Part 23

A building, composed of the frames of two small houses, each twenty feet square, having been erected, near Point William, for an hospital, it was this day reported to be ready for the reception of the sick, and 17 seamen of the Eden, with bad ulcers, were sent on shore to occupy it, leaving 15 on board with the same complaint, besides a few fever cases; there were also eight more ulcer cases that had been on shore for some time under a tent, near Point William. This situation was chosen by Capt. Owen for the hospital, as it was near the extreme point of a small peninsula, on which the prevailing wind blows transversely, therefore, if any spot on the settlement, or near the sea-shore of any part of the island was healthy, it is reasonable to suppose that this would be. The house consisted of only one floor, with a good broad verandah all round it, shingled in the same way as the roof of the house.[33]

_Friday, 18_.--This morning, one of the African Corps followed the example of our interpreter, Anderson, with this difference, however, that when he ran away, he took his musket and accoutrements with him. I do not see what advantage they proposed to themselves by going amongst the islanders, as they did not speak their language, and could not expect to procure the means of support, without working hard for it. The only point in their favour was, that they were of the same colour.

This afternoon the Eden's boats were sent after a vessel in the offing, which proved to be a sloop laden with palm-oil, from the Old Calabar River, bound to Liverpool. A few guanas have been seen here, and the Kroomen caught one a few days since, which they considered a great treat, and had cooked agreeably to their taste; but no venomous animal, except a few snakes, has yet been discovered. The guana is harmless, and, in some countries, is used for food. It is common to Asia, Africa, and America. Fortunately the alligator has not been seen in any of the rivers here, notwithstanding that they are native to all the rivers of the proximate continent. The cause, no doubt, is, that the rivers on the island, are mere mountain streams, which are very unfavourable to the retreat or repose of those reptiles.

_Saturday, 19_.--Soon after midnight, I accompanied Lieutenant Badgeley from his Majesty's ship Eden, on board the schooner African, Captain Smith, when we got under weigh to proceed round the coast of the Bight of Biafra, between the Camaroon River and Cape Formosa, for the purpose of cruising off, and entering any of the rivers, in quest of vessels trading for slaves, where we might have reason to believe that the inhuman traffic was pursued. The weather was very unpropitious during the night, for we had it squally, with heavy rain, thunder and lightning; but it cleared up in the course of the morning, and, at noon, it was calm and fine;--soon after which we saw a strange vessel, which we supposed to be a slaver: we, therefore, used every effort to overtake her, getting out our sweeps, and sending the Eden's pinnace a-head to tow; which boat, with a good crew of English sailors, Lieutenant Badgeley had brought with him, to assist in performing the service. We had not advanced far towards the strange sail, before we observed two boats coming from her, which came alongside of us about three in the afternoon, when we found that they belonged to his Majesty's brig Clinker, which was well manned and armed, and that they entertained the same suspicions of our purpose as we had held of theirs. The Clinker was in the very best order, and was commanded by Lieutenant Matson, a most active and experienced officer.

I would here remark, that if we desire to be eminently successful in putting down the slave-trade, our Government ought to select vessels of a peculiar description, I mean vessels constructed principally for sailing; for, in the first instance, the very service on which they are employed is that of chasing vessels that have been built with a special regard to swiftness on the water. The consequence of the unfitness of our ships for this particular service, is, that of the number of slavers that we descry in these seas, the captures make but a small proportion.

If we had a few of the large class of Baltimore schooners, with a long 12 or 18 pounder a-midships for a chase-gun, and a few carronades for close action, with a good crew well trained to the sweeps; and a few brigs similar to the well known Black Joke, I would venture to say, that they would be more successful, and less expensive to Government, than the class of vessels that have hitherto been employed on this service. Instead of a large frigate, with a Commodore's Pennant, we might have a first class flush-deck sloop of war, built principally for fast sailing, with a distinguished young Post Captain to command her; for activity and experience on this coast are more wanted than large ships and officers of high rank, as there is not much diplomatic business to be carried on with the African nations. It may also be observed that it is a very safe coast to navigate, for if you will but sound in time, you may always be apprized of danger soon enough to avoid it. The worst weather is during the tornado season, and these squalls, of which there is always timely notice, generally come off the land, and do not last, on an average, more than a couple of hours.

At six we anchored off the entrance of the main channel into the old Calabar river, in company with H.M. brig Clinker; entrance of the Rio del Rey bearing E.N.E.

_Sunday, 20_.--We got under weigh at an early hour this morning, with the intention of proceeding up the old Calabar, so far as Duke's Town, off which place the palm-oil vessels, and slavers, generally anchor. H.M. brig Clinker also got under weigh at the same time, with the intention of accompanying us a short distance within the bar, where she was to have anchored; while her boats were to have gone with us, for the purpose of assisting in the capture of any slave-vessel that might be up the river, but it unfortunately fell calm about 9 o'clock, when Lieutenant Matson came on board and acquainted Lieutenant Badgeley that he was afraid the expedition up the river would detain him longer than he had expected, and he must therefore relinquish his intentions, and proceed direct for Fernando Po, in order to obtain a supply of provisions, of which they had much need. At noon there was a moderate breeze, and fine clear weather. East point of the old Calabar N.N.E. 7 miles: but the wind being down the river, we were employed working up all the afternoon, and having no pilot on board, we occasionally got rather too close to the mud banks on either side, and once we tacked in two fathoms water, which is just as much as would keep the vessel afloat. She was fortunately a very beautiful American pilot-boat schooner, that with the least breeze was as manageable as a boat. We scaled the guns, and otherwise prepared for action, for there was no doubt but that any slave-vessel would resist to the utmost, if there was the least chance of escape. We were afraid that they might obtain information of our movements, before we got up to Duke's Town, where they generally receive their slaves on board, for when they are nearly ready for sea, they always keep a canoe on the look out at the mouth of the river, to report when any men-of-war appear on the coast, so that they might have time to disembark their slaves, before men-of-war, or their boats, can reach them; for although vessels may be fitted up with a slave deck, and have every preparation on board for their reception, you cannot condemn them, unless you actually find slaves on board.

At 4 the east point of Old Calabar river W.N.W. 7 miles. Anchored at midnight.

_Monday, 21_.--Unsettled weather and wind variable. At daylight got under weigh. At noon light breezes and hazy.

From 4 to 6 this evening we passed between two lines of fishing-stakes, indeed we found that a number of large stakes were driven into the mud banks, in different situations, outside the entrance of the Old Calabar, some of them a considerable distance from the land; and there were long lines of them a short distance from each other.

I endeavoured in vain to find out the reason for placing these stakes in such situations, many of which were covered with water at the highest time of the tides. They are called fishing-stakes, and boats certainly do sometimes go and make fast to them for that purpose, as well as to wait the turning of the tide, when they are going to places at any distance along the coast, yet one would think that they would hardly take so much trouble as to bring, and place so great a number as there are, and many of them several miles from the land, merely for the above purposes. They make it very dangerous for boats, or small vessels, navigating those places in the dark, who are not acquainted with their existence. If I were allowed to hazard a conjecture on the subject, I should think they were placed there for the above reason, as men-of-war often send their boats up the rivers at night in quest of slave-vessels, for the purpose of coming on them by surprise, and thereby prevent them from landing the slaves which might be on board preparatory to sailing; also to get quietly alongside of them in any part of the river, where they might have anchored for the night, or the turning of the tide, with their slaves on board, on their way to sea. About 9 o'clock we unexpectedly found ourselves within the bar of the Old Camaroon river, where we anchored for the night.

The tide was running strong, taking the various directions of the coasts and rivers, and very perplexing to strangers. Unfortunately, there was no one on board who had ever been here before, and not having been able to procure a pilot, we were compelled to grope our way, both by night and by day, with only a rough sketch of a chart to guide us.

_Tuesday, 22_.--At daylight we got under weigh, and endeavoured to regain the channel of the Old Calabar river, but we found the tide stronger than the wind, and that it had carried us on a mud-flat off little Quay river, which, at about half ebb left the schooner aground, this obliged us to get some spars out, to prop her up on each side. At which time we were in the following situation: West point of Old Calabar river, W. by S. Fish Town point N. by W. 1/2 W. and the entrance of little Quay river N.N.E. At 5 in the afternoon we got the spars in and laid a small anchor out, with the assistance of a boat, by which, and other aid, we hoped to get the vessel entirely clear of the bank: but we only partly succeeded that tide, for on the return of low water, we were obliged to have recourse to the same means of propping her up, from there not being two feet water left on the bank.

[31] The calabashes are taken down, and replaced by others, every morning and evening.

[32] We have met with some hooks made from the part of the solid wood of a prickly tree, or shrub, whence the thorn grows, and which process formed the pointed part of the hook.

[33] Wood is seldom found to be desirable for building in a hot country, from the numerous ants and other insects that assail it, particularly where the changes are so frequent from very dry to very moist weather, if we had had time, it would have been much better to have erected our buildings with brick or stone. There is, indeed, plenty of fine clay for the former; but building stones are scarce in that neighbourhood, and we had not sufficient lime,--as we had to procure burnt lime from Sierra Leone, or shells from Accra, both of which we obtained for the building of an armourer's shop and a bakehouse. Indeed, we were obliged to use the utmost exertion to get any thing erected to shelter the Europeans and African soldiers, before the rainy season set in. As for the African mechanics and labourers, they built their own huts, in certain lines, that we called streets.

CHAP. X.

Slave Canoe--Duke's Pilot--Old Calabar Town--Consternation on Shore, and disappearance of the Slave Vessels--Fruitless Pursuit of the Slavers--Eyo Eyo, King Eyo's Brother--Old Calabar Festivals--Attempted Assassination, and Duke Ephraim's Dilemma--Obesity of the King's Wives--Ordeal for Regal Honours--Duke's English House--Coasting Voyage to the Bonny--Author discovers Symptoms of Fever--The Rivers of St. Nicholas, Sombrero, St. Bartholomew, and Sta. Barbara--"The Smokes"-- Capture of a Spanish Slave Vessel in the River St. John--Nun, or First Brass River, discovered to be the Niger--Natural Inland Navigation-- New Calabar River--Pilot's Jhu Jhu--Foche Island--Author Sleeps on Shore--Bonny Bath--Interview with King Peppel--Ceremony of opening the Trade--Rashness of a Slave Dealer--Horrible Fanaticism-- Schooner at Sea--Return to Fernando Po

_Wednesday, January 23, 1828_.--Fortunately the wind was light, for had it blown hard, the result might have been fatal to the vessel. At seven in the morning, we found the vessel afloat, and attempted, with a small anchor and cable, assisted by the sails, to get her over the mud: but, at eleven o'clock, we were again stuck fast. In the afternoon, we sent a letter by a Krooman, in a small canoe, to Captain Cumings, of the brig Kent, lying off the town of Old Calabar, commonly called Duke's Town, as the king of that country is generally known by the name and title of Duke Ephraim. In about a couple of hours, the Krooman returned, in consequence of having met with a very large canoe coming down on her passage to the Camaroon river, to purchase slaves. He induced the Captain to come on board, but the appearance of a schooner, with so large a boat and so many hands, evidently created some suspicion in his mind. He was too much a man of the world, however, not to affect a confidence, which we were all persuaded he did not feel:--he drank some rum, and carried himself with consummate self-possession; gave us all the Calabar news he could recollect, and demanded our latest intelligence in return. When the conversation was exhausted, and a good opportunity occurred for taking leave, he departed; heartily rejoiced, no doubt, at escaping with so much tact. His canoe was about fifty feet long, with a small thatched house built on a platform in the centre. The paddles were worked by boys, under the direction of two men, who gave out a song when pulling. There were two poor creatures, whom we supposed to be slaves, confined in irons, at one end of the boat.

About nine we got clear of the mud-flats, after a great deal of trouble, with hawsers and a small anchor; we then stood up the river, and at eleven anchored for the night.

_Thursday, 24_.--Fresh breezes from the northward, and very hazy. The wind coming from the Camaroon mountains, increased the haziness of the atmosphere, and made it feel very cold. Soon after daylight, when the tide answered, we got under weigh, and beat up the river. About eleven, we came to an anchor off Parrott Island, the north end of which bore S.W. 1/2 W. and the north end of James's Island N. by E. At three in the afternoon, a pilot came on board, and, at five, Captain Smith, with Lieutenant Badgeley, went up to the brig Kent, off Duke's Town, to procure information.

_Friday, 25_.--At three this morning, the same party returned; and, soon after daylight, we got the schooner under weigh, to beat up the river, and the Duke's head pilot came on board, when to prove the confidence that might be reposed in him, he brought a certificate from Lieutenant Corry, of H.M.S. North Star, which stated that he had piloted that ship's boats up the river, as well as conducted them down, with a slave-vessel that they had seized. We blackened the schooner's yellow sides with a mixture of gunpowder and water. This, however, was not a very safe pigment, for if a spark of fire had happened to have come in contact with any part of her side, it would have communicated from one extremity to the other: but it served for a temporary disguise, which was all we required.

About noon, we came abreast of the town of Old Calabar, where we observed the greatest confusion. Armed men, of different colours and nations, were running about in all directions, preparing, as we imagined, to oppose our landing, for it was evident they were alarmed at our appearance, which sufficiently indicated our intentions. The slave-vessels, afraid of being seized, had disappeared from before the town, and gone farther up the river before we arrived, so that, however we might have been otherwise disposed, we did not drop anchor, but continued to advance as long as the tide served, which was till half-past one, when the wind failing, we were obliged to anchor. The Duke's pilot, when we were off the town, requested to leave us for a short time; he said, he "must go tell Duke news, and come back directly." We afterwards discovered that his pretence to go ashore, was merely a subterfuge to get away altogether, for he never returned, and we had good reason for believing, that all the people, from the Duke (or King, which is the same thing) to the meanest of his subjects, secretly abet the unlawful proceedings of the slavers, by whom they realize much larger profits than by the regular traders. At three, we sent the small canoe, with two Kroomen, up the river, to ascertain the situation of the slave-vessels, and soon got under weigh to follow them; but the wind dying off towards sunset, we were obliged to anchor again. About an hour afterwards, our canoe returned, with information that three slave schooners, and a brig, had gone still farther up the river, indeed, as far as the navigation of the river would allow, where they had fortified themselves in the strongest manner, to resist any attack on our part: having also the support of all the authorities of the native towns and villages that could, with any show of prudence, be extended to them. We also understood, that they had not a slave on board of either of them, which was likely enough, as it is not customary to put them on board until they are on the point of sailing. These circumstances determined Lieutenant Badgeley to return to the town, in which resolution he was also influenced by the consideration of the inferiority of our force. A schooner of 120 tons, with no more than twenty Europeans on board; the crew of the vessel being Africans (as the crews of most of the colonial vessels that navigate this coast are,) could have but a poor chance against five vessels, mustering not less than 150 white men of different nations, and reckoning 30 guns to our six. The caution evinced by this step, however justified by circumstances, did not, I must confess, appear to me to be very creditable to our character, and must have made us look very foolish. After having chased the slavers so far up the river, we ought to have brought the matter to an issue, particularly as we had the eyes of all the country upon us, and were regarded with great anxiety by the people of Old Calabar town, as well as by the crews of the British merchant-vessels in the river. The affair gave the slavers an opportunity of exulting over our failure, and their own good fortune; which, I think, was to be regretted. On going down the river, a large canoe came alongside with one of the great men of the country on board, named Eyo Eyo, a brother to King Eyo; when he asked for a present, and something to drink, the customary demand of the natives. We presented him with a few leaves of tobacco, which appeared to amuse him exceedingly: he held them up with a contemptuous sneer, and asked if that was a present? This man was as shrewd a fellow as any we met with, in Old Calabar, and had long been accustomed to trade, and receive presents, from captains of slavers, and palm-oil vessels.

At nine, we arrived off Robin's Town, where a canoe met us, with a note from Captain Cumings, of the Kent, informing us, that a Frenchman had entered his palm-oil house, and deliberately shot his second mate through the body.

There are two grand festivals here, which take place every eighth day in succession. Old Calabar day, which was yesterday; and Duke's day, which happens to-day. The succession of these festivals is curious enough; that which takes place on Thursday in this week, will be on Friday in the next week; and the one on Friday this week, will be on Saturday in the following week, and so on.