
by residing long enough in a West India town
with one's own slaves for servants, or in
residing at, and taking the active management
of a sugar estate,-then indeed, will he find his
patience, his humanity, nay, if he be truly pious,
he will find his pious principles, brought to a
severer trial than he was aware of, and he will
give no small credit to those proprietors who
jog on amidst all their trials and difficulties,
saying they hope better times will come: and
56
WEST INDIES.
as for the negroes, poor creatures, it is not their
fault; the only wonder is, exposed as they are
to so many representations of the cruelty and
oppression of their masters, not to mention the
alleged unlawfulness of their proprietor claim-
ing them as property, that they stand by their
master at all.
But there is one source of suffering, that
every resident West Indian has endured for
some years, and is still enduring—and it is to
be feared, will and must continue to endure,—
and that is, a total want of personal security
for himself and his family. The planter is
often distant many miles from any white person
save his manager and overseers: now on a small
estate, say where there are one hundred negroes,
and allowing that out of that number there
are twenty-five, young and old, and other
twenty-five, in whom their master has some
confidence,-I say some only, for perfect con-
fidence it is impossible to have, as negroes are
such personal cowards, that even if their affec-
tion prompted them to protect their master, their
WEST INDIES.
57
fear would operate so strongly, that though
they might warn him of danger, yet they
would not defend him against a superiortiy of
numbers,—well, even upon this very moderate
calculation, there would be fifty men against
the planter, his wife and family, and at the
most, other two white men; indeed, I rather
think that upon so small an estate there would
not be three white residents. But if this is
thought a distressing situation, what must be
the feelings of a planter's wife? If any serious
apprehension of a rising is entertained, her
husband and every white man upon the estate
are obliged to join the militia, and she is left
with her children in a state of alarm beyond
description: surrounded on all sides by negroes,
she knows that she has no means of escape,
and that she and her family are left entirely in
their power.
West India houses, open as they are neces-
sarily on all sides to admit the air, cannot be
secured in any way to prevent nightly intruders;
and I speak from experience, when I say that
58
WEST INDIES.
I envied the poorest cottager in England, who
could fasten his door and windows, and call
his little home his castle, while every night in
the West Indies, you feel that you cannot
secure your house; and one half the night
is frequently passed in listening, rising out of
bed, and ascertaining whether or not all is
quiet.
I am afraid some of those females, whose
delicate sensibility has been so much affected
by the bare name of West India slavery,
would, notwithstanding their amiable belief in
the gentle and harmless disposition of the
negrò, have been not a little nervous, had they
found themselves placed on a wild West Indian
estate, with a house só open as they all must
be, and perhaps watching over a young family,
alarmed for the safety of absent husbands;
and either surrounded by domestic slaves, in
whom they have no rational ground of con-
fidence, or else, as is usual at such times,
deserted by their domestic slaves altogether.
Before concluding this imperfect sketch of
•
:
WEST INDIES.
59
the white population, I would offer a few obser-
vations upon the condition of the secondary
class of whites, with reference chiefly to the
demoralizing influence of slavery upon their
characters and habits,-facts applicable to all
West India colonies. Slavery operates pre-
judicially on the higher classes; but its de-
moralizing effect operates in a different manner,
and still more prejudicially, upon the lower
orders of white people, who, having seldom or
ever any females in their own situation in life
to associate with, and to whom they might
be respectably married, they get a negro (pro-
bably belonging to the estate they are employed
upon) to live with them, until they gradually
forget their country, and their early instruc-
tions, and become as the expression is, almost
a white negro.
These, I think, are the effects of slavery
among those whose business it is to manage
slaves. The immoral habits which I had heard
described as existing in the best society even
in the West Indies, I nowhere found; and I
+
D 3
60
WEST INDIES.
am inclined to believe that the tone of morals
in this respect, among both sexes, is much
more really strict than is generally to be found
in what is called genteel society in England:
besides, it ought to be recollected, that in
Britain much concealed immorality may take
place, but in most of the colonies this is im-
possible, every thing is known, and speedily
rumoured abroad.
Managers upon small estates, and overseers,
are much to be pitied, for they have not the
means to enable them to make any woman
decently comfortable; the common necessaries
of life are all so expensive, that living costs
three or four times as much as it does in
England; besides, in the West Indies, you
lose a great deal from theft; the negroes plunder
by little and little, but still the annual loss is
no trifle; neither can a man control his expen-
diture in that country, as he can do in England,
where there are retail shops for every article.
In the colonies he must supply himself from
merchants' stores, who sell principally whole-
WEST INDIES.
61
sale. He sends in an order to town for what he
wants, and however exorbitant he may think
the article, and very likely ill-suited for what
he requires, he must take it or go without.
Managers, upon small estates, have seldom
a salary that exceeds 1807. or 2007. sterling
per annum. They have a house, unfurnished-
two servants, and a boy-they have also of
course what rum, sugar, and salt fish they
require from the estate. Now this seems, to
one who has never been in the West Indies, a
very fair situation,-but to those who know the
country, and the necessary expenditure, it is
quite another thing. A manager must keep up
a little of the appearance of a gentleman, other-
wise he would not be respected even by the
negroes; and though upon 2007. sterling per
annum, he might live, and keep out of debt,
yet he could not possibly do more, owing to the
great expense of every article of clothing, and
also of housekeeping. Managers so situated,
too often keep a coloured housekeeper, who
generally manages well for herself, though
3
62
WEST INDIES.
she almost always does something for her own
subsistence, either by huckstering or making
preserves. She can live, and be very comfort-
able, in circumstances that no European woman
could possibly be happy in; for she is never at
a loss for society, as she can always find some
coloured people not far distant, of her own
habits and manners; but an European female in
such circumstances, would be desolate and
miserable, even if her husband could afford to
give her the common comforts of life; for no
women of decent moral habits, can make a
friend of any of the coloured population who
move in that sphere of life.
If the salary of a manager is too limited to
admit of his marrying, that of an overseer is
still more so, seldom exceeding 507. sterling,
so that it is hardly possible for him even to
pay his way.
These causes combined, operate powerfully
upon the middling and lower classes of white
people, in preventing marriage, and opening a
door to much immorality.
WEST INDIES.
63
Some may think that the proprietors ought
to enlarge the salaries of their managers and
overseers, but it is literally impossible for them
to do this. West India produce for several years
has gradually been decreasing in value, while
the expense of every article requisite upon an
estate has not at all decreased; and such is the
desperate state of their affairs, that upon a
small estate, it requires the whole produce to
pay the current expenses, and not a farthing
remains for the proprietor or his family.
There are few West Indian estates that are
altogether out of debt, and some it is to be
feared are involved beyond their now real value:
this depresses the spirit of any man who is
placed in such circumstances; he sees his family
unprovided for, and no prospect before him but
that of his estate being sold to satisfy the
demands of the mortgagees at home. This is
no imaginary tale, but a faithful relation of the
pitiable state to which so many hard-working
and benevolent owners of negroes are reduced
principally by those precipitate measures, all of
64
WEST INDIES.
which, let it be remembered, took their rise from
the erroneous opinions and imaginary stories
circulated throughout Great Britain. It is a
very unjust mode of proceeding, to search out
only for instances of immorality or cruelty; the
fair way is to examine the state and feelings of
the majority, the great majority, of the white
population. There are no doubt cases of im-
morality and cruelty in perhaps every West
India colony; but are there more, or as many
in proportion, as in the same population at
home? I am convinced that those cases of
severity, which may occasionally occur in the
West Indies, are not aggravated by the system
of slavery; but that in general slavery operates
as a preventive. How often have I heard the
proprietor of slaves say, "Well, I would not
put up with this from a white servant, but it is
but a negro, he knows no better." This I
have heard said frequently, when faults have
been committed that would have ruined a
servant's character for life at home, or more pro-
bably have brought him to justice. It must be
WEST INDIES.
65
recollected what high privileges are enjoyed by
Britons; while our colonists, almost in compa-
rison shut out from the civilized world,—often
living at a great distance from church,—with
all the disadvantages of a tropical climate to
contend with, are to have their every action
canvassed, their motives distorted; and that
by people who have proved themselves, to say
the least, miserably ignorant of the country
whose manners and customs they have at-
tempted so fully to describe.
West Indians do not now shrink from in-
vestigation on the subject of kindness to their
people,-neither need they do so,-from a fair
impartial investigation they have nothing to
fear; what they justly dread, is that despicable
system of espionage which is so boldly carried
on and encouraged, by those too who ought to
know better than to listen to the descriptions
of persons who never mixed in decent society
in the colonies, and whose observations can
only be derived from second hand, and there
can be little doubt, often from the lower orders
66
WEST INDIES.
of coloured people. This is not the place to
describe the effect produced upon the negro
by the sweeping aspersions laid to the charge
of the whole of the white population; but it is
now too late, to soften the bitter cup of calamity
that many an European family has had to drink.
More than one proprietor I have seen sink to
the grave, under his accumulated feelings of
disappointment at finding his character so un-
justly attacked, and his worldly prospects com-
pletely crushed, while his afflicted family were
bereaved of a husband and a father, and reduced
to work for their own support, early and late,
to procure a miserable pittance. There are not
a few at this moment in these lamentable cir-
cumstances, who were kind benevolent owners
of negroes, and whose people, though of course
no longer belonging to them, visit them and
feel for them, taking provisions frequently from
their own grounds to their old Misses. Negroes
are by no means the stupid beings some people
suppose them to be; they know very well the
estate that is doing well, and the one that is
WEST INDIES.
67
•
sinking; and they can trace from cause to
effect, more accurately than some may imagine.
I recollect a negro coming one day to my door
in April 1828: she had two trays, one upon her
head full of plantains, and another on her arm
with some fruit. After purchasing some pines,
I asked her if the plantains were for sale; she
said "no;" and with a tear in her eye, added,
"I'm going to carry dem to my old misses, she
be very kind to me when I was her nigger; my
misses knowed better times, but bad times now
misses, bad times-my misses had plenty nigger,
and her husband, and fine pic-a-ninnies; but
dem bad times come, and so you see dem sell
one, two, tree,—I no know how many nigger,
till at last massa die. I believe he die of broke
heart: so we just go now and den and see
misses, and gie her some yam, or some plan-
tain, or any little ting just to help her."
This negress had no provision-grounds of her
own, being a domestic slave, and therefore must
have actually purchased, or at least bartered
. 68
WEST INDIES.
something of her own to procure the plantains
for her old mistress. This is no uncommon
case; but in Trinidad I saw more of such, where
the distress of the white population was even
much greater than in St. Vincent.
WEST INDIES.
69
CHAPTER III.
SKETCH OF THE COLOURED POPULATION.
Character, habits, and peculiarities - Conduct
towards their children-Coloured free servants,
and slave domestics-Correction of errors.
THE coloured population are partly free, and
partly slaves: there is a considerable diversity
of rank, not only among those who are free,
but also among the slaves. Some of those born
free, have received a tolerably good education
in Europe, and there are a few individuals who
have enjoyed even superior advantages in this
respect; but by far the greater number have
learnt all they know, in the colony. Although
some of the male sex are excellent accountants,
and write well, the females are in general de-
70
WEST INDIES.
plorably ignorant, and know little beyond the
use of their needle. Many earn their bread in
this way; but they are in general so proud and
so indolent, that it is hardly possible to get
any thing out of their hands, and they charge
besides most exorbitantly for every kind of
work.
Others make preserves and pickles,
while some hire themselves out as servants;
but they seldom are found to suit in this capa-
city; they are so tenacious of rank, and quarrel.
so unnecessarily with the negroes, whom they
treat, generally speaking, with so much con-
tempt and disdain, that there is no possibility
of pleasing both parties. I had several trials
of free coloured servants, but I found them so
much above the situation they willingly under-
took, that they required other servants to do
nearly all their duty for them. They are ex-
tremely plausible, and great talkers; and make
a point of telling not only all they know, but
what is worse, all they choose to invent; and to
new comers nothing is so dangerous as to have
a free coloured servant much about one, so con-
WEST INDIES.
71
nectedly, and apparently with so little art or
design, do they tell their stories, while all the
time they are weaving a net, and trying to
catch you in it, or to sow discord between you
and your friends. If they are dangerous attend-
ants upon a female, it need not be said, how
much more cautious the other sex ought to be
of their snares: to allure young men who are
newly come to the country, or entice the inex-
perienced, may be said to be their principal
object. The lower classes of the white popu-
lation, from the causes I formerly referred to,
deprived in a great measure of white female
society, are easily ensnared by these hand-
some and attractive young women, and after
a time, such society becomes more suited to
their taste than that of their country women.
Among coloured females, marriage is not very
general; but many of them, although not bound
by the ties of matrimony, do live otherwise
respectably with those who maintain them;
bringing up their family, apparently mutually
anxious for their welfare, and desirous that their
C
72
WEST INDIES.
children should not follow their example. I
recollect one instance in particular that occurred
in reference to this, while I was in St. Vincent.
A coloured woman, who had lived many
years with the same person, and had several
children by him, had also one daughter, older,
but not by the same father;—she came to me
one day in great and unfeigned distress, telling
me that she had every reason to believe her
daughter was desirous of forming a connexion
with a young coloured man, who, she was
satisfied, neither would nor could marry her.
After detailing to me all the means she had
resorted to for discouraging the intimacy, and
coercing her daughter, she said,
"And now,
maʼam, what more can I do? I have brought her
up to be clever; she reads and writes nicely; I
have had her taught her duty both to God and
man, maʼam; she a'nt as I was (begging your
pardon) in my day; we be very ignorant, and
know no better; we now know the sin of acting
so as she has been brought up to know, and
now she only despise me cause I'm more igno-
WEST INDIES.
73
rant than she be; but for all that, I know
marriage is the right way, and I'd rather lay
her in the grave as see her go on so.
""
It is of no consequence to my readers to
know the result; the end I had in view was to
shew that instances do at times occur among
the coloured population, of parents, although
themselves unmarried, yet not by any means
regardless as to the future moral habits of their
offspring. I am afraid, however, that the
majority of such parents have little anxiety
upon the subject; and to make a good bar-
gain—that is, a good legal settlement for their
daughter-is all they aim at; and if this be
properly and legally managed, they consider
marriage a matter of little import. That there
are some of the white population who contribute
to render this immorality common, there cannot
be a doubt; but such are neither generally
respected, nor do they move in what is called
good society. Such connexions cannot be
concealed in a colony; besides that, the co-
loured women often glory in the tie; and gen-
74
WEST INDIES.
tlemen who live in this state, are not, as in
fashionable society in Britain, frequently the
better received for it. I know necessarily much
less of the coloured population than of the
negro; but I am inclined to think that the
rising generation are every way superior to
their forefathers: yet it must be conceded, that,
as a population, they are peculiarly inclined to
immorality; and there is such a total want,
generally speaking, of decency in the way they
dress, if I except those in the highest ranks,
that they always appeared to me very disgust-
ing. They are graceful in their address, and
often have an expressive countenance, although
very languid. The talents of any I have known
have been all very far from being good; but
their constitutional indolence is so great, that
it may prevent their employing the powers of
their mind. They always appeared to me less
ambitious of instruction than the negro,-
equally violent and proud,-fond of going to
law about every trifle, and designing and in-
triguing about small matters.
WEST INDIES.
75
The first property they are anxious to possess
is a slave, and they certainly keep their slave
to his duty under a very different discipline
from that practised by white people; and to be
sold to a coloured owner, is considered by a
negro to be an extreme misfortune of course
there are honourable examples among coloured
people of the reverse of all this, for I only
speak of the majority. Generally speaking,
the coloured women have an insatiable passion
for showy dresses and jewels, and are decked
out, not in gorgeous, but in costly articles of
this description. The highest class of females
dress more showily and far more expensively
than European ladies. They wear no bonnets
nor caps, but invariably have a Madras handker-
chief for a turban; and those who can afford it
wear, when going to chapel, a beaver hat; it is
generally grey, and similar to a lady's riding hat
in shape. They are also particularly fond of nice
silk umbrellas, or porasols, as they are always
termed in the West Indies: tight, coloured kid
shoes and silk stockings also are favourites.
E
1
76
WEST INDIES.
✔
I have understood that the coloured men are
by no means given to intoxication, and I never
could observe any thing but sobriety in their
appearance; they are said to be very fond of
good living, and to indulge a great deal in this
way; some of the higher classes are rich, and
entertain each other frequently with great
splendour and ceremony. Dancing is their
chief recreation, and they dance well; they
have very frequent public balls, to which many
of the white unmarried gentlemen go by invi-
tation; but the ticket is paid for by the visitor.
They keep up their dances until day-break, the
scene of gaiety being either the hotel or some
other public room in the colonial town; the
music is of course more than indifferent, con-
sisting of negro fiddlers, a tamborine, and
triangles; those who are not engaged in the
dance, beat time with their feet and hands; so
that whenever there is a coloured dance, the
noise made in this way is heard to a consider-
able distance.
The language of the coloured people is much
WEST INDIES.
77
more intelligible than that of negroes, although
the lower class speak nearly negro dialect; but
the higher classes often express themselves
much better, although generally very ungram-
matically; and all of them have that strong
nasal pronunciation and creole drawl, which is
peculiarly disagreeable in the colonies: indeed
many
of the white population are by no means
free from this drawl, and white creole children
have it almost as strong as a negro.
How far the coloured population are informed
upon the subject of religion, I had no personal
means of ascertaining; the higher classes
attend divine service very regularly on Sunday
twice a day, and many of them attend the
week-day service also. The majority attend at
the Methodist chapel, and many of them are
members of the Wesleyan Methodist society:
they are I think particularly attentive, whether
in church or chapel; and though the wish to
display a fine dress is the cause no doubt of the
attendance of many, yet the regularity and
earnestness with which some of them apparently
E 2
78
WEST INDIES.
listen, speak much in their favour. How far
the truths of the Gospel are believed by them,
so as to have a practical influence upon their
lives, I know not, excepting from general re-
port; but I have heard some such mentioned
as very respectable characters. They contribute
liberally to the society for the support of the
Wesleyan Methodist missionaries. I have
always found the coloured population extremely
civil and polite; but my experience, with re-
gard to this class of society, has been very
limited, and there are various opinions upon
this subject, and of course those who have
lived longest among them must know them the
best. If I am to judge from their singing,
they seem to possess a much more accurate ear
for music than most white creoles do: though
they often sing in bad taste, yet their tones are
accurately nice, as is their time; but I never
could discover any thing like true taste or feel-
ing in their singing.
The superior classes of coloured females sel-
dom do much for their own support personally,
1
WEST INDIES.
79
O
but they frequently purchase dry goods whole-
sale from the captains of ships or merchants in
town, and retail them afterwards at a consider-
able per-centage. Ribbons, silks, laces, and
gauzes, are generally to be had from some one.
or other of them. The other sex are employed
in various ways: some keep retail shops for
dry goods of all descriptions, and others retail
spirits and sell grog. Several are employed
as clerks, either in merchants' stores, or as
copying clerks to lawyers, &c.; while others
are tradesmen.
The lower classes of coloured people are, I
think, very vacillating in their character;
sometimes they do a little work of any kind at
home, then they get tired of this, and hire
themselves out as servants. The wages they
receive are never less, and often more, than one
joe per month; that is, a Spanish Johannes,
worth 37. 6s. currency, varying in sterling value
according to the exchange; but during the
time I was in the West Indies, varying from.
17. 7s. or 8s. sterling, upwards. The master
80
WEST INDIES.
who hires the servant, either finds him or her
in board, or gives a weekly allowance in
money, which is never less than half, and never
more than one dollar, the value of which is
about 4s. or 4s. 3d. sterling, also of course
varying according to the rate of exchange; but
there is always something left for the servants
at meal time, in a country where victuals cannot
be kept; especially in the hot season, when I
have seen poultry, killed early of a morning,
unfit for use at six the same evening. This,
therefore, appears at first sight, a very good
situation; but it is like many other things
which seem extremely fair sketched upon paper,
but which, in practice, are found very different.
The coloured slave domestic is ten to one
richer, and more comfortable, than the free one;
and I never conversed with a free coloured
domestic, who did not admit this. The free
coloured domestic has 37. 6s. currency, per
month; and say, at an average, three quarters
of a dollar for his weekly allowance: out of
this he must provide a little food for himself,
WEST INDIES.
81
clothing (a very expensive article for coloured
free servants, who all dress well), &c. There
are few who sleep in their master's house this
is a matter of convenience on their own part;
but it is customary for them to have a small
house of their own, so they have house rent to
pay, and the small et ceteras which the posses-
sion of a house entails. They must furnish
their own soap for washing,—their own candle
when they go home at night;-if sick, the
whole incidental expenses have to be paid by
them; and if laid aside altogether, they are
miserably off, and are completely dependent
upon the kindness of their former masters, or
other coloured friends who may be in a superior
situation in life; for they have so many de-
mands for their money, and are generally also
of such improvident habits, that this class of
coloured people, when out of employment or in
sickness, are greatly to be pitied; and if they
have a family, which is very common, their
situation is truly wretched, for they have
nothing to trust to,-no master, of whom they
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can demand all the necessaries of life, should
they be sick, or unable, from old age, to work
any longer.
How different is this from the coloured do-
mestic slave; he has the same money weekly
for his allowance,-the same privileges from
his master's table; he is furnished with an
annual supply of linen, jean, and nankeen
trowsers, that would rather astound our good
English housewives; his clothes are washed,
smoothed, and mended for him, without one
thought or anxiety on his part; he has every
comfort in sickness,-medical advice, and all
incidental expenses provided, and, if required,
a sick nurse in attendance. Should he have a
family, no child he has is any burden to him;
or else, if his wife belong to the same master,
his children increase his comforts; their allow-
ances commence from the day of their birth,
and it is some years before they can consume
all he receives for them. No accident, dis-
abling him from work, deprives him of a home,
food, clothing, or any necessary comfort, and
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83
he looks forward to old age without anxiety, or
the chilling dread of poverty, for himself or his
family.
Coloured slaves are employed in various
ways; many are tradesmen, some domestics,
while others are hired out by the overseers,
either as servants, or for carrying goods about
the country for sale. Few are employed in
the field, as many of them consider it too
mean an employment, though I have met with
instances of coloured men who had been do-
mestics, and left their places, to work in the
fields from their own choice. They are gene-
rally rather more polished than the negro, but
I think they are, if possible, more artful; and
certainly remember and revenge an affront very
differently from what any negro would do,--
that is, singly, for I do not allude here to the
conduct of negroes when combined. Coloured
slaves can be pretty good servants when they
incline; but it is rarely they do incline, being
so tenacious of their rank, that they must
always have a negro about them to assist them
E 3
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1
in whatever they are about. Their habits are
very expensive, for they know nothing of the
real value of money; indeed this is a necessary
consequence of the present state of all the slaves,
for being so abundantly supplied by their mas-
ters, with lodging, food, clothing, medical
expenses, and, if females, their children being
rather an assistance than a burden to them;
they have only to think of providing themselves
with the luxuries and superfluities of life. I
have known a coloured domestic female slave,
who would not demean herself by wearing
anything so vulgar, and as she expressed it,
"unlike a lady," as cotton stockings, and she
regularly walked out with white silk ones. I
have seen a coloured slave in Trinidad, working
in the field, with the finest white jean trowsers,
nice linen shirt, watch, chain, seals, and last,
though not least, Wellington boots! They
always address each other with much ceremony,
never using the Christian name without putting
Miss, or Sir, before it. This is universal among
coloured slaves; and even the white population,
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85
in speaking of a coloured female slave, always
call her Miss. To omit these forms, would
appear to them a downright insult, and few
things would displease them so much as to
forget addressing them in this way. I think
the higher classes of negro slaves superior to
them in mental energy, less prone to revenge,
and quite as much civilized in their manners;
but the majority of common field negroes are
inferior to coloured slaves in those respects.
Deep laid schemes of individual revenge
seem to be characteristic of the lower classes of
the coloured population; and to obtain the truth
from them is difficult beyond measure, since
they, as well as negroes, will swear to anything:
they will tell you a story wherein it often hap-
pens that every second sentence contradicts the
preceding; and the ending is sure to be,
"Massa, I am sure I speak all every word
true, I'll kiss the book and swear to it." I
always remarked that where there were the
greatest number of falsehoods, they were the
most vehemently desirous to kiss the book:
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their disregard of an oath is most shocking; to
speak the truth seems to them almost impos-
sible, and they often invent so cunningly, that
it is difficult to prove the falsehood of that
which all the while you feel convinced is a
tissue of lies. Were I asked what had shocked
me most, of all the immoralities among the
slave, free coloured, and negro population of
the colonies I visited, I should answer, with-
out hesitation-perjury; and what is worse, it
is a sin that they are becoming more and more.
addicted to, and which the advice they receive
from the mother country tends to strengthen
them in, for they are told that no white person.
speaks truth; and it is to be lamented, that
these dangerous sentiments are taking strong
and fatal root among them. How far such
sentiments can be reconciled with the multi-
plicity of oaths which every manager of an
estate must take four times a year in Trinidad,
according to the new system, I cannot con-
ceive; for it is distinctly stated, in Parlia-
mentary speeches, that nothing coming from a
WEST INDIES.
87
transatlantic colony ought to be believed: how
then can the same party urge the system of
taking oaths, upon every occasion, as to circum-
stances the slightest imaginable? so that a
watch or clock being too quick or too slow,
might enable a negro to bring forward an in-
stance of perjury in his master or the manager.
This has, in fact, driven more than one upright,
honest man from Trinidad, who felt that no
accuracy of his could protect him from a charge
of perjury upon one score or other.
Many of the free, and not a few of the
coloured slave domestics, of both sexes, have
been in England. I have conversed with
several of them,—but they all disliked it, and
uniformly upon the same grounds; let the
detail of one conversation serve as a specimen.
E. had been long a female coloured slave,
occupied principally about the children of the
family to which she belonged. She was what
may be termed a very superior servant; she
was uniformly extremely well dressed, always
wearing stockings and shoes, with many ex-
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pensive ornaments, and nice Madras hand-
kerchiefs for her turbans. She had gone home
with her master's family, and resided some time
with them in England; though not at all
clever, she was polite in her manners, and had
no want of common sense. She had permis-
sion from the attorney to work out for herself,
therefore she paid him a certain sum, and he
furnished her with all she required. Her
employment was working with the needle. I
asked her how she liked England, "Not very
well, Misses." "No, what did you dislike
there?" "Misses, England be very fine coun-
try to be sure, every thing to be had there,
fine shop and all that; but Misses, England
very bad country for poor servant; Misses,
it feared me to see how the servant work there,
and they no thought nothing of neither; Misses,
they work so hard; up early, Misses, they no
stop work sometime past midnight, and then
their Massas and Misses take no thought
of them when they be old; they no give them
house to live in, Misses. I'd think it very hard
WEST INDIES.
89
if I worked for my Massa all the time I'm able,
and then when I get old he no give me house,
nor nothing. Misses, a slave here be much more
thought of than poor English servant." I told
her it was very true; but that in consideration
for the loss of some of these advantages, some
thought it a sufficient equivalent to be free,
and no longer a slave. "Well but, Misses,"
added she, "what signify free, if we starve!"
That many of the coloured slave population
see the superior worldly comforts they enjoy,
compared with their white brethren in free
service in Great Britain, I have had abundant
evidence.
66
I have often asked coloured domestic slaves
if they would like to go to England? "Yes
Misses," answered one of them to whom I asked
the question, "I'd like to go if you bring me
back, but I no like to top dey." "Why not?"
Misses, England no good country for servant,
they work hard too much."
"How do you
know that?" "Cause Misses many that have
been, dey tell me they no like it for the work
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cold."
being so hard, and then it be so cowld." "But
if you work actively it prevents your feeling
"But Misses, they work, they tell me,
in England constant,-they no sit down softly
at sun down, as we do,-but work, work, after
night (during the evening), Misses; I could not
bear that." "But then if you went to England
you would be free." "Well, Misses, suppose
I was free, I could not have a better Misses
than I have; and she good too much to me
when I'm sick, and that is what they tell me
white Misses at home take no account of."
I told F. that servants at home certainly did
work very much harder than in the West
Indies, and were often neglected in sickness
and old age, although many who behaved well
were not forgotten by their former master and
mistress if they required help, or were in
distress: but, added she, "Misses, they tell me
the Massa may just gie them some little ting,
or no, just as it pleasures him, they cannot ask
for it like me, so indeed Misses I think we be
the best off."
WEST INDIES.
91
They always speak of English servants as
very mean, and having no money; and I never
met with one among the numerous coloured
slaves whom I had opportunities of talking to,
who was at all fond of the idea of free domestic
servitude in England.
Those coloured children, who are the illegi-
timate offspring of white men, are, with few
exceptions, free: when they are not so, the
father is most justly detested, and held up as
a character anything but respectable: I never
could hear but of two instances of this. Where
such cases occur, the children are with hardly
any exception freed as soon as born; and there
is attention, more or less, bestowed upon their
education. Some send them to Europe for that
purpose; but this I consider a very injudicious
plan, unless they can be so provided for, or put
in the way of providing for themselves, as to
render them independent at home; for, if they
receive an European education, it totally unfits
them for the scenes they must return to: no
coloured person, who has received a decent
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education at home, could feel happy in the
society of the coloured population of a West
India colony, who are, as a body, very ignorant;
and it is from observing some cases of this kind,
that I have been convinced, that the best edu-
cation to be obtained without sending them out
of the West Indies, is much more conducive to
their real happiness. Barbadoes possesses very
tolerable schools; and in Trinidad, education is
now conducted upon so very superior a system,
that there are many elegant and accomplished
white females resident there, who would do
honour to any European society from their accom-
plishments, and who yet have never been out of
the island; and though undoubtedly the very
best masters are expensive; yet, taking all
together, these would be found far less costly
than sending a child across the Atlantic, where
every habit and acquisition will infallibly tend
to unfit him for what must be his or her future
lot. There are, indeed, excellent schools, and
private masters in Trinidad, where coloured
children might receive as great, and much more
WEST INDIES.
93
prudent advantages of education, than can be
bestowed upon them in Europe. In general,
however, coloured illegitimate children of white
men are not neglected in point of education,
and the more common error is overdoing it, by
placing them for a certain number of years in
society, the whole tone of which is so superior
to that which they must return to.
The relationship to all the branches of a white
family, although illegal, is kept up upon both
sides; and there is much kindly feeling main-
tained by both parties: all their private domestic
affairs are entered into with interest, and there
is a more universal feeling of this kind between
the legitimate and illegitimate relations of a
family, than is usually to be found in Britain.
Such children are not in the West Indies
received upon a footing of equality; but with
hardly an exception, they are affectionately
attended to, and the illegitimate party fre-
quently visits his father's even distant relations.
I never heard a creole, who could speak with
patience of a man who could retain his child as
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WEST INDIES.
:
a slave, they always used to deplore it, as
unfeeling and unnatural; but I am convinced,
having made most minute inquiry upon such
subjects, that these cases are very rare indeed,
not occurring near so frequently as they do at
home, in a form quite as objectionable, though
not perhaps so revolting, because the word slave
is unattached to it. I candidly allow that the
illegitimate children of white men have been
retained in a state of slavery; but I also state
the truth when I say, that such things are
extremely rare, and are quite as much detested
by Transatlantic settlers, as by the residents of
free born Britain but I also must say, that I
do believe that in the eye of God, he who
retains his child in a state of slavery, while that
child is (to my certain knowledge) amply fur-
nished with every necessary of life, is infinitely
less really culpable than he who in enlightened
Britain abandons his offspring to a scanty
pittance, to be trained perhaps in vice, and
never even knowing to whom he owes his being.
:
WEST INDIES.
95
CHAPTER IV.
SKETCH OF THE NEGRO POPULATION.
Overworking negroes-Different classes-The field
negro-The culture of the sugar cane, and negro
labour in the cultivation-Sugar and rum making
-Various uses of the cane-Negro domestics--
Head servants-A West India kitchen-Nurses,
grooms, and washerwomen-Tradespeople.
IT will be necessary, before attempting any
description of the character and customs of the
negro population, whether free or slave, that
we take a slight view of their employments.
:*
This appears to me the more necessary, as it
has been generally in Britain believed that
negroes are hard worked in the West Indies;
and the common opinion is, that they labour more
96
WEST INDIES.
than the working population of this country.
If there be one sentiment respecting the colo-
nies more erroneous than another, it is this;
for although I arrived in the West Indies fully
convinced that I should find, and indeed almost
determined to find, every slave groaning under
oppression, yet I was not one month in St. Vin-
cent, before I was compelled from my own ex-
perience of negro character, to be somewhat
sceptical, whether it were possible to overwork
a negro,—and I now feel no doubt upon the sub-
ject: the fact is, they are so perfectly aware
that you must give them all the necessaries of
life, that if they determine not to work, or at
least to do little, how are you to proceed in order
to make them do more? for even if punishment,
corporal punishment, were resorted to, it is not
dreaded by them half so much as work. Em-
ployment is their abhorrence-idleness their
delight; and it is from having so minutely
watched their dispositions, habits, and method
of work, that I have come to this conclusion,-
that to overwork a negro slave is impossible.
WEST INDIES.
· 97
By far the greater number of the slave popu-
lation are occupied in the culture of the cane;
and as I have heard such false, not to say ludi-
crous descriptions, of the labour necessary for
its cultivation, and of its manufacture into
sugar, the best way is first to give a short
description of the general state of agriculture
I saw pursued in the West Indies.
Some people who understand those subjects
may think this unnecessary; but, as I did once
peruse some public speech, wherein the orator,
in adverting to molasses, said, that he supposed
his hearers were all aware that molasses was
the juice of the cane when first expressed, it
may not perhaps be amiss to inform my readers,
that molasses is the drainings of the sugar after
it is put in the hogshead :-now it would be
well, if the mistakes generally made upon West
Indian affairs were all of this nature; but the
fact is, that upon subjects of the greatest mo- '
ment, equal ignorance is constantly displayed.
But to resume. I shall now describe the usual
negro work, beginning with that in which the
98.
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great majority of the negroes are engaged, viz.
the culture of the sugar cane.
Early in November the land is prepared for
holing: the holes are about fifteen inches deep,
and from three to four feet square, lined regu-
larly off: they are as exact as the squares of a
backgammon-board-this is the hardest work
upon the estate; and an allowance of rum and
water is distributed to each in the field so
occupied. I have often watched the negroes at
this work for a length of time, and though it is
the hardest work that is required in the culture
of the cane, it is literally nothing, when com-
pared with many of the necessary operations in
the agriculture of Great Britain; such as plough-
ing, reaping corn, or mowing hay. The weight
of the hoes used in this labour are by no means
unwieldy, or heavy for a grown man or woman;
and none else are employed in this work. A
great deal has been said about the plough not
being used in this branch of the West Indian.
agriculture, but in many of the West India
colonies, the ground is so steep and rocky, as
WEST INDIES.
99
totally to preclude the possibility of such an
attempt; beside, it never could do the business
neatly; and the difficulty of having white ser-
vants to plough, renders it a great obstacle
even in those few colonies where the land is
level it was attempted upon one estate in the
neighbourhood of Kingstown, but no success
attended it; and after the piece was ploughed,
it was found absolutely necessary to send the
negroes in to hole it, before the plants could
be put in. In St. Vincent, it is impossible for
any one who has had a previous eye for country
affairs, not to admire this part of the agricul-
ture: it is done so neatly, and so regularly, that
I have seen a field dressed there that looked at
a short distance as nice as the preparation for
turnip husbandry in Britain.
The work of holing is slowly performed, and
a band of Scotch potatoe hoers would not gain
one meal a day, were they to proceed in the same
leisurely manner; you see the negroes often
two and three at a time standing for many
minutes looking about them, and never raising
F
7
100
WEST INDIES.
their hoe. When so engaged, they are usually
cheerful, telling laughable stories to each other,
and singing songs, or rather choruses. I never
once heard any of them complain of the work
as too hard; but I have heard very many of
them express themselves pleased when it was
about to commence, because they had their
additional rum and water. There is a person
regularly appointed to carry water to the field,
the whole year through, whatever they are
engaged in; always three times; and if the
weather be particularly hot, it is carried five
times a day. When rum is not given, Man-
dango sugar or molasses is used; indeed the
women seem at all times to prefer sugar and
water. This is universal.
Planting canes generally commences in the
end of November, or beginning of December;
from three to four plants are put in each square.
The plant consists of the upper joints of the
cane, which contain no saccharine juices, from
eight to nine inches long, with generally five
to six eyes, from which the shoots sprout.
WEST INDIES.
101
This is very light work, and they make it more
so, by trifling over it in such a way, that this
at once strikes the eye of a stranger,-pre-
mising that stranger to have been in the habit
of watching farming operations in Great Britain.
Weeding the young canes succeeds planting;
it is begun when the cane is about twenty
inches in height: this is very easy work, and
is performed by the children from eight years
and upwards; they have each hoes, propor-
tioned to their strength. Children are uniformly
preferred for this work, because their feet being
small, they do not tread down the young plants.
as a grown person would do.
Stripping canes is the next opération : every
joint of the cane as it grows, throws out two
very long leaves, with serrated edges. From
the powerful sun of that country, these leaves
soon droop, wither, and become dry as straw.
They are therefore stript off the cane, to ex
pose it to the full effect of the sun's rays, in
order to ripen it sufficiently, otherwise it would
be unfit for the after progress of sugar making.
F 2
•
102
WEST INDIES.
These dried leaves are called trash, and are laid
along the ground, to prevent the sun's influence
on the earth, that every moisture possible may
be retained for the nourishment of the plant.
Part of the trash is used for foddering the
cattle, and it is always used for thatching
houses, and suits equally well as straw. Strip-
ping is light but disagreeable work; for though
the serrated edges have become too dry to cut
the fingers, they are then brittle, and fly about
like thistle-down. They are stript once, or
many times, according as the season proves wet
or dry.
Cutting canes in general commences in Jan-
uary, at least any thing cut before that time is
merely small cutting, to obtain plants, or make
a few hogsheads before Christmas.
During crop time (that is, harvest) the negroes
are employed in the manufacture of sugar, and
the general agriculture of the estate.
The negroes enjoy crop time, and look for-
ward to it with pleasure: much merriment then
goes on amongst them; and I never heard or
WEST INDIES.
103
1
saw more mirth in a British harvest field, than
I have often witnessed in a cane piece. Negroes
have fertile imaginations; and it is not unusual
for them to compose impromptu, words to their
songs, very often of the most ludicrous nature:
one sings it over once, and the rest join in
chorus. Old stories too, generally of a cheerful
cast, are also employed by them to beguile the
time, exactly in the same way as is customary
in a Scotch harvest field: they may eat as much
of the cane as they like; and it always struck
me as something out of the way, if I met a
negro during crop-time on the estate, not suck-
ing a cane. They cut off a joint or two, while
at work with their bill, and suck it; it is parti-
cularly wholesome, nutritious, and agreeable,
when one is thirsty, for its juice is even during
the heat of the day delightfully cool. It is
hardly to be credited the quantity of cane that
is daily consumed in this way during crop-
time-this however is not only permitted, but
encouraged, so long as they do not steal the
canes; but this they universally do, for two pur-
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poses, feeding their hogs, and selling to huckster
women, who buy the juice from them at the rate
of about fourpence a bottle sterling. These
hucksters boil the juice into syrup and clarify
it, when it is sold for about one shilling and a
penny sterling per bottle. The consequence is
that all slaves, but more especially those in the
vicinity of the towns, live a greal deal annually
upon plunder; but this is overlooked by the
proprietors were negroes so harshly treated
as is generally supposed, they would not be
suffered to act in this manner without being
punished for it.
:
Manuring the ground is most generally done
when the cane is about twenty inches high,
after the first weeding. Pens for the stock,
well laid with trash, are put up in different
parts of the estate, so that the manure may
never be far distant from any part of the estate
which requires it. It is carried by mules or
carts; or if too steep for these, by the negroes,
from the pens, in light wicker baskets. These
they carry on their heads; in fact a negro
WEST INDIES.
105
carries every thing on his head; and be what
it may, poises it with surprising nicety: give
a little child a tea-cup to carry, and it is always
hoisted on his head; and he will trip off with
as much unconcern as if he had nothing on it,
while his arms are swung on each side like
two pendulums. I have often asked them why
they always carried every thing on their head,
and they uniformly answered, "what's on the
head we no feel, what on a hand hurt da
shoulder."
Their carrying manure in this way appears
disagreeable work; but they laugh at the
stranger who supposes it to be so to the negro,
because it would be so to him: the truth is, in
so far as cleanliness is concerned, the negro is
perfectly indifferent; these sort of things do
not affect their personal comfort, because their
whole habits and manners of life are different
from Britons: what are comforts and pleasures
to them, would not be so to us; and what we
esteem as the comforts and luxuries of life, they
would neither thank you for nor make use of.
106
WEST INDIES.
The mills are either worked by water, wind, or
by mules; they have all a spindle, with side
rollers, all of which are armed with teeth, so
that the one works into the other. The turning
of the spindle occasions the revolution of the
two side rollers, all of which are covered with
an iron case; the diameter from eighteen to
twenty inches, the length from thirty to thirty-
six. These are the most general style of mills;
but some are to be found erected upon a newer
invention, which are considered as a saving of
labour and water.
The first operation after cutting, is passing
the cane twice through the rollers; the juice
then drops into the mill-bed, which is covered
with sheet lead; from that being on an inclined
plane, it runs off quickly into a receiver, which
contains from 300 to 500 gallons. When that
receiver is filled, it is drawn off, and conveyed
by a spout from the mill to the boiling-house,
which is always built at some little distance
from the mill, in order to prevent a communi-
cation in case of fire; it is then received either
WEST INDIES.
107
into a clarifier, if that vessel is used upon the
estate; or, if not, into the grand copper. When
a portion of the carbonate of lime (the best is
made from the cuttings of marble, and is known
by the name of Bristol temper lime) is added in
different proportions from one to twelve ounces,
in the grand copper, according to the age, ripe-
ness, and luxuriance of the canes, some being
so ripe and old as to require little or no temper
lime. These coppers or boilers are in number
from five to six; the largest, which is farthest
from the fire, may hold from 300 to 500 gal-
lons; they decrease in size as they approach the
fire-place, until the smallest of them, which is
called the teach, decreases to 70 or 80 gallons.
By the time the juice has been boiled down
from the grand copper containing 500 gallons,
to the teach over the fire containing 70 or 80
gallons, the sugar then nearly approaches to
granulation. The time that this process oc-
cupies depends entirely on the state of the
weather; for when the weather is dry, and the
canes ripe, a strike of sugar (which is the con-
F 3
108
WEST INDIES.
L
tents of the smallest copper) may be taken off in
three quarters of an hour or an hour; but
should the weather be showery, the fuel is
damp, and there is what is technically termed
a spring in the canes, which produces such
watery juices, that more boiling is necessary to
evaporate those watery particles before granu-
lation takes place: this destroys the quality of
the sugar, from having been so long on the fire.
The head boiler-man is at the teach, and is
a person of no small consequence, as he is re-
sponsible for the cleanliness of the boiling-
house at each of the other coppers there is a
negro to assist, who are also responsible to him.
When the head boiler-man thinks it probable
that the liquor is nearly approaching to granu-
lation, he puts in a copper skimmer, and turning
it two or three times in the air, he knows by
the consistency of the drop, whether the liquor
is likely to granulate sufficiently; or if too
much so, he adds some portion of the liquor in
the second teach, to reduce it. As soon as he
finds it in a proper state to strike, that is, to
WEST INDIES.
109
send it by means of a spout from the teach to
the wooden cooler, he then performs this opera-
tion. There are always from two to three
wooden coolers, each being able to contain from
five to six strikes, that is, a hogshead of sugar,
generally averaging at the king's beam about
fifteen cwt. According to the size of the estate,
there is made from one to three hogsheads per
day; but if there are two sets of coppers, it will
produce nearly double that quantity.
The sugar collected in the different boilings
throughout the day, is next morning put in the
hogsheads, as nearly as can be guessed, at a
certain temperature; this requires some nicety,
for if it is put too hot into the hogshead, the
molasses carry off a great part of the sugar
through the curing holes of the hogshead into
the cistern made to receive the molasses. If,
on the contrary, it is put into the hogshead too
cold, it retains the molasses, and this of course:
spoils the sugar.
After being put into the hogshead, it remains
from twelve to fifteen days in the curing-house,
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to afford time for the molasses to drain
thoroughly from it; it is next rammed down
with heavy rammers or mallets, until the
hogshead is perfectly filled; and it is then
headed up by the cooper, marked with the
name of the estate and number of hogshead
and weight, and carted to be shipped for Great
Britain.
I have already mentioned that the dry leaves
of the cane were stripped off several times, and
used for the various purposes of foddering
cattle, thatching negro houses, and occasionally
for fuel, &c. The green upper leaves of the
cane, which remain on the plant until it is
ripe, are cut and carried home for the use of
the stock. They are cut by a machine called a
top-cutter, into very small fine pieces, and the
mangers are then filled with it; a certain pro-
portion of the skimmings from the sugar, or of
molasses, with plenty of water and a few
handfuls of salt, are added; and however hard
the work may be, the stock improves and
fattens upon this food. Migass is the rind and
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substance of the cane, after it has been passed
through the mill; it is made up into small
bundles, and carried to a house called the
migass-house, a building from fifty to one
hundred feet long, and from fifteen to twenty
broad, where it is regularly and neatly packed,
until the house can hold no more. A few days
after the house has been filled, the migass goes
through the process of fermentation: in the
course of a month this entirely ceases, and it
becomes quite dry, light, and soft, and is con-
sidered the best fuel possible for the boiling
of sugar.
After it has been consumed as fuel, the ashes
are considered of great value as a manure,
(having been converted into pot-ass), and being
mixed with other manure, they form one of the
very best composts, so that the cane is a pecu-
liarly valuable plant; every part of it being of
use either in one way or another.
The next process is the distillation of rum,
which is made in casks usually containing 300
gallons, about the proportion of seventeen pails
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of water, each pail containing five gallons; 25
gallons of molasses, 20 of the skimmings of
sugar; and when the fermentation takes place,
the remaining space is filled up with water.
These proportions are however slightly varied,
according to the richness of the molasses. It
remains fermenting from eight to ten days,
according to the heat of the still-house loft,
which ought to be at the temperature of from
70 to 86 degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer.
When the head distiller sees that the fermenta-
tion has subsided, which is called the falling
of the liquor, it is then drawn off and distilled.
I consider this to be a tolerably accurate
sketch of the regular work upon a sugar estate:
there are other minor jobs also occasionally to
be attended to out of crop-time; such as cutting
wood, trimming fences, and keeping up the
general cultivation of the estate, until crop
again commences.
Slaves who are not employed in agriculture,
are either occupied as domestics or as tradesmen.
Nothing surprises an European, on his first
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A
arrival in the West Indies, so much as the
manners and customs of negro servants.
There is in every gentleman's family, a man
who styles himself Mr.'s head servant; his
duty is merely to see that the boys under him
clean the plate, knives and forks, wash the
dinner, breakfast, and tea service, &c. He sees
them lay the cloth and arrange the table for the
different meals of the family; and he stands in
the room during dinner, with the air of an
emperor, pointing occasionally to the boys what
to do, and bestowing abundance of scolding
upon them; nor will the repeated entreaties of
his master or mistress, to have done teazing the
others, and do his own duty, have any effect:
scolding he considers his peculiar privilege,
and forego this privilege he will not. He at
times removes a dish or plate, and places it in
the hand of one of the boys; but in general he
is a mere cipher, as far as use is concerned,
and yet were the boys left without him, you
could not get on at all. I attempted this; but
such a scene of confusion and anarchy ensued,
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that I found, from experience, that bad as
despotism may be, it is a far less evil than a
republic. This head man, or rather gentleman
-for he would be highly incensed were he
treated without the utmost deference to his
rank, is also employed in some families to go
to market,—an occupation which he likes; for
he makes no small profit by it in various ways,
which, however, it is not our business at present
to treat of. This is the whole work of a head
servant; however, I can assure my readers, that
he does groan, nevertheless, under the oppression
of so much exertion; and that nothing short of
twelve hours' sleep, and twelve hours' lounging
in the twenty-four, will ever make him con-
tented. Some have coloured men as head
servants; but whether negro, coloured, slave
or free, there is not a perceptible shade of
difference in the duty that is performed by
them.
The cook is frequently a male, and is also a
person of consequence; he has, if the family be
large, either a boy or a woman to assist him;
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he cooks only soups, meat, fish, and vegetables,
nor would he submit to the hardship of baking
bread, or making pastry, or puddings. The
wood used in cookery is cut, and put down for
him, and all the water provided; and it is
rarely that he will wash or scour the pans, or
kitchen utensils, some younger boy or girl
being employed for that purpose.
A West India kitchen is so different from
an English one, that some description of it may
be necessary, to make those who have not seen
one comprehend how much less a cook is
exposed to the influence of the fire, than in an
English one. The floor is either earth, brick,
or stone; there are numerous windows, not
glazed, but with wooden shutters to fasten
down at night, with probably jalousies to ex-
clude the sun and rain-in this way the air
is necessarily freely admitted; the chimney is
extremely wide, and there is most frequently
no grate, but merely a piece of brick-work,
about four feet long, and three feet broad, upon
which the wood is placed; and they make more
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or less fire, according to the dinner they have
to cook. The face is in this way not exposed
to the blaze of the fire nearly so much as in an
English kitchen. There is an oven in every
kitchen, upon the same principle as a baker's
oven ;-the wood being put in and burnt down,
so that when it is fully heated, it is swept out
before the bread or meat is put in. There is no
roasting-jack: many gentlemen have attempted
to get the negroes to use a jack, but in vain;
they must have their own way of it, which is
simply accomplished by placing two strong logs
of wood on each side the fire, and a strong nail
in each log to support the spit, which they
employ some of their assistants to turn,—and in
this way they send up meat tolerably well
roasted; but the oven is often also employed for
that purpose.
This is, I think, considered
the whole duty of a cook, whether male or
female.
In many families, a head female servant
is employed, to assist the lady in dressing,
work with the needle; or bake pastry, make
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puddings, &c. These are dishes which make
their appearance rarely; and a waiting maid
considers she does very well if she assists her
mistress in dressing, and does about as much
work with her needle in one day, as her mistress
in one hour,—she has generally a young girl
under her, who attends to the bed-chamber,
and this is never thoroughly done; yet this is all
that is required of them, and indeed it is all
they will do. The other servants are employed
in cleaning the house; and their number, and
particular employments, are wholly dependent
upon the family to which they belong; for of
course where the family is large, there must
be an increase of servants.
The office of a groom ought, one would
imagine, to be precisely the same as in England,
but that the negro groom makes it a very
different office, is no less true. In fact, no
horse is brushed or curried, far less, properly
fed, unless the master stands by and sees it
done the oats sell well in the market; and
besides, the groom can feed his own poultry
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with the oats; and it need not be said, that he
prefers fattening his own fowls to feeding his
master's horse.
The domestics who officiate as washerwomen,
have nothing else to do. Perhaps the best
way of making my readers comprehend the
mode in which they perform this work, is to
refer them to the notice of this subject at the
commencement of the volume. With respect to
the time which they require for the performance
of their labour, I have had trials of many
different washerwomen-some slaves and some
free-but I never found that fourteen dozen of
clothes, such as are commonly used in a
family, could be washed and got up from Mon-
day morning to Saturday evening by less than
three able bodied women. They never used
less, but generally more, than twice the quantity
of soap, blue, and starch, required by washer-
women at home; and of all your troublesome
establishment, the washerwomen are the most
discontented, unmanageable, and idle. It is
altogether out of the question ever to look for
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all the articles coming back that went out;
and the destruction of clothes and linens, in
consequence of their carelessness, is past belief.
I have myself in one twelvemonth had six
dozen of chamber towels, a bed-quilt, two pairs
of sheets, stockings without number, pocket
handkerchiefs and petticoats to a considerable
amount, lost, or more probably stolen, in this
way; for I knew perfectly, that they were
appropriated to their own use, as I not unfre-
quently detected the articles in their possession
after they thought a sufficient length of time
had elapsed for me to forget the loss of them.
Every thing, as I have said, is ill washed in the
West Indies; they smooth down frills and
flounces along with the gown, making every
article of a lady's dress as stiff as buckram.
They insist, whether you will or not, upon
rubbing the smoothing iron over with candle-
grease, to make it pass, as they say, easily
over the linen; and when I absolutely refused
giving candle for this purpose, they stole it
themselves, and used it in spite of me.
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There are some superior free coloured women
who will condescend to get up clean muslins;
but the most that can be said is, that they do
it better than the negroes, though far from well,
and at an exorbitant rate, asking 2s. 6d.
sterling for one gown,-so that it is needless to
say they are rarely employed.
With respect to the number of domestics
required in a family,—that necessarily depends
upon the number of the family, the style in
which they live, and the home they reside in;
but a moderate family, who would live genteelly
and comfortably in an English city with three
maid servants and one man, and the washing
put out, would require at least ten grown up
servants, and from five to six young people,
from ten to seventeen or eighteen years of age;
and after all, the house, and general work,
would be very indifferently done. This I con-
sider a very fair average; but if the family.
exceeded five or six, such an establishment
would be found insufficient.
These I think are now all the different em-
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ployments of domestic slaves, excepting those
who have the care of children: in such a case
the mother is uniformly hand nurse; for all
West India ladies are patterns in this respect;
their solicitude and personal activity in attend-
ing to their young children, being beyond
praise. Therefore a nurse has little work, com-
paratively with the duties attached to that office
in Britain. Her nights are undisturbed, and
no responsibility is attached to her; and it is
very rarely that she either dresses or washes
the baby. Nurses consider themselves quite
ladies, and would not so far forget their dignity
as to wash their own clothes, brush out a room,
or indeed do anything but carry young miss or
master.
But there are many slaves whose master
possesses no landed property, and who are
nevertheless employed as field negroes: many
respectable families are wholly dependent upon
the annual hire of a gang of slaves; while
others possess a number of tradesmen, whose
hire is of course much more than that of a field
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negro. Others have many slave domestics,
whom they hire out;-the work of those slaves
is the same as if employed by their own master.
As to tradesmen, they are coopers, carpenters,
masons, &c.; and the value of good domestics.
and tradesmen is considerably above that of the
common field negro; but the head negroes upon
estates, such as drivers and boiler-men, rank
with the tradesmen. Some slaves, both co-
loured and negro, are employed in selling dry
goods for their master, or are hired out to do so
for others; they are generally clever, valuable
people who are so employed; and this sort of
wandering life is relished by them; but in the
majority of cases they give an inaccurate ac-
count of the money received; although I have
known some wonderfully correct in this parti-
cular, who scrupled not to steal at any other
opportunity.
Negroes who have lived much with coloured
creoles, acquire a servile manner that is very
disagreeable; and most of those who are em-
ployed in huckstering goods, either are hired
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to, or belong to those people who are greatly
less indulgent to their slaves. Having given
this short sketch of the general employment of
slaves, I shall proceed to some description of
their style of life as regards food, clothing, and
lodging; and as most erroneous ideas are enter-
tained upon these subjects, it will be neces-
sary to go into the whole detail of particulars;
and I can only assure my readers, that I shall
state nothing which I did not for years daily
witness, and which, were they to visit the
colonies, as I have, and take the same trouble
of personal investigation, they would find to be
the unexaggerated truth.
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errors.
CHAPTER V.
THE NEGRO POPULATION.
Negro ideas of comfort-Houses and furniture-
Cooking-Gardens-Correction of prevailing
ESTATES negroes being the most numerous,
I shall begin with their style of life as re-
gards lodging, food, clothing, and comforts
during sickness and old age.
The negro
houses of an estate are placed altogether, re-
sembling a village of huts. An author whom
I once read upon West Indian affairs, but who,
like most writers upon that subject, had never
been in the country, says, "Negroes live in
dwellings like stables:" now the fact is, I
never could find, although I often tried, from
whence he drew the similitude: had he said
that the white population of the West Indies
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125
lived very generally in barns, he would not
have exaggerated much-for nineteen houses
out of twenty, are more like barns than any-
thing else; having the sides nearly open, and
the rafters uncovered, without any ceiling.
Their
appearance is at first most uncomfortable;
but a few months' experience accustoms the
eye to this manner of building, which is cooler,
and leaves no room for rats and other vermin
to establish themselves, as they do in a ceiled
roof; so that in spite of West India houses
being more like barns than dwelling-houses,
they are preferred so.
I only dwell thus upon the subject in order
to convince my readers, how perfectly unable
those who have not lived in a country are, to
judge wisely of the houses necessary for the
comfort of its inhabitants; and how very ridi-
culous such comparisons appear to those who
have resided there, and who can, from expe-
rience, judge of the dwellings most appropriate
to the convenience of those resident in such
a country.
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Place a negro in a comfortable little cottage,
built after the English fashion,-his neat fire-
side, his nice-looking bed, blankets, and
warm curtains,—a glass window;-give him
an English breakfast, tea, and supper, and also
English clothing, and you would make him
quite as unhappy as an English ploughman
would be in a negro house, with negro fare and
clothing. It is our bounden duty, as Chris-
tians, to instruct the negroes in religion, and
help them forward in civilization; but if by
civilization it is intended to make them live in
the same manner as Europeans, I would say
that the negroes would not submit to such an
arrangement; and beyond a doubt, it would
make them most uncomfortable and unhealthy.
Every country has its own customs, and these
customs are the result of the climate, which dic-
tates even to the savage how to eat, lodge and
clothe himself. Many most important improve-
ments might doubtless be made in all these
matters; but they must be improvements upon
the same plan now existing; for as to intro-
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127
ducing English customs, this would be both
cruel and unwise. I therefore assert that the
negroes are comfortably lodged; but it is a
comfort appropriate to their character and
country, and would as ill suit with an English
peasant's ideas of comfort, as an English pea-
sant's would with theirs.
I landed in St. Vincent with my head full
of those ideas respecting slavery which have
been so long popular, and which are at this
moment about to effect such important changes;
but I was not so utterly carried away by pre-
conceived notions, as to be insensible to the
opportunity now afforded me of investigating
the subject personally. As soon therefore as I
could understand the negro's broken language,
and was sufficiently accustomed to the climate
to walk out, I made a point of passing almost
every afternoon among the different estates
within reach of Kingstown. In these walks, I
had daily and abundant opportunities of seeing
the field people at work, and of visiting them
in their houses, and chatting with them fami-
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liarly. Having therefore informed my readers
of the means by which I was enabled to make
the observations I have done, I shall at once
proceed to describe their houses, which are, as
I before observed, placed all together, so as to
resemble a little village.
The houses are built in various ways, some
of stone, cemented by mud and white-washed;
some are built of wood, while others are wove
like basket work,—the interstices being filled
up with clay and mud, which, when white-
washed, look very nice. They thatch them
neatly with migass. They have no chimneys, as
they rarely work in doors. As to the size of
their house, that is in some measure dependent
upon the rank of the negro, and the number in
family. Generally speaking, the area of negro
houses varies from fifteen feet by twenty, to
twenty feet by thirty. Some single men and
single women have a house with only one sitting
room, and a smaller chamber apart for their
bed-room. But head negroes, or families, have
always two good rooms, and some have three.
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They have windows according to the size and
number of their rooms, with window shutters to
let down at night. All the houses have locks
to their doors, which are made of wood by the
negroes, and fasten very securely; many, how-
ever, supply themselves with padlocks besides.
The floor is generally earthern, but the best
room is often boarded. Negroes of character
and rank,-for I know not how better to
express myself, being more civilized, have many
articles of furniture. Among others they have
bedsteads with mosquito curtains, their bedding
being for the most part a bag filled with the
dried plantain leaf. This I have myself slept
upon, and used in my own family, and have
found it a very comfortable bed indeed. They
have a bolster and pillows of the same materials;
blankets (one Witney blanket is given every
year by the master), a good sheet, and very
often a nice bed-quilt; the two latter articles
are furnished by themselves. A little shelved
corner cupboard, displaying many a showy
coloured plate, cup, and saucer, is a common
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piece of furniture; a good table, one or two
benches, and some chairs, with a high table to
serve as a sideboard, upon which are displayed
the tumblers and wine glasses, often a large
shade for the candle,-these, with their box
of clothes, form the general furniture of a good
industrious negro's house, who is probably a
head man; for a common field negro, although
he can afford all this, has not in general reached
that stage of civilization that engenders the
desire of possessing such articles. The cooking
utensils are very few and simple, consisting of
two or three iron pots, in which the negro
makes his soup, stews, &c. A strong wooden
pestle and mortar is to be found in all their
houses, for beating the boiled plantain down to
a mash, a favourite dish they call "tum-tum."
They cook in a little thatched shed close to
their houses, but not attached to them. A
hog-sty, and a place for their poultry, which
they rear in great quantities, are also adjoining
their house. Indeed, the better sort of negroes
have their dwellings often extremely neat and
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131
clean; many a Scotch cottager might blush
to see them.
As soon as a negro girl attains the age of
sixteen or seventeen, she probably gets a hus-
band; and the male children perhaps a year or
two later, get wives, when of course they have
houses of their own; negroes, therefore, never
have many children living with them.
On
occasion of a marriage, it is often necessary to
build a house, and there is then usually a merry
making; the master or manager deals out rum
and sugar to those who have helped to build it,
and the new comer frequently gives a supper on
the night he takes possession.
The houses of the common field negroes are
built exactly of the same materials, and on the
same plan with those described; but some few
have not three rooms, though most of them
have an additional chamber, and a small place
where they keep their cooking utensils. In
good weather, they all cook in the open air
before their house door; and if it be rainy, they
kindle a fire in the middle of the room, and the
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door is left open to make an outlet for the
smoke. Many field people have bedsteads,
and some have curtains. The plantain leaf
bed is general, and blankets are annually pro-
vided; some have sheets; but these are luxuries
which many of them do not value, and would
not use.
You may guess almost to a certainty
as to the character and degree of civilization of
a negro, by the general appearance of his house.
A table, chair, and bench, is to be found in
every house; also a box, with the inmates'
clothes; but those who are idle, lazy, savage,
or of bad character (and there are few estates
that can boast of having none of that de-
scription), are destitute of these comforts.
I have paid great personal attention to the
manner in which negroes are lodged, because it
seems to be thought in England that they are
in this respect quite neglected. After having
visited negro houses without number, I do not
hesitate to say that negroes are more comfort-
ably lodged than the working classes of either
England or Scotland. You cannot fail to re-
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mark upon every estate, that the work people's
houses are placed in the healthiest situation,
never so elevated as to be cold, nor so low
as to be damp: the drains round them, or water
paths, as the negro calls them, are watched
with the greatest care, and kept clean, and
nothing that could create damp is suffered
to be near their houses. No inhabited house
is ever allowed to be out of repair; neither
is it left to the negro to ask for what may
be necessary; the houses are examined very
frequently by the white people, and during
their master's time, they are employed in making
all tight and comfortable before the rainy season
commences.
I recollect walking one evening over a most
lovely estate in Kingstown valley: it was in
the midst of crop time, when all were as busy
as possible. All the negro houses I passed
were shut up, excepting one, whose open door
attracted my attention. A nice clean-looking
negro woman eyed me for a moment; I said,
"Good evening," as is usual in passing a
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negro: but she looked again, and said, "Eh
misses, you no know me." I was sorry I
could not directly say that I did, for negroes
cannot bear to be forgotten. She saw, however,
that I did not recollect her; and she said,
Misses, me L , you no mind me when I
comed to make cake." I now did recollect
her, and she added, "Never mind misses, wont
you come in and see my house?" I did so, and
she dusted two chairs, and two stools for my
children, and bringing out a plateful of cassada
cake, she gave each of them some, saying she
was sorry she had no ripe plantain or banana
down to gie 'em. I said, "So you don't work
now." "No misses, no for one month gone
by." (She expected to be confined in a month).
"And how do you employ yourself?". "I
makes mobee, and takes it down to town and
sells it." "And what is your husband?" "He
just a field negro. "You have got supper
boiling there I see." "Yes misses, the calialou
pot." "You seem to have a very nice house."
"Yes misses, I'll shew you the chamber;" and
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135
she accordingly opened a door which displayed
their bed, with mosquito curtains, and their
boxes of clothes. While leaving the house of
this common field negro's wife, and glancing at
the neatness and cleanness of the apartments,
and the display of useful articles of furniture,
as much, or more than the climate required, I
could not avoid drawing a comparison between
the situation of this woman, exempted from
toil, provided with every necessary-with no
anxiety as to the event at hand, no doctor, no
nurse, no cordials to pay for,—and the condition
of her who, among the labouring classes of
England, must work often to the very hour
of her confinement; and whose hard gained
earnings, joined with that of her husband's,
are all absorbed in the purchase of half the
comforts which she requires.
All negroes have a piece of ground behind
their houses for a garden: some will not be at
the trouble to keep this ground clean, and
weeds and vegetables accordingly grow pro-
miscuously; but there are others who keep it
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very neat, with grenadillas, water melons, and
vines growing in order and profusion. This
fruit they carry to market, and it is a bad vine
that will not yield them 27. sterling per annum.
In this garden they have sweet cassada, Lima
beans, calialou, tanias, gub-a-gub, peas, pigeon
pea bushes, &c.: probably in December they
sow English peas, and plant cabbages for the
market: those negroes, who incline to make
money in this way, are all furnished by their
master or the manager with English seeds.
Pines also are generally cultivated in the negro
garden. This back garden is a great comfort
to a negro; because here he has all the neces-
sary vegetables, for daily use, so that in case
of his having but little time to spare, or in case
of bad weather, he can supply himself without
going to his provision-grounds, which are far-
ther distant than his garden. But plantains
and yams keep well for more than a week after
they are brought down from the provision-
grounds. These gardens are always fenced
round, and generally are covered over with Lima
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1
and other creole beans for soup. If a negro
has not a good garden, it is his own fault; for
his master gives him ground for it, and every
encouragement to improve it, by furnishing him
with plants and seeds; and in that country so
very little labour is necessary to raise a super-
abundance of excellent roots, vegetables, and
fruits, that when a sugar house is found without
this comfort attached to it, there is no difficulty
in pronouncing the inhabitant to be a lazy,
good-for-nothing character.
Those negroes who have not a regular made
bedstead, have four posts driven into the floor
of the room, and sticks placed cross-ways like
a lath-bottomed bed: these bedsteads are always
raised two or three feet above the floor, and the
plantain leaf mattrass is placed upon them.
This is the worst species of bed known among
negroes; and it must not be forgotten that
those slaves who have not a regular bedstead,
curtains, and sheets, with other articles of
household furniture, are not destitute of them
from utter inability to procure them, which is
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by far the most usual cause of the absence of
the common comforts of life in Great Britain.
If a slave have not some household furniture, it
is because he is indifferent to the comfort of it:
and there are indeed some who have only a
bed, table, and bench, with cooking utensils,
who are very good people; but who do not
consider household furniture as a comfort;
the possession of it would confer upon them no
happiness; and they either spend their money
in fine clothes or jewellery, or as frequently
happens, hoard up their savings, which they
tie up in a piece of dirty rag, and thrust it
under the thatch of the house, or put it into
some hole. There is no more absurd error than
to suppose that men in all classes of society,
and in different countries, require the same
things to render them comfortable. The Tong
merchant prefers his chop-sticks to your silver
forks; the English labourer prefers his own
beer to the squire's claret; the Andalusian
would sooner stretch himself on boards, than
sink into a down bed; and the negro neither
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•
understands the refinements of a gentleman nor
requires the comforts of an European. Negroes
are well off, according to their ideas of comfort.
and the climate in which they reside: they are
abundantly supplied; and I am by no means
sure that we should be conferring any benefit by
introducing European fashions in the colonies-
so that, while I would labour to civilize and
inform the negro, which will by and by pro-
duce all its effects,-taste, among others,-I
would also studiously avoid suddenly intro-
ducing, or unnaturally encouraging artificial
wants; which, although originally luxuries,
become in time necessary to comfort.
Instruct the negro in religion, teach him to
be cleanly and orderly; but, as you value his
true happiness, introduce no artificial wants:
he enjoys his calialou soup as much out of his
calibash, as the nobleman does his turtle soup
in the finest chased silver; and it is cruelty,
not benevolence, to teach him to be discontented
with the things he possesses. I shall therefore
conclude this chapter, by assuring my readers.
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that from the results of long personal experience,
I can avouch that negroes are lodged infinitely
better than, with few exceptions, the working
population of England.
Negroes who live in town as domestics, have
always a boarded floor to their houses. I have
seen a few single men and women who had
only one room, but such houses are by no means
common. They have good bedsteads, bedding
of plantain leaf, feather bolster and pillows,
good blanket, sheets and coverlet; chairs, sofa,
cupboard, and mahogany table. I have fre-
quently seen a side-table with tumblers, and
shades for the candle; looking-glass, two or
three boxes full of clothes, showy prints in gilt
frames, &c. &c. They always keep their houses
clean and tidy inside, and have a great variety
of stone-ware in the shape of plates, tea-cups,
&c.; but these are seldom bought by them,
being generally stolen, and are regularly dis-
played merely for ornament—a calibash being
the usual substitute, for holding their victuals,
and being equally clean with a china bowl, it
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141
is preferred by them; for it costs nothing.
Negroes who have been in England, always
complained to me that there was "noting for
noting in England," meaning, in plain English,
that for the most trifling article payment must
be given; whereas they are by nature supplied
in the West Indies with a variety of real
comforts. Thus the calibash tree, which grows
every where in abundance, is full of ripe fruit
four times every year; the fruit may be cut,
from the size of a common orange to something
larger than the largest man's head. The inside
is of no use, and is hollowed out, and then the
rind forms all sorts of cups, bowls, and bottles,
as the negro says, "for nothing," but the
trouble of picking up and scraping it out.
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CHAPTER VI.
THE NEGRO POPULATION.
Negro dress-Expensive notions-Jewellery and per-
fumery-Eeffects of climate-Erroneous notions.
NEGRO clothing is distributed annually at
Christmas, at which season the ships arrive
from England. It consists of strong blue
woollen cloth, called Pennistowns-(the same
that is so generally worn by the lower classes
of females in Scotland for petticoats); that
sort of coarse, strong, unbleached linen, known
by the name of Oznabrags; a felt hat, needles,
thread, tape, scissors, and buttons, to the men.
Of the blue Pennistowns, they receive every
year at Christmas six yards, a yard and half
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143
wide. Of the linen, five yards. The allowance
of clothing for children depends upon their age;
but after twelve years of age, the full quantity.
is given. Additional clothing is afterwards
distributed to those whose work is harder, and
very often indeed also to those whose careless-
ness has deprived them of clothing; for during
the rainy season-clothed they must be. Every
individual, from birth, receives one blanket
annually; and in the event of an accouchement,
there is absolutely not a want that is not sup-.
plied. I have often been in their houses at
such times, and could not help thinking, how
much better off they were for clothing, bedding,
and baby-linen, than the great majority of the
lower ranks in Britain.
Their gala dresses are provided very often by
themselves, although their master and mistress
make many presents of this kind to the de-
serving. Field negroes dress in some respects
differently from town servants.
Head negroes upon estates, in full dress at
holiday time, are extremely gay. They have
'
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all fine broad cloth, either made into jackets,
such as gentlemen very often wear of a morning
in the West Indies, or coats: they have neat
waistcoats, either of black kerseymere, or white
jean-as they are quite aware that a coloured
waistcoat is not dress-their shirt is always of
fine linen, and the collar of a fashionable shape,
which, with the cravat, is as stiff as any reason-
able dandy could desire. White jean, or linen
trowsers, are the usual wear; all head people
have shoes, and all servants have stockings,
and a long cloth coat; this is given them by
their master; but the country people often
purchase those articles for themselves. I have
seen an estate negro in St. Vincent, dressed at
Christmas time as well in every respect as any
gentleman could be; and he was a slave whose
master was, and had been long absent: he told
me every thing he wore was of his own pur-
chasing: he had a quizzing glass, and as good
a hat as any white man in the colony; he had
a watch ribbon and key, but whether or not he
wore a watch, I cannot tell, as I did not put
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145
the question to him; but I have seen many
with watches and seals. The more common
field people have equally good shirts, trowsers
and waistcoats; but they have seldom or ever
long coats, though frequently good broad cloth
jackets; but the most common fashion for them
is white jean, or striped coloured jean jackets.
They do not often wear shoes, and never
stockings.
The boys are extremely well dressed; and as
they all receive a new hat at Christmas, this
adds to the general neat appearance of the
negro population at that season.
As for the women, I hardly know how to
describe their gala dresses, they are so various.
The wives or daughters of estates' head people,
have the best of course-if I except domestics,
who dress still gayer. They have fine worked
muslin gowns, with handsome flounces; satin
and sarsenet bodices are very common; their
under garments are of the best materials, and
they have either good cotton or silk stockings;
their kid dancing shoes are often of the gayest
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colours, while their expensive turbans are
adjusted with a grace, that makes the dress
really appear elegant.
It is common for them to have not a hair
dresser, but a head dresser, or rather a turban
putter on, upon such occasions; and for the
mere putting on of the turban, they pay a
quarter dollar, not less than 1s. 1d. sterling!!
This is a custom not confined to domestics, but
predominates throughout all ranks of the female
slave population. They have all beautiful
handkerchiefs upon their necks; some are of
British manufacture, but many are costly silk
ones from Martinique,-while others wear them
of India muslin.
*
The real value of their jewellery is con-
siderable; it consists of massy gold ear-rings,
and rings upon their fingers. Coral necklaces,
and handsome gold chains, lockets, and other
ornaments of this description. The more com-
mon field female negro, very often if elderly,
is decked out in a very large patterned chintz,
or perhaps the bodice is made of this, while the
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147
skirt is of muslin; or, vice versa, the shirt
chintz, and bodice and sleeves muslin. They
all have one really good necklace; but they
often also wear along with it, half a dozen
other necklaces, of coloured glass beads, such
as light blue, yellow, white, and purple. Every
negro has a garnet necklace; all have ear-
rings, and rings on their fingers: and at
Christmas time, a handsome new turban too is
worn. The very youngest baby is well dressed
at such a time, and even for a child they
scorn old clothes; indeed it rarely happens that
the same dresses are worn twice at Christmas.
I have heard them say to each other, "look
at so and so, see how mean she be, she wore
that very same dress last Christmas." White
muslin frocks, and a nice new handkerchief
for the children as a turban, are universally
worn: abundance of coloured beads, ear-rings,
and finger-rings. Some few, whose mothers
are fashionable waiting maids, put shoes, gene-
rally coloured ones, upon their children; but
the country children never wear them.
H
148
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?
Both girls and boys are fond of coloured
ribbons; the boys wear them round the hat,
set off with a smart bow, and the girls wear
them as a sash. This is the only piece of half
worn dress that a negro will condescend to
wear; but ribbons, although half worn, are
much valued by the young people. Their
dresses are made up very often by their mis-
tress and her family: for two months before
Christmas, and also before Easter, I used to
be as busy as possible, cutting out dresses,
superintending the trimmings, and inventing
different fashions for them, for they imagine
that what is too common, cannot be very
genteel. As for the men, their shirts and
trowsers must be cut for them; and many a
pair have I superintended in this way, and
have occasionally, though not in St. Vincent,
acted as tailor. Negroes fancy that a white
lady can do every thing; and they say, "Misses,
if
you no do for me, who you do it for?" In
this way their tailoring and dress-making is
most generally executed; and really I do think,
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149
that the negroes in full dress during the holidays,
contented and happy as they used to be, was one
of the most interesting scenes imaginable. Both
men and women have nice white pocket-hand-
kerchiefs to wipe away the perspiration; and
both sexes, young and old, are perfumed with
French lavender water: indeed so common is
this, that I was surprised soon after my arrival
by one of our servants asking me one day for
some lavender water, as his was done. There
was to be company that evening; and I after-
wards observed, that the men servants were in
the habit, whenever they were in dress, of
using perfumes.
After such a description as the foregoing,
my readers may naturally inquire how it is,
if the negroes both receive so much clothing,
and also purchase so much for themselves, that
they appear often as if they had scarcely a rag
to cover them: this arises from two causes; the
first is that a sense of decency is scarcely known
to the savage, and thus it is that it is easy to
trace the progress of civilization in different
*
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150
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negroes, according to their style of every-day
dress. Another reason is, the heat of the
climate, which renders it quite impossible for
any one to wear in that country the same
clothing as in England; and it is no exaggera-
tion to say, that the modesty of that lady who
would appear in England with no thicker
clothing than she can endure in the West
Indies, would be thought rather questionable.
Wearing the finest flannel next the skin is
always considered safe, and it certainly does
not heat the body; but all the other garments
must be of the lightest texture.
In good
weather, field people wear as little clothing as
possible; the men working often in trowsers
without a shirt, and the women frequently
throwing their arms out of the sleeves of their
upper garment. In cold weather, they put on
an abundance of clothes; for although they
never complain of heat, they are very sensible
to cold, and dislike it exceedingly. They are
most active in dry hot weather; but in the
cold damp season, the energy of both body and
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151
mind is impaired. When I first arrived at St.
Vincent, my servants used to clean their knives
and boots and shoes, in the sun: I thought
this must be very disagreeable to them, and
had a shade put up for them, but after it was
finished, not one of them would go there to
work,—and when asked the reason, they said,
"Sun good for nigger." All negroes wear their
hats at work, and the women a handkerchief
underneath. Some estates give Kilmarnock
bonnets, besides hats, which the people like.
There are, however, many field people, both
male and female, who although not superior in
rank in the estate, yet are in themselves superior
people, and never appear in the unceremonious
dress already described. It is nothing un-
common for negro men at work alone, when a
sudden heavy shower is about to fall, to pull
off their shirt, and hide it under a bush.
The rain quickly runs off their skins, which
are oily; and as soon as it is fair, they are dry
again, and then the shirt is put on dry and
comfortable. The little negro children seem
152
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to understand this from instinct, and never
run out, during rain, without taking the pre-
caution of leaving their clothes behind them.
Negroes are extremely fond of bathing; and
little infants, of not a year old, will sit for
hours together in the shallow bed of a river.
This braces and strengthens them; and it is
found that a very free use of the cold bath
contributes much to the health of the white
population also. Should a negro get very wet,
and remain with damp clothes on, he is almost
sure to suffer severely: pleurisy is often the
consequence, and the disease proceeds with
such rapidity, that a very few hours terminate
it one way or another. The planters, however,
are all half physicians; that is, they know the
indications of approaching disease; and upon
the slightest appearance of pleurisy, they admi-
nister calomel and jalap, and the estate's
medical attendant is instantly sent for to bleed
the patient. It is astonishing how few deaths
occur from this disease, in consequence of the
prompt assistance which is uniformly given.
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153
There is no trifling;—the most violent remedies
are applied without delay, and the best effects
generally follow.
It is nearly impossible to get children regu-
larly to wear clothes under six years of age. I
have myself tried every method I could think of
with the little girl of one of my servants, but in
vain; the child used to tug at her frock, which
was all I asked her to wear, and when by no
strength she could undo it, she would go to
the boys' pantry, and taking a knife, cut it off,
making her appearance at the door of my room,
laughing with delight at her adroitness in get-
ting rid of such an annoyance, and throwing
the frock in at the door. Yet in the cold
season this child, like all others, wore her
clothing, and used to cry at times from the
severity of the cold.
All head people upon estates are uniformly
well dressed, neat, and clean; and though it is
in their own fashion, they look nicer and much
cleaner than English country people. Their
clothes are seldom much mended, and they
G
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make a point indeed of appearing like what the
other negroes call them,-Mr. so and so. In
short, they are negro gentlemen in their con-
duct, dress, and manner. Their wives and
daughters do not every day dress in so superior
a style, but still they dress considerably better
than common field people, and never dispense
with their upper garment. The majority of
servants, even of the lowest rank, dress better
than common field negroes. Female servants
wear fine light calico printed gowns, or white
muslin, which are alike common; they make
them low, and generally with short sleeves;
they sometimes wear a Madras handkerchief
about the neck, but more frequently not.
They have always good necklaces, ear-rings,
gold rings, and a nice handkerchief for a turban.
When I first landed in the West Indies, I
was shocked at the unclothed state in which I
saw many negroes; but a few months' careful
observation soon shewed me that it was not the
want of clothes, but the dislike to their burden
that occasioned this. As the negro advances
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155
in civilization, this will no longer be the case.
The sense of decency will gain the ascendency,
and predominate, as much as the love of ease
and coolness does at present over every other.
Head negroes on estates generally receive some
present, in the way of clothing, upon the con-
clusion of crop and should any accident,
arising even from bad conduct, have deprived a
negro during the season of part of his clothing,
it is always supplied again; for unnecessary as
it seems to be to them in warm weather, they
would die, were they not well clothed in woollen
dresses, in the damp and cold season.
Aged and superannuated negroes have the
same allowance of clothing at Christmas as the
others, and should they be unable to make it
up for themselves, some of the other people are
employed to do this for them. The estates in
some colonies give out the clothing ready made
to put on; but in others, the more common
plan is to distribute the cloth, with needles,
thread, tapes, &c. Good negroes are careful of
their clothing, and instead of wearing it at the
H 3
156
WEST INDIES.
tity
season when they receive it, they prudently lay
it up until the rainy, damp season arrives.
But upon every estate, especially those nearest
town, there is a lessor greater proportion of im-
provident, careless, and even desperate cha-
racters; such are uniformly indolent, equally
for themselves as for their masters, and are
often incorrigible runaways. Negroes of this
description either take no care of their clothing,
or they sell it to hucksters, who give them fine
showy clothes instead, not at all suitable for a
working dress. Such people are often impro-
vident enough to exchange all their blue Pennis-
towns for some article of jewellery; and others,
who are so irregular and lazy as not to cultivate
their grounds-sell their clothing for plantains,
or whatever else they want at the moment: they
are, in short, savages, and never look forward
beyond the present day. Want of clothing is
to them no punishment; but when the bad
weather arrives, they are sure enough to come
shivering to the master or the attorney, and
clothing must again be given to them. It is
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157
astonishing how much the expense of clothing
is increased by the misconduct of runaway and
bad negroes, who nevertheless always turn to
their masters when they are assailed by want
or distress; for the masters, independent of
common humanity, are bound by law to clothe
and feed them, without any reference to their
deserts. There are some negroes of good cha-
racter, who are fond of a change of clothing,
and a half-worn soldier's suit has great attrac-
tions for them: such people often sell the
estate's clothing, and purchase a red coat from
the garrison, after it has become too shabby for
the soldier. This is a very comfortable dress
for them; and I have often seen eight or ten
negroes hoeing the field in the worn-out jackets
used in one of his Majesty's regiments. So
fond are negroes generally of bartering their
clothing, that I have seen jackets belonging to
a St. Vincent estate, with the stamp of the
property upon them, worn in Trinidad by
Trinidad negroes.
It is obvious that any regular allowance of
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clothing to domestics cannot be adhered to. A
head man servant requires about eight or nine
good linen shirts, and probably the dozen is
completed by blue-and-white check ones. His
trowsers are of linen, coloured striped jean, and
nankeen; and about eighteen pairs will be
réquisite every year.
This personage wears
shoes-a very expensive article in the West
Indies-for a head servant is too much of a
gentleman to wear thick or strong shoes. I
recollect B——, a head servant of ours, who
was sent to a store in quest of shoes for himself,
and brought home a pair which cost 14s. 4d.
sterling. I ventured to tell him that I disap-
proved of his choice, as they were light thin
dress shoes, which would not serve him many
weeks;—but his answer was given with great
nonchalance in these words :-" Misses, me
could not dance in tick shoes; they too heavy
and hot." In fact, this man would not have
deigned to wear such shoes as I wore every day
in walking out. This class of negro domestics
are extravagant beyond bounds, and care not
how many clothes they destroy.
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159
The habits of female servants in the same
rank are no less expensive, and their clothing
costs a great sum annually. Domestics of an
inferior class are clothed not quite so well, but
still they scorn to accept of those dark cotton
calicoes and ginghams for gowns, such as ser-
vants at home do not despise for common
working dresses. There is no getting them to
mend or patch their clothes, and when torn,
they consider them fit only to be thrown away.
Yet these same people in hot weather, although
possessing plenty of clothes, will persist in
going about in such a state as makes a new
comer suppose them to be the most wretched
of human beings, while at the same time they
have boxes full of clothes, which they will not
use.
The want of investigating such subjects has
been the cause of much misrepresentation.
People go out to the West Indies, and see both
in the field and in the house, negroes in the
state I have described them to be. No sooner
do they behold such spectacles, than they at
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once ignorantly exclaim, "Here are negro slaves
who ought to be clothed !—look at them—is it
not dreadful that civilized Europeans and their
descendants ever forget what every man owes
to his neighbour,-compelling slaves to work
the soil, and labour for their advantage, while
they have hardly rags to cover them!" But
the proprietors of negroes are free from all
blame; for it is their own personal interest that
their slave should be clothed, in as much as it
proves his advance in civilization, which renders
him always a better servant, and more reason-
able; and contributes greatly to his general
health. I shall add no more upon the subject
of clothing, but proceed to that of food.
;
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CHAPTER VII.
THE NEGRO POPULATION.
Negro food-Provision-grounds—West India fruits
and vegetables, and manner of cooking them—
Prices of the produce of provision-grounds—
Stock rearing-General returns of provision-
grounds-Manner of life of the negro-Negro
cookery-Negro children - Singular custom-
Succession to property—Love of barter.
HOME DA VOD
EVERY field negro has two pounds of excellent
salt fish served out weekly, and head people
have four pounds. A pound and a half is
allowed for every child, from the day of its
birth until twelve years of age, when full allow-
ance is given. This is the most favourite food
of the negro, and they prefer it to salt beef or
pork, a small piece of which they relish occa-
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sionally. They have (besides the garden which
I have already described as being attached to
their house) a portion of ground at a short
distance from the negro houses. In this ground
they plant provisions; chiefly plantain and
Banana trees. Two full grown bunches of plan-
tains are worth from 4s. to 4s. 6d. sterling, if
bought wholesale, but by retail they are exactly
double the price. A bunch contains no cer-
tain number of plantains, but a good full bunch
will seldom exceed thirty or forty plantains,
and seldom fall short of twenty. One hundred
plantains is considered by a negro, along with
salt fish, as much as he can consume in a week.
The plantain and yam are to the negro, what
the potatoe is to the lower classes in Britain.
Every good plantain tree yields one perfect
bunch annually; when this is taken off, the
tree must be cut down to the ground, and
in the following year, two or three other trees
sprout from the old stock, and they each yield
their bunch. Thus every successive year the
crop is increased with great rapidity.
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163
The Banana is cultivated precisely in the
same way, and yields the same increase; its
value also being nearly the same as the plan-
tain. Negroes have the bread-fruit-tree in
their grounds, one good tree of which will bear
more than a hundred heads annually,-each
head being worth from 3d. to 8d. according
to its size. Yams are planted by cuttings, in
the same way as the English potatoe. They
are of the clematis tribe; strong stakes are
driven in to support them, although some ne-
groes allow them to creep upon the ground like
strawberry plants. The root of the yam is
often larger than a white-globe turnip, but
generally of an elongated irregular shape.
There are great varieties of yams-Portu-
guese, Guinea, water, white, and the cush-cush
yam. Some few when boiled are of a deep
purple, but a colour resembling a dry English
potatoe is the most common. The cush-cush
yam is the smallest and most delicate. They
are a very farinaceous vegetable. The tania is
a root something of the size of a potatoe,—
•
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WEST INDIES.
resembling it also in colour; it is farinaceous,
though not so much so as the yam.
The eddoe root is at times cultivated, but it
also grows wild: it nearly resembles the tania;
is doubly useful, as its leaves make an excel-
lent substitute for spinage; in fact it is a more
delicate vegetable than English spinage. The
sweet-cassada is a farinaceous root resembling
the carrot only in shape, for in colour and taste
it is more like the yam, it is of very quick
growth, and gives immense returns. These are
the principal roots cultivated in the negro pro-
vision-grounds: their value is all nearly alike,
and one dollar's worth of any of the above roots
is in point of sustenance equal to one dollar's
worth of plantains. These fruits and roots
come into use at different seasons; but I take
their value from the time of the year when they
are abundant, for at the season when they are
rare, they are sold at a considerable advance in
price. The cassada, or cassavi, is a root of
great value. When unprepared, or even when
the juice is extracted from this root, it is deadly
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165
poison both to man and to the brute creation.
After being drawn out of the ground, it is
scraped clean and washed, then grated; for
which process the negroes have graters of a
large size. The juice is afterwards expressed,
by means of pressing the grated cassada in a
bag or strainer, made for the purpose. After
being dried in the sun, it is put into a large
pan (which is a fixture, in general supplied by
every estate for the use of the negroes), and a
fire is made underneath this pan; then putting
in the grated cassada, they turn it frequently
for some time, until it becomes as dry as kiln-
dried oatmeal, and it is then a very wholesome
article of food, and is known by the name of
farine. The juice expressed from the grated
cassada is saved; and being allowed to settle,
it precipitates to the bottom a very white paste-
like substance. The water is then poured off,
and this substance is put out upon plates or
large plantain leaves in the sun, when it dries,
becomes hard, and forms excellent starch,
which sells for about 8d. the quart bottle.
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WEST INDIES.
Farine sells from 4s. to 8s. per bushel, accord-
ing to the season.
Negroes cultivate a variety of the pulse tribe
in their grounds-Lima beans, which sell at
about 6d. per dish; the common kidney, or
French bean, as known in England, is used
both in the pod and in the bean. The gub-a-
gub, or black-eyed pea, is also excellent; and
the value of all these is the same as the Lima,
bean. English peas they do not like; but
many cultivate them for the market ;—they are
wort 2s. a dish. They come into season in the
end of December, and are quite out by the end
of June. English cabbage also is cultivated
merely for sale; it is worth from 4d. to even 8d.
per head. Turnips and carrots are never used
by negroes; but many raise them also for the
market. Three, or at most four turnips or car-
rots, fetch 6d. sterling. Onions will not grow
in St. Vincent, nor in several other colonies;
but shalots thrive well, and they make a good
substitute: they are sold at about a 1d. for a
small bunch. The tomata comes to great per-
WEST INDIES.
167
fection, and the negroes use a great deal of it
in soup-they are worth about 2d. sterling per
dozen. Pumpkins grow luxuriantly: of these
the negro is fond, but he raises them also for
sale: they are worth from 2d. to 4d. The
pigeon pea is an uncommonly nice vegetable:
its cultivation is easy, and every estate is full of
pigeon-pea bushes. The plant is not unlike our
laburnum, and the pods and peas are of that
size. They bear so richly that a negroe can
pick in ten minutes, as many peas as would
serve for soup for dinner to four or five grown
persons and if he choose to sell them, he would
get from 4d. to 6d. according to the season.
Calialou may be called the spinage of the
West Indies; and is a favourite vegetable with
white, coloured, and black. From a 1d. to 2d.
will buy as much of it as is necessary for soup
for four or five persons. Christophine is more
properly a fruit, as it grows upon a vine; it is
planted about November, by means of burying
the bean, which is found inside the fruit. The
bean is put at the root of a high tree-in a few
:
168
WEST INDIES.
months it climbs to the top, and in six months
is covered with a constant succession of fruit,
known by the name of Christophine in general,
though the same varies in different colonies.
The fruit is somewhat like a pear-is shaped
irregularly, ribbed, and of a light pea green;
and sometimes, mashed like turnips, it is simply
boiled; sometimes it is made into good soup,
and is worth 2d. per dish. In taste it resem-
bles sea-kale. The fruit of the papaw tree,
when unripe, is good either boiled or mashed as
turnips: it grows in such great abundance that
it will fetch no price. When ripe, the papaw
is sometimes sold-two large ones for a penny:
in size it is equal to an English melon. Cu-
cumbers grow abundantly, and are peculiarly
excellent in the West Indies; they are so
plentiful that they will not sell in season, but
out of season they will fetch a penny each.
Negroes are fond of them, and taking the skin
off, they eat them as we would an apple; nor
are they ever found to disagree with them.
Sweet pot herbs are at all times to be found
WEST INDIES.
169
in the negro's ground: sweet marjoram grows
luxuriantly; thyme is more difficult to rear,
but mint, sage, and marjoram grow readily, by
merely sticking a sprig in the ground. They
sell a good bunch of pot herbs for eight-pence
sterling. Every variety of capsicum is to be
found upon a West Indian estate; indeed, they
are almost a weed; but peppers nevertheless
are purchased in town with avidity, and I have
paid two-pence for a dozen of moderate sized
country peppers; at the height of the season,
you can get three or four dozen for two-pence.
The fruit trees upon an estate are, by common
consent, the perquisite of the negroes belonging
to it. The West Indian islands differ as to
their productiveness in fruit, but generally
speaking, there is a great variety of fruits,
according to their season; and upon every
property the negroes make a considerable sum
by the sale of the fruit. The mango is cer-
tainly the most abundant. This fruit hangs in
such thick clusters, that the produce of one
tree is immense. Of the mango there are many
4
170
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•
varieties, but the small ones are the best. Some
very small delicate kinds, of a yellow colour,
are to be found in the botanic garden at St.
Vincent: these are most delicious, though their
turpentine flavour is disagreeable to those
unused to it. The large kidney-shaped green
mango is coarse and full of threads; and I
know nothing so perfectly resembling it in
taste, as a coarse field carrot, with the addition
of a small portion of turpentine and sugar.
Mangoes are said to produce leprosy; and I
have observed that negroes who eat many of
them, are very liable to cutaneous diseases.
The alligator pear is a pleasant wholesome fruit,
larger than our largest English pears, with two
seeds inside: when ripe it is soft and mellow,
and the inside exactly resembles fine yellow
butter. It is from this that it is often called
subaltern's butter. It is generally eaten for
breakfast, either with sugar and lime juice, or
with salt and pepper. The negroes are very
fond of the alligator pear, and generally call it
the zabaca pear. They sell three large ones,
WEST INDIES.
171
when in season, for a penny. The sappadillo
tree produces a fruit rather large, but in colour
and flavour very like the English medlar. This
fruit is not so abundant, and sells for ten-pence
per dozen, or thereabouts. There are several
sorts of plum trees-the Jamaica, the hog plum,
and varieties of the Java plum. These fruits
are highly astringent; and eaten freely, must
be dangerous. During the season they are
to be had in abundance, for a mere trifle. The
mountain-pear is one of the best, if not the very
best fruit of the West Indies. The plant is a
cactus, and the negroes have it in their grounds,
and sell it often for a penny each. It is in size
something similar to a ripe fig; of an olive
green and red colour outside, and its inside
resembles a mixture of salt and ground pepper,
from its numerous small black seeds. It is
always cool, and may be eaten in almost any
quantity, without danger. Melons are often
raised in negro grounds: they grow without
any attention, further than putting the seed
VOL. I.
I
172
WEST INDIES.
season,
in the ground. They are worth from four-pence
to eight-pence each, according to their size,
which is often immense. Pines are every where
found on the provision-grounds: they grow
like a weed, and the poorer the soil, the better
is the pine. I have bought them for a penny,
and have also paid for a very large one, out of
as much as a shilling sterling. Grapes
are also found; but they are generally cultivated
by the coloured or free negro population. They
resemble the large Portugal grape as imported
here from Portugal and Spain. They would be
of the best quality, were they suffered to remain
long enough upon the vine; but the depredation
among them, and the injury they sustain from
insects, are so great, that they cut the fruit
prematurely, and the grapes consequently are
seldom to be had so good as we find them
raised in a hot-house at home. In point of
beauty, however, there is no comparison; for
the bunches are exceedingly fine, and the grapes
of a very large size. About two shillings per
lb. is the common price. The white muscat of
WEST INDIES.
173
Alexandria, is the common grape: purple ones
are very rare indeed.
Maize, known in England by the name of
Indian corn, is a great source of wealth among
the slaves, and also of personal comfort. With
maize he feeds his poultry, and occasionally
his hogs before he kills them. When green he
roasts it, and in this state it is excellent; when
ripe and dried in the sun, he grinds it (and there
is always a mill on every estate), and uses it
either as meal to bake for cakes, or he boils
it into a sort of pottage. There is not one slave
upon an estate who cannot raise an abundance
of these fruits, roots, and vegetables-far more
than he can use for his own consumption. The
great majority of negroes have their grounds
fully stocked; some, however, are lazy and
will not work their grounds to the extent that
they might do; while run-a-ways do no work
at all, either for their masters or themselves,
and live by plundering the provision-grounds
of industrious negroes. There is not an in-
stance of a negro who works well for his
I 2
174
WEST INDIES.
owner, who has not his provision-grounds in
the greatest order, and full of all sorts of sup-
plies, both for himself and the market. Every
individual has his own ground, and every
mother has a fixed portion more for each child.
In St. Vincent, Saturday from twelve at noon
is allowed them to work their grounds, or else
the whole day once every fortnight. Sunday
is their own the whole year round. The half
Saturday every week, or the whole fortnightly,
is not given during crop time; otherwise no
sugar could be made on Friday, Saturday, or
Monday. For the sugar made on Friday must be
potted on the following morning, and canes cut
on Friday would be sour by Monday morning;
the canes must be cut either the preceding
night, or at most not more than twenty-four
hours before they are ground in the mill. This,
however, is no real loss to the negro; for after
January, the principal season for preparing the
ground for the reception of plants and roots is
over, until the end of June, when the showers
become frequent. During the dry months
WEST INDIES.
175
little or nothing can be done; and what is
planted, seldom or ever lives. If it does sur-
vive, it does not come to such maturity as to
be of good quality; but in general the soil is
so dry that the root or seed dies in the ground.
This I know from my own experience and
the negroes' information, upon this subject;
and I feel certain that were Saturday given to
them once a fortnight during the hot season,
it would be put to very bad use.
Besides, if the crop time brings some little
increase of work, it brings also its privileges
and pleasures, and like harvest in Scotland,
it is a very merry season.
There is a regular
contention who is to cut the last cane, and
when this is done the rest of the day is spent in
mirth and jollity. The male boys dress them-
selves in ribbons, and as there is generally a
fiddler upon the estate, he leads the procession
up to the proprietor's, or if absent, the mana-
ger's, who provides wherewithal to make them
The women, who are well dressed,
dance before the door, singing their wild
merry.
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choruses of joy at the last cane being cut. The
evening is ended by a general dance; and to
the credit of the slaves, intoxication rarely
appears among them.
During crop time, every slave may have as
much hot and cold liquor as he chooses, and
they have only to ask for a calibash full of rich
syrup or some sugar, and they receive it.
Those who are not inclined to intoxication,
are never refused a little rum when they wish
for it. There cannot be a more mistaken notion
than that negroes generally dislike crop time;
every good negro enjoys it; and as for lazy
bad characters, they dislike working, whether
for their master or themselves, and their only
pleasure is sleeping away life. There is not a
negro who cannot easily accumulate his 307.
sterling every year, and very many save much
more. Besides, they procure bread, salt pork,
salt beef, mackerel, corned fish, cakes or other
nice things. For these they do not pay the
value in money, but they barter their provisions.
Another source of the gains of the slave popula-
WEST INDIES.
177
*
tion is their stock. They rear great quantities of
fowls, and many rear ducks; guinea birds
too, are generally raised by both the coloured
and free negro population. They fatten a
great number of pigs, and full grown hogs;
indeed, many colonial markets are almost
wholly supplied by the slaves. Pork of a most
superior quality may be had two or three times
a week, and always of a Sunday. Negroes
also rear goats and kids for sale in abundance.
When they kill a hog, they are very loathe to
sell the head and feet; and if you wish for
these, you must coax them as for a favour.
These parts they keep for a treat to themselves.
When I lived in St. Vincent, pork sold at
eightpence sterling per. lb. A pig fit for roast-
ing, fourteen shillings sterling.
A chicken,
two shillings. A full grown fowl, from three
and sixpence to four and sixpence. A pair of
ducks, twelve and sixpence.
Arrow root,
which I had almost forgotten to mention, is
made in abundance by the negroes, and is
prepared, nearly in the same way as the starch,
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from the root of the manioe.. It sells at twó
shillings, or thereabouts, the quart bottle, and
can always be had in the coloured hucksters
shops.
The guava bush is indigenous to most of the
islands of the West Indies, and every estate is
more or less over-run with guavas. The St.
Vincent guavas are considered of a very fine.
quality, and when stewed with sugar, are not
unlike the flavour of a strawberry; at least,
those who sigh for home, try to fancy this.
Negroes pick them and sell them cheap enough
when in season, which is from May to Septem-
ber. A great quantity of this fruit is made
into jelly by coloured free women.
The negro
children hurt themselves much by eating too
freely of the raw guava, which is a very tempt-
ing fruit for them, but particularly injurious.
When I say that any industrious negro may
save 301. sterling yearly with ease, I reaHy
mean save; for besides this, he will purchase
all those little articles he requires,―candles,
soap, now and then salt pork and beef, &c.
WEST INDIES.
179
besides plenty of fine dresses for himself, his
wife or wives, and children; for good negroes
have no small pride in dressing their family,
as they call it, "handsome."
There are few estates which are not situate in
the vicinity of some river. These streams
abound in mullet, cray fish-resembling a small
lobster, eels and mud fish. The negroes are
not prevented from having the full benefit of
fishing; and I have many a time paid a slave
eighteen pence for fresh water fish, which he
had caught and brought to town during the
two hours allotted for his dinner. I once asked
a negro who brought me some mullet in this
way, how he managed to have anything to eat
and catch fish also? He immediately informed
me, "he wife cook a victual, no him ;" at the
same time apparently astonished at my suppos-
ing that he could be so silly as not to have a
wife to cook for him.
I have now enumerated many of the different
methods by which slaves not only live well,
and purchase fine clothing; but some a great
1 3
180
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#
deal of it. I am the better able to do this from
having lived in town, where I was regularly
supplied with all the fruits, roots, vegetables,
poultry, eggs, pork, and also goat and kid, by
the negro slaves, and from having walked
again and again over the provision-grounds of
estates. By these means I saw the whole
system fully and experimentally developed.
The slave may be perfectly idle, and yet he is
supported. The British labourer strains every
nerve to live. The slave is provided for with-
out anxiety on his part; the object he has in
view is not to live, but to save, and get rich.
A wife and family are often a serious burden to
the British labourer, and in order to support
them he is frequently obliged to seek pecuniary
aid from the parish. A wife and family have
been the greatest possible advantage to a slave,
for his master supplied them with every thing:
his wife washes and cooks, the children soon
begin to assist the mother, and they all work
in their garden and grounds, and reap a great
annual crop of different kinds.
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181
I shall now go on to describe the daily fare
of the estates' negroes, beginning with the head
people—that is, drivers, boiler-men, coopers,
carpenters, masons, &c. These have their
breakfast boiled generally the preceding even-
ing. The mess consists of green plantains,
eddoes or yam, made into soup, with an abund-
ance of creole peas or beans, or the eddoe leaf,
the calialou, or perhaps a plant which grows
indigenous, and particularly among the canes;
it is known by the name of weedy-weedy; I
never could learn that there was any other ap-
pellation for it: it also nearly resembles spinach.
This soup is seasoned with salt fish, and occa-
sionally, as a change, with a bit of salt pork.
The soup
is boiled very thoroughly, and forms
a substantial mess, being of the consistency of
thick potatoe soup. It is well spiced with
country peppers, and cooked as they cook it, is
a most excellent dish indeed. All the various
soups, whether tanias, calialou, pigeon pea, or
pumpkin, are to be found almost daily at the
tables of the white population, whose children
182
WEST INDIES.
ទ
ខ
are almost fed upon those messes. I never met
with an European who did not relish all the
different creole soups, or, as they are often
called, "negro pot."
.
Dinner is not a regular meal with them: a
roasted yam, or plantain, and a bit of salt fish
roasted on the coals with it, is their repast be-
tween twelve and two, which are their dinner
hours.
The wives of the head people eat the same
breakfast, &c. with the husband; for although
he may have many wives, yet there is only one
who regularly lives with him, and manages the
household. The children, if in the young gang,
breakfast with the parents; and the children of
such people get soup, along with roasted yam, a
plantain, or sweet cassada. At noon-time they
get farine, cassada, plantain cake, or roasted
corn, &c. The drink of all such families of a
morning is either molasses, syrup, or sugar and
water; and during crop-time they often take,
and may always have, hot liquor, which is the
hot cane juice, before it begins to thicken and
WEST INDIES.
183
attain the consistency of syrup. When head
people conduct themselves properly, they have
an allowance of rum given them, sufficient to
mix them a glass or two of weak grog daily.
Supper is their chief meal, and their soup,
although the principal dish, is not the only
one: they often have tum-tum-made of plan-
tains boiled quite soft, and beat in a wooden
mortar, it is eaten like a potatoe pudding;
at other times the plantain, after being beaten
soft, is made up into round cakes, and fried..
Ripe plantains roasted is another dish, but they
are best sliced and fried, and indeed are supe-
rior to apple fritters. Pigeon peas, stewed
with a little bit of salt fish or salt pork, with
the addition of country peppers and sweet
herbs, is another supper dish. In fact it would
require almost a volume to enumerate all their
different modes of dressing their provisions.
Sweet cassada roasted is excellent; and when
they kill a hog, which they all do three or four
times a year, besides the pigs which they sell,
they keep the head of the hog, and dress it in
184
WEST INDIES.
the following manner :-The head and feet
being cleaned, and made quite white, they are
boiled until soft in strong salt and water, or if
near the sea, in sea water. The meat is then
picked off the head, and, being cut up in small
pieces, it is placed, along with the feet, in a
deep vessel; and when cold, immersed in water
well salted, lime juice sufficient to acidulate it,
and plenty of country peppers. It will keep
good for a week at least, which renders it a
very convenient dish. It is eaten cold; and the
sauce, with a bit of cassada cake or farine
soaked in it, is liked by every one. The dish
is well known in the West Indies by the name
of souse, and is a favourite with all.
Negroes are fond of turtle: it is the cheapest
meat in the market, and they occasionally buy
it; but it is by no means a favourite dish with
the majority of the white population, and many
will not eat it. Excepting in November, De-
cember, and January, negroes have plenty of
eggs they rarely or ever eat them, but sell
them at three and four for fourpence sterling:
WEST INDIES.
185
་
....
in the scarce season they are sometimes as dear
as twopence a-piece. These they often barter
for food, such as fresh or corned fish. Jack-
fish they are very fond of.
All negroes understand well the composition
of sausages; and although they most commonly
dispose of them, I have often had sausages
made a present of to me by different slaves.
Their poultry is so abundant, that they do not
grudge, upon any little merry-making, to kill a
few fowls and roast them; and they occasionally
make fowl soup, with a bit of salt pork added.
Fresh meat, without something salt to eat along
with it, has no charms for a negro.
The common field negro has not soup so
often for breakfast as the head people. A roasted
yam or plantain, or farine with lime juice, salt,
and pepper, satisfies him; followed by some
sweet, and generally hot beverage, as drink.
Generally speaking, his dinner and supper will
be found little, if at all inferior to the head
people's; but he has not grog so often as they
have, whose work, particularly that of the
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WEST INDIES.
boiler-men, is more severe. Few negroes think
of cleaning and washing the pans they cook
in, or the dishes or calibashes they eat out of.
These are almost always left uncleaned until
required again. The same practice obtains in
a gentleman's kitchen; and it is in vain to
expect to find any utensil clean, when required.
Negroes have always plenty of fuel; when they
go to their grounds they bring down a load,
twice generally, each day they are there. Occa-
sionally during the week they are permitted to
go up and bring down wood, and see that all is
right in their provision grounds.
Children who are too young to be employed,
are all brought up by women, whose sole office
is to take care of them. The elder children
look after those who are younger; while the
nurse, at other times, makes them pick a little
wood to boil their victuals with. They return
to their parents at night, but not until then.
Their food is given by the manager to the
nurse, and consists of a good breakfast of
either well boiled soup, or at times rice, boiled
"
WEST INDIES.
187
with a little sprig of salt fish, or else boiled
down to a thick gruel with sugar. Sucking
infants have either arrow root or flour pap, and
at times bread boiled to pap, and sweetened.
Many estates get out oatmeal for the use of
the youngest children: the sick negroes also
are very fond of gruel sweetened with sugar.
Oatmeal forms also excellent food for the chil-
dren who are too young to eat the creole soups.
There is always a plantain walk, with plantains,
yams, and other provisions, for the use of the
children, in the nursery, and for the sick or
aged. Such children have creole soup well
boiled, generally with fish; but for a change
occasionally, with Irish mess, beef or pork,
which is in store upon every estate for the
purpose. They have soup again at dinner,
and generally roast plantains, yams, sweet
cassada, &c. At different times of the day,
when they deserve it, they have sugar or
molasses and water for drink. The woman
who has the care of them, keeps them together
all day in a building, appropriated for them,
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WEST INDIES.
out of the sun. It is her business to keep
them clean, and to see that no chigres are
permitted to remain on their feet, so as to
produce sores.* These women are far kinder
to the children than I ever knew any of the
negro mothers to be, and the infant unvariably
shews more affection for the nurse than for its
parent. I have seen a negro nurse quite proud
of her little charges,-teaching them to make a
curtsy, and answer politely; and she always
keeps them good humoured, by dancing and
singing to them. The arrangement of the
children upon a West Indian estate is most
gratifying, for every want and comfort is mi-
nutely attended to; in case of sickness, they
are handed over to the nurse or nurses in the
hospital.
Negro children are brought up altogether
* Chigres are a sand flea, which penetrate under the skin of
the feet, but particularly the toes. As soon as they accomplish
this, an itching sensation is felt, when the chigre ought to be
removed by means of a needle breaking the skin. No uneasiness
follows; but should this precaution be neglected, the insect breeds
in the toe, and produces sometimes dreadful sores.
›
WEST INDIES.
189
differently from European infants; and however
strange the mode may appear, I have seen such
fine healthy robust infants treated in the way I
am about to describe, that I feel no hesitation
in believing it to be perfectly adapted to the
climate. The mother, unless in cases where
sickness prevents, always suckles her own
child. For the first fortnight the nurse gives
it no spoon food,—but from that time it gets
two meals a day, of arrow root, or pap of some
kind or other. Every third or fourth day she
gives it a tea-spoonful of castor oil, and bathes
it morning and evening in cold water. After
completely immersing it two or three times in
the water, the nurse takes the baby, and holding
it by the right leg only, she suspends it thus for
about a second; she then suspends it by the
left leg, next by the right arm, then by the
left one, shaking each joint apparently very
roughly; and last of all taking the infant, she
throws it up into the air, catching it very
adroitly. They consider this the best and only
method of making the baby's joints firm and
190
WEST INDIES.
supple. At first the child cries when this
operation is performed, but it soon becomes
used to it, laughs and enjoys it amazingly.
If an infant cry after it has been for some time
washed in this way, they say, "he good for
noting at all, he coward too much." Every
mother has time allowed her in the morning
to wash, dress, and suckle her infant-that is
when she again returns from her confinement
to work. The nurse keeps the baby, and
attends upon the mother from three to four
weeks, as may be requisite. One or more
nurses are required for the estate, according to
the number and ages of those in the nursery.
At five or six months' old these children all
eat the creole soup, even pretty well seasoned
with country peppers. A negro mother would
think it downright starvation if you were to
deny her child salt fish ; and it is quite common
to see a little child of a few months old, suck-
ing a great piece of fish or 'salt pork. I have
often tried negro children with fowl soup, but I
never found that they could be persuaded to
WEST INDIES.
191
eat it. Infants are never weaned before they
are fifteen or sixteen months, and rarely so
early: they are often great robust children,
following their mother all over the estate before
they are weaned.
Old negroes rarely or ever live alone, and are
never at a loss for some one to cook for them
If they have a god-child resident upon the
estate, they always perform this duty: their
allowances of food are the same as the working
people. Should they be so infirm as no longer
to be able to cultivate their provision-grounds,
they get some of the young people to do this;
whom they pay for their trouble, not in money,
but in a given portion of the produce of their
grounds. These old people are always fond of
rearing poultry; and I have known many who
were so bent down with old age as never to
stir fifty yards from the door of their dwelling,
raise great numbers of fowls of all kinds.
Such people are always treated with much
kindness, and they are often employed in getting
rice, oatmeal, and plantain from the plantain
192
WEST INDIES.
walk; or something to make them comfortable
in their old age. I have frequently visited
invalids, and aged slaves; and I never found
one who was not comfortably housed, clothed,
and well provided with food; neither can I
recollect, with the exception of one, any instance
where they did not manage in some way or
other, to make a little money, and this one bad
made money when young. At Christmas,
Irish mess, beef, flour, or rice, sugar and rum
are served out. At this season, all head people.
receive, 3lbs. of pork, 8lbs. of flour or rice,
two quarts of sugar, and a bottle of rum. Head
domestics receive the same; and although it is
optional, yet there are few, if any of these people
who do not also get some Madeira and porter
to add to their good cheer. It is very common.
also at Christmas to kill an ox, when a portion
of fresh animal food is distributed. Field
people have 4lbs. of pork, 4lbs. of flour, two
quarts of sugar, and a bottle of rum. Children
under twelve years of age have half allowance;
above that age, they have the same as the full
WEST INDIES.
193
grown people. The women and children prefer
receiving sugar instead of rum. Serving out
the Christmas provisions is a time of great
merriment; the negroes powder each other over
with flour, and there is a complete scene of
romping among the young people.
It is not easy to give a description of the
food provided for the sick, for their diet must
depend upon the nature of the disease; but
neither trouble nor expense is spared to procure
the very best for them, and the quantity of
fowls and chickens purchased for the sick is
enormous. There is often a great deal of wine
used, besides porter. Rice, arrow root, sago,
and bread, are all articles commonly used in
the hospital; but should the proprietor be
resident, the invalids are very often fed from
his table, and their victuals at all events cooked
in the master's kitchen.
There was nothing surprised me more than
the liberality with which the convalescent slaves
are treated; and any comparison between their
comforts, and the comforts of the labouring
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classes in Britain, mutually circumstanced,
would be absurd. Before going abroad, I had
lived a good deal in the country, and was pretty
accurately acquainted with the comforts en-
joyed by ploughmen and their families, in
counties nearly adjoining to Edinburgh, and
also by the lower classes in that city. Since
I returned to England, I have made many
inquiries upon this subject, and the result of
the investigation has left no doubt in my mind
of the superior comforts hitherto enjoyed by
slaves, most particularly during sickness and
convalescence. Should a slave be unable, from
bad health, or any other cause, to work his pro-
vision-grounds, another negro is always ap-
pointed by his master to cultivate them for him;
so that the slave is never permitted to be a
sufferer, should he be laid aside by indisposition.
In St. Vincent, provision grounds near town
are not so productive in proportion as those
farther from Kingstown, where the estates have
not been so long under cultivation. The soil of
the latter is very fertile,-producing amazing
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VOL. I.
crops, with hardly any labour, particularly
those in the Charaib country. The negroes on
those estates have occasionally the use of their
proprietors' drogher (a small vessel for con-
veying sugars to Kingstown to be shipped for
England), to carry their plantains to town for
sale;
and also the carts to bring them from the
grounds to the beach. This I have heard many
Charaib country negroes describe: their plan-
tains are separately marked by the manager,
who when he is in town receives the payment,
and upon his return gives it to the people. I
have known a manager receive at one time
2707. sterling for the surplus plantain crop of
the slaves, besides what they personally con-
sumed and gave to their hogs. This was an
estate too where there was no resident pro-
prietor; and the manager nevertheless took
quite as great an interest in the well-being of
the negroes, as if they had been his own people.
Such instances as these are continually occur-
ring, and it is right that they should be known
to the world.
We are
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Slaves upon those estates which are situated
in the neighbourhood of a colonial town, have
many ways of making money which those who
are distant from a town do not possess. English
vegetables, and Guinea grass in particular,
yield great profits. Guinea grass grows very
readily, and a small bundle sells for twopence.
A horse requires six of these bundles in the
twenty-four hours, besides oats three times a
day. All the families resident in Kingstown,
have their horses supplied with Guinea grass,
from the negroes belonging to the estates in
Kingstown valley. Many also of the slaves
cut and sell wood, which is worth thirteen
pence per bundle, while others deal in charcoal.
Their dealing in the latter article is, however,
strictly forbidden by law.
Still the negroes
persist in it; and whenever it appears in the
market, it is impossible to tell whether the
charcoal was made from wood, stolen by a
slave, or whether it was made by free negroes,
who lawfully purchased the wood wherewith to
make it.
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It is sometimes necessary to remove the pro-
vision grounds upon an estate; but six months'
warning is always given, and the produce of
the new ground is in season before they quit
the old ones. Such removal happens very
rarely-perhaps not once in twenty or thirty
years; but still when it does occur, it is done
with perfect justice to all parties. There cannot
be a remark more devoid of truth, than that
the property of slaves is not respected, for I
have abundant evidence that the reverse is the
case. In the event of death, they understand
very well who is the legal heir or heirs, failing
all blood relations, when the god-child or god-
children succeed. I have always observed that
there was the greatest accuracy and attention
in regard to those points; and strange as it
may appear, considering what notorious thieves
negroes are, they are not prone to steal from
the house of the deceased, though it is often
the custom for the proprietor or manager to
lock up the effects of a slave, unless the heir
be upon the spot to receive them. I recollect,
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not very long after I had been in the West
Indies, a young female domestic of ours asked
permission to go to an estate full twenty miles
off; adding that her god-father was dead, and
they had sent for her to get what he had left,
for he had no other one, as she expressed it,
"to own it." I had heard it in England so con-
stantly asserted, that the property of slaves
was not respected, and that the proprietor or
manager, in the event of their death, claimed
all, that when she told me this story, I gave
no credit to it; but, upon applying to her
master, he informed me it was like most other
home stories-without a shadow of truth. The
servant, therefore, was permitted to go, and
returned the third day with ostensible proofs
of her being indeed the heir; for she led an
immense pig along with her, and had a large
quantity of yams. The other property, being
rather more bulky than she could readily re-
move, she sold upon the estate; and had, as
she said, got some "leetle ting" (some money)
for it. She had not, however, been proof
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199
against the charms of a scarlet waistcoat, which
she brought home with her as too pretty an
article of dress to part with. Negro slaves have
no idea that any one would or could doubt their
legal right to their own property; they often
sell provisions without receiving the payment.
until it amounts to a certain sum; and they
rather prefer taking a few dollars at one time.
Indeed those slaves who sell Guinea grass are
seldom or ever paid oftener than once a week,
and frequently only once a month. Were their
rights as men not respected, they would act
very differently; but they know by experience
that there is not a white person who does not,
both practically and theoretically, consider a
debt due to a slave as much his bounden duty
to pay, as if it had been contracted to a white
or coloured free person.
I recollect a female domestic who died in our
house. She was a young woman of indifferent
character, and had had several husbands, but
would never settle-always idle, and a great
runaway. She left no children; and upon her
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death-bed, her elder sister took undisturbed
possession of her wardrobe; for that was her
all, as she had been so indifferent and indolent
a character. None of her former husbands
claimed her property, and her sister took it.
On all these subjects negro slaves are by no
means ignorant as to how they ought to act:
they are perfectly aware of their rights, and
have undisturbed possession of them.
I trust my readers are convinced that negro
slaves have abundance of food; and that, al-
though it is different from the usual victuals of
either English, Scotch, or Irish working people,
it is wholesome and nutritious. This I can
assert, that negroes greatly prefer it to the
common food of the working classes of Great
Britain. I have often tried, and never yet
found one negro who liked an English potatoe;
and I have often seen them put them aside,
when they had been left from their master's
table, or throw them to the fowls or pigs, ex-
pressing astonishment that any one could eat
them.
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201
Slaves, who are domestics to families in town,
have money instead of their allowances ;-none
have less than half a dollar, and none more
than a round dollar, weekly. They always
have two meals a day from table, so that the
greater part of this allowance is saved. Ser-
vants also have their clothes washed, or if
females, the materials for washing allowed them.
They have candles also; and as they cook in
their master's kitchen, they are at no expense
for fuel. They get a little sugar daily for
beverage, and a head man servant either has
his grog daily, or a bottle of rum weekly. All
negroes prefer having provision-grounds, for by
them they make much more than a dollar
weekly. Town servants very frequently keep
pigs; and there are none who do not rear
poultry, there being always some court-yard
about the servants' houses.
Negro servants have all a great turn for
barter, and readily perceive any opportunity of
turning it to advantage. I recollect B-
(whom I have more than once mentioned) going
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down to Trinidad: when he returned, I hap-
pened to go into his house an hour or two after,
when I saw a cloth full of blue for washing. I
inquired of his wife what she was going to do
with such a quantity of blue; when she informed
me that B—— had bought it in the market, at
Port au Spain, for two dollars and a half, but
it would sell in Kingstown market for four
dollars and about a year after, when he made
a second visit to Trinidad, he brought up more
than twice as much of the same article, and
also a quantity of starch, and he gained a very
good profit. But upon an estate, negroes are
so accustomed to receive the necessaries of life,
without even thinking of them, that they feel
more independent in that than in any other
situation; although pride operates so powerfully
upon some of them, that to be called a head-
servant is a great attraction, as adding to their
consequence.
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CHAPTER VIII.
THE NEGRO POPULATION.
Diseases incident to the negroes, and treatment of
the sick.
THERE is upon every estate a hospital for the
reception of the sick, and a sick nurse, or
nurses, as may be requisite. The hospital is a
long building, divided into three parts, with a
gallery in front, raised some feet from the
ground. The centre room is a place of confine-
ment, where the stocks are kept; and the side
rooms are so appropriated, that the males and
females have separate apartments. There is
either a small room also for the medicines, or
the medicines are kept by the manager.
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A medical attendant visits the estate twice
every week; but in cases of sickness, his attend-
ance is not limited, and if requisite he visits
two or three times a day. Negroes have more
imaginary diseases than any set of people I
ever was amongst they are fond of quackery,
and often defeat the whole treatment of their
medical attendant by taking nostrums of their
own. A negro must be made to swallow
physic, as you would make an infant swallow
it,-if I except castor oil, which some of them
like so much, that they will steal it to fry fish
and plantains with. Monday morning is always
a great day for the sick; all lazy or ill-disposed
negroes come into the hospital at least once a
week, and sometimes oftener.
It is only those who have lived in the West
Indies, who can fully understand the scene
presented by three or four domestic negroes,
coming up of a morning, with their heads tied
up, their eyes half shut, dragging one leg after
the other, and groaning as if they were in
agony; seeing such a party present itself at
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205
your door, you begin with "Well, what is the
matter with you?" "Misses, my kin (skin)
da hurt me—me bad too much--me eye turn
in me head:” this is followed by another long
and grevious howl. Probably the pulse is good,
no fever, the tongue clean, skin cool; upon
such occasions, too, you will find the appetite
excellent. We had one or two servants who
made a regular custom of being indisposed
weekly medicine they would not take, the
doctor they would not see; I had tried every
plan I could invent, but they baffled me com-
pletely, until I tried what laughing them out
of it would do. I was perfectly aware that it
was laziness, and I thought ridicule might
succeed: I merely used to say, "Well, tomorrow
of course you will be sick; one or two days
every week you know you must have to amuse
yourself." Their fellow servants seconded me
in this new mode of treatment; and in a very
short time it cured them so completely, that
they never attempted to repeat the trick, for
it was in fact nothing else.
#
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Negroes who are of good character do not
conduct themselves in this way; although per-
haps, with hardly an exception, it will be found
that they make more ado about a headache, or
any trivial complaint, than a white person
would do. They are a muscular, robust set of
people; I never saw any of them injured by
heat, nor did I ever hear them complain of it.
They feel cold indeed, much more even than
the white creole; and look most miserable
beings on a chilly day, when they cover them-
selves well with their woollen dress, and come
to their masters for a glass of rum, as in their
opinion the best preventive against cold.
Negroes are very erect, and are well formed.
Their bodies are uncontrolled by tight clothes
in infancy and childhood, and probably to this
may be attributed their being so much freer
of deformities than the population of Britain.
After more than five years' residence in the
West Indies, I cannot recal to my memory an
instance of one deformed child, or indeed of
any grown person whose shape was not free
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207
from glaring defect. I never saw but one
blind negro; and he, although blind to his
master, and able to do nothing for him, could
build a house for himself, and plant provisions.
I have seen three negroes with only one leg
each, and I remember one who had lost both-
each of these men had lost their limbs by
amputation the one who had lost both, had
suffered from his uncleanly habits; as he
would not allow the requisite care, gangrene
took place, and nothing but amputation saved
his life.
By far the most common diseases of the
negro, are slight disorders of the stomach:
before the canes are ripe, but when they are
old enough to be full of sweet juice and palat-
able enough, the negroes are fond of them:
they have been a considerable time without
the cane, and as soon as they find them in
this state, they relish them as a change; but
no sooner do they eat them, than they become
affected with disorders in the stomach, more or
less severe according to the quantity eaten.
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An unripe cane is equally pernicious with
unripe fruit; and produces nearly the same
bad consequences. At that season many negroes
are very seriously indisposed from this cause;
but there is no preventing them from com-
mitting the indiscretion.
Pleurisy is a disease of frequent occurrence
among negroes; but the prompt treatment
which is always had recourse to, seems very
successful, for a death seldom or ever is heard
of from this malady. Fevers from colds, very
similar to influenza, are common in the rainy
season; but they are not so long in duration as
they are in a northern climate; in three or four
days a cold is quite gone. The patient gene-
rally lies in bed, and drinks gruel, tamarind
beverage, or lemonade, and in a week is again
able to work.
It always appeared to me that every one in
the island, but more particularly the negroes,
were liable to boils; probably the appetite for
salted food is in a great measure the cause of
this, for fresh food is, after a time, almost
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209
loathed in a tropical climate; and is peculiarly
disagreeable to the taste of a negro. But
although subject to boils, and other bad cuta-
neous eruptions, I never saw or heard of a case
of scrofula. The cutaneous diseases to which
negroes are subject, originate not unfrequently
from the mosquito bite, which, if indiscreetly
irritated, produces often very unpleasant con-
sequences. I do not hesitate to say that the
attention to negroes in sickness, is beyond all
praise, no personal trouble, time, nor expense
are spared; and the sort of kindness shewn by
a slave proprietor towards his sick negro, is a
kindness involving much personal fatigue, and
many désagremens. These are no sentimental
scenes of benevolent sensibility; but the regular
dirty drudgery of an apothecary's apprentice,
often without the soothing consolation of gra-
titude from the patient, or the approbation of
the society in which one lives. The colonists
have only one reward—and that is, that although
reviled and slandered by those who know them
not, they have still the consciousness of doing
Way
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their duty. I do not mean to assert, however,
that all negroes are incapable of gratitude,
although the greater number consider the per-
sonal attentions of their master and mistress as
their right, and view it in no other light.
Of all the diseases to which negroes are
liable, none is so difficult of cure as the mal
d'etomac; and as this disease is of great import-
ance, and is extremely curious, from its con-
nexion with dirt-eating, I make no apology for
speaking at some length of one or two particular
cases. This disease assumes different forms;
but in most cases, it is attended by deep de-
pression of spirits, and this not only in adults,
but in young subjects. The first case I saw
was in J, a boy of about six years of age,
the son of J————: she had been a very indif-
ferent character, never at work; she was, how-
ever, very positive in her determination of curing
this child. The first day I saw him, he was
sallow, all the clear black hue of his skin was
gone; he did not complain, and when urged to
tell if he felt pain any where, he said he had
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211
1
none. I had him constantly near us, and saw
him cut his victuals every day; I tried him
with bread and butter and tea for breakfast,
but after the second morning he would not eat
it; he begged hard for a little bit of salt fish,
and this he got; and by the help of this he ate
fully half a pound of bread for breakfast, and
drank a basin of tea. The medical gentleman
who saw him was desirous that he should eat
as little salted food as possible. I had chicken
soup made for him, but his stomach revolted
at it; and he begged for plantain soup with
fish, or a little bit of pork. Boiled chicken
was next tried,-but this he also refused; so
that it became impossible to get him to take
any food but the usual negro fare; which I
therefore had cooked as carefully as possible,
and of these messes he ate a prodigious quan-
tity,—he seemed to have an unnatural appetite:
but to my astonishment, one day, I caught him
at his mother's door with his mouth and hands
full of earth, which he was eating greedily.
Proper medicines were given to him, and he
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was watched very minutely; but he was as
cunning as a fox, and if your eye was off him
for one minute, he was sure to have his mouth
full of earth. In less than a month his appe-
tite declined; and excepting a little wine and
biscuit, he ate nothing: his mother however
persisted, that if he were in the country he
would be quite well; and as neither medical
aid nor any care had produced the smallest.
good effect (for he was daily wasting away),
she was allowed to take him to a short distance:
here no improvement took place,—his face
swelled, difficult breathing began, and he died
in about two months from the time he first
looked ill. He never complained of pain, and
always said he had none; he was listless, and
slept or rather dozed twenty hours out of the
twenty-four; there was no possibility of amus-
ing him, or making him smile; he cared for
nothing, and used to recline all day with his
eyes half shut.
He was the third remove by
both father and mother from African descent,-
he had never worked in his life, for his illness
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213
commenced just at the period when otherwise
some little employment would have been found
for him. His mother, I know, had whipt him;
but I do not think she was inclined to be so
severe upon her child as most negresses are.
The next case I saw was M.; she was a
native African. She also looked sallow; and
as soon as it was perceived, every aid was
afforded her. In about three weeks, she con-
tracted a bad cough, food was disagreeable to
her, and a little port wine was her only sup-
port; she was deeply depressed. I asked her
if she was unhappy, but she constantly said,
she had nothing to make her uneasy,
"only
misses da cough hurt me head too much." She
never was confined to her bed, but expired very
suddenly, without apparently being worse. She
too had latterly been in the habit of eating
dirt, and used to tell A. that she wished she
could, but indeed she could not, help it.
L-, the mother of the boy above men-
tioned, died very suddenly of mal d'etomac :
she loathed all sorts of food, and literally
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screamed for rum and water or wine, but rum
she preferred; her pulse was very quick, her
cough frequent, and the doctor forbad her
tasting wine or spirits; arrow-root and sago
were tried, but in vain; she got rapidly worse.
I saw her take her medicine several times every
day, she became much depressed, and said
she was sure she would go dead. I tried every
method to soothe her and keep up her spirits,
but she declined rapidly; and it was after she
had been confined about three weeks that I
discovered her eating the wood of her bedstead,
tearing it off in splinters, chewing it, and swal-
lowing it greedily.-She seemed half ashamed
of it, but it would have been of no use to have
spoken to her on the subject. She continued
to suffer much from cough, and pain in her
chest, and also complained of nausea. Her
death was sudden, for she was not ill more
than five or six weeks; and the last day of her
life she was not worse than before: she was all
at once seized with a violent fit of coughing,—
I raised her up in bed, but in vain; she
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215
struggled dreadfully, and died in agony, after
about twenty minutes. Both her medical at-
tendant and her fellow servants considered her
disease mal d'etomac. She was two generations.
removed from the native African, and about 28
years of age.
N- also died of mal d'etomac: he was
attacked by nausea and vomiting; he could
retain no sort of food, nor even wine, upon his
stomach; he ate dirt, and was given to occa-
sional excess in drinking; he was from the first
confined to his bed, and died suddenly, in three
weeks from the first attack. O is still
alive, or at least was so when I last heard of
him. He was attacked by mal d'etomac, in his
infancy. I never saw any one eat dirt as he
did; I have seen him sweep all the dry dust
round the servants' houses into a heap, and
then actually lie down and put his mouth to it,
licking it up as if it had been the greatest
delicacy. Medicine he had of every descrip-
tion; fresh food and salt food-every thing was
tried; but nothing short of bodily confinement
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could prevent him eating dirt. The effect of
whipping was tried upon him, but this produced
no change; he was then brought beside us to
eat, and I saw him devour an amazing quantity
of good soup three times a day; but the mo-
ment he thought no one saw him, he returned
to his habit; and if he could not get dry earth,
he used to pull up the grass, and shaking the
earth that was attached to the roots, put it
into his mouth, as any other child would have
done with sweetmeats. He was depressed and
melancholy, yet he had all his wants supplied;
and said he felt no pain: he never joined in the
sports of the other children, but sat with his
head reclined upon his hand, in a continual
doze, and you had to ask the same question
repeatedly before he was sufficiently roused to
give an answer. He had no want of appetite,
and was very fond of fruit; this, however, was
not thought good for him, but he used to steal
it at every possible opportunity. His mother
seemed to dislike him, and therefore he was not
much with her; but, in fact, he seemed to care
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217
for no one: if any of the other negro-children
teased him, he used to fight, and with a good
deal of bitterness, too. When I arrived in St.
Vincent, he was about six years of age, and I
never could perceive him much better or worse,
during the time I was in that colony. His
father was a negro, and his mother a coloured
woman; the former a native of Dominica. I
had heard at home that dirt-eating was occa-
sioned by the longing of the native African to
return to his own country; but I have had
abundant proof of the absurdity of this opinion,
for the disease is by no means so common in
the native African, as in the negro who is a
creole of the West Indies, and it is not unknown
as a disease among coloured people; besides
which, it is not confined to the slave population,
for free negroes have often died from it: it is,
therefore, a most mistaken idea, that slavery
has anything to do with it. I saw still more of
this disease when I resided in Trinidad, and
only one of the cases there was an African
negro. In by far the greater number of in-
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stances it is a fatal disease, and I cannot con-
ceive anything so melancholy as the appear-
ance of some of those I have seen labouring
under it. There is no doubt that the mind is
affected by it; but there are many diseases to
which Britains are liable, of which melancholy
is a marked symptom also.
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219
CHAPTER IX.
VOL. I.
THE NEGRO POPULATION.
Instruction of the negroes-Details of an attempt
at private instruction-Wesleyan missions, and
their results-Dancing-Change in the character
and conduct of the negroes-A negro's idea of
freedom.
It is a commonly received opinion in Britain,
that negroes are professed idolaters; but the
fact is, that negroes are, although very ignorant
on the subject of religion, much better inform-
ed than is generally supposed. There is not a
trace of idol worship among them. I never could
hear of one instance of an adult negro who was
not baptized: there are indeed some young
children who are not baptized; and it must be
recollected, that it is sometimes hazardous to
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bring a child twenty or more miles for this
purpose; but whenever there is a clergyman
near, numbers come forward to have their
infants baptized. I am convinced there is not
a negro, old or young, who could not tell that
one God made the world, and created mankind;
and that He is all-powerful, and all-seeing.
Such questions as these I have proposed a
hundred times to negroes of all classes, as well
as to children, and I have always received a
distinct and intelligent answer, in their own
dialect. Negroes therefore are not idolaters.
Negroes of decent habits (and here I use
decent in their sense of the word, meaning a
good negro), say their prayers every evening;
and he is considered a very bad negro who
omits this: many say their prayers morning and
evening, and several have regular family-prayer,
at which others attend, as well as the negroes
of their own family. All tolerably good negroes
can say the Lord's prayer, and many can repeat
the Creed; they all know the sin of swearing,
lying, theft, &c. Some few negroes can read,
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221
but the number is very small who possess this
advantage. Strange as it may seem, I never
asked a negro if he knew who was God's Son,
(or the Redeemer of mankind), that he could
answer:-" Me never know 'bout him," was
the universal answer. I have put this question
to dozens of negroes of all ages, who were
in the habit of attending the Methodist chapel;
nay, who had attended for many years with
regularity, and yet it appeared that not one of
them had ever heard of the Saviour in so plain
a way as to convey to him an idea of his Being.
Nay, I have met with many of the lower class
of coloured people, who were equally ignorant;
and it was witnessing this total ignorance of
the most important of all truths, that led me to
the conviction that religious instruction had
not hitherto been conveyed to the negro in a
sufficiently plain form, else they must have
known who was the Son of God.
As soon as I perfectly understood the negro
dialect, I commenced a regular system of in-
struction with our domestics; not, however,
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making it a matter of compulsion. I had
twenty under tuition at different times; but I
never mustered more than from ten to fourteen
at once. One only could read a little; he was
a head-servant, not in my family, but he was
ambitious of learning; he had many good
points in his character, but I knew his character
for truth and honesty was not better than that
of his neighbours'-yet even this man knew
not the name of a Redeemer. The rest were
all in the habit of attending the Methodist
chapel, but they were just as ignorant as he
was. I will not detail the system of instruction
which I pursued with my negroes, in leading
their minds from the simple apprehension of
a God, to the truths of the Gospel, and the
comprehension of a Saviour; but when I
announced to my hearers the latter truth, tears
streamed down the cheeks of not a few of them.
But I would warn all who instruct negroes,
not to calculate too much upon the impression
made at such a time: those who do not calmly
reflect, are apt from such a circumstance as this
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223
to say, "look at the poor negro; he listens
with tears of joy to the glad tidings of salvation;
and only see with what apathy, not to say
opposition, such a doctrine is often received in
Britain:"-but it is not a fair comparison; to
the savage there is, as it were, a new world
opened upon him; and it is the feeling of
surprise, more than heartfelt conviction of his
own condition and the merits of Christ, that is
the cause of his tears. I mention this, because
I was myself much misled from inexperience,
by witnessing the great emotion that many
negroes testified at first upon hearing such
subjects; but when I saw that it did not effect
their practical conduct in the slightest degree,
I of course was aware that it was merely a
passing ebullition of feeling. Any one instruct-
ing savages, ought to insist much upon practical
duties," he who loveth Me, keepeth my
commandments:" these, and many such plain
and short sentences, I taught them to repeat.
I cannot help mentioning a singular notion
entertained generally by negroes, which I have
224
WEST INDIES.
heard expressed many times. It was while
speaking of the resurrection of Lazarus, that
one of the negroes interrupting me, said,
"Misses, we all come live again, after we go
dead." "Yes," said I, "at the resurrection,-
that is, the last day of the world, when every
one shall be raised from the dead, and appear
before God, as judge." "Yes, misses," replied
the negro, "C
me know that; we go dead one
day, next day we bury in a coffin, the third day
we shiver in a coffin, and den we go dead again
till all de world come quite done." I need
scarcely say that I endeavoured to remove this
belief, but I found it to be almost an universally
received opinion among negroes. From religious
instruction, I went on to teach my pupils to
read. I began all of them with the letters:
but some of them, who were adults, were so
impenetrably dull, as to defy the possibility of
teaching them to read: two adults, however,
who knew not a letter when they began, read
a little, so as to understand, in three months;
and the one who knew a little previously, got
WEST INDIES.
225
on still quicker;- all these three could, by
attention, read a little of the Bible. The
children were clever, and learnt fast, but forgot
very readily. Negro children are, indeed,
peculiarly heedless,-I say peculiarly, because
there are few children who are not so, more or
less; but I have taught children, both in the
lower and higher ranks of life at home, to
read; and although I cannot say that the negro
children were by any means behind in natural
ability, yet they were deficient in attention, far
beyond that of any children I ever met with;
they are never done with tricks; and unlike
a white child in the same rank of life, my
presence was not the slightest restraint to the
most ridiculous conduct; so that invariably
while I taught one, the others began a thousand
drolleries, which no reproof from me could
restrain. Indeed, I never saw a young negro
who possessed the slighest feeling of modesty
or shame.
I was desirous to try any thing but whipping;
so I used to have every night something nice to
226
WEST INDIES.
give them for supper, and when they behaved
ill, I merely withdrew the reward; but it had
little or no effect. The elder ones behaved
more attentively; but the want of decorum was
still so great, that had not the men withdrawn
themselves voluntarily, I should have found it
necessary to dismiss them; for they became
latterly so forward, so presuming, and impudent,
that I had made up my mind that it was no
longer a duty to instruct those who conducted
themselves in a manner so devoid of all de-
corum,-knowing as they did, the impropriety
of it; for it was an evil that increased, and
every succeeding day there was less and less
respect, until they became tired of learning, and
told me (C they would not learn any more." I
still continued to teach the children regularly;
but they got very weary of it, and when I
attempted to explain anything to them, they
used to squat down on the floor, and sleep.
I believe novelty at first made them willing
to attend; but when this charm was gone, they
preferred sleeping away the evening. I think,
WEST INDIES.
227
had I instructed them without referring to
practical duties, as incumbent upon those who
meant to lead a new life and become really
Christians, they would not have left off attend-
ing; but so soon as I knew they were suf-
ficiently instructed to be able to follow the only
valuable use of religious knowledge, viz. the
personal application of it, I used to insist upon
this, and they uniformly manifested a great
aversion to such doctrine.
When I found them stealing, lying, or acting
cruelly to each other, I took them aside, and
endeavoured kindly to point out to them their
sin, as hateful in the sight of God,—that they
knew this, and that God would judge them by
the knowledge they now possessed: it is hardly
to be expressed how they disliked such a mode
of correction, and indeed they told me that
they "would rather be flogged as be teased
so." But I had a great aversion to corporal
punishment; and was most desirous that an
appeal to the feelings, aided by moral and re-
ligious instruction, should enable us to banish
all such debasing methods.
L 3
228
WEST INDIES.
4.
On these principles I proceeded, and followed
them up practically, but I failed completely
in success, until our servants were justly con-
sidered the pest of the neighbourhood; for they
became so bold (knowing that they would be
exempt from corporal punishment), that their
conduct became insupportable, and beyond all
comparison more practically wicked than when
I began to instruct them. B. and one or two
more, were for a time the most finished hypo-
crites I ever beheld: they had learnt at chapel
to groan, turn up their eyes, and indeed, as
well as all St. Vincent negroes, to say "C
please
God" at every sentence. Tell a child to bring
a tea-cup from the pantry, and the answer is
sure to be, "Yes, misses, please God, I'll do
so directly." I did all I could to break them
of such expressions, as originating in hypocrisy,
and as utterly disgusting in common conversa-
tion. I have met with some in Britain, who
were of opinion that "if the Lord will” ought
to be used upon all occasions; for every thing,
say they, is uncertain in this world, but to use
this, or any other similar expression, upon all
WEST INDIES.
229
occasions, degenerates into the ludicrous, and
indeed, becomes irreverence towards the Deity.
Suppose, when a mistress of a family orders
dinner, that her servant answers, "Yes ma'am,
if the Lord will;" is not such an answer more
calculated to excite the risible faculties, than
to raise in the mind any recollection of the
uncertainty of earthly affairs? It is a thousand
pities that the negroes have acquired those
hypocritical forms, which considered as they are
by the negroes, as the sign of Christianity,
stand in the way of their advancement in true
religion.
Judging by the conduct of those negroes who
were the most regular attendants at the Metho-
dist chapel, I am unwillingly driven to the
belief, that the Methodist missions have done
little for the cause of true religion, and have
rather helped to foster dangerous delusion.
The Methodists I fear have done harm; for
they have diffused a general feeling among the
negro population, that abstaining from dancing,
from drinking (a vice, by the way, which
230
WEST INDIES.
negroes are rarely prone to), and a certain
phraseology, which is mere form on their part,
is Christianity. Now it would be much better,
if the negroes were taught that lying, stealing,
cruelty to each other, or the brute creation,
slander, and disobedience, were sins in the
sight of God, rather than level their anathemas
against dancing-the favourite, and let me say,
the innocent, recreation of the negroes; unless
when it trenches, as it sometimes does, upon
the sacredness of the Sabbath.
Religion of this kind, is the thing to take
with the negro: it invokes no self-denial,
excepting dancing; and the renunciation of
gay clothes, and jewellery: fond as the negroes
are of dancing and fine clothes, they are more
willing to yield upon these points, than they
are to abstain from lying, theft, fighting,
cruelty, or slandering their neighbours. It is
not my intention to represent the Methodists as
approving or disregardless of the sins of lying,
theft, &c. I only mean to say, that they insist
very much more upon the sin of what they
WEST INDIES.
231
term "vain amusements and dress," (and here
I use the very words of a negro upon this sub-
ject), than upon lying, theft, fighting, cruelty
and slander. Now the fact is, that the Me-
thodists are not in a condition to know much
of the every-day actions of negroes who are
slaves; but the noise of dancing is constantly
obtruded upon them: The one they see; the
other they do not see;—and associating very
little with those who alone could give them a
true picture of the manners and habits of slaves,
they are necessarily, to a great extent, ignorant
of the true character, or the necessary manage-
ment of the slave population.
It was to me a matter of constant regret,
during the time that I resided both in St. Vin-
cent and in Trinidad, that there were no mis-
sionaries of the Established Church,-men who
might have associated with the white popula-
tion, and have judged of them by personal, not
by hear-say knowledge; and who, at the same
time that they mixed in general society, might
possess the necessary talent of levelling their
T
232
WEST INDIES.
ideas to the capacities of the ignorant and un-
educated,―men willing to converse familiarly
with the negro; to visit them personally-to
listen patiently to the recital of long and often
very silly quarrels: in short, it requires no
usual endowments of piety and talent to be a
really useful missionary among the negro popu-
lation of the West Indies; and there is another
no less necessary qualification — a previous
knowledge of the world; for if one has only
lived at home within the limited sphere of a
religious connexion, he is little suited to fill
such a situation with prudence, or to be of real
benefit to the negro. Such persons, though
perhaps truly pious and excellent characters,
are possessed of little or no discernment. The
first time they see the emotion of a negro, when
instructing him in religion, they are in trans-
ports of joy; enthusiastically persuaded that
they have only to preach, and the bulk of the
negroes will believe ;-they forget that they are
speaking to a people emerging only from a
savage state; and that the emotions and feel-
WEST INDIES.
233
ings of an untutored savage, are not the same
as the emotion and feeling of a civilized being,
whose passions and emotions are artificially
controlled. They know not the quickly passing
feelings of a negro; and when they see him.
shed tears at the history of the sufferings of our
Saviour, they too often set him down as a
sincere convert, without waiting to see whether
his emotion has been of such a nature as to
produce any practical revolution in his conduct.
It cannot, I think, be doubted, that the
slanders which have long been commonly re-
tailed against the whole white population of
the colonies, have originated, in a great measure,
from the false impressions received by persons,
in themselves perhaps really pious, but totally
ignorant of the state of any society at home,
except what is generally called "the religious
world;" scarcely knowing, and never having
had any experience, of that far larger world
that lies without. Such persons, on going to
the West Indies, find no "religious world,"
and are shocked with the aspect of society;
234
WEST INDIES.
and without taking into consideration the de-
moralizing effects of a bad system, lay all the
evil they see at the door of the white population.
No class of persons, I repeat, are so little quali-
fied to judge correctly of the state of the West
Indies, as those who at home were confined
within their own exclusive religious world. I
have heard them speak with lamentation of the
hard work of negro domestics, and the little
time at their disposal for religious duties; but
do such persons know anything of the condition
of servants in the fashionable society of Eng-
land?—if they did, they would surely bewail
also the condition of the coachmen, footmen,
and ladies' maids,-whose lives are a nightly
slavery; but these good men know only the
condition of servants in the religious world, and
the regular tenor of their lives is the standard
by which they judge of the labour of the do-
mestic negro.
44
Respecting the general religious instruction
of the negro population, or rather, the long
continued want of it,-I do not blame the pro-
WEST INDIES.
235
prietors for not imparting knowledge to their
negroes; this they could not have generally
done; but their error was, in not representing
to government the impropriety of keeping such
a population without the means of regular
religious instruction from the Church of Eng-
land. But if the proprietors were to blame in
not representing this-in the strongest possible
light, too-the Church of England was also no
less careless in not attending to the spiritual
wants of such a body of people. The dissenters
saw the error, and availed themselves of the
opportunity; and it would be most unjust not
to say, that they merit great credit for the wish
to dispense the glad tidings of salvation among
the negroes it is only to be lamented, that
their zeal has so far exceeded their prudence;
and that the missionaries employed, although
often pious and not unlearned, are ignorant of
the world, and so very unpolished as to render
it impossible for them to mix in the good society
of the West Indies. It has very commonly
been repeated, and very generally believed, that
:
236
WEST INDIES.
the colonists have discouraged, in every way,
the instruction of the negroes; I have never
seen any opposition thrown in the way of negro
religious or other instruction. On many of the
St. Vincent estates, the Wesleyan missionaries.
preached, and had also schools for religious
instruction. There is even, if I mistake not,
more than one private chapel upon some of the
estates, supplied by the Wesleyan Methodist
missionaries, built by the proprietors of the
estates. I am, at all events, certain there is one
such which is regularly so supplied; and al-
though the proprietor be himself a steady and
conscientious member of the Church of Eng-
land, he built this chapel in order to procure
regular instruction for his negroes.
I have several times attended evening service
in the Wesleyan chapel, and found the con-
gregation numerous; far exceeding that of the
Established Church. Many of the most respect-
able members of the white population were
present; although the majority were always
coloured and black. The congregation in-
WEST INDIES.
237
variably listened with attention, and the utmost
decorum was uniformly preserved; save and
except the too frequent groans, and deep sighs,
to which I have already alluded.
Although the white and coloured population
who attended the Methodist chapel, were of
course, in general, able to understand the
discourse, I feel convinced (after having devoted
myself a good deal to the instruction of negroes)
that the slave population comprehended almost
nothing of it.
Our own people always attended, and in-
variably asserted that they "understood all
that the parson told them;" but when I came
to examine them upon what they had heard, it
was evident that they had not one rational or
distinct idea upon the subject, although many
of them had attended regularly for years.
The frequent change of the missionaries'
stations, seems to me to be very injudicious, for
it puts it more in the power of the negro to
deceive the missionary, and deprives the mis-
sionary of proof on a most important matter,—
namely, the stability of his converts.
238
WEST INDIES.
It was a subject of constant regret among the
St. Vincent proprietors, that there were no
Moravian missionaries on that island. They
were often mentioned to me by different gentle-
men who had been in Antigua, and became
acquainted with their general plans of instruc-
tion, as much more likely to be of real service
than any other sect. I was told that industry
and cleanliness were not even excluded from
their admonitions; but they inculcated those
virtues upon the negroes, both by precept and
example; so that even where a real convert was
not made, the cause of civilization was advanced.
I cannot help adding to this notice of the
Wesleyan missions, that the discouragement
given to social recreations, and especially to
dancing, is far from favourable to their utility.
An affectation of austerity is substituted for
religion,—and I may state from my own expe-
rience, that they were the best behaved and
most orderly negroes, who were most constant in
the dance; while the bad and disorderly did
not join in social amusement, but went off the
WEST INDIES.
239
estate, either for plunder or other mischief. I
have witnessed many negro dances, and they
were always conducted with great ceremony
and propriety; and I do think, that if a
Methodist missionary were to witness a few of
such scenes, it might help to disabuse him of
some of his prejudices. I therefore again re-
peat, that it is to be lamented that so much is
left to the Wesleyan missionaries, and that the
Church should not have been more on the alert
in this matter. I am strongly inclined to doubt
-however the people in England may be dis-
posed to think otherwise-if the civilization of
the negro, or his instruction in religion, can
ever take place so as to have any extensively
beneficial effect, without the co-operation of the
planters. It appears to me, that the negro
is led as much by the white population, as the
lower classes in Great Britain formerly were led
by the higher. Every circumstance which can
tend to rouse the attention of the higher classes
in the West Indies to the subject of religion,
would do more ultimate good than any of those
1
240
WEST INDIES.
methods which some have suggested;-methods
indeed, which prove how very ignorant all such
people are of the nature of a human being
emerging only from a savage state. These
opinions, upon which the plans of the religious
world are founded, appear so amiable, so
christian-like, and latterly have become so
fashionable, that it seems temerity almost to
assure my readers, that beautiful as all those
theories are, they are mere theories, and will
not stand the test of practice. I was early
tutored in them, and once admired them as
much as they now do. I acted upon them in
the West Indies for some time; and nothing
but the actual experience of living among
negroes and teaching them, both during week
days and on the sabbath, has convinced me
that the present plans of those who wish to do
good, are replete with disappointment and
danger.
While upon the subject of instruction, and
the tractableness of the negro character, I can-
not omit taking some notice of the sensation
WEST INDIES.
241
produced by the rumours that first reached the
West Indies on the subject of the abolition of
slavery. These rumours were vague and vari-
and some gave out, that government,
not convinced upon the subject, were resolved
to appoint commissioners of inquiry, who were
coming out to examine into the state of affairs.
ous;
A sensation was produced, much like that
which I suppose might be produced in any
county in England, were it understood that
commissioners were appointed to come there,
and examine into the proceedings of the justices
of the peace, the moral habits of the inha-
bitants, and their conduct towards their de-
pendents; and also to examine into the internal
economy of their estates, and whether they
behaved kindly and generously to their work
people; and lastly, to examine their servants
as to those particulars, and learn whether they
had any complaints to make against their
masters.
It was generally supposed that this was what
the commissioners came out to investigate; and
242
WEST INDIES.
although the planters had no reason to shrink
from the investigation, yet that person must
be indeed destitute of feeling, if he can calmly
look forward to such proceedings without his
mind being deeply wounded.
There is nothing more unpleasant than to lie
under suspicion, and surely cruelty is a crime
of the deepest dye,-therefore deeply as every
proprietor of negroes felt the degradation, of
being suspected of the crimes alleged against
him, he also felt satisfaction in having nothing
to conceal.
It is not my business to say any
thing here of the opinions of the commissioners:
but I am much mistaken if they left the West
Indies with precisely the same opinions with
which they arrived there; and in particular,
if they did not look back upon the Island of
St. Vincent as the land of real kindness and
hospitality.
Mr. Maddock, the commissioner, whose life
unfortunately was sacrificed to the climate of
St. Lucia, left a few lines expressive of his
opinion of the society of Trinidad, which were
WEST INDIES.
243
published in the Port of Spain Gazette almost
immediately after his death, and which will not
soon be forgotten.
It says not a little for the liberal sentiments
of the population of St. Vincent, that notwith-
standing the sensation produced by the first
intelligence of commissioners coming out, never-
theless, when those commissioners did come,
they were received with, I think, more kindness
than most strangers find in England,—although
these may have arrived with letters of introduc-
tion more likely, one would imagine, to serve
as a better passport, than bearing with them
a commission of inquiry. The planters were
at this time greatly distressed from the low
prices of produce, &c.; but the people upon
their estates were very manageable, and in
general contented and happy. Very few punish-
ments had taken place; and upon many estates
there had been no punishment for a series of
years, even where there was a large gang of
negroes. I recollect one estate in particular,
where, although the negroes were not much
VOL. I.
M
244
WEST INDIES.
under 300, in the space of seven years not one
instance of punishment had occurred. Now
if I mistake not, this says much in favour of
him who could manage a West Indian estate so,
and it also proves that the slaves were contented
and happy. Indeed one had only to walk
about the estates in the vicinity of Kingstown
as I was in the habit of doing every morning
and afternoon, and see how cheerful the slaves
were, to be convinced that the idea of slavery,
as a bondage, was the last thought that ever
entered their minds.
Although few slaves can read, yet there are
many free negroes and coloured people who
can, and who do read the English newspapers;
and the very memorable debates in parliament
upon the subject of slavery soon found their
way, in a most distorted and mangled form,
to the negroes, and the effect was instantly
visible. There was a total change of conduct:
and the behaviour of the negroes to me, said
plainly enough,-take care what you are about,
for if you dare to find fault with me, I'll make
you smart for it.
WEST INDIES.
245
1
I
Perfect confidence in the slave population
I never had felt. Now, however, I experienced
very different feelings: for I felt that I was
living among people dependent upon me, whom
I had every inclination to be kind to and
instruct, but who were now determined to be
influenced by no treatment however kind; and
who shewed in their every action that they
looked upon me, being their proprietor, as
necessarily their enemy. I had acted always,
I trust, kindly to the domestic slaves around
me: I had daily devoted a certain portion of
time to their religious and moral instruction,
and I thought I had to a great extent gained
their confidence; but it was gone, as a flash of
lightning and those whom I had done the
most for, and who were the most intelligent
and best knew their duty, turned out imme-
diately upon the arrival, or indeed a little before
the arrival of the commissioners, the most
worthless and disreputable of all characters;
and moreover so insolent, that I was terrified
to make a request to a servant, though I can
1%
M 2
246
WEST INDIES.
truly say, I had never used a harsh word in
my life to any one of them.
From this moment, all possibility of instruct-
ing the slave through the medium of the master,
I feared was gone; they now considered all
masters as tyrants; and some of them even
understood that it was no fault to run off alto-
gether, thus setting all law and good order at
defiance.
The negroes from this moment believed that
Massa King George had said they were all to
be free-a term very differently understood by
the negroes and by their advocates on this side
of the water. By free, a Briton means that the
negro is no longer to be the property of his
master, but situated as labourers are in Eng-
land; that is, he is to work for his own and
his family's support, or starve. But the word
free means quite another thing in the negro
sense; for they tell me that it means there
is to be no massas at all, and Massa King
George is to buy all the estate and gie them to
live upon :" for as they have often added to me-
66
WEST INDIES.
247
}
"Misses, what signify free, if we have to vorck;
if we be to vorck, we just as soon and sooner
vorck for white massa than any one; white
massa deal better than black massa; and as for
slave that signify noting at all, for if we be to
vorck, we're better slave than free, misses.'
This is the genuine sentiment of not one, but
almost all negroes; and freedom to them with-
out a total exemption from regular work, would
not by the majority be considered a boon, but
the very reverse.
These were in themselves great evils for the
colonists. The negro's daily work was per-
formed with much more than his usual indo-
lence, and was often altogether neglected; the
consequences of such conduct upon estates was
necessarily productive of the worst effects—the
stock was neglected, and the crops fell short
for want of the necessary exertion on the part
of the labourer-evils too, which no kindness
or reproof could obviate. Neither would any
planter, under such uncertainty, venture to
begin any improvement, or go on with those
$
248
WEST INDIES.
commenced; and an estate which might have
turned out tolerably well, and be kept out of
debt by good management and judicious im-
provement, was by these unexpected measures
plunged into the greatest distress. The mort-
gagee at home began also to feel that he could
not expect much longer to have any good
security for his money; and therefore he felt it
prudent to arrange his accounts with the estate
as speedily as possible. If the unfortunate
proprietor could not come to a settlement, there
was only one other method-the estate must
be sold for the benefit of the mortgagee; and
as for the proprietor and his family, they must
do what they could to procure an uncertain
pittance. No one resident in the West Indies
can deny the perfect truth of this statement:
and from being an eye-witness of such facts, I
knew what great cause the planters had to
complain. There is hardly a possibility, if a
planter's estate is sold for debt, of his ever
again being able to do any thing for his family.
This must necessarily prey upon the spirits of
WEST INDIES.
249
any honorable man, and many have already
fallen untimely victims to it.
These results I have often heard regretted
by the negro himself, intoxicated as he was by
the wild notions which he had imbibed. It is,
indeed, no light thing for negroes to have to
part with their master-their own expression
is this, "He's a bad massa when we don't
find the want of him." To the good negro,
a change of master is not agreeable, even
although the change should be to a richer,
and one equally kind. But it is otherwise
with bad characters, who have it in their
power to deceive a person who is a stranger
still more easily than an old master. I trust
that in the observations I have made, I have
not been misunderstood; it is not my inten-
tion to reprobate inquiry, still less, to defend
slavery. But I could not be silent as to the
unfortunate results of the injudicious harangues
made in parliament from time to time, and
the support given to impracticable theories-
dangerous alike to the slave and the colonist-
250
WEST INDIES.
on the part of the Society for the Suppression
of Slavery. Deeply have the colonies suffered
from the promulgation of wrong-headed plans,
and from the intemperate zeal and mistaken
kindness of the abolitionists.
WEST INDIES.
251
CHAPTER X.
Idolatry-Obeah, witchcraft-Negro honesty, and
anecdotes-Gentleness-Anecdotes-Affection.
THERE must, I am convinced, be old Afri-
cans, who cannot have forgotten such things as
the worship of idols, but people seem not to be
aware, that in Africa very many negro nations
are not idolaters, but Mahometans: this was a
subject which I searched into minutely, and I
never found one native African who did not
positively deny all knowledge of such a thing as
idol worship. At the same time I do not doubt,
that even if they did remember it, they might
have denied it; because native Africans do not
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at all like it to be supposed that they retain the
customs of their country; and consider them-
selves wonderfully civilized by their being trans-
planted from Africa to the West Indies. Creole
negroes invariably consider themselves superior
people, and lord it over the native Africans.
I never found any who knew the name of
Mahomet; but probably if I had known the
name in Mandingo, I might have been able to
make them understand me better. Several
native Africans have told me, that in their
country "they went every fourth day to church,
to say prayers to one very great Massa, whom
the great God sent down into the world a long
time back to teach people to be very good.
The great Massa never comed to Africa, but he
stop in a country far off from them, where the
sun rise." These and similar stories I have
received from native Africans. They seemed
indignant at the idea that they should be sup-
posed capable of idol worship, and this without
one exception; yet many have made no secret
of admitting to me, without any disguise, that
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their nation ate human flesh; but of this I
shall speak more hereafter.
Negroes are superstitious; but I never met
with one whose superstition, although different,
was at all more absurd than the superstition of
many
of the lower classes in Scotland.
The Obeah of the negro is nothing more or
less than a belief in witchcraft; and this ope-
rates upon them to such a degree, as not unfre-
quently to produce death. There is not perhaps
a single West Indian estate, upon which there
is not one or more Obeah men or women; the
negroes know who they are, but it is
is very diffi-
cult for white people to find them out. The
way in which they proceed is this: suppose a
negro takes a dislike to a negro or negroes,
either upon the same estate with himself or
upon another, he goes to the Obeah woman or
man, and tells them that he will give money, or
something else as payment, if they will Obeah
such and such persons. The Obeah (woman)
then goes to those people, and tells them that
she has obeahed them: she of course tells them
:
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that this is an impulse over which she has no
control: slow poison is at times secretly ad-
ministered, but in by far the greater number of
cases the mind only is affected; the imagination
becomes more and more alarmed, the spirits
sink,—lassitude and loss of appetite ensue, and
death ends the drama.
The practise of Obeah is too common among
negroes, and very fatal to them; I knew of an
instance where fifteen people, in the course of a
few months, died from no other cause. It is
in vain to reason with them,-"Misses, I'm
obeahed-I know I'll go dead," is all you can
obtain from them. Negroes so firmly believe
this, that they have bottles hung round and
about their houses, and in their grounds, full of
some sort of infusion which they prepare to
prevent the Obeah from affecting them; they
often wear an amulet, or some such thing, as a
charm for the same purpose.
The practice of Obeah is death, by the laws
of St. Vincent, but there is no possibility of
conviction. Negroes believe that spirits occa-
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255
sionally appear, and that devils, or as they call
them, jumbees, are frequently to be seen; nay,
that jumbee sometimes compels them to go
away with him, and run off from their master ;
but I rather think they make a convenience of
jumbee upon such occasions.
The name is different,-but the truth is,
negroes believe in witchcraft; and so do many
of the lower orders in Britain. I have seen
country servants, in the county of Mid Lothian,
who were as firm believers in it as any negro
can be. I have seen a dairy-maid churn, with
the dairy locked, for fear of a man coming in,
whose eye she declared would have such an
effect as to spoil the butter. I have often
reasoned with this woman, who was in all other
respects a shrewd, sensible female, for her rank
in life; and she never ceased to tell me, that if
I disbelieved in witches, I must also disbelieve
the Bible: there was no arguing with her; in
her opinion, it was sacred ground. Indeed, she
was not a solitary instance. I have often heard
the lower classes in Scotland use the same
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argument. Not long ago a respectable man,
in one of the western counties of England, sent
to borrow a churn from a lady of my acquaint-
ance; because, as he alleged, "the devil had
got into his churn, and he could not make
butter in it."
The existence of Obeah by no means implies
that negroes are idolaters; for Obeah is only
their term for witchcraft,-a belief in which, is
not necessarily connected with idolatry.
It appears almost temerity for any one at the
present day to attempt to delineate the cha-
racter of negroes as they really are; for they
have been for a length of time described to the
world, as beings, although destitute of religion,
yet so gentle, so amiable, so inoffensive, so
patient under oppression, so affectionate and
faithful, even to their tyrants, that had I not
lived among them, and found that after all that
had been said, this was only a dream of the
imagination, I should probably to this moment
have believed that Christian virtues exist in a
superior degree where Christianity sheds her
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dimmest light. But a few years' residence
among negroes, went far to lead me to a
sounder way of thinking.
The first defect of character which struck me
as very
marked among negroes, was a love of
deceit. The day I landed in the West Indies,
I was shocked to see many of our servants so
badly clothed, particularly as they informed
me that they had no other clothes, not having
even a change; and they declared they had not
received any for some years. Of course they
were soon well clothed; but the females
grumbled at the kind of clothing which I
gave them, although it was quite as good as
any respectable female servant would wish for
at home. Shortly afterwards it was ascertained
that they had recently received clothing; yet
they firmly denied it, and it was supposed
they had sold it,—however, as they still denied
having ever received any, no further question
was put to them. But about six or eight
months after my arrival, B. made his appear-
ance one morning in a new blue cloth jacket.
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I said, "Well, B., you have got a nice new
jacket; did you buy it ready-made?" for I had
not a suspicion how he came by it.
"Yes,
misses," said B. P., a little fellow who was
learning to be a house-servant, burst into a fit
of undisguised laughter, and said "that what
he get from massa (meaning the attorney),
when he down to leeward." B. instantly
struck him over the mouth; but the lad owed
B. a grudge, and added, "you say so; don't
I know my mamma and sissy (sister) hae their
bamboo (woollen dresses) too." When I first
came amongst them, I told them whatever they
wished for, to come to their master or myself,
and if we could give them what they desired,
they should have it; but I hoped they would
not take what did not belong to them without
asking permission. I also added, If any acci-
dent happen to you, come and tell the truth,—
accidents will happen occasionally, but I shall
never find fault with those who tell the whole
truth. But it was in vain; nothing that was
broken or destroyed was ever mentioned, and
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when it was of necessity found out, "no one do
it but da ratta" (the rats). In eighteen months
they broke a whole set of dinner ware, and it
was the rats did the whole !
I have seen negro servants appear with part
of my wardrobe, and wear it without fear of
detection, or shame at being a thief. A ring of
some value, and a silver thimble, which was
merely valuable as the gift of a friend whose
initials were on it, disappeared; a search was
made, every one was asked, but in vain, no
trace of it was to be seen. Their master was so
annoyed, that he told them that unless the ring
was produced before night, he would have the
matter fully investigated, and they would cer-
tainly be punished, that is, flogged: the ring
therefore was put down on the table of one
of the chambers, before the family retired to
rest; the thimble, however, was destined to
appear on another occasion.
The sewing of
a mattress having given way, Q
one of
the female servants, came up to sew it: she
had on a silver thimble; this I did not wonder
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h
at, for no negro would be so vulgar as to use a
thimble of base metal; but I thought I saw
initials on it. "I said, Q, will you be so
good as to shew me that thimble for a moment?"
The identical initials were upon it.-I asked
her how she had got this: "I got it from
D—
❞ answered Q. "Do you know where
he got it?" "Yes, misses, I seed him buy it;
he buyed long afore you comed to St. Vincent,
when he lived with the manager, and he gave
it to me in change for a bunch of blue and red
beads, for he wife H. misses. I'll take the
book and swear to it, if you misbelieve me."
Now it was quite needless for me to reason upon
such a point, for the thimble was of a peculiar
pattern, which others in the family knew as
well as myself, and the initials were there plain
enough—yet this woman was actually angry
because I would not stop to hear her swear
a false oath.
Negro methods of theft defy the most watch-
ful eye. I never went to my store room that I
did not miss some article or other, yet it was
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not once in twenty cases that I could discover
the thief. I was certain as to missing bottles
of Madeira at different times; and though
I watched as minutely as I could, yet I never
saw one of them removed. The cellar had a
double door, with a very strong lock on each
door; the windows were secured across with
wooden rails, none of these were ever broken or
displaced, and as they were old, had they been
removed and put in again, it could not have
escaped notice. I tried to put a bottle of wine
through these bars, but could not succeed; yet
it so happened, that returning quickly to the
cellar one day after I had left it, I found a
bottle of wine, with the neck of it sticking
through the bars, and B——— hastily retreating
from the spot when he saw me. When I
pointed it out to him: he said, "Misses, that
be very strange, it must be Jumbee do so." At
that time I could not comprehend, or discover
how B. or anybody else had got the bottle to
the window, or how, if got there, it could be
taken away, yet I knew that many had disap-
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peared; and it was not till I had left St. Vin-
cent, and resided in Trinidad, that I learnt the
ingenuity of the thief. I was then told by
B.'s fellow servant, that he had a way of
putting a string round the bottle when in the
cellar without my seeing, and he put the end
of the string through the window-bars; and
when I was gone, he drew it to the bars, and
placing the neck through the bars, he drew the
cork, poured out the wine, and then breaking
the bottle, carried away the fragments.
B. could pack pretty well, and I employed
him the day before I left St. Vincent in packing
a case of liquor, and so very clever was he in
his mode of deceit, that although I stood by
the whole time till the box was packed and the
lid nailed on,-after which it was deposited
where he had no access to it,-yet when this
case was opened, the bottles were found all
empty, and they were not the bottles I had
given him to put in; for those I gave were
French bottles, and the ones he put in were
English now he must have contrived while
:
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}
wrapping the straw round each bottle, to place
an empty English bottle instead of a French
full one.
Negroes will steal, cheat, and deceive in every
possible way, and that with a degree of adroit-
ness that baffles the eye and the understanding
of any European; and what is worse, they
invariably get into a passion if you refuse to
let them take the book, and swear to the truth
of what you know to be false. They have not
the slightest sense of shame; and it not unfre-
quently happens that if you threaten them,
they will, after the most solemn asseverations
of their not having touched the article in ques-
tion, actually bring it and lay it down before
you. I found it almost impossible to keep
poultry for the use of my family; for so soon as
I bought them, the negroes sold them again
in the market-place. All my servants kept
poultry; and strange to tell, my hens during
the short time I was able to keep them, never
were known to lay an egg, but the negroes had
always plenty to sell to me from their own
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fowls. The cow sometimes would give no milk
for several successive days; but I found that
it was milked over night, and the bottle of
milk sold in the market, which brought thirteen
pence to the thief. The elder negroes teach
theft to their children as the most necessary
of accomplishments; and to steal cleverly, is
as much esteemed by them as it was by the
Spartans of old. I have had such incontro-
vertible proofs of this, that it was the know-
ledge of it that induced me to recommend
separating the children from their parents, at
the age when they are taught stealing as an
important lesson.
It is very rarely that you can catch a negro
stealing, for they have a thousand ways of
throwing you off your guard. I recollect H.
coming up one day with a spoon for medicine
for her child: I noticed that the spoon was
silver, and had upon it the initials of a gentle-
man's name whom I knew. I said, Where did
you get this spoon? "Misses, I buyed him in
a market for one bit," (four pence). I had
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not then been long in the West Indies, but I
afterwards found this nothing uncommon. It
would be tedious to go on with such details; I
only repeat that truth, honesty, or any fear of
false swearing, is unknown in the negro cha-
racter; at all events, if there are any individuals
whose truth, whose honesty, or whose oath
can be relied upon, I regret to say that after
living many years among negroes, and study-
ing their characters very carefully, I only met
with two who shewed any fear of lying,-they
were both creoles of St. Kitts, slaves in
Trinidad, and very interesting characters as
negroes-but I dare not in truth say more,
even of those, because I have seen that their
honesty and truth were not altogether unim-
peachable, though as negroes they were indeed
wonders.
Nothing can be more absurd than to talk of
the gentle negro;-they are passionate and
furious beyond all description; they flog, bite,
kick, pinch, spit, and fly at each other like
wild beasts, and all often about the merest
..
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trifles. Husbands are most cruel to their wives,
and will not under any circumstances be per-
suaded to desist from flogging them. Sunday
is always the principal day for fighting: after
they had returned from chapel, we often found
it impossible to read, from the noise of their
brawls. One morning we heard a desperate
noise, and upon asking B. what was the matter,
he said it was only R. "cobbing he wife ;” that
is, flogging. R. was a very respectable negro;
he was practically free, because he had leave
from his master to work for himself; but not
being legally manumitted, he drew his allow-
ances, and had many advantages which legal
manumission would have deprived him of; as,
in the case of sickness or old age he had every
thing provided for him. B. said this with the
greatest nonchalance, although the screams
were violent. We sent for R.: he came in,
and made his bow, apparently aware of what
he had been sent for: "Massa, misses," said
he, "I axe pardon for holding so much uproar,
but no man could bear he wife to behave so as
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،،
mine do, and not punish well. I have stopt
her," said he with great warmth, "and she'll
be braver than I think she is, if she do the like
again.”
"But don't you think R., as your
wife seems a civil sort of woman, that if you
had calmly told her when she was in the wrong
she would have begged your pardon, and done
so no more? for it is dreadful to see how you
negroes flog your wives; no white man dare do
so."
Massa, they no need; they wive quite
differ from we wive; (misses, I axe pardon),
but massa, 'pose (suppose) you wife cheat you
out of one joe (17. 4s. 6d.), and go buy fine
gown; no mind you shirt, but make fine dress;
go out, no say one word; cook no supper, all
house go wrong; go dance all night, you no at
that dance; she top out all night, come in a
morning as impudent as one monkey to cook a
breakfast,-massa, would you no lick her well?
-mayhap law no let you do so; for if law go
hinder me, I'd bear bad heart to S. ——, and
some day I'd may be gie her a death's dose."
We tried to persuade him that he had corrected
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her at all events too severely, but his answer
was this "Massa, 't is to no prepise (purpose)
to tell me all dat; white man have good wife,
and they no know how heavy they'd lay on if
they wife was to do so."
One evening Q. and, her husband were, as
her mother A. denominated it, trying who'd
kill each other fastest; Q. had been thrown
down upon the stones in the court-yard; her
master thought it time to interfere, and told T.
her husband, to desist, but in vain; he said,
"Massa, she be your nigger, but my wife."
"But she's my flesh and blood," retorted her
mother:" "and she be my sissy," said P.,
and like furies they fell upon T.; biting,
scratching, kicking, and spitting, like cats,
until it became necessary to lay violent hands
on the whole party, and commit them for the
night to the stocks to cool their rage. The
cause of their quarrel was this:-Q. had not
mended T.'s clothes properly, who was a trades-
man, and at the same time he found out that
she was making money by taking in needle-
work.
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One night very late, B. came and told me
his wife K. was very bad indeed. She did not
belong to us; but being his head wife she lived
in his house. We went down to see her, and
asked her if her mistress knew that she was
sick. "Yes, massa, she had doctor to me; he
gie me some tuff (physic) to take." "Did you
take it ?" "No."-"Why?"
"'Cause it
smell very bad."-"Massa," said B., "she
fool too much; me will beat her well when da
sick go off; she take ipecacuanha bush root to
eat, and she eat too much, go kill herself."
An emetic was given her, and she was soon
relieved. We entreated B. not to beat her;
but he did not mind what we said, and kept his
word, flogging her severely. Indeed there
never was a week during my residence in St.
Vincent, that K. was not flogged by B.; yet
he spoke kindly enough at times to her, though
he always kept her at a distance.
Negro mothers, with only one exception, I
have found cruelly harsh to their children;
they beat them unmercifully for perfect trifles→
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omissions perhaps in punctilio towards them.
I have frequently seen mothers flog their chil-
dren severely for forgetting to say yes or no
maʼam, to them; for a negro child is early
drilled by them to call their mothers "maʼam,"
or a reputed father "sir." A. was smoothing
clothes, when Q., her eldest daughter, came
too near the ironing table; she still persisted
in annoying her mother in this way, until
A. took the hot smoothing iron and clapped
it upon Q.'s back, which to this day bears
evident marks of the mother's cruelty. I
did not see this action, but A. has often told
me of it, as a good story; and the mark be-
tween Q.'s shoulders is still to be seen plain
enough. I have seen a negro beat and scratch
her daughter violently, when that daughter too
was within a few weeks of her confinement,
merely for suffering a chicken to fly into a pail
of water, although the bird escaped unhurt. I
have also seen a mother severely beat her child
who was sickly, because he had eaten a roasted
plantain which she intended for herself; and
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?
when begged to desist; and when the boy was
removed from her by his brother and another
negro, she next day, on seeing him, almost bit
off his ear, which continued a bad sore for
many months after. I have seen a brother and
sister butt each other like cows, bite, and try
to fasten their teeth into the fleshy part of each
other's shoulders: I have seen sisters box each
other's faces, and bite so dreadfully, that they
have borne the marks of each other's fury for
weeks. I have known a mother who, whenever
she saw her son, tried to stone him; and more
than once she has cut his head severely; till at
length so afraid was the child, that if he saw
his mother at a distance, he would, as he ex-
pressed it, "run as if Jumbee were after him."
But after all, this is nothing to what I witnessed
in Trinidad,—the island of experiment,-of
which hereafter.
One Sunday afternoon, H. came into the
court-yard scolding violently. V. took up the
leaf of a table, and literally belaboured H. with
it until she fell down; when V, threw herself
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*
upon her, and fastened her nails and teeth in
her. On all such occasions there is only one
process-and that is, forcibly to separate the
parties, and put them in the stocks. The
quarrel originated in V. having reported that
H. had been guilty of some theft.
One day, one of my children remarked that
the glass of water she had got was not clean.
B. was told civilly to bring another glass of
water; but he stood immoveable; P. brought
one. B. was evidently quite offended. After
dinner, the child went into the back gallery to
play, where B. had to pass in carrying out
dinner the child was at the time an infant,
just two years old; we heard her coughing,
crying, and apparently choking, and asked B.
if anything had bitten the child. No, massa,
she cry for fun." Impossible, said I, she
would not cry and choke so for fun; but Mr.
more alive to negro character than I was,
noticed a table napkin in B's hand, and that
the child's mouth was all over yellow, "What
have you got there?" "Massa, noting at all
(C
"
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but one towel."" Shew me." B.
"Shew me." B. attempted
to go away; but we secured the towel, in which
was a tea-cup with mustard, mixed too with
country peppers, and a tea-spoon. The child,
when she had recovered the use of speech, told
that B. had given her something that he said
was good and sweet, and that she took it. Yet
B. positively denied it, although the child's
mouth was blistered both inside and out. This
kind of revenge is common among negroes,—
that is, hasty, momentary revenge; but no in-
dividual negro is apparently given to lay deep
schemes of revenge, and if he do not revenge
himself quickly, he is not likely to do so at all.
These little details may be deemed trifles by
some; they are indeed trifles; but they are
trifles which certainly illustrate negro cha-
racter.
You may punish a negro either by flogging
or confinement, and he may and will look
sulky at the moment; but strange to tell, the
next half hour he forgets it, has no feeling of
shame at all, and begins to talk and chatter,
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the same as if nothing had happened. C,
one of our negroes, was a singular character;
full of frolic, he had a way of turning off every
thing with a joke: if you spoke to him seri-
ously, he ran off to the woods, and there he
lived until he stood in need of any thing, and
then came back to work for a short time; he
was a daring thief: flogging he did not mind
at all, but he could not endure to be told of his
faults. We were not a little annoyed, one
morning, to learn that C. had broken into
a gentleman's wash-house, and stolen clothes to
a considerable amount. He was sent for, and
he rather exulted in the theft than otherwise;
when threatened, he produced some few articles,
but said coolly, he had sold the rest, and in no
way could they be found. He said, "Massa,
you may go to massa
and tell him hang
me if he like, for I no care one black dog,"
(a small copper coin; the expression meaning
the same as when one says, in England, I don't
care a farthing). He used to boast of this
transaction, and say that "Massa
one
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mean fellow, to go and tell my massa that I
tieve from him; if I no tieve one leetle bit,
what me get for sell?"
H. had a baby about two months old;
she had nothing to do but to take care of it
(being a domestic); the child was not in the
estate nursery, as it would have been had the
mother been a field negro. This infant fell sick,
and the doctor attended it three times a day;
but as the mother was stout and well, we con-
sidered that a sick nurse was unnecessary
She did not wash or cook either for herself or
baby, but she always looked sulky when asked
to attend upon her child. The third evening
of little W's illness, I went down with the
doctor to see him, but I was astonished to find
the poor baby crying and rolling about the
floor alone. I instantly called A., and asked
where H. was. "Misses, I don't know:"
every servant denied knowing anything of her,
until I sent for their master, when N. said
"she saw H. go out some little time since
in full dress; she believed she must be for a
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dance." To pacify a poor sick baby of two
months old until two in the morning, I found
no easy task at that hour the mother arrived,
astonished that massa and misses "should
make such a work about he child, for he'd cry,
and when done he'd go sleep."
I have seen Q. beat her child severely,
when not six months old, and pinch her ears
for crying, when she was teething. I have
frequently seen X., a coloured domestic, throw
broken bottles at her children, and they were
often severely cut by them. A—, with her
children Q-, V—, Y—, and P-, were all
domestics; she used to beat them so dreadfully,
that every two or three days we used to be
startled by the cry of "Oh! massa, misses, me
mamma go murder me;" but any interference
on our part, was of little use, for A. was an
expert boxer, and was, as she herself said,
"match for any man." If her children behaved
improperly, and she thought they were not
punished as they ought to be, she took the task
upon herself, and gave them a beating.
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I do not recollect, during my residence in
the West Indies, of ever seeing brother shew
kindness to brother, except Z.: he was a
coloured boy, a strange inconsistent character.
I wished him to be a tradesman, and to learn
to read and write, and become a clever man :
he was a creole of Dominica, and I felt the
greater interest in him, as he was the illegiti-
mate child of a Scotchman, who to his disgrace
had not manumitted his son. His father was
dead; but Z. was perfectly aware who his
father was, and used to ask me about his
relations in Scotland with considerable interest;
yet this boy positively refused to learn to read,
and when I asked why, he said, "Cause I no
want to larn." He was kind to his little sick
half-brother O., and used to keep what he
liked best, and give it to him: when he caught
O. eating dirt, he used to whip him; but not
with so much cruelty as most negroes. Z.
had not a wish to better his situation, he was
perfectly happy; he was dull and plodding in
his appearance, but I do not mean depressed,
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for he was a cheerful boy. He used to be very
fond of talking to me when he was rubbing his
tables, and asking about Scotland. There were
some plates in the house which had houses
figured upon them, and he wished to know
if these were like Scotch houses: they did not
much resemble houses at home, but I took out
a volume containing views in Scotland. The
first I happened to open was that of Pennicuik
House: he looked all amazement, and said,
"Misses, that be far grander than even govern-
ment-house." I told him government-house
would be considered at home neither as a large
nor handsome house. Then said he, "Misses,
what like house have their governor?" I told
him there was no governor: the king lived in
England, and governed both England and
Scotland, besides Ireland. "Misses, that same
Ireland where the salt pork and Irish potatoes
come from?” "Yes." "But misses, have
massa King George grander house than that?”
said he, still eying Pennicuik-House with
astonishment.
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279
One day I heard this boy's voice quarrelling :
he was not very easily roused, but when once
in a passion he was furious. I went to the
window, and I heard him say to his mother X.
66
me no curse you, me only say that it be your
blame me no free." I called him up; he was
pale with rage. I said, Z. what is the matter?
C
-he swore violently, and did indeed curse his
mother. I begged him to desist, and tell me
quietly what was the cause of all this; he then
said, "Misses, A. and all of dem (all the negro
servants) call me a mulatto devil; it's my
maʼma's fault that I'm mulatto devil; and if she
had behaved good, I'd been free, as my brother
is,” (he had a free brother in Dominica).
His mother was certainly the most notoriously
bad character that can be imagined, and rarely
sober. I said, "Z. do you wish you were free?"
"No, Misses, I no care about free; but I no
like niggers to hold impudence to me." At
a time when almost every negro began to shew
great discontent, all my domestics went off one
night, excepting A. and this boy Z.: .they
280
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+
$
*
staid away two days, and Q. left a baby who
was suckling to be taken care of in the best
way we could. Z. behaved very well indeed;
he cooked, made the market, &c. &c. It is
true that Z. immediately announced a great
rise in the markets, and it is unnecessary to
say that under such circumstances I was obliged
to pay whatever he demanded; for although
I literally cleaned the house and made the
beds, yet he cooked and marketed, and became
of consequence to me. I asked Z. if he would
like to go to Scotland,-he said, "has my
fader any friends dey?" "Yes; would you
like to go there?" "Yes, if
"Yes, if you'd take me,
and bring me back again." "Bring you back
again, why that is the last thing, I should
think you would wish!
would wish! you know if you went
to Scotland you'd be free?" "Yes, Misses,
I know that." "Well, why would you wish
to come back?” 'Misses, cause I no like to
live in Scotland, for they say Scotch folk vorck
hard too much." "And would you rather be
a slave here, than free in Scotland ?" "Yes,
cause I can sit down here softly.”
66
WEST INDIES.
. 281
It appears to me unnecessary to enter farther
into detail, upon the subjects of honesty, truth,
gentleness, and affection. I could produce
abundance of anecdotes of the same kind, all
of which are gained from personal experience;
and I should have even abridged those I have
given, had I not found that many publications
are perpetually quoted as good authority upon
negro character, when the author of them had
no slaves of his own, nor, consequently, any
of that kind of experience which elicit the
points of negro character.
a đư
282
WEST INDIES.
CHAPTER XI.
Distinction of rank among negroes-Tenaciousness
on this point-Negro amusements—Parties and
balls-Opinions of free service in England.
It is not much known in Britain that slavery
admits of diversity of rank, but strange as it
may sound, there are abundance of nominal
ladies and gentlemen among slaves. Drivers
(that is, black overseers), head boilermen, head
coopers, carpenters or masons, head servants,
these are all Mr. so and so: a field negro, if
asked to go and tell a boilerman to come to
his master, returns and says-Massa, Mr.
will be here directly. They say, "Ma'am," to
a domestic servant; or if a servant be sent on
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283
a message from another family to you, your
servant tells you, "there is a good lady wishes
to speak wid you." Second boilermen, &c. &c.
are not quite gentlemen, but stand in a middle
rank, between the first, or gentlemen, and the
third, or common field negro and under do-
mestics. Upon an estate, a driver very often
has a servant allowed him,-a young boy
perhaps, of fourteen or fifteen; but on the
Saturday or Sunday, when they go to their
grounds, these head-people hire negroes, some-
times belonging to the eatate and sometimes
not, to work for them, while they work very
little themselves, and merely superintend.
There are many negroes who either partially
cultivate their grounds, or do not cultivate
them at all, and who live by hiring themselves
out during the time they have to themselves.
These are often paid in produce, at other times
in money. In Trinidad the daily hire is about
3s. 2d. per day; when paid in produce, they
get more, but then they have the trouble of
selling it again: I have bought provisions
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often from negroes, who I knew got them in
hire.
The punctilio observed by negroes towards
each other, is past the belief of those who never
witnessed it; any omission of it, is sure to
procure a beating. I recollect B. one day
beating Y., a female servant, very severely:
I begged to know the nature of her offence,-
it was simply this: she had left the gate open,
and B. asked her, "if she had left the gate
open, to permit his chickens to walk about
town;" when she answered "No," instead of
No sir; and for this he beat her. One morn-
ing A., a washerwoman came in, and she said,
"hy'dee sissy H?" (how do you do sister,
which is a term for "good woman"), very
civilly to H.; but she did not speak to B.:
he was of course all on fire; and going up to
her with his arms a-kimbo, he begged to know
"what for she gie herself so much impudence
as say hy'dee to H., and no say good morning
to him?" (good morning, he considered as
more dignified). A. burst into a loud fit of
-
WEST INDIES:
285
laughter, and said, "Eh! eh! you tink you go
cheat me as you do Massa and Misses, you tell
tory about a me on the estate, I would not
peak to the like o' you." Hereupon B. hit
her a blow in the mouth, and A. fell down,
exclaiming she was dead. B. did strike her
severely, but he knew what he was about; he
had never up to this time been punished, and
he calculated on this exemption. There was
no person near me, so it was impossible for me
to have done anything but remonstrate; and
even this I had not courage to do with B., for
he was not a person to talk to. A. was bruised
considerably, but she went away quietly, and
never again omitted behaving with respect to
Mr. B.! as he styled himself.
It is quite common for negro slaves to give
parties, and employ some one to write invita-
tions for them; but the price of the party is
always put at the bottom of the note. These
invitations are expressed in the very same way
as if one lady wrote to another, and I shall here
faithfully copy one:" Mr. requests the
286
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honour of Mr.
-'s company to a dance and
supper on Tuesday evening, at nine o'clock.—
Three dollars." Some parties cost even more
than this, and some less, according to the en-
tertainment given. Drinking to excess is
hardly ever known; and though our servants
often went to dances, I never knew any of them
return in the slightest degree intoxicated. X.
was the only servant I ever saw who habitually
drank to excess. B. I have seen twice a little
tipsy, but not so as to incapacitate him for his
work-he had just enough to make him un-
usually impudent; however, he was at all times
very forward, and indeed negro men are most
disagreeably so.
Some of the negro holiday entertainments
are very grand indeed, and I have known a
master of a house give up his public rooms to
his negroes at Christmas to dance in. At that
season, it is hardly possible to keep the ser-
vants in the house at all: it is very proper,
indeed, that they should all have some time to
themselves during the holidays; which last
WEST INDIES.
287
always three days; but they all wish to be
away the whole time; which proves rather in-
convenient. Good Friday is not given as a
holiday universally to the slaves; and although
very many negroes ask, and are not refused,
permission to go to chapel on that day, yet it is
not a legal custom for the slaves to have the
day-which I think an omission. There are
in St. Vincent, so many resident Scotch pro-
prietors, original Presbyterian families, in whose
church Good Friday is not held, that it is pro-
bable it does not occur to them; but as they
all attend the Established Church of England,
and as the bulk of the Kingstown popu-
lation are Episcopalians, it seems inconsistent
that the slaves should work for their masters on
that day. The slaves, however, all keep Easter
as a time for buying new clothes; and though
I had not so many requests to cut out new
dresses as at Christmas, yet there were few
who did not make a point of wearing something
new. Many very good negroes come to town
from a considerable distance regularly, on the
288
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Sunday; they first sell their provisions, and
then go to church or chapel; but although
there is a gallery at church free of all expense
for their use, they prefer going to chapel; and
many of them have told me, that "chapel was
far better than church." Negroes in town go
to chapel pretty regularly, and they may always
go of a morning if they choose; but where
Sunday dinners are given, domestics cannot go
of an evening: indeed, I preferred our people
going in the morning, for if they got out at
night, it was hardly possible to get them home
again.
After morning service at the chapel, the
country negroes eat cold fried jack-fish, and
drink mobee, grog, or some other beverage
with their friends, in the market place under a
tree, and soon after, the well disposed people
may be seen trudging home again, with their
empty trays and baskets. Mobee is a drink
prepared with sugar, ginger, and snakeroot;
as a bitter it is fermented, and is a wholesome
cooling beverage.
WEST INDIES.
289
All well-disposed negroes are clean and neat
on a Sunday; and it will not be found that
those negroes who attend church or chapel
regularly, are poorer, or their grounds in worse
order, than those who do not go to service: the
reverse indeed is the case, for I have uniformly
seen that such negroes were well dressed, and
their grounds in order, nor had they any want.
of money, a plain proof that they are not
denied abundance of time to cultivate the soil.
I recollect B. once quarrelling desperately
with his wife K.: he was rather indisposed, and
he told her to stay at home, and make soup for
him; she refused, saying "it was Sabbath,"
and she would not sin so much as not to go to
church; and she actually made good her point,
and went. I told B. he was very silly to
quarrel with his wife about such a thing, for
he knew very well his soup would be made for
him, whether his wife did so or not; when K.
returned, he got out of bed, and whipped her
for her disobedience. Now this woman was not
then in communion with the Methodists, but
290
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she sat there regularly, and considered herself a
very good Christian indeed; yet she was not
really a correct woman upon the most common
points of morality, and did not care to break
the fourth commandment in a variety of other
ways; but she attached an undue importance
to going to chapel, and I am convinced that
this woman, from what she said to me, would
have felt a superstitious dread, under any cir-
cumstances, had she ventured to stay away.
Sunday dances in Kingstown are not now
common, but in the country they frequently
occur. I had no idea that there would have
been any difficulty in putting a stop to Sunday
traffic and dances, until I became a resident
upon an estate; and then I saw that with few
exceptions the bare mention of such a thing
produced discontent. In fact, no attempt at
sudden changes can do good; whatever is pro-
ductive of discontent to the negro, must be
productive of alarm to the white population,
and must operate as a preventive to the grand
end that ought to be kept in view,—the mental
WEST INDIES.
291
improvement of the negro population, until the
time when the labourer of the West Indies shall
be fitted to enjoy without one shackle, all the
privileges of a British peasant. It is true
indeed at this moment, that the free negro is
more wicked, more deceitful, and more insolent
than the slave: but this negro has been freed,
without having acquired either the moral or
religious habits of a civilized being; he has
been born, probably brought up, in the con-
tagious atmosphere of slavery ;-nor am I afraid
to assert, that any emancipation of slaves with-
out some preparatory course, would disappoint
the expectations of the most sanguine; for
though legally free, their minds would remain
under the slavish yoke of ignorance; and society,
I am persuaded, must undergo a thorough
change, before a free WORKING population will
be found in the West Indies under British
laws. I do not advert to what might be done
by despotism:-all despotism is slavery,—and
the nominal free labour of St. Domingo affords
no data for opinion.
VOL. I.
O
292
WEST INDIES.
But, to return to the character and habits of
negroes. The amusements of the native African
are much of the same kind as those of the
creole negro; but they dance their own African
dances to the drum, while the creole negroes
consider a fiddle genteeler; though of an even-
ing among themselves they will sing, dance,
and beat the drum, yet they would not produce
this instrument at a grand party. Fiddles and
tamborines, with triangles, are essential there.
I recollect obtaining the following informa-
tion from B. as to one of those dances. "How
many had you at the dance?" "More than
two hundred." "What did they dance?"
"Quadrilles and waltzes.' "Did you not
dance the English country dance?" "No, they
no fashion now-a-day." "Had you any re-
freshment during dancing?" "Yes." "What
had you?" "Tea and coffee, and wine of dif-
ferent kinds, sangaree, lemonade, and porter:"
he also informed me they had an excellent
supper. Such entertainments are quite com-
mon, and negroes enjoy themselves very much
""
C
WEST INDIES.
293
at such times. Indeed, they will dance at any
hour of the day: I recollect when our estates'
people finished crop, a great band of them, in
gay clothes, came to town to see us, preceded
by the estates' fiddler, whose hat was trimmed.
up with ribbons: they had paid for getting
these decorations themselves, because they said
"they wished to surprise me, cause they knowed
I had never seen the like afore." The house
servants all went into the largest negro house
and began to dance, although this was just the
hottest time of the day: they danced with the
greatest agility, not appearing at all incon-
venienced by the heat: their dresses were really
ludicrous,—one woman had her own Christian
name and her master's surname marked in large
letters in front of her dress; and she told me
she paid half a dollar for getting it done.
Having got wherewithal to make merry upon
they left us in about an hour, as jovial a party
as could well be.
Negroes formerly used to be inclined, I was
told, to rioting and fighting upon Christmas-
o 2
294
WEST INDIES.
day, but now they all go to church; even those
who do not go at any other time, make a point
of attending then. Many still dance upon
Christmas night, but the greater proportion
would not do so-but dance on the other two
holidays I have named. Many of the white
population informed me that Christmas holidays
used formerly to be looked forward to with
dread, but now there was a happy improvement
indeed; and they said that unless I had lived
in St. Vincent ten or twenty years back, I
could hardly conceive the amazing change that
had taken place. A gentleman who had left
the colony in 1814, and returned about ten
years after, told me that he saw a very great
and evident advancement of civilization among
the negroes. I do not state these circumstances
to lessen one prudent exertion for the religious
instruction and civilization of the negro, but to
shew that the proprietors have not left all
undone; and had the planters been better off
for the means of spiritual instruction themselves,
they would probably have been more alive to
WEST INDIES.
295
the wants of their dependents in this respect.
It is certain that negroes, in their present state of
civilization, do not envy the free labourer of
England. I speak of those who have been in
England, and who have had opportunities of
making comparisons: I recollect C., a domestic,
going to England with his master; who asked
him how he liked England, after he had been
sometime in the country, and he answered,
"That England very fine country to be sure,
but nothing to be had there without money;
people there very mean, they'd sell anything,-
they sell sand, massa: if I had all the sand
in Rabaca river, I could soon make rich here!
Now would you believe it massa, they so mean
they sell the very black soot out of the chim-
neys."
I have myself conversed with this
negro; he is a shrewd, intelligent, clever ser-
vant, knows both England and Ireland well;
but, like many others I know, prefers the West
Indies and slavery, to Britain and freedom.
The last time this man left Britain, he came out
without his master, and he was perfectly free to
296
WEST INDIES.
have staid in Britain, had he had any inclina-
tion so to do; but the reverse was his choice,—
he landed in St. Vincent, and came to see us, as
cheerful as man could be. Now I am far from
meaning to advance such opinions of negroes,
as an argument in favour of the state of slavery.
This man would, probably, with a different
education, have thought differently: still there
is proof afforded, by opinions and actions like
this, of the exaggerated statements made re-
specting the intolerable cruelty and oppression
of the planters. Were such statements cor-
rect, freedom under any circumstances would
by all be preferred to slavery. There is one
peculiar trait in the character of negroes, which
I must not omit to notice, and which appears
to be very inconsistent with the other features
of their character. It is, that there is not any
circumstance which provokes a negro so much
as saying, or hinting any thing disrespectful,
with regard to his mother. However trifling
the remark may be, the negro becomes instantly
enraged, and nothing can induce him to forgive
B
WEST INDIES.
297
those who so offend; it is an irremediable
breach between the parties; and all the friends
and relations take up the quarrel. I have seen
many instances of the fury with which a negro
instantly assails any one who offends in this
way.
The negro cares little for his father; but
many are at a loss upon this subject, for there
are not a few females who are sufficiently
cunning to obtain presents for their child from
two or more men, whom they separately claim
as the fathers of their children. I recollect V.,
who had two regular husbands, one in town
and the other in the country; she had been
confined of a daughter about ten days, when her
grandmother exhibited to me the presents of
the papa to his little girl, which consisted of
two nice white frocks; but V. was determined
to have something from both husbands; and
when the country husband came to see her, she
cursed him, .. cause he had never had once
had a thought of his pic-a-ninny;" he retorted,
and she scolded in return; her mother and
298
WEST INDIES.
sisters flew upon him, boxed him, and turned
him out of the yard. Many negro men, of
good character otherwise, have two or more
wives; and strange to tell, these wives live on
good terms with each other; they often make
friendly visits to each other; but there is
always one favourite for the time being, and it
often happens that this same wife has been the
favourite for fifteen or twenty years. There is
no jealousy or her part, so long as matters are
openly conducted; but all intrigues are disliked,
and are a frequent cause of quarrels.
From what I have said above, it will be
gathered that negro females also often have
several husbands: but they have always one in
particular, with whom they live. The really
respectable female negro, however, has gene-
rally only one husband; and in this one par-
ticular only, is the respectable female negro
more moral than the male.
WEST INDIES.
299
CHAPTER XII.
Conversations with native Africans.
THE subject of the present short chapter, 1
consider an interesting one, the detail of con-
versations, which I had with native Africans.
I give their testimony precisely as I received it
from them; and in what follows, I beg my
readers to keep in view, that I only pledge
myself to relate faithfully what was told to me
by the negroes themselves. It is impossible
for me to vouch for the truth of details coming
from a set of people who, as a people, have
so little regard for truth. The only way is, to
compare the different accounts of negroes of
the same national origin; and whenever they
do not materially disagree, it is probable that
?
03
300
WEST INDIES.
something approaching the truth has been de-
scribed. I shall also mention the character of
the individual as I go along, which ought
always to be kept in view.
The details which I present are far from
being meant as conveying any apology for the
slave-trade, as it existed before the abolition;
indeed I never heard the slave-trade men-
tioned with half the horror in Britain that I
have heard it spoken of in the West Indies:
and never let it be forgotten that Britain began
the slave-trade,-not the colonists; and it is a
fact which admits of no denial, that the British
government forced the colonists to cultivate the
islands by the labour of negro slaves imported
from Africa; nay, it is a fact that the colonists
of Barbadoes were decidedly averse to this;
but the mother country insisted upon com-
pliance.
In Trinidad, government refused to grant
land to settlers (who were not, as they resolved,
qualified to receive it), unless they would pro-
duce a certain number of slaves according to
WEST INDIES.
301
the proportion of acres they wished to cultivate;
and so particular was the government upon this
point, that if the slaves died, and their numbers
were not kept up by increase or purchase, the
land and the slaves upon it were forfeited to
the crown. This I merely mention, to shew
that the first and criminal part of the whole
transaction rested upon the government alone,
and not upon the colonists: a fact also that is
too frequently kept in the back ground. Of all
national iniquities, none surely ever exceeded
the slave-trade; but still I feel convinced, from
the consistent details of many native Africans,
examined at different times and even in dif-
ferent colonies, that the situation of those who
were removed to the West Indies, was very
greatly improved in every respect.
This fact-if it be a fact-is no apology for
so sinful a traffic. My desire is, only to state
truths; and truth ought to be stated, whatever
may be the consequences to which it leads.
F. was a native African, an Ebo negro, of
uncommonly good character, but not at all
302
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clever;—a common field negro,-she had been
many years ago offered her freedom as a reward
for her faithful services, but declined it, saying
she preferred remaining as she was; she worked
for some time after this upon the estate, as a
nurse, but at the period I speak of, she ceased
to be able to do anything: at an early period of
her life she had suffered severely from rheuma-
tism, and her joints were much distorted from
it; she was also much bent down from old age,
and latterly it became difficult to make her
contented or happy. She was in many respects
savage; and at times insisted upon lying on
the floor without any clothes; neither was she
willing to have her head tied with a handker-
chief, and her naturally black woolly hair had
become white from age. She would rarely use
a spoon for her calialou soup, which with a
little boiled rice was all she relished; and for
drink, she liked weak rum and water: her
appearance was anything but pleasing, it was
at times almost disgusting; but she despised
and refused all the comforts of civilized life;
WEST INDIES.
303
i
and a stranger to have seen her, as I daily did,
lying on her mattress on the floor, using her
hand for a spoon to her soup, and hardly a rag
upon her, might naturally have exclaimed,
"Look at the brutality of this poor negro's
owner!" But had he been conversant with
native Africans, he would have perhaps felt as
we did, all the desire to render her comfortable
according to our interpretation of the word, but
he would no doubt also have experienced the
utter impossibility of convincing her that clean-
liness, a few clothes, and eating her victuals
like a civilized being, were real comforts. She
used to say to me, when I spoke to her of such
things, "No tease me, misses, me one very
good nigger; let me be.” "Let me be," is a
frequent expression among negroes, and they
have probably learnt this and other decided
Scotticisms from the number of Scotch ma-
nagers and overseers.
One day I asked F., "how big were you
when you left Africa?" "Misses, me big
""
young woman.' "How were you taken?"
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"Misses, Ebo go war wid a great grandee
massa; him massa take Ebo many, many; tie
hand, tie foot, no could run away, misses: they
gie us only so leetle for yam (as she said this,
she took up a splinter of wood, and held it to
signify that the food she got was as insignifi-
cant in point of size). Well, misses, they take
me mamma too; she be one nice nigger, fat
so; they take her, kill her, boil her, fry her,
yam her (eat her) every bit all: dey bringed
her heart to me, and force me yam a piece of
it. Well, misses, after dat dey sell me to
another grandee for cottons, and he send me a
Guinea coast; and when I comed there, the
first buckra I seed, misses, I started all.”
" Were
afraid of the white man ?"
you
"No,
misses, no of he, but of he colour; look so
queer, misses, I axe ye pardon." "Did you
know you were going to be sold to a white
man?" "Yes, misses, me happy at dat;
nigger massa bad too much, white massa him
better far, Africa no good place, me glad
too much to come a white man's country."
WEST INDIES.
305
"Well, what did you do when you were
landed ?" "Old massa buy me, old misses
very good; she make nice bamboo for me
(clothing), teached me 'bout God," said she,
"get me christened; me quite happy; me (said
she with much exultation) never once punished.
Old massa love me, old misses love me, me
loved dem; me get good husband; me never
have sore heart but once, when my H. (her
only child) go dead. Misses, oh, she hand-
some too much: take pain in side, dey do all
for her, but God say no; and so she go dead,
and so me just take young H—, (a young negro
woman, upon the estate, of the same name as
her own daughter); she have no daddy or
mamma, and me take her for my own, being
as I was her god-mamma.' The principal
enjoyment of this poor woman was in telling
old stories to the family; but the servants were
very harsh to her, and I frequently caught the
little negroes under a sand-box tree, pelting her
· while she lay at the open house door, with hard
green mangoes, which they gathered for the
purpose.
>>
!
306
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}
I. was a Guinea-coast female negro, of only
tolerable character, a common field negro. I
asked her when she was brought from Africa?
"When me big woman." Were your father
and mother alive when you left it?
“No,
misses, but I had husband and one pic-a-ninny."
And were you not very much grieved when you
found yourself away from them?
"Misses,
me husband bad too much: beat me one day,
two day, tree day, every day. Misses, me
husband here go beat me too much (meaning if,
or when he beat me too much), or when me no
really bad, me go a manager, or come a massa,
to complaint, and he settle all. Misses, me
have one pic-a-ninny in a Guinea; but me
have D—, I—, K—, L—, M—, N—, and J—,
here; cooper, O— for husband; he bring me
some tick (fuel) often. L. big now--help vorck
a provision-ground; little M. she take broom,
sweep a house; N. he little too much, but me
get fish and bamboo for him. Oh, misses, is
Africa good country? No good people say dat
surely."
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((
P., a female field negro, a good character
upon the whole, and willing to work; left
Africa when not quite grown up, but evidently
recollected it perfectly. Would you like to
go back to your country?" Eh, misses, me
no like dat. St. Vincent fine country-good
white massa dey."-" Were you slave or free in
Africa?" 66 Misses, me one time slave, one
time free, just as our grandee massa fight (beat)
next grandee massa. "And you would rather
be here?" "Yes, misses, I no like me country
at all."
""
Q., a female field negro, of the very best
character, an excellent field labourer; cheerful,
contented, and intelligent, and I can say, affec-
tionate; in manner a perfect savage, yet not
rude; for although she never spoke to us with-
out first turning her back, and bursting into a
loud fit of laughter, yet she meant no insult by
it. Whenever Q. had any request to make to
me-and her requests were very numerous-in
the dress-making line, she used to come to the
door, and turning her back, and laughing as I
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have described, she stood still, and half turned
her head round with a sly smile, until I used to
say, "Well, Q., what do you want?" Then
it was always, "Misses, me just buyed one
handkerchief for me, will ye mark me name for
me?" or it might be a gown or petticoat, &c.
At first Q. was very shy of speaking, but her
request once granted, she would turn round
and talk with great spirit. Her house was neat
and well furnished, according to her ideas of
comfort, and she and her husband rarely quar-
relled; she could fight when she thought it
necessary, just to shew that she was no
coward, but she was not given to boxing; and
was, and I hope is, in every sense of the word,
a good negro.
"What nation are you of, Q.?" "An Ebo."
"Would you like to go to Africa?" "Misses,
me hope never to see dat country no more;
misses, me hear tell dat some white massas go
a England, and tell dat nigger wish for go again
to Africa, and say dat nigger tink dey go to
Africa when dey go dead." "Is this not true,
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·
66
Q.?" "Misses, me never hear one nigger say
so, me no tink dat; me know very well, God
make me above, God make one breath, put one
breath in an (all of us); God make us live, God
take away breath, we go dead; misses, me
notion is, dis breath and life all as one."
Meaning that without breath we cannot live.
"How old were you when you left Africa?"
"Me big the same as now.” 'Were you free
or slave there?" "Misses, me born free.
Ebo war with anoder grandee massa-take me,
me daddy, me mamma, me husband; sell
me, dem, keep me slave to dat grandee massa,
no slave to himsel, but to one of him country:
me slave to one nigger, massa; he flog me,
curse me, use me very bad, me heart-broke; he
want calicoes, take me a coast, sell me for
calicoes; me dance for joy to get away from
nigger massas." "And you are now happier
than you ever were in Africa?" "Yes, misses,
Africa one bad country."
R. was a female field negro, rather advanced
in life although only a field negro, she was
:
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very much civilized, extremely polite, kind,
affectionate, but cunning occasionally; decently
attired at all times, extremely gay on holidays,
and at church. She was a good work-woman,
and her provision grounds were in fine order;
she called herself a Roman catholic, but went
to the Methodist chapel almost every Sunday.
She was always much respected by the other
ncgroes, as well as by her master and mistress.
She had evidently confused notions of Maho-
medanism, but says, "she never hear tell of
Mahomet, but knowed there was one good
man who came far off from where the sun rise,
he tell all people be good." R. had one great
fault, not generally to be found in a female
negro of otherwise so exemplary good cha-
racter: she was fond of having a number of
husbands, and of changing them often; I have
known her have three different husbands in six
weeks. "What country were you of, R.?"
"Misses, me a Mandingo." Did you like
your country? "Misses, suppose Mandingo
be my own country, me no like it." What
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311:
were you there? "Me be waiting maid to a
grandee massa's lady; she have fine clothes,
necklace, bracelet, rings. Oh! misses, you'd
really like to seen her going to church to pray.”
Was she kind to you? "Misses, she flog me
too much; pinch me; if me no dress her pretty,
she box me ear for me; she handsome too
much, clear black kin, so mooth." What did
you get to eat? "For yam (eatables) misses,
me got rice, one leetle river fish-and misses,
now and den, when she very good, gie me ripe
plantain, and banana." Which country do
you like best? "Misses, Buckra country very
good, plenty for yam (to eat), plenty for bamboo
(for clothing); Buckra-man book larn (can read)
now misses, Buckra-man rise early,
like a
cold morning; nigger no like cold." And I
suppose then you'd like to lie in bed in the
morning? "Yes, misses, till sun hot, den go
vorck; cold, no good to nigger kin (skin); but
misses, me like to go see a cold of England."
Would you? and you know, I added, that if
you were in England you would be free. "Yes,
th
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misses, me know that perfect, but me no like to
top dey, only see a place, and see many a many
white face, and den back to St. Vincent;—
misses, is true, no plantain or banana in a
England ?" Yes, quite true; but there are
other fruits that I think as good. "Eh, eh,
misses, noting so good as plantain and banana.'
S. was a second boiler-man, middle aged,
with an uncommonly cheerful, frank counte-
nance, good looking, extremely agreeable in
his appearance; a negro of the very best
possible character, and very intelligent and
affectionate; diligent in his duties, attentive
both to his master and to his family; and had
only one wife, with whom he had lived in great
comfort. He was fond of his children, loved
them apparently alike; was kind to his wife,
gave her nice dresses, and both of them were
civil in their deportment as negroes; no one
ever merited the title of a good negro more
than S., and the longer I knew him,—indeed
up to the moment that I bade him adieu,-I
had more and more reason to respect him.
""
WEST INDIES.
313
"C
S. what country did you come from?"
"Ebo, misses." Do you remember Ebo? "Eh,
misses, vay well indeed."
Do you like it
better than this? "Misses, me like Ebo well
enough den, but me go dead if me go dey
now." How so? "Misses, noting good a
yam (to eat) in Ebo like a here, no salt pork
dey, no salt beef,-people dey just go fish in a
river, boil a leetle fish, boil a leetle rice, so go
yam it,” (then eat it).
But you had yams
there? Misses, only the grandee." And
you were not a grandee? "No, misses, me
free, no slave, but me one poor man dey; me
vorck, every day, else eat none." Whether
would you prefer being free in Ebo, or a slave
here ? "Misses, Africa no good people, no
trust in dem; one slave to-day, you free
to-morrow; free to-day, slave to-morrow: your
grandee massa make war wid toder massa,
(king in their sense of the word), take ye, never
mind how great ye be; ye never know how to
do vorck, he flog ye; if ye no do a ting, he
whip again: noting to yam, but leetle rice.
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Misses, a me glad too much, when me sent a
coast o' Guinea for a Buckra to buy us.'
V. was a common field negro, a quiet but
not an intelligent negro, apparently attached to
his master, worked well for him, and had his
own grounds in very good order; he was not
given to fighting;-had many comforts in his
house, such as tables, chairs, good bedstead,
and crockery-ware, and was always neat and
tidy on holidays and Sundays. V. was never
in disgrace, and merited the title of a good
negro.
What nation are you of V.?
"An Ebo."
Would you like if massa were to free you, and
send you to your own country again?
“Eh,
eh, misses, me no like dat; me country wicked
too much." They don't eat men in Ebo, do
they? 'No, misses, dey no eat men; but raw
beast-flesh warm be very nice, me tink dat good
yet; S. can tell ye same tory, misses: Ebo eat
no men; when Ebo take people in a war from a
grandee massa, Ebo no eat 'em: Ebo sell 'em
a Guinea coast;-but when Coromantee take a
،،
WEST INDIES.
315
people when they go war with grandee massa,
da Coromantee eat all of dem." How do they
eat 'em? "Misses, me no seed dem eat 'em,
but me heared in Ebo 'bout it; and old granny
F. tell a me 'bout it, when she take by the
Coromantees. Dey cook a menn dat place.
Misses, Africa wicked too much, me rather go
dead afore me go back dey." Were you slave
there or free? "Me free man one day, slave
to 'ther day; no good people dey, cheat too
much." How old were you when you left
Africa?
"Me one big man.'
W. was a carpenter; good tempered, not
"What nation
"One
intelligent, but very indolent.
are you of?” Mandingo." How old were
you when you came to the West Indies?
big man." Do you like St. Vincent, or Africa
best? "Eh, eh, misses, me no one fool, me
know better dan dat; Africa one very bad
country, dey go vorck poor slave to death;
noting for yam, only whip, whip constant; me
like where me be.' And were you slave or
"Me one free man, dey take
>>
free in Africa?
VOL. I.
P
""
""
<+
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me, carry me in a coast of Guinea, sell me a
Buckra capin, me very glad to go wid dem."
But, had
you no friends you were sorry to
leave in Africa?" (C
Misses, friend to-day, no
friend to-morrow; no trust in dey; your daddy
want any ting or your mamma, dey go sell de
pic-a-ninny, to buy it.”
X. was a faithful working negro, kept his
own grounds in high order; was fond of money
to hoard it up: he went about in good weather,
with hardly a rag to cover him. X. had a
good deal of dry humour; he had a very curious
and rather savage countenance, and he bore his
country's mark upon his chest and also upon his
cheeks. He was excessively avaricious, and
acted invariably on the principle of trusting no
one; he reared poultry very successfully. I
believe he was attached to us, yet if I could not
produce the exact change to pay him for his
fowls, he refused to let me have them, and he
was the only negro I ever met with who shewed
the slightest want of confidence in this respect
towards me. X. made a great deal of money,
but what he did with it none could tell. On
(C
WEST INDIES.
317
Sundays, however, he was an amazing dandy,
and had his collar so stiff, that he would not
have turned his head for the world, lest he
should disarrange it. X. never had any settled
wife; he tried to get one several times, but
they always left him, as they said, "Cause he
so miserly, misses; he plit (split) one black dog
if he could," a coin, value one-sixth of four-pence.
"How old were you when you came to St.
Vincent?" "One big man, so big me be now."
"What nation were you of?" "The Man-
dingo." "Were you free or slave?" "Misses,
me be one very great grandee; not one grandee
massa, but one great grandee; me hae slave to
wash me, me hae yams for eat, fresh pork; me
hae no vorck for do, only me go fire at bird in
a bush, for yam: well, misses, one grandee
massa send always hunting for people; so dey
take me in a bush, make me vorck hard,—me
never vorck afore, me no know'd how to vorck;
dey flog me, say me no good for noting, send
me a Guinea coast, sell me Buckra capin."
"But surely you would like to go back to
P 2
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Mandingo?" "No, misses, Mandingo one
very bad country; me no have vorck too much
now, me hae yam, tanias, plantains, every ting
very good."
Y. was a field negro, an uncommon character.
He was employed when a young man in a pas-
ture in the upper part of the estate, at some
distance from the dwelling-house: he neglected
the stock, allowing them to trespass upon the
canes in every direction ; and there was no
possibility of holding any communication with
him, for whenever he saw any white person
coming near where he was, he ran like a deer,
hid himself in the brush-wood, and defied all
pursuit. The pasture he was upon commanded
so extensive a prospect, that he had full view
of any one who came in that direction. If he
saw a human being approach, he made off to
one of his hiding places, which was generally
on the top of the highest and thickest tree,
where he formed a complete bed or hammock of
the wild canes, which grow there so luxuriantly.
In the course of his sojourning there, he killed
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319
four young cattle, besides sundry calves, sheep,
and lambs; he skinned, cleaned, and half
roasted them, and then covered them over with
leaves, for his sustenance. This conduct lasted
for two years and a half, when at last he was
brought down; he was not punished, but his
duty changed; and from that moment, except
occasional intoxication, he behaved uncom-
monly well. Y., from the period I knew him,
was a very quiet good negro; he seldom smiled,
but was nevertheless very contented; he was
uncommonly handsome, and reckoned a first-
rate dancer, both of creole and African dances:
it was indeed surprising to witness the grace,
gravity, and majesty of his demeanour.
was not very intelligent, but a good workman,
and kept his grounds in beautiful order; he
was not uncivil, but his manners were rather
forbidding.
He
>>
Y., do you recollect your own country?
"Not very much, but me member the ship.'
Were you free or slave in your own country?
"Me no know." Would you like to return to
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"C
Africa? No, misses, every nigger tell me,
me country one very bad place; me no wish to
leave dis country."
If you were free would
“No,
you not like to see Africa again?
misses, I'd like to see England, and den come
a St. Vincent; me like to see English cold."
Such are some of the details I received from
native Africans. Of their title to credit, let the
reader judge. The condition of the Mandingo,
or Ebo negro, in his own country, however
wretched that condition may be, can be no
apology for negro traffic; neither is the con-
tentedness of the African with his condition in
the West Indies, any argument against emanci-
pation; but these details and avowals un-
doubtedly afford the consolation of knowing
that the negro has not been made more miserable
by the unnatural traffic that deprived him of
his home; and some proof, also, that the
inhuman conduct of slave proprietors has been
exaggerated.
Negroes have often a strong desire to see
England; and when you ask them what it is
WEST INDIES.
321
they particularly wish to see, it is either the
cold of England, or the number of white faces.
A gentleman in St. Vincent once sent me a
lump of ice from North America, wrapped in
straw. I instantly sent for our domestics, and
said to them, "There is ice,-do you know
what that is?"-"Yes, misses, English water."
They got a hammer, and broke off some pieces,
putting it in their mouths;—when they screamed
out, and jumped from mere astonishment; and
after having ejected it, they all begged for
some rum to cure the cold of the English
water.
Generally speaking, negroes do not regard
England and Scotland in the same light: this I
believe proceeds from two causes. Scotchmen
are proverbially active and economical, abroad
as well as at home: and perhaps there are not
two qualities which the majority of negroes
dislike more thoroughly. I recollect a ship
arriving one afternoon in Kingstown bay, when
we sent B. to inquire if there were any passen-
gers, and who they were, he returned saying,
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•
there was no one except one Buckra man.
"And who is he?" "Me no know, me no tink
it worth while to ask he name; he one Cotch
man." And why is it not worth while to ask a
Scotchman's name? "'Cause they all mean,
hold-purse fellows; dey go so," said he, walk-
ing some paces, holding down his head, and
with a slouching gait, "Dey go mean, me no
like dem." Yet B. was addressing himself
to his master and mistress, both Scotch; a
tolerably good proof, that negro domestics
speak with little restraint what they really
think. The mere active habits of the Scotch-
man are also disagreeable to the negro. With
few exceptions, exemption from all employment
is the ne plus ultra of a negro's idea of
enjoyment.
D., one of our negroes, used to say, that
monkeys could speak well enough if they
liked, but "dey cunning too much, for dey
knowed if dey speak, massa would soon make
em vorck."
WEST INDIES.
32
.
CHAPTER XII.
The master and slave Punishment
K
over-working.
Alleged
MUCH has been written, and still more said,
respecting the inhumanity of planters in the
treatment of their slaves. I do not speak of
this treatment previous to the time I lived in
the West Indies; for matters for many years
before that period even, were not managed as
it is generally believed. I shall not attempt to
describe any thing as fact to which I have not
been an eye witness.
In the commencement of this work I spoke
shortly of the calumnies that had been circu-
lated respecting the general character and mode
#
P 3
324
WEST INDIES.
of life of the colonists; but far more injurious
and unjust than these, have been the calumnies
propagated respecting their treatment of the
negro. It is impossible to conceive, that a
denial of the truth of those statements which
I have called calumnies, and facts offered in
support of that denial, can be objected to by
the most determined vilifier of the planters. It
is equally a right and a duty to defend a class
which has been aspersed, and to which I myself
belonged. I am not, in doing this, defending
the principle of slavery, or even arguing in
favour of continuing in the hand of the colonial
masters, powers which may possibly have been,
and may be again abused.
The first remark I would make is, that
coming out as I did, almost determined to find
fault (and which most disinterested Britons
do), my first impressions were by no means
favourable in respect to the general style of
language adopted towards domestics. It ap-
peared to me haughty and peremptory; and
more particularly, I thought, from creoles than
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325
from Europeans, to their negroes and servants.
But I had to learn, by sad experience, that
in the present state of negro civilization, to
treat negroes as we treat English servants, is a
rule liable to many exceptions.
I think the details already given respecting
negro character and negro habits, will have
partly prepared the reader for this admission.
It is undoubtedly true, that in the majority
of cases servants are spoken to in a more
decided tone, and reprimanded with more seve-
rity, than English servants would submit to;
but where it is found that a servant will do
nothing unless he is spoken to in this manner,
and that he respects you more, and actually
seems better pleased when addressed so, I
should suppose there are few persons who, if
put to the trial, would not adopt the usual
method of address.
I am acquainted with some individuals in
the colonies, whom I highly respect, whose
constitutional mildness and forbearance are such,
that they cannot speak to their servants, upon
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any occasion, whatever their faults may be,
otherwise than with that amiable gentleness
which one would think could not fail to win
even the most obdurate. But I have been
witness in the establishments of those indi-
viduals how lamentably wicked, how negligent,
how particularly insolent, those servants were;
and upon more than one estate, where this
management was also pursued, the result was
precisely the same. I have conversed with
many upon this subject; and I never met with
one who did not bitterly regret being obliged to
speak so peremptorily to their servants, and
considered it as one of the most disagreeable of
duties. But this is a trifling matter, compara-
tively with the stories which have been circulated
respecting negro punishment,-inflicted, too,
as it is alleged, from mere whim and caprice.
It is a delicate matter upon which I am
about to treat; but I will not shrink from
stating facts. The truth is, that there are few
negro servants who have not at one time or
other been whipped, though rarely after man-
WEST INDIES.
327
hood; that is, whipped with a switch, or, if for
a very flagrant offence, perhaps with a horse-
whip.
Such punishments do take place on almost
all estates, though not frequently, and as I sin-
cerely believe, never for faults which would not
in England subject the offender to punishment
of a far more serious nature. Now, without
going farther, I would ask, in what does the
young negro differ from the apprentice, the
school boy, or any young person in England?
Are not thieving apprentices flogged,—and dis-
obedient children, and idle school boys, and all,
at the will, or caprice, it may be, of those who
have authority over them? Or in what par-
ticular does the grown-up negro, who perjures
himself or commits other gross offences, differ
from the man who, for similar crimes, is sen-
tenced by a magistrate to be whipped? If
there be the same criminality, the punishment
must be equally just. Does the proprietor of a
negro not feel for his fellow creatures, upon
such occasions?-some say, he cannot feel, he
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1
cannot be humane, if he punishes his negro.
This, I need scarcely say, is miserable argu-
ment. Does the tender and affectionate, but
conscientious parent, feel nothing for his child
when he punishes it for the commission of a
fault? Does the foreman of a jury not feel when
he delivers his verdict of guilty? And will
any one deny to a judge a kindly feeling—all
sentiment of sympathy and pity, because he at
times pronounces sentence of death upon the
guilty criminal?
Suppose a negro steals provisions from his
neighbour's grounds, though not at first to
a great extent; he is pardoned, but the master
remunerates the other. The offence is com-
mitted a second time, and another pardon fol-
lows to the thief, and remuneration again must
be made to the other slave, who, unless that
were done, would beat the aggressor with the
utmost cruelty. Is it not apparent in such
cases, that some punishment is necessary? Now
the question has hitherto been, what punish-
ment? I admit the cruelty of all corporal
WEST INDIES.
329
:
punishment; but we find the British legislature
sanctioning the infliction of murderous punish-
ment in the army and navy; and why? because
it is contended, the state of discipline required
in the army, renders it necessary and is it not
certain, that a system of discipline is necessary
in a colony where the negro population out-
number the free, twenty fold? Government,
which settled the colonies, and sanctioned slave
labour, no doubt perceived this; and in grant-
ing the power of inflicting a corporal punish-
ment to one-eighth part of the extent of that
sanctioned in the army, conceived it necessary
in the then state of West India society. It is
a power, which may be abused; and which
therefore ought not to be continued one hour
beyond the time that necessity renders it im-
perative; but I do not hesitate to say, that
occasions do arise, when that necessity is far
more apparent than it ever is in the army,
whether we look to the difference between
negro and European character, or the danger
of weakening the authority of the free, over the
330
WEST INDIES.
negro population; and I contend, that the
slave proprietor, yielding to this necessity, does
not prove that he is destitute of feeling,-for I
have minutely examined the subject, and I
never yet found in any one instance of corporal
punishment, that the master had not been
driven to it by a repetition of such conduct, to
which no one, as a master, could submit.
It is true, that hitherto every proprietor of
a negro has considered slavery to consist in his
having power over his slave, in so far as to
punish him to the amount of thirty-nine lashes.
Now the point we have to attend to is, whether
such punishments do ever take place to that
amount; and if they do, what are the occasions
upon which such punishments are inflicted?—
have masters been actuated by caprice and
whim?—and have they justly earned the cha-
racter of inhumanity? Every thing I have
seen leads me to state conscientiously, that the
punishment of thirty-nine lashes seldom takes
place; and certainly never for an offence that
would not be followed, in Scotland, by trans-
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331
portation for life, and in England most likely
by capital punishment. When punishment is
considered necessary, I have too often witnessed
the distress of a master; and have known
myself what it was to feel real pain, when this
had to be resorted to in consequence of serious
misconduct in negroes, in whom I was really
interested, and whose misconduct I knew from
experience, could not be otherwise corrected.
In former times, the managers employed
upon estates were not always possessed of those
patient and humane dispositions, which all who
undertake the management of negroes ought
certainly to have; but this remark I make not
from my own personal observation, but from
what I have often heard stated by many in
common conversation, in the West Indies.
They were seldom men of any education, and
ignorant how to treat the negro; and there is
reason to believe that they carried punishment
to an unwarrantable length. But even then,
there were many humane managers, whom the
negroes looked up to with real regard.
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WEST INDIES.
Managers are now generally a different de-
scription of persons-many of them are well
informed, superior men. If I am to believe the
testimony of the negroes from many different
estates, whom I was often in the habit of con-
versing with, the kindness of the managers on
the different estates to which they belonged
was conspicuous.
I do not feel inclined to have the same un-
limited confidence in overseers; for although
they have it not in their power to exercise any
cruelty upon the negroes, in the way of ex-
cessive corporal punishment, yet they can
annoy them, in many other ways, especially
by reporting faults in exaggerated colours.
-
Managers formerly often lived very dissolute
lives, and this was a matter deeply to be de-
plored; for negroes invariably look up to the
white people as an example. But the proprie-
tors have, for many years back, made every
exertion to obtain men of good character, in
point of sobriety and morality; and where they
may have been unsuccessful in obtaining such,
WEST INDIES.
333
it has not been from any indifference on the
subject.
A manager's situation is one that requires
great exertion both of body and mind. He has
to attend not only to the agriculture of the
estate, but also to the negroes, whose health
must occupy his attention. He must almost
daily watch the young people, who require an
uncommon degree of care, owing to a propen-
sity to which we have already alluded―viz. to
eat earth and dust. From the moment a little
child begins to creep about, the danger begins,
and the minutest attention is required to pre-
vent the habit gaining ground.
There is no branch of a manager's duty more
important or more difficult, than the manage-
ment of the young people till their fifteenth or
sixteenth year. If the proprietor be absent,
all this devolves upon him; but when the pro-
prietor is resident, the responsibility is in part
removed from him. If the proprietor be a
married man, his wife has her full share of the
management of the children, the sick, and the
334
WEST INDIES.
aged. I recollect many instances of real per-
sonal kindness from a manager to the negroes;
even on very small properties, where the situ-
ation could not have enabled him to do more
than merely pay his way: let one such case
suffice. A negro belonging to had been
absent from the estate for many months. He
had never borne a good character, and was
generally considered as a complete reprobate.
Search had been often made for him in vain,-
he eluded all pursuit. At length one afternoon,
two very respectable looking negroes came to
my door, and making a bow they said, "Misses,
we've brought C. to you; we knowed how
great a runaway he has been, so we tied his
hand behind his back, and brought him safe to
massa; for we knowed whose nigger he was,
though he denied it." His master being from
home, I applied to a gentleman in the neigh-
bourhood for advice; who told me the best
plan was to send him to gaol all night, for
security, and next day his master could do as
he thought fit. The poor creature was dirty,
WEST INDIES.
335
:
emaciated, and his clothes in a deplorable state.
After giving him a comfortable meal, he was
conveyed to gaol, though he resisted as stoutly
as he could. Next day his master sent him
back to the estate, but not until he had held a
long conversation with him. He accused him
of having taken to eating dirt, which he posi-
tively denied however, to those who know the
peculiar appearance which it gives to the coun-
tenance, it is hardly possible to be mistaken in
this matter. His master asked him if he was
unhappy-if he had any complaint to make-
if the manager or overseer, or any of the people
had quarrelled with him? But C. could assign
no reason for his constantly absenting himself;
"but massa," said he, "if you 'll try me once
more, I will go work, and do no more bad.
I've been one very bad nigger to you and to
Mr.," meaning the manager also. Every
thing was done to make this poor fellow change
his habits; but he was so desperate a charac-
ter, so given to drunkenness, and so determined
a thief, that he was hardly ever at work, and
was a constant runaway.,
336
WEST INDIES.
This mode of life soon began to undermine
his constitution, although he was a young man,
not much above twenty years. At last he
that when he was sick
appeared to be dying; and his master brought
him to town to try what could be done for him.
He loathed every sort of food,-wine was the
only thing he cared for; and it was at this time
that he informed me,
afore times, Mr. (the manager) used to
give him often part of his own dinner, and
wine and water." Bad as C.'s character was,
he frequently used to say, "The manager was
good too much to me."
It would occupy more time than is necessary
for the purpose, to relate other acts of the same
description; but I have known many strong
proofs of the kindness of managers, who were
not situated upon extensive properties.
*
""
END OF VOL. I.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY MANNING AND SMITHSON,
4, LONDON-HOUSE YARD.
DOMESTIC MANNERS
AND
SOCIAL CONDITION
OF THE
WHITE, COLOURED, AND NEGRO
POPULATION
OF THE
WEST INDIES.
BY MRS. CARMICHAEL,
FIVE YEARS A RESIDENT IN ST. VINCENT AND TRINIDAD.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. II.
LONDON:
WHITTAKER, TREACHER, AND CO.
AVE-MARIA LANE.
1833.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY MANNING AND SMITHSON,
LONDON-HOUSE YARD.
CONTENTS.-VOL. II.
CHAPTER XIII.
Drivers-Corporal punishment--Stocks-Attorneys—
Attention to the sick-Manumission-Passes-Run-
away negroes, &c.
CHAPTER XIV.
Preparations for removing to Trinidad-Conduct of the
negroes-Voyage-Approach-Negro expectations
-Arrival-Views-Port au Spain-Public walk-
Population-Visit to the negrões at Laurel-Hill-
Black ants-Valley of Maraval Magnificent
scenery of the tropics-Visit to the markets-Price
of provisions; and enumeration of vegetables and
fruits
CHAPTER XV.
Public institutions and buildings Education and
seminaries -- Island militia-Churches-Courts of
law and public bodies-Shopping-Excellent police
regulations-Caranage-The pitch lake
M
Add
S
CHAPTER XVI.
The cigar of Trinidad-Society-Negro effrontery-
Dishonesty-Slave laws in Trinidad-Partial manu-
mission― Departure for Laurel-Hill estate Ap-
proach and arrival-Description of the residence
Jakobanj
CHAPTER XVII.
Description of the Laurel-Hill estate-Scenery and
views Trees and birds - Orders in council
The vine gang on an estate-Little run-aways-De-
ception-Punishment of negro girls by their mother
-Infant habits-Court martial so called-Negro
jealousy
PAGE
•
3
32
Drivers Instruction of children on the estate;
and some detail of their progres-Negro curiosity. 114
CHAPTER XVIII.
70
99
138
iv
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XIX.
Settlement of the negroes at Laurel-Hill-Their new
provision-grounds and their returns-Sums paid to
negroes on the estate for provisions for the family-
Estate dandies Absurd orders in council-An
anecdote-Another anecdote-Massa Buxton and
Massa King George- Ignorance-Negro character 160
CHAPTER XX.
T
More anecdotes-Massa Buston-Qualifications for
freedom-Details of savage character and habits-
Infants' sickness and feigned sickness
. 187
CHAPTER XXI.
The Laurel-Hill negroes-Examples of faithfulness-
Savings banks, and negro opinions of them-Wes-
leyan Methodist instruction on the estate--Mr.
Goy, and Mr. Stephenson---Conversations with the
missionaries Negro expectations --- Difficulties in
the way of the government plan---Division of time---
Compensation for clothing and provision-grounds---
More conversations with the missionaries---negro
marriages---Erroneous returns of the Methodists
---
CHAPTER XXII.
A few words on a plan of negro instruction
CHAPTER XXIII.
•
The agriculture of a sugar estate, as it bears upon the
subject of free labour
Worn-out
Machinery
Colonies---Trials of free labour on the estate---Free
labour in the Caraccas, Columbia, and in St. Do-
mingo
BO CON Q
•
G
. 247
•
PAGE
CHAPTER XXV.
White society in Trinidad---Orange grove---La Recon-
noissance and Lopinot---The climate; variations;
temperature; precautions necessary for preserving
health---Heat not the real annoyance of a tropical
climate---Insects and reptiles---The sand fly, the
chigre, snakes, tarantula, &c.---Ants; the parasol
ant, the chasseur ant---Singular relation---Prepara-
tions for leaving the colony--Parting from our
people
205
CHAPTER XXIV.
Negro recreations---Field sports---Description of feats
---Branding of negroes--A negro song
. 284
•
257
303
THE WEST INDIES.
CHAPTER XIII.
Drivers
neys
Corporal punishment-Stocks-Attor-
-Attention to the sick-Manumission
Passes-Run-away negroes, &c.
MANY absurd stories are told of the conduct
of drivers, and the license allowed them by
the planter. A driver always carries a whip;
and it is alleged in Britain that no small use of it
is daily made, while he stands behind those at
work in the field; for he has only to do with
such. Now I state the precise truth when I
say, that taking all the year round, during
many years' residence in the colonies, I always
walked five afternoons out of the seven, upon
one or other estate, and often upon more than
one in the same evening, and I can solemnly
VOL. II.
B
4
WEST INDIES.
declare, that I never saw a whip once used,
either by the driver or by any other person;
neither did I ever hear a negro complain of
such a thing, although I used often to make
inquiry. The estates I walked over were near
town; where negroes are less manageable, and
more troublesome than in the country. It is
true that every driver carries a whip, and the
use of the whip is this: the driver always
goes out first in the morning, and cracks his
whip three times loudly; and as the crack is
heard distinctly at the negro houses, this is a
warning to go to labour. If the whip were
used, as described in England, I must have
seen it so used; for besides my afternoon walks,
I was often out before breakfast early, but I
never once saw it used, nor ever saw the people
at work, otherwise than cheerful and happy.
The proprietor, manager, and overseer, know
the individual character of every negro upon
an estate; and it is astonishing, notwithstand-
ing their numbers, how soon you become ac-
quainted with all their ways. I can now look
WEST INDIES.
5
LA
back upon the people among whom I resided
in Trinidad; and although they amounted to
about eighty, yet I can distinctly recollect, and
could accurately depict the individual character
of every one of them, and even the tempers
and disposition of all the little children. How
much more must they, who are with them the
whole day, be intimately acquainted with the
true character and disposition of them all. A
master or a manager knows the value of a good
negro, whether male or female, too well not to
treat them with respect, kindness, and discre-
tion. There are negroes upon every estate,
more or less, who are of this description, and
who, even if they did behave incorrectly, would
only be admonished in private. A master or
manager would no more think of whipping or
flogging such people for their faults, than if
they were servants. Good negroes may be
found among all ranks, and are not confined to
head people, who are however generally chosen
with a reference to character as well as abilities,
although now and then disappointments will
B 2
6
WEST INDIES.
occur. It cannot be denied, however, that
corporal punishment is a dread, and tends to
keep all bad characters in order;-for incor-
rigible thieves, who either steal from their
masters or who steal boldly from the good
negroes,-for those, who are wantonly cruel to
each other or the brute creation, for boxers and
biters, I cannot help believing that some cor-
poral punishment has hitherto been necessary,
and will still be found so, until a radical change
be effected, by mental instruction.
Bad characters prefer the stocks to any em-
ployment, however easy; and as for solitary
confinement as a punishment to a negro of this
character (who considers it the highest privilege
to be allowed to sleep away his hours, and to
have his food brought to him), it would be
rather an incitement for him to behave ill. I
have often seen it tried ; and have heard negroes
say that they were "much obliged to massa for
letting them sit down easy." Inimical as I
was to all corporal punishment, on first coming
to the West Indies, I tried every experiment I
WEST INDIES.
could either hear or think of, until I found that
my domestics and negroes were daily becoming
bolder and bolder in wickedness; and at last I
was forced to agree to some change of system.
The very announcement of a change produced a
perfect revolution in the establishment. The
mind must have made considerable progress in
civilization before mental punishment will be
found productive of the slightest benefit, either
to the offender personally, or as an example to
the community where he resides.
I have been informed by old West India
proprietors, that they can recollect the time
when the best negroes they had, looked upon
flogging as no disgrace. No one can now say
this is the case. I have known many negroes
possessing such fine feelings, that were they to
be flogged, I feel confident that their first act
afterwards would be, to commit suicide,-
though the majority of negroes have not indeed
attained this mental superiority. I speak only
of the colony of St. Vincent, when I say that I
have had the greatest reason to admire, what I
8
WEST INDIES.
T
would call, the wise administration of justice
to the slaves, both from proprietors and ma-
nagers; who accurately measure the treatment
of a negro, according to his real personal cha-
racter. This involves a world of trouble, but
it is a trouble they daily take. To manage a
West Indian estate with wisdom, justice, hu-
manity, and prudence, with a never-ceasing
reference to individual character, both as to
rewards and punishments, requires more pa-
tience, good temper, and penetration, than
those who never lived upon, or knew the real
circumstances of an estate, can almost believe.
I tried for two years to have no recourse to cor-
poral punishment among our domestics (and
town domestics are more unmanageable than
country negroes), but finding at length, after a
course of kindness, indulgence, and instruction,
that my servants became notorious for insolence
and misconduct, and abhorring the alternative
of corporal punishment, I had them all sent to
the estate, excepting B., who never had been
anything but a domestic; and I hired free ne-
WEST INDIES.
9
groes, feeling certain that I should now have a
quiet, orderly household. They were hired by
the month at one joe, and three-quarters of a
dollar per week for allowance.-They agreed
to the work, when mentioned to them; but
next day, one required "a little sugar" to do
this, and another to do that; so that if I had
been ill off with slaves, I was ten to one worse
with free people.-There is nothing like the
conviction produced by experiment, so I deter-
mined to resume my slave domestics, and they
were soon at their old plans, and, if possible,
worse. It was literally impossible to keep any
article in the house; it seemed a regular strife,
who was to steal the fastest; yet so clever were
they, that I could not catch them in the fact.
Little S. was a most convenient person to them;
for they pretended that he had been born with
a moral or constitutional inability so tell an
untruth: therefore S. was always produced as a
witness, in whom there not only was not, but
could not be guile. But S. was not to be so
useful for nothing; and his demands upon the
10
WEST INDIES.
thieves became at last so extravagant, that the
farce was dropped.
It was at this time the reign of unpunished
wickedness. I say unpunished; for although
the stocks and confinement were tried often,
yet as they had no effect in either lessening or
suppressing crime, I consider them just in the
same light that negroes do,-which is, "no
punishment at all." I have frequently seen
our female domestic boxers, when sent to the
stocks, make a very low curtsey, and with the
most ironical smile of insolence say, "Thank
you massa, much obliged to you for let me sit
down softly." The stocks are a wooden bed ; at
the foot of it is a board with circular holes,
which open to admit the feet. The feet are
fastened and padlocked; the prisoner is gene-
rally accommodated with a mattress; and I
never saw one without a pillow, and rarely
without mosquito netting. To those who have
never seen West India stocks, this information
will be of some interest.
I regret to have it to say, that female negroes
WEST INDIES.
11
are far more unmanageable than males. The
little girls are far more wicked than the boys:
and I am convinced, were every proprietor to
produce the list of his good negroes, there
would be, in every instance, an amazing majo-
rity in favour of males.
It was when all my domestics were in the
state of absolute anarchy described, and their
master absent from the island, that R., the
very respectable negro already often referred to,
came to me in a state of considerable emotion ;
he said, "Misses, do you know what my eye
see now, now in a market; your nigger C. selling
three of your turkeys; misses, I axe pardon,
but if massa wont flog his house nigger, misses,
there's no living by them-they are a pest.'
R. could substantiate what he had seen easily
enough; but just as we were talking, the gate
opened, and in came C. I said, “C. don't you
see the turkeys going about?" "No, misses, I
no see dem dis day, yesterday, or tother day."
"Where do you think they are C.?" "Misses
(said he, in a violent passion), "me no know
""
B 3
12
WEST INDIES.
noting 'bout trickey-me no take trickey-oh,
no no,―me tieve leetle chicken, but no goose
or trickey." I had paid three dollars each for
them when turkey poults; but they were now
fully grown, and I learnt that C. got four
dollars for each, as they were much larger than
when bought.
About four or five days after this, R. again
returned, and said, "Misses, C. tieve seven fat
fowls-mine he sold two;-I got him at the
work, and here is the best villain that Kings-
town contains," said he, as he held C. fast by
the collar, who could not resist the superior
strenth of R. I said, "Well C., are you not
ashamed to go and steal from R. so?" "Misses,
me no shame one bit-R. may go flog me if he
like." R. said,
R. said, "Misses, you do very bad no
to punish such a villain; but as he tieved from
me, I'll punish him, unless you forbid me; for
I don't keep fowls for C. only to tieve them."
C. was punished; it was the first punishment
on the estate, and C. while he remained, did
not steal again.
WEST INDIES.
13
In the absence of a proprietor of an estate,
too or more attorneys are appointed: one only
acts, except in cases of necessity, when the
other is consulted. The business of an attorney
is to ship sugars, draw bills, pay all current
expenses, and remit an annual account to the
proprietor. Should the negroes consider them-
selves aggrieved, they apply to him, the same
as if he were their own master. By the term
attorney, it must not be understood that he is a
lawyer; for he may be either of that profession,
a merchant, or any gentleman in whom the
proprietor reposes confidence.
I need not tell the reader, that legal redress
for wrongs, or supposed wrongs, is open at all
times to the negro; but I should consider
a planter far from being a fair specimen of
planters generally, who, in his conduct to his
negroes, kept merely within the bare letter of
the law. I would say, that the kindness of
proprietors to their negroes, must be most grati-
fying to any one, who resides among them, and
witnesses their anxiety to relieve the sick; their
14
WEST INDIES.
attention to the young; the respect they pay
to the aged, whose little comforts are most
minutely attended to, even after they are super-
annuated; and those many little kindnesses
which a negro knows very well how to value,—
entering into their pleasures and amusements,—
taking an interest in their provision grounds,-
chatting familiarly with them, and hearing and
being judge of all their petty quarrels,-
peremptorily, as I allow, the master speaks to
his slaves; that is, only when giving orders;
for upon all other topics negroes converse with
the utmost familiarity with the white popu-
lation, and the white population also with
them.
I was but a very short time in the West
Indies before I was compelled to acknowledge
that the proprietors of negroes were kind to
them, not only in supplying them with good
and abundant food and clothing, both in sick-
ness and in health, but in giving them many
indulgences, such as negroes prize. But so
deeply did the impression of the slave-owners'
WEST INDIES.
15
cruelty cling to me, that I set down all his
attention to the slave to self-interest. In visit-
ing the negro houses on different estates, I was
certainly surprised to see how much the wants
of the old, and even superannuated negroes
were attended to; but still I said, though they
do not work, their name is on the list, and
swells the total amount of the estates' people,
and confers respectability. I mention these
my first feelings to shew, that if my mind was
prejudiced, is was so at all events upon the
popular side of the question. These opinions,
however, gradually suffered a change—a change
which proceeded wholly from being placed in
circumstances that enabled me, with great
facility, to converse often both with town and
estates' negroes; and also to visit them in their
own houses.
I was more and more interested in the subject
the longer I lived in the country; and I became
daily more and more persuaded of how little I
had really known of the state of either the
white, black, or coloured population.
16
WEST INDIES.
One of the first causes of my change of
opinion, on the subject of the attention of pro-
prietors to negroes, proceeding not solely from
self-interest, but from really benevolent motives,
was, in becoming acquainted with many cases
where the greatest care had been bestowed, and
no expense spared, upon free negroes, who,
in consequence of their expensive and impro-
vident habits, were reduced in sickness to a
situation that rendered them in want of those
comforts which become necessary to the pre-
servation of life. I shall give one, out of
numerous instances to which I was witness. A
negro woman had freed herself and child: her
former proprietors had, I believe, not the very
best opinion of her; but her child, who was
about seven or eight years of age, fell sick. The
lady, whose servant she had formerly been,
walked to some distance to see the child, and
from the situation she saw it in, felt that it
was impossible it could be nursed as it ought
to be. She therefore had the poor little suf-
ferer removed, not only to her own house, but
WEST INDIES.
17
¿
to her own room; and there a small bed was
prepared for her, and the best medical advice
obtained. Her medical attendant saw the child
several times every day for a length of time,
and the mode of cure was both tedious and
expensive. Yet this lady administered the
food and physic with her own hands, and she
and her daughter nursed the child; and had
the satisfaction, after some length of time, to
see the little girl restored to perfect health.
She was a very patient sufferer; and I have
more than once sat by her, and hardly knew
whether to admire most, the active benevolence
of such a family, or the cheerful obedience of
the child in all that was required of her.
Many, very many such instances as this
began to open my eyes. A proprietor, thought
I, may order the best food and clothing for
the sick; he may give what is necessary to
keep up the strength of the aged; he may have
the best nurses for the little ones, and yet may
be unfeeling; because self-interest would lead
him to do all this. But when I see a proprietor
18
WEST INDIES.
and his family washing, and dressing sick
children; talking kindly to the aged, and
humouring their little foibles; rising in the
midst of the night, and going out when cases
of sudden sickness occur: when I see them
indulging the little children, and that even to
a most unwarrantable length (for it is no un-
common thing for the lady of the house or her
daughters to collect the young people, and give
them a dance to the piano forte; and to make
up gay dresses for Christmas or Easter, which
the negro has himself purchased ;-for a negro
lad thinks nothing of asking his mistress to
make a pair of trowsers or a shirt for him);
when I see all this, and see it directed towards
the free negro, as well as the slave,-and in a
climate too not favourable to activity; how can
I shut my eyes to the truth, or resist the con-
viction, that want of real active benevolence is
not the fault of the slave proprietor.
I am aware some may say, that if slaves
were treated in the way above described,
the population would increase, not decrease.
WEST INDIES.
19
But it appears to me that much more natural
grounds than the over-working of the negro
may be brought to account for this. I took
some pains to inquire into this matter. The
first question I put was this:-during the
continuance of the slave-trade, were there more
males or females imported? I was informed, by
several gentlemen who could recollect the scenes
which then took place, that males greatly pre-
dominated. This is one important fact; and,
living, as negroes do, generally speaking,
unbound by the ties of matrimony, I need not
tell the economist how this state of society
tends to prevent the increase of population. I
believe these two causes, combined also with
the frequent manumissions of negroes, will fully
account for the decrease in the slave population.
During a residence of nearly three years in St.
Vincent, I can recall to my recollection scarcely
a single weekly newspaper where there was not
one manumission; and I have read the manu-
mission of six and eight negroes, all under one
date. These freedoms were sometimes granted
20°
WEST INDIES.
by the proprietor, and sometimes purchased by
the negroes themselves; for I made very minute
inquiry of the persons whom I thought the best
able to give me an impartial account of such
matters; viz. the negroes themselves; and they
always assured me that, however sorry their
master might be to part with them, still no
obstacle was thrown in their way to prevent
their purchasing their freedom, if they wished
it. That some few instances of a contrary
conduct, in the West Indies, may be adduced,
I do not deny. There are some men in the
colonies, a disgrace to humanity, as well as
elsewhere; but I do assert, that no one instance
of a refusal to manumit has ever come within
my knowledge. And here I would make a
remark, which struck me most forcibly while
resident in the West Indies,-that benevolence
there can never proceed from motives of osten-
tation. We never see in any of the colonial
prints, that Mr. this year gave the most
complete and appropriate clothing to his negroes
ever seen in the island,-that his Christmas
WEST INDIES.
21
provisions were served out in the most liberal
way possible; and that the quality of the pork
and flour was of the very best description. No
high-sounding paragraph blazes abroad their
good deeds; and unless you are personally
known to them or their negroes, it is very
unlikely you ever hear of their kindness.
The active kindness of the slave owners is
shewn in a thousand ways, that might appear
too trivial to mention, were it not that these
trifling circumstances oftentimes serve the best
to illustrate the true feelings of the heart. A
gentleman of my acquaintance was appointed,
from another colony, to fill a high official
situation in St. Vincent: some few of his
servants accompanied him; and shortly after
his family followed. Owing I believe to some
peculiarity in the laws of the country he had
left, he could not bring his servants without
their being free. I am not certain whether he
freed them, or whether they purchased freedom
themselves; but I rather think their master did
free them. This, however, is of no importance.
22
WEST INDIES.
The family arrived in perfect safety, and very
soon after an invitation for a ball was sent to
them. To young ladies arrived in a new
colony, a ball is a great affair; and these young
ladies were just at that age when a ball was
most likely to engross their attention. But
in the meantime intelligence was received, that
the schooner in which the servants had em-
barked, was lost at sea; and that all had
perished. The family sent an excuse imme-
diately; saying that the melancholy catastrophe
that had happened, must prevent their being
able to appear in public. Now it may be said.
there was only good sense and decency in this.
But I can prove there was more; for a gentle-
man who went to visit them on the day of
promised pleasure, with the view of inducing
the young ladies to alter their determination,
told me, that when he went it was impossible
to mention the subject to them, for he found
all weeping in different corners of the room.
This is a trifle, but I repeat, that it is an
important one.
WEST INDIES.
23
I cannot conclude this subject, without again
recurring to the alleged over-working of the
negroes, as the cause of the decrease of popu-
lation. The following are facts, to the truth of
which I pledge myself, and in them I think will
be found a sufficient refutation of the state-
ments so frequently made, even by those who,
from their high official situation in the Cabinet,
ought to have been better informed.
I can without hesitation affirm, that the field
labour on an estate is never begun before a
quarter to six in that season of the year when
the sun rises earliest,-say from April to July:
in the other months, from a quarter past six to
half-past, is as early as work ever commences.
At eight, the negroes go to breakfast; they
return at nine; at noon they go to dinner, and
return at two in the afternoon: and at six they
leave the field, after which they have generally
to bring a bundle of grass each, or cane top,
for the stock, which occupies them from five to
ten minutes more; but they may all be in their
houses by a quarter after six, or at half-past six
at farthest.
24
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The moment a heavy shower of rain is seen
approaching, the estates' great bell is rung to
call them in from the field; and I have seen a
whole day in this way often sacrificed, lest
their health should be injured by working out
in wet clothes. If by any accident a negro
gets wet, he is instantly sent to put on dry
clothes, and rum aud water is given to him.
Negro men who are employed alone at some
distance in cutting wood, or jobbing of any
kind, do not mind the rain, as they take off
their clothes, and hide them under a bush, as I
think I have stated before; nor are they ever
the worse from exposure to wet, so long as
they do not suffer their clothes to dry upon
them; but negro men only adopt this practice
when working alone, for savage as they are,
they never appear so in the field, or where any
one can see them; but I know it is their
general practice when working as jobbers,
where the women are not employed.
Field negroes are often allowed the privilege
of an afternoon from two o'clock, to kill their
WEST INDIES.
25
hog, and the half of next day to retail it:
indeed a well-behaved negro never asks for a
pass for a day or two, that his request is not
granted.
That a negro should not go off the estate
without a pass, or permit, is a very necessary
and important regulation; it at once draws a
marked distinction between the good and the
ill-disposed. Suppose I see a strange negro
lurking about the estate, I ask him "Where is
your pass?" If he has one he can shew it,
and you feel no further suspicion of him; if
not, you are sure he is a run-away, and probably
a thief; therefore you either send him to the
estate he belongs to, with a trusty negro, or
you, at all events, order him off your premises.
If your negro delivers him safely to his master,
or manager, he receives two dollars for taking
him up, and eightpence per mile for bringing
him home: so that the good negroes look very
sharp after run-aways.
Formerly, run-aways were very common;
but now this fault is confined wholly to negroes
26
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of decidedly bad character; and to be a run-
away, among slaves, is as much a term of
reproach as it is an annoyance and expense to
their master. Sometimes they are taken up
and put in gaol; they are then advertised in
the newspaper; and when their owner sends
for them, he has to pay for their maintenance
and the gaoler's fees. I have known negroes
who had such a propensity to run off continu-
ally, that in a few years their goal fees amounted
to more than their purchase-money; yet this
estate was placed in the circumstances that
many West India properties are burdened with
debt, and surrounded by uncertainty; so that
the nominal proprietor could not, with honour,
have sold or freed a single negro belonging to
the property; indeed it would have been nearly
impossible to have sold people of such a charac-
ter, though it would have been for the real
interest of the estate to have freed, rather than
retained, slaves who were not only of no
assistance as labourers, but who were such bad
examples to others. During sugar-making,
WEST INDIES.
276
those employed in the mill are sometimes occu-
pied as late as eight o'clock, or at farthest ten
o'clock. The three boiler-men have their victuals
brought to them by their wives, to the boiling-
house. The boiling-house is a large high-
roofed building, with a very free circulation of
air through it; and, though hotter than a
common room, it is by no means so disagreeable
as to render it either unhealthy or annoying to
those employed in it. I have often been an
hour, or more, in the boiling-house, from the
mere wish to comprehend the process; and
have stood beside the head boiler at the teach,
the whole time, without feeling any inconve-
nience. These three boiler-men never give up
their place, unless illness interferes; only reliev-
ing each other, but all the rest occupied about
the mill are so regulated, that those in the
mill-gang one day, do not come on again for
five days or a week; according, of course, to
the number of strong efficient work-people; for
elderly men or women, mothers with young
children, and the weak in any respect, are
VOL. 11.
C
28
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never in the mill-gang at all. Old people, or
those not very strong, do all the odd jobs; such
as cutting cane tops, spreading migass, and
watching the sheep and cattle in the pastures,
with the assistance of some of the children.
On large estates there is generally an overseer
required for the field, one for the stock, and
often one, also, for the mill. But it is obvious
that there can be no certain rule for these
arrangements, which depend completely upon
the size of the estate. Upon large properties
the white people can relieve each other in their
duties; but on smaller estates, the fatigue to
>
be undergone by the white people during crop-
time is very great, for they are, with the
driver, the first out in the morning, and the
last at night; and where there is only one
person to perform this duty, it is very laborious.
indeed, whereas negroes always have some one
❤
to relieve them.
Were negroes so over-worked as many de-
scribe them to be, their general health would
be injured in croptime; now the reverse is the
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29
case, for the slaves are always healthier in
crop-time, and look uncommonly robust.
The boiling-house is a scene of great merri-
ment. It is without an exception, wherever
I have seen it, accurately clean,-not a spot to
be seen.
The boiler-men are clean in their
persons, with a nice apron, and towels to wipe
up the least drop of liquor that is spilt. When
a stranger goes into a boiling-house for the
first time, the head boiler-man comes up, and
after making a bow, he takes a bit of chalk
and makes a cross upon your shoe; intimating by
this sign, that he is aware you never were in a
boiling-house before, and that therefore a dou-
ceur is expected; you generally give him a
dollar, and this he shares with the other two
who are his assistants. When the people are
dismissed from the field or elsewhere, in the
evening, the boiling-house is soon full enough:
there you see negroes of all ages, drinking hot
and cold liquor, singing songs, telling the jokes
of the day, and sitting down enjoying them-
selves, roasting and eating yams and plaintains.
c 2
30
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4
I have been thus particular in my description
of negro work while sugar is mannfactured,
for there is nothing more false than that
negroes are overworked at such times, or that
they dislike it.
Did any one ever hear a negro complain of
crop time, who was a good character; or was
there ever a negro whose own grounds were in
order, who did not prefer crop time to all other
seasons?—I never put the question to any who
did not answer in the affirmative. As for
negroes of bad character, as their testimony
would not be regarded in this country, neither
ought it to be in England: but the anti-colonial
party have unfortunately seemed ever to be
unaware that any difference of either rank or
character exists among slaves; a plain proof
that they are most unfit persons to collect slave
evidence upon any subject. For although I
greatly doubt the propriety of putting a slave
upon his oath, in their present state of civiliza-
tion, yet I would make a great difference in
the credit I would attach to the answers of a
WEST INDIES.
31
negro who bears a good character from his
master and his fellow slaves, and that which
I would give to the testimony of a run-away, a
thief, or a liar. When I use the term a good
negro, I wish my readers to understand it as
we do in the West Indies-industrious, civil, with
some sense of his own dignity, and a wish to
retain a place in the good opinion of his master
and all around him. This is the usual accepta-
tion of the term, a good negro: such a man
is seldom altogether proof against occasional
deceit and theft, to an extent that would ruin
the character of a servant at home; but com-
pared with the majority, "he is a good negro."
32
WEST INDIES.
CHAPTER XIV.
Preparations for removing to Trinidad-Conduct
of the negroes-Voyage - Approach — Negro
expectations-Arrival-Views-Port au Spain
-Public walk-Population-Visit to the negroes
at Laurel-Hill—Black ants—Valley of Maraval
-Magnificent scenery of the tropics-Visit to
the markets-Prices of provisions; and enume-
ration of vegetables and fruits.
AFTER having been resident during some years
in St. Vincent, Mr. C. paid a visit to the
island of Trinidad. He had been there, for a
few days, some months before; and had re-
turned with a very favourable opinion of the
island. His second visit confirmed his first
impressions; and he came at last to the resolu-
tion of removing from St. Vincent to that
colony.
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33
One of the first steps was, to ascertain whe-
ther our people would like to accompany us
or not. The proposal was no sooner made to
them, than they instantly seemed, not only
willing, but delighted at the prospect of a
change. Their master told them, that if any
of them preferred remaining, they had only
to say so; and he would give them a paper,—
a written permission from the master, for them
to go round among the estates, and find a new
master for themselves. This is the universal
practice with the master; and the negro never
finds any difficulty in suiting himself with a
new master. The higher the value put upon
the negro, the higher does he hold his head, as
it is a proof that he is a good character; and I
know of no more common reproach from a good
to a bad negro, than the expression, "You
dare tell me so, you! what you worth; you sell
to-morrow, massa get noting for you, you no
worth that!" and they conclude by biting off
a little bit of the right-hand thumb-nail, and
spitting it out with a toss of the head: by this
34
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they mean in plain English,-you are so un-
profitable a servant to your master, that you
are not worth the paring of a nail.
One domestic negro alone wished to remain,
as his wife, for the time being, was not a negro
belonging to us; nor if she had, would she
have liked going to Trinidad; at least so she
said. This domestic was transferred to another
member of our family, and filled the same
situation there as he had done with us. He
was neither a good servant, nor a good charac-
ter, though not wanting in cleanliness or intel-
ligence; but so exceedingly cruel to his fellow
servants, that I was not sorry for his deter-
mination.
One request was made by all the other
negroes, and that was a most reasonable one-
that J., who was a run-away and a notorious
thief, should be left behind. Mr. C. said, to
try them, "but what shall I say to J.?" "Say
massa-say noting at all; just leave him; he
be one wild nigger-he 'll go to the woods."
But B., the domestic who was to remain, said,
WEST INDIES.
35
"Oh no! massa, I'll soon manage him; I'll
tell him the snake so big and so plenty in
Trinidad, they would eat him up if he went to
the mountains, and so he'll be glad to be left
in St. Vincent." The others said-" Well, any
way, so he don't go, and shame us; massa, you
know we all great sinner, but we try be good
niggers to you, massa, and no bring you to
shame in a strange place. Massa, I. is one
great tief: he no tief a leetle ting, but go 'bout
all the plantations and tief as impudent as one
monkey."
Their master could not but allow the truth
of this statement; and it was promised that I.
should be left to get another master; and that
they should be neither disgraced nor annoyed
by such a comrade.
All was now bustle and preparation among
them; smart dresses making, &c., and the
excitement was alike felt by old and young.
Many went out, by permission, to the country
to take leave of old friends, and some old
friends came to see them; but there was no
c 3
36
WEST INDIES.
appearance of regret in any one instance in
The negroes
leaving old scenes and old faces.
had heard a great deal of the fertility of Trinidad
by B., who had been there with his master,
and who allowed that Trinidad negroes had
نی
it in their power to get on fast in money-
making. I do not doubt that this report made
a strong impression upon them; but inde-
pendently of any incentive of this kind, negroes
are uncommonly fond of change; and shew
less feeling in parting from their old friends,
and the scenes of their early youth, than
Europeans generally shew and feel.
Although the society of St. Vincent was not
very congenial to my taste; yet there were
some individuals from whom I could not sepa-
rate without feeling deeply. Independent of
those to whom I was connected by the nearest
ties, there were others who had shewn us great
and unaffected hospitality upon our arrival,
and whose kind offices of friendship had never
relaxed. I also regretted leaving St. Vincent
without having been able to see every part of
WEST INDIES.
37
the island; and particularly without having
ascended the Souffriere. But those who en-
deavour, however imperfectly, to do their duty
to their family, and instruct their domestics,
will find very little opportunity 'for excursions
of pleasure in the West Indies. In point of
fact, although I was five years and six months
altogether there, I never found it possible to
devote any one whole day to the gratification of
mere curiosity. The fatigue of ascending the
Souffriere is very great in so hot a climate.
My husband's eldest daughter accomplished
the ascent at the expense of losing nearly the
whole of the skin of her face and neck. The
party by whom she was accompanied, rode part
of the way upon mules, after which they were
obliged to scramble up as they could-slipping
and sliding-now holding on by the brushwood,
and when that failed, creeping upon all fours.
The exertion, however, was amply rewarded by
the magnificent prospect from the summit.
Her feelings of awe, too, were probably in-
creased by the recollections of her very early
38
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childhood, as she had witnessed the awful
irruption of the volcano in 1812. Frequent
slight shocks of earthquakes had, before that
event, alarmed the inhabitants; but they were,
nevertheless, not at all prepared for the awful
scene of horror and devastation which then
took place. The sound of the explosions was
terrific: they were heard distinctly in the island
of Grenada, where the militia were drawn out,
on the supposition that the French were coming
to attack them. Baron Humboldt says, the
sound of the explosions was "heard at a dis-
tance equal to that between Mount Vesuvius
and Paris." The whole fruit and vegetables
of the northern part of the island were de-
stroyed,-while the country was covered with
grey sand and ashes, in some places to the
depth of several feet. The canes were levelled
to the ground-immense forest-trees nearly
denuded of their branches; the trunks standing
erect, smoking and charred. The stones pro-
pelled from the mouth of the crater, were
thrown in the form of a parabola—striking the
WEST INDIES.
39
opposite side of the trees from the mountain,
lodging in what branches remained, and often
in the solid trunk.
All the orange and lemon tribe suffered
especially and even when I left St. Vincent,
so long after these events, I had never seen a
fine full-grown orange tree; nor a lime that
was superior in height to a middle-sized lauris-
tinus shrub in Europe. Limes and oranges
were then almost all imported from the neigh-
bouring islands. One of the last places I
visited with regret, was the Botanic Garden of
St. Vincent. Not that as a botanic garden it
had any longer a claim to attention; but as a
perfectly beautiful spot. In the days of the
late Dr. Anderson, it must have been a de-
lightful spot to the lover of botany. Govern-
ment, whether wisely or not I cannot say,
refused to keep up the expenses of it; and at
the time I allude to, it was occupied as a sort
of retreat from the heat of Kingstown, by Sir
Charles Brisbane, the then governor of the
island. I had been invited to a very large party
40
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there the previous day, which I had declined
going to, as Mr. C. was absent; and his ex-
cellency next day offered to ride up with me,—
as I preferred a quiet day for a lounge in the
garden, and turning over some excellent botani-
cal books, which had been so profitably studied
by their former possessor.
The house at the Botanic Garden could never
have been very good, but it was now scarcely
habitable; and Sir C. Brisbane described to
me, with all his comic powers, the ludicrous
scene the evening before, when those who
danced had to keep a sharp look-out, that they
did not fall through the holes of the flooring
into the cellar underneath.
.
We had fixed the middle of August for our
departure to Trinidad, and embarked with all our
family, save my husband's youngest daughter,
who had married Pemberton Hobson, Esq., now
Attorney-General of St. Vincent. About eleven
in the morning we set sail, in the sloop Ariel.
The negroes had all slept on board, so that no
delay took place; and we left the shore imme-
WEST INDIES.
41
diately, with a fine strong breeze in our favour.
The Ariel was an excellent vessel, and her
captain a very skilful man,-well acquainted
with the currents of the Charibean sea. As to
the accommodation, it was as good as such
vessels usually possess. There was a row of
berths on each side, which a moderate sized
person could roll himself into, and remain
coiled up; so that at least there was no chançe
of being tossed about in bed. I remained on
deck long enough to see the shore of St. Vincent
gradually fade away, and become at length
undistinguishable, without a hope or prospect
of ever beholding it again; and I should not
wish it to be supposed that I could thus lose
sight for ever of a spot, which had been a home
for years, and where, with all its faults, there
was much to regret, without feeling some of
that heaviness of heart, which even the prospect
of new, and I hoped, more prosperous scenes,
could not altogether remove. Sea sickness,
however, soon mastered us all; if I except one
of our family, who remained on deck almost the
42
WEST INDIES.
whole night, enjoying the sport of the sailors,
catching fish, and salting it for the market at
Port of Spain. I could hear their animated
exclamations the livelong night, as they caught
another and another king-fish.
We had some negroes of our own on board
who were sailors,-fine spirited fellows: one of
them enacted the part of nurse to the ladies;
and he far surpassed all the female stewards I
ever met with in that capacity. In the first
place he had that best of all qualifications, a
pair of excellent sea legs; in the second place,
he had shortly before been very seriously ill,
and his young massa had nursed and cured
him; and he was now brimful of gratitude.
He made very strong grog; and when I
ventured to remonstrate, he said, “Neber mind
misses, it no make you tipsy now; you sick
too much." Then he broiled salt fish ; and
went round the berths insisting upon our eating,
with a world of gaiety and good humour,—half
sorry for us, and half laughing,-proud of his
own superior abilities at sea, and no less so of
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43
his young massa, who he said "was fit to be a
gemmen sailor, he go about so."
At last, Trinidad was announced to be in
sight. Although very sick, I was extremely
anxious to catch the earliest glimpse of the
island which was to be our future home. With
the aid of my negro nurse, and his infallible
recipe for sea sickness-a sprig of salt beef,
broiled fire hot with capsicum, and sprinkled
with lemon juice-I contrived to place myself
on deck. Our other negroes now began to
grope their way upon deck; and salt fish and
grog soon produced a happy change upon them.
The joke and the laugh went round; and they
rallied each other upon the comical figure they
had cut during the paroxysms of sea sickness.
The island of Trinidad is about ninety miles
long and fifty broad; but it has never been
very accurately surveyed. This island derives
its name from the three mountains which are
discerned, at the distance of thirteen leagues,
to the south east: they are of considerable
height, compared with any other ground in the
44
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*
neighbourhood, and consequently are conspi-
cuous. They are of the secondary formation.
The island was discovered by Columbus, in his
third voyage to the new world, in 1498. In
March 1595, Trinidad was visited by Sir Walter
Raleigh, who, after reducing the defences of
the island, took possession of it in the name
of his sovereign. Trinidad was taken by the
French in 1676; and in 1797 it was recovered
by the British, under General Sir Ralph Aber-
crombie; and added to England by the treaty
of Amiens.
Considerable knowledge of the currents is
required, to make the island of Trinidad: for
otherwise, vessels are liable to be swept by the
current to the Spanish Main. There is a very
strong current from the south-east-in the
strait between the south coast of the island,
and the continent of South America; through
which it sets into the Gulf of Paria. Another
current sets along the north coast, tending to
the south, on the south-east coast of Cumana
or Paria. I need scarcely say, that these con-
WEST INDIES.
45
flicting currents occasion a constant agitation
of the sea.
It was from these circumstances
that Columbus named the passages through
which these currents set-Boccas de Drago,
or Dragons' Mouths. We had the advantage
of both wind and current; and entered the
Bocca Grande, passing close to the small island
of Chacachacarreo. There are other channels;
the Bocca de Navios, or Ship's Passage: the
Bocca de Huevos, or Egg Passage; and the
Bocca de Monos, or Ape's Passage. As we
entered the Bocca del Drago, the scene became
exceedingly animated and beautiful; the Gulf
of Paria being studded with small islands,
rising perpendicularly out of the water; and
which might, from the fine verdure which
covers them, be well called emerald isles. This
gulf is as smooth as glass, but muddy, as it is
at all times, particularly during the rainy season
which had now set in; the water is then of a
dirty reddish hue, occasioned by the waters
of the great river Oronoco, which enters the
Atlantic, by many mouths, opposite to the
island of Trinidad.
46
WEST INDIES.
We now neared the land, so that the houses
and cultivation became visible; and as every
minute the objects we gazed upon assumed
more and more distinctness, our people were
as much interested as we were; and when at
length the amazingly fine plantain trees, and
rich provision-grounds caught their eye, there
was one simultaneous burst of joy, and "tank
you, massa, bring me to so fine a country; me
be good nigger to you all the days of our life,
for bringing us here."
"Fine easy sailing here," said sailor Tom,
as he surveyed the smooth gulf of Paria, where
he looked forward to the commencement of a
new era in his nautical life.
One elderly negro woman, of great natural
intelligence, a native African, seemed if pos-
sible more delighted than any of them. I asked
her if this was at all like her own country
"Me own country misses? no no; me own
country shew noting like dat-'t is better den
the Charaib country." This was the greatest
possible compliment a St. Vincent negro could
pay to Trinidad; for they consider justly, that
WEST INDIES.
47
the Charaib country of St. Vincent is the land
of milk and honey.
The next question was, "Massa, can you
shew us the plantation a we go to ?" This was
impossible; but they were quite satisfied when
massa assured them that Laurel-Hill produced
as fine provisions as any they now saw; and
that there was plenty of land for them ;" and
massa, we'll see massa W. and misses too." In
fact they resembled a band of children, `set out
on a party of pleasure after being released from
school, whose loquacity knows no bounds.
How fervently do I wish that those who
passed the Act forbidding the removal of negroes
from a worn-out island to a fertile and abundant
one, could have witnessed the scene I did that
day; nor was it a scene of highly excited
expectations, to be speedily destroyed by a
reality; on the contrary, time only made all
our people the more thankful for the removal
from an estate in St. Vincent, where the soil
was so very inferior to the rich productive
island of Trinidad.
48
WEST INDIES.
In the midst of all the noise and boisterous
fun of the negroes, I could hardly look so
quietly as I could have wished, upon the
beautiful panorama around us. The coast of
South America was quite distinct; and the
beauty of the little islands in the Gulf was
heightened by the rich foliage of the trees,-
all of them of the freshest green, in consequence
of the rains.
The outline of Trinidad, however, does not
in my opinion at all equal St. Vincent; which,
in the bolder features, far surpasses it. Yet it
is not wanting in beauty; and those who have
ever looked at the print of Loch Lomond, in
Dr. Garnett's Tour through Scotland, may form
some idea of the toute ensemble in miniature of
the Gulf of Paria.
About five, p. m., we anchored off Port
d'Espagne, or Port of Spain, as it is usually
called. The town is low, so that on ship-board
we could see nothing of it. The Harbour-
Master immediately came on board, and being
satisfied that we had all been vaccinated, gave
WEST INDIES.
49
us permission to land—a permission which in
Trinidad is necessary. A young gentleman,
resident at the house of the late Chief Judge,
soon came off in a boat, and took all our family
on shore, where we found Mr. Warner's car-
riage in waiting for us, to convey us up to
Belmont a short distance from Port of Spain.
The sight of a nice English carriage, with ser-
vants whose appearance and address bespoke
something very different from St. Vincent, was
the first thing that struck me as indicative of a
more polished state of society than that which
I had left behind. The contrast soon became
still stronger, as we drove through a town par-
ticularly clean, and as regularly built as the
new town of Edinburgh. It was now past six ;
and in that climate the transition from the
brightest day to night is almost immediate ;
and childish as it may seem, the gas lights,
and the appearance of good, well-lighted shops,
quite put us all in spirits. Our young Spanish
friend took great pleasure, as we drove along,
in calling our attention to the different objects
50
WEST INDIES.
,
likely to please us; and he seemed, as he well
might be, proud to shew us how well-regulated
a town Port of Spain was, compared with
Kingstown in St. Vincent. Nevertheless, as
Cowper says, "God made the country, and
man the town;" and town, however beautiful,
could never give birth to such feelings as I
experienced, when I first saw the Charaib
country of St. Vincent, with its lofty volcanic
mountains.
We had a steep pull up to Belmont, the
residence of the Chief Justice. The very first
glimpse I caught of Mr. Warner, impressed
me with the most delightful presentiment of the
happiness it must be to live under the roof of
one, whose every feature bore the impress of
worth and amiable feeling. Mrs. Warner I had
formerly had the happiness of knowing in Scot-
land; and I need scarcely say, how pleased we
were to find that the promise we had made in
Edinburgh, to meet if possible in Trinidad,
had not proved to be a dream. There was a
happy meeting too of the little children; who,
t
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51
though they at first looked strange to each
other, soon made the house resound with their
joyous bursts of laughter and mirth.
Belmont-house was old, and required repair-
ing, but it was nevertheless far superior to any
thing I had seen in the West Indies. It was
surrounded by a neat and tasteful shrubbery,
with those beautiful clematuses so abundant in
the West Indies. The open rafters of the roof,
and many other singular et ceteras about the
house, would have seemed strange enough to
me, had I not been already pretty familiar with
these peculiarities, by my residence in St.
Vincent. Mr. C. was anxious that our people
should be landed and sent to Laurel-Hill. Im-
mediately after breakfast next morning there-
fore our young Spanish friend accompanied
him for this purpose. I was not present, but I
understood that they were all happy and cheer-
ful, and delighted that they were about to see
their new plantation.
Arrangements had been made in Trinidad,
previous to the arrival of our people, and all
VOL. II.
D
52
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the old settled negroes, many of whom had
spare room, received the new comers with great
willingness and hospitality. I had now leisure
to survey the view from Belmont, which was
truly magnificent. The elevations behind the
house were sufficient to confer great beauty,
though not sublimity, upon the landscape; but
the magnificence of the wood,—the gigantic
size, and broad foliage of the trees which filled
the valleys and clothed the hills, gave a new
and striking character to the scene.
From one
of the windows there was an extensive view of
the coast of South America, and of the calm and
emerald-studded gulf that bathes these tropical
climes. St. Anne's, the residence of his excel-
lency Sir R. J. Woodford, the then governor
of Trinidad, was a pretty object, too, as seen
from Belmont. It lay rather in a low situation,
in the valley of St. Anne's; but those who
understand these matters better than I do,
consider such a situation in Trinidad superior
in point of health to one more elevated; which,
it is said, catches the floating miasma during
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53
the rainy season. There is a drive, an alameda,
at Port of Spain, called the great and lesser
circle, and which might be called the Hyde
Park of Trinidad. All new comers are con-
ducted there; and there we, of course, repaired
during the evening after our arrival, as soon as
the heat had somewhat abated. This promenade
originated, and was planned and executed by
Sir Ralph Woodford; whose public spirit knew
no bounds, where the good of the colony or
comfort of the inhabitants was concerned. Here
we found all the population of the town and
its environs enjoying themselves; and here one
may, at all times, have a coup d'œil of the
singularly varied and many-coloured population
of this colony; which, from its long connexion
with Spain, its vicinity to the South American
continent, and its extensive foreign trade, can
boast a more varied population than most of
the British West India colonies. I had no idea
that I should see so great a number of private
carriages, and of equestrians. The carriages
D 2
7
54
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were full of ladies, and were all open: and
most of the females, I should have remarked,
were well dressed. Many of them, indeed,
had a good deal of style in their appearance.
Nothing is more striking to a stranger in
Trinidad than the extreme regularity with
which all public business is conducted, and
the excellent regulations in force, in all that
regards the internal economy of the colony: and
this example has had its influence on the society
generally, where it always seemed to me that
the uses and economy of time were most
thoroughly understood. I hesitate not to
ascribe these results to the influence and, ex-
ample of Sir Ralph Woodford, than whom no
man ever existed better qualified for the
government of a colony.
It is a thousand pities that the governors of
colonies should not be more frequently taken
from civil and legal offices, rather than from the
army and navy: those are most honourable
professions; but it ought to be recollected, that
the first principle inculcated in each of them is
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55
absolute obedience: and as the young officer
rises in rank, he learns by degrees to exercise
absolute command. Right or wrong, to obey
is the first duty of a soldier; and such an
education seems little fitted to produce, in
after life, a sufficiently deliberative character
for a civil governor.
A few days after our arrival in Trinidad, we
went to Laurel-Hill, to see the negroes. They
were already at work, and quite in spirits;
quizzing the Trinidad husbandry as far inferior
to St. Vincent. A great ball had been given
by the Laurel-Hill negroes, as a compliment to
the St. Vincent people; and the young black
Trinidad dandies were sporting their best clothes
and address, to gain the smiles and the favours
of the young St. Vincent belles. I was informed,
the only alloy in this grand gala, was the envy
excited in the breasts of the young Trinidad
negresses; who felt not a little annoyed at
seeing the St. Vincent new comers preferred to
them as partners. It is a trite saying, that
human nature is everywhere alike; and no-
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where is that truth more often forced upon our
observation than in living among a negro popu-
lation.
Of the many novelties of Trinidad, the black
ants are among the soonest to make themselves
known; and among the least agreeable of
acquaintances. It was but the first night of
our arrival that as Mr. C. was stepping into
bed, he was attacked by an innumerable host
of these small black ants: and in the course
of a few minutes he was covered from head to
foot. Upon examining the bed, it was full of
them the floor and walls of the house were
completely covered; and in a state of despera-
tion from their stings, Mr. C. was obliged to
leave the chamber to the enemy, and fly un-
dressed, to some rooms erected at a short
distance from where Mr. W. was sleeping.
Here it was not until after a fierce and long
encounter that the enemy was forced to retreat
for that night.
These ants are small, and in colour very
black their bite is attended with considerable
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57
irritation. Besides this small ant, there is a
larger kind, still more unceremonious and more
formidable as visitors. The large ants think
nothing of taking forcible possession of a whole
house, and fairly driving out its inmates.
On my first arrival in Trinidad, before settling
on the estate, I took advantage of the interval
to see something of the country, and had soon
explored most of the charming valleys that lie
within the reach of an excursion from Port of
Spain. The valley of Diego Martin is exceed-
ingly beautiful, and within an easy drive of the
town. It is throughout well cultivated; and
studded with the residences of the planters,
and with negro houses in abundance. Diego
Martin is, however, far inferior to the valley
of Marraval: a beautiful and most crystal
stream runs through it-a most agreeable
neighbourhood in a tropical climate. Groves
of fruit trees, laden with their treasures; and
forest trees of noble growth, cover all the banks
and ridges; while the elegant cocoa-nut branches
waving in the light breeze, like gigantic ostrich
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feathers, and shewing at times, underneath,
their silvery tent, contrast finely with the darker
foliage around, and with the deep sky of a
tropical climate.
I found Maraval not only cool, but absolutely
cold, so completely were the sun's rays ex-
cluded from it. But it was a damp unpleasant
cold, there was a sensation of chilliness induced,
that made you feel, not only that the sun's rays
were then absent from the valley, but that the
sun had never shone there. I should doubt,
with all its beauty, whether Maraval would be
a desirable place to live in. Vegetation is here
gigantic. This too was my first introduction
to a real grove of noble orange trees. The oranges
were hanging on the boughs, as thickly cluster-
ing as any apples I have ever seen. They were
of a pale pea-green; and my first impulse was
to pull down a bough of the tree to help myself,
but little did I wot who were the inmates of
that tree. Before almost I was conscious of
touching an orange, I was covered from head
to foot with chasseur ants. There was but one
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59
remedy: Mrs. Warner called one of the men
servants, who tore hastily some switches from
the brushwood; and I was obliged to submit
to rather a rough scourging. I was shockingly
stung; and moreover, many of the insects con-
tinued their assaults all the way home. The ant
is black, and about the fourth of an inch long.
Shortly after my arrival in Trinidad, I paid a
visit to the market of Port of Spain. The
early morning hour is the most favourable for
visiting it; and the following details, are the
results of that, and of many subsequent visits.
The butcher market is exceedingly neat and
commodious; but the market for fish excels in
convenience, beauty, and regularity, anything
of the sort I ever saw: when I say that it is
even far superior to that of Peters' Port, in
the island of Guernsey, I pay it only a fair
compliment. The tide comes in every day, and
washes the whole site: in fact the market is
held over the sea, the slabs are all of marble,
the scales and weights accurately clean; and
the prices are under wise and strict regulations.
WA
At
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The supply is abundant, and for the West
Indies not unreasonable.
But before going into details regarding the
market, it will be better to mention the current
coin of Trinidad, and its value in sterling
money. The Spanish gold doubloon, a very
handsome coin, is worth 87. currency; sixteen
dollars. The gold joe is worth 37. 6s. currency,
and values from 17. 10s. to 17. 17s. sterling;
but it is seldom worth more than 17. 10s.
sterling, varying of course according to the rate
of exchange. The Spanish round dollar values
ten shillings currency: about four shillings and
sixpence sterling, or four shillings and four-
pence, according to the exchange. The ring
dollar has a circular piece of silver punched out
of the middle; the piece taken out is of the
value of one shilling currency; so that the ring
dollar is nine shillings currency-being one
shilling currency less in value than the round
or Spanish dollar. There are also Spanish
half, and quarter dollars. The silver bit piece
is worth about fourpence sterling; and a half
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61
bit piece of silver, twopence. This was the
smallest current coin in Trinidad, while I was
there; no copper being then in use. To one
arriving from St. Vincent, the beef of Trinidad
is quite a treat; nevertheless, Trinidad beef
would cut a sorry figure in any English, or even
Scotch market. The mutton and lamb of Port
of Spain, I thought inferior in point of flavour
to that of St. Vincent.
I am not able to say certainly what is the
price of beef, mutton, and lamb, in Port of
Spain; for I cannot find any note in my pos-
session of the exact price per lb. My house-
keeping did not begin until I left Belmont;
and at Laurel-Hill we were thoroughly supplied
from the negroes' stock, and from our own; so
that I only once sent to market in the space of
twenty months; and then the charge was made
for the round of beef, without mentioning the
number of lbs. But I think beef, mutton, and
lamb, sold for from three to four and four bits
In every
and a half per lb. of sixteen ounces.
thing else, I can state the exact price, from a
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reference to my accounts, having kept a daily
detail of every article of expenditure.
Pork, of superior quality, was bought, either
in the market, or in the country from the
negroes belonging to the different estates, at
two bits per lb. A fowl, ready for use, at six
shillings and sixpence currency. There was a
law by which it was optional to purchase live
poultry by weight, if one so inclined. But the
negroes so deceived by feeding the fowl previous
to weighing, that I preferred paying the price
I mention, and getting a good article. The
Peons, that is, the free native Spaniards, rear
multitudes of lean poultry; and they do not
play the same tricks in selling them by weight
that the negroes do. They also sell lean
turkeys in the same way.
Their fowls are
usually of the value of four shillings and six-
pence or five shillings, currency; and turkeys
about 17. 5s. A chicken is sold for a quarter
dollar; but if fat and fit for use, a chicken is
worth from half a ring dollar to three-quarters,
according to its size, Five round dollars is the
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63
common price of a fat turkey: a pair of fat
ducks, three dollars. A fat goose, three dollars
to four, according as they may be plentiful or
scarce in the island. A pork head, according
to the size, from a cut dollar to half a dollar for
a very sound one. The feet, half a cut dollar.
But these are the favourite pieces with the
negro, and they seldom part with them.
King fish, or tazac, is reckoned the best fish
in Trinidad; it is excellent,-handsome to the
sight, and resembles a salmon in size. Grouper
or vielle, is also very good, but harder, and is
best stewed: cod-fish or morne, snapper in
poisson, rouge, tong, congor eel or canouver, all
sell at one shilling and sixpence currency per
Ib., and every other description of small fish at
one bit. Few of these, however, are very good.
Shark and cat-fish are prohibited being sold.
Eggs sell at three for a bit; and when scarce
I have known them half a bit each. Salt
butter, when sold by the pound in Port of
Spain market, is three quarters to sometimes a
Spanish dollar per lb. I never saw or heard
of fresh butter for sale.
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It would be impossible to enumerate the
prices of the vegetables and fruits; but as a
general remark it may be stated, that a tolerably
sized dish of any common vegetable in season,
is never under two bits; and that the rarer
vegetables are dearer. English peas cost a
round dollar for a small dish. A fine large
pine in season may be had for from two to three
or four bits. A large shadock the same. For-
bidden fruit, half a bit each; oranges, two to
three bits per dozen. The other fruits are all
cheap; excepting sappidilloes and the prickly
pear. This pear, from its peculiarly cool pulp,
is a great favourite, and is very wholesome;
and with sappidilloes, are sold about three for
a bit.
The guava of Trinidad is very inferior to
that of St. Vincent; besides, it is hardly pos-
sible to get one quite free from worms. The
custard apple also is subject to this defect. The
Trinidad mango abounds everywhere; but I
saw none to compare with those of the Botanic
Garden in St. Vincent. The Trinidad orange
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65
is, however, most delicious; as are also many
of the plums-all indigenous to the island.
Were grafting tried, I am convinced the fruit
would be much improved; the stone is at pre-
sent uniformly too large in proportion to the
pulp. The following is a pretty accurate calen-
dar of the fruits of Trinidad for the year.
January, produces sappidilloes, pomegranates,
sour sops, plantains, bananas, papas or papaws.
The vegetables are-okros, capsicums of all
kinds, which indeed are common every month
in the year, cocoa nuts, which are seldom
used but for cakes and puddings, ground down
-pigeon or angola peas, sweet potatoes, yams
of different sorts, and tanias. February—the
vegetable called chicon or christophine comes
in, which is already described in a former part
of this work. In March, grenadilloes are
added to the former list. April-Java plums,
mangoes, mamm-sapoetas, pines of several
varieties, the Otaheite gooseberry, Jamaica
plums, cerasees, and bread fruit. May adds
to the list, water lemons and cashew apples.
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}
June is much the same in its productions ;
pigeon peas are, however, nearly out of season.
In July the avacado pear comes in; it is also
known by the name of the alligator pear-or
subaltern's butter, from its inside resembling
very yellow fresh butter, both in consistence
and colour. In August the only new fruit is
the yellow hog plum: the other fruits in season
are the mamme-sapotas and avacado pears.
September produces sugar and custard apples,
sea-side grapes, and plenty of Portuguese yams.
The fruits and vegetables of October are nearly
the same as September; and the only difference
in November is the bread fruit being ripe again.
December brings in guavas; and that most
excellent and useful production, sorrel. This
plant has a succulent stalk, and grows from
three to four feet high. There is a blossom, not
unlike the common English columbine. There
are two varieties, white and red. The blossoms,
when slightly fermented, produce a delightful
beverage, or stewed with sugar make tarts or
jam. All the orange and lemon tribe; shad-
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67
docks and forbidden fruit; plantains and
bananas, may be had every month in the year;
but they abound most from April to September.
Mountain cabbage is always in season, and is
a most delicious vegetable. In showery weather,
English peas will always do well; but the
marrow-fat pea does not suit the climate so
well as the different species of dwarf peas; par-
ticularly that kind known in England by the
name of the early nimble tailor. Carrots, tur-
nips, and English cabbage are very scarce and
dear; and have a stunted look. Asparagus
thrives pretty well; and I believe sometimes
may be had at market; also artichokes, Jeru-
salem artichokes, the love-apple or tomata, and
the two edible species of the egg plant--the
one of which is a greenish white, the other a
purple; they are sold in Trinidad under the
name of the boulangois.
Cucumbers, melons, and gourds of all kinds
are abundant and cheap. Lettuce, radishes,
and cress, are not so good as in England, and
are dearer. Onions will not grow to any tole-
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rable size; plenty come from Madeira, but
they are expensive.
Parsley and celery are
also dear and scarce. All the legumes of the
country are excellent, abundant, and cheap,
particularly the Lima bean. Milk is a quarter
dollar a quart bottle.
Besides all these natural productions dis-
played for sale in the market, a great variety
of cakes and pastry is always exhibited, but it
is not inviting; ginger beer, mobee, and orgeat
are always plentiful, and generally excellent.
To the youthful appetite, the Trinidad mar-
ket is very attractive: for there are numerous
bottles of comfits, sweetmeats of all kinds, and
coloured papers of comforts, which all little
Trinidad masters and misses know well, under
the name of dragee. There are no seats for
the sellers of fruit, vegetables, or other wares—
some bring a chair or a stool; but many are
seated on the grass, in the open area where the
market is held. The first time I walked through
the market of Port of Spain, it struck me as a
very animated scene. The gaudy and many-
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69
coloured handkerchiefs, on the heads of the
coloured and negro women, gave great life to
the picture; and the diversity of tongues spoken,
bewildered as much as it astonished me. There
might be heard, the languages and dialects
of English, Scotch, Irish, French, Spaniards,
Dutch, Germans, Italians, Chinese, and Turks.
The natives of Britain and Spain predominate,
and next the French,-a sufficiently motley
population, without reckoning the coloured and
negro population, free or slave, African, Indian,
or creole.
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CHAPTER XV.
Public institutions and buildings-Education and
seminaries-Island militia-Churches-Courts
of law and public bodies-Shopping-Excellent
police regulations-Caranage―The pitch lake.
BEFORE settling on our estate, we devoted a
few mornings to an inspection of Port of Spain,
its public buildings, institutions, &c. We were
accompanied by Sir Ralph Woodford and Chief
Justice Warner in our preregrinations. His
Excellency called my attention to the beauty of
freestone, with which the gaol is built, adding
"it comes from the county of Fife." I felt as
I can hardly describe, when I learned that it
was even from my father's quarry at Callilou in
Fifeshire: it seemed like meeting an old friend.
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71
The prisoners in the gaol were all exceedingly
clean, and quite as comfortable as prisoners
ought to be; and there was, what would render
it no temptation to commit crime in order
to get free lodging and clothing,—a tread mill;
and all prisoners in health worked at it, accord-
ing to their age and strength. His excellency,
Mr. Warner, Mr. C., and another of our party,
tried the effect of it. The exertion seemed
to be fearful; they did not prolong their dance
above a minute or two, and even with this it
produced profuse perspiration. It may well be
doubted whether this punishment be judicious
in a tropical climate. There was not many
prisoners in goal; and the colony was then
prospering, in the best sense of the word. The
working population, whether free or otherwise,
seemed contented, and wonderfully industrious;
if we take into account their constitutional
dislike to labour. Still there was even then, a
general complaint that free labourers could not
be induced to work above a day or two with
regularity.
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While we remained at Belmont, before settling
at Laurel, there was a good deal of visiting and
gaiety; and among other visitors at Belmont, I
was particularly pleased by a Spanish gentle-
man, Don Antonio Gomez. I am not quite
certain, but I rather think I was told he was a
native of the Spanish Main. I mention this
gentleman, from the circumstance of our having
entered into conversation concerning the Carac-
cas; and because he was the sole instance of
any one, with whom I ever conversed upon the
subject of making sugar by free labour, who
expressed the least hope upon the subject. He
did not speak like an enthusiast; but like an
extremely liberal well-informed man, hoping
that at some future period this most desirable
object might be effected. I knew Mr. Gomez
to be a Roman Catholic; and I cannot help
mentioning, as a proof of that gentleman's
liberality, that he had a son at Harrow school.
Mr. Gomez had travelled through England and
Scotland with Sir Ralph Woodford, and he had
not forgotten the beauties of Dunkeld, and the
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73
clearness of the Scotch rivers and brooks. His
hospitable reception at the late Duke of Athol's,
he spoke of with great pleasure; and perhaps if
this ever meets the eye of Mr. Gomez, he may
feel some satisfaction in knowing, that when I
was at Castle-Mona, Isle of Mann, in 1830,
his name was not forgotten by the excellent
members of the Athol family then resident
there.
The national school of Trinidad is, among
other places, well worth a visit. We were
unfortunate in the time we visited it;-the
children were just about being dismissed, and
many of the junior classes had broken up. But
we heard several boys, from six to eight, read
English with great propriety; and their writing
and ciphering were admirable for their age.
This establishment promised very fair indeed,
and I believe it has gone on well ever since.
The pupils amounted to nearly 180: upwards
of 100 could write.
There are in Trinidad several seminaries for
the education of young gentlemen and ladies;
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and more than one of a highly respectable
character: there are also good private teachers
-in particular, a professor of music, M.
Wiames, who has great musical genius, and
whose style must be said to be brilliant. Such
schools and such teachers are a great blessing
to those who cannot send their children to
Europe for education; and I heard that several
young ladies, who had been wholly educated
in Trinidad, were considered, in point of both
the useful and agreeable, quite equal to those
who had been in Europe. While upon this
subject, I may mention that I had demonstration
of the proficiency of Trinidad taught musicians.
In the evening, at Government-house, where we
had dined (and where by the by I did not, as
in St. Vincent, see the wine bottles disappear
through the windows; but where, on the con-
trary, every thing was in excellent style), I
listened to some most masterly vocal perform-
ances; particularly the choicest morsels of the
Italian masters, by a lady who had been wholly
taught in Trinidad.
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VOL. II.
There was some talk of a militia review,
while we were at Belmont; but the provokingly
showery weather prevented the show; which
was regretted, I dare say, as much by those
who would have made the show, as by those
who would have seen it. But although I did
not witness the militia en masse, I saw them
frequently en detail; and must not therefore
omit telling what excellent, well-disciplined
troops they are, as I have been told,—and also
naming the different corps, just to give the
reader some idea of the formidable strength of
the militia force in this colony. There are,
then the royal Trinidad light dragoons-St.
Anne's hussars-royal Trinidad artillery-royal
Trinidad battalion-loyal Trinidad battalion-
sea fencibles-royal invalid corps-military
artificers' company-Diego Martin's chasseurs'
and infantry-Caranage battalion, first and
second division-St. Joseph's light cavalry—
loyal Trinidad light infantry battalion—Arima
pioneer company-St. Joseph's invalids-first
and second battalions Couva and Point-Pierre
E
K
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-North Nassarima cavalry and infantry-
Savanna rangers-South Nassarima cavalry
and infantry. Every colonist is liable to serve
in the militia. There are heavy fines for non-
attendance; and a third offence renders the
individual, if a private, liable to a trial before
a regimental court martial; and this court
martial has the power to pass sentence of fine
and imprisonment, not exceeding 107. currency,
and forty-eight hours' confinement. Should a
fourth offence occur, any private so offending,
is liable upon the conviction of a court martial
to be expelled from the colony-his conduct
being considered inimical to the regulations
established for its security and good order.
The Cabildo, or body of magistrates, are a
public body of great importance in Trinidad.
Their powers are very extensive; they have the
management of the funds of the colony, and of
all regulations relative to internal taxation. No
money can be granted, for any purpose what-
ever, without their consent. The governor for
the time being is the president. There are two
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77
alcaldes-a perpetual regidor-seven elective ·
regidors-an acting executor-a syndic pro-
curator-a protector of slaves, and a secretary
and registrar, with a treasurer. There is also
the commissary of population, and surveyor
generals' department.
There is one Protestant Episcopalian church
in Port of Spain, with a rector, and assisting
officiating minister. The Roman Catholic church
is under the jurisdiction of a vicar apostolic.
The Right Reverend the Bishop of Gerren was
bishop when I was in Trinidad, and I have not
heard that there has been any change. The
vice-patron is his excellency the governor for
the time being. There is also an ecclesiastical
judge and curate of Port of Spain, and a
sacristan mayor. There are Catholic curates
also, who officiate at four different stations in
the island. How is it that the Protestant
episcopalian church of England has not given
like practical evidence of a desire to carry the
knowledge of the pure Gospel to the negro
population of Trinidad? Had she done her
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duty to her colonies, conscientiously, in this
respect, the field would not have been occupied
by ignorant, illiberal missionaries; and had
such men never found a footing in our colonies,
and the religion of the Bible been zealously
disseminated, civilization among all ranks would
have spread with a sure and steady pace.
Emancipation would then have crept on silently
and surely; for when the mind of man is
sufficiently advanced to enjoy freedom, no law
can keep him a slave. All classes of the com-
munity, under such circumstances, progress
alike; so that there is no violent tearing up of
any system—no putting in hazard the lives of
thousands, and the stability of property-
nothing to endanger the possession of the
colony by the mother country. But I have not
yet finished my enumeration of public men,
public buildings, and public institutions; for
when I remove to Laurel-Hill, I shall find too
much occupation on the estate and with the
negroes, to find leisure to return to these
matters.
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There is a civil, and also a militia medical
board at Port of Spain; a vaccine institution;
a committee for schools; and a committee for
building Catholic churches. There is an estab-
lishment, too, at Bando l'est, for the manufac-
ture of cocoa-nut oil. The law department
consists of the Tribunal of the Royal Audiencia;
the Tribunal of Appeal of Civil Jurisdiction;
Tribunal of Appeal of Criminal Jurisdiction,—
in all of which the governor pro tempore, is
judge. There are two other tribunals,—one for
the recovery of debts due to the royal treasury,
and another as judge of crown lands. There is
a court for the trial of civil matters, called a
Complaint Court,—the Vice-Admiralty Court,
-court for the trial of criminal prosecutions,
and a court of criminal inquiry. When I was
in Trinidad there were nine licensed advocates
practising at the bar; and I believe they have
since increased in number. These are all pro-
fessional men of good education; and some
with talents that would do honour to them in
any country. Dr. Llanos and Dr. Garcia, I
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heard always spoken of as men of sterling
ability;-they are natives of Spain. Of the
English barristers, Mr. Edward Jackson enjoyed
the highest reputation. There were only seven
solicitors, besides public notaries,-a marvel-
lously small allowance, certainly. Let me not
omit to name, as a most useful body, the
committee for the improvement of roads; and
really, the recollection of the roads in St. Vincent
made one bless this department.
Trinidad is divided into thirty-two divisions,
or quarters, as they are there called. Every
quarter has a commandant; and the town of
St. Joseph's has one distinct from the quarter
of St. Joseph's. These commandants had
originally powers similar to an English justice
of peace. In 1825, however, their powers were
greatly increased, by an order in council from
Great Britain, and the duties were thus ren-
dered very difficult and fatiguing; occupying
the time of those discharging them, almost to
the exclusion of private business. But the
chief hardship consisted in being compelled to
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accept office, if appointed by the colonial
government; nor was there any remuneration,—
not even an allowance for stationary.
There were also twelve licensed physicians
-three or four of whom were from Edin-
burgh, and others with continental diplomas.
No man can practise without a license, which
he pays for: an examination for which, if he
is well educated, he has nothing to fear; and
if not, the population have reason to thank
government for preserving them from that most
dangerous of all impostors—an ignorant and
uneducated medical practitioner. There were
eleven licensed surgeons,-subject to the same
laws as the physicians. Several of the physi-
cians had also a surgeon's diploma, to enable
them to practise in either branch of their profes-
sion. There were four licensed apothecaries, and
the same number of druggists.
No empiric
could gain a footing in Trinidad. Bakers, also,
are licensed. The price of bread is regulated
according to the price of the barrel of American
flour. Bread is tolerably good, but dearer than
in England.
Uor M
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We were now upon the eve of quitting the
hospitable abode of Chief Justice Warner, to
settle at Laurel-Hill; and a few days previous
I was employed in the necessary toil of shopping.
Money is a bulky commodity in that country,
where dollars form the easiest medium of ex-
change; for it is sometimes troublesome to get
change for a doubloon. We accordingly had
a stout handkerchief full of dollars, tied up
and laid in the bottom of the carriage. The
shops were substantial and good: and the
shopkeepers, whether English, Spanish, or
French, invariably civil and obliging. Clothing
of every description I found cheaper than in
St. Vincent; but very dear compared to Eng-
land. Cotton goods at least twice the price,-
a fact rather inconsistent with the over pro-
duction and glut of the foreign markets, of
which we hear so much.
Right glad I was when we reached Belmont,
at nearly six p. m. Although we had rested
in the court-house, and actually ate cakes and
oranges, and other good things, in so grave a
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place, yet, to move at all in so hot a day, was
fatiguing. Fahrenheit's thermometer was 96°
in the shade at noon, and usually ranged from
88 to 98. In the morning, early, we had it as
low as 80°, and in the evening sometimes so
low as 79. Undoubtedly Port of Spain must
be considered one of the hottest of towns.
How the judges and lawyers could breathe in
a crowded court, with so low a roof, too, is
astonishing. This day, which we chanced to
select for shopping, was intolerable,-for there
was not a breath of air; and an atmosphere in
a tropical climate, and not a breeze to agitate
it, is stifling. But, notwithstanding the heat,
I was not displeased with the day's occupation.
I saw many things I had not seen before,—
many streets, some old and some new, and all
were alike peculiarly clean. No new houses
are allowed to be built, otherwise than on a
plan laid down by government; the conse-
quence of which is, a neatness and uniformity
not to be surpassed anywhere. Brunswick
Square, in which Trinity Church is built, was
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not then quite finished; but it promised to be a
fine square.
Every person in Port of Spain is by law
obliged to sweep and keep perfectly clean the
whole front of their houses, or lot of ground,
and every drain is daily washed and kept clear.
Every house, too, is obliged to be furnished
with a barrel of water in case of fire, and there
is a heavy penalty for any one who transgresses
these regulations. There are two places where
the whole sweepings, &c. of the town are or-
dered to be deposited; so that no nuisance of
any description ever meets the eye. No swine,
or goats, are allowed to be seen, either in the
town or suburbs: any person, whether free or
not, is permitted to kill the animal, if found at
large within those bounds. The person who
kills a hog, is entitled to cut off, instanter, and
carry away the head; but half an hour is
allowed for the owner to claim the body: mean-
while the slayer, generally a negro, is seen
watching at a convenient distance, and no
sooner is the half-hour expired, than he pounces
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on the body of the pig, and drags it away with
him, which he is entitled by usage to do.
Dogs are under the same law as to the right of
killing; besides a fine of 107, currency upon
the owner. Every owner of a dog must have
it licensed and it must be secured, during the
day, with a collar round its neck, with its
owner's name: by neglect of this, a penalty is
incurred of 251. currency.
With such excellent laws, not only made but
enforced, it is not to be wondered at that
strangers are struck by the general aspect of
Port of Spain.
We were now in the middle of the rainy sea-
son: I heard of no fevers-no sickness, beyond
what must always exist in such a population,
which, by the census taken ten years ago,
was—whites, 3341; coloured, 13,392; Indians,
893; slave population, 23,227; Chinese, 20;—
making in all, a population of 40,873. Since
that period, however, the population has doubt-
less changed much, both in its aggregate and
detail. I may here state, that I never recollect
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.
of any five years and a half passing in Europe
without some epidemic sufficiently general to
excite alarm; but in all that time I neither saw
nor heard anything of the kind in either St.
Vincent or Trinidad. The opening up of new
land in the neighbourhood of swamps, must
always be prejudicial to the constitution in any
country; and doubly so in a tropical climate:
but when the land is cleared, and the industry
of man and civilization are actively at work, I
have every reason to think a tropical climate as
healthy as any other. Some prudence is requi-
site, as to exposure to the sun, and dews at
night; but the prudence necessary, in a cold
climate, as regards cold, and sudden changes of
temperature, are quite as trying and frequent;
although we think less of those risks in England,
because our early habits make us accustomed
to them.
We drove out one day towards the Caranage;
where the Spaniards burnt their fleet, when the
British landed under General Sir Ralph Aber-
crombie in 1797. It is a low, swampy spot;
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and no European could live there. There were
huts here and there, occupied by free negroes,
who cultivate vegetables for market; and strange
to say, I was informed that their health does
not suffer in the least from the miasma, although
one hut in particular I remarked was erected
almost in a marsh. I know not how long
before this a white family, who had lost nearly
their all by misfortune, and who had no home
to shelter them, offered to rent a house which
had been built long ago, and was considered
untenable from the miasma by which it was
surrounded. They were to have it for a mere
trifle; and as house-rent is ruinously expensive
in the West Indies, they were fain to risk even
their health, rather than rent an abode they
could not honestly see their way in paying for.
There was a gentleman, his wife, and two or
three children. His wife was attacked in a few
days after they went to the spot, and in a week
or two he was the sole survivor: broken-hearted
before, and doubly so now, he died a few days
afterwards. We passed the house; it was shut
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up, and all was ruin, and rank dark green
vegetation around. I saw one or two rather
poor-looking coloured people straggling about;
but they did not appear unhealthy.
I need scarcely tell the reader that the Pitch
Lake is one of the most curious objects in
Trinidad. The usual plan is to go down the
Gulf of Paria, thirty miles, to Point La Braye.
This headland is about eighty feet above the
level of the sea; and about two miles in length
and breadth. My daughter paid a visit to the
pitch lake, and made some drawings of it; but
as the journal of a learned doctor cannot but
be more valuable than the diary of a young
lady, I shall make no apology for transcribing
the short notice of this phenomenon by Dr.
Nugent, of the island of Antigua.-"We landed
on the southern side of Point La Braye, at the
plantation of M. Vessigny. As the boat drew
near the shore, I was struck with the appear-
ance of a rocky bluff, or small promontory of a
reddish brown colour, very different from the
pitch which I had expected to find on the whole
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89
shore. Upon examining this spot, I found it
composed of a substance corresponding to the
porcelain jasper-generally of a red colour
where it had been exposed to the weather, but
of light slate blue in the interior. It is a very
hard stone, with a conchoidal fracture-some
degree of lustre, and is perfectly opaque, even
at the edges. In some places, from the action
of the air, it was of a reddish or yellowish
brown; and an earthy appearance.
We as-
cended the hill, which was entirely composed
of this rock, up to the plantation; where we
procured a negro guide, who conducted us
through a wood about three quarters of a mile.
We now perceived a strong sulphurous and
pitchy smell, like that of burning coal, and
soon after had a view of the lake, which at first
sight seemed to be an expanse of still water,
frequently interrupted by clumps of dwarf trees
and islets of rushes and shrubs; but upon a
nearer approach we found it to be in reality an
extensive plain of mineral pitch, with frequent
crevices, and chasms filled with water.
The
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singularity of the scene was altogether so great,
that it was some time before I could recover
from
my surprise so as to investigate it minutely.
The surface of the lake is of the colour of ashes,
and at this season was not polished or smooth
so as to be slippery: the hardness or consistence
was such as to bear any weight; and it was
not adhesive, though it partially received the
impression of the foot; it bore us without any
tremulous motion whatever, and several head
of cattle were browsing on it in perfect security.
In the dry season, however, the surface is much
more yielding, and must be in a state approach-
ing to fluidity, as is shewn by pieces of recent
wood and other substances being enveloped in
it. Even large branches of trees which were a
foot above the level, had in some way become
enveloped in the bituminous matter. The in-
terstices are very numerous, ramifying and
and joining in every direction; and in the wet
season being filled with water, present the only
obstacle to walking over the surface. These
cavities are generally deep in proportion to
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#1
their width; some being only a few inches in
depth, others several feet, and many almost
unfathomable: the water in them is good, and
uncontaminated by the pitch; the people of
the neighbourhood derive their supply from this
source, and refresh themselves by bathing in
it. Fish we caught there, particularly a very
good species of mullet. The arrangement of
the chasms is very singular: the sides, which
of course are formed of the pitch, are invariably
shelving from the surface, so as nearly to meet
at the bottom, but then they bulge out toward
each other, with a considerable degree of con-
vexity. This may be supposed to arise from
the tendency in the pitch slowly to coalesce,
whenever softened by the intensity of the sun's
rays. These crevices are known occasionally
to close up entirely, and we saw many seams
from this cause. How these crevices originate
it may not be so easy to explain. One of our
party suggested that the whole mass of pitch
might be supported by the water which made
its way through accidental rents, but in the
:
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solid state it is of greater specific gravity than
water, for several solid bits thrown into one of
the pools immediately sunk.
"The lake (I call it so because I think the
common name appropriate enough) contains
many islets covered with long grass and shrubs,
which are the haunts of birds of the most beau-
tiful plumage, as the pools are of snipe and
plover. Alligators are also said to abound
here, but it was not our lot to encounter any of
these animals.
"It is not easy to state the precise extent of
this great collection of pitch, the line between
it and the neighbouring soil is not always well
defined, and indeed it appears to form the
sub-stratum of the surrounding tract of land.
We
may say, however, that it is bounded on
the north and west sides by the sea, on the
south by the rocky eminence of porcelain jasper
before mentioned, and on the east by the usual
argillaceous soil of the country: the main body
may perhaps be estimated at three miles in cir-
cumference; the depth cannot be ascertained,
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93
and no subjacent rock or soil can be discovered.
Where the bitumen is slightly covered by soil,
there are plantations of cassara (or cassada, as
it is frequently spelt), plantains, and pine
apples; the last of which grow with luxuriance
and attain to great perfection. There are three
or four French and one English sugar estates
in the immediate neighbourhood. Our opinions
of the soil did not however coincide with that
of Mr. Anderson, who, in the account he gave
some years ago, thought it very fertile. It is
worthy of remark, that the main body of the
pitch, which may properly be called the lake,
is situated higher than the adjoining land, and
that you descend by a gentle slope to the sea,
where the pitch is much contaminated by the
sand of the beach.
"During the dry season, as I have before
remarked, this pitch is much softened, so that
different bodies have been known slowly to sink
into it; and if a quantity be cut out, the cavity
left will be shortly filled up; and I have heard
it related, that when the Spaniards undertook
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99
formerly to prepare the pitch for useful pur-
poses, and had imprudently erected their caul-
drons on the very lake, they completely sank
in the course of a night, so as to defeat their
intention. Numberless proofs are given of its
being at times in this softened state; the negro
houses of the vicinage, for instance, built by
driving posts in the earth, frequently are twisted
or sunk on one side. In many places it seems
actually to have overflown like lava, and pre-
sents the wrinkled appearance which a sluggish
substance would exhibit in motion. This sub-
stance is generally thought to be the asphaltum
of naturalists; in different spots, however, it
presents different appearances. In some parts it
is black, with splintering conchoidal fractures of
considerable specific gravity, with little or no
lustre, resembling particular kinds of coal, and
so hard as to require a severe blow of the ham-
mer to detach or break it; in other parts, it is
so much softer, as to allow one to cut out a
piece in any form with a spade or hatchet; and
in the interior is vesicular and oily; this is the
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character of by far the greater portion of the
whole mass. In one place it bubbles up in a
perfectly fluid state, so that you may take it up
in a cup; and I am informed, that in one of
the neighbouring plantations, there is a spot
where it is of a bright colour, shining transpa-
rent and brittle, like bottle glass in resin. The
odour in all these instances is strong, and like
that of a combination of pitch and sulphur.
No sulphur, however, is any where to be per-
ceived; but from the strong exhalation of that
substance, and the affinity which is known to
exist between it and the fluid bitumens, much
is no doubt contained in a state of combination;
a bit of the pitch melts in the candle like
sealing-wax, and burns with a light flame,
which is extinguished whenever it is removed,
and on cooling, the bitumen hardens again.
From this property it is sufficiently evident,
that this substance may be applied to many
useful purposes, and accordingly it is universally
used in the country wherever pitch is required;
and the reports of the naval officers who have
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tried it, are favourable to its more general
adoption. It is requisite merely to prepare it
with a proportion of oil, tallow, or common tar,
to give it a sufficient degree of fluidity. In
this point of view, this lake is of great national
importance, and more especially to a great
maritime power.
"It is indeed singular that the attention
of government should not have been more
forcibly directed to a subject of such mag-
nitude; the attempts that have been hitherto
made to render it extensively useful, have for
the most part been only feeble and injudicious,
and have consequently proved abortive. This
vast collection of bitumen might in all proba-
bility afford an inexhaustible supply of an
essential article of naval stores, and being
situated on the margin of the sea, could be
brought and shipped with little inconvenience
or expense. It would however be great in-
justice to Sir Alexander Cochrane not to state
explicitly that he has at various times, during
his long command on the Leeward Island sta-
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97
tion, taken considerable pains to insure a proper
and fair trial of this mineral production, for the
highly important purposes for which it is gene-
rally believed to be capable. But whether it
has arisen from certain perverse occurrences, or
from the prejudices of the mechanical super-
intendants of the colonial dock-yards, or as
some have pretended, from an absolute unfit-
ness of the substance in question, the views of
the gallant admiral have I believe been inva-
riably thwarted, and his exertions rendered
altogether fruitless.
"I was at Antigua in 1809, when a trans-
port arrived laden with this pitch for the use
of the dock-yard at English Harbour; it had
evidently been hastily collected, with little care
or zeal, from the beach, and was of course much
contaminated with sand and other foreign sub-
stances. The best way probably would be to
have it properly prepared on the spot, and
brought to the state in which it may be service-
able, previously to its exportation. I have
frequently seen it used for the bottoms of small
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vessels, for which it is particularly well adapted,
as it preserves them from the numerous tribe
of worms so abundant in tropical countries.
There seems indeed no reason why it should
not, when duly prepared and attenuated, be
made applicable to all the purposes of the
petroleum of Zante, a well known article of
commerce in the Adriatic; or that of the district
of Burmah in India, where 400,000 hogsheads
are said to be collected annually."
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CHAPTER XVI.
VOL. II.
The cigar of Trinidad-Society-Negro effrontery
-Dishonesty-Slave laws in Trinidad-Par-
tial manumission-Departure for Lauret-Hill
estate-approach and arrival-Description of
the residence.
NOTHING used to annoy us more of an evening
at Belmont, than an insect known in Trinidad
by the name of the cigar; it is evidently a
species of locust. An engraving in the sixth
vol. of the Library of Entertaining Knowledge,
page 251, very nearly resembles it; but neither
in that, nor any other work, have I seen an
accurate description of the cigar of Trinidad.
It is of a lightish brown colour, from an inch
and half to two inches long, with perfectly
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transparent lace-looking wings, of a delicate
texture. Every evening, almost as soon as we
sat down to dinner, the insect settled on some
tree or shrub close to the house, and began a
sort of rattling whistle, or rather a ringing,
chirping sound,-first very weak, and then
louder; this he repeats three times, the last
time the loudest, when suddenly a complete
band of choristers begin-at first not very loud,
but swelling out, and increasing, to the effectual
stoppage of all conversation, and even making
it impossible while it lasts, for the servants to
hear one word that is said to them. It is ex-
cessively ridiculous to see all at a stand during
the time this deafening noise continues, which
is generally about two or three minutes. There
is then a dead silence for perhaps five minutes,
and just as the ear begins to recover from the
deafening concert, a second act begins; and
so it goes on, sometimes until nine p.m.
Nature is altogether more gigantic in Trinidad
than in St. Vincent. The cockroaches are of
extraordinary size, and during the evening,
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are extremely troublesome, flying about, dash-
ing against the lamps and shades of the candles
with great force, and occasionally slapping one
most unceremoniously on the face. The mos-
quitoes also are larger, stronger, and more
tormenting than those of St. Vincent. The
sand-flies, though not very numerous near
town, did great execution; and altogether, the
nervous sensation as regards reptiles and insects
is kept in a more lively state of excitement in
Trinidad. One evening an enormous crassand
got into the room while we were at dinner,
and made no small disturbance,-the gentlemen
happened to be dining out, and I believe we
cut rather a ludicrous figure, as we all jumped
up on the seats of our chairs to avoid the un-
pleasant intruder.
I had now been about a month in Trinidad;
and was already forced to admit, that the
society of Port of Spain was greatly superior
to that of St. Vincent, and the style of enter-
tainment, &c. very different. One cause of
this was, the superiority of the servants; but
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let it be well understood that I speak of the
town only, and not of the country.
Mentioning this difference, one day, to the
Chief Justice, he related to me, in corroboration
of my opinion, a circumstance that had hap-
pened at St. Vincent before he settled in
Trinidad. There was a dinner given by a club,
to the ladies in Kingstown. They dined upon
the green in tents; the Governor proposed after
dinner, that the cold turkeys, fowls and hams,
&c., should be taken to the nearest gentleman's
house, and that they should adjourn there and
give the ladies a dance. The nearest house
happened to be Mr. Warner's, who was then a
barrister in St. Vincent's. Mrs. W. took the
trouble of seeing the arrangements made for
supper; and one negro boy was left in the
upper gallery, where it was laid out, to take
care of it. After the dancing had ended, the
party went up to supper, but alas! supper
there was none: every article had disappeared;
nothing was left but a few empty. platters.
Every inquiry was made; but of course that
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1
clever personage, Mr. Nobody, or Jumbee, was
the thief. Next morning, an old faithful ser-
vant of Mr. Warner's, found the bones of the
feast scattered here and there all through a
neighbouring cane-piece; the fragments of the
dishes, also, were found; for they had literally
tossed the supper dishes and all, over the win-
dows into this cane-piece. This was rather a
daring piece of impudence; but the lesser kinds
of impudence, as I have already remarked, are.
common wherever there are negro servants.
Negroes understand better than any set of
people I ever saw, a species of annoyance
which, though it is impossible not to see that
the act has been premeditated, yet can be
passed off so well as a mistake, that you have
not the power of even giving them a reproof
for it. As an example: a lady, who had a
large ceremonious party at supper, was rather
shocked when she took her seat at the head of
her table, to find a sheet upon it instead of a
table cloth. She asked the head servant next
day, how he could do such a thing, as she had
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given him a table cloth; he admitted that he
had received it, but he said that he saw some
sheets lying beside it, and "he no know, he
tink sheet as good as table cloth." The fact
was, the servant was offended at something,
and on all these occasions such modes of reta-
liation are common.
Trinidad negroes are quite as dishonest as
they are in St. Vincent, and I think have as
little shame on being convicted. I recollect
one day, at Belmont, upon our return from a
drive, one of our party missed a handkerchief.
The carriage was searched, but it was not to be
found; the servants who had attended us were
asked if they had seen it,-and the young lady
to whom it belonged was about to put up
quietly with her loss, when a very faithful
female negro servant, who had nursed all the
children of the family, walked away, saying,
"I'll get it." She returned in a few minutes
with it. "Where did you find it?" said I.
pocket, I
There was
"Misses, me put me hand in L's.
knowed very well who'd have it."
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a lad of about fifteen, in a family I knew, who
persisted he found gold joes under a tree, and
that he believed the tree "growed 'em." The
old Spanish law, which had never been altered
up to the period of my being in Trinidad, though
it may perhaps now be changed, was a much
milder code as regarded master and slave, than
that of any English colony. It is but fair
however to state, that though the laws of St.
Vincent were not so mild, yet the inclination of
the masters of slaves rendered it of little con-
sequence to them, for the receiving of slave
evidence under proper limitations was as prac-
tically followed up in St. Vincent, as if it had
been the legal code of the island. In Trinidad
there was even then, a positive law, that every
slave upon paying his own price at a fair
valuation, might if he chose immediately claim
his freedom. Now this was an excellent law,
because independently altogether of justice, it
constituted an incitement to the slave to work
with industry: that is, if he happened to have
any wish for freedom,-a wish by the way, I
·
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never heard of in St. Vincent, unless by the
term free, be understood free time, with all the
allowances of a slave. The greatest boon that
could be conferred on a St. Vincent slave, was
to let him remain a slave with all his allowances;
his grounds, house, clothing, &c. and have his
own time free. Many good and attached ne-
groes in St. Vincent had this favour bestowed
upon them; and they judged very wisely, for it
enabled them to get rapidly rich, and at the
same time in sickness or old age, they had a
sure provision for themselves.
In Port of Spain, it may be advantageous
for a domestic slave to free himself; because no
servant in town can make so much money as if
he were free, and either rented or possessed, in
right of his wife (a slave) a piece of land. The
return for the most trifling labour on land in
Trinidad is so great, owing to the richness of
the soil, that I know of no situation, free or
slave, in town, that can bring the same income
as the cultivation of vegetables and fruit. But
when I was in Trinidad, it was customary
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(though I am not sure, but rather think it was
not law), that a slave might come to his master,
and paying a certain part of his purchase
money, and agreeing at a future period to pay
the remainder, promise so many days in the
week to serve his master, or at all events so
much time, until he had paid him all. But no
sooner was this partial freedom secured, than
the master was completely in their power, for
there was no getting them to work the time
promised to the master,—though they worked
for themselves: and thus the master was
cheated out of both the remaining work and
money promised. I conceive it completely
false kindness in a master to pass over such
conduct as this. If a master cannot afford to
give liberty to his slave (no uncommon case,
because if he did he must after be unable to
meet his engagements), surely in such circum-
stances he ought to have had some way through
the law, if not of forcing the negro to labour-
for I believe that to be impossible—at least of
punishing him, for the sake of deterring others.
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Many such instances of dishonesty came under
my notice: nothing is more detrimental to the
well-being of society than carelessness as to the
performance of a promise; and as the negroes,
generally speaking, are strict enough in exacting
the performance of one in their favour, such
conduct is owing not to ignorance, but to a
deliberate want of honesty.
I had now become very anxious to see our
future abode. I had anticipated a good deal of
difficulty; but on the other hand, I was very
enthusiastic as to the much greater opportunity
I should have of doing good to the negroes upon
my estate in the retirement of the country, than
I could hope to effect in town. Not that I
considered, even independently of the personal
pleasure I had received, that my time had been
altogether misspent at Belmont. I had seen a
good deal of the general society of the town
and its vicinity, and there are many useful
lessons in this world, which can only be gained
by mixing in it.
We set out for Laurel-Hill on a very charming
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morning, accompanied by the judge. Passing
through part of the town, we soon got on the
road to St. Josephs; which continues excellent
as far as St. Josephs, seven miles from Port of
Spain. In some places it resembled an English
road, but then there were continual peeps of
cane pieces; and the palm, cocoa nut, orange,
and lime trees, dissipated the illusion. Mr. C.
pointed out to me, soon after leaving town, the
place where he had been on guard, when the
Spanish governor was brought in to the British
in 1797; and he also shewed us where the
treasure was found when he was sent to look
for it, with Captain Rhind and a brother
lieutenant, with a company of the 53d regiment.
An Irishman of the name of Malony, a baker
in St. Josephs, who bore no good-will to the
Spaniards, shewed them the plantations where
the treasure was buried, and they brought some
wagon-loads of dollars into Port of Spain. The
dollars were ultimately returned to the Spanish
government. After passing St. Josephs, on a
rising ground, to the left, the roads became
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rather deep from the heavy rains we had had;
we passed several estates, and some neat looking
houses. The house of El Dorado II. struck
me as a very English-looking place, and ex-
tremely beautiful. The view at the ford of
Tacariqua river, is decidedly English scenery;
and such as know the river Teme, at the village
of Bransford, in Worcestershire, will find a
strong resemblance. We now passed Paradise
estate, and soon after turned up the avenue to
Laurel-Hill.
Those who fancy a fine trim English avenue
to a West Indian estate, will be in most cases
wofully disappointed. There cannot be a better
specimen than this, of the great difference
there is between telling the truth, and yet not
telling the whole truth. I might with the
utmost correctness say we drove along an
avenue nearly three quarters of a mile in length,
with a lime fence on either side, and lime trees
at short intervals; some in blossom, others
with green fruit, and some loaded with their
yellow treasures. This would read well; but
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..
indeed, with all the deductions which the telling
of the whole truth will make, it was very
beautiful,—but still, it was an avenue nearly
in a state of nature: the fences sometimes
thick, sometimes thin; at times high, and in
other places all broken down. The road was
grown over with grass, and the deep ruts of
the sugar-cart wheels rendered skilful driving
absolutely necessary: many a juicy lime we
crushed in driving up; and I could not help
thinking what the good folks of Glasgow would
have given for such, to aid them in the manu-
facture of their favourite punch.
At the end of the avenue the ground rose
suddenly into a little hill, upon which were
two small wooden houses, such as West India
planters are well enough contented with; but
to the European, they seem at first uncouth
abodes. We had a small dining room, and
another room to which we ascended by a few
steps, as a drawing room; a bed-chamber,
and dressing room entering from it, with a
separate entrance also. About fifty feet off,
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there were two bed rooms a larger and a
smaller; and a light closet, which served as
a store for medicines, &c. for the negroes. The
house rested upon wooden posts, rather more
than two feet from the ground; a good preven-
tive against damp, but serving also as a shelter
for snakes, and all sorts of reptiles. There was
also a small gallery in front of the left-hand
house. A cellar at the end of the one house,
and a store-room and servants' pantry at the
end of the other, with a kitchen near it; but a
separate building, as it always is in the West
Indies.
These houses were like the greater number
in the West Indies, with open rafters, and no
glass windows,—only a wooden shutter, pushed
up during the day by a long stick, to admit
air and light; and shut at night, by withdraw-
ing the stick, and putting in a hook to an eye
attached to the ledge of the window-frame.
Latterly we had glass put in the windward
windows; before that improvement, if it rained
heavy, we had only the choice between dark-
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ness and suffocation, or else, having all the
floor of the room deluged. These are a few
of the luxuries of a planter's life, which seem
not to be known in Britain.
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CHAPTER XVII.
Description of the Laurel-Hill estate-Scenery and
views-Trees and birds-Orders in council-
Drivers Instruction of the children on the
estate; and some detail of their progress-Negro
curiosity.
#
I was nevertheless well pleased by the aspect
of our future home. Those who have an eye
for the beauties of nature, will not miss a fine
house, when they have such a prospect to rest
the eye upon as I had. There was a noble hog-
plum tree in front of the house, some fifty feet
high; it branched out in great beauty, and
there was still some fruit upon it, though now
the middle of September. The fruit is a
bright yellow, like the English magnum bo-
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115
num; irregular, elongated, and fully an inch
long. The stone is so large, that the pulp in
which it is enclosed is very small, and com-
pared with the stone, is out of all proportion:
this remark applies to all the plum tribe of the
West Indies. The flavour is very delightful;
but no doubt a skilful horticulturist might im-
prove it. Hog-plum trees abound in Trinidad,
and wherever this is the case, there are plenty
of wild boars,—an excellent species of game.
The view from the house in front was, for a
land view, very extensive: there was a good
deal of cultivation, and beyond that a dark
thick forest, many parts of which I understood
had never been trodden by the foot of man.
The landscape terminated by the mountain of
Tumana to the south-east: this mountain is
generally the refuge of run-a-way negroes.
The pasture for the cattle of the estate was
one of the most lovely objects; it commenced at
the foot of the hill, and I could hardly be-
lieve it possible that the hand of man had had
nothing to do with the arrangement of the
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majestic trees that rose here and there; some
single, others grouped in the most perfect style
of picturesque beauty-a little clear stream ran
across the pasture. This is always an ornament
in any country to such a scene, but it is doubly
enviable in a tropical climate.
On one side of the pasture were the negro
houses. Two rows of wattled mud cottages,
white-washed and thatched, with cane tops;
very similar in external appearance to the cot-
tages all over Devonshire, only they have no
such chimneys as are common in England.
There were some fine almond trees, in the road
between the negro houses, which afforded them
shade during the heat of the day.
The works for the manufactory of the sugar
and rum, were at the foot of the hill, to the
right of the house: the hill sloped gradually
down to the river-an inconsiderable one indeed,
but quite sufficient even then for many useful
purposes; it was beautifully clear, and some
fine plantains and bananas grew on the banks
of it. There was a pretty cottage by the water
!
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117
side to be occupied by the watermen: it looked
as white as snow, when contrasted with the
deep green line of wood, which rose to a great
height, and served as the boundary between
the Laurel-Hill and the Paradise estates.
To the north, or back of the house, the ground
rose gently; and gradually became more abrupt
one height rising above another, covered with
brushwood, and numerous fine forest trees.
There was a winding path, which even the fear
of snakes and wild boars could not deter one
from exploring, and which resembled exceed-
ingly some of the lovely wild scenery of Haw-
thorn-den, near the village of Roslyn, in
Scotland: and in this direction something that
might almost be called a mountain, terminated
our view.
This mountain was covered with
impervious wood, excepting an angular portion
near the top, which was an open natural savan-
nah, and which bore a crop of tall rank grass,
such as is common to tropical countries. This
had a singular and fine effect.
In fact, as regarded nature, the place was a
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perfect paradise of beauty. But the canes were
in a sad state; every thing required the hand
of industrious man; and the difficulty was,
where to begin reform, where there seemed
hardly anything fit to remain as it was.
There was something too within doors that
promised well for a leisure hour, for Mr. Warner
had kindly left a number of books—a great
luxury in a country where it is so difficult to
procure them; these, added to our own stock,
made us very independent.
A great many negroes came up to see us the
day of our arrival; others delayed till the en-
suing day; but by that time, all had paid their
compliments to us, excepting two old women
who were too feeble to walk up the hill. To
these I subsequently paid many a visit.
I was glad to find my piano forte in safety,
after a drive of fourteen miles in a cart; it
however required tuning, so that we spent our
evening in chatting over the events of the day.
In adverting to the Irish baker who discovered
where the Spanish treasure was buried, the
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Judge informed me he had made himself the
hero of a most ludicrous scene: "Two gentle-
men of St. Josephs had intentionally annoyed
and vexed him, and a quarrel ensued,―Malony
vowing vengeance against them.
He had a
hut in the mountains, whither he occasionally
retired for recreation. These gentlemen going
out upon an excursion to see that part of the
island, lost their way, and were in danger of
starving. Seeing at last to their great delight,
something like a human habitation, they ap-
proached it, and asked if they could get any
thing to eat or drink, as they were in a state of
great exhaustion: imagine their feelings, when
they were answered in the affirmative with the
greatest civility, by their old enemy Malony.
Starvation, however, conquered pride, and they
were fain to accept the offer of a dinner. In
the meantime Malony, to complete the farce,
begged them to come in and rest, and have a
little rum and water, while dinner was being
cooked. Dinner at length made its appearance:
it was an excellent ragout, and not only looked
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well, but tasted admirably. The travellers, de-
lighted and refreshed, thanked Malony grate-
fully for his attentions; and added, whenever
you come to town, you will make our house
your home.' Malony heard them very quietly,
and looking archly at them said, 'Indeed,
gentlemen, you need not be thanking me so
much, may be you don't know what you've
had for dinner?" So saying, he turned round
the door on its hinges, exhibiting to the grateful
travellers the skin of an immense yellow, full-
grown monkey. They did not dare to remon-
strate :-probably Malony gave the only thing
he had to bestow; though no doubt, Irish
humour and a spice of revenge had made him
not over-scrupulous about the matter."
Next morning, the first, after our arrival, I
arose at break of day to enjoy the cool fresh
air of the country. I was more than ever
struck by the beauty of the line of wood on
the Paradise estate: the trees were exceedingly
lofty, and literally festooned from top to bottom
by wild vines; thus fastening the branches
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of the different trees together, and presenting
the most gay and brilliant assemblage of blos-
soms, varying from every shade of pink and
purple to the purest white. These blossoms
are larger, but very similar in size and form, to
the convolvolus-major of Great Britain,—some
of these vines run up as high as fifty feet.
On one side of the house, and close to it, was
a very large Pois Doux tree: it has a papilio-
naceous purple blossom, rather small, and bears
not very large pods, with small brownish-black
peas, enclosed in a sort of white cotton-looking
pulp, which is very sweet. Children are fond
of sucking it, and it is perfectly harmless; but
to birds it is a great attraction,-they open the
shell and pick out the pulp, but evidently do
not eat the seeds, as they are found lying
under the tree. Every morning this tree was
literally like an aviary, so full was it of birds
of all shapes, hues, and sizes. Many were
exceedingly beautiful in their plumage; but
the parrots, gay as they look, make a horrible
chattering, and are far from being agreeable
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companions. One of the prettiest birds is the
Louis D'or,-thus called because it is of so
peculiarly a bright golden colour. There were
many beautiful birds of different shades of
purple and blue; but one I observed more
particularly, of a bright light blue, which
looked very gay, perched on the same bough
with a Louis D'or.
Few of these lovely creatures had any note:
the Qu'est que dit, indeed, repeats something very
like those words distinctly enough; and I never
could learn any other name for this bird. But
after all, the handsomest shape and the gayest
plumage are poor compensations for the melo-
dious song of birds; and how one's heart would
have bounded, could one have heard the note
of a blackbird, or a sweet Scotch mavis!
There was one thing we could not admire;
and that was the sand-flies, which had done
such havoc on the younger members of the
family, that it was quite distressing to see
them. We all suffered severely; but nothing
compared with the children, who, in a few days,
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had their faces so swollen, that a stranger
would have supposed they were labouring under
confluent smallpox; and at last their ancles
and feet were in such a state that they could
not walk. This attack did not subside for
some weeks; and though for the future nothing
so severe occurred as this first seasoning, still
the sand-fly is at all times a most tormenting
annoyance, and is so small that no mosquito-
curtain protects you.
The mosquitoes were abundant and active,
but you may, by great care at night, exclude
the greater number of them, though not always
all; and one persevering fellow will keep
singing, and eluding all your efforts at destroy-
ing him, until, in despair you yield to fatigue
and sleep; when he instantly begins to feast
upon you, and you rise next morning worn out
with these pests of a tropical climate.
The order in council for the improvement of
the slaves of Trinidad had been some time in
force. The driver is neither more nor less than
an upper servant, promoted to the situation of
VOL. II.
G
•
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superintendant over the negroes who are em-
ployed in field labour. He is selected from the
others for his superior intelligence, and his
general knowledge of the culture of the cane;
his own character, too, is necessarily taken into
the account, as the common field negro looks
up to the driver as an example in every point
of view; and he has always numbers to watch
him, and report any false step he may make.
They reply to him with the addition of Sir,
which custom also obtains from the field negro
to head tradesmen and boiler-men; and their
wives and daughters have precedence next to
the driver's wife and family.
The driver in Trinidad merely superintends
and points out where they are wrong, and en-
deavours to keep up some order and regularity.
"The driver" is a name obnoxious to British
ears, and I think it would have been good
policy had the colonists never employed such a
term. The black overseer would have been a
better designation; because Britons naturally
associate a driver, with the idea of a man
top
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125
driving cattle to a fair with a whip. Now, in
point of fact, the driver is no driver; for he
precedes, and does not follow the negroes to
their work,-which if he drove them, he must
do. In Trinidad he carries neither stick, whip,
nor other such emblem of his office: he stands
behind them at work, precisely the same way
as a foreman does in England, and a grieve in
Scotland. If they are incorrigible, he can
report them to the white overseer, and he
again to the master,—or he may, and often
does, report direct to the master: this plan was
always followed at Laurel Hill. The driver
has no power to punish in any way, whether by
corporal punishment or confinement: his power
is restricted to what I have already mentioned,
and is exactly that of a farmer in England, or
of a grieve in Scotland. A white, or free over-
seer, might legally order corporal punishment;
but this could not take place without another
free person being present, nor could any punish-
ment exceed twenty-five stripes.
If any slave considered himself aggrieved,
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either as regarded punishment or any thing
else, he had a right to apply to the commandant
of the quarter, or to the protector of slaves,
whichever he might prefer. Every negro had
one day in the week to work his provision-
grounds. There was a market every Sunday,
closed however at ten a. m., and a market every
Thursday,—in order, as far as possible, to check
by degrees the fondness for Sunday markets,
and to lead finally to their abolition,—a blessed
change, which has been effected in Trinidad,
and also in St. Vincent. I never saw any of
the white population who did not deplore the
Sunday market: they were suffering from the
error, nay the sin, of their ancestors, who had
ever permitted such an arrangement, — and
which, when once established, although only
by custom, is not so easily stopped as some
people imagine.
The colonists were placed in more difficulty
on this subject than people at home can well
understand, for let it be recollected that in Port
of Spain, meat killed however late on Saturday,
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would be totally unfit for use on Sunday; and
even in England, during the mackarel season,
where in many places it is a harvest for the
poor, it is permitted to be sold before church
hours, and however some people may disap-
prove of this, I cannot help thinking that where
there is so much suffering from the high price
of provisions, and when Providence at one par-
ticular season sends a supply, it is our duty to
let the poor have the full benefit of it, and not
to allow wholesome food to be wasted because
it is Sunday.
Such is the heat in Port of
Spain, at some seasons, that fish caught in the
morning are unfit for use by the dinner hour,
which is necessarily about seven.
Business
goes on steadily until four, and often five, p. m.,
and by the time that a drive or ride for the
preservation of health is over, it is nearly seven.
There is a weekly market at St. Josephs, and
at the village of Arima, which is six miles to
the eastward of Laurel Hill. There are also
down the coast, the small towns of San Fer-
nando de Naparima and St. Juan de Aricagua,
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and several other small villages throughout
the island, where the negroes dispose of their
surplus produce. I believe there was a little
ebullition of feeling on the part of the slave
population, when the Sunday market was
abolished, but government was quite right to
persist in it; it was an intolerable nuisance to
every one who had a spark of Christian feeling.
I often talked to the negroes on this subject;
and their sole ground of real objection was,
that they did not like dressing in all their
"grandee buckra clothes" (as they call their
holiday dress) twice a week-that is, Sunday
and week-day also,—and all negroes like to go
smart to market. There are negroes who go to
market not very tidy in their appearance; but
then these are generally not the best characters.
I uniformly remarked, that good negroes never
liked to go to market without being a little
dandyish in their costume.
We thought it prudent not to interfere the
first Sunday we were in the country; but to
wait until we saw what were the habits of the
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people. We were fourteen miles from any Pro-
testant church,-a distance that rendered our
going quite out of the question, and especially
in that climate. Mr. C. told the people he
would read the morning service at eleven, and
would be happy to see them attend, as there
was room enough for them in the gallery of the
house. They had, more than once, attended
very decorously to the Judge reading the morn-
ing service, when he had passed a Sunday on
the estate, previous to our arrival. But rapid
changes were then accomplishing in the cha-
racter of the negro.
The alterations enforced
by the orders in council, had been too sudden
for the mind of almost the best and most intel-
ligent negro. They were possessed with the
idea, that the master was no longer at liberty
even to advise them, although that advice was
given in the kindest and most disinterested
manner. We read the service at the hour ap-
pointed, and not one attended. With the
children of the estate, we viewed the matter in
a different light, and ordered them to come up
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I think we
in the evening about seven.
mustered fifteen, from the age of about five to
sixteen years.
Some of these were my old
pupils. I found all the Laurel-Hill children at
once readily answered all the ordinary questions
which were put to them: they had more or less
been in the Roman Catholic chapel at Arima.
What shall we say of the apathy of the Protest-
ant church of England, when we find the
negroes who attend the Roman Catholic chapel,
always so much better informed than those left
by the Episcopalian church to glean an uncertain
instruction? Some of these children crossed
themselves when they answered who the Sa-
viour was; and also when I put the question.
But I did not confuse their ideas by putting a
stop to what they had been taught to consider
right, and what, in their present state of know-
ledge, was immaterial. Of a Holy Spirit it
might be said they had no idea,—their only
notion of a spirit was confined to the word
spirit-“ a spirit, or Jumbee, the Devil;" so
that we had not only to teach, but to unteach-
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素
​a still more difficult task. The Catholic chil-
dren could all say the Lord's Prayer, and the
Belief, as they called it.
As I know of no catechism, quite so well
adapted as it ought to be, for the first instruc-
tion of negroes, I took my own plan; which
was to relate the simple story of the creation
of the world; of man-of his state when inno-
cent, and how he fell from it, and was driven
by God out of the garden of Eden. I related
this twice; simply and slowly, in their patois;
and as I went on, I paused. and asked them if
they "savey" what I said, (comprehended me);
and if not, to stop me and ask questions; which
I assured them I liked very much. I spoke
kindly and cheerfully to them. One fine lad
about fourteen, Laurel-Hill J-k, said, "Misses
if I'd been Eve, I'd kill a snake dead." They
were all alive to what I told them, and inter-
ested in it; and to give them some incitement,
I promised them I would shew them some
pictures of what I had told them, if they
answered well tomorrow evening: and that I
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expected them up every night. The following
evening my little pupils returned, full of anxiety
to say well; and to see the pictures. They
answered very intelligently; and from their
answers, they had evidently given their under-
standing to the work. One of the St. Vincent
boys, who had declined learning to read; and
whom, it was impossible to instruct in any way,
so sulky was he and so averse to apply; all at
once changed, and became the most steady,
attentive pupil I had, excepting Laurel-Hill
J-k. There was not a great difference in
their ages, and they were then both house boys,
and consequently always together.
It was
very interesting to see these two lads watching
with eager countenances, when a question was
asked, to see whether his companion could
answer or not, that he might have the pleasure
of doing so. I arranged them in a class; and
they took up the plan without any difficulty:
but I told them no unfairness would be per-
mitted-no speaking before their turn-no
whispering to a favourite-no signs whatever;
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and every one so offending, should be instantly
placed at the bottom of the class. I thought
such regulations might be useful in teaching
them a little self control; and I was strict to
the very letter of the law. I told them I recol-
lected my promise of shewing them the pictures,
and I took this favourable moment of teaching
them what a promise meant. They had done
what I required, in answering correctly; and
of course I was bound to keep my promise to
them. I shewed them, in Mrs. Trimmer's
little Scripture prints, those applicable to the
story of the preceding evening, and they were
exceedingly pleased. I then proceeded to ex-
plain the state of man after his fall; and the
remedy for his helplessness provided by God;
and I promised the little classes, that if they
answered well the following evening, I would
tell them a story. The next evening came, the
answers were quick and intelligent, and after
some farther instruction, they all with one con-
sent said, "now misses, the tory." So squatt-
ing themselves down in a half circle, with open
S
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#
eyes and mouths, I read to them, with those
omissions and alterations which I knew to be
necessary for their comprehending it, Miss
Edgeworth's story of the "honest boy and the
thief." If that excellent authoress could have
peeped across the Atlantic, at the little animated
circle of happy faces of those negro children;
she would have had her reward. To proceed
with these details would of course be tedious ;
but I may state generally, that the children
became tolerably well informed upon the con-
tents of the Bible; the stories gleaned from
which, read and explained, greatly interested
them; and by means of which many of the
Scripture truths may be advantageously ex-
plained and illustrated. I cannot but entertain
a hope that these agreeable labours have left
behind them some results.
After some time I offered, as a favour, to
teach any to read who chose it; but I deter-
mined never to press this: because I am
satisfied, however desirable the knowledge of
reading may be, that a great deal of good may
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be done without reading. Three or four ac-
cepted the offer-but this appeared dry work to
them;
and I must honestly confess, that hardly
As I had often taught
any progress was made.
little children, and was rather fond of the
employment, I cannot but believe that my want
of success was owing to the natural indisposition
of the negro to apply, except when there is a
very lively excitement of the mind.
I en-
deavoured to produce this excitement, by
telling them what a blessing it would be to
them to read the book of God for themselves,
and all the beautiful stories I had told them,
and to find them all true; but even this had
little or no effect, for the answer used always to
be, "Misses, you no peak lie, me savey dat
well." "Misses always keep promise to a we."
I then shifted my tactics, and pointed out to
them, that reading would make them clever ;
and that they would rise in the world, and be
as they term it, "a head man." But I made
so little progress in my attempt, that it is not
worth reporting. Some few indeed could spell
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out their words, but those who read with great
difficulty are not much the wiser; the attention
is absorbed on the letters, not in attending to
the sense. Mental arithmetic they made pro-
gress in; and used to correct each other, and
take places with great spirit.
They were often in the habit of asking
questions about "home," as they all call Great
Britain, and were exceedingly disappointed
when I told them I had never seen massa King
George; and were not satisfied until they found
that their own massa had seen him frequently.
Laurel-Hill J-k, was quite pleased when he
heard that massa King George was a very tall
handsome massa. "Massa, do he tand so,"
said he, drawing himself up and rising on tip
toe-looking as he imagined,
every inch a
king." The quickness of this boy's memory
was astonishing. His father's name happened
to be Hector; and sometimes in jest, Dr. C.
used, when J-k came into the room, to repeat
the lines upon Hector and Andromache. The
lad one day looking very full of meaning, said,
""
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66
me can say so too, massa," and he began to
spout the lines in the exact manner the doctor
had done. It is true he could not finish the
quotation, but such anecdotes prove there is no
want of quickness in a negro. Nevertheless
there is a restlessness, an impatience of steady
application, and a dislike to every species of
knowledge, where the outset is dry, that I
never found in any European in any rank of
life, or under any circumstances.
Some singular notions I found among the
negroes, which it was next to impossible to
eradicate; but they were generally harmless.
Among others, I found the Trinidad negroes,
young and old, with few exceptions, thought
that when God made the world, he shook the
earth from off his hadns into the water, and
that made the West Indies.
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CHAPTER XVIII.
The vine gang on an estate-Little runaways-
Deception-Punishment of negro girls by their
mother-Infant habits-Court martial so called
-Negro jealousy.
IT is the custom for all children in Trinidad,
from four years of age upwards, to enter what
is called the "vine gang;" that is, they pick
here and there, among the fences and cane
pieces, wild vines for the sheep, under the
inspection of some trusty elderly female negro.
They continue under this regulation until eight
or nine; when, at the season for weeding the
young canes, they get a hoe put into their
hands, proportioned to their size. This work is
performed by them infinitely better than by
grown people. The children work at first only
three hours a-day with the hoe, and that not
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without intermission; the rest of the day they
pick wild vines with their old comrades. As
they get older and stronger, they work more
and more with the hoe; and when at sixteen,
they are considered fit for the common field
duty.
This, however, is uniformly regulated by the
health and strength of the individual; and it
must be borne in mind, that sixteen in the
West Indies is quite equal to eighteen in
Britain.
Boys have many intermediate employments;
such as driving mules; and if the estate's mill
be a cattle one, he probably drives the mule in
the mill. I never saw any of the young people,
at six o'clock in the evening, when their work
was done, who seemed tired, or disposed to sit
down; on the contrary, they were always
dancing about, and full of life and fun.
The old woman who, on the Laurel-Hill
estate, took care of the vine gang, was a very
respectable native African, of great intelligence.
I made a point of hearing, in their presence,
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from her, how they had behaved during the
day. I allowed them to disprove, if they could,
the statements she made; but Mammy J. was
a very steady person; and knowing well that I
would have no favourites, she was generally
found to give a faithful account.
There was one little boy, of nearly seven
years of age: he was the sole instance among
all my pupils of such apparently dogged sulki-
ness, that he would not speak at all. His first
pretence was, that he did not know one word
of English; but I obviated this excuse, by
making his sister translate, what was said in
English, into his French patois: but speak he
would not; his improvement seemed hopeless.
Day after day, Mammy J. complained that "D.
was one very bad pic-a-ninny-he no gather as
many vines in one day as oder do in an hour."
One afternoon, walking down a cane piece
with my children and their governess, we met J.
'
and the vine gang; she addressed me, "Misses,
you no see D., he wicked too much; he run
away dis morning, and me no see 'em da whole
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.
day; me tell he mammy and he daddy, they no
see 'em; abowshee (overseer), and ebery one,
and nobody see 'em. Misses, what me do?".
Of course she had done already all that was
possible; and I had no fear but that D. would
make his appearance at night. We continued
our walk a little way, when observing something
like a human being moving among the tall
canes, I put out my hand and caught him. I
had not time to speak a word, when the little
fellow, in as good English as any negro ever
speaks, said, "Misses, misses, oh! pleese no
tell Mammy J., for she tell me daddy and he go
cob me." What made you run away all day?
—your father and mother, and every one are
hunting for you. Suppose a good big snake
had come, what would you have done? "Misses,
me no feared for da snake; but misses, misses,
no let Mammy J. tell me daddy." I said, I
shall give you up to Mammy J., and she will
take you to your father or mother-I have
nothing to do with punishing you, she must
take care of you until six o'clock, and then take
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you home. This she did, and I believe his
father administered a much more severe whip-
ping than he would have got, had he been
under the old regime, and punished by the
order of his master. Now this child had for
months carried on the farce of being unable to
speak one word of English; and had in fact
completely succeeded in imposing upon me.
But next lesson, when he came, I said, "Well
D., I now know you can speak English when
it serves your own purpose; and if you do not
answer as the others do, I tell you very fairly
that I will not only give you no reward, but I
will tell your daddy." These last words had a
most powerful effect; from that moment D.
answered in English; but to the close he was a
sulky untoward scholar. The propensity to run
off and hide, is both dangerous to old and young
negroes, and extremely troublesome to the
master.
Another little fellow, just turned seven, but
of a very different disposition from D., being
uncommonly smart, active, and intelligent-in
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fact a little man in miniature, had several times
run away. He had that rare blessing among
negroes-a most affectionate father and mother.
The mother, when a little girl, had had this
propensity; which, in fact, was a kind of
disease. In every other respect she had been,
according to the common meaning of the
phrase, "a good negro." This little boy had
been born when the mother had made one of
her excursions in the woods in St. Vincent; she
and the child were found togethér-both did
well, and she never once again ran away. But
at five years old, S. had began the same tricks,
and his good father had caught him, and whipt
him more than once. Whether the report of
wild hogs, big snakes, &c. had operated for
some time as a preventive, I know not; but S.,
though taking flight occasionally during the
day, always contrived to fall in with Mammy J.
before six o'clock; and, moreover, he always
brought such a quantity of vines with him, that
as J. said, "what me do with the pic-a-ninny;
he only no walk wid us-he bring plenty a vine."
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፡፡
But one evening about seven o'clock, when all
was quiet, his father and mother presented
themselves at the door, saying that S. was
absent without leave; and if he sleep in a bush,
massa, he'll may be, be killed wid da snake.”
I mention this, that I may give an example of
the extraordinary effrontery of little negro boys
in telling lies. This little fellow, after having
been absent a week, was found in Port of Spain,
and brought to Laurel-Hill. "Nell," said his
master, "please tell me why you ran off?" I
shall never forget the sturdy determined look of
the little fellow, as he eyed his master, saying,
Massa, me no run away--me tell you true
tory me, Massa: me go pic a vine in the plan-
tain walk with Mamma J. and the pic-a-ninny,
and massa dere come a pirit; now he just lift
me up massa high so-jump wid me in he arm,
from one plantain tree to anoder, massa-pirit
den take me all a way to Port a Spain ;" and
so he continued to detail his adventures until
he was caught; making the spirit answerable,
however, for all that had taken place. The
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little run-a-way was delivered to his father,
and punished by him. The parents of those
who took an interest in their children, com-
plained very much of the order in council, which
prevented their girls being punished by the
order of the master. Strange as it may seem,
they did not like to trust themselves to punish
their child; and that, too, from the fear that
they might punish too severely. Let one, out
of many examples suffice. S., a girl of about
fourteen, was indisputably guilty of most dis-
graceful and immoral conduct. Her mother
was, in this one respect, particularly correct,
and had a high sense of her honour; at least
from the time I knew her. She was a creole
of St. Vincent,-past the meridian of life,- a
perfect Amazon in strength and figure,—pos-
sessing a sound understanding, and in many
respects a superior person. But she was pos-
sessed also with one of the worst of tempers.
She could steal too; but she was so clever and
so cunning, that it was next to impracticable to
prove it.
Nor had she any objection to her
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children stealing, if they did it adroitly; the
sin, in her eyes, was in being so silly as to let
it be discovered. F. herself came to us, and
told me of her daughter's conduct; and begged
that her massa would punish her. I said, "F.,
he can have her put in the stocks." "But,
misses," said she, "what signify tock to nig-
ger, S. no mind tock dat;" and she bit her
nail, and spit it out. Her master was called,
and he said, "That is all I can do; and to
talk to her, and try to convince her how impro-
perly she has behaved." F. looked very grave;
and said, "Well, massa, better for S. had you
punish her; for may be I punish her, and no
top as you would." Her master told her she
must not attempt such conduct; for if she
acted to S. as he had known her act before
towards her elder daughter, she would be sub-
ject to be sent to the commandant of the
quarter, and punished for cruelty to her child.
F. promised she would be quiet; but seeing
her irritation, and knowing her temper, I kept
the girl out of the mother's way until it was
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bedtime; and as F. had promised to punish
her, without going to extremes, S. returned to
her mother's to bed. Late at night, however,
when all was quiet, did this woman rise, and
beat her daughter most cruelly. I do not mean
to say that the girl did not deserve punishment,
and that it might not perhaps be the best way
of deterring her from such conduct in future;
I only mean to assert, and I could enforce the
truth of the assertion by a multitude of other
examples, that in the greater number of cases
young female negroes are now exposed to ten
times greater severity of corporal punishment
than they were when the master was the judge.
This girl was so cruelly beaten, that next day
she was unable to move. I dared not have
shewn her any attention, or taken her from her
mother's house, whom she assisted in washing
and bleaching. Her elder sister, a sensible
girl, who also was employed in washing, said
to me, "Misses no say noting to me mammy;
if you say anyting to me mammy, she go lick
her again."
VOL. II.
H
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F., the girl's mother, was not an ignorant
woman; she had received much instruction
from her youth upwards-had attended the
Methodist chapel regularly for years in St.
Vincent; and could talk very religiously. But
it was nothing beyond talk: although a creole
negro, she was in some respects as much a
savage as if she had been imported from Africa
the day before.
I have seldom met so mild a disposition, in a
negro, as in Laurel-Hill J. He was exceedingly
affectionate and obliging; he had, however,
his failings; he was rather artful, and withal
a great coward; and like most such, a great
braggadocia. One evening standing at the
door talking, and dilating upon his great love
for massa; he at last went so far as to say,
that there was nothing his massa could ask
him to do, but he would do it at once-he had
so great love for him. So massa, just to try
him, said, “Well J., I have a letter to go to
Belmont-now set off like a good boy, and
take it immediately."
"" Yes, massa, yes me
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know; me rise very early, and go a Belmont."
"That is not what I mean; I intend you to
go now."
"To it now, massa? not just now;
by and by, massa, me run when da sun come."
"The sun come!-why J. the sun is just gone
down." ""
Yes, massa, and he soon come up
again; and den, massa, me run all a way to
Belmont." "But J., 't is this very time, now,
I wish you to go." "Well then," said J.,
"E. (meaning his fellow servant in the house)
E. will take me on he back; he trong, massa ;
he run, and den we go a Belmont wid da
paper." These little details are truly very in-
significant; but it is the insignificant that is
often too much neglected, in speaking of the
character and condition of a population.
These boys, being domestics, were often in
the habit of asking questions about home. On
the occasion of the arrival of a barrel of Scotch
oatmeal, I was surprised at the curiosity they
shewed to know what it was. I detailed to
them, as I best could, the whole process from
the sowing of a field of oats, to the return from
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the mill. The next question was, "do white
massa do all dat vorck?" "Not massas, but
white men, plough as I have told you." I then
shewed them a print of a man ploughing, sowing,
and harrowing, in some of my children's books.
"Oh!" said E., "D. and G. (naming two
servants of Mr. Whitfield's, in St. Vincent,
who had been in England), tell me white folk
vorck hard too much in da cold too; and if
dey no vorck, dey tarve: how would you like
dat J.?"
Nothing astonished the young negroes more
than looking through a telescope; or seeing
the quicksilver rise in the thermometer. Not-
withstanding all my asseverations to the con-
trary; "Jumbee," they said, "must be in the
telescope. I shewed them, how I could, by
pushing it out or in, prevent or enable them to
see; and that I had the whole of it at com-
mand, not "Jumbee." Then how anything
could move up and down, as quicksilver did,
and that thing not be really alive, passed their
belief. I do not think it advantageous to shew
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those things unasked to negroes; for it seems
to me to confound and bewilder them. But
they had often seen me look down the avenue,
and tell what was going on, when they could
not do so with the naked eye; and they had seen
my children raise the quicksilver by holding
the bulb of the thermometer in their hand:
this it was which attracted their attention,
and led them to ask questions.
I found nothing more difficult than to get
the little girls to sew,-they disliked it ex-
tremely. They learnt well enough; but they
did not like sitting. One young coloured girl,
of about fifteen, who could work very neatly,
I hired to assist in needle work. I gave her
some stockings to mend. In the evening she
brought them all done, and nicely folded up;
but when they were taken out to be used, it
was found that she had cut off all that part of
the toes which required mending; and had only
mended the heels; which being very well done,
proved she knew how to go about the work.
When I told her of it, she said "some one else
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had done bad to him, no she." So there was
no remedy, but to purchase new ones. Servants
know you have no remedy against such con-
duct, and therefore do such things daily.
The
youngest negro, almost as soon as it can
stand, begins to dance and sing in its own way.
As they get older, they improve in both of
these native accomplishments: some of them
have very quick ears for music. Very often,
when I had finished their lessons for the even-
ing, I sat down to play on the pianoforte. On
such occasions they remained about the house,
listening to the music; and if it happened to
be of a kind that admitted of dancing, they
were sure to avail themselves of it. They soon
had a large addition of tunes added to their
stock of negro airs; and I have heard sundry
airs from Hadyn and Mozart, chanted by the
boys when cleaning their knives, with astonish-
ing accuracy. One of the most difficult pro-
pensities to check among negro children, is the
habit of fighting with each other and in
:
checking this, I succeeded better than in many
•
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153
other of my attempts. They got into the
habit, whenever they disagreed among them-
selves, of coming up to Misses, often accon-
panied by Mammy J., and then the whole
evidence was heard. I made a point of first
hearing all the complainant had to say, and his
witnesses, one after another; and then the de-
fendant, and his witnesses. I seldom failed in
being able to pronounce a verdict to please all
parties; because as they said, "Come
up to
misses; it all one to she, who right who wrong;
she no love one pick-a-ninny more den anoder.”
As for stealing, I found it impossible, in
any way, altogether to break the young people
of this negro habit; they seldom let slip
a good opportunity of helping themselves.-
When I was positively certain who was the
thief, I told them so; and upon all such occa-
sions there was this improvement, if improve-
ment it could be called, that the article stolen
was generally returned.
The clothing for the house-boys is expensive
beyond belief; and there is no keeping them
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clean or decent do what you may. A gentle-
man recently arrived from England, came to
pay us a morning visit at Laurel-Hill. I rang
the bell for one of the boys to bring glasses and
some cool water: after waiting a long while,
and repeatedly ringing, a little fellow of about
ten years of age made his appearance. Without
turning round to see which of the boys it was,
I ordered the water and tumblers; when A.
returned and placed them on the table, having
on no clothing but his shirt.
"I suppose
you
've been in your grounds, A.," said a lady
present; who felt I believe like myself, a little
ashamed at a stranger having such a first intro-
duction to a planter's house. "No, misses,
but me go a house for me trowsers; and mamma
say dey all, ebery one, in da riber.” Twelve
pairs of good stout trowsers had this little lad,
and yet not one pair left to wear. I have
already said, that I succeeded tolerably well in
restraining the quarrelling and cruel behaviour
of the negro children towards each other; be-
cause when they did quarrel, it became at last
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2
an amusement to come to me and hold “court-
martial❞—a term they borrowed from the elder
negroes. But I could not stop their wanton
cruelty to the brute creation-the delight they
evidently took in torturing helpless animals.
We had been exceedingly plagued by rats all
over the house, so that we had even to beat
them out of bed; and in the store-room they
made sad havock. At last E. and J. proposed
setting a trap: this was done; and it is utterly
impossible to conceive the eagerness with which
these boys waited my opening the lock of the
store-room next morning. There was an im-
mense rat caught, half strangled. "J.," I
said, "if you are not afraid of lifting the trap,
take it away, and destroy the poor creature-
put it out of pain as fast as you can."
misses, me no fear 'em." About half an hour
after, my children came crying to tell me that
E. was very naughty; for that he and J. had
got the rat behind the kitchen in the trap, and
they were torturing it and cutting it with
knives; and they could not bear to see such a
"Yes,
H 3
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I said,
"Cruel,
،،
thing. I instantly went out, and found them
at the work, exactly as described.
Boys, how can you be so cruel?"
misses, little misses fool too much; go cry for a
tief and a ratta.-Misses, me let 'em know what
it is to tief from my massa. This, I need
scarcely say, was all art and hypocrisy, to cover
their cruelty. All other animals which fell
into their hands, shared the same fate as the
rat. Snakes they always try to dispatch
quickly, because they know their danger from
them.
""
To return to the subject of those arbitrations,
called by the negroes court martial, of which I
have just spoken. These were not confined to
the children, but were very generally resorted
to by negroes of all ages, for the settlement of
their disputes. Among the most fertile of these
disputes was jealousy; and, just to convey
some idea of the multifarious duties which
planters may be called upon to discharge, I will
give an outline of two cases which were made
the subject of these references. Soon after our
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coming to Laurel-Hill, S., a Laurel-Hill field
negress, and the mother of a large family, came
up to have, as she termed it, a court-martial
from massa. S. complained that A., a young
St. Vincent negro, was a great coquette, and
that she was trying to deprive her of her hus-
band, B. W., a free American negro, and a
rich man, with fine grounds on Laurel-Hill:
he kept a house, and was a person of some
consequence. A. was summoned, and B. W.
also, with the witnesses on all sides; and it was
fully proven that B. W. had been giving A.
plantains and sundry other presents. Mr. C.
had no authority over him; but gave him his
best advice. A. also was cautioned, not to
receive presents from B. W.; nor from any
man who had a wife; and was perfectly satis-
fied and pleased, when she found that A.'s
mother had whipped her for her imprudence.
C., the wife of K., was a remarkably plain ne-
gress, some ten or twelve years older than her
husband. She was economical, almost to par-
simony; a rare thing among negroes. R. was
the handsomest negro I ever saw,—a fine face
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and noble commanding figure: his address was
really graceful; and he was withal known to
be a great Philander, if not a gay deceiver.
He liked C.'s good management—her well-
worked grounds, and the care she took to keep
him a "dandy." She was proud of R., but
had no confidence in him,-probably she was
not far wrong in this; but he knew her temper,
and was as cunning as a fox. He was one of
the carters; and at the season when R. carted
in the sugar to town, C. would often walk as
far as the Jacaragua River to meet him; and to
ascertain that, in his politeness, he had not
taken up some young negress in his cart, to
help her home to some estate in the neighbour-
hood. The report was, that R. often did so:
certain is it that he staid often three and four
hours longer than necessary; and that his
mules came in quite worn out. Time after time
did C. go and meet him; but nothing did she
see, but R. and his mules. At length one
night, he being unusually late, C. lost all
patience; and, going to meet him, she encoun-
tered him at the end of the avenue, and asked
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where he had been?" Nowhere," was of
course the answer. When he got to the works,
he took off his hat to get out a note he had
received from the Judge; when C. saw inside, a
woman's handkerchief. This was too much
for C. to bear; she poured out a torrent of
invective against R., who said he wasn't going
to fight a woman, but they'd go up to massa in
the morning to have a court-martial,—and up
they came. C. began with, "Massa, see dat;"
and she spread out a common Madras handker-
chief, such as the female negroes wear on their
heads,—“ see dat, massa,-R. bring dat home
in he hat last night,-massa, make him say
who handkerchief it be." R., whose handker-
chief is that? said his master. "Massa, it's
mine; me bought it a Port of Spain.” “Bought,
indeed!" said C., with a most contemptuous
air;
"he hem! no buy hem handkerchief,
massa; me misses, dey know dey not sell hem
handkerchief;"-and so on. These, however,
are specimens of the numerous class of cases
which we were constantly obliged to give ear
to, and judgment in.
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M
CHAPTER XIX.
Settlement of the negroes at Laurel-Hill-Their
new provision-grounds and their returns—Sums
paid to negroes on the estate for provisions for
the family-Estate dandies-Absurd orders in
council An anecdote Another anecdote
Massa Buxton and Massa King George-Igno-
rance-Negro character.
NEGROES, from the earliest age, have their
provision-grounds; and if too young to work
them, the master causes the ground to be
worked by a negro, during the master's hours.
The produce of course goes to the family who
takes care of the child; who, as soon as he can
work a little, goes up to his grounds on the
negroes' day, and learns the art of cultivating
the soil. At seven years of age, little boys and
girls have often a great deal to sell of their
own, and buy fine clothes, cakes, &c. with the
produce. All the little boys and girls about
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the house, have one day for themselves every
week-not a Sunday-to work their grounds.
On such days they rise earlier, and work
longer, than they are ever in the habit of doing
for their master. They do often work their
grounds on Sunday also; but there is no occa-
sion for this were they never to lift a hoe on
Sunday, they would still have an abundance
of food for themselves, their pigs and their
poultry, and money for fine clothes also.
:
I do not believe, that either English or
colonial law will prevent negroes from work-
ing on Sunday. "The love of money is the
root of evil," applies with great force to the
negro character; and I do not think, that if
negroes had all the six days of the week to
work their own ground, they would cease from
labour on the seventh. I do not of course
speak of isolated cases—but of the majority;
nor is there wanting practical proof of this
truth. Who labours more on the Sunday than
the free negro? and even those born free are
notorious for this.
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Little negroes soon learn to rear chickens;
and by twelve years old, they make many a
dollar by the sale of their eggs and chickens.
After this age, boys in particular take to raising
pigs; and an excellent speculation it is. Then
many of them are clever at catching fresh-water
fish; and many a half dollar have I paid at
Laurel-Hill, for a dish of fresh-water fish.
These fish were caught in the stream that ran
at the foot of Laurel-Hill, by a boy; and at his
noon time, from twelve to two.
Those who know little practically, of the
self denial, and the privations of the working
classes and labourers of England and Scotland,
are little able to judge correctly of the com-
parative condition of labourers in Britain and
in the West Indies. But living, as I had done
in my early years, very much in the country-
in the counties of Mid Lothian and Fife; and
latterly seeing a good deal of the habits and
mode of life of those classes in some of the
finest and richest counties of England; I can-
not help saying that, whether in infancy, in
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163
youth, in maturity, or in age, the negro slave
is in much the more enviable condition.
It was in the end of August or the beginning
of September, that Mr. C. measured out the
provision-grounds to the St. Vincent negroes,
at Laurel-Hill. They eyed the fertile soil, on
the sloping hill sides; which were now, for the
first time, about to be rendered subservient to
the wants of man. The boundary on the front,
and on two sides, was distinctly marked out
for each, to prevent, if possible, all quarrelling;
but to the upper end no boundary was assigned;
and they might clear the woods, and turn up as
much new soil in that direction as they chose.
The St. Vincent people soon had their houses
erected and whitewashed; and upon my arrival
in the middle of September, they were nearly
ready to enter into their new abodes. They
got abundance of roots, and slips of every thing
useful for them to cultivate; and I pleased
some of them much by giving-to one, a little
early English cabbage seed; and to another,
turnip, carrot, or English peas. They had
164
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brought bags full of seeds of the legumes of
St. Vincent; and I was requested to recollect
and keep all the pine-apple crowns, or tops, as
they call them, to plant in their grounds.
.
None of our people had come with empty
purses; so they soon purchased pigs and fowls
enough to set all a-going. Besides the estate's
allowance of fish, &c., they had, until their
provision-grounds were productive, an allow-
ance of plantains from their master's plantain-
walk, every week, for six months: and each,
two shillings and sixpence for the purchase of
extras. I find, by my account-book, that each
child had, besides fish and plantains propor-
tioned to his or her age, two shillings and six-
pence currency a week, from seven years of
age upwards;—two shillings for all above two
years, and under seven;-and one shilling for
all under two years of age. They had all new
locks for their houses; which cost four shillings
and sixpence each. The infants had an allow-
ance of rice, instead of plantains. I have
already said, that every negro has always as
WEST INDIES.
165
much sugar as he and his family can consume;
but of course it is not wished that they should
sell it.
There is a well-known root in Trinidad,
common all over the West Indies I believe,
known by the name of the eddoe. It abounds
upon every estate. The roots are not unlike
a rough irregular potatoe :-the leaves make
excellent wholesome greens; and the negro,
with the addition of a bit of salt fish, or salt
pork-sometimes indeed both, has an excellent
pot of soup. He may add pigeon peas during
the months they are in season; and as for cap-
sicums his seasoning for all dishes—they are
never wanting. This soup is excellent, whole-
some, and palatable to all-creoles, white, free,
coloured or slave; and indeed is one of the
great blessings of the West Indies.
It is needless after this to say, that in point
of food our people, new comers as they were,
were not to be pitied. Bread, unless it be fresh
from the oven, negroes have no relish for; but
three times a week, hucksters used to come,
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from St. Josephs to our estate, with great trays
on their heads, loaded with bread, cakes, and
pastry; and they seldom carried many of their
. dainties away. The negroes did not give
money for these little luxuries; they went on
the system of barter and exchange; and these
huckster women might be seen, coming across
the pasture from the negro houses, equally
heavily laden as when they went; but with
this difference, that they now carried fruit,
vegetables, and eggs, to retail at St. Josephs.
Of course it was some time before the St.
Vincent people were able to cope as merchants
with the old settlers; but still they did so
much sooner than I had expected. The soil
is so prolific and the climate so congenial, that
no one who has lived only in Europe, can
readily believe the quick and sure return made
for any, even the most trivial labour-that of a
very little child. The quick return of garden
produce, often seemed to me like enchantment;
and might very well have been ascribed by the
negro to the agency of Jumbee. I paid 207.
"
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167
currency in the first nine months of our residence
at Laurel-Hill, to each of two negroes from St.
Vincent for corn alone. They came and asked
me, if "
massa wanted corn (Indian corn or
maize) for he horses?" I said he did; and
they brought up so much, that I thought they
were selling more than they ought. They
assured me they had plenty for themselves,
and their stock in their houses, if I would
come down and see: I did so, and found their
account correct; and paid to each their 201.
currency-forty Spanish dollars, for one article
alone, out of many others, raised during the
time I have specified.
The first entry I find of St. Vincent people's
cultivation, is on the 7th of November-two
months and a half from their settlement; when
I paid E., a house boy, seven shillings for two
chickens. From that date, fruit, vegetables,
eggs, fresh fish, game, poultry, and pork, fol-
lowing in succession; and money was fast
made.
From the 16th September to 29th December
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C
-little more than three months, I paid the
negroes on Laurel-Hill estate-seventy-seven in
number, including all ages from infancy
upwards-1767. 15s. 1d., not including corn;
being upwards of three hundred and fifty-two
Spanish dollars. I paid besides this, during
these months, about 107. more, for articles from
other negroes, some free and some slaves. It
ought to be borne in mind that all those articles
sold to me, were by no means all that was sold
off the estate; they were but an item of the
negro produce. Every week some of our people
went to St. Josephs and to Arima to market;
and the carters rarely took the carts to Port of
Spain without getting some articles sent into
town for sale; and they also occasionally sold
to the neighbouring estates, as their negroes
did to us. These negroes were healthy and
robust: there were a few sick now and then,
and many more who pretended sickness to
avoid working; but there did not seem any
inclination to starve themselves in order to
obtain money, by selling what they ought to
WEST INDIES.
169
eat. The likings and dislikings of negroes are
very different from those of an European: there
is indeed a good deal of the gourmond in their
disposition; and negro cookery is by no means.
so despicable as some suppose. I rather think
a good supper is one of their first objects; fine
clothes for a gala day the next. As for their
appreciation of a fine house and furniture, that
altogether depends upon their advancement in
civilization. Every negro house on Laurel-Hill
estate, was quite equal to those that I have
described in the first volume of this work, as
the general abodes of negroes. They had their
plantain leaf mattresses, as we also had, in
general use. Their pillows and bolsters were
feathers of their own purchasing; and in the
article of sheets and linen, I seldom found any
deficiency in any negro of good character.
Some of course have much finer linen than
others; but there are few who do not lay up
some "Irish cloth," as they call it, for their
burial. Attachment to respectable dress (I do
not mean mere finery, such as jewels, &c.) is
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WEST INDIES.
:
always a proof of civilization; and some negroes
are most ridiculous dandies. We had several
of such at Laurel-Hill. S., the head boiler-man
at Laurel-Hill, was invariably a dandy; and it
was quite a picture to see him at the teach,
watching the sugar, with his air of authority,
and his shirt collar stuck up to his ears. He
was a native African,-a Coromantee, of a very
grave and sedate deportment, and exceedingly
reserved as regarded his former life. Upon my
first visit to Laurel-Hill boiling house, with my
children and their governess, he advanced and
made a very dignified bow,-wished us all
health and happiness, and stooping down, with
a piece of white chalk, he put, as I have already
said is usual, a mark on our feet; and we got
another bow in return for our Spanish dollar.
S. then ushered us all through the works of
the sugar manufactory; when we tasted hot
liquor and cool liquor, and pan sugar, the best
of all. This is the remains of the sugar that
hardens in the spout, which conveys the sugar
from the teach to the wooden coolers. I asked
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171
one day, if he remembered Africa? "A little,
misses." Would you like to return there and
see it again? "No misses, me country nigger
very wicked,—me no wish to see 'em again."
Do you think them more wicked than negroes
here-do they steal and lie more, and are they
more apt to quarrel and fight?
"Misses,
white lady know noting of Africa, in my part;
dey bad too much, me cannot tell you how
bad." S's. look at this moment, was one so
expressive of a determination that seemed to
say ask no more, that I stopped the conversa-
tion. Some time after, I mentioned this con-
versation with S. to D., one of the pleasantest
and mildest mannered female negroes I ever
saw. She said, "Misses, it's well you no ask
S. no more questions ;" and she shook her head
and looked very wise, "his country misses,
wicked too much." In a half mysterious
whisper, she added, "Misses, S. be one Coro-
mantee! and oh! misses, Coromantee eat men;
misses, S. be one very good nigger; but me
misses, da Coromantee blood be in him." S.
VOL. II.
I
172
WEST INDIES.
was a good workman; but it required great
tact to keep him in humour: he was to be
talked to always as a man of rank and au-
thority, and in fact he had that about him,
which made it impossible for any one to dare
to use any freedom with him. If any little
negro forgot to say Sir to him, he was sure
of a blow that would make him remember in
future.
One evening, hearing that S. was poorly,
I went to pay him a visit. I found him in his
calico dressing-gown, clean shirt, and white
trowsers-his head was bound with a Madras
handkerchief; and he was lying on his sofa,
with three as nice pillows to recline upon as
possible, with clean linen slips, as white as
snow. He had a comfortable basin of chicken
soup, with plate of boiled rice beside him.
And is this, thought I, a man who, had he
been left in his own country, would have pro-
bably been regaling on his fellow creatures.
He talked very sensibly; and thanked me
politely for coming to see him; but I always
WEST INDIES.
173
took care in future to avoid any allusion to his
country.-S. has since freed himself.
A fertile source of annoyance to the planters
of Trinidad, was the constant changes occa-
sioned by new orders in council, perpetually
coming out one after another, and often quite
contradictory to each other. It was evident
that they were concocted by people who knew
no more of the general system of agriculture
in the West Indies, than that which is perhaps
pursued in the moon: and added to this, they
indicated total ignorance of the manners and
customs of the inhabitants of the colonies,
whether white, coloured, or negro. No laws,
however good and well intended, can be pro-
fitable, if they be not suited to the character,
the manners, and the customs of the people to
be governed by them. For what reason I know
not, but an order came, that every negro was
to be accurately measured! Mr. C. told them
all to come up at a certain hour, and have their
height ascertained.
In this he was merely
executing an order sent; nor did he
1 2
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suspect any objection on the part of the
negroes.
But at the hour appointed, the overseer came
up to say, that none of the negroes would
come; and that they refused to assign any
reason to him. Of course their master went,
and told them to come up to him, and hear
what he had to say. They grumbled a good
deal; but still they had some faith in their
master. He told them that measuring them
would not hurt them; that he would do it him-
self; and he took one of our own little girls,
and placing her back against the wall, he
ascertained and marked her height-took a
foot rule, and wrote down the number of feet
and inches, saying "you see I do so to my own
picaninny, and you see it do n't hurt her; come
along, like good fellows, and let me do as I am
ordered." But all shrunk back; and the
negro children began to cry. "In the name
of wonder," said Mr. C. "what is the matter
with you all-what are they afraid of?" said
he, to R., a fine tall, handsome, young St.
Domingo negro. "Massa," said he, "me
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175
can't tell;" and evidently in a state of great
alarm, and making an effort to gain courage,
he looked steadily at his master, and said,
""
you neber hurt me massa-me tand so,” and
he was measured accordingly. As he walked
from the spot, his master said, "that is all,
you see I have not hurt you." R. wiped the
cold perspiration from his brow, and turning
round said, "Massa, a we no like to be mea-
sured for our coffin afore a we dead.” The
scene was altogether more affecting than
ludicrous to us; and yet, even when assured
that the measure was not taken with the inten-
tion of making coffins for them, some appeared
incredulous. We prevailed however upon all
to be measured; and the driver laughed at his
folly in not telling at once what their objection
was, and ended by saying, "Massa, Massa
King George, no know noting at all about a we
niggers." Change but the Massa King George,
to massa something else, and never was truth
better spoken.
Massa King George the negroes always con-
176
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sidered as the author and composer of every
new law; and if at any time we told them that
if Massa King George could see them, we were
sure he would shew no want of knowledge ;-
they uniformly said, "Den why don't he come,
and show a' we how to do." More lately,
however, Massa Buston (Buxton) was looked
upon as the highest authority.
One day Mr. C. went down to the cooper's
shop, and was accosted thus by P., the head
cooper. P. was a thinking, grave, sensible
negro-had been twice with a former master to
America, and had lived some months in New
York. His wife S. was a good working negro,
civil and quiet; and we had always considered
her as a very good wife to P., and attentive to
her domestic concerns. His house was well
furnished; his grounds extensive and beautiful,
and they had no family. P. was a good trades-
man; and not easily put in a passion. He had
seen what life is; and was well aware that his
lot was a very comfortable one. On the morn-
ing in question he thus addressed his master :—
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177
"l Massa, me hear new law come out for a' we
nigger to go marry one wife; me massa, afore
me marry one wife, me go hang me sel in a
Paradise wood first." This was said in a steady
determined tone. "I have heard of no such
law," said his master, "nor do I believe it,—
but you know, P., I have often said to you, and
to all those negroes who have lived long and
comfortably with their wives without changing,
that I would be happy to see you marry,—that
I thought it was your duty to do so,—but I
don't believe that any law has come out to
compel you to do so; at the same time I cannot
conceive what objection you could have to mar-
rying S., with whom you have lived more than
twelve years; and she has made a very good
wife to you." "True, me massa, very good as
she is; but, me massa, pose (suppose) me
marry S., I say, 'S., do so;' she my wife then,
massa- -so she say, 'No!' Well, pose massa,
now me say, 'S., do so;' she do it; 'cause she
know if she no do it, me put her away, and get
anoder dat will." "I don't think S. would
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behave so," said his master; "I think she
would do as much for you as she does now."
"Massa, me beg you pardon-was you eber in
New York?" "No, P." "Well den, massa,
me have,—and me no be in a America for
noting: no, no, me massa, me no know ebery
ting you know, nor Massa King George neider;
but me know some ting too, you don't know;
me know dat me neber marry nigger wife: if
Massa King George say, a we nigger marry,
den let Massa King George send out white wife
to a we from England, and den we marry as
many as he like." "We don't wish you to
marry more than one wife; but why do you
prefer a white wife?" "'Cause, massa, white
wife no run bout here, dere, and every where,
like negroes; massa, if you gie me your wife,
me marry her to-day; but afore me marry any
nigger wife, me go hang me sel in a Paradise
wood."
Upon investigation, we found that the carters
who had returned from Port of Spain the pre-
ceding evening, had spread the report over the
WEST INDIES.
179
estate, that Massa Buston, and Massa King
George (Mr. Buxton had the precedence), had
sent out a law, to order every negro to marry
his wife-a law which, with only two excep-
tions, the negroes declared they would resist,
and die rather than obey. A recommendation
to the planters to encourage marriage, had in-
deed been sent out,-and such is the tenacity
with which negroes will resist all interference
with their habits and customs, that it was some
time before the discontent, which even this.
recommendation produced, gave way.
My object in relating such anecdotes, is to
shew the great difficulty there is for persons,
not well acquainted with negro character and
customs, to frame laws and regulations at all
suited to their improvement or amelioration.
One order passed with that latter view, and no
doubt considered in England greatly in favour
of the negro, was, that no negro was to be
punished instanter for any offence; but must be
first confined, for a certain length of time, in
the stocks. Now this, I presume, was intended
I 3
180
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to prevent unnecessary or severe punishment,
by allowing the master's anger time to cool.
But, to those inclined towards severity, this
failed altogether in its effect. I have already
said, that the negro looks upon the stocks as
no punishment. He goes to them, lies within
his mosquito curtains, with his pillow at his
head-has his food brought to him, and prefers
this to any work, however light. The conse-
quence is, that a good-for-nothing negro be-
haves himself as some convicts used to do, when
sent to Botany Bay, and saying, "Thank your
honour." The negro snaps his fingers and
says, "Thank you, massa," with an air calcu-
lated rather to provoke and irritate, than disarm
the anger of a master. Not only, therefore,
had such an order no effect in ameliorating the
condition of the negro, but it was not even
considered a boon by him; for although the
stocks were rather liked than otherwise, the
negroes in general considered the previous con-
finement as meant to be an addition to punish-
ment, and it tended therefore rather to produce
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181
bad than good feeling. Let me illustrate this
view by an anecdote.
Before coming on the estate, we had been
told the general character and disposition of
each individual. Among others, we were in-
formed that C., a female, was a personage next
to impossible to manage. She appeared to us
a clever superior person, with not a disagreeable
countenance; neat, and civilized looking. She
had been a domestic at one time to a former
master; but being in this capacity quite ineffi-
cient, she was transferred to the field with her
own acquiescence in the change. About ten
days after our arrival, while the negroes were
holing a piece of canes near the foot of the hill,
I suddenly heard a very angry voice, which
became louder and louder; but as Mr. C. was
in the field, I paid no more attention to it. In
the evening, when the driver came up to get
his orders for the next day, Mr. C. said, “F.,
I never saw such a woman as that; is she quiet
now that she is in the stocks?" Quiet, massa!
no, noting will ever stop her. Massa, she bad
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too much."-Can she work, F.-" Yes, for
hersel, massa; fine grounds she have; but
she'll neber work for you nor any massa; me
tink de Jumbee in her." Mr. C. said, "Come,
we must try; I find kindness won't do, for I've
tried that; and now I'm trying whether the
stocks will do." F. shook his head; "Massa,
tock neber do good to nigger; dem who make
dat new law do very bad, to make massas keep
bad heart to niggers." "But why do you
suppose that is a sign of keeping bad heart?”
Cause, massa, all da time a nigger is in da
tock afore he be punish, massa heart burn
gainst nigger, and nigger heart burn gainst
massa,—dat's all bad massa; dem who make dat
law no know a we." "But F., those who made
that law say, that negroes were often and
unjustly and severely flogged; because, at the
moment their master was in a passion; and by
giving time, they think the master will cool,
and the negro repent."-" Bless you, me massa,
den dey know noting at all about it; for afore
time massa had no time for he heart to burn;
66
WEST INDIES.
183
""
and nigger neber like noting so bad as for he
massa to keep bad heart to him."-" Well, F.,
I did not make the law. I must keep it, and
try whether it will do good or not."" Me
massa, hear me; I know black nigger better
eber dan you; it do no good; it do very bad,
massa.'
To return for a moment to C., the negro who
gave rise to this colloquy: in the stocks, or at
work, it was all the same to C.; she was the
torment of every one,-she poured forth abuse
upon her master, the overseer, the driver, and
her mother. She often came to sell articles to
me, poultry, fruit, and vegetables; and was
very civil and polite. I took no notice of her
bad conduct on the estate; whether it was that
she had expected I would have done so, and
therefore was pleased at my forbearance, I
cannot tell; but she always looked graciously
upon me.
The cook at this time wished to change for
the field; and I proposed to C. to take her
place. I thought that, by removing her from
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those with whom she had been accustomed to
quarrel, and by flattering her self-esteem (for
to cook well is no small pride in a negro), I
might change her character. She accepted the
place, and served me faithfully and well; and
became, under my eye, a most exemplary per-
son; and she served us until the day we left.
Laurel-Hill; and cried for days before we went
away. I asked her if she would like to go
home to England with me? She said, "Yes,
misses, me like to see England, if you bring me
back." I said, "That is very natural, C.;
your mother is here, and all your friends."—
"Yes, misses, and me grounds." She might
well say "me grounds," for C.'s grounds were
indeed a source of riches to her; she had them
in beautiful order, and was altogether a money-
making personage. She kept a complete
huckster's shop on the estate; and many, both
on Laurel-Hill and the adjoining properties,
bought thread, tapes, candle, soap, and pins,
&c. from her. She had always plenty of money,
and could at any time change a doubloon for
WEST INDIES.
185
me; or, if I was short of a few dollars, C.
always produced whatever sum I required at
once; I giving her an acknowledgment for the
sum borrowed, which she kept until I repaid
her, when it was torn up. She had no osten-
sible husband. I often advised her to marry,
and settle like a respectable girl,-for, spite of
her temper, she had two great attractions: she
had money, and was handsome; and I knew
she had many admirers. She would not hear
of marriage, however; but said, that "when
nigger come good, like white man, den she
might marry." She gave dances, and made a
great deal of money by them: she paid for
every thing-supper, liquor, and music; and
each negro paid half a dollar for admission.
The refreshments were in the house, which was
particularly neat; the dance was in front of
her house, with seats surrounding a space large
enough for the dancing; the musicians being
placed at the end. Yet, inconsistent as it
must appear, this young woman was a perfect
savage in many respects: if any one contra-
186
WEST INDIES.
dicted her, she was like a frantic person, and
always began to bite furiously.
I had told the grown up negroes, that I
should be very happy to see them come up,
and hear the children instructed; and some,
now and then dropped in; while others were very
frequent in their attendance. Among these
was C., who listened with great attention. I
often tried to convince her how improper her
violent conduct was; but she always defended
herself; and said, "Misses, when me say bad
to you, no curse me: by which she meant,
that if when she abused the other negroes
they would not return the abuse, she would
sooner restrain her temper. No sooner had we
left the estate, than she was as bad as before
we had come to Laurel-Hill-no one dared to
speak to her. She freed herself, I believe,
in 1830, or thereabouts.
""
WEST INDIES.
187
CHAPTER XX.
More anecdotes - Massa Buston-Qualifications
for freedom-Details of savage character and
habits-Infants' sickness, and feigned sickness.
IF I were to detail the whole history of the
conduct of every negro on the estate, there is
not one of such details that would not illustrate
some point of importance, either in negro cha-
racter, or in giving hints for legislation upon the
condition of the slave. There is doubtless a
degree of circumlocution in this mode of stating
truths; and it may sometimes happen, that on
a dialogue a page long, one line is all that
merits attention. Curious and perhaps novel,
if not important information, is generally how-
ever to be gleaned from such details; and I
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shall yet for a little longer continue this mode
of illustrating my views.
I., one of our negroes, was a native African.
I said to her one day, Do you recollect your
country well?
"Yes, quite well." How did
you come to the West Indies? "Me massa, in
a Guinea; one great massa, he go to war wid
anoder massa; me taken, and sold to a white
man." Were you a friend of the great massa
you were taken prisoner from?
"No, me
misses, me his slave-me in a house, servant.
And what work did you do? "First in a
morning, me milk da goat plenty; and put it
in a calibashes. Well, den me go and wash
me young misses's foot, help her sew calicoes,
milk goat at night again, and wash me young
misses's feet. Den she go to bed; if she go to
dance, or go any where, me tend her, and
wait on her." What did you do with the milk?
"Me massa and he wife eat it when it be
curdle." Whether do you like white massa or
black massa best? "Black massa not so bad
neider; but only he have so many wife, and so
""
WEST INDIES.
189
you see dat make so many misseses. Massa
himself not so bad; but he whip he wife when
she do bad too much." Did he whip his
servants? "Sometimes; but for common he
make da head servant do so." Now tell me
fairly, were you ever punished so, and what
for? "Misses, me punish when me bad; when
me pill da goat milk; when me young and
foolish too much, den me like young niggers
here, have saucy tungue; den dey flog me to
put saucy tongue out o' me head." Had you
good clothes given you? "Misses, me have
two coarse calico petticoats, two handkerchief
ebery so many moons; but me have no chemise,
no hat; me have one fine petticoat too to put
on when me go to wait on me young misses at
da dance." Now whether do you think you
prefer being slave to massa in Africa or massa
here? "Oh! me misses, me tink noting now
of me country massa; country massa good
enough for dat country, but dat's all,-white
massa, just massa, and dat make great differ.”
Soon after this, J. came to consult me about
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marrying J. P. She told me that she was
going to try live wid 'em first a little bit for
trial, and den if he be one good nigger, she
marry 'em." I said, "You know J. P. is at least
twenty years younger than you, he is quite a
drunkard, lazy, and has a very saucy tongue;
moreover his grounds are not in good order,
and he is a sad thief, and I think you had best
not try him; for I am convinced he only wishes
to get you for his wife, that he may have the
advantage of your good grounds, he is always
in trouble, and fighting, and his clothes are in
rags; he is a fine-looking young man, but I
fear J. that is all; I would be happy to see
you marry a good man; and though it is very
necessary and prudent to know the man well
whom you marry, yet to live with him upon
trial is very sinful; it is against the law of
God." J. comprehended me very well; but in
spite of all my advice, J. P.'s eloquence pre-
vailed-for he was as negroes say, (6
cunning
too much." Some weeks after this ill-sorted
union, J. came up to me, "Oh misses, me fool
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191
too much what me for do! J. P. very bad; he
tief yam from me, plantain from me, and dollar
from me; misses, what me for do? me heart
break wid dat wicked nigger." An investiga-
tion took place; and upon the graver charge,
that of stealing dollars, there was some dubiety.
“Do, me massa, please punish him," said J.
"Well J., I'll put him in the stocks, and lay
all the story before the commandant." "Massa,
me no gie dat (biting her nail) for the com-
mandant; massa, me be your nigger,—you
love me, but strange massa no care for me, nor
me dollar neider." "Indeed he will, J.;
Monsieur Legendre, the commandant, is a very
good man; and he will hear all the story, and
try to get back the dollars; and if it is fairly
proved, I'm sure he 'll punish J. P." J. however
was not at all satisfied with this proposed plan ;
she insisted that an appeal to the commandant
always made negroes spiteful against those who
proceeded in that way, and ended by saying,
"Dat new law bad law, when one own massa
can't gie justice to he own nigger.' "But, J.,
""
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I wish to get justice for you." "Me know,
me massa, you do; but me want no stranger
massa justice stranger massa no love me;
massa, you no care to love Massa Legendre
nigger; Massa Legendre no love yours." This
is one out of a thousand such instances. A
person better qualified than M. Legendre could
not have been selected for the office he held,-
he was perfectly acquainted with every custom
and prejudice of the people he had to deal with ;
but difficulties on the part of the negro, of this
nature, were never thought of by people at
home, who, from erroneous information, had
come to the conclusion, that negroes have no
confidence in their masters. However people
may believe it or not, I have heard good and
intelligent negroes find great fault with the
ignorance of "Massa Buston and Massa King
George," for ever after 1824, it was evident
they conceived Massa King George a very sub-
ordinate personage to Massa Buxton. The
negroes whose business it is to go to town, hear
all that is going on in England; and though
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193
they cannot read, they have the substance of
all that is printed from those who can. Be-
lieving as they do, that "Massa Buston" is at
the head of the English government, as regards
negroes, it is not to be wondered at, that when
they hear the substance of many speeches made
by that gentleman, the minds of the best of
them are now unsettled; and that the bad and
idle characters, who form too often the majority
upon an estate, believe that unlimited freedom
(a term which they interpret in their own way)
has been given, and is withheld by the combi-
nation of their masters and the colonial govern-
ment, against the commands of Mr. Buxton.
"Massa,
Upon Mr. C. going down to the field one
morning at six o'clock, he found a great de-
ficiency in the number of negroes.
"What is
the matter?" said he to the driver.
dey all gone up in da grounds,-dey say they
vorck no more for massa." It was a circum-
stance well worthy of remark-that the negroes
remaining in the field were all the good cha-
racters. They were quite contented and cheer-
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;
ful; and spoke with marked disapprobation of
the conduct of the others. "Massa," said N.,
"it's pity R. and W. eber go in a Port a Spain;
dey hear bad ting dey, and tell bad tory (story)
to niggers; and massa, dey foolish too much
me know, me massa, you do me just (justice)
better dan tranger." A better explanation than
this negro gave, could hardly be: those negroes
who go to town, though generally chosen for
the situation in consequence of intelligence and
ability, are nevertheless exposed to the contact
of bad advice. They return heated with liquor,
and of course with exaggerated stories in their
heads; these they retail to all their comrades
at night, as they sit eating their suppers, out-
side their doors. The really good negro is
wonderfully little impressed by it, but it is far
otherwise with the lazy and the bad: "freedom
is prized by them, not for the sake of personal
liberty in the British sense of the word, but as
they have invariably told me, "to sit down
softly." Freedom, so given and so used, will
never be productive of civilization or Christianity.
f
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195
The fact of all good negroes being contented
and happy, and attached to their masters, is
proved by their working as they have done,
with so many incitements to have acted other-
wise. Had slaves been treated, as many people
assert they are, it is absurd to suppose that two
or three white men could have kept up any
authority on estates where there is always such
a majority of negroes, and distant too from all
help. Turn the matter which way we will, the
question remains yet to be answered,—and a
grave question it is, Would the immediate legal
emancipation of the negro, advance or depress
him in the scale of civilized life?-for unless
we are quite sure that the slave population
have reached that point of civilization when
the boon of freedom would not make them fall
back again to the habits of savage life, we are
not benefiting but injuring them, both spiritually
and temporally. Hitherto the anecdotes I have
here related, have been mostly of good negroes,
(by good, I mean good according to the negro
VOL. II.
K
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code of morality), we shall now turn to the
opposite side.
One day I was much shocked by I. P.
presenting himself at the door, dreadfully
agitated, as well he might. "See!" said he,
massa, see what carpenter J. do me." His
shoulder was bleeding, a large piece had just
been bitten out of the most fleshy part. The
poor fellow was in dreadful pain. His master
dressed the wound for him; and making him
sit down, he sent for carpenter J. I need not
detail the investigation that took place; both
were bad negroes; there had been a quarrel,
and this was the consequence. I ask this
question-is a man, who, cannibal-like, bites a
piece out of another's shoulder, advanced to that
point in civilization which renders it wise to
bestow freedom upon him; or is it safe to free
him from coercion? The sore produced by the
bite was dreadful; it required dressing during
many weeks; and years afterwards had left a
deep scar.
B. W., a fine American negro, took some
"6
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197
•
umbrage at a negro family on the estate, and
at night when all was quiet, he got broken
glass bottles, and laid them all along with the
sharp corners up, before their door, that when
they came out in the morning, without being
aware, they might cut their feet. The driver,
who is always up long before the other people,
and who usually met his master and the
overseer at the works, told them the circum-
stance, and that he had warned the family not
to come out until he had reported it to his
master. The overseer saw it, and the bottles.
were cleared away, and B. W.'s conduct was of
course inquired into. The proofs were abundant
that he was the guilty person; perhaps the
best proof of all was, that the same day when
Mr. C. was at the works, he came up to me,
and did what I never saw a slave do, knelt
down on his knees before me, to beg me to
intercede with Mr. C. to allow him to remain
on the estate, as he had heard it was very
likely he would be ordered off. I told him to
rise, and said that I was exceedingly sorry to
K 2
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see him, a free man, who had been in America
and seen the world, behave so badly; that he
ought to remember that his being free, would
neither make us or the negroes respect him one
bit the more, unless by his conduct he shewed
himself worthy of his freedom, by behaving like
a civilized being. He began a long speech,
about the devil getting into his heart, and a
great deal of cant, which I assured him I did not
care for; in short, he wished to convince me,
that though he had done this savage deed, he
was not to blame, it was merely that for a short
{
time he had fallen into the net set for him by
"the enemy of souls." Having his wife and
children on the estate, he was suffered to
remain, upon a promise of amendment; but he
was always a troublesome, deceitful character,
and a savage, who would have been better
under restraint than free. I could enumerate
numerous facts, all tending to prove that many
negroes are utterly unfit for the rights of
civilized men. I have seen negroes, upon the
slightest provocation, snatch up any weapon at
*
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199
hand, and inflict a deep gash on whatever part
of the body first presented itself, of a wife,
husband, or child. One day I saw A. run
down a young deer, in the plantain walk near
the house, and having secured it, he deliberately
took his knife, cut a bit out of the thick part of
the leg of the living animal, and ate it with
great relish; and when I expressed astonishment
and disgust, he said, "it be best of all so,
misses."
I have in the first volume of this work spoken
of the care of negro children; and of the
nurses who are appointed to look after them
upon all estates-a practice adopted partly,
because a mother who had the sole charge of
children, could have no time for work of any
kind, partly because negro mothers are, with
very few exceptions, extremely cruel to their
children. At Laurel-Hill, we were very well
off in this respect. Patience, was really patient,
both by name and nature; and many a merry
song and dance, she sang and danced to the
"little niggers," as she called them; and when
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one or two began first to walk, she was as
proud as possible to exhibit them, and all the
little tricks she had taught them. I was very
desirous, however, to try and get the mother to
feel some personal pleasure in taking one of
their children. I could not however wish Mr.
C. to make any experiment among those whose
habits were such that we knew they preferred
their pig to their children; but Mr. C. had in
St. Vincent promised a reward of two joes to
any mother who would produce her child to
him, at two years of age, in good health; and
we renewed the experiment at Trinidad. Three
or four received the reward, but these were all;
the others preferred work, and the nurse to
take care of their babies. There were some
other mothers, who were good to their children
so long as they did not trouble them "too
much;" but I saw none with whom I thought
it would be safe to try the experiment of their
taking care of their children all day, as well as
all night. The fact is, that negro women like
the gossip and the fun of the field; and to stay
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201
•
at home and nurse their child is too monotonous
and dull a life for them. No doubt there are
exceptions, but they are not numerous; other-
wise so considerable a reward as Mr. C. held
out, would have produced greater results than
it did effect.
The management of the sick negro is an
important branch of duty on all estates; but
the first difficulty is, who are really sick? I
have already incidentally mentioned this; but
a few details, and an illustrative anecdote, with
reference especially to Laurel-Hill, are required
notwithstanding. Nothing can be more ludi-
crous than to see some ten or twelves negroes
crawling up to massa's house, on a Monday
morning, walking at about the rate of a quarter
of a mile an hour. The clothes are put on in
a most negligent style, the head is tied up in a
peculiar form, which every one who has seen,
can well understand, and which no description
of mine, could convey the reality of: then there
is the whining tone, the entreaty for physic at
once; or more commonly a blister, for that is
is
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merely painful for a few hours, and of course
produces consequences that relieves the negro
from work for several days. Good negroes call
these people skulkers—that is, that they invent
any excuse to escape work. Before I got out
of bed on the Monday morning, I could, from
the voices merely, tell almost to a certainty
who were to be the skulkers for that week.
By a good deal of tact, and some humour, Mr. C.
used to get rid of about one half the number;
making them laugh, and so cajoling them, that
at last they would confess it was merely a
Monday morning's sickness. Perhaps one or
two might be really sick; but this, any one
acquainted with the negro countenance can
tell without difficulty. Even the shammers,
however, insisted on having some drug, to save
appearances, or something to make gruel with;
but it was understood that they took the
physic, and went up to their grounds after
breakfast. Sometimes a skulker makes his
appearance during the week; but Monday is
the great day. We were better situated at
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203
Laurel-Hill than most planters, as regarded the
sick list, because Dr. C. lived upon the estate;
but notwithstanding this, they sometimes were
cunning enough to baffle massa, misses, and
the doctor too. Let one instance suffice,-
one woman, C., came perpetually up, morning
after morning, to the doctor; her pulse was
good, her skin cool, not the least appearance
of sickness about her, excepting her tongue-
and that tongue certainly did astonish the
doctor, for such a tongue he had never either
read of, or seen. Every morning it was of a
perfectly different colour; all the browns,
greens, and shades of white had been exhausted,
when to the horror of the doctor, a perfectly
bright blue tongue was thrust out.
He was
now convinced how matters stood; so taking
a wet clean towel, he told her to put out her
tongue: she rather objected to this ordeal, but
the doctor insisted upon it; and having washed
the dye off, C. shewed as clean and healthy a
tongue as possible, and for a good while after,
she did not skulk from work; for the good
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negroes quizzed her unmercifully. Many such
cases are continually occurring on every estate.
It ought to be remarked, that skulkers never
appear on a Sunday, holiday, or on their own
day; or, if skulking the day before, they
uniformly recover on those days.
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3
CHAPTER XXI.
t
The Laurel-Hill negroes-Examples of faithful-
ness-Saving banks, and negro opinions of them
-Wesleyan Methodist instruction on the estate—
Mr. Goy, and Mr. Stephenson-Conversations
with the missionaries Negro expectations—
Difficulties in the way of the government plan-
Division of time-Compensation for clothing
and provision grounds-More conversations with
the missionaries-Negro marriages-Erroneous
returns of the Methodists.
THE first Sunday we were at Laurel-Hill,
nothing was said as to negro amusements on
that day; we wished to see what their own
habits were, and about eight in the evening we
heard the drum begin. Next day Mr. C. told
them he was aware he could not forbid them
to dance of a Sunday, but that we would feel
.
206
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obliged by their not doing so; that it was
breaking a positive command of God, and it
was disagreeable to us. Some said, "Massa,
we no do so no more;" and others said, "Very
well," good humouredly; and but a very few
looked "black and sulky." Their master
added, “I have no objection to your dancing at
proper times, and making yourselves merry and
happy; but it is best not to dance on Saturday
night either, because you are apt to dance too
late, and forget the Sunday morning. We
were pleased on the next Friday to hear the
drum with the dance going on, but there was
no dancing on Saturday night or the Sabbath
evening. But as the negroes heard continually
of fresh laws coming out, all tending to weaken
in the negro, respect or affection to the master,
it was not to be wondered at that certain effects
were produced. I recollect, on one Saturday
evening, between six and seven o'clock, after
the period when the negroes became so unset-
tled by the constant changes and orders, that I
rang the bell several times and no one answered:
WEST INDIES
207
this was however not unusual, for the servants
often fall asleep in the afternoon; and I went
out with the intention of awaking them. I
found E., one of the house-boys, alone; the
rest were all absent. I said, "You may bring
in tea, E." He stood rubbing a tumbler,
and replied, "Me finish rubbing me glass, and
me going away down to the nigger-house;
Massa Buston say, Saturday night the same as
Sabbath-day;" and laying down his tumbler,
and hanging up the towel, he brushed past me,
and ran down the hill: this was in February
1825, when the people were a good deal ex-
cited, more or less, upon every estate. In all
such cases, no alternative remains but to help
oneself; thus West Indians learn a number of
useful and practical lessons of this kind; and I
am not quite sure if all the females who sign
petitions, and sigh over the distresses of the
poor negroes, would much relish doing their
work for them.
-
Nothing evidently was more perplexing to
the negroes, than the conflict in their own mind
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Į
between the bad advice abundantly adminis-
tered to them, and consequent erroneous views,
and the feeling which still occasionally arose,
of trust in their masters. Some few indeed
never in any respect changed; and to the last
moment of our residence in Trinidad, all the
stories they heard, seemed to have no effect
upon them; and when the time of our depar-
ture arrived, and they found that we were really
going to leave them, many even of the bad
negroes began to relent, and I think there were
not above eight or ten who did not come to
shake hands with us, and say, God bless you-
and that too with a heartiness which, to us,
who knew their characters, left no doubt in
our minds that they felt they had behaved ill,
and would have been glad to detain us. Nor
were we forgotten, even when we had long left
the West Indies.
There were some five or six people upon
Laurel-Hill, in the decline of life, who did only
a little light work. Of these there were at first
three, and latterly only two, past all work.
WEST INDIES.
209
They were nice old women: the eldest must
have been eighty, or near it; their grounds
were worked by their god children,-a general
custom in Trinidad, as in St. Vincent. If the
aged person has no child of his own, the god-
child is uniformly the heir; and if they have
neither children nor god-children to work their
grounds, the master appoints a person to do the
duty, and he looks personally to see that there
is plenty of provisions for the individual, whose
other allowances of salt provisions and clothing
are the same as those of any stout negro; and
if the individual cannot use all the allowances,
which is generally the case, she or he sells them
for their own benefit.
We often visited those old women. M. B.
had a great deal of dry humour, and was very
fond of children; the natural result of which
was, that all the children were fond of her.
But though she could not cultivate her grounds
herself, she could feed chickens and fowls, and
sell them; and M. B. had always fresh eggs.
Then she had a cat, so wise, that she said it
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knew better than many a nigger: she regularly
had a rat caught, and broiled it for puss's sup-
per, to the great delight of the young negroes.
Old as this woman was, she remembered us
with affection; and long after we were in
England, I had a letter from a friend who had
been visiting her at Laurel-Hill, and who says,
the poor soul always inquires for you, and
finished by hoping "da Lord will bless da
sweet pick-a-ninnies. Let no one suppose
such a case as this to be out of the usual course
of events in the West Indies. I can unhesi-
tatingly say, that in St. Vincent and Trinidad,
such are every day occurrences, and that cases
of cruelty and of neglect appeared to me ex-
tremely rare; and that though going out highly
prejudiced on the popular side, and employing
five years in minute personal investigation, and
even keeping a journal of what I saw, I should
be guilty of the grossest misrepresentation, did
I not state things to be in all respects, as re-
gards master and slave, totally the reverse of
what the popular belief is. As for punish-
""
WEST INDIES.
211
ments, every body must allow that it would be
more agreeable to the natural feelings of every
kind-hearted person, could punishments be
altogether dispensed with. But this, I venture
to say, is impossible, whether labour is to be
done by a slave or an apprentice, so long as the
labourer is uninstructed and unchristianized.
.
F. came one day to his master, just before
the standing stocks were introduced as a pun-
ishment, and complained that J. P. had robbed
his grounds of three large branches of plantains;
and he added, "Massa, pray do punish him :"
his master said, "I'll put him in the stocks,
and I'll give you the same quantity of plan-
tains." Massa, it's no dat so much me want,
me want him punish; cause massa, if he no
punish, he tief from some one else tomorrow,
and he say, 'Neber mind, me massa no punish
me, butgie dem plantain from he own plantain
walk;' and so he'll go on, massa." J. P. was put
in the stocks, but as usual he laughed at it.
The planter had long known the inefficiency
of the stocks, and at length government ordered
.
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the use of standing stocks, in a conspicuous
place of the estate; which certainly were more
effectual as a punishment, but much better
punishments might have been devised, without
having any recourse to flogging,—for it may
well be supposed that a planter, in the midst
of the hurry and anxiety of getting his sugar
made before the rainy season sets in, will pass
over almost any conduct, rather than deprive
himself of even one workman for a day; and
those know very little of negro character, who
are ignorant that the negro is clever enough to
see this, and that it is always when he can be
least spared that the bad negro behaves the
worst, knowing that scarcely any offence would
not at that time be passed over. When I speak
of flagrant offences, such as I contend deserve
corporal punishment, let me be understood;
I call that negro justly punished, who was
flogged for killing seventy-five head of poultry
by thrusting coarse needles into them, for
poisoning a calf, and cutting and maiming
several mules.
WEST INDIES.
213
Another subject recommended by government
to the consideration of the planter, was, to get
the negroes to place their money in a savings
bank. They ought to have been very grateful
for so kind an offer, when a bank was a benefit
and a convenience, which the white population
even did not possess. We explained the system
to the most intelligent negroes on the estate:
I took twenty shillings currency in my hand,
and said, “You give those twenty shillings to
the bank, on Christmas day, they give you a
'good' for them (good, means acknowledge-
ment). The Christmas following, you go back,
and they give you twenty-one shillings,—you
see you get your twenty shillings, and one
shilling more; or if you choose to leave it, they
give you another 'good' for twenty-one shillings,
and so on. Now you know, that you are often
robbed of your money; you tie up all your
gold and silver, and put it in a pocket hand-
kerchief, and then stuff it in the thatch of your
house; and even if nobody steal it from you,
you get nothing all the year from it. You put
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↓
twenty shillings into the handkerchief, and you
take the same twenty out of it. Now I know
you have all both gold and silver, a good deal,
and I think you ought to be much obliged to
Massa King George for making such a kind
offer to you, as to keep your money safe, and
give you something besides, for keeping it."
The answer was, "Misses, do you put your money
dey?" "No; I wish we had such an advan-
tage, but it is only meant for you." "Misses,
I fancy massa keep he own money? so will
we." I told them, massa trusted a bank much
farther off, in England, and that I was sure
their money would be safe." "May be, misses;
but den you savey all dem ting; a' we no care
to savey bout bank, we keep our own dollar."
The mind of the negro is, in but few cases
only, sufficiently enlightened to comprehend
such a thing as receiving interest for money:
he cannot believe that any one will take the
risk of keeping his money, and will give him
something more; neither has he any trust in
strangers, and nothing can compensate him for
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215
:
the pleasure of opening his handkerchief, and
adding to his stock of dollars every week, as
he sells his produce. Many of them have
handkerchief upon handkerchief tied up, full
of gold and silver, and thrust up in the thatch
of the roof-the universal strong box of the
negroes.
In 1827, very little money, only a few dol-
lars, had been paid into the savings bank of
Trinidad, and it was established in 1824. The
fact is, that the civilization of the uncivilized
is an infinitely slower process than anybody
who has not lived among negroes can imagine.
They come by very slow steps to perceive that
their customs are inferior to ours.
One grand
step, however, is already gained in favour of
the civilization of the negroes,-it is, that they
universally admit that white man is wiser and
better than they. When once we allow a
person to be our superior in understanding, we
are likely to benefit by his example and instruc-
tion. Negro men say, give us white wives, and
we have no objection to marry; and negro
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women the converse, this is no bad proof of
what I assert.
The greatest difficulty we felt, was how
to give them instruction; because we deter-
mined not to adopt the error so common among
missionaries, to take "words for deeds," and to
lead them into a Pharisaical mode of speech
and manner, which is generally indicative of
any thing but a change of heart. Finding
latterly that the respect formerly paid to the
wishes of the master, though not given as
commands, was entirely withdrawn, we were at
a loss how to act. Sunday dances were now
given regularly, and it was of no use to inter-
fere: whenever we spoke by way of enforcing
respect, there was some quotation from "Massa
Buston;" for latterly Massa King George was
not even allowed the dignity of a copartnership
with Massa Buston. Though, when any law
was ordered to be put in force, which the
negroes did not like, then they used to say, "I
wish dat Massa Buston would come and see
a' we nigger, and no send out dat law." The
WEST INDIES.
217
..
good negroes were less shaken in their affection,
and less changed in conduct, than any one
could have expected; they spoke to me often
with regret of the number of "bad niggers,”
and the fear they had, that they would "do
some ting bad too much."
One evening, I
was rather surprised by two very faithful negro
men, P. and M., coming up about seven o'clock.
It was during the time of sugar-making. I saw
there was something unusual in their manner;
they said, "Misses, come up tair (stairs) and
hear a we." I took the candle in my hand,
when they pointed to me to come to a corner of
the room furthest from the window, and said,
Misses, no let me dear massa go down to
night: misses, if he do,-wicked nigger dey,—
he neber come up again." In an instant the
danger flashed upon me; and probably those
two faithful creatures saw my alarm, for they
added, "No fear, my dear misses; no let
massa come down, that 's all, and you no fear;
no one shall eber hurt me massa or misses,
or the pic-a-ninny, or Miss A.;” meaning the
218
WEST INDIES.
children's governess.
I of course thanked
them, and they told me I must tell no one, as
the "wicked niggers would be angry wid em."
I offered them some refreshment; but they
refused, saying they did not wish to be missed
from the negro-houses; and they dashed down
the shortest way, like two deer.
Some weeks after this, Mammy J., whom I
have so frequently mentioned, came to me one
evening just as the sun was going down; she
requested me to come with her to the doctor's
shop, as she wanted some physic. When she
got there, she shut the door, and said, "Me
misses, hear me-me no say much, me dare not
-no let massa down to-night, say to him old
Mammy J. say so; no fear for you all here; N.,
&c. &c. (and she named several negroes) no let
one come up to hurt you; tell massa no come
down to a boiling-house to-night. Misses, you
tell no one but me massa; God bless you, me
misses,―gie me some salts, den they no say me
go up to tell tory." J. got as much physic as
she chose in a saucer, that it might be supposed
WEST INDIES.
219
she had been up really for this article. Of
course Mr. C. went down neither evening, but
it may be believed we slept little, and felt
exceedingly anxious to remove from a country
where we were no longer in security, and where
all our exertions for doing good were completely
neutralized by the efforts of those who, though
they may be well meaning, may yet have to
answer for a fearful state of things, induced by
their total ignorance of all classes of that
community, which they profess so thoroughly
to understand.
Before we had finally made up our minds to
return to Europe, and when we found that all
instruction from the master was useless, since
by the larger number of negroes, all that came
from the master was looked upon with distrust
and aversion; the bad, also, intimidating the
good, we thought it our duty to ascertain if the
negroes would listen to others.
Like many a
resident, we deeply regretted that the Protestant
Episcopalian church had left such a field open
to those whom we, as members of the church
VOL. II.
L
220
WEST INDIES.
of England, conceived less qualified for so
difficult and arduous a work. But still we
considered it more consistent with our duty, to
have instruction conveyed to the negroes by
Wesleyan Methodists, than to leave them in
ignorance. Mr. Warner, the chief justice,
conveyed a communication to this effect to the
Wesleyan Methodist missionaries then resident
at Trinidad, the Rev. Mr. Goy and the Rev.
Mr. Stephenson. The negroes were told that
the Methodists were to preach to them next
Sunday in the gallery of the house, where there
was room enough for them, without exposure
to the sun. Mr. Goy came to Laurel-Hill on
the Saturday evening, and remained with us
until after morning service on the Sunday.
There was a very fair attendance of the
negroes, and they behaved very quietly: J. and
one or two Roman Catholics crossed themselves
very devoutly. I know not whether Mr. Goy
observed this. I think, before our departure,
Mr. Goy was three times, or it might be more,
and Mr. Stephenson once or twice, at Laurel-
WEST INDIES.
221
Hill; and my memorandum after each visit
was, that they expressed themselves decidedly
pleased by the attention of the negroes, and in
as far as was in our power we received these
gentlemen with hospitality and good-will, and
with every sincere wish that they might do
good. I told Mr. Goy the plan of instruction
I had pursued, and how it had been at last
rendered nugatory, owing to the minds of those
negroes who were of indifferent and bad cha-
racter, having been made unsettled by the
events that had taken place in England; while
those who were of good character had been
intimidated by others, from shewing any wish
to hear instruction from their master. I added,
"(
we are most unjustly blamed for not instruct-
ing our negroes; and the espionage that is
going on in the colonies, is sapping the foun
dation of every proper tie between the master
and the negro." Mr. G. said, "It is a very
difficult business; but I can assure you, our
society don't employ spies." I said,
I said, "You
may depend upon it, we had no suspicion you
L 2
222
WEST INDIES.
were spies, or we would never have requested
you to instruct the negroes." Spies," added
he," are what our society would never permit."
"But you are aware,” I said,
"that there are
spies, and that we are altogether misrepresented
and calumniated by those spies." "That there
is no doubt of," said he; "but I can assure
you, we are not such."
Some few negroes, both slave and free,
attended these meetings from neighbouring
estates; and although I made thorough in-
quiry, I could hear of no opposition to the
preaching of the Methodists, excepting on one
estate, where I was told the proprietor ordered
the negroes not to attend: but though I might
regret this, yet it was only a step consistent
with their religious belief. The family were
Roman Catholics; and it ought to be recol-
lected, that no consistent Roman Catholic
could have acted otherwise. The negroes of
the estate too, I was told by two of them, and
by a respectable free woman who lived in the
neighbourhood, were all Roman Catholics, or
at least ostensibly so.
"C
WEST INDIES.
223
I asked one or two of the most intelligent of
our people, after Mr. Goy had gone, if they
understood what they had heard. They said
they did. I asked them if they could tell me
any one thing they had heard; but they could
not. Now Mr. Goy's sermon was about as
plain as any sermon could be, to be a sermon
at all, and this was decidedly the nature of
every sermon preached to them. I never, how-
ever, found that one of them, even the most
intelligent, had gained one idea; and when I
compare this with the great ignorance I found
among negroes in St. Vincent, who had at-
tended the Methodist chapel for years, I think
I am justified in saying, that beyond encou-
raging the habit of attending divine service—
as regards the real conversion of the negroes--
it is nearly a hopeless method of instruction.
I by no means despise the endeavour to esta-
blish a habit of regularly attending divine
service; I only mean to say, after having for so
many years daily studied the negro character,
as well as instructed them, that in my belief, a
224
WEST INDIES.
sermon preached in Arabic would be just as
efficacious as in English. Mr. Goy left the
Wesleyan Methodist Catechism, for the in-
struction of those who might be willing to learn,
with the overseer, that he might teach them.
Mr. Goy did not mention this to us, but the
overseer did, and we of course did not interfere
with his plan; but I perused the catechism
which Mr. Short, the overseer, was requested
to teach them, and however good it may be, I
am satisfied the answers were altogether above
the capacity of any, even the best educated,
European child of seven years old. I make no
doubt, that even negro children might learn to
repeat the whole of it; but however well such
reports of progress look in print, they appear to
me worth nothing as regards the real instruction
of the negro; and it seems strange that even at
the present day, so very few people are at all
aware of the mischief that PARROT TEACHING
produces. About two years ago, I happened
to meet with an European child, of nearly eight
years old—a very sharp little girl for her age.
WEST INDIES.
225
She attended a day school, where she learnt
English, French, writing, and sewing. On
Sunday she attended a Methodist school: her
memory was crammed full; it was absolutely
beyond belief, the number of hymns and pas-
sages of Scripture which this child could repeat,
and very correctly too. One of my family,
however, suspected that the understanding of
the child did not accompany all this showy
work, and asked this simple question-" My
dear, who do you mean when you say, 'Our
Father which art in heaven?"" Her answer
was, 'It is my papa, who died last year, and
you know he is in heaven." No child could
have been more in earnest. Dr. Watts's First
catechism answers very well with European
Children, but I found even that by no means
adapted to the capacity of negroes, who, unless
they be instructed by a person who has a very
thorough knowledge of their customs, manners,
and patois, will make but very little advance-
ment.
It is to me impossible to conceive that any
226
WEST INDIES.
one ever could have conveyed the first elements
of religious instruction to the negroes half so
well as the master, who, in consequence of his
daily intercourse with them, knows the indi-
vidual character and temper of each, and
can suit his instructions to their individual
capacities, with a power and a success, that no
stranger could effect. It may be said—What
success had I? The answer is, that at first, in
St. Vincent, there was improvement; but from
the time the Commissioners of Inquiry arrived,
there seemed to be a complete check put to our
power of giving instruction-not that the Com-
missioners were at all to blame; it was but the
natural result of an attempt at such hasty
legislation. One object occupied the majority,
and excluded all wish to improve-and that
one object was, "to be free, and sit down
softly." Indeed, several St. Vincent negroes
told me, "that Massa King George was to gie
dem all da plantations; for widout dat, dey no
care for free." More than once in Trinidad,
talking to free negroes, and asking them if
WEST INDIES.
227
they were better off now than when they were
slaves, they allowed they were not richer, but
always ended by saying, "but misses, you
know, now we vorck if we like, we no vorck if
we no like, and we neber rise in a morning."
A negro on a neighbouring estate, I think, The
Garden, having freed himself, and being asked
what his reason was, answered, "he would lie
ebery morning till ten o'clock now." I cannot
help thinking that had a thorough system of
instruction and civilization been attended to,
emancipation would have proved a very different
boon to the negro, from that which it is likely
to prove. No person, who, from his knowledge
of negro character, is an impartial and com-
petent witness, can think otherwise, than that
personal liberty, coupled with any necessity to
go to work at six o'clock in the morning, will
be laughed at by the negro; and unenlightened,
and uncivilised as he is, I do not fear to say
that his cunning will be more than a match for
all the laws that may ever emanate from the
collective wisdom of the British parliament.
L3
228
WEST INDIES.
But let me not make an assertion without at
least endeavouring to support it, by bringing
the results of experience on colonial cultivation
and negro character, to bear upon it.
Suppose then, as is now proposed, that the
negro is to work three-fourths of his time for
the master, and the rest for himself; what is
the master to do, if it should so happen that
the negro is always sick on the master's days,
and always well on his own? The theorist may
make two answers to this, he may say, he
must be made to work for the master on his
own days. What then is to become of his
grounds?—for if the master take his own days
from him, then his grounds go back in cultiva-
tion, and he has no vegetables to eat, and none
to sell. Or he may answer, the negroes must
be made to work.-Now, I cannot comprehend
how this is to be done; for in the West Indies,
if a negro run off to the woods, or the moun-
tains, where, according to his present partial
state of civilization, he can make himself quite
happy, I am very sure that the exertions of the
WEST INDIES.
229
best and cleverest police would be utterly
useless. A negro can run like a deer, and
hold on by his feet, as well by as his hands, on
the most precipitous paths, and he knows
very well his superiority over any European in
all such feats.
It is also supposed, that he ought to be able
to claim a weekly payment in lieu of food and
clothing, if he chooses. Now there are two
objections to this: the planters have but little
money, and can with difficulty command the
common necessaries of life for their families,-
it is indeed only by means of barter with a
merchant in town, that they can have either
butter, salt beef and pork, tea, or a little wine,
which is by no means the daily beverage of
every planter. And who that knows any thing
of negroes could believe, when they made such
a claim, that they would abandon their grounds;
or, if they did abandon them, of what value
would the grounds be to the master, without
labourers to cultivate them? People at home
talk of negro provision-grounds, as if they were
230
WEST INDIES.
>
something like the cabbage gardens of English
labourers: do they know the extent of those
grounds, and the value of their produce? Until
they do, they are speaking upon a subject of
which they are utterly disqualified by ignorance
from giving an opinion. I have walked over
the negro grounds of many estates; and can
assure my readers, that some negroes possess
grounds which would be an object of no small
ambition to many in Britain as a small farm;
and any man possessing, rent free, the grounds
that
every negro may possess, would be reckoned
at home, a man in very comfortable, and even
independent circumstances.
In January, 1832, on Laurel-Hill, few negroes
had under six acres in fine cultivation, producing
two crops a year. Now Laurel-Hill is a small
estate, and the average extent of negro grounds
may fairly be taken considerably above this
extent. M., the driver on our estate, had
twenty acres of his own!! I do not mean to
say this man cultivated all this ground himself
-he was rather too important a person to
WEST INDIES.
231
labour much with his own hands; but his wife
worked a little, his son a good deal, and for the
rest, he hired labourers: and labourers hired by
negroes, are generally negroes belonging to the
same estate, and are almost always paid in
produce.
Negroes know the certain return from their
grounds too well to grudge paying others, in
produce, in order to set their work forward.
Every good negro has good grounds, and every
bad negro indifferently cultivated grounds,—so
much so, that the master is often obliged to
send up a good negro in order to give help in
the grounds of a bad one, that he may not by
his indolence be in want of provisions. I lay it
down as an incontrovertible fact, to which one
may arrive by the mere knowledge of negro
character, but which has besides been proved
by experience, that in the present state of negro
civilization all contracts between master and
slave, whether entered into voluntarily, or
forced by act of parliament, are absurd, and
incapable of being depended upon. I suppose
13
232
WEST INDIES.
*]
there is hardly an instance of a master who
gave a negro his freedom upon part payment of
his appraised value, whoever got the remainder
of the sum. I made many enquiries, but I
could not hear of one. Several good negroes
have paid for their freedom, the whole sum at
once; but I again assert, that all contracts with
negroes in their present state of civilization are
out of the question, as regards their fulfilment
by the negro. I do not believe, therefore, that
any negro would give up his grounds for any
stipulated sum; and as to his clothing, there
are very many who would feel no objection to
go without clothing, except upon gala days, or
in cold weather; and I am very certain they
never would spend any part of their wages upon
common working clothes.
With respect to the wages which might be
appointed by law to negroes, they know very
well what is the value of a day's labour: I
have tried the experiment frequently, but never
could get one of our people to work for me
under a dollar a day. More than once I have
WEST INDIES.
233
wished work finished on a day that was their
own, and have paid them their dollar for it.
But a head tradesman will not work under a
Spanish dollar: and neither is the request out
of the way, in his own grounds, the negro's
labour is well worth that to him; and in certain
seasons it is worth more. Negroes are most
tenacious of their time and labour. I never
found that I could get an extra hour from a
domestic without paying for it.
The utmost vigilance, as regards self-interest,
is not at all at variance with the lowest state of
civilization. Should any one consider my state-
ments to be contradictory to each other, I can
only say, that I state facts; and if those who
are inclined to cavil, would go and pass as many
years as I did in observing minutely-not one
set of people, but the whole population—they
would come to the same conclusion that I have
come to,—viz., that nominal freedom is a thing
which one nation may give to another by a
stroke of a pen; but that mental freedom and
real civilization will ever be a slow process;
234
WEST INDIES.
and I will say, moreover, it is a process which,
since 1824, has been anything but wisely
proceeded with in the West Indies.
Up to 1824, I never could perceive among
the colonists any prejudice against Wesleyan
Methodist missionaries; in many cases I ob-
served decidedly the reverse. I did, indeed,
hear at all times a general regret that the
church of England had not attended to the
spiritual instruction of the West India colonies
as she ought; nor am I aware of any apology
she can offer. I had heard men in authority
speak well of the missionaries in St. Vincent;
nor ever, until that year, did I hear one word
said implying a suspicion that they had any
secret influence over the minds of the negroes.
It was upon occasion of Sir Charles Brisbane,
the then governor of St. Vincent, making some
remark opposed to what I had ever heard of
the Methodists, that I said, "I thought your
excellency had a good opinion of them, and
that you had subscribed to their society."-
"So I did," answered his excellency: "one
WEST INDIES.
235
must often hold a candle to the devil in this
world." I replied, "I thought it was much
better never to do so; for though I greatly
preferred the negroes being instructed by Me-
thodists, to their receiving no instruction at all,
yet I did not see that those ought to subscribe
to a society, who felt there was much in it they
could not approve of." Sir Charles shook his
head, as much as to say, that may be all very
fine talk; and he added, "I'll tell you what,-
if there was a disturbance in the island, the
Methodists would have more power than you
are aware of." I answered that I hoped they
would employ it judiciously. "Well, then,”
said his excellency, "don't you see, that it is
very necessary to keep them in good humour,
and give them a subscription."
When Mr. Goy came upon Laurel-Hill
estate, I asked him if he had met with much
opposition to his labour in the West Indies.
He said, "By no means so." I replied, that
I was glad to hear him say so, for the opinion
in England was, that the Methodists were
""
236
WEST INDIES.
much persecuted.
"' I
suppose,” said Mr. C.,
"that you have occasionally fallen in with
some gruff-enough managers or overseers.'
"No, Sir," was the instant reply. "I have
been nearly seven years now in the colonies,
and in all that time I have not encountered
the slightest incivility from any one of the
white population; and from many, I have
received great kindness and hospitality.
I
have had my difficulties in instructing the
negroes, but, upon the whole, I like my labour
in the West Indies; and I am sure I can say
we are much more kindly treated, and expe-
rience far less opposition, than in our labour in
England." I said, “I am happy to hear you
say so I hope when you go home, Mr. Goy,
you will tell your opinion upon those subjects."
"You can do so, too," said he. I replied, "I
both can and will; but, in your character as a
missionary, you will meet belief, where my
testimony would perhaps be disregarded."
Although I had then no intention of ever
writing for the public, I thought the conver-
WEST INDIES.
237
sation so important, that I committed it to
writing, verbatim, on the day it occurred. In-
deed, up to the period of my leaving Laurel-
Hill, I thought the Methodist missionaries well
intentioned, and had not an idea that any of
them professed one set of sentiments on one
side of the Atlantic, and the reverse on the
other. Mr. Goy talked to me with horror of
the sad state of ignorance in St. Domingo; and
through him alone were we informed that they
had undergone a most severe persecution in
that free island, and had been stoned, impri-
soned, and had their very lives put in danger.
I have kept notes of some conversations with
the Methodist missionaries, upon other topics
equally important: none more so than marriage
among negroes, which is said to be so much
discouraged by the planters. I recollect saying
to Mr. Stephenson (also a missionary) that an
idea seemed common at home, that the planters
discouraged negro marriages, than which
nothing could be more false. I added, "the
negroes themselves very often object to it;"
Į
Cop
238
WEST INDIES.
and I mentioned some of those anecdotes which
I have already related. Mr. S. said, "By the
by, the driver, I believe, wishes to be married."
I said, "Which of his wives does he mean to
marry?of course you are aware he has two-
one with whom he has lived fifteen years: she
is here; and they have a son, a fine lad, about
twelve. The other wife is a negress on an
estate, I think, in Diego Martin Valley; she is
a young woman.
He is, strange as it may
seem, exceedingly kind to both wives: last
Christmas he brought up his Diego Martin
wife, and introduced her to me: she spent one
or two days at that time in the house with his
old wife; and he gave them each new dresses
of the same kind, and the wives never had a
quarrel. But," I added, " for all that, he ought
not to marry, and retain a married and an un-
married wife." Mr. S. said, "I was not at
all aware of this circumstance." Now I do not
at all doubt that Mr. S. was ignorant of the
circumstance; but this is what the planters
complain of that Methodists are grievously
WEST INDIES.
239
ignorant; and what is more, that they do not
wish for any information respecting the negro
but through the negroes themselves, or coloured
people. Mr. S. said, "We have married many
couples, and they always live together very
properly." I said, "Do you never find that
they consider the marriage ceremony only a tie,
which forbids the wife to leave them, and puts
her more under their power, particularly in
punishing her as they choose,—because she
cannot so easily run off as formerly?" and added,
"I wished they would all marry, did they fully
comprehend the solemn promises they give and
receive; but that I did not like their marrying
without this knowledge; and that encouraging
negroes to marry one wife, when we knew they
would still retain others, was only making bad
worse:" to which Mr. Stephenson made this
most important reply-" If we were only to
marry under such circumstances as that, what
would the society at home say?—they would
think we are doing nothing at all." I replied,
"( People at home know little or nothing of the
240
WEST INDIES.
people among whom you labour, or they could
not suppose such rapid benefits to result from
your labours, as appear to result from them."
Here the conversation dropped. In the
evening M., the driver mentioned by Mr. Ste-
phenson, as being desirous of marrying,—a
peculiarly intelligent, good negro, in their sense
of the expression,-came up to see his master,
about something he wished to know with refer-
ence to his duty early next morning. I said,
“Well, M., I am very happy to hear that you
have expressed a wish to be married; but
which of your wives do you purpose marrying?"
"D., me misses, she me oldest wife, and a very
good woman. "Yes, indeed she is, M.: and
D. is also willing, I hope, to marry you?"
"Yes, me misses."
"Now M.," said I, “you
are I hope not going to marry D., and keep
nevertheless your other wife at Diego Martin."
M. scratched his head, and seemed at a loss
what answer to make; but at last he said,
"Me misses, she be very good wife." I said,
"I do not doubt it, but God has commanded
""
WEST INDIES.
241
21
✓
that marriage is not lawful for any man who
keeps two wives. I should be very happy
indeed to see you marry, but only if you felt
willing to keep but one wife; for otherwise I
should not be teaching you the will of God, or
doing my duty by encouraging you to marry."
Upon Mr. C. adding something more respecting
the obligations of marriage-"Me see it," said
M., "me savey what you and misses say very
well, but me no knowed dat when me say me
marry; me will tink upon all dat." Thinking,
however, that M. might with great propriety
feel that in giving up his other wife, she might
find it a great loss, I said, "You know, M.,
you might very easily send something to your
other wife, by some other person than yourself;
but certainly, before marrying D., you ought to
see her, and tell her all this; and after you
have told her, and made up your mind, you
ought then not to visit her any more, for you
might perhaps forget your promises to D."
M. said, "Me misses, me tank you, and me
tink upon it:" but there is no doubt that this
242
WEST INDIES.
negro, at the very time that he expressed a
wish to marry one woman, purposed retaining
the other. From ignorance of negro customs
and character, and from ignorance of the actual
situation and intentions of the negro, the mis-
sionary would have married him; but I need
scarcely say, that such marriage would have
been no proof of his advancement, either in
morals or civilization. There can be no doubt
that many such cases as this have been reported
at home, as proving that the planters discou-
rage marriage among their negroes; but I think
I have shewn, by this one case, that there are
difficulties on every side, and to jump over
them, as the missionary would have done,
would have little mended matters. I confess
that in the case to which I have alluded, I
could not help feeling for M.'s youngest wife,
and I saw the tears stand in his eyes when he
spoke of her yet D. had been much longer
his wife; and I know he loved her, and made
her a good husband, and she was a mild, kind
It is exceedingly easy to say, he
creature.
WEST INDIES.
243
VOL. II.
ought to give up the younger wife and cling
to the elder; but the habits, feelings, and
opinions of the negro, are sad stumbling blocks
in the way of those who would act upon the
very best of precepts.
I have invariably found that the Methodists
elude the communication of all information
from the planter, who would point out to them
the individual character and circumstances of
his negroes; and which I think can only pro-
ceed from this,-that such information involves
them in difficulties as regards their labours,
and would necessarily shorten the list of con-
verts which they send home, and diminish the
assumed quantity of improvement. Where
they thus to disappoint the society, where
would the funds for the support of the mission-
aries come from? Much is heard in England
of the labours performed, and the hardships
endured by the missionaries in the West Indies.
I do not mean to say that the missionaries do
not labour; but I am sure their bodily and
mental fatigue is a bagatelle in comparison with
M
244
WEST INDIES.
that either of the professional men or the
planters of the colonies. They are comfortably
provided for; and it is quite right they should;
but it is more than ridiculous to talk of them,
as people talk of them in England—of their
persecutions and privations. Privations, in-
deed, as regards personal comfort, to a certain
extent, every one in a tropical climate must
undergo; but they undergo less of these than
any officer in His Majesty's service does in any
of the barracks I have seen in the West Indies;
and I am much mistaken if the pay of the mis-
sionary be not as good.
That Methodists have been often decidedly
opposed in the West Indies since 1825, there
can be doubt; but the whole fault rests with
themselves: had they acted a candid, straight-
forward part, they would have fared very
differently, but they have never come forward
and made one single honest, manly denial of
all the calumnies, spoken and published against
them one such avowal would have effected
more, than all the reiterated and accumulated
WEST INDIES.
245
assertions of the planters. I have had a thou-
sand examples of thus keeping apart from the
planter, and making all that is done, a mystery
to him whom, next to the negroes themselves,
it the most concerns. Though the missionaries
would rather have the countenance of the pro-
prietor, he must not presume to offer them any
advice, or give the least hint as to the conduct
or individual characters of the people: in short,
so long as a proprietor acts hospitably to the
missionaries, and remains a passive spectator
of all that is going on, they will be satisfied;
but if the proprietor or his wife, ask any direct
questions, or exercise the right of private judg-
ment, they must be prepared to receive in
return, nothing but silent contempt. As the
negroes both in St. Vincent and Trinidad had
differed, in the account they gave me regarding
the opinion of the Methodists upon dancing,
I stated this to Mr. Goy, telling him that some
of the negroes said the Methodists forbade
their communicants dancing at all; that others
said they only forbade the drum, and not the
Od
M 2
246
WEST INDIES.
fiddle dance; while others again said it was
only the African dances that were disapproved
of. I asked whether any of these accounts
were correct, but Mr. Goy, and afterwards
Mr. Stephenson, heard me in silence, and
made no answer of any kind.
I cannot but regret, in common with all who
have really given attention to the subject, that
the field is much occupied by men-many of
whom may be well-intentioned, but who are
so completely bound down to the interests of
the society they represent, and by party spirit,
that with all their good intentions they are
still doing essential harm. But let not the real
well-wisher to the negro despair; for there is
still ample room for the labourer; and I can
promise to all, who conduct themselves like
Christians and gentlemen, such a reception
among the planters as will give assurance of an
abundant reward.
WEST INDIES.
247
CHAPTER XXII.
A few words on a plan of negro instruction.
SOME system resembling our parish schools in
Scotland, would do most essential service in
the West Indies. It must be recollected, that
nearly the whole population of the white pro-
prietors of the West Indies, belongs either to
the Established church of England or Scot-
land; and that the feeling of confidence in
Dissenters, which once existed to a great ex-
tent in the West Indies, is now thoroughly
destroyed, and can never be restored. There-
fore no plan of instruction, where the teachers
are not to be bona fide members of one or other
of those Established Churches, will ever meet
248
WEST INDIES.
with encouragement from the planter; who has
already had sufficient experience of the little
confidence he ought to place in people, whose
personal interest is concerned in calumniating
him. Some difficulty would occur with Roman
Catholic proprietors; but I cannot see that we
could have any right to compel them to coun-
tenance Protestant instruction, farther than
this; that if the negroes chose to get Pro-
testant instruction, the proprietor should not
have power to hinder it.
I do not think any person of cool judgment,
and especially any one who has had colonial
experience, will ever expect much to be done
in the instruction of the elder negroes, beyond
what might be effected by personal exhortation
and explanation given familiarly, and in a great
measure delivered in their own patois, upon
the simple doctrines of the Bible; but with the
young, much might be done, and the sooner
some proper system be set on foot, the better.
I know that much difficulty will be found in
the outset, in obtaining the necessary steady
WEST INDIES.
249
attention from the young negro; without which
he cannot learn to read. But were the negro
children taught on Dr. Bell's system, in which
there is considerable room for emulation, I
should have no fear of success. Negro chil-
dren are full of life, and fond of show; we
must avail ourselves of all the national charac-
teristics, and turn them to a useful account.
I found the little I could do, in the way of
prizes, very useful; I had a fixed reward for
every one who told the exact truth,—even if it
were to confess a fault. I have frequent entries
in my memoranda to this effect-to A., for
speaking the truth, a bit. To B., for coming
up to get justice instead of fighting with C.,
half a bit; and so on. Little shewy medals,
attached to a shewy suspender, would I am
sure incite to learning and good conduct.
Quarterly public examinations, where progress
would be marked, by little prizes; such as they
would at first value—a trifling necklace to the
girls; a needle-book; balls of cotton; scissars,
or a head-handkerchief: while a knife; a nec-
250
WEST INDIES.
*
kerchief; or a piece of jean for a jacket, to the
good boys; would be all prizes greatly valued
by them.
When they could read distinctly,
books would be the best prizes; but it is to be
regretted, that there are so few suited for them;
indeed, I know of no entertaining little books
fitted for their perusal, without much alteration.
The greater part of European life and scenery,
is a dead letter to them; and though when
explained, they delight to hear of it; yet un-
explained, it conveys to them no idea. Even
European children in the West Indies feel this;
and I cannot give a better illustration than that
my own children, who could read well at four
years old, and almost had Mrs. Sherwood and
Miss Edgeworth's books by heart, besides
many other children's books; yet, so confused
were their ideas respecting things on this side
of the Atlantic, that when they arrived in Eng-
land the merest trifles excited their attention,
and puzzled and deceived them. They took
the handles of the bell-pulls for watches; and
were down on their knees, to smell the English
WEST INDIES.
251
roses on the Brussels carpet, on the floor of the
hotel we were in at Bristol. If such is the
European child, with every advantage; what
must be the confusion of ideas in a negro, who
reads in a book, adapted to European scenes
and ideas, such a multitude of things foreign
to him.
The slight similarity which exists between
West and East India customs and manners,
made Mrs. Sherwood's books more useful than
any others, particularly the "Ayah and Lady;
but even here much alteration was necessary.
When I read those stories, and introduced West
India names of anything, both the elder and
younger negroes would look delighted, and
say, we savey dat well, misses." Little stories,
religious and moral, yet entertaining, might
easily be written. They must be accommodated
to their understandings, and illustrative of their
manners and customs; with correct allusions to
the natural history of the islands. Books of
this description might be read to them with
great benefit, before they could read for them-
66
M 3
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WEST INDIES.
selves—making their hearing the story, a
reward to follow their attention to their reading
lesson. Negroes so taught throughout all our
colonies, would grow up very different from the
present middle-aged negro population. I do
conceive that without some such expedient as
that which I have ventured to hint at, the work
of instruction, to whatever hands it is confided,
will be tedious and unsatisfactory. Negro
children must be kept lively while instruction
goes on anything like prosy teaching, would
set them to sleep. Two hours in school each
day would be sufficient; and one teacher might
teach on one, two, or three estates; at least in
the greater number of cases. When the estates
were thickly settled, perhaps a central school
for all the children might be the most eligible
plan; and if they were too numerous to meet
all at once, so many hours might be given to
one set, and so many to another. The children
would require to be brought and taken from
school in regular order, by the person who has
the care of them in the vine gang; otherwise,
WEST INDIES.
253
they would run off and hide, fight, and commit
every sort of disorder. The superintendent of
the vine gang ought to report all good and bad
conduct to the schoolmaster, and he ought to
have the power of rewarding or punishing. I
recollect sketching the outline of this plan to
the Chief Justice Warner, one evening at Laurel-
Hill, and he was pleased to look upon it as
more practical and more likely to do real good,
than anything that had before been proposed.
But he added, “The good folks at home would
never second it; for it would not be rapid enough
for them." I recollect particularly, that he
quite agreed with us, in thinking emulation a
decided feature in the character of the negro;
and that honorary medals, to be bestowed by
the master, and worn by deserving negroes of
any age, would produce excellent results. Mr.
Warner knew negro character well; he had
had long and close experience, and his opinions
are therefore well entitled to attention. Had all
the money, subscribed to anti-slavery societies,
been bestowed upon a feasible plan of general
daddy
254
WEST INDIES.
colonial education, the negro would long ere
this have been ripe for the appreciation of
those privileges, which might have been con-
ferred without danger; and which would,
indeed, have been one link in the chain of
civilization. But it is not too late let party
spirit be forgotten; and let some far wiser head
than mine organize a society, or concoct a
system for the general education of the negro
population; but let there be the one restriction
I have alluded to, that the teachers be members
of the Established church. It must not be
supposed, that any such system could be put in
operation without large expenses. Living is
dear in the West Indies; and the teacher ought
to be sufficiently well bred, and well educated,
to entitle him to visit occasionally in the houses
of the planters; and his salary should be
sufficiently large, to enable him by his external
appearance and mode of life, to obtain the
respect of the negroes. He would no doubt
find difficulties; but I am sure he would have
much also to encourage him to go on.
WEST INDIES.
255
I know there are many planters in such a
state of poverty, that they could do nothing
to help in such a plan; but there are others,
who although greatly reduced, would I am con-
fident come forward. But those who could not
give money, might lend a mason or a carpenter,
&c. to assist in building the master's house
and school room. I would accept help, in
whatever shape it might be tendered ;—whether
in money, or labour, or wood. Service might
be performed on the sabbath, in the school-
room, if the station were distant from church
or chapel; for no advice or interference ought
to be used, to prevent the negro from attend-
ing what place of worship he might prefer,
be it the Episcopalian church, or a Roman
Catholic or Dissenting chapel; nor should any
allusions to distinction of sect be permitted.
Religious party spirit must be crushed, if good
is to be done; and the only power I would ask
is, that the master be allowed to compel every
child in health, to attend the school, instituted
by law, as well on Sunday as during the week.
256
WEST INDIES.
To teach the catechism of either the church of
England or Scotland, I think would be much
above the negro comprehension; besides, that
in the present posture of affairs, it would be in
all respects better, to teach a catechism that
would comprehend, in the shortest and simplest
form, the pure doctrines of the Bible, to which
no one who professes to be a Christian, could
possibly object to say amen. This is but a
very imperfect sketch of a plan of negro in-
struction; and my only apology for having
ventured to say one word upon the subject is,
the hope that it may rouse some one better
qualified than I am, and with a deeper know-
ledge of the subject, to propose a system from
which the greatest possible good may result.
WEST INDIES.
257
CHAPTER XXIII.
The agriculture of a sugar estate, as it bears upon
the question of free labour—Machinery—Worn-
out colonies—Trials of free labour on the estate—
Free labour in the Caraccas, Columbia, and in
St. Domingo.
WE shall, preparatory to some observations as
to the probability of making sugar by free
labour, take a glance at the agriculture of a
Trinidad estate. These observations will be
nere aptly enough introduced, inasmuch as it
is in Trinidad, that the experiment of free
labour has been tried and vaunted. The
agriculture of Trinidad differs considerably from
that of St. Vincent, and is applicable to many
of the larger and more fruitful colonies. Trini-
dad has many extensive valleys-little hill-side
cultivation. The land is rich, and often alluvial
258
WEST INDIES.
soil: the dews are so regular and so heavy,
that want of moisture is a rare complaint; while
a superabundance is more common. Holing
the ground for canes is therefore a different
process from what it is in St. Vincent. Mr. C.'s
first impression of Trinidad agriculture was,
that it was slovenly when compared to St.
Vincent's. The St. Vincent negroes, indeed,
quizzed Trinidad husbandry most unmercifully.
In the end of September, or beginning of
October, a piece was begun to be holed for
canes, and the St. Vincent plan was pursued.
The Trinidad negroes laughed at the plan,—for
even practical knowledge gives a feeling of
superiority to a negro. The canes were planted,
and certainly it looked like a garden,-it was
all so neat and regular. But a gentleman,
originally from Antigua, came to pay us a visit;
and his eye was at one caught by this cane-
piece: he said it was very pretty, but that it
would not do: and he was right. The wet low
land rotted the plants; the cane holes held the
rain like a mud pool, and the whole had to be
WEST INDIES.
259
undone. New plants were put in, and long
trenches cut, after the Trinidad fashion, that
the rain and the dews might be carried off
from the plants, and thus prevent their rotting.
The first weeding of canes in Trinidad is far
more tedious than in St. Vincent; the soil
being so rich, the crop of weeds is beyond
belief. But the second weeding is less operose;
because the great profusion of luxuriant leaves
of the cane, necessary to be stripped off and
laid on the soil, retards the second crop
of
weeds: whereas, in St. Vincent, the ground
being less fertile, fewer weeds arise the first
time; but on the second weeding, their growth
has not been so much retarded as in Trinidad,
because the St. Vincent cane has not such
luxuriant leaves, to be stripped off and laid on
the soil.
:
In St. Vincent, canes are generally three
times stripped in Trinidad, they are glad if
they can command hands to do it once: some
estates are so deficient of hands, that they
cannot strip at all. About four strikes of sugar
260
WEST INDIES.
ought to make a hogshead, of 1500 cwt.; in
St. Vincent it is usual to take off each strike in
from one hour and a-half to one hour and
three-quarters: the quicker it is done the better
is the sugar; but so watery is the cane juice of
Trinidad, from the amazingly rich soil, and the
greater moisture of the climate, that sometimes
it requires from five to six hours to take off one
strike. Here is a great accumulation of labour,
both to the negro and the stock; and a great
additional consumption of fuel; and a necessity
is also created for steady labour. After the
canes are ripe, the process of sugar-making
admits of no more, perhaps less delay, than the
wheat harvest in Britain. If left too long
uncut, the canes are, for that season, useless;
and if cut, they must not lie for more than
thirty-six or forty hours, or they become acid;
and it is then impossible to make sugar of them.
In that case it is necessary, great as the loss is,
to boil them into molasses; which are after-
wards distilled and made into rum.
It is evident, therefore, that no sugar could
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261
ever be made were there a fixed hour for
stopping the boiling; or if the planter had not
the uncontrolled command of the negro's labour.
The most experienced planter or negro cannot
tell, when he is grinding the canes, what
watery juice they exactly contain; but that
watery juice must be evaporated before he can
take the strike off. Those who represent the
season of sugar-making as a time of oppression
to the negro, must either be very ignorant, or
else very determined to misrepresent facts. It
is quite true that there is more work to do, but
it is a work that the negroes like. It is the
season of mirth and jollity; they look forward
to crop-time, (the West India harvest), and
speak of its getting nearer and nearer with joy,
not with dread: and it is an unanswerable fact,
that during crop-time the sick list diminishes s;
and such is the fun, and such the feasting upon
canes, hot and cold liquor, and new sugar, that
even the most obstináte skulkers at other times
are then much seldomer absent. The stock,
too, have much more work to perform; never-
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theless, they have plenty of cane-tops and
molasses, and they also get fat and healthy.
The master, the manager, and overseer, work
harder too; and they have no one to relieve
them and take their place: still I never heard
any complain. It was known to be a necessary
duty; and the general cheerfulness spread a
smiling aspect over us all. In Trinidad, as in
St. Vincent, there is a contest who is to cut
the last cane for the season; and there is a
dance at the conclusion, and the master sup-
plies the requisites for a merry-making.
It is a rare occurrence, when the boiling-
house is not shut up by ten o'clock at night.
The people, during sugar-making, are divided
into what are called spells; and those at work
at extra hours on Monday do not come on again.
till Thursday. It is of the utmost consequence
to get off the crop in dry weather; for the time
and labour required to boil sugar in showery
weather is most expensive; and the quality of
the sugar is much deteriorated.
Here, again, is demonstrated the absurdity
WEST INDIES.
263
of any division of time between the master and
negro; and the absolute necessity that the
labour of the one should be at the will of the
other, as regards time. The work of a cocoa
estate is nothing compared to that of a sugar
estate. The whole labour is performed in the
shade; but negroes prefer a sugar estate not-
withstanding. We had two negroes from a
cocoa estate, who came upon a sugar one at
their own request; and when a negro came
with a message from a cocoa estate to Laurel-
Hill, he said the very smell of the sugar was
delightful to him; and he was quite happy to
get liquor, hot or cold, to drink, and a bit of
sugar to take home.
I have often heard Mr. C. say to a negro,
after six o'clock, and when he had taken his
bundle of grass to the stock,-a duty which is
the concluding one of every day," Why are
you here in the boiling-house? you have
nothing to do here; go home and get your
supper, and go to bed, and take a good rest
against tomorrow."-" Massa," was the inva-
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،،
riable answer,
me roast me yam in da copper-
hole, and get some hot liquor." Then there
was the joke, the laugh, and the song going
round; and I often said that the boiling-house,
after regular work was over, reminded me of a
blacksmith's shop in a Scotch village, where all
the gossip of the day was sure to be retailed.
Sometimes, indeed, S.'s dignity was offended
by the familiar dialogues going on; and he
would turn round and tell them "to go out,
or not keep such noise dey."
The labour of the negroes was never such as
to prevent their having a dance at night,-and
really I cannot conceive of people who are over-
worked, preferring dancing to bed, and still
being robust, healthy, and happy. Where
there is really physical suffering it will easily
be seen; and the best and most wilely dis-
sembler cannot deceive one on this head.
Among all the negroes I have seen in towns,
and on estates, I never saw one deformed
person-old, young, or middle-aged. I never
saw or heard of an idiot, or any insane negro;
WEST INDIES.
265
a fact, I think, well worth recording. One of
our people was occasionally liable to a tacitur-
nity, that at times amounted to despondency.
He sometimes indulged in drinking to excess;
with this one fault excepted, he was a good
faithful negro. In 1832, without any assignable
cause, he committed suicide.
Much has been said, respecting the dogged
obstinacy of planters in preferring manual
labour to machinery. After, however, a resi-
dence of many years among planters, I have
found them wonderfully like other men. There
was very much which they wished they could
do in order to facilitate labour; but then, where
were the means? Planters are in no colony in
affluent circumstances. All their supplies must
be paid for from America and Britain; and six
per cent. is charged to the planter on all ad-
vances made for him;-charged too from the
day on which the order reaches the merchant.
Ready-money, consequently, is in fact a thing
that hardly a single planter possesses. With
respect to the plough, it is only in some
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colonies, and on some estates, that it could ever
be used. In St. Vincent, for example, the
greater part of the cultivation, and certainly
The
the best canes, are on steep hill sides.
little flat land there is, has never been suffi-
ciently stumped up to admit of a plough work-
ing; because there never were spare hands
enough to perform this laborious task. The
cane holes, however, can be made by the hoe;
and beautiful crops are raised. Indeed the
agriculture and excellent sugar of St. Vincent,
are well known to all who are conversant with
colonial affairs. Upon Mr. Greatheed's estate,
Colonel Caines, the late manager, made many
years ago, a very fair trial of the plough. The
proprietor sent one out, and an Englishman to
work it; for negroes there will not hear of such
a thing. The piece of land was most favourable
for the attempt; it lay perfectly level, and was
freer from all obstacles than almost any other
piece of land in the island. Four oxen were
put in, but they were found not sufficient.
Four mules were added; but neither would
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267
this do; and after all, the negroes were obliged
to return, and hole the ground regularly. Thus
all the trouble and expense went for nothing.
Unless the proprietors were rich enough to
stump their land clean, and cut drains on their
estates, ploughing will never answer. In Trini-
dad, could the estates be drained, there is
plenty of level land; but proper drains, faced
with mason-work, could only be formed at an
immense expense. Besides, it must be paid for
with ready money, as well as the labour of
stumping up the ground—an operation quite as
requisite in Trinidad as in St. Vincent. Had
the proprietors of Trinidad capital for this, the
plough, I do not doubt, would be most useful.
But latterly, planters have had neither money
nor credit.
A steam engine was introduced upon the
Eldorada estate in Trinidad; but I heard that
it disappointed the expectations formed of it.
The mill had been a cattle mill formerly, and
the steam engine was intended to reduce the
expense of so many cattle. However, it was
VOL. II.
N
268
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found upon trial, that the labour required from
the cattle or mules, in going for fuel to supply
the engine, was equal to that which the mill
had demanded from them. Much that is exel-
lent, and apparently easy in theory, is impossible
in practice; and I can assure my readers, that
however dogged they may consider the planter,
the negro is much more so. I hardly ever saw
a negro who could be coaxed not to do his work
in his own way; and I would ask any lady,
resident in the West Indies, if she ever could
even prevail upon her washerwoman-her own
slave-not to starch every article of her ward-
robe, to a degree that in England would render
many things unfit for use.
Even the pocket
handkerchief-all are condemned to wear it in
negro fashion." I never even heard of one
negro who, although civilly requested, would
comply with this one change from her " own
sweet will."
""
The truth is, planters would be very happy to
improve their estates, and use machinery, where
labour is so scarce and dear; but they have
WEST INDIES.
269
neither capital to make the improvements
necessary to ensure a fair trial of machinery,
nor money to purchase machines, and get out
European labourers to superintend them; and
thus, by degrees, conquer the antipathy which
negroes have to any change of system.
I believe nothing would contribute so much
to the real comfort and welfare of the negroes,
in many of the islands, as the passing a Bill to
enable the proprietors of worn-out estates, in
the old islands, to remove to Trinidad with
their people. Let the people have the choice
fairly set before them, explaining to them the
capabilities and richness of soil, and abundance
of land in Trinidad; and I know very well
there would be few negroes who would not be
delighted beyond measure at such a change.
Trinidad has never been surveyed throughout:
there are immense tracks of level land,-rich
alluvial soil, unappropriated: and does it con-
sist with common reason, to tie men down to a
worn-out estate, such as many are in the small
islands, where, with ten times the labour requisite
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270
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in Trinidad, and with manure too, the same
produce cannot be obtained, as with the most
trifling labour, and with no manure for several
crops, may be obtained in Trinidad. The
people whom we took to Trinidad, continue up
to this hour, to bless their master for the
change.
Let me now add a few words on the im-
portant subject of free labour-a subject, which
was forced upon our attention in Trinidad, not
only by the course of events in England, but by
the experiments which were going on around
us; and I may add, by the growing difficulty
which every planter experienced, in getting the
work of his estate performed by slave labour.
No one felt this difficulty more than the driver
M. He said the bulk of the people only
laughed at him, when he told them of their
idleness. The steadiness of this man, and some
of the other people, surprised me—and knowing
well his general intelligence, as regarded the
agriculture of the estate, I said to him one day,
M., what is it they want? "Why misses, dey
WEST INDIES.
271
say dey want liberty." Well, said I, I am sure
if they would work, as free men and women do
in England, it would be much better for the
master that they were free; do you think they
would do so? "Dat is a very difficult question
misses." I know it is; but suppose M., a
master were to say, Your house is worth so
much a year, your garden, your grounds, and
your clothing;-" and misses," interrupted M.,
“the doctor and the physic?"—well M., and the
doctor and the physic,-suppose the master
says, instead of clothing, doctor and physic, I
will give you as many dollars as your friend
and my friend think them worth; and for the
rest, you have your house, your grounds, your
fire wood, and one week day every week. Do
you think M. they would work? "Misses, I
tink da good nigger would do, I tink so, but
me no say for sartain; but den, some o' dem
would not like pay for doctor or physic; dat
would be de worst ting; but da bad nigger
would not vorck, only a leetle bit, one day or
two day, den sit down softly. Oh misses, me
272
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know niggers better den Massa King George
do." I am thoroughly convinced that M.'s
judgment was a very correct one: with the
really good negro, a little, but not much trouble
would be found; though I think it probable
that the master would be obliged from humanity
still to pay for the doctor and the physic. As
to bad negroes, which now I suspect constitute
the majority, they would never do steady work;
and without steady work, it is utterly impracti-
cable to cultivate the cane or to make sugar.
What would any intelligent Northumberland or
Berwickshire farmer think, if he were told,
that out of every eight workmen, he could not
depend any one morning on seeing more than
two? How would he maintain his family; pay
his rent, taxes, and current expenditure for
cultivation? "T is needless to say he could not;
and without steady labourers, neither can a
planter maintain his family, pay his honourable
engagements to his merchant, his expense of
cultivation, and his colonial taxes.
Before we came upon Laurel-Hill, Peons
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(a Spanish word well known in Trinidad, and
meaning free labourers) were tried by Mr. Fitz-
gerald, the then manager; but he could get
no steady work from them.
-
Our kind friend and relative, Judge Warner,
was exceedingly anxious, and Mr. C. was no
less so, to make the fairest possible trial of free
labour. For even with the addition of the
St. Vincent people, whom we brought to Trini-
dad, there were not nearly enough of hands to
do justice to the estate. A good many peons
were therefore hired, at half a dollar per day;
they had always the same allowance of salt
fish as a negro, and three bottles of rum weekly.
They would not agree, unless paid in advance.
They asked, how could they eat, if they had
not their money and their allowances? In
short, "passave," as they drawl out the word
meaning, it is to them a matter of perfect
indifference whether they work for you or not.
They can go to the mountain, and work for
themselves; and they only work as a favour
for you: therefore you must accept of their
terms, or do without them.
;
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Mr. C. proposed the payments to be made
each evening; but no, they had stated their
terms, and "
passave" was again drawled out,
and so free labour began. I also was anxious
to have a garden made; and we hired for that
purpose, a free American negro—a very smart
clever-looking young man. All the labourers
we hired, were stout, able-bodied, healthy men.
On the Monday three dollars were paid to
them, and their fish and rum also were given.
They worked three successive days very indo-
lently; but they came back no more that week.
Next week they returned. They had been
"sick-very sick; could not work, and had
been obliged to consume all their money and
allowances; and could not possibly work unless
the weekly sum, the fish, and the rum, were
given them before they commenced. There
was no alternative; so given it was. They
worked two days-Monday and Tuesday; were
sick three-Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday;
and returned on the Saturday; when the estates'
people being in their grounds, their work was,
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comparatively speaking, of little use. This
went on for some time, until the expense of the
experiment rendered farther trial of it out of
the question. They did not care for being
dismissed; they had good grounds of their
own; for they often came back and sold me
poultry and vegetables. So little manual labour
indeed is requisite, in that genial climate and
rich soil, to produce two fine crops yearly of
fruit and vegetables, that I see no cause to
wonder at their preference of a very easy indo-
lent life, with less profit, than riches, and
steady daily labour.
I am convinced, that the love of labour,
whether in or out of doors, is not the cause
of our being well supplied in England with
labourers. Could our labourers live com-
fortably without it, they would, even in our
cold climate, shew some inclination for a life
exempt from steady labour: and this is indeed
proved among the collieries. But land and
food are not so easy to be had in Britain, as
in Trinadad; and it is the difference of local
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circumstances, as much as anything else, that
creates the great difficulty in the way of free
labour. To the planter, I conceive, the matter
is now of minor importance. The mischief
done to him cannot be repaired. The bond
of affection between the negro, whether free
or slave, and the planter, is for the present
generation destroyed; and however the state-
ment may be denied, it is certain there was a
strong bond of affection between many masters
and their slaves. It may perhaps in many
cases have been begun and founded on reci-
procity of interest; but it grew and increased :
and I have seen a slave, freed by the family,
serve afterwards for wages with an affection
that rarely occurs with servants in England.
I heard of many families in Trinidad, who,
from the difficulties brought upon them by the
rapid legislation at home, were reduced to the
greatest streights: for when the English mer-
chant sees things getting worse, and worse, he
fore-closes the mortgage-sells the estate, and
pays himself; and what is it to him, whether
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the negroes loose their old massa or not? I
heard of many such distressing cases in Trini-
dad; where the negroes went and regularly
supplied their old master, now in poverty, with
vegetables, fruit, and at times with poultry and
pork, from their own stock.
Many other planters besides ourselves tried
peons; but the result was ever the same—
they never worked for above half the value of
the sum and allowances asked by them; and
even that, they did as a favour.
I was rather inclined at first to boast of my
free American gardener; he was a neat, civil,
clever fellow. It is true he did not come to
work until nearly seven; but then the estates'
negroes were never all of them out before that
hour. I certainly did coax him, and keep him
in humour, and he worked five consecutive
days; but I suspect this was an event in
his life that never happened before or since.
The next week, one day and a half sufficed;
and then he said he was tired working garden
work. Finding he was accustomed to the still-
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house work, he was tried there; but he got
drunk, stole the rum, broke through the cellar
window, and had to be turned off the estate.
Some free labour-so called-has been per-
formed, in Trinidad, under the control of go-
vernment; but the labourers work under com-
pulsion; in so far that no planter could have
the same means of inducing them to work, as
the government has. Therefore no fair infer-
ence can be drawn from this circumstance.
Colombia and Caraccas have frequently been
brought forward too, as cases in support of
free labour; but, to the shame of the mother
country, who neglected altogether to send pro-
per religious instructors to her negro population,
does this example also fail: for, however some
Protestants may choose to smile at aught that
savours of Popery, I can tell them, that though
Catholics do not teach their slaves to read, yet
they most conscientiously teach them, by means
of missionaries sent for the purpose, to fear
God—to behave honestly, soberly, and respect-
fully to their masters; and to be industrious.
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The negroes of Caraccas and Colombia are,
therefore, a far more instructed population, as
regards moral duties; and consequently more
likely to act as free men ought.
I had much conversation on the subject of
free labour with a Spanish gentleman, who
knew Trinidad agriculture well; and who paid
a visit of some duration to the Caraccas, while
we were in Trinidad. Nor was I astonished at
what I learned from him; for I had myself
ever found the even nominal Roman Catholic
negro, much better disposed and more attentive
to his duties, than those of other persuasions.
In 1830, I had the pleasure of meeting a
gentleman, a proprietor in St. Domingo. Upon
asking him how he got free labourers to make
sugar; he said, ""T is nearly impossible; I
lose the half of my crop every year. They
come two days, and cut and grind; then off
they go-the cane juice of course ferments, and
has to be thrown out. Weeding is nearly out
of the question. Could you see, first a Jamaica
estate, and then a St. Domingo one; you would
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#
think the latter a caricature." These words I
noted down. The quality of the sugar, he
said, was very bad; and one dared not shew
the negroes in what respect the work was
wrong; for in that case they immediately left
you in the lurch. I inquired if missionaries
were well treated there, in consequence of the
freedom of their government?
"Quite the
reverse," he said: "Methodists, and all sects
are persecuted: it cannot be said there is any
religion in the island." I asked also respect-
ing the morals of the negro upper ranks of
society in St. Domingo, comparatively with
those of the white population of the British
colonies? The answer was most unfavourable
to St. Domingo. This gentleman assured me,
that the reputed great increase of population in
St. Domingo was a subject he had personally
examined with care; and that the statement
was wilfully incorrect, and altogether a delusion.
The gentleman I refer to, has no British colo-
nial property, nor has any connexions engaged in
it; but he had resided in Jamaica nearly twenty
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years, and therefore was able to judge of the
likelihood of free labour ever producing sugar,
in the sume quantity or quality, as by slave
labour.
I certainly do not believe that the present
generation of negroes will ever make fine sugar,
to any amount, unless by compulsory labour,
which is no longer free labour; and which I
really do not see how government could enforce.
But although the present time is lost, and the
present proprietors, to a great extent, ruined;
and although the commercial interests of Great
Britain may yet, in respect of her colonies, have
to suffer a blow that many people dare scarcely
think of; yet I entertain no doubt that, by a
wise, and rational, and temperate course, the
colonies might, at some period, be enabled to
send forth a negro population, much superior
to any of the present race of free negroes, in
any part of the globe. But unless Britain be
content but to sow the seed, and leave the
harvest to be reaped by others, she can do
nothing. Impatience will destroy the future.
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Let me add a single word upon the compen-
sation to be offered to the planters. If, as
many assert, negroes will make sugar as well
by free as by slave labour; then it is evident
that those people consider the whole negro
population to have made an almost miraculous
advance in civilization and religion, since 1823.
At that time, they only proposed such amelio-
ration and instruction to be given, as should fit
them for emancipation. Therefore if, as they
say, they are now fit for emancipation, it proves
that they consider that the measures devised for
the amelioration of the state of slavery, must
have been wisely acted upon by the colonial
legislatures and slave proprietors; since in nine
years it has fitted a population of 800,000
slaves for freedom. But if they are fit for free-
dom, they of course will work like freemen-
making a fair allowance for climate and soil;
and if it be certain they will do so, upon what
principle do they propose to give compensation?
I am sure a free labourer who would work five
consecutive days, every week he is in health,
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would be a profit and not a loss to his master.
But the fact is, it is well known that the ma-
jority will not work steadily, as free labourers;
and that many will not work at all; and there-
fore it is proposed to grant compensation for a
loss-the amount of which no proprietor can tell.
It is, in fact, a point dependent upon an experi-
ment which is yet to be tried: and sure am I,
if the West India proprietors require compen-
sation-as every honest impartial man must
allow they do no less is compensation in jus-
tice required to be voted to the English mer-
chants, ship owners, manufacturers, and traders;
all of whom will be affected by whatever di-
minishes the quantity of colonial produce.
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CHAPTER XXIV.
Negro recreations-Field sports-Description of
feats-Branding of negroes—A negro song.
I have already, when speaking of the negro
population in the first volume of this work,
treated upon negro recreations. On looking
back to these slight notices, I find that I have
yet wherewithal to fill a short chapter upon this
subject; which, besides being an interesting
one, is not without its importance in devising a
plan of instruction and civilization for the
negroes. The habits of a people, in their hours
of relaxation, may not be barren of a lesson.
It may almost be said, that negro recreation
is comprised in the one word, dancing. I have
spoken of the entertainments given by negroes,
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and of the handsome style in which they
provide refreshments: but as an every day
amusement, the dance is not accompanied by
supper, or refreshments; and on these occasions
there is little other music than the drum,-
which is a barrel, having the top covered with
sheep-skin, and tightly fastened down.
Christmas and Easter are the two grand sea-
sons of negro recreation. Before speaking of
the feats of these gala days, let me just notice
another recreation of the negro; not an every
day, or universal amusement, like dancing,—
but one in which he frequently indulges; more,
however, from the love of gain, than from the
greater pleasure it affords him. I allude to
field sports-shooting and running down game.
Among the wild animals most commonly the
subject of negro prowess are, the ramier, the
tourterello, the perdrix, the wild boar, the lap,
and the wild deer, all of which are abundant.
The wild boar and the lap of Trinidad are ex-
cellent; the deer is, however, greatly inferior to
the venison of England or Scotland. I have
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seen the wild deer so abundant at Laurel-Hill,
that, on one occasion, I remember one of them
having put its antlers in at the window. They
are not the light, graceful, elegant creatures,
one sees in the parks of the nobility and gentry
at home-on the contrary, they are tumble
down, awkward, calf-looking animals. When
a deer is caught, upon a moderate sized estate,
which sometimes occurs twice in a week, the
person who catches it, sends up a quarter to
the master; and sells, or makes use of the rest
as he pleases. They also catch the armadillo,
and the agouti; both of which are excellent for
the table. The armadillo is as white and
delicate as a chicken; the agouti very much
resembles the hare. In some parts of Trinidad
there are wild turkeys, which are considered a
great delicacy. All those animals are often
caught at night; and in a moonlight night,
some one or other of the negroes is always on
the look-out. Excepting deer, the master
always pays for game to the negro who catches
it. I paid a quarter dollar for an agouti, and
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half a dollar for an armadillo; for a lap, two
bits per lb.; and for wild boar the same. Tour-
terello, ramiers, and perdrix, from a dollar to a
dollar and a half per couple.
The vulture is very common in Trinidad. In
town, there is a heavy fine for any one guilty of
shooting them-so useful are they in devouring
carrion. In the country the negroes occasionally
have a shot at them, as they are very destructive
to their poultry. They are black-speckled, and
about the size of a domestic turkey; they look
magnificent birds when soaring in the air. The
king of the corbeaus is, I believe, a splendid
bird; larger than the common corbeau, and of
pure white, with a fine crest. I never saw one,
nor are they common; but one was shot not
very far from us, in the high grounds. Field
sports, therefore, such as every colony affords,
are one of the negro recreations.
Negroes have an inclination for gambling;
and pitch and toss is a game for which they
have an early predilection; but which I always
tried to discourage. Sitting outside their doors,
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in the fine nights of a tropical climate,-cook-
ing, and eating their suppers, telling stories,
and singing songs, is also a common negro
recreation.
The children, besides dancing, have many
games; some of which have a resemblance to
those of Britain. "Through-the-needle-eye,
boy," I found very common; also "French and
English," and a game resembling "The hounds
and the hare," which all little masters and
misses in Trinidad know by the name of " I'm
fishing, I'm fishing all night, and what did I
catch but a groupper;"-a handkerchief is
dropt at the word groupper, and the chase
begins.
Let me return to the festival season, and its
galas. The first Christmas I was at Laurel-
Hill, I had an invitation to go and see a ball
given by F., as a return from the St. Vincent
people, for the civilities of those of Laurel-Hill,
upon their arrival on the estate. We had a
cold dinner at three o'clock, that our negroes
might have the sole use of our kitchen and oven;
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which were soon filled with good things-hot
and cold roast fowls, pork roasted and soused,
and plenty of pies, both of meat and of fruit;
cakes from St. Josephs, and fruit in every
variety. Mr. C. gave them some wine and
porter; besides which, they had bought some.
I went about nine o'clock, and found them all
well dressed. The prevailing costume was
thin muslin, and some had coloured slips on.
Shoes were not universal; but many had hand-
some necklaces and ear-rings. Their head
handkerchiefs were gracefully put on; and the
whole was managed with an attention to polite-
ness and decorum, that was certainly very
creditable. The music consisted of four female
singers, one drum, and three women with
calibashes hollowed out, so that a few stones
may be put in them; this they flourish up and
down, and rattle in the same way as a tam-
borine. There was no drinking or fighting;
they supped very late, and kept it up until
near sun-rise; and danced the next night, as
long, and as merrily elsewhere. I recollect one
Gui
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Christmas morning, I was awoke just as day
dawned, by the sound of many merry voices,
young and old, wishing massa and misses a
good Christmas. We got up and dressed as
quickly as possible, to return the compliment,
and found upwards of twenty negroes-both
Laurel-Hill and St. Vincent people. When we
came to the door, they all shook hands with us;
some made long speeches, full of good wishes;
and one female negro expressed what she no
doubt considered the best wish of all. She
meant that her master should enjoy a good old
age; but she expressed it by saying, "Me
massa, me hope you live long, very long; me
hope you live to bury all your pic-a-ninnies."
Songs and dances followed: the songs of their
own composition, and full of good wishes for a
good crop and good sugar.
The giving out the Christmas allowances is
a very merry scene: they flour each other's
black faces and curly hair, and call out, "look
at he white face! and he white wig!"-with
many other jokes of their own. On Christmas
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eve, or rather from noon the day preceding
Christmas, nothing is done but to bring the
grass for the stock-all is bustle and prepara-
tion; and this is continued until the evening
of Christmas-day, which always terminates in
a dance. About eleven in the morning, a party
of negroes from Paradise, the adjoining estate,
came to wish us a good Christmas. They had
two fiddlers, whose hats and fiddles were deco-
rated with many-coloured ribbons. They said
they wished to come and play good Christmas
to the "young misses." They were very nicely
dressed, in clean white shirts, trowsers and
jackets. We told them to come back and see
us on New Year's Day; as we wished now to
be quiet, and read the service for Christmas-
day. They went away very good humouredly,
and returned on New Year's Day; and pleased
and entertained us with their songs and merri-
ment. The children's governess and I had been
engaged some days previous to Christmas, in
trimming their dresses; and every spare ribbon
at Laurel-Hill being called into service, I had
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got out a fresh supply from Belmont, besides
artificial flowers, which looked very gay in the
hats of the dandies. Indeed, there were some
who came up not an hour before the dance
commenced to have their "hats drest." We
had to be our own servants on that day; for
the negroes were too happy, and far too busy
in cooking and dressing, to recollect that massa
or misses had either to eat or drink. But
though we had no Christmas dinner, in the
English sense of the word, we had nevertheless
a very merry Christmas; and to see so many
of our fellow creatures dependent upon us, all
rejoicing around us, was worth all the Christ-
mas geese and plum-puddings that ever were
set down. It was a busy and cheerful scene
all day, to see the women hurrying to and from
the river with their pails, aad often throwing
the water over each other, and laughing till the
woods rung. The supper, as usual, consisted
of pork, fowls, puddings, pies, cakes, Madeira,
porter, rum, and lemonade. It was one of the
loveliest of evenings. No one who has not
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:
lived in a tropical climate, or at least in the
most southern parts of Europe, can fancy the
splendour of such a night. The moon was at
her full the sky was of the brightest blue,
and cloudless: there was just breeze enough to
make the cocoa-nut trees gently wave their
branches, and shew their silver tints. The
little stream glanced and vanished, as its turn-
ings and windings were exposed to the full
glare of the moon, or were shaded by the noble
forest trees, that studded the pasture.
The drum and the song were soon distinct;
and we shortly reached C.'s house, where, before
her door, a large space was left clear for the
dancers, surrounded on three sides by seats of
all kinds. The musicians were at one end.
They were engaged in a dance of eight persons
when we reached the spot; it was similar to a
French quadrille, and they were dancing to the
air of “Garcon Volage." Muslin was the
general dress of the young people, variously
trimmed with coloured satin and ribands, in
Some sported
rows; and sashes of the same.
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silk stockings, coloured kid shoes, and gilt
buckles: while others had handsome large
coral necklaces, or chains of gilt cut beads, and
necklaces to suit the blue trimmings of the
dress. One had a pink silk dress, and gauze
flounces; and many of the elderly women had
exceedingly shewy-coloured chintz petticoats, of
the best quality, but of patterns such as we use
in England for window-curtains. These had
white thick muslin bodices and sleeves,-some
trimmed with embroidery, some with lace: old
Mammy J., whom I have often mentioned, had
a profusion of Valenciennes edging: all had
necklaces and earrings, some of them of con-
siderable value. The universal neck handker-
chief was the Madras-the same as that worn
on the head: these handkerchiefs often cost
four and five Spanish dollars each. With
hardly an exception, these handkerchiefs were
put on in the most becoming style.
The men were all well dressed: the favourite
costume was Windsor-grey jean trowsers, em-
broidered down the seams; and flourished
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round the pockets with black or white cord.
Almost all had white jackets and shirts. Some
had a handkerchief round the neck-others had
not; but all had high collars, and all the collars
were as stiff as parchment: so particular were.
they, that when the heat and its consequences
made the collar droop, many retired and changed
them. The children were nice and neat; and
danced on the outside of the space which had
been enclosed.
Every grown person paid C. half a dollar for
coming to this dance; and for this they
had refreshments and supper. The supper is
not a sitting one;-each of the party lends
plates, dishes, and other requisites; and a
certain number cut up the meat, which is handed
round on plates. The men always give the
preference to the females, and wait upon them
before they themselves sup. Punch, sugar and
water, lemonade, and rum and water, are par-
taken of, during the dance; and the men go
into the house, and bring to their partners what
refreshments they choose-generally lemonade,
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or sugar and water: the wine and porter do not
appear until supper. C.'s house was well lit
up: the table was neatly laid out with refresh-
ments; and there was a clean tablecloth, and
dozens of glasses and tumblers of all sorts and
sizes. Many dances of all kinds were per-
formed among the most interesting, a pas de
deux, by the two oldest negroes present-the
driver and his wife. During this dance there
was the profoundest attention, and the deepest
silence. The supper took place at a late hour,
and they danced till sunrise. I ought not to
omit mentioning the two drummers; these men
get each half a dollar, their supper, and refresh-
ments and they well deserve their pay, for it
is a most fatiguing job. They are seated on
a bench, with their drum before them; and
such is the exertion requisite to beat the drum
in proper style, that they cannot bear the heat
of a jacket: they have the shirt turned down
over the shoulders, while two persons are
obliged to stand behind them with dry hand-
kerchiefs, with which they keep continually
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wiping off the profuse perspiration. It is con-
sidered a first-rate accomplishment to beat the
drum well; and a negro piques himself as much
upon this accomplishment, as a first-rate violin
player does in Europe.
Before finishing all I have to say respecting
the negro population, I must add one or two
observations, which would, indeed, have been
better introduced elsewhere, but which, rather
than omit altogether, I shall conclude this
chapter with. Much has been said as to slaves
being branded with hot irons, and being
punished by wearing heavy collars, weights,
and chains attached to them. To pass over
this, might be construed into a wish to blink at
one of the charges brought against the West
India proprietors. In common with others, I
once believed in those horrors; but I do
solemnly declare, that though looking into, and
daily investigating the treatment of slaves,-
walking over estates when no one expected me,
or suspected I had a thought beyond the en-
joyment of a walk, I never saw one slave
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branded; nor one working at any time with a
collar, or weight, upon any part of his or her
person. I saw, occasionally, a double series
of marks upon some African male negroes,-
marks very
similar to fresh scars left by cupping-
glasses. But I never saw them without inquir-
ing what was the cause of those marks; and
the negroes invariably told me they were their
own country marks. Some few like to have
their initials marked on their arms, and other
figures pricked: but this is a fancy of their
own. This is done by themselves for each other
often, and sometimes they get white sailors to
do it for them, with a needle and gunpowder,
and a little indigo. The native African mark
is admired by them: it is generally on the
centre of the chest; and I think I have seen
one or two such marks on the arm, and on the
cheek. They told me this tattooing was done
in Africa, when they were young, that the
marks might grow as they grew up. Creole
negroes never are tattooed.
Refractory negroes, in St. Vincent, when
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taken up and brought to gaol, are at times taken
out, attached to each other by a chain, and are
made to clean the streets. I am not certain,
but I think a tread-mill has since superseded
this. I recollect saying to Sir Charles Bris-
bane, that it was the only thing, as regarded
the punishment of negroes, that I saw any
cause to wish a change in. His Excellency of
course admitted that the spectacle was unplea-
sant; but referred me to the hulks, where, he
said, I should see the same; and that not a
punishment of only a few days, but for life. I
mention this to shew that I have throughout
never varied from representing things as I saw
them, and expressing the feelings excited by
what I saw also. I have seen some distressed
and diseased-looking negroes in St. Vincent;
but during two years and a half, their number
did not amount to ten. Every one of such
cases I inquired into; and with the exception
of one, they were all the result of personal mis-
conduct; and unconnected with the acts of the
planters. In the one case I except, the negro
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had been punished-certainly with over severity,
by a coloured master or mistress. It must be
recollected, that the majority of the coloured
population are less really educated than the
white population: their tempers are conse-
quently less under self-control, and they are
more accustomed to correct with severity.
In Trinidad I never saw one distressed negro,
though no doubt there must have been some
brought to misery by depravity; which, with
its consequences, cannot as far as I know, be
excluded from any state of society. I did,
indeed, see negroes whom I could tell were not
good people, with their clothes in tatters; but
these I knew to be incorrigible. Some of them
I had tried over and over again to win to civi-
lized habits; but found it impossible. Mr. C.,
who has been more or less in many of the
islands of the West Indies, has never, during
thirty years, seen but one branded negro; and
he was the property of a Frenchman in St.
Lucia.
Perhaps my readers may be gratified by a
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301
specimen of negro poetry; and with it, I shall
conclude this chapter. Soon after coming to
Laurel-Hill, and subsequently to the meditated
insurrection in Trinidad, I heard some of the
young negroes singing, as I thought, rather a
singular song. I asked J. to sing it for me;
he hesitated, and said, "Misses, it no good
song." Why do you sing it then?
"'Cause
misses, it a funny song, and me no mean bad
by it." At last I prevailed upon J. not only to
sing the song (which turned out to be an insur-
rectionary song), but to explain it. The words
are these—
Fire in da mountain,
Nobody for out him,
Take me daddy's bo tick (dan ly stick),
And make a monkey out him.
Chorus.
Poor John! nobody for out him, &c.
Go to de king's goal,
You'll find a doubloon dey;
Go to de king's goal,
You'll find a doubloon dey.
Chorus.
Poor John! noboby for out him, &c.
302
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The explanation of this song is, that when
the bad negroes wanted to do evil, they made
for a sign a fire on the hill-sides, to burn down
the canes. There is nobody up there, to put
out the fire; but as a sort of satire, the song
goes on to say, "take me daddy's bo tick,"
(daddy is a mere term of civility), take some
one's dandy stick, and tell the monkeys to
help to put out the fire among the canes for
John; (meaning John Bull). The chorus
means, that poor John has nobody to put out
the fire in the canes for him. Then when the
canes are burning, go to the goal, and seize the
money. The tune to which this is sung, is said
to be negro music; it is on a minor key, and
singularly resembles an incorrect edition of an
old Scotch tune, the name of which I do not
recollect.
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CHAPTER XXV.
White society in Trinidad-Orange grove-La
Reconnoissance and Count Lopinot—The climate;
variations; temperature; precautions necessary
for preserving health-Heat not the real annoy-
ance of a tropical climate-Insects and reptiles-
The sand fly, the chigre, snakes, tarantula, &c.—
Ants; the parasol ant, the chasseur ant-singular
relation-Preparations for leaving the colony—
Parting from our people.
In this concluding chapter, I shall throw toge-
ther all that I have not been able conveniently
to introduce elsewhere; particularly noticing
the subjects of climate and disease, which I
should certainly be culpable in passing over.
From Monday morning to Saturday night, the
planter's life, and the planter's wife's life, is a
304
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.
life of labour-and sometimes even Sunday has
to be broken in upon, by hearing the negro
quarrels, and adjusting them. It may be con-
ceived, therefore, that planters have little time
for social society. I did, however, partake of
some, which I cannot soon forget.
One of our near neighbours was the Honor-
able William Burnby, at Orange-Grove; and I
was much charmed by the aspect of this place:
not that I considered its natural beauties at all
comparable to Laurel-Hill, but it remains a
marvel to me to this day, how the remarkable
neatness of that place was effected by negro
labourers. The house stands in a park of some
extent, studded with fine natural wood, and
dotted with abundance of better-looking sheep
than one usually sees in the West Indies. But
when we speak of a park in the West Indies,
it must not be figured the delicate velvet turf of
an English park. Orange-Grove was, however,
a very charming place to look at, and a very
delightful place to visit.
Perhaps the place most worthy of mention, is
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305
La Reconnoisance, the property of Mr. Gillman.
There is a story almost of romance connected
with the first settlement of this estate, which
renders it a very interesting spot, independent
of its matchless natural beauty. Count Lopinot
was the proprietor of an estate in St. Domingo:
when the troubles broke out in that colony, he
fled with his family, to save his life, and came
to Trinidad. The whole of his negroes volun-
tarily followed him; and a hospitable planter
in Jaconigua, received him and all his people
upon his estate. The Count made an applica-
tion to the colonial government for a grant of
land,—his negroes having declared their only
wish was to serve him, and to live and die with
him. Count Lopinot was allowed to select that
situation which pleased him best; and he
wandered up on the high grounds behind
Laurel-Hill, taking his negroes with him to cut
their way through passes, then for the first
time trodden by man. After climbing the most
precipitous paths, the Count found on the
mountain, a spot precisely to his mind,-plenty
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of level, rich land, and excellent water in great
abundance. It was a serious undertaking to cut
even such a path as one could clamber up by,
to this paradise. The Count, however, was an
old soldier-he was not to be baffled by diffi-
culties he soon erected a habitation for himself
:
and family, and houses for his negroes; and by
perseverance and industry, this desart was soon
made to "blossom like the rose."
To cultivate sugar where it would have been
next to impossible to convey it to the highway,
was wisely not attempted. It was resolved
that it should be a cocoa estate. Here again
the old soldier shewed himself: he laid out
the cocoa land in the form of a general officer,
with his epaulettes. Nothing can be more
beautiful than the cultivation of the cocoa:
it is planted in quincunxes, so that whichever
way you turn, a long vista presents itself to
the view. The cocoa trees are planted from
fifteen to twenty feet apart; they are from the
size of a large gooseberry bush, to that of a
fair sized apple tree, according to the age of
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307
the cocoa. The Bois Immortelle, or in Spanish,
La Madre del Cacao, or as the English negroes
term it, the cocoa-mammy, is planted at equal
distances among the cocoa: it collects the
dews, and gives shade and nourishment to the
cocoa. Independent of this, the bois-immor-
telle is a noble forest tree, abounding in all
the woods of Trinidad: it is from sixty to
eighty feet in height, covered once a year with
a bright flame-coloured magnificent blossom ;
and at that season, the woods seen at a distance
appear at times as if on fires.
As soon as Count Lopinot had got all his
family and his negroes up in safety, he assem-
bled them together, and thanking God solemly
for their preservation, and escape from St.
Domingo, and for the prospect now held out
of a home once more, he christened the estate
"La Reconnoisance a name which it would
be sacrilege to change. La belle France, which
the family had originally left at the first dawn
of the Revolution, was never forgotten by the
Count and Countess, who also cherished a fond
""
308
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regard for the Bourbon line.
Both lived to
hear of the re-establishment of that family in
1815; but they are now dead, and it is pleasing
to know that their memory is even yet annually
commemorated.
The village of Arima, about six miles from
Laurel-Hill, has a Catholic chapel and a resident
curate. It is chiefly inhabited by free settlers,
many of whom are Indians. They feed stock,
and cultivate such provisions as are necessary
for their support. The indolence of these
people surpasses belief, their only delight being
to spend their lives swinging in a hammock.
The climate of the West Indies is always
spoken of in England with dread, by those
who have never been across the Atlantic, and
by others also, who may have suffered severely
from imprudence, or lost relations from the
same cause; thus a West India climate is
represented as little better than a grave for
Europeans. I suspect there is a good deal of
ignorance, and I know there is a great deal of
exaggeration, in this.
WEST INDIES.
309
I found in first going to the West Indies, a
much greater variation in the seasons than I
had expected. December, January, and Febru-
ary, may be said to be pleasant months; for
although it is generally showery in December
and January, yet the showers are of short
duration, and from the nature of the soil of
St Vincent, at which island I first arrived, I
found the roads dry almost as soon as the rain
had ceased. The average of the thermometer
during those months in St. Vincent, may be
stated to be about seventy-eight in the shade
at noon in the morning very early, it is a few
degrees lower; but seldom falls much in the
evening, at which time, in that island (though
not in these particular months) the heat is
most oppressive, the nights being at times so
hot as to preclude the possibility of undisturbed
rest, and one often rises in the morning more
fatigued than on going to bed. In December,
January, and February, however, the nights
are very agreeable, though never so cold as to
require a blanket during the night. The heat
:
310
WEST INDIES.
and drought increase in March, April, and
May; the average of the thermometer is then
rather above eighty. In June, or rather towards
the latter end of it, heavy showers commence;
the breezes so refreshing during the day in the
other months, are now scarcely felt.
In July
and August the showers increase, and some-
times it rains a few hours without interruption;
but heavy showers, with intervals of the brightest
sunshine, are most common; and the heat is at
such times, very trying to those who are first
exposed to the rain, and afterwards to the sun's
rays. The latter end of August is generally
accompanied by a good deal of thunder, and
almost every night, by what is called sheet light-
ning; but I never experienced a thunder storm
in St. Vincent, that appeared to me more
severe than I have seen at home. Here, acci-
dents from the electric fluid are extremely rare,
and I may say generally in the West Indies,
partly owing to the houses being low, seldom
exceeding one story, and probably also owing
to the absence of bell-wires and other things
WEST INDIES.
311
which at home act as conductors. During
September and October, the rains continue,
and the sky is more often clouded than at any
other season-thunder and lightning are very
frequent, and at times sudden and heavy
squalls, and hurricanes. In August, hurri-
canes are rare; September is the month when
they are chiefly dreaded; and after full-moon
in October, no farther danger is apprehended.
St. Vincent is nearly out of the hurricane
tract, although it has more than once suffered,
particularly in 1780; but while I was resident
there, no gale occurred that would have been.
reckoned severe, even in England. The only
occasion upon which I saw any alarm shewn,
was at the conclusion of the hurricane season,
the full moon of October: there had been heavy
showers all the preceding night, and constant
sheet-lightning, with a strong breeze from the
eastward as usual; but about eight in the morn-
ing, the wind lulled in a moment; not a breath
was perceivable; the oppression of the atmo-
sphere produced a suffocating sensation; and
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WEST INDIES.
the sky assumed that peculiar bluish black,
intermixed with distant towering white clouds,
so often to be remarked during the continuance
of a storm at sea. The barometer, that faith-
ful indicator in northern latitudes, is of little
use in a tropical climate. Its variations are
so slight, that it is hardly worth while observing
them however, I found it had fallen about the
fourth part of one-tenth of an inch, which was
more than I had ever before been able to detect.
This perfect calm continued for about ten
minutes, when in a moment the wind shifted to
the westward, and blew with great violence.
A certain alarm is felt whenever the wind shifts
to the westward; and as a first measure of pre-
caution, all the nails and hammers were in
requisition, to fasten the doors and windows.
The squall increased, and we were just on the
point of accepting shelter in a neighbouring
kitchen, which had a stone arched roof, when
our fears were as suddenly dissipated as they
had been roused. There was a flash of light-
ning, a peal of thunder, and in a moment the
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313
wind subsided, the sky began to break, and in
less than an hour all alarm ceased. In Novem-
ber the showers become daily less, and it gets
cooler and cooler, until the pleasant month of
December is again hailed with joy, after the
rains and intense heats.
I was very much struck, at first, by the
quantity of liquid drank by many in the fore-
noon,-commonly water, just tinged with rum;
though by the older settlers, syrup and water,
or tamarind beverage, is commonly used; but
new-comers seldom relish these drinks. Those
who have been only a year or two from Europe,
do not experience the intense thirst which
those do who have been long resident between
the tropics; the constitution becomes more and
more relaxed, and the desire for liquids increases,
while the appetite for solids diminishes; and
thus, after a time, one is tempted only by
highly seasoned and salted food, which is not
only more agreeable to the palate, but appa-
rently agrees better with the stomach; at times,
indeed, fresh food, plainly dressed, is almost
C
314
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loathed. During the first year I resided in St.
Vincent, I never felt thirst between breakfast
and dinner, unless I had walked or rode out
during the heat of the day; but before I left the
West Indies, I felt a great change in this re-
spect, taking sometimes as many as six or seven
large glasses of water in the forenoon. Upon
the whole, indeed, the dangers of climate seem
pretty nearly balanced between Great Britain
and the West Indies: imprudent exposure to
cold is dangerous in Britain, and the same ex-
posure to heat is dangerous in the West Indies.
T
I dined in company with a physician who
had been long in the West Indies, a few days
before I left Edinburgh for embarkation; and
he asked me if I had any fears of the climate?
I said I had no fears. His answer was, "then
by the blessing of God, that is the best possible
guarantee for your health. The greater number
of people who die in the West Indies, die from
apprehension. At first avoid exposure to the
sun, and eat sparingly of all kinds of fruit;
never eat two kinds of fruit in one day,-nor
WEST INDIES.
315
mix different wines. Avoid cocoa-nut water,
and nuts of any kind; take no malt liquor or
cider; eat a fair proportion of as good animal
food or fish as you can get, daily: by no means
lower your usual diet if you are in health, and
take at least a couple of glasses of Madeira
every day. After the first rainy season is over,
you are then seasoned. Exercise out of the
sun is beneficial to health." I have subse-
quently found from experience that better ad- .
vice could not have been given: we went out
seven in family, and not one of us suffered from
the climate.
That which struck me at first as the great
peculiarity of the climate, was the burning heat
of the sun, and yet the constant breeze,—that
by contrast seemed almost cold, and which
blowing upon you, in doors and out of doors,
while the body is more or less in a state of per-
spiration, must, I thought, be dangerous; and
so it is, out of doors, unless under proper precau-
tions. The best precaution against heat in riding,
is by wearing a cloth riding-habit, buttoned up
VOL. II.
P
316
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to the throat, and a habit-shirt, with a high
standing collar;-so attired, one may brave both
the sun and the wind. To cover the neck and
chest as lightly as we do in an English summer,
is neither safe nor comfortable.
The sun
blisters the neck, unless it be defended from its
rays. Linen is pretty generally worn, but
cotton is considered safer. Flannel, however,
is every way the safest and pleasantest wear.
I speak, however, of new comers; for after the
first rainy season is over, and one is "creolized,"
almost any dress may be worn, with attention
to ordinary precautions.
White is the general dress of ladies, both
morning and evening, and nothing looks so
appropriate in that climate. All coloured mus-
lins, and ginghams for children, become, after
being washed several times, as white as if
bought white. Gentlemen mostly wear white
jackets, waistcoats, and trowsers, at dinner, or
in paying a morning visit. Black beaver and
grey hats, the same as in England, are worn;
all fancy straw hats being reckoned vulgar,
K
WEST INDIES.
317
and gentlemen never wear them except on an
estate, and even then, very early in the
morning.
From six to eight is the time for exercise;
then breakfast; afterwards, the heat renders
exercise uncomfortable, till four or five, when it
gets somewhat cooler; and by half-past five it
is delightful. I then usually rode, or more
often walked, out with my children for an hour,
and on a moonlight night, much longer. In
St. Vincent the dews are very light, but in
Trinidad they were very heavy; the conse-
quence is, that rheumatic complaints are not
unfrequent in Trinidad, but in St. Vincent they
are rare.
The nights in St. Vincent are, in the hot
season, most oppressive; but in Trinidad, they
are always cool, sometimes cold. I have even
longed for a fire in Trinidad; and, between six
and seven of an evening, not unfrequently gone
and warmed myself at the kitchen fire. A
blanket is at times not an unpleasant companion
in Trinidad; the sight of one in St. Vincent
would be enough to put one in a fever.
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WEST INDIES.
There are, decidedly, unhealthy spots in
Trinidad, near swamps and uncleared lands:
and it seems most unaccountable, that barracks
for our troops are frequently, in the West
Indies, built in situations which no experienced
person would select as a healthy residence. It is
also a great error to send out troops at the near
approach, the commencement of, or the middle
of the rainy season.
The safest time to land in
the West Indies is in November, or at least
before February. It is an equal trial of health
to remove from a temperate to a tropical climate
during the heats, as it is to arrive from the
tropics in a temporate climate during its winter.
The following, I would say, are good general
rules:-avoid drafts of cold air, when heated by
exercise or by exposure to the sun, unless suffi-
ciently covered by duck clothing. When
heated, and you wish to get cool, the safest
and simplest plan is to shut up the room, so as
to prevent any draft of air upon your person;
and after undressing, to lie down for a short
time. This should always be done before
washing and dressing for dinner, if one be
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319
previously overheated. Cold bathing, mode-
rately indulged in, is decidedly healthy. To
sit in wet clothing, whether from rain, dew, or
perspiration,-injudicious in all climates,-is
most dangerous in the West Indies; and the
utmost attention to cleanliness, also useful in
temperate climes, is essential to health within
the tropics.
The great danger which young officers, and
indeed all new comers labour under, is this:
the inhabitants of the West Indies are pro-
verbially kind and hospitable. Their constitu-
tions are seasoned, and accustomed to the
climate; and, in the excess of their hospi-
tality, they often forget that the stranger ought
to partake of it at first sparingly. The stranger
is also full of curiosity, and anxious to see the
novel and striking scenery by which he is
surrounded; he is apt to forget the new circum-
stances in which he is placed; he rides out all
the morning, perhaps, without an umbrella-
an accompaniment which an equestrian con-
siders in mauvais gout; he drives out, drinks
320
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freely, and concludes by dancing half the
night; but all this is dangerous, until the
constitution be seasoned. Then it is probable
that the variety and beauty of the fruit, and
the thirst induced by heat and wine, tempt
him to taste a little bit of each; the stomach is
deranged, and the probable issue of all is, an
attack of fever, more or less severe.
In the event of feeling any the most trifling
premonitory symptoms of illness, there ought
to be no trifling; that which is of no moment,
if at first checked by proper medical treatment,
is often incurable from neglect. Even a slight
fever from a cold requires prompt attention:
but colds are not frequent. The same treat-
ment is pursued in the West Indies as in Eng-
land, but only with a little consideration of the
nature of the climate.
The yellow fever never appeared when I was
in St. Vincent, or Trinidad; indeed the inha-
bitants say, that there is now no such fever in
these islands, nor has been for many years.
The climate and health of every island must
WEST INDIES.
321
necessarily improve, the more it is cleared and
drained.
Ague prevailed in Port of Spain and its
neighbourhood for a short time as an epidemic:
all ages and colours were affected by it. I do
not recollect hearing of any fatal cases, but in
the country we had not one case.
The only
general prevailing epidemic while we were in
Trinidad, was hooping-cough; but excepting
in a few isolated cases, it appears under a much
milder form than in Great Britain. Measles is
also a trifling disease in the West Indies, com-
pared to what it is in Europe. Children cut
their teeth more easily, and it seems a climate
every way suitable for young people until seven
or eight, when I think they often get thin, and
look sickly. From eight o'clock till nearly
five, all exercise out of doors is prejudicial to
the health of a child; therefore a good deal of
ingenuity is required to provide varied amuse-
ment and employment. After twelve years of
age, children appear to require a change of
climate, they grow too fast; and at fourteen, a
322
WEST INDIES.
girl who has never been in Europe, is, in ap-
pearance and manner, like an English girl of
seventeen or eighteen. I saw many very healthy
old people in the West Indies; and it did not
strike me that life was shorter, or deaths more
frequent, than at home.
St. Vincent is considered one of the healthiest
of the islands, and Trinidad has often been
characterised as the reverse; but I saw nothing
in the climate to be dreaded by persons living
in healthy situations, and acting with prudence.
Drinking to excess is unknown in good society
in Trinidad;—the gentlemen join the ladies in
the drawing-room, in a quarter of an hour after
they have retired. It is worth mentioning,
that I never saw, or heard of card playing in
Trinidad.
I resided so much in the country, that I know
little of the coloured population of Trinidad
but by report.
I however understood that
there were many very respectable people among
them. Several of them are proprietors both of
land and negroes. The morals of the coloured
A
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323
population as a whole, are however undoubt-
edly very lax, compared with the white popu-
lation, whom I consider much more exemplary
than we find them in England in the same
rank of life. In no country of the world do
married people live more affectionately and
happily this may be easily accounted for, by
the circumstance that nowhere do people so
generally marry from disinterested affection;
it does not appear that money or high con-
nexion is looked to. Disputes about marriage
settlements never occur; and young people are
there supposed to be better judges themselves,
of the person with whom they can live happily
for life, than any one can be for them. Divorces
and separations, too, are absolutely unknown.
Family ties of relationship and connexion are
kept up with much affection.
I may remark also, that in general there is
none of that unamiable system of exclusive
society so prevalent in Great Britain: every
person of gentlemanlike conduct and manners,
is admitted into society upon equal terms of
P 3
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WEST INDIES.
civility; and a man destitute of these, would
find neither birth nor gold obtain for him the
advantages which they infallibly command in
England. Every proper respect is paid to
either European or colonial rank; but no
attempt is made, nor any desire shewn, to ex-
clude those from the best society, who, though
they may have neither rank from Europe nor
in the colony, are fitted by their conduct, edu-
cation, and manners, to move in any circle.
West Indians feel a sad reverse when they go
to England; where, if they have not rank,
admittance into society must be purchased by
their weight in gold.
With respect to the influence of climate upon
the negro,-I believe the West Indies to be
very suitable to his constitution. I never heard
a negro complain of heat; but often in the cool
season, he complains of cold. I think there
can be no doubt that the habits of negroes,
particularly the late hours they indulge in at
night, contribute to shorten life. Their irregu-
lar habits in other aspects, act as a check to
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325
population; and my own belief is, that until
the moral habits of the negro very nearly
resemble those of the white population, there
will not, under any change of circumstances,
effected by the wisest laws, be that increase of
population which, it is thought by some, is only
prevented by hard work, and by a deprivation
of temporal comforts.
The great objection to a tropical climate, is
considered in England to be its intense heat.
But it will generally be found that those who
have some time resided in the West Indies feel
this to be a trifling objection, and would, if
asked to point out the greatest tropical annoy-
ance, pass over the heat of the climate, and
complain of the insects and reptiles. No doubt
after a time, sand flies and mosquitoes bite less
fiercely and less frequently; but still they de
bite, and deprive one of sleep; and at some
seasons, they are troublesome even to an old
settler.
There is an insect with which the grass.
abounds, called "bete rouge;" it is like the
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most minute particle of dust in size, and of the
colour of red sealing wax. One footstep in the
grass is sufficient; the feet and ancles are
instantly covered, and a few paces more, covers
the whole body; they produce a universal and
most intolerable itching, and the only effectual
remedy is to get river sand and lime juice, and
literally scour down your whole person.
The chigre is a small sand flea, which abounds
in all dry sandy places. They bury themselves
in the heels, the toes, and the fingers; and are
particularly annoying.
Ants of many kinds abound in the West
Indian islands, and as I believe, in none more
than Trinidad; if you go in their way, or in
any manner disturb them, they sting severely;
this I have already adverted to.
I had heard of the parasol-ant previous to
going to Trinidad, but I could hardly believe
the account I had received of them. The first
morning I was at Belmont, Mrs. Warner called
me to run out and see the parasol ants—and
sure enough there was a string of black ants,
WEST INDIES.
327
about the length of a common house fly, moving
as ants do in England in a long file; and every
ant with a small bit of a green leaf, held erect
over its head. I never beheld any thing so
strange; not one was without the leaf;-I heard
too, a stranger story still, that they plucked
these leaves, and took them down a great way
under ground. I was informed by Mr. Gillman,
of La Reconnoisance, that his negroes having
by his orders dug into the ants' habitation, it
was found full of these same leaves withered,
and at the bottom of the nest, one or two (I
forget which) white snakes, of from nine inches
to a foot in length; and it was said, that every
one who had dug out these nests, had found
the leaves and the white snakes.
At Laurel-Hill, we observed a great many of
these parasol ants; and Mr. C. resolved to get
at the truth. The ants came from the high
ground, a considerable distance above the house;
their route was as distinct, and as bare of
herbage as a sheep track. They were accord-
ingly traced to the side of a bank, and we dug
328
WEST INDIES.
where they disappeared. It proved a work of
some difficulty to get fairly to the nest; it was
from ten to twelve feet underground, and there,
sure enough, were found two contiguous cham-
bers, full of the leaves, and a white snake.
nearly in the centre.
One morning my attention was arrested at
Laurel-Hill by an unusual number of black
birds, whose appearance was foreign to me;
they were smaller, but not unlike an English
crow; and were perched on a calibash tree
near the kitchen. I asked D., who at that
moment came up from the garden, what could
be the cause of the appearance of so many of
those black birds? She said, "Misses, dem
be a sign of the blessing of God; dey are not
de blessing, but only de sign, as we say, of
God's blessing. Misses, you'll see afore noon-
time, how the ants will come and clear the
houses." At this moment I was called to
breakfast, and thinking it was some super-
stitious idea of D.'s, I paid no farther attention
to it. In about two hours after this, I observed
WEST INDIES.
329
C
an uncommon number of chasseur-ants crawling
about the floor of the room: my children were
annoyed by them, and seated themselves on a
table, where their legs did not communicate
with the floor. They did not crawl upon my
person, but I was now surrounded by them.
Shortly after this, the walls of the room be-
came covered by them,-and next they began
to take possession of the tables and chairs. I
now thought it necessary to take refuge in an
adjoining room, separated only by a few ascend-
ing steps from the one we occupied; and this
was not accomplished without great care and
generalship, for had we trodden upon one, we
should have been summarily punished. There
were several ants on the step of the stair, but
they were not nearly so numerous as in the
room we had left;-but the upper room pre-
sented a singular spectacle, for not only were
the floor and the walls covered like the other
room, but the roof was covered also.
The open rafters of a West India house, at
all times afford shelter to a numerous tribe of
330
WEST INDIES.
insects, more particularly the cockroach; but
now their destruction was inevitable. The
chasseur-ants, as if trained for battle, ascended
in regular, thick files to the rafters, and threw
down the cockroaches to their comrades on the
floor, who as regularly marched off with the
dead bodies of cockroaches, dragging them
away by their united efforts with amazing
rapidity. Either the cockroaches were stung
to death on the rafters, or else the fall killed
them. The ants never stopped to devour their
prey, but conveyed it all to their store-house.
The windward windows of this room were
glass, and a battle now ensued between the
ants and the jack-spaniards, on the panes of
glass. The jack-spaniard, may be called the
wasp of the West Indies; it is twice as large
as a British wasp, and its sting is in proportion
more painful. It builds its nests in trees and
old houses, and sometimes in the rafters of a
room. The jack-spaniards were not quite such
easy prey, for they used their wings, which not
one cockroach had attempted. Two jack-
WEST INDIES.
331
spaniards, hotly pursued on the window,
alighted on the dress of one of my children.
I entreated her to sit still, and remain quiet.
In an almost inconceivably short space of time,
a party of ants crawled upon her frock, sur-
rounded, covered the two jack-spaniards, and
crawled down again to the floor, dragging off
their prey, and doing the child no harm.
From this room I went to the adjoining bed
chamber and dressing room, and found them
equally in possession of the chasseurs. I
opened a large military chest full of linens,
which had been much infested; for I was
determined to take every advantage of such
able hunters. I found the ants already inside:
I suppose they must have got in at some
opening at the hinges. I pulled out the linens
on the floor, and with them hundreds of cock-
roaches; not one of which escaped.
We now left the house, and went to the
chambers built at a little distance; but these,
also were in the same state. I next proceeded
to open a store-room at the end of the other
332
WEST INDIES.
+
C
house, for a place of retreat; but, to get the
key, I had to return to the under room, where
the battle was now more hot than ever: the
ants had commenced an attack upon the rats.
and mice, and, strange as it may appear, they
were no match for their apparently insignificant
foes. They surrounded them, as they had the
insect tribe, covered them over, and dragged
them off with a celerity and union of strength
that no one who has not watched such a scene
can comprehend. I did not see one mouse or rat
escape, and I am sure I saw a score carried off
during a very short period. We next tried the
kitchen-for the store-room and boys' pantry
were already occupied; but the kitchen was
equally the field of battle, between rats, mice,
cockroaches, and ants killing them. A huck-
ster negro came up selling cakes, and seeing
the uproar, and the family and servants stand-
ing out in the sun, he said, “Ah misses, you 've
got the blessing of God to-day, and a great
blessing it be to get such a cleaning." I think
it was about ten when I first observed the ants;
about twelve, the battle was formidable; soon
WEST INDIES.
333
after one o'clock, the great strife began with
the rats and mice; and about three, the houses
were cleared. In a quarter of an hour more
the ants began to decamp, and soon, not one
was to be seen within doors. But the grass
round the house was full of them; and they
seemed now feasting on the remnants of their
prey, which had been left on the road to their
nests; and so the feasting continued till about
four o'clock, when the black-birds, who had
never been long absent from the calibash and
pois-doux trees, in the neighbourhood, darted
down among them, and destroyed by millions
those who were too sluggish to make good
their retreat. By five o'clock, the whole was
over; before sun dawn, the negro houses were
also cleared out in the same way; and they
told me they had seen the black birds hovering
about the almond trees close to the negro
houses, as early as seven in the morning. I
never saw those black birds before or since, and
the negroes assured me that they never were
seen but at such times.
Snakes abound in all the colonies,-in Trini-
334
WEST INDIES.
dad they are from two or three feet long, to
twelve or fourteen; from four to six feet, are
the most common size. Some are quite harm-
less, but others are venomous; these latter are
short, and of a brownish-black colour. The
boa-constrictor, it is said, is sometimes found
in the woods. The tarantula is not uncommon.
Centipedes, as well as scorpions, are abundant.
These, not the climate, are the great drawbacks
on the pleasure of a residence in a tropical land.
We had now determined upon returning to
Europe, there seemed no longer any rational
prospect of doing good, in any sense of the
word; the toil became insupportable, where
the best intended efforts all failed, either for
the improvement of the people, or the benefit of
the estate. We felt that the really important
influence of the proprietor was gone; that even
personal security was in danger; and in fine,
that there was no longer any incentive to re-
main. There were some good and faithful
negroes, both of those originally attached to
the estate, and also among those from St. Vin-
cent; but in the event of any rising, their
WEST INDIES.
335
Health
numbers could have been of no avail.
and spirit both fail under such hopeless cir-
cumstances; and though we had many dear
friends to part from, and felt a deep interest in
our people, yet the certainty that we were no
longer safe, and were no longer able to effect
any good, determined us to leave the estate.
There was little time for deliberation; only
two ships remained to sail, in such time as
would enable us to reach England during the
summer, one of these was to proceed first to
America; we therefore chose the other, direct for
Bristol, and our arrangements were soon made.
The best negroes expressed much concern at
the prospect of our departure; and many who
had latterly behaved ill, appeared then to feel
there was a possibility they might miss us.
Numbers came up a few days before we left,
begging us to give them some remembrancer of
us; and the morning before we left, all but ten
negroes came up in turns, and received some-
thing to keep them in mind of massa and
misses. Jugs and plates, saucepans and baskets,
336
WEST INDIES.
every thing that could be mustered, was in
requisition. Many no doubt took the opportu-
nity to profess an affection they did not feel,
that they might possess themselves of some
little household article they coveted; but we
knew the true character of every individual,
and who those were who prized the gift more
than the giver. Some of our really attached
people brought up fine fowls, as a present for
us, to put on board for sea stock; indeed we
purchased and collected nearly our whole pro-
visions for the voyage home, from the estate.
negroes. Plenty of fruit was gathered, and
brought for the pic-a-ninnies to eat on board ;
and for the last few days, the good negroes
were continually loitering about the house, and
seemed anxious to see all they could of us,
during the short time we had yet to remain.
I had visited all my favourite spots, and
walked for a last time round the garden with
old D., who was evidently struggling with her
feelings," Misses, I'll take care of dis bush
for your sake," said she, as we passed a young
WEST INDIES.
337
elder tree, which I had got from La Recon-
noissance, and cherished as a European plant.
Mr. Warner sent to let me know that the car-
riage was ready. The best negroes were all
around the door, waiting to shake hands, and
say "God bless you;" many others were at
the foot of the hill, where the carriage was.
Tears were streaming down their cheeks, all
save one; and that one I have often mentioned
as a most excellent negro. Ned's conduct on
this occasion was quite like himself. Seeing
his wife crying and sobbing, he pushed her
back, saying with spirit, "You fool too much,
no cry so,-me love massa, love misses, dove
pic-a-ninny, ebery one; but me no go cry; me
gie me hand to massa, misses, pic-a-ninny, and
say, God bless you all ebery one, and take you
safe in a' England ober da sea. Me say me
prayers ebery night for you all, and den go
vorck ebery day wid good heart, for massa.
See, you make massa and misses cry! B., you
fool too much." We walked down in silence,
followed by our people; and again shook hands
338
WEST INDIES.
with them, and the others waiting to see us, at
the foot of the hill. There was not a dry eye
to be seen; they kissed the children over and
over again :—and lifting them into the carriage,
I silently commended those whom we had left
to the care of the Almighty, hoping and trust-
ing that though our path of usefulness had
been closed, yet in His own way, and good
time, He would begin and perfect his own work.
We drove on in silence, until we approached a
bend in the road which I knew would shut out
Laurel-Hill from our view; and there we all
involuntarily turned round, and took one last
look at a spot, endeared to us, even then, by
many, many recollections.
In a few weeks, the Atlantic rolled betwixt
us and Trinidad.
THE END.
AP MOHIO)
20 1914
· Printed by Manning and Smithson, London House Yard.
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