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

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

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_Monday, 4_.--At daylight, Captain Smith left us to assist in bringing
the prize out of the river, but the day being calm, she was not removed.
We burnt blue lights, at intervals, during the night, as signals to the
prize, or any boat that might be sent from her.

_Tuesday, 5_.--At nine, we saw the Spaniard under weigh; and, at ten,
she anchored close beside us. She was well supplied with water, of which
we stood in need, and of which we availed ourselves. A midshipman, with
some men, was then appointed to take charge of her to Fernando Po. We
parted company, and proceeded on our further examination of the rivers
on this coast, when we stood to the westward, anchoring off Nun
River,[34] at nine in the evening.

_Wednesday, 6_.--After breakfast, we sent on shore to procure
information of slavers, in consequence of having seen the smoke of a
fire, which is a well-known signal on the coast, to invite vessels to
trade with them. The fire is made by night, and the smoke forms the
signal by day. Our boat returned, bringing a poor Spaniard from a small
town, just within the entrance of the river, called Pilot's Town.[35] He
was a native of Manilla, and had been left behind by his vessel, but
from what cause he did not state. He told us, the blacks informed him,
that there had been a man of war on the coast, but that she had left
some days since.

_Thursday, 7_.--Light airs. At daylight we got under weigh, and came to
an anchor, off the mouth of the Bonny river again, soon after sunset.

We had now examined the entrances of all the rivers between the Bonny,
and Cape Formosa; all of which communicate with each other in the
interior; some being navigable by vessels, but all by canoes; for
instance, a vessel may go in at St. Nicholas, and by passing through a
creek, come out at the St. John's. This piece of intelligence had the
effect of occasionally placing us in some perplexity as to our
movements; for, according to one person, a vessel freighted with slaves
was on the point of coming out of one river; while, at the same time,
agreeably to another informant, the same vessel was stated to be coming
out of another river.

There is, however, but little doubt that the interior of the country is
intersected by very extensive water communications lying between the
bight of Benin and Biafra, and I heard Captain Owen say, that, in his
opinion, the Niger would be found to discharge itself in one of these
bights, a fact, which I have the satisfaction to learn, is now proved by
the recent discovery of the Landers.

_Friday, 8_.--At daylight, we made sail. At ten, we received a pilot on
board, and in three hours, entered the channel of the New Calabar river,
which must be passed, before an entrance into the Bonny can be effected.
This position of the Calabar is, however, on the coast usually
denominated the Bonny, in reference to the superior trade of that river.

The pilot here requested the Captain's permission to make a "jhu jhu,"
which is a superstitious rite performed by the natives in these rivers.
The object of the ceremony is to propitiate their deity for a safe
passage and a good trade; the operation consists of spilling a wine
glass full of rum, twice on the bowsprit (upon which the operator
stands), and once on each side of it, into the water. They practise a
similar rite when they anchor, cutting some bread and meat into small
pieces, scattering it in like manner on the bowsprit, into the river,
and also on the deck, while those who stand around, mingle in the act,
by tasting their offerings. The objects worshipped by the people of the
New Calabar, are the tiger and the shark; while the Bonny people worship
the shark and the guana.

At half-past four, we anchored, for the night, off Foche Island, inside
the first bar of the river, and the pilot went on shore. The town on
this island had been burnt to the ground only a few days before we
arrived, owing to the carelessness of some new slaves, and the people of
the town had determined upon selling the woman to whom the slaves
belonged, as a punishment for her own neglect.

The dogs on Foche Island were observed to bear a close resemblance to
those of Fernando Po, (a common sort of small cur.) I mention this,
because it has been thought that the Fernandians have had very little
connection with the people of the Continent, as a proof of which, we
have never found any one (out of all the varieties of the African
nations) who could speak with, or understand, the language of the
natives of Fernando Po.

_Saturday, 9_.--Soon after daylight the pilot returned on board. We
found the natives of Foche Island very cautious in coming off, even the
pilot would not reply to our signals, until we had sent a messenger to
tell him what we were, nor would he even then consent to sleep on board.
I have little doubt, from the timidity he exhibited, that the
slave-vessels have occasionally enticed pilots and their people on
board, and carried them off for slaves.

Our breakfast this morning consisted of smoked and dried herrings,
corned mackerel, fresh prawns, beef steaks, cold roast beef, cold ham,
roast and boiled yams, eggs, and toast: a supply that will not be
thought despicable for the passengers of a merchant schooner, in the
Bight of Biafra, where the sun was so powerful, that our anchor was hot
enough to serve the purposes of a heated oven.

At four in the afternoon I accompanied Lieut. Badgeley, with six Kroomen
in a small boat, to visit the town of Bonny, and the English shipping in
the river. Soon after dark we went on board the Neptune, which was lying
off the town of Bonny, and was the same vessel we had boarded outside
the river. After refreshing ourselves with tea, we accompanied the
Surgeon on shore, to look for Captain Cudd, whom we found visiting one
of King Peppel's great men. We wished to call upon the King, but were
informed that we could not be allowed to do so, as his Majesty was too
drunk to receive company, and exceedingly dangerous in his cups; a state
of bliss to which he commonly arrived by that hour, every evening. We,
therefore, contented ourselves by passing the night at the house of the
prime minister, with the intention of waiting upon his Majesty the
following morning. I slept in the same apartment with the Doctor. Our
beds, by courtesy so called, were made on a mud floor; they consisted
merely of a mat spread for each, with a coya-cushion (the outside shell
of the cocoa nut) for a pillow; fortunately the climate is too hot to
require any covering; we therefore lay down without removing our nether
garments; sleep was, however, quite out of the question, for so soon as
the lights were out, the rats and mice came in, and assisted by myriads
of cockroaches and ants, contrived to keep us constantly employed
driving them away from our bodies, until we were in so feverish and
exhausted a state that we anxiously longed for the return of day.

On the following morning, _Sunday, 10_, I was invited to take a Bonny
warm bath, which I accepted with pleasure, for after such a night the
very name of a bath was refreshing; the Doctor therefore kindly
conducted me into the open space where I was informed that every thing
was prepared. I was seated in an arm chair, with a large brass-pan
before me full of tepid water, about two feet deep, into which I was
requested to put my legs: two or three attendants provided with bowls of
warm water, soap and cloths, now began to operate on my body; the
sensation produced by this process, was similar to the effect of
champooing. After they thought they had sufficiently polished me with
their cloths, they began to pour cold water over me, which was the most
refreshing part of the business; but the reader may imagine what my
feelings were, when to my utter surprise I discovered that the whole
ceremony had been performed by women, many of whom, although black, were
both young and handsome. I had detected a good deal of giggling from the
beginning, and objected to the presence of so many persons; but I was
indifferently told, 'Oh! it was the custom of the country.'

We accompanied Captain Cudd on board his vessel to breakfast, after
which we all came on shore, to wait upon the King, to whom we were
conducted by our friend Bill Peppel, at whose house we passed the night,
and whom I understood to be the King's most confidential minister. His
Majesty received us in a very easy friendly manner, and in what he
perhaps considered a fine dress, consisting of a neat striped fine
calico shirt, a pair of white trowsers, and a silk cap with a long
tassel. We talked on a variety of subjects, selecting those which we
supposed were interesting to him, such as the regular trade in palm-oil,
and the illicit one in slaves, but our conversation principally turned
on England, in courtesy to the King who had been at Liverpool, in the
capacity of cabin boy, with one of the Captains of the palm-oil vessels.
He ordered some Membo (palm-wine) to be presented to us; we found it
flavoured with a strong bitter, produced by the use of a native nut. To
our European palate, this taste was by no means agreeable. It is with
palm-wine so prepared, however, that his Majesty contrives to get tipsy
with such punctuality. When this liquor first exudes from the tree, and
before the process of fermentation has drawn its intoxicating qualities
into action, it is a sweet and not unpleasant beverage.

Our interview lasted about an hour, when we took leave of the King, to
return on board. In passing through one of the streets, we saw a guana
climbing up a tree, the Doctor advanced and seized it by the tail, a
proceeding by no means dangerous as regarded the animal, whose nature is
extremely gentle. The natives, however, witnessed this act with horror,
this creature being to them an object of worship. As these animals are
protected by the superstition of the people, and are allowed to enter
their houses at pleasure, they become extremely bold, and frequently
help themselves to a chicken, or any thing else for which they have a
fancy, upon which occasion the owner feels himself highly favoured, and
imagines that some good fortune will attend him in consequence. I was
informed that they have been known to devour young infants. A guana was
once killed on board an English vessel, upon which the trade with that
vessel was immediately stopped, and a grand palaver held, when the
Captain was sentenced to pay a fine of 500 bars, this was afterwards
commuted to 200; and when it was paid the ship was permitted to
recommence trading.

The ceremony of opening the trade with each vessel is as follows: a day
being appointed by the King, a dinner is prepared, and His Majesty is
entertained by the Captain and his officers, on board the trader. The
black gentlemen who form the royal suite are obliged, upon this
occasion, to trust to chance, and the good-nature of the ship's crew,
for their share of the feast. In order that no point of courtesy may be
wanting, it is requisite to send a boat from the ship to meet His
Majesty, as he comes out of the creek in his own canoe. The King, upon
joining his entertainers, immediately enters their boat; which
condescension is acknowledged by a salute of seven guns, fired from the
ship. On arriving alongside, His Majesty throws an egg at the vessel's
hull; he then ascends to the deck, which is usually covered, from the
gangway to the cabin, with a piece of cloth; an arm chair, covered and
ornamented with the same material, being placed ready for his
accommodation.

The only beverage used by King Peppel is his favourite Membo, which is
brought on board by his attendants. His Majesty commonly returns about
sunset to the shore, when a second salute of seven guns is fired from
the ship, and the trade is declared free to all his subjects.

Shortly before our arrival a circumstance occurred which serves to
illustrate King Peppel's good-nature and forbearance. About the middle
of December, 1826, Capt. Lawrenson, a slave agent, arrived at the Bonny,
to purchase a cargo of slaves, which he accomplished in about two
months, and sent them away to the West Indies, remaining behind himself,
with a quantity of goods to make further purchases, having written his
owners to send vessels, and take the slaves away. In the meantime he
contrived to ingratiate himself so much with King Peppel, that His
Majesty allowed him to live in his house, and consulted his opinion,
upon all matters of importance, relative to the white people. Many
months elapsed before any vessel arrived, but when they did, the slaves
were not ready, and the King continued to delude him with promises for
two months longer, at the end of which period, finding his hopes still
unrealized, the impatient Frenchman became enraged at what he considered
the King's deceit, and resolved on taking summary vengeance.
Accordingly, one evening, he went on shore with a cigar in his mouth,
and a few squibs in his pocket, when he deposited the latter in the
thatch of several houses, and set fire to them. The huts being composed
of bamboo, palm-leaves, and reeds, soon burst into a flame, which spread
so rapidly in all quarters, that nearly the whole town was destroyed.
The people were greatly exasperated and wished to kill the Frenchman,
who had not attempted to effect his escape, but King Peppel forbade them
to injure a hair of his head, permitting him to return to his vessel,
which immediately sailed for France; the Captain still vowing vengeance
against the King, and threatening to return with a much larger vessel,
well armed, to commit greater ravages, and to carry off all he could lay
his hands on, until he considered that he had received compensation for
the fraud which he averred had been practised upon him.

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 deg. F. in the
shade.

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