A Voyage Round the World, Vol. I (of ?) by James Holman

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The criminal code is singularly mild: the highest degree of punishment
being expulsion from the colony, which is a very beautiful
exemplification of the sense of honour and integrity that the colonists
entertain, when, for the most flagrant violations of civil rights and
good order, they deem it a sufficient disgrace and infliction to cast
out the guilty person from all further communion, the property of the
exile being given to his heir; or, in lack of an heir, reverting to the
general stock.

The remarkable success which crowned the efforts of the settlers in
Liberia, has subsequently led to the consideration of more extensive
plans for the establishment of colonies for liberated slaves. Of course,
in proportion as the circle of manumission is enlarged, the provision
for the future welfare of the emancipated blacks must he increased:--with
a double view, therefore, not only to prepare adequate settlements for
their reception, but by the exercise of an active liberality to
encourage the spirit of freedom which was found difficult of
accomplishment at first, but which ultimately yielded to the energies
of the opponents of the slave trade in America. Many attempts had been
made in the United States to abolish, or at all events diminish the
practice of slavery, bat in vain; for it appears, however startling and
apocryphal the statement may seem, that the English Government, during
the period that they exercised sovereignty in the Union, always refused
to sanction the abrogation of slavery. Even so far back as 1698, the
mother country rejected a proposition made by the assembly of
Pennsylvania, to levy a duty of 10 per cent. per head on the importation of
slaves; which was intended to operate as a prohibition. Indeed, one of
the proximate causes of the Declaration of Independence (July 1776) was
the unrestricted introduction of slaves. Soon after the American war
had terminated, it was suggested as an appropriate measure, in
fulfilment of views which had been so long defeated by the influence of
English authority, to establish a colony on the coast of Africa, but
the continued pursuit of the degrading traffic by almost all the powers
of Europe, prevented the benevolent projectors from carrying their
design into effect. Twenty years afterwards, the plan was revived, and
the most strenuous exertions were made in the different States to
organize a body of opinion, which should finally triumph over the
self-interests and reluctant morality of the slave-owners. At this
period, one of the difficulties which the philanthropic abolitionists
experienced was the want of a suitable refuge for such slaves as they
might be enabled to liberate. The legislature of Virginia, which
contains nearly one-third of the black population of the Union, pledged
itself to release all its slaves, if Congress would undertake to
provide an adequate asylum for them. President Jefferson negotiated in
vain for a territory in Africa, and the Brazils. The legislature of
Virginia again renewed its pledge, and as much of the bigotry of former
times had now been obliterated by the diffusion of enlightened
principles, the renewal of the proposition was followed by the best
results. General Mercer, familiarly designated as the Wilberforce of
America, opened a correspondence with the principal advocates of
emancipation, which ultimately produced the formation of the American
Colonization Society, on the first of January, 1817. The labours of the
Society were greatly facilitated by the laws of the Union, which left
to each State the uncontrolled power of legislating for itself on the
subject of slavery. The members of the Society had therefore merely to
address themselves to the humanity and understanding of the
slaveowners, in order finally to attain their purpose. The progress of
moral truth, however slow, is always certain, and the issue of those
proceedings has been such as the excellence of their object might have
led us to anticipate. Several of the States have already signified
their willingness to forego all the pernicious advantages of slavery.
And the number of slaves offered gratuitously by owners in different
parts of America, vastly exceed the present means of the Society to
provide for them in Africa. The legislature of Maryland appreciate so
highly the utility and importance of the settlement of Liberia, that
they have voted in the first instance a considerable sum, to be
appropriated annually to its support, and have subsequently, within the
last six months, voted two hundred thousand dollars for the purpose of
assisting in the formation of another settlement on the same
principles.

It is, therefore, sufficiently evident, that what is now required to
complete the united objects of manumission and colonization, is, not so
much the consent of the slave-owners, as the power of carrying the
design into operation. Mr. Elliot Cresson, of Philadelphia, an active
and enthusiastic supporter of the cause, visited England in 1832, for
the purpose of drawing attention to the subject, and of appealing to the
well-known generosity of a country that has uniformly taken the lead in
advancing the interests of civilization. A Society was formed, under the
patronage of H.R.H. the Duke of Sussex, with the view of extending
colonization in Africa, on the same system which has proved so
successful in the case of Liberia. The subject, unfortunately, did not
excite the attention which might have been anticipated, partly, I fear,
because it was ill-timed, and was considered by the general body of
Abolitionists, as a diversion tending to distract the public mind from
the great question of emancipation, which was then undergoing anxious
discussion; and partly, because it was considered by some, as a
palliative likely to prolong the existence of slavery, in the same ratio
as it diminished its evils. The selection of so unseasonable a moment
for introducing the subject to the public, was influenced by the
necessity Mr. Cresson was under of returning to the United States, but
previously to his departure, the objections to the efforts of the
Society were fully answered, and the important fact of the independence
of each State, in reference to slavery, was stated in ample detail. From
those statements it appeared, that the law of slavery, in some cases,
prohibits--not only the emancipation; but the education of slaves, in
order to render their bondage still more hopeless and oppressive: but
that the efforts of the Society were gradually abating the rigour of
those cruel restrictions. The Society has hitherto endeavoured, as far
as its powers would permit, to extend the principle of colonization, by
removing, invariably, with their own consent, such slaves as have the
good fortune to obtain their freedom, to a spot where they were not only
free from competition with the white population, but where their
education, imperfect as it might have been, rendered them the superior
instead of the inferior class: thus silently promoting the blessings of
Christianity and civilization amongst the native tribes. Mr. Cresson,
during his residence in England, distributed several illustrative
documents, sanctioned by names of distinguished persons in the United
States, and to which I am indebted for some of these particulars. From
these documents, were there even no other evidence, it may be fairly
inferred, that Liberia affords uncontrovertible proof of the
practicability of establishing colonies on the African coast, composed
of persons of the African race, nearly, if not wholly, freed from the
control of the whites; that the expense of establishing such a colony is
moderate, not having exceeded, in the case in point, 4000l. per annum;
that it is greatly favoured by the natives, with whom the colonists are
rapidly extending their commercial and friendly relations to their
mutual benefit; that it has not only placed a large number of manumitted
slaves in a prosperous situation, but led to the emancipation of many,
who must otherwise have still continued in bondage; and, finally, that
it has completely put an end to the slave-trade in the immediate
neighbourhood of the settlement, where that nefarious traffic was
hitherto most extensively prosecuted. It is to be deplored, that
although Great Britain has recently made a noble effort to abolish
slavery in her own dominions, there are other countries which still
sanction a usage so degrading to our age and religion. But a very short
time since, several vessels were captured, the united cargoes of which
amounted to a thousand slaves, and when we refer to the large proportion
which the liberated Africans bear to the rest of the population in
Sierra Leone, equal to about three-fourths of the whole, and consider
the heavy expense at which this country endeavours to fulfil the serious
responsibility it has taken upon itself in the liberation of these
unfortunate captives, I am persuaded that all the particulars which can
be collected respecting Liberia, will be deemed worthy of the most
serious attention. My readers, therefore, will not, I trust, think that
I devote too much space to the subject, if I close my rapid sketch of
the progress and fortunes of this settlement, with the latest
information respecting it, which has been received in Europe. It is of a
very recent date, and is from the pen of Dr. Mechlin, the Governor of
Liberia:--

"The colony is daily adding strength and respectability to its
character, and if even now all patronage were withdrawn, the colonists
are fully capable of sustaining and defending themselves from any
assaults of the natives, and regulating their own concerns in such a
manner as to secure the prosperity of the colony. A court, courthouse,
and trial by jury, are established. At this moment, since the
departure of Governor Mechlin, and until the new Governor arrives out,
there are none other than blacks among the inhabitants of Liberia.

"The slaves who were captured and brought into St. Augustine, and Key
West, after remaining in the United States from six to twelve months,
were sent to Liberia, a quantity of land being granted to them there.
They have gone on to cultivate it in a manner equal, if not superior,
to that of the colonists. They have been able to accomplish thus much
from what experience they gained while in this country. These people
arrived at Liberia naked; they have clothed themselves from the avails
of their labour, and, what is rather singular, they have gone into the
town to seek out for themselves wives, esteeming themselves too far
advanced in civilization and refinement to form connexions among the
natives, although they might obtain from among them much more comely
persons than they are enabled to find among the very meanest of the
colonists, from whom they are obliged to select. This fact alone
shows, that but a small degree of civilization infused into this
people, tends to the elevation of their character.

"The colonists of Monrovia are said to be much more inclined to trade
than to cultivate the earth. The English and the French vessels which
come there, have engrossed almost the whole trade of the colony, the
Americans not being able to compete with them. Many of the natives
come into the town, and are employed as labourers by the colonists.
The colonists also receive some of the children of the natives into
their families, and send them to school. At different times the
natives have made three or four attacks on the settlements, but have
always been repelled with spirit; for the last year the natives have
been very quiet and friendly. The colonists can bring into the field,
if necessary, about 500 troops, which are considered a match for ten
times the number of natives. Many tribes of these natives hold slaves,
which are treated with much cruelty, and it is doubtful if even their
masters are so well off or so happy as the slaves in our southern
states. They are much less civilized and more ignorant.

"The people there called Kroomen, reside in the country. They come
down to the sea-shore and pitch their tents, and launch their canoes,
and, sailing all along the coast, they become pilots to the traders;
and these are the men with whom the Spaniards trade for slaves. These
Kroomen keep no slaves themselves, neither do they allow any of their
own tribe to be sold as slaves; and they become of so much importance
to the slave-dealers on the coast, acting as a sort of brokers,
negotiating among the tribes for slaves, that they themselves, knowing
their own consequence, do not hesitate to board a slave-vessel, and
there is no instance of their ever being kidnapped."

The history of this little colony, which I have endeavoured to sketch
from the information furnished by Mr. Ashmun, appears to me to afford
matter for serious reflection. The principle involved in colonization
is, I am aware, liable to some objections, and I am not indifferent to
the arguments to which it has given occasion. But the strength of truth
and reason seems to be altogether in its favour. The dogmas of Malthus
maybe right or wrong, the statistical propositions of Mr. Sadler, and
the philosophical deductions he derives from them may be right or
wrong: with these querulous rhetoricians, I have nothing to do. But one
thing is certain, that while the fertile earth, in any of its endless
divisions, affords the means of sustenance, no human being ought to be
suffered to want, because the notion of emigration does not square with
certain opinions of a despotic school. That some countries are
overpopulated in reference to the resources of their superficies is, I
take it for granted, a fact above impeachment. That there is room
enough on the surface of the earth for all the population it contains,
is another truth which very few persons will be hardy enough to
contest. The principles of Providence in the economy of space appear,
therefore, to be that the superabundant population of one place, shall
seek in the uncultivated and scantily peopled regions of other
countries, for those means of existence which are denied to them by the
pressure of the demand on the soil at home. The immutable law of
benevolence, drawn from the institutes of Christianity, ordains the
earth for the sustenance of man. But that law is perverted by those who
resist emigration under the circumstances to which I have alluded. What
is to become of the surplus population, if it be not allowed a space
wherein to fertilize the virgin soil, and supply its wants? If its own
land denies it the means of life, must it die, that some philosopher
may triumph in his doctrines?

It is very true that colonization frequently terminates disastrously,
and that instances might be cited, in which emigrants have suffered
terrible privations, and have even fallen beneath the insalubrity of
unaccustomed climates. But these cases merely prove the necessity of
adopting sufficiently precautionary measures, before the emigrant
commits himself to a venture, upon which the happiness and interests of
himself and his family altogether depend. If a man rashly goes out
uncovered, and exposed, into a storm, he will surely run a chance of
catching an illness: so too, if a man penetrate to the tropics, and
carry with him the habits of England or France, he will certainly peril
his life, for these habits are unsuitable to places where a vertical
sun pours down its scorching rays upon the body. Every climate requires
especial modes of conduct for physical constitution. Brandy and water
might be a very good beverage, and even a medicinal protective at the
North Pole, but it would be ruinous if taken in excess at Sierra Leone.
It is because emigrants do not sufficiently study the situation to
which they bend their steps, that they so often complain of failure. We
have seen in the first expedition from the United States, that the
project terminated fatally for nearly all the colonists; but why?
Because they went to a low marshy island, at the commencement of the
rainy season, when disease in its worst horrors was just setting in.
How could they expect to escape a contagion, which they actually seemed
to court?

If the example of the colony of Liberia were to be followed, if
wholesome laws were laid down to regulate the movements of emigrants,
and proper precautions taken, by which all the advantages of position
might be seized, and the disadvantages avoided, I have very little
doubt that colonization would ultimately prove a valuable safety-valve
for society. The idle and wretched, who have no hopes or friends at
home, might always be thus beneficially drafted off to infant states,
where they could be made to labour, and where their recovered habits
could be rendered subservient to the common good. At home they hang on
the necks of the industrious; there they might be converted to useful
members of the great community, improving the means of the social body,
instead of deteriorating its morals, and wasting its resources.

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[19] This is a small bag filled with air, for the purpose of floating
nippers that are attached to it, through which the line passes, being
intended to fasten itself to the line on the surface of the water the
moment you check it on perceiving the lead strike the bottom, by which
means more correct soundings are obtained.

CHAP. VI.

The Kroo Country--Religion of the Kroo and Fish men--Emigration of the
Natives--Sketch of their habits and customs--Purchase of wives--The
Krooman's _ne plus ultra_--Migratory propensities--Rogueries exposed--
Adoption of English Names--Cape Palmas--Dexterity of the Fishmen--Fish
towns--The Fetish--Arrival at Cape Coast--Land with the Governor--
Captain Hutchison--Cape Coast mode of taking an airing--Ashantee
Chiefs--Diurnal occupations--School for Native Girls--Domestication
of Females--Colonel Lumley--Captain Ricketts--Neglect of Portuguese
fortresses--A native Doctor

_Monday, Oct. 8th, 1827_.--Light airs and variable, with frequent heavy
showers. Land in sight, bearing N.E. At noon calm and very hot. Lat.
5 deg. 32'. N. lon. 10 deg. 17'. W. Cape Palmas E.S.E. 168 miles.
Hoisted in the pinnance, which we had been towing all the way from
Sierra Leone, in consequence of the crowded state of the ship.

_Tuesday, 9th_.--At noon, lat. 4 deg. 55'. N. lon. 9 deg. 17'. W. Cape
Palmas S. 76 deg. E. 83 miles. At one a canoe came off to the ship, at
this time we saw a remarkable rock, called the Swallow, or Kroo rock,
which is detached from the main land, about two miles and a half from
the entrance of the river Waffen. There is a safe channel for vessels
inside of this rock, with seven fathoms water, and a muddy bottom.
Nearly twenty leagues to the westward of the Waffen is the river
Cestus,[20] in which river, Captain Spence, an old African trader, has
had a timber establishment some years.

Being now off the Kroo country, I think it desirable to introduce a
short description of it, and its inhabitants.

The Kroo country is situated on that part of the coast of Africa called
the Grain Coast, the chief towns of which are Settra Kroo, Little Kroo,
Kroo Barru, Kroo Settra, and King Will's town. It does not appear that
it extends any distance inland. The manners of the natives are
sufficiently curious to merit some description. They are pagans, and
place much faith in charms, auguries, and oracles. The most celebrated
place for oracles is near the banks of the river Cavally, a little to
the westward of Cape Palmas, and this spot is in as great repute
amongst them, and the surrounding tribes (particularly those along the
coast, even so far down as Cape Lahou), as ever that of Delphos was
among the ancient Greeks, and so far as we can learn, imposes with
equal success on the credulity and superstition of the poor ignorant
natives.

The Kroomen, that is, the Kroo and Fish men, for they all come under
the general denomination of Kroomen in Sierra Leone, are almost the
only people on the coast who voluntarily emigrate, to seek for labour
out of their own country. They come to Sierra Leone, to work in any
capacity in which they can obtain employment, until they are possessed
of sufficient property to enable them to purchase several wives. The
object they propose to themselves in this increase of their domestic
establishments, differs in some respects from the indulgences of the
east. The Kroomen compel their women to perform all the field-work, as
well as the necessary domestic duties, in conformity with the usages of
savage life, and when they can purchase a sufficient number of wives to
fulfil all these employments, they pass the remainder of their days in
ease and indolence. Before they are able to accomplish this object,
they are obliged to make several visits to Sierra Leone, as they do not
like to be absent more than two or three years at a time from their own
country. The average duration of this voluntary banishment is perhaps
about eighteen months. A sketch of the progress of the Kroomen from
their first visit to Sierra Leone, to the final consummation of their
wishes, in the attainment of their Paradise of idleness, will fully
illustrate the peculiar character of a tribe, one of whose usages is
that of seeking abroad during the vigorous years of life, the means of
dwelling with ease and comfort in old age at home.

When they have arrived at healthy boyhood, they first come to Sierra
Leone in the capacity of apprentices to the old hands, who are
considered as headmen or masters: these headmen, according to their
influence, or station in their own country, have a proportionate number
of apprentices attached to them, fluctuating from five to twenty, to
teach them what they call "White man's fashion." The profit of the
labour of the youths is always received by the headmen, who returns
them a small portion of it. When an apprentice goes back to his own
country, after his first trip, he is considered to have passed through
the period of initiation, and when next he visits Sierra Leone, he
comes upon his own account. The amount of the gains of this visit (a
great part of which consists of what they have been able to steal) is
delivered up to the elders of his family, who select and purchase a
wife for him. A short time is now spent in marriage festivities with
the respective relatives of the parties, and then a fresh venture to
Sierra Leone is undertaken, on which occasion he leaves his wife with
her relations. The proceeds of the third visit are dedicated to the
building of a hut, and the purchase of another wife. But he does not
remain long at home, before he prepares to set out again for the
purpose of making fresh accessions to his wealth, so that he may
increase his household up to the desired point where his own personal
labour will be rendered unnecessary to his support. In this way he
continues to visit Sierra Leone, accumulate property, and purchase
wives, the general number of which varies from six to ten, until he has
secured the requisite domestic establishment, when he "_sits down_" (as
they call it) for the remainder of his life, in what he considers
affluence and happiness. The process of wife-buying is remarkably
curious. For the first wife they pay two bullocks, two brass kettles,
one piece of blue baft, and one iron bar; but the terms upon which they
obtain the rest, depends entirely upon the agreement they make with the
parents of the brides. A convenient condition is attached to the
marriage articles, which secures the husband against any risk of being
disappointed by the bargain. If, after marriage, he discovers in the
lady any imperfection, or qualities that falsify the account given of
her previously by her parents, he is at liberty to turn her away in
disgrace, and the rejected bride is for ever after looked upon as an
abandoned character. In a very ancient history of Ireland, it is
stated, that a practice formerly prevailed in that country, of
permitting the bride elect to live with her intended husband twelve
months before marriage; and if, at the end of that time, the gentleman
was not satisfied with the lady's character and disposition, he was
allowed to send her back to her parents, taking upon himself the charge
of their offspring, in case they should have any. The gallantry of that
people, however, appears not to hare visited the female with any odium
in consequence: she was regarded by her friends with the same respect
and tenderness as before. The Kroomen cohabit with their wives in
succession, passing two days in rotation with each.

Of course, it does not fall to the lot of every Krooman who goes to
Sierra Leone, to secure such luxuries for the decline of life, many of
them being too imprudent to take sufficient care of their earnings.

The Kroomen sometimes come to Sierra Leone in their own canoes, which
are comparatively small for such a voyage, but they manage them with
skill, taking the precaution to keep close in with the land, and go on
shore every night. They are also conveyed in vessels that trade on the
coast, which they prefer, for the sake of economy, as they get their
provisions for assisting in navigating the vessel. On returning to
their country, however, they cheerfully pay 15s. a-head for their
passage, in any vessel they can procure; and, at these times, their
luggage, including the fruits of their plunder as well as their
earnings, makes no inconsiderable appearance in the ship. When they can
afford to return home in these larger vessels, they prefer them, on
many accounts, to their canoes, which are not only inconveniently
small, but expose their goods to the wet, and always liable to be
attacked and plundered by the Fishmen, who are more expert on the
water. They are also subject to great danger from some runaway blacks,
who infest the coast near the rock Cestus, going out in canoes, and
watching their opportunities for plundering any boat or vessel that
they are able to overpower.

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