Part 6

The commerce is carried on by the Negro courtiers, who are known by the name of the Slatées; these are free Negroes who possess considerable influence in the country, and whose principal employment consists in selling the slaves they procure from the centre of Africa. They likewise furnish the Negroes on the coast with native iron, odoriferous gums, incense, and schetoulou, or vegetable butter, which I shall afterwards have occasion to speak of; and take in exchange salt, which is a rare and valuable commodity in the interior.

The English are not established on the river Gambia farther up than Pisania; and here their trade is not very extensive, as their exports do not amount to more than 500,000 French francs, (about 20,000l.) The Americans have attempted to send some vessels to this quarter on commercial speculations.

The objects of trade here are the same as on the other parts of the coast, namely, gold, elephants’ teeth, slaves, wax, millet, oxen, sheep, poultry, and other articles of subsistence. Slaves, however, form the principal object; but at present not above 1000 are annually purchased: they cost from 450 to 500 francs each, which is the ordinary price of a man of a healthy constitution, from sixteen to twenty-five years of age. The European merchandises given in exchange are, fire-arms, ammunition, iron work, spirituous liquors, tobacco, cotton caps, a small quantity of broad cloth, trinkets, India goods, glass-work, and other trifles.

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CHAP. V.

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COMMUNICATION BY LAND BETWEEN ALBREDA AND CACHAUX. — DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY. — MANNERS, CUSTOMS, AND RELIGION OF ITS INHABITANTS. — ARTS. — EXTRAORDINARY SPANIARD. — DIFFERENT VILLAGES, &c.

NOTWITHSTANDING the difficulties which the factory of Albreda had to encounter from the operations of the English established up the river, it nevertheless acquired a degree of importance from the industry of the persons employed in it. They formed connections with the villages situated along the rivers that emptied themselves into the Gambia, and extended their views as far as Cachaux, the principal establishment of the Portuguese at the river of St. Domingo, with which they opened a communication by land.

They first arrived at the river of Bintan, the mouth of which is on the left bank of the Gambia, about a league above the old fort of the English. Vessels enter it without fear of grounding, at any season of the year, though they generally profit by spring tides; and when these fail, they use the oar or are towed. The banks of this river are very agreeable, as they are to the right lined with hills that are covered with large trees, while the left contains extensive and beautiful meadows.

The village of Bintan, which is the ordinary residence of the emperor of Foigny, was formerly of more importance than it is at present; it is situated to the right of the river, on the declivity of a hill, and covered with fine trees, which protect it from the sun. Almost all its houses are built in the Portuguese style. The French have a factory in it, as have the English; and both parties live in an amicable manner under the protection of the emperor. When, however, any difficulties arise between them, this prince never fails to assist the side that is the weakest.

The population of the Portuguese at Bintan is considerable; they live at their ease; their houses are large, good, and well-furnished, and they have a decent church. The Negro inhabitants of this part are the Felups; they speak a language peculiar to themselves, and are idolaters. Those who live up the country or at a distance from the Europeans, are almost savages: they hunt other Negroes that pass through their territories; but they respect the Whites, and make it a rule never to offer them the slightest insult. Those of Bintan or its environs who are occupied in commerce, are gentle, frank, and civilized; they like strangers, are always ready to render them service, and are candid and honest in their commercial dealings.

About seven leagues from Bintan is the village of Gereges. The French and English formerly had factories here, but they are now abandoned: the Portuguese have, however, established themselves in this village in great numbers. The country is intersected by a number of little rivers; and journeys as well as commerce are here performed by water. The king of this little state resides about a quarter of a league from Gereges; his houses, and those of his women, officers, and slaves, form a large village, which is built without order or regularity on a level soil well covered with trees. The houses are surrounded by several palisades formed of large piles, ten or twelve feet high, and each door is, according to custom, very low and narrow.

The subjects of this prince are reputed brave, and adroit in the use of arms. The English have more than once experienced the effects of their skill, particularly on an occasion which I shall describe. They had some misunderstanding with the alquier of Gereges and the officers of the king. The English complained to the prince and asserted, that as he had not done them justice, they would do it to themselves. With this view they armed and manned the largest vessel which had entered the river, and seemed by their preparations as if they intended to land and ravage the country, as they came to anchor opposite the village. The prince, far from being alarmed at this expedition, assembled his troops, and dispersed them in ambush along the river; when, as soon as the English begun the attack, the Negroes opened, and kept up for several hours such a rapid fire of musquetry, that several of the enemy were killed and wounded, and their intentions rendered abortive.

The king commanded in person, and when he saw that the English could no longer appear above deck, he ordered his troops to cease firing, and ranged them towards the shore in a threatening position. The result was, that the English were obliged to weigh anchor and let their vessel drop down with the tide. An accommodation was then set on foot, which the English purchased dearly.

Besides the Portuguese, two nations, who differ in their manner and language, inhabit this state: they are the Felups and the Bagnons, or Banions. The character of the former I have already explained; for they are the same here as in the empire of Foigni. The Bagnons are of a mild and gentle disposition, and are attached to a commercial intercourse with foreigners; they are also brave and industrious. The women are mild, economical, and much attached to their husbands and children; perhaps indeed, the world does not contain more industrious females, as they voluntarily devote themselves to labour from their youth.

The king of Gereges and his negro subjects are idolaters.

Pasqua, a large village of the Bagnons is next to, and about ten leagues distant from Gereges. This journey is commonly performed by land and without danger. The country is well cultivated, and those lands which are capable of inundation produce rice, while the other parts afford millet and all kinds of peas: they also grow immense quantities of gourds and water-melons.

The oxen of this country are excellent and uncommonly large, probably in consequence of the pastures being abundantly rich in fine and tender grass; the sheep, however, are not so good, as they are very fat, and their flesh has a strong taste. Poultry, on the contrary, succeeds well, and is very fine.

All the houses are sheltered from the excessive heat of the sun by large trees called cheese trees, which are always in leaf while their branches are susceptible of any direction.

This country abounds in bats, which are generally as large as pigeons: their wings are very long, and are furnished with five or six pointed hooks, by means of which they fix themselves together from the branches of trees, and hang down like large parcels of any thing thrown over the boughs. Of all volant animals, this is the only one which has milk to nourish its young; it is eaten by the Negroes. On the road to this village there may be observed a kind of round pyramids of earth, some of which are about seven feet high: they resemble the monuments raised to the memory of the great men of the country; but they are in fact the buildings of ants, and are as firm and compact as if they were formed of mortar. On breaking them, a multitude of ants fiercely issue out, and endeavour to punish the disturbers of their repose. These ants are whitish, and about the size of a barley-corn: their nests have only a single aperture at about one third of its height; and the ants attain it by means of a path, which runs round the pyramid from the bottom to the entrance.

Pasqua, which means the tree or pavilion of the king, is a village not remarkable for the number of its inhabitants, as its population does not exceed 300 persons, including the Portuguese, who are about one fourth of the number; but it is important on account of its political distinction. The king keeps in it a garrison of 100 infantry to awe the neighbouring states, and protect the Bagnons from the enterprizes of the savage Felups. This garrison is charged with exacting the tribute imposed by the kings, and with punishing the vagabonds. The village is surrounded by six rows of pallisades, comparatively fastened together by six traverse beams, and they are kept in good repair: it is situated on the bank of a little river called St. Grigou, but which is in several maps called Pasqua. This river is not wide, but is very deep, and contains plenty of fish, though crocodiles abound in it, and destroy immense numbers: its banks are fertile and agreeable.

About a league from Pasqua, and on the bank of the same river, a Spaniard from the isle of Cuba, called Don Juan Maldonado, had taken up his residence in a charming house, all the environs of which were delightful. The land which was not in tillage, formed vast meadows interspersed with bowers of palm and other trees, which presented a most charming appearance.

The house of this Spaniard was large and convenient, was surrounded by eight or ten huts occupied by his slaves, and the whole was enclosed by a quadruple wall of piles, the innermost of which was ten feet high, well terraced, and supported by two raised ways, with four platforms, each of which contained two pieces of cannon. Don Juan lived peaceably in his fortress, and was esteemed and respected by his neighbours: he was rich and did much good, but he had no wife.

At this residence travellers were cordially received and feasted. The people of the country do not agree with respect to this extraordinary man; some say that he left several children, heirs to his virtues and solitude. He lived in the most intimate way with several Negresses, without being attached to any one of them by the ties of marriage. Others assert, that he had no children; that the king inherited his property, and that he left his ordinary residence to return to Spain.

The Negroes of this country are husbandmen, and they perform their operations in cadence with the sound of drums: the spades which they use, are made of wood, shod with a small rib of iron; this serves them to root up weeds, open the ground, and cover the seeds which they sow.

From the residence of Maldonado to James’s village, is about three days journey, a distance which is agreeably performed by land. At this village, a greater quantity of wax is procured than at any other part of the province: the Portuguese alone buy here more than 500 cwt. every year. A market is held in it twice a week, whither the Negroes of the environs bring the wax for sale; the Portuguese buy it by wholesale, melt, and purify it, form it into cakes, and send it to Cachaux, where the magazines are established; from hence they ship it on their own account, or sell it to European merchants who send in quest of it.

The native inhabitants of James are Feloups and idolaters: they are adroit and civilized; and their manners are softened by their commerce and connections with foreigners. They acknowledge no sovereign, but live under the pacific republican government of their elders; their lands are rich and well cultivated, though they have no other agricultural implements than wooden spades, shod with iron, and having long handles.

With respect to the country, it is impossible for one to be more agreeable; it abounds in palm and other large trees. The Portuguese live here in easy circumstances, and have handsome and convenient houses. It is remarkable that the musquitoes are more numerous here than in any other part of Africa; they consequently are a great inconvenience to the inhabitants.

The river of Casamança is about a league distant from this village; it empties itself into the sea, to the north of the river St. Domingo; its water is deep enough to bear large ships; but there is a bar at its mouth which is very difficult and dangerous to pass, as it can only be cleared by canoes or small craft, and never without danger. Both banks of this river are inhabited by savage and cruel Felups, who will not hold any communication with the whites, and are always at war with their neighbours. Their country is interspersed with rivers, or rather with torrents, which proceed from a lake that is formed by the heavy rains, but which is dry in the fine season. At the rainy period the whole country resembles a vast marsh.

A few leagues up this river, is the village of Guinguin: it is inhabited by the Portuguese, who carry on a considerable commerce in wax; for this privilege they pay a duty to the king, and are as much masters in his states as he is himself. This prince and all his subjects are idolaters, and speak a peculiar language. The soil of this district is flat and very rich. Apes are uncommonly numerous in this part, and commit shocking ravages; but they are themselves grievously tormented by the bees, with which the country is covered.

The next Portuguese colony is Cachaux; it lies near the river of St. Domingo, about twenty leagues from its mouth. This establishment is in the territory of the tribe called Papels, an idolatrous people, whose principal god is a little statue, which they call _Chine_, and to which they sacrifice dogs. These Negroes are of an intrepid character, but they are treacherous, cruel, and vindictive; they are almost always at war with their neighbours, and even with the Portuguese, who, to secure themselves against their incursions, have surrounded their town on the land side with a strong pallisade, supported by some batteries, at which they always mount guard to prevent being surprised. Their houses consist only of a ground floor, but they are large and convenient; they are covered during the rainy season with the leaves of the latane tree, and the rest of the year with sail-cloth, which secures them from the operation of the sun, or of moisture. This change of covering is indispensible, because in the dry season the leaves would take fire, while the sail-cloth would not keep out the rain. They have a church, the duty of which is performed by a curate and a few priests; and there is likewise a convent inhabited by two or three Capuchins. All the Portuguese catholics and their priests are spiritually dependent on the bishop of St. Jago, one of the Cape de Verd islands. The Papels or natives have a part of the town to themselves, which they exclusively occupy: though they remain idolaters, they have adopted nearly all the customs of the Portuguese. Outside of the pallisades nothing is to be seen but swamps and fields of rice, the produce of which is not equal to the consumption. Oxen and cows are very scarce and dear in this part, and there are neither sheep, hogs, goats, nor poultry, though they might be bred with great facility. The town is not supplied with water, so that the inhabitants are obliged to fetch it from the distance of a musquet-shot from the pallisades, and almost always with an escort, to prevent their slaves from being killed or carried off.

The political, civil, and military government, rests with a governor, who is called a captain-major; he has under him a lieutenant, an ensign, and an aid-de-camp, as well as a receiver of the duties, a notary, and a few serjeants who act as clerks. The garrison contains thirty European soldiers, who are changed every three years; it is generally composed of men who are sentenced to banishment, and who are absolved on their return; they are obliged to work for their subsistence, as they have scarcely any allowance. The inhabitants form a sort of militia, who do the duty of the place and maintain order: nevertheless it is dangerous to go out at night; and the players on the guitar are often the victims of their nocturnal perambulations.

Nearly all the Portuguese in Africa are of mixed blood, that is, mulattoes; but they are so black, that it requires a good knowledge of colours to distinguish them from Negroes.

These people take credit to themselves for being jealous, and carrying that passion to excess: they keep their women extremely close, and the white ones in particular are never allowed to go out in the day time, not even to mass. The women of colour have rather more liberty; they go out in the day time, but they are wrapt up in such a manner, that nothing can be seen but their toes and one of their eyes. At visits, the women are never seen nor even spoken of; for to enquire after a lady’s health, is the greatest injury that can be done to the Portuguese in Africa.

The daughters of the Papels, and indeed all the girls who are slaves, are more lucky; they are not watched so closely, but are allowed to work in the houses, and go out to market, or wherever their business calls them: they go almost naked, having only before them a little apron about a foot long, and six or seven inches wide, with belts of different coloured beads, ear-rings, and fringe round their loins. When they are married, they wear a piece of cotton cloth, which covers them from the waist to the calf of the leg.

The Portuguese of Cachaux, and all those of Africa, eat meat only once a day, which is at dinner time; in the evening they eat fish and vegetables, both of which they procure in abundance, and almost for nothing. They begin every meal with fruit, of which they have plenty which grows naturally, as well as of the kinds which require a little care to cultivate.

Their commerce is carried on by barter; for gold and silver are not current. The articles of exportation are, slaves, wax, ivory, and gold from the mines of the interior; those of importation consist of wine, brandy, wheat, flour, iron, glass, copper utensils, arms, powder, lead, gun-flints, cottons, shoes, hats, silks, combs, hardware, mirrors, &c. In this traffic the Portuguese employ three or four vessels per year, which come to them from Lisbon; but the principal part of the commerce is carried on by foreigners.

At this settlements are the finest trees in Africa, whether for their size, height, or the value of their timber. It is not rare to find a single tree, which will make a canoe large enough to carry ten tons burthen, and twenty or thirty men.

The Papels naturally like the sea, and are good sailors; the Portuguese employ them in all their expeditions. Although some change may have taken place in the Portuguese settlements since I resided in Africa, yet that naturalized nation exists on the same spot, and has lost none of its customs.

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CHAP. VI.

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OF THE ISLES OF THE BISSAGOS AND THEIR INHABITANTS. — RECEPTION OF M. BRUE ON THE ISLE OF CAZEGUT. — ACCOUNT OF A PIRATICAL EXPEDITION. — COSTUME OF THE PEOPLE OF CAZEGUT. — PRECAUTIONS TO BE TAKEN ON TRADING WITH SEVERAL OF THE ISLANDS. — SANGUINARY AND TREACHEROUS CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE.

ON passing the mouth of the rivers of Casamança and St. Domingo, you meet between Capes Rouge and Verga, with a large deep gulph, in which are several isles of various sizes, and inhabited by different tribes. You first observe the archipelago of the Bissagos, which takes its name from the people who inhabit its islands.

The French after discovering these spots, abandoned them on account of their wars in Europe. The Portuguese who inhabited the isles of Cape Verd, succeeded them, but were too weak to maintain the possession. The descendants of the first colonists, who are confounded with the aborigines, still live there in a humiliating and precarious condition; notwithstanding which, they pretend to be sovereigns of those isles, and have at different periods built several villages and forts; but the French have paid little respect to their pretended rights, and have established factories wherever they pleased.

The Bissago isles are about eighteen or twenty in number; the most considerable are Casnabac, Galline, Cazégut, Carache, Aranguena, Papaguaye or Parrots’ isle, Formosa, Babachoca, Bisague, Ouarangue, Jatte, Bussi, Bourbon, Bissaux, Bulam, and a few others which are less known, because they are less frequented. Of those which I have specified, the last two are the most important.

The archipelago of the Bissagos is nearly fifty leagues in length, by an unequal width. The isles are enclosed by a large chain of rocks, between which and the isles of Jatte, Bussi, Bissaux, and Bulam, which are near to the continent, is a canal three or four leagues wide, and in no part less than one league: it generally contains from eight to twelve fathoms of water, with a muddy bottom. There are several natural harbours in theses islands, which contain all the materials necessary for forming establishments.

Each of these isles is governed by a chief, who assumes the title and authority of a king; these petty princes are independent of each other, and sometimes make war amongst themselves, but they more frequently unite against the Biafares, who are their greatest enemies, and whom they have expelled from Bulam. They have canoes large enough to carry from twenty-five to thirty men with their arms, which are sabres and darts.

The Bissagos are large, strong, and robust people, though they feed only upon shell and other fish, palm-oil, and the nuts of the palm-tree; they sell to Europeans the millet, rice, and other vegetables which they produce. They have an extreme liking for brandy, which they drink in great quantities, and which is sold to them at a high price; indeed their propensity for this liquor is so great, that it renders them furious and unnatural. As soon as a vessel appears for the purpose of selling that article, they always quarrel amongst themselves about who shall obtain the greatest quantity, and be first served. The weakest on these occasions become the prey of the most powerful. The father sells his children; and if the son can seize his father and mother, he conducts them to the Europeans, and barters them for brandy; he then gets drunk, and continues so as long as the quantity will last, at which his relatives have been valued.