Chapter 22

"Jose Ruiz, is a very gentlemanly and intelligent young man, and speaks English fluently. He was the owner of most of the slaves and cargo, which he was conveying to his estate on the Island of Cuba. The other, Pedro Montez, is about fifty years of age, and is the owner of three of the slaves. He was formerly a ship master, and has navigated the vessel since her seizure by the blacks. Both of them, as may be naturally supposed, are most unfeignedly thankful for their deliverance. Pedro is the most striking instance of complacency and unalloyed delight we have ever witnessed, and it is not strange, since only yesterday his sentence was pronounced by the chief of the bucaneers, and his death song chanted by the grim crew, who gathered with uplifted sabres around his devoted head, which, as well as his arms, bear the scars of several wounds inflicted at the time of the murder of the ill-fated captain and crew. He sat smoking his Havana on the deck, and to judge from the martyr-like serenity of his countenance, his emotions are such as rarely stir the heart of man. When Mr. Porter, the prize master, assured him of his safety, he threw his arms around his neck, while gushing tears coursing down his furrowed cheek, bespoke the overflowing transport of his soul. Every now and then he clasped his hands, and with uplifted eyes, gave thanks to 'the Holy Virgin' who had led him out of his troubles."

It will be necessary to contrast the deeds of these "gentlemanly and intelligent" _Christians_ with that of the "ruthless gang of African bucaneers," from whose grasp they were so providentially rescued. In giving the subsequent detail, I would not be understood as compromising for a single instant my belief in the inviolability of human life, though it must I think be confessed that in the instance related below, the heathen and barbarous negroes contrast very favorably with the civilized and Christian Spaniards.

"The following communication from Mr. Day, of New Haven, gives a summary account of the African captives, as stated by themselves, from the time they left Africa, till the time they obtained possession of the Amistad:

"NEW HAVEN, OCT. 8, 1839.

[To the Editor of the Journal of Commerce.]

"Gentlemen--The following short and plain narrative of one or two of the African captives, in whose history and prospects such anxious interest is felt, has been taken at the earliest opportunity possible, consistently with more important examinations. It may be stated in general terms, as the result of the investigations thus far made, that the Africans all testify that they left Africa about six months since; were landed under cover of the night at a small village or hamlet near Havana, and after ten or twelve days were taken through Havana by night by the man who had bought them, named Pipi, who has since been satisfactorily proved to be Ruiz; were cruelly treated on the passage, being beaten and flogged, and in some instances having vinegar and gunpowder rubbed into their wounds; and that they suffered intensely from hunger and thirst. The perfect coincidence in the testimony of the prisoners, examined as they have been separately, is felt by all who are acquainted with the minutes of the examination, to carry with it overwhelming evidence of the truth of their story.

Yours respectfully,

"GEORGE E. DAY."

"MONDAY, OCT. 7.

"This afternoon, almost the first time in which the two interpreters, Covey and Pratt, have not been engaged with special reference to the trial to take place in November, one of the captives named Grabeau, was requested to give a narrative of himself since leaving Africa, for publication in the papers. The interpreters, who are considerably exhausted by the examinations which have already taken place, only gave the substance of what he said, without going into details, and it was not thought advisable to press the matter. Grabeau first gave an account of the passage from Africa to Havana. On board the vessel there was a large number of men, but the women and children were far the most numerous. They were fastened together in couples by the wrists and legs, and kept in that situation day and night. Here Grabeau and another of the Africans named Kimbo, lay down upon the floor, to show the painful position in which they were obliged to sleep. By day it was no better. The space between decks was so small,--according to their account not exceeding four feet,--that they were obliged, if they attempted to stand, to keep a crouching posture. The decks fore and aft were crowded to overflowing. They suffered (Grabeau said) terribly. They had rice enough to eat, but had very little to drink. If they left any of the rice that was given to them uneaten, either from sickness or any other cause, they were whipped. It was a common thing for them to be forced to eat so much as to vomit. Many of the men, women, and children died on the passage.

"They were landed by night at a small village near Havana. Soon several white men came to buy them, and among them was the one claiming to be their master, whom they call Pipi, said to be a Spanish nick-name for Jose. Pipi, or Ruiz, selected such as he liked, and made them stand in a row. He then felt each of them in every part of the body; made them open their mouths to see if their teeth were sound, and carried the examinations to a degree of minuteness of which only a slave dealer would be guilty.

"When they were separated from their companions who had come with them from Africa, there was weeping among the women and children, but Grabeau did not weep, 'because he is a man.' Kimbo, who sat by, said that he also shed no tears--but he thought of his home in Africa, and of friends left there whom he should never see again.

"The men bought by Ruiz were taken on foot through Havana in the night, and put on board a vessel. During the night they were kept in irons, placed about the hands, feet and neck. They were treated during the day in a somewhat milder manner, though all the irons were never taken off at once. Their allowance of food was very scant, and of water still more so. They were very hungry, and suffered much in the hot days and nights from thirst. In addition to this there was much whipping, and the cook told them that when they reached land they would all be eaten. This 'made their hearts burn.' To avoid being eaten, and to escape the bad treatment they experienced, they rose upon the crew with the design of returning to Africa.

"Such is the substance of Grabeau's story, confirmed by Kimbo, who was present most of the time. He says he likes the people of this country, because, to use his own expression, 'they are good people--they believe in God, and there is no slavery here.'

"The story of Grabeau was then read and interpreted to Cinque, while a number of the other Africans were standing about, and confirmed by all of them in every particular. When the part relating to the crowded state of the vessel from Africa to Havana was read, Cinque added that there was scarcely room enough to sit or lie down. Another showed the marks of the irons on his wrists, which must at the time have been terribly lacerated. On their separation at Havana, Cinque remarked that almost all of them were in tears, and himself among the rest, 'because they had come from the same country, and were now to be parted for ever.' To the question, how it was possible for the Africans when chained in the manner he described, to rise upon the crew, he replied that the chain which connected the iron collars about their necks was fastened at the end by a padlock, and that this was first broken, and afterwards the other irons. Their object, he said, in the affray, was to make themselves free. He then requested it to be added to the above, that 'if he tells a lie, God sees him by day and by night.'"

The interpreters alluded to in the preceding extract were two Africans belonging to the crew of the British brig of war Buzzard, which providentially arrived at New York, from a cruise on the coast of Africa. They were found to speak the same language as the prisoners, and with the consent of Captain Fitzgerald, their services were immediately secured by the indefatigable committee for the African captives. By their aid much information was elicited respecting the native country and previous history of these negroes, with many incidental particulars of great interest, some of which will appear in the following account. The criminal proceedings against the Mendians being quashed, there remained the claim of Ruiz and Montez to have the negroes returned to them as their property. To sustain this claim they produced the license, signed by the proper authorities at Havana, permitting the removal of these negroes from that port to Principe, in the same island. This document is signed by General Espelata, Captain-General of Cuba, and countersigned by Martinez, one of the most extensive slave-traders in the known world. This pass or license described the negroes as _ladinos_, a term used to designate Africans who have been long settled in Cuba. It was proved, however, that they were _Bozal_ negroes, that is, such as had been very lately introduced, and the testimony on both sides, on this point, established a fact that is but too notorious, that the slave trade to Cuba is openly carried on with the connivance, and even with the corrupt participation of the authorities. One of the witnesses, D. Francis Bacon, gives the following account of the slave trade:--

"Mr. Bacon stated that he left the coast of Africa on the 13th of July, 1839. He knew a place called Dumbokoro [Lomboko] by the Spaniards: it was an island in the river or lagoon of Gallinas. There is a large slave factory or depot at this place, which is said to belong to the house of Martinez in Havana; there are also different establishments on different islands. Mr. Bacon stated that he had seen American, Russian, Spanish, and Portuguese vessels at Gallinas. The American flag was a complete shelter; no man-of-war daring to capture an American vessel. The slave trade on that part of the coast is the universal business of the country, and by far the most profitable, and all engaged in it who could raise the means. Extensive wars take place in Africa, for obtaining slaves from the vanquished. Different towns and villages make war upon each other for this purpose. Some are sold on account of their crimes, others for debts. The slaves are all brought on to the coast by other blacks, and sold at the slave factories, as no white man dare penetrate into the interior. Some of the blacks who have been educated at Sierra Leone, have been principal dealers in the slave trade."

The decision of the District Court of Connecticut on this question of property, was to the effect that since their original introduction into Cuba was plainly illegal, they were free by the law of Spain, and of course could not be the property of Spanish subjects.

The subsequent proceedings were undertaken on behalf of the United States' Government. "The District Attorney, Mr. Holabird, filed his claim under Lieut. Gedney's libel, on two distinct grounds; one that these Africans had been claimed by the Government of Spain, and ought to be retained till the pleasure of the Executive might be known, as to that demand; and the other, that they should be held subject to the disposition of the President, to be re-transported to Africa, under the act of 1819." The Court finally decreed that the Africans should be delivered to the President of the United States, to be transported to Africa, there to be delivered to an agent appointed to receive and conduct them home. Against this decision, though it is what he had asked for, Holabird appealed on behalf of the United States' Government, and through a protracted series of law proceedings, it was finally carried before the Supreme Court of the United States, the highest tribunal in the nation. The counsel employed on both sides, in the different stages, were of the highest reputation; and finally the venerable John Quincy Adams, after an absence from the Courts of nearly forty years, during which interval he had filled the highest offices of state, at home and abroad, in the service of his country, did not think it beneath him to defend the Mendians before the Supreme Court, against the _conspiracies_ of Forsyth, the Secretary of State, and the Spanish Ambassador. In his first communication to the latter, Forsyth says:

"All the proceedings in the matter, on the part of both the executive and judicial branches of the government, have had their foundation in the assumption that Montez and Ruiz alone were the parties aggrieved; and that their claim to the surrender of the property was founded in fact and in justice."

The Spanish minister and his successor, complained bitterly, in the course of a long correspondence, of the delay in giving up the Africans, on the ground, as emphatically stated in one of their letters to the Department of State, that "the public vengeance had not been satisfied; for be it recollected that the legation of Spain does not demand the delivery of slaves, but of assassins." In a previous communication it was intimated that "the infliction of capital punishment in this case (in the United States,) would not be attended with the salutary effects had in view by the law, when it resorts to this painful and terrible alternative, namely, to prevent the commission of similar offences." Notwithstanding these dreadful intimations of the fate awaiting the Africans in Cuba, the American Government deliberately adopted the design of delivering them up, either as _property_ or as assassins. That Government found willing agents in the United States' Marshal, and the District Attorney of Connecticut. The following extracts from the argument of John Quincy Adams, will explain these disgraceful transactions:

"On the 7th of January, the Secretary of State writes to the Secretary of the Navy, acknowledging the receipt of his letter of the 3d, informing him that the schooner Grampus would receive the negroes of the Amistad, 'for the purpose of conveying them to Cuba, in the event of their delivery being adjudged by the Circuit Court, before whom the case is pending.' This singular blunder, in naming the Court, shows in what manner and with how little care the Department of State allowed itself to conduct an affair, involving no less than the liberties and lives of every one of my clients. This letter enclosed the order of the President to the Marshal of Connecticut for the delivery of the negroes to Lieut. Paine. Although disposing of the lives of forty human beings, it has not the form or solemnity of a warrant, and is not even signed by the President in his official capacity. It is a mere order.

"'The Marshal of the United States for the District of Connecticut will deliver over to Lieut. John S. Paine, of the United States Navy, and aid in conveying on board the schooner Grampus, under his command, all the negroes, late of the Spanish schooner Amistad, in his custody, under process now pending before the Circuit Court of the United States for the District of Connecticut. For so doing, this order will be his warrant.

"'Given under my hand, at the city of Washington, this 7th day of January, A.D. 1840.

"'M. VAN BUREN.

"'By the President:

"'JOHN FORSYTH, Sec. of State.'

"That order is good for nothing at all. It did not even describe the Court correctly, under whose protection those unfortunate people were. And on the 11th of January, the District Attorney had to send a special messenger, who came, it appears, all the way to Washington in one day, to inform the Secretary that the negroes were not holden under the order of the Circuit Court, but of the District Court. And he says, 'Should the pretended friends of the negroes'--the pretended friends!--'obtain a writ of Habeas Corpus, the Marshal could not justify under that warrant.' And he says, 'the Marshal wishes me to inquire'--a most amiable and benevolent inquiry--'whether in the event of a decree requiring him to release the negroes, or in case of an appeal by the adverse party, it is expected the Executive warrant will be executed'--that is, whether he is to carry the negroes on board of the Grampus in the face of a decree of the Court. And he requests instructions on the point."

On the 12th of January, the very next day after the letter of the District Attorney was written at New Haven, the Secretary of State replies in a despatch which is marked 'confidential.'

"'[CONFIDENTIAL.]

"'DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Jan. 12,1840.

"'SIR,--Your letter of the 11th inst. has just been received. The order for the delivery of the negroes of the Amistad is herewith returned, corrected agreeably to your suggestion. With reference to the inquiry from the Marshal, to which you allude, I have to state, by direction of the President, that if the decision of the Court is such as is anticipated, the order of the President is to be carried into execution, unless an appeal shall actually have been interposed. YOU ARE NOT TO TAKE IT FOR GRANTED THAT IT WILL BE INTERPOSED. And if, on the contrary, the decision of the Court is different, you are to take out an appeal, and allow things to remain as they are until the appeal shall have been decided.

I am, sir, your obedient servant

"'JOHN FORSYTH.

"'W.S. HOLABIRD, Esq.,

"'_Attorney U.S. for District of Conn._'

"But after all the order did not avail. The District Judge, contrary to all these anticipations of the Executive, decided that the thirty-six negroes taken by Lieut. Gedney and brought before the Court on the certificate of the Governor-General of Cuba, were FREEMEN; that they had been kidnapped in Africa; that they did not own these Spanish names; that they were not _ladinos_; and were not correctly described in the passport, but were new negroes bought by Ruiz in the depot of Havana, and fully entitled to their liberty."

At a public meeting held subsequent to their liberation, the teacher of the Africans made a statement as follows:--Their ruling passion was a love for home; and their desire to return thither was constantly manifesting itself. One day, a short time ago, Fohlee came to his teacher, with his cap in his hand, and said, "If Merican men offer me as much gold as fill this cap full up, and give me houses, land and every ting, so dat I stay in dis country, I say no! Is dat like my father? Is dat like my mother? Is dat like my sister? Is dat like my brother? No! I want to see my father, my mother, my brother and sister." This feeling manifested itself in many ways; and they expressed themselves willing to undergo any thing short of losing their lives, if by so doing they could be at liberty to return to the Mendi country.

I now introduce the lively narrative of my friend Lewis Tappan:

"EXCURSION WITH THE AMISTAD AFRICANS.

"_On board Steam Boat, L.I. Sound, Nov_. 15, 1841.

"BROTHER LEAVITT:--As the committee had chartered a ship to take the Mendians to Sierra Leone about the middle of this month, and as the funds contributed by a benevolent public were about all expended, it appeared necessary, in addition to an appeal published in the newspapers, to take some prompt and efficient measures to procure funds sufficient to pay for their outfit and passages, and, if possible, something to sustain the contemplated mission in Mendi. One of the committee being sick and another absent, it devolved upon me to perform the excursion. I was assisted essentially by Mr. Samuel Deming, one of the committee at Farmington, and by Mr. William Raymond and Mr. Needham. On arriving at Hartford, the third instant, I learned that Mr. Deming had proceeded to Boston, accompanied by ten of the Mendians, viz., Cinque, Banna, Si-si, Su-ma, Fu-li, Ya-bo-i, So-ko-ma, Kin-na, Ka-li and Mar-gru. These were selected not on account of being the best scholars, but with reference to their being the best singers, although some of them are among the best scholars. None of them, however, have had instruction in music. Arriving in Boston, the city was, as I anticipated, full of excitement, on account of the approaching election,--a circumstance unknown to the committee at Farmington, who had sent off the Mendians sooner than we had calculated,--and it seemed almost impossible to procure a suitable place in which to hold meetings, or to arrest the attention of the people, as the whole--democrats, whigs and abolitionists--had every nerve strained for the political contest. However, preparation had been made for a meeting at the Melodeon, late Lion Theatre, on Thursday evening. A few hundreds assembled, and appeared to be highly gratified with the performances. It seemed to them marvellous that these men and children, who, less than three years since, were almost naked savages in the interior of Africa, should, under the untoward circumstances in which they have been placed for the largest part of the time since they have been in a civilized and Christian country, appear so far advanced in civilization and knowledge. Only forty-six dollars were received, the proceeds of tickets and a collection, but a strong desire was expressed that there should be another meeting.

"Saturday evening was the only evening we could have Marlboro' Chapel, the largest church in the city. Preliminary to this meeting, a private meeting of invited gentlemen was held during the afternoon, at the Marlboro' Hotel, the Mendians being present. The meeting was well attended and a good impression was made. In the evening there was a large meeting in the Chapel; Rev. Dr. Anderson opened it with prayer, concluding with the Lord's prayer, each sentence being repeated in our language by the Mendians. A statement was then made of their past and present condition, of their good conduct, their proficiency, of their ardent desire to return to Mendi, and the favorable prospects of establishing a mission in their country. Three or four of the best readers were then called upon to read a passage in the New Testament. They then read and spelled a passage named by the audience. One of the Africans next related, in 'Merica language,' their condition in their own country, their being kidnapped, the sufferings of the middle passage, their stay at Havana, the transactions on board the Amistad, &c. The story was intelligible to the audience, with occasional explanations. They were next requested to sing two or three of their native songs. The performance afforded great delight to the audience. As a pleasing contrast, however, they sang immediately after, one of the songs of Zion:

"'When I can read my title clear To mansions in. the skies, I'll bid farewell to every fear, And wipe my weeping eyes.'