Part 25

There is a superstitious ceremony performed at the Bonny river, about once in three years, which consists of offering the most beautiful virgin they can find, as a sacrifice to their Jhu Jhu, whereby they hope to propitiate the evil spirit, and avert the dangers to which vessels are liable in crossing the bar. The victim is taken in a boat to the mouth of the river, where, after a preparatory ceremonial, she is made to walk to the extremity of a plank, from which she is precipitated into the water, where in a few seconds she is devoured by sharks. The mind of the poor wretch is prepared for this fate: which, indeed, appears to be a source of pleasure, rather than of terror, from the idea that she is going at once to Paradise, to become the wife of Jhu Jhu; and towards the conclusion of the ceremony, it is not uncommon for the victim to display extravagant transports of joy. One of the English captains remonstrated with a native for going to witness such an exhibition. "What?" replied the indignant black,--"What you tink?--Why! she now married to Jhu Jhu--got large house--more big than any in Liverpool--plenty copper-bar--plenty rum--plenty clothes--what you tink she want?--noting!" These articles being the principal objects of the trade from England, are consequently most desired; and as the majority of the trading vessels come from Liverpool, where some few of the Bonny people have been, they consider that town the ultimatum of magnificence and splendour.

We went on board the Neptune about noon, where we took an early dinner, and returned to the schooner about sunset, when we learnt that a grand deputation of black gentlemen, from New Calabar Town, had arrived, to invite Capt. Smith to bring his schooner up their river to trade; they requested him to lose no time, and offered to leave a large canoe for our use, when we returned from the Bonny; however, Captain Smith would not agree to their request; and when they discovered, that, instead of being a trader, we were looking out for slavers, they were glad to get away. Our pilot partook of their alarm, and, on the following morning, he sent back the casks empty, with a message, that he could not come on board again.

There is much enmity between the Bonny and the New Calabar people, arising principally out of their rivalship in the trade with foreign vessels. A short time ago, they had a fight on board an English ship, under the following circumstances.

The New Calabar people had got on board the ship Huskinson, and were taking her up to their town. On the passage, they were attacked by a number of large canoes, well manned and armed, from the Bonny: a desperate struggle ensued; the Bonny people lost many lives, but they succeeded in boarding the vessel, dislodging their opponents, and triumphantly carried the ship into their river; thus securing all her trade to themselves. This fight did not, on the present occasion, produce war between the rival people, as such incidents usually do; it merely had the effect of suspending their intercourse for a short period. Their war canoes are very large, and will carry from 50 to 100 men, well armed with muskets, pistols, sabres, and sometimes a small gun in the bow.

We got under weigh in the afternoon, without a pilot, and worked the schooner over the bar, which is very narrow, and stood out to sea that evening, notwithstanding there was a fresh breeze against us, through a very intricate navigation. It was at the entrance of this river that one of the boats of H.M.S. Maidstone was upset. She had come to an anchor in the evening, with the tide running in, which made the water very smooth; but, in the middle of the night, at the turn of the tide, they found the boat rolling about very uneasily. This very much surprised them, because the wind had not arisen; the sea soon began to break over them, when the boat upset, and the surgeon's assistant, with several other persons, was drowned. This proceeded from the ebb tide encountering the ordinary set on the land. We left the Bonny with the intention of visiting our friends in the Old Calabar, in the hope of meeting the Frenchman, who had shot the mate of the Kent.

_Tuesday, 12_.--At five this morning, we came to an anchor. The weather had been squally during the night, and at daylight the wind increased; the squalls becoming more frequent and heavy, with continued thunder and lightning; and so heavy a swell, that if we had not taken in the boat from the stern, she would have been washed away. At daylight, we discovered that Tom Shot's Point bore N.E. by N. six or seven miles.

_Wednesday, 13_.--At daylight, saw a vessel at anchor, outside of us, which proved to be H.M.S. North-Star, and immediately after, Lieut. Mather came on board to examine us. On that officer's return, Lieutenant Badgeley and myself went on board the North-Star, to wait on Captain Arabin, who gave us a most friendly reception. He pressed us to remain and dine, but Lieutenant Badgeley's anxiety to return to Fernando Po, obliged us to decline an invitation which otherwise would have proved extremely agreeable, and as Captain Arabin had sent his boats up the river (under the command of his first lieutenant) in search of slavers, it superseded the necessity of our going; we therefore got under weigh, and sailed to rejoin Captain Owen.

[34] "The river Nun, or First Brass River, is the main branch of the Quorra, from whence you pass (in about two hours) through a creek, in an easterly direction, into the Second Brass River, which is also a large branch of the Quorra."--_Lander_, vol. iii. p. 224. "Brass, properly speaking, consists of two towns of nearly equal size, containing about a thousand inhabitants, and built on the borders of a kind of basin, which is formed by a number of rivulets, entering it from the Niger, through forests of mangrove bushes. One of them is under the domination of a noted scoundrel called King _Jacket_, who has already been spoken of; and the other is governed by a rival chief, named King Forday. These towns are situated directly opposite to each other, and within the distance of eighty yards, and are built on a marshy ground, which occasions the huts to be always wet."--_Lander_, vol. iii. p. 234.

[35] "A place, called Pilot's Town by Europeans, from the number of pilots that reside in it, is situated nearly at the entrance of the First Brass River (which, we understand, is the Nun River of Europeans), and at the distance of sixty or seventy miles from hence. This town acknowledges the authority of both kings, having been originally peopled by settlers from each of their towns."--_Lander_, vol. iii. p. 234.

CHAP. XI.

Reverence for Beards--Native Shields--Petty Thefts--Tornado Season-- Author departs for Calabar--Waterspout--Palm-oil Vessels--Visit to Duke Ephraim--Escape of a Schooner with Slaves--Calabar Sunday-- Funeral of a Duke's Brother--Egbo Laws--Egbo Assembly--Extraordinary Mode of recovering Debts--Superstition and Credulity--Cruelty of the Calabar People to Slaves--Royal Slave Dealer--Royal Monopoly--Manner of Trading with the Natives--Want of Missionaries--Capt. Owen's Arrival--Visit Creek Town with King Eyo--The Royal Establishment-- Savage Festivities--Calabar Cookery--Old Calabar River

_Thursday, 14_.--ARRIVED in Maidstone Bay, at ten o'clock, when we learnt that Commodore Collier, in the Sybille, with the Esk and Primrose, had been in the bay, and left it only on the preceding day. We also heard of the decease of Captain Clapperton, Richard Lander, who was the bearer of the melancholy tidings, being on board the Esk, for a passage to England. Received some letters and papers from England, that had been left for me by my old friend Captain Griffenhooffe, of the Primrose, and whom I was unfortunately doomed never to meet again in this sublunary scene; for having suffered from fever, he was invalided, and died at Ascension, on his way home. We found the Diadem transport here, which had arrived a few days before, with government stores from Cape Coast Castle. A remarkable occurrence took place between the agent (Lieutenant Woodman) and the natives, on their first interview. That gentleman had, like Captain Owen, and some of his officers, allowed his beard to grow from the time he had left England, having been induced to do so for the sake of the advantages, which, from experience. Captain Owen considered were to be derived from it. In the first place, all the Arabs wear long beards, and they are held in much respect wherever they sojourn among the various African nations: not altogether for their beards, but from their intelligence; however, the beard is naturally identified with their character. They also command respect, because they are generally worn by the old men of their own country, and, on our first arrival, the chiefs of Fernando Po advanced with delight to rub beards, with all those among us who wore them. When Lieutenant Woodman left the island for Cape Coast, his beard was of considerable length, but meeting with Commodore Collier at Accra, that officer would not receive him in his Fernando Po costume; and being unequal to contend with the higher powers, yielded to the alternative of removing his beard, in preference to subjecting himself to the consequences of his superior officer's displeasure. But, mark the effect!--when he came back to Fernando Po, the native chiefs turned from him with contempt, believing that he could not have lost so dignified an appendage, without having committed some crime. This reminds me of a passage in the 15th chapter of Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, viz. "The practice of shaving the beard excited the pious indignation of the Fathers of the Church, which practice (according to Tertullian) is a lie against our own faces, and an impious attempt to improve the works of the Creator."

I was sorry to learn, that there had been some altercation between Commodore Collier, and Captain Owen, on the subject of wearing beards.

_Saturday, 16_.--Went on shore at day light, and remained till evening, when I returned on board in the midst of a tornado, which, however, did not last long, and fortunately had no great strength. We observed a glare in the mountain, which the natives informed us proceeded from a fire of considerable extent, made by them for the purpose of driving the wild oxen, or buffalos, to a certain spot, where they are hamstrung, and afterwards slain. We never saw any animals in the island, larger than sheep or goats. I have more than once, in a native hut, found a shield made of hide, about four feet high and two broad, with a stick passed longitudinally through each end; but whether they procured these shields from vessels touching at the island, or from the wild animals described as being in the mountains, we had no means of ascertaining.

_Sunday, 17_.--Captain Owen had some of the officers of the Eden, as well as civilians from the establishment, to dine with him to-day: our dinner consisted of green turtle, a variety of fish, small mutton, fowls, &c. all the produce of the island.

_Monday, 18_.--The weather was now getting very close, hazy, and oppressive, as the season approached for the hot winds from the Continent, named, on this coast, the Hermattan, similar to the Sirocco of the Mediterranean; yet, the thermometer was only 88°. F. in the shade.

_Tuesday, 19_.--Mr. Galler ran after, and secured, a native who was making off with an iron hoop.

But, lo! what dangers doth environ, The man that meddleth with cold iron,

for, on the following day, Captain Owen ordered the thief to have his head shaved, for the purpose of shaming him out of the repetition of his crime, thus making him an object of ridicule, among his own, as well as our people; and, as the natives display no small degree of dandyism in dressing their hair, he hoped that this 'rape of the locks,' would have a beneficial effect: he, however, considered an additional punishment necessary, in consequence of the frequency of the offence, iron-stealing having become a very common practice; he, therefore, ordered the offender to receive thirty-nine lashes; but at the twenty-fifth he fainted, from fear, no doubt, certainly not from the severity of the chastisement; however, he was immediately taken down and carried into the guard-house, where he continued bellowing, in a most frightful manner, for a long time.

_Monday, 25_.--We have had very close weather for several days, with much thunder and lightning during the whole of last night. At eight o'clock this morning, a heavy tornado came on, the rain and wind continuing for more than three hours; the greatest force of the hurricane was, however, expended in the first hour, from which time it gradually diminished; this produced a very agreeable change in the state of the atmosphere, the thermometer having fallen, during the tornado, from 91°. to 78°. F. being the lowest degree we have yet experienced.

_Wednesday, 27_.--The Diadem, transport, Lieut. Woodman, agent, sailed this morning for Sierra Leone, and England, by which conveyance I sent letters, and a few curiosities.

_Friday, 29_.--Mr. Wood was sent, with a party of men, to assist the gunner in erecting a battery on Adelaide Island. Having made bankrupts of the natives in the yam market, the African, schooner, sailed to-day for the purpose of procuring them, in other parts of the island.

_Saturday, March 1_.--Some days since, a native having been detected stealing a knife out of Capt. Smith's store, he was sent on board the Eden to have his head shaved, and be kept in irons for a week; the time having expired this morning, he was ordered to receive thirty-nine lashes previously to his dismissal. He bore his punishment well, and was going away, when, about 300 yards from the place, he fell down in a fainting fit, doubtless from the apprehension that he was not yet quite out of our power. Mr. Cowan, the surgeon, ran to his assistance, but the natives surrounded the patient, and would not allow him to receive medical aid from us; this was of the less consequence, as their method of proceeding proved completely effectual. They first bound a strong narrow leaf around the sufferer's body, stuffing as many more leaves within the bandage as it would contain: they then chewed some vegetable substance until it was reduced to a pulp, and when this preparation was blown up into the nose and ears of the patient, it almost immediately produced the desired effect.

There had been much thunder in the distance, and we had seen a good deal of lightning playing about the Camaroon mountain for several days past; but more particularly towards the morning.

_Saturday, 8_.--This being the tornado season, we have experienced one almost daily, lasting however only a few hours, the rest of the twenty-four being in part, very cloudy; and in part, very fine. The Lady Combermere, of Liverpool, which anchored here last night, sailed this afternoon to prosecute her voyage along the coast.

The African, schooner, Captain Smith, intending to sail this evening on a trading voyage up the Calabar river, principally to procure bullocks for our little colony, I was glad to avail myself of the opportunity of going as a passenger, for the purpose of making further observations on the habits and peculiarities of the people.

We left Maidstone bay about ten o'clock in the evening, taking with us, by way of experiment, three native youths from the island, an event which certainly augured well for the future advancement and civilization of these islanders.

_Sunday, 9_.--We this morning saw a very large waterspout, which broke within 200 yards of the vessel, and it is remarkable, that before it broke, we observed it raining in five or six different parts of the horizon, while it was quite fair, with the sun shining, in the intermediate spaces. Soon after four in the afternoon, we entered the Old Calabar river, and at sunset we anchored in three and a half fathoms water; east end of Parrot Island, N.N.W. four or five miles.

_Monday, 10_.--Weather still variable. Got under weigh at daylight, but it soon fell calm, and we made use of our sweeps. At noon, abreast of James's Island; and at three, we anchored off Old Calabar, or Duke's Town.

We found the brig Kent, Captain Cumings, still here; also, the ship Agnes, Captain Charles, from Liverpool, for palm-oil; and a Spanish schooner, from the Havannah, waiting for slaves. Captain Smith and I accompanied Captain Cumings on shore to pay a visit to Duke Ephraim, with whom Capt. Cumings was a great favourite, which proved a fortunate circumstance for us. The schooner having last visited the place as a man of war, she was received with suspicion, and it was extremely difficult to convince the Duke and his people, that there was not a _ruse de guerre_ intended by her reappearance as a mere trader.

_Tuesday, 11_.--A fine but very hot day. Paid a visit to the Duke after breakfast, and in the afternoon went three miles down the river to visit the Lady Combermere on her way up the river. In the evening we paid another visit to the Duke, at which period, every day, he holds a sort of levee for supercargoes, and Captains of vessels, to talk over "news." Upon these occasions he discovers an acute knowledge of his own interest. Remained on shore, and passed the night in the Duke's English house, where his visitors always sleep, but none of his family, except a few domestics in charge of it. This evening a tornado came on with heavy rain.

_Wednesday, 12_.--A schooner, that had secreted herself further up the river; dropped down and anchored off the town last night, after it became dark, intending to take in her cargo of slaves during the night. She completed her object before daylight, when she got under weigh, and sailed down the river, without shewing any colours.

This day was the Calabar Sunday, but it was not kept as the usual holiday, in consequence of the recent death of the Duke's favourite brother. The funeral ceremony is horrible, but I feel bound to describe it for the sake of shewing the extraordinary superstition and bigotry that still exists among a people, who have not only been visited, but regularly traded with, by European nations, for nearly two centuries. I shall introduce this individual case by premising that human sacrifices are lavishly made, not only in honour of the blood royal, but in a more or less degree upon the death of _great_ (or I should more properly say _rich_) men; for riches constitute greatness here, even in a higher ratio than they do in more civilized countries; the riches of these parts consisting in the possession of slaves.

At the funeral obsequies of the Duke's brother, six human victims were destined to the sacrifice; namely, three men and three women, who, however, were, with a strange mixture of mercy and cruelty, rendered insensible to the terrors of their fate by previous intoxication. Five of these poor creatures were hung, and placed in the grave of the Prince, while the sixth, a young and favourite wife, was reserved for a destiny still more horrible; being thrown alive into the grave, which was immediately closed over the whole.

These people practise many other superstitious customs, equally dreadful, and I am persuaded it needs but a recital of them, to prove how much they stand in want of the benevolent instructions of Christian missionaries.

The laws of the country are worthy of attention, being, perhaps, the most curious, as well as the most prompt, and effectual, of any that we are acquainted with, amongst the African nations. The whole of the Old Calabar country is governed by what are termed the "Egbo laws." These are laws, enacted by a secret meeting, called the Egbo assembly, which is held in a house set apart for that purpose, called the Palaver house; of this assembly the Duke, by virtue of his sovereignty, officiates as the chief, with the title of Eyamba. There are different degrees of rank in the subordinate Egbo members, and each step must be purchased successively. They sometimes admit Englishmen into this assembly: Captain Burrell of the ship Haywood, of Liverpool, held the rank of Yampai, which is one of considerable importance, and he found it exceedingly to his advantage, as it enabled him to recover all debts due to him by the natives.

The following are the names, and prices, of each step:

1. Abungo 125 Bars. 2. Aboko 75 Bars. 3. Makaira 400 White copper rods. 4. Bakimboko 100 Bars. 5. Yampai 850 White copper rods,

also some rum, goats, membo, &c. &c.

The Yampai is the only class of Egbo men that are allowed to sit in council. The sums paid for the different titles of Egbo are divided among the Yampai only, who are not confined to a single share, for a Yampai may have his title multiplied as often as he chooses to purchase additional shares, which entitles the person so purchasing to a corresponding number of portions in the profits arising out of the establishment.

Their mode of administering justice is as follows: When a person cannot obtain his due from a debtor, or when any injury has been received, personally or otherwise, the aggrieved party applies to the Duke for the Egbo drums; acquainting him at the same time with the nature of his complaint: if the Duke accedes to the demand, the Egbo assembly immediately meet, and the drums are beat about the town; at the first sound of which every woman is obliged to retreat within her own dwelling, upon pain of losing her head for disobedience: nor until the drum goes round the second time, to shew that council is ended, and the Egbo returned, are they released from their seclusion. If the complaint be just, the Egbo is sent to the offending party to warn him of his delinquency, and to demand reparation, after which announcement no one dares move out of the house inhabited by the culprit, until the affair is settled, and if it be not soon arranged, the house is pulled down about their ears, in which case the loss of a few heads frequently follows. This extremity, however, rarely occurs, for if the offender be not able to settle the matter himself, it is generally made up by his relations and friends.

The Egbo man--that is the executive person wears a complete disguise, consisting of a black network close to the skin from head to foot, a hat with a long feather, horns projecting from his forehead, a large whip in his right hand, with a bell fastened to the lower part of his back, and several smaller ones round his ankles. Thus equiped he starts from the Egbo-house, runs through the streets with his bells ringing, to the house of the offender, followed by half a dozen subordinate personages fantastically dressed, each carrying either a sword or stick.

I one day asked King Eyo who this Egbo was, who ran about with the bells, "What? you tink Egbo be man, no, he be debil, come up from bush, nobody know him," was his reply.

It is their custom upon the death of a great man, to have one of his slaves, male or female, taken down to the side of the river to make what they call a devil, which means, I presume, an offering to the Evil Spirit; this is done in the following manner. A stake is driven into the ground close to the water's edge, to this the poor wretch is fastened, the head being pulled as high as possible to stretch the neck for the sword, by which he is to be decapitated, and after the deed is accomplished they carry the head through the town rejoicing.