Chapter III (2)

At Cabo Corce we took in part of the Indian corn ordered us for the provision of our negroes to Barbadoes, the allowance being a chest which contains about four bushels for every negro. Having landed all the castle cargo, which took us up a great deal of time, the _East-India Merchant_ and our ship having each 300 tons of goods, and no boats to load it in but our own longboats, which could not work both at the same time, and sometimes the sea so high, that we could do nothing for six or seven days together, the canoos not being able to come off to fetch the goods, which occasion’d our long stay here, together with filling our water, disposing of our windward cargo as much as we could, the castle refusing to take the remainder ashore on any terms, settling accounts with the company’s chief merchants, taking corn aboard, &c. All which having at length effected, on the 24th of April, about five in the evening, I took my leave of the company’s worthy factors here, who had heap’d upon me abundance of civilities during my stay with them, and whose candour I shall always gratefully remember, as well as that of all the honest gentlemen of our nation upon this whole coast, who endeavour’d to out-vie each other in their favours and kind entertainments of us in their several factories, being overjoy’d at our arrival, and no less troubled and concern’d for our departure. But go we must; and accordingly, after a great many reciprocal endearments, I wish’d them all a merry Christmas, and took boat, having two chests of gold for the African Company in London, with me, in her.

When we came aboard we got in the chests of gold, and hoisted our pinnace upon the booms, but were acquainted by my mate, that when he came to an anchor with the small bower in the tornado, bringing up the ship, the cable broke, so that he was forced to let go the best bower, by which we rid all night.

April the 25th. This morning we took our leave of the castle, paying our respects with fifteen guns, which they return’d, it being too late to salute them last night. About eight o’clock sent our longboat on the buoy to weigh the small bower anchor, and get him aboard, but he was so settled in the ground with the tornado, that in heaving a strain the buoy-rope broke, and the boat drove to leeward. We afterwards sent our boats with a tow-line and double-headed shot to sweep for him, but to no purpose, for they could not find him all day, therefore were forced to leave him behind. Captain Shurley got into Animabo this day, but the seeking for our anchor hinder’d us.

THE DUTCH CASTLE CORMANTINE, NEAR ANAMABOE ON THE GOLD COAST
From an engraving in Ogilby’s _Africa_, London, 1670
]

The 26th at six in the morning we hove up our best bower, and stood to the E. for Animabo. About nine o’clock we were abreast Anishen, which is a thatch’d house, where our African Company have a small factory, and lies about a league short of Animabo, where about ten o’clock we arriv’d and anchor’d in seven fathom water, about a mile and half off shore, the castle bearing N.W. which we saluted with seven guns, and were return’d the same. We moor’d our ship with ketch-anchor and hauser; and after dinner I went ashore to Mr. Searle, the factor here, to know where and when we should send for the corn assign’d us here by the chief merchants at Cape Corce, there being not enough to supply us there, and therefore we were to call for the rest at this place and Aena, to complete our quantity of 700 chests each. Mr. Searle immediately order’d what quantity he had to be deliver’d us whenever our boats came for it, and entertain’d us very lovingly till night, when Capt. Shurley and I went aboard. Animabo lies in the kingdom of Fantine and is a pretty large town; the Negro inhabitants are accounted very bold and stout fellows, but the most desperate treacherous villains, and greatest cheats upon the whole coast, for the gold here is accounted the worst, and most mix’d with brass, of any in Guinea; it lies about four leagues to the east of Cabo Corce. Our castle is pretty strong, of about eighteen guns, where we were very kindly entertain’d by Mr. Searle some days, and by Mr. Cooper at Aga on other days. Aga is a small thatch’d house, about half a mile to the east from Animabo on the sea-shore, having little or no defence except a few muskets. It has a large yard and fine pond for ducks. Mr. Cooper, the factor, who is a very ingenious young gentleman, gave us a cordial reception, having the company of his wife (as he call’d her) to dine with us, as we had of Mrs. Searl’s at Animabo, being both Mulattos, as was Mr. Ronon’s at Cabo Corce. This is a pleasant way of marrying, for they can turn them off and take others at pleasure; which makes them very careful to humour their husbands, in washing their linen, cleaning their chambers, &c. &c. and the charge of keeping them is little or nothing.

We lay at Animabo until the 2d day of May, when Captain Shurley and I having each of us got off 180 chests of corn, fill’d two boats of water, and dispos’d of what we could of the remainder of our windward cargo, we took leave of Mr. Searle and Mr. Cooper, and got up our anchors, and stood to the E. along shore about two leagues distant; and at night came to an anchor in fifteen fathom water.

May the 3d. This morning we got under sail, and stood along shore for Winiba. We had several canoos come off, which occasion’d our lying by often in hopes of trade, but found little, they wanting gold. At eight in the evening we anchor’d, lest we should out-shoot our port.

May the 4th. This morning at eight made sail, and at eleven came to an anchor at Winiba in nine fathom good ground; and having moor’d ship after dinner, went ashore to see for our canoos, which Mr. Nicholas Buckerige, the factor here, had promis’d to procure us for our use at Whidaw.

Here we got each of us one five-hand canoo, and set our canoo-men and carpenters to work to fit them with knees and timbers to strengthen them. We hal’d our long-boat ashore and trimmed him, being leaky and much worm-eaten. We fill’d some water, and cut good store of fire-wood, by the queen’s permission. This queen is about fifty years old, as black as jet, but very corpulent. We went with Mr. Buckerige to pay our respects to her under a great tree where she sat. She received us very kindly, and made her attendants dance after their manner before us. She was very free of her kisses to Mr. Buckerige, whom she seemed much to esteem; and truly he deserved it from all that knew him, being an extraordinary good-humoured and ingenious gentleman, and understood this country and language very well. We presented her with an anchor of brandy each, and some hands of tobacco, which she received with abundance of thanks and satisfaction, and so bid her good night. She was so extremely civil before we parted, to offer each of us a bed-fellow of her young maids of honour while we continued there, but we modestly declined her majesty’s proffer, and that night lay ashore with Mr. Buckerige. Next day we were forced to keep a fast; for the cook being dressing of dinner, among which there was a young pig roasting at a quick fire, the flame of it reached the dry palm branches that thatch’d the kitchen, which immediately took fire and spread so in an instant, that, in less than a quarter of an hour, our dinner and kitchen were converted to ashes.

Our business being compleated at Winiba by the 9th instant, we went aboard and got our ships under sail for Acra, Mr. Buckerige going my passenger, to pay a visit to Mr. Bloome the factor there. Capt. Shurley has been long sick of a flux and fever, and is now very ill, and I troubled with violent convulsions in my head, that I can get no sleep without opiates, and so giddy that I cannot walk without assistance. We stood along shore all day with an early sail to the east, and at night came to an anchor in 14 fathom water, with our stream-anchor and cable, which we have chiefly used along the whole coast for the easiness of weighing him.

The next day arrived at Acra two Danish ships of 26 guns a-piece; as they passed by our ships they saluted us with nine guns each, which we returned, and they came to an anchor about a mile to the east of us. They were sent on purpose from Denmark to compound with the black general for the surrendering of their fort, and to settle it again, for which end they had brought with them a governor, soldiers, provisions, ammunition, merchandize, &c. They made some propositions to the black general while we were here, but his demands were so exorbitant that they would not comply with them; tho’ since I understood that the fort was delivered to them, and having resettled it, went for Whidaw to purchase slaves, and in their voyage thence to the West Indies, put into the island of Princes for water, where Avery, the pirate fell in with them, fought, took, plundered, and burnt them, which was the unhappy end of their voyage. The poor Danish general went from us aboard his countrymen, but not without reluctancy, and fear of being harshly treated in Denmark; but it seems Long Ben (as they called that rogue Avery) prevented that.

Captain Thomas Shurley, commander of the _East India Merchant_, my consort, departed this life here, having been long sick of a fever and flux. He was handsomely buried in Acra castle, a la Soldado, his own ship firing guns at half a minute distance, during the time the corpse was rowing ashore. Mr. Bloome, myself, Mr. Buckerige, and the chief of the Dutch factory, held up the pall. After he was buried, according to the service of the church of England, his own ship fired 30 guns, the _Hannibal_, 26, Acra fort, 20, and the Dutch and Black’s fort, 16 each: He was very averse to making a will, and took it amiss when I urged him to it; he left the command of his ship to his first mate, Mr. Clay, and as to his own concerns, said his purser, Mr. Price, knew how all lay.

May the 20th. This morning about nine o’clock we arrived at Whidaw, being about sixty leagues from Acra to the east, and let go our anchor in eight fathom water, about two miles off shore, and moor’d with our stream anchor right against the landing place, a little to the west of the great thick tuft of trees that looks like a barn, and other trees at the east end of it, making like a tower. This day got our canoos and all things else ready, in order to go ashore to-morrow to purchase our slaves.

May the 21st. This morning I went ashore at Whidaw, accompany’d by my doctor and purser, Mr. Clay, the present captain of the _East India Merchant_, his doctor and purser, and about a dozen of our seamen for our guard, arm’d, in order here to reside till we could purchase 1300 negro slaves, which was the number we both wanted, to compleat 700 for the _Hannibal_, and 650 for the _East India Merchant_, according to our agreement in our charter-parties with the Royal African Company; in procuring which quantity of slaves we spent about nine weeks, during which time what observations my indisposition with convulsions in my head, &c. would permit me to make on this country, its trade, manners, &c. are as follows, viz.

Whidaw, or Quedaw, lies in the latitude of 6° 10′ N. latitude, being the pleasantest country I have seen in Guiney, consisting of champaigns and small ascending hills, beautified with always green shady groves of lime, wild orange, and other trees, and irrigated with divers broad fresh rivers, which yield plenty of good fish; towards the sea-shore it is very marshy, and has divers large swamps.

Our factory, built by Captain Wiburne, Sir John Wiburne’s brother, stands low near the marshes, which renders it a very unhealthy place to live in; the white men the African Company send there, seldom returning to tell their tale; ’tis compass’d round with a mud wall, about six foot high, and on the south-side is the gate; within is a large yard, a mud thatch’d house, where the factor lives, with the white men; also a storehouse, a trunk for slaves, and a place where they bury their dead white men, call’d, very improperly, the hog-yard; there is also a good forge, and some other small houses: To the east are two small flankers of mud, with a few popguns and harquebusses, which serve more to terrify the poor ignorant negroes than to do any execution. While we were here the factor made a wide deep ditch, round the factory, and had my carpenters to make a draw-bridge over it, which has render’d it now pretty secure; for before it was enterable every rainy time, the walls being washed down, and when the rains were over, built up again. And here I must observe that the rainy season begins about the middle of May, and ends the beginning of August, in which space it was my misfortune to be there, which created sickness among my negroes aboard, it being noted for the most malignant season by the blacks themselves, who, while the rains last, will hardly be prevail’d upon to stir out of their huts, and myself and the poor men found it so by dear experience, the rains that fall down then being more like fountains than drops, and as hot as if warmed over a fire.

The factory is about 200 yards in circumference, and a most wretched place to live in, by reason of the swamps adjacent, whence proceed noisome stinks, and vast swarms of little flies, call’d musketoes, which are so intolerably troublesome, that if one does not take opium, laudanum, or some other soporifick, ’tis impossible to get any sleep in the night; and that one I lay there was the most uneasy that I ever felt, for I had not lain down above an hour in the factor’s bed, but I was so vex’d and tormented by those little malicious animals, that I was forced to get up again, and dress myself, put gloves on my hands, and tie a handkerchief over my face till day-light, which notwithstanding these troublesome devils would sting thro; and the place so stung would be much inflam’d, and rise into a knob, much provoking the exercise of a man’s nails; and had king James the first, been there some time, he would have been convinc’d that scratching where it itches was not the greatest pleasure in the world, as ’tis said was his opinion.

The best means I could find to allay the inflammation, was to rub the parts affected with lime-juice, or vinegar, which, tho’ for the present it produced a smart, the ease it gave, in a short time, made abundant recompence; therefore to shun the spirit of this cursed little flie as much as we can, as well as to give us some cool air (that which is confin’d in a close place in this country, appearing as intensely hot to an European, as if he suck’d in the heat at the mouth of an oven in England), we have negro boys to fan us all night with large fans made of skins.

This factory, feared as ’tis, proved very beneficial to us, by housing our goods which came ashore late, and could not arrive at the king’s town where I kept my warehouse, ere it was dark, when they would be very incident to be pilfer’d by the negro porters which carry them, at which they are most exquisite; for in the day-time they would steal the cowries, altho’ our white men that attended the goods from the marine watched them, they having instruments like wedges, made on purpose to force asunder the staves of the barrels, that contain’d the cowries, whereby the shells dropt out; and when any of our seamen that watch’d the goods came near such porters, they would take out their machine, and the staves would insensibly close again, so that no hole did appear, having always their wives and children running by them to carry off the plunder; which with all our threats and complaints made to the king, we could not prevent, tho’ we often beat them cruelly, and piniar’d some, but it was all one, what was bred in the bone, &c. whatever we could do would not make them forbear.

The factory prov’d beneficial to us in another kind; for after we had procured a parcel of slaves, and sent them down to the sea-side to be carry’d off, it sometimes proved bad weather, and so great a sea, that the canoos could not come ashore to fetch them, so that they returned to the factory, where they were secured and provided for till good weather presented, and then were near to embrace the opportunity, we sometimes shipping off a hundred of both sexes at a time.

We had our cook ashore, and eat as well as we could, provisions being plenty and cheap; but we soon lost our stomachs by sickness, most of my men having fevers, and myself such convulsions and aches in my head, that I could hardly stand or go to the trunk without assistance, and there often fainted with the horrid stink of the negroes, it being an old house where all the slaves are kept together, and evacuate nature where they lie, so that no jakes can stink worse; there being forced to sit three or four hours at a time, quite ruin’d my health, but there was no help.

When we were at the trunk, the king’s slaves, if he had any, were the first offer’d to sale, which the cappasheirs would be very urgent with us to buy, and would in a manner force us to it ere they would shew us any other, saying they were the Reys Cosa, and we must not refuse them, tho’ as I observed they were generally the worst slaves in the trunk, and we paid more for them than any others, which we could not remedy, it being one of his majesty’s prerogatives. Then the cappasheirs each brought out his slaves according to his degree and quality, the greatest first, &c. and our surgeon examined them well in all kinds, to see that they were sound wind and limb, making them jump, stretch out their arms swiftly, looking in their mouths to judge of their age; for the cappasheirs are so cunning, that they shave them all close before we see them, so that let them be never so old we can see no grey hairs in their heads or beards; and then having liquor’d them well and sleeked with palm oil, ’tis no easy matter to know an old one from a middle-aged one, but by the teeths decay. But our greatest care of all is to buy none that are pox’d, lest they should infect the rest aboard; for tho’ we separate the men and women aboard by partitions and bulk-heads, to prevent quarrels and wranglings among them, yet do what we can they will come together, and that distemper which they call the yaws, is very common here, and discovers itself by almost the same symptoms as the _Lues Venerea_ or clap does with us; therefore our surgeon is forc’d to examine the privities of both men and women with the nicest scrutiny, which is a great slavery, but what can’t be omitted. When we had selected from the rest such as we liked, we agreed in what goods to pay for them, the prices being already stated before the king, how much of each sort of merchandize we were to give for a man, woman, and child, which gave us much ease, and saved abundance of disputes and wranglings, and gave the owner a note, signifying our agreement of the sorts of goods; upon delivery of which the next day he receiv’d them; then we mark’d the slaves we had bought in the breast, or shoulder, with a hot iron, having the letter of the ship’s name on it, the place being before anointed with a little palm oil, which caused but little pain, the mark being usually well in four or five days, appearing very plain and white after.

When we had purchased to the number of 50 or 60, we would send them aboard, there being a cappasheir, intitled the captain of the slaves, whose care it was to secure them to the waterside, and see them all off; and if in carrying to the marine any were lost, he was bound to make them good to us, the captain of the trunk being oblig’d to do the like, if any run away while under his care, for after we buy them we give him charge of them till the captain of the slaves comes to carry them away: There are two officers appointed by the king for this purpose, to each of which every ship pays the value of a slave in what goods they like best for their trouble, when they have done trading; and indeed they discharg’d their duty to us very faithfully, we not having lost one slave thro’ their neglect in 1300 we bought here.

There is likewise a captain of the sand, who is appointed to take care of the merchandise we have come ashore to trade with, that the negroes do not plunder them, we being often forced to leave goods a whole night on the sea shore, for want of porters to bring them up; but notwithstanding his care and authority, we often came by the loss and could have no redress.

When our slaves were come to the sea-side, our canoos were ready to carry them off to the longboat, if the sea permitted, and he convey’d them aboard ship, where the men were all put in irons, two and two shackl’d together, to prevent their mutiny, or swimming ashore.

The negroes are so wilful and loth to leave their own country, that they have often leap’d out of the canoos, boat and ship, into the sea, and kept under water till they were drowned, to avoid being taken up and saved by our boats, which pursued them; they having a more dreadful apprehension of Barbadoes than we can have of hell, tho’ in reality they live much better there than in their own country; but home is home, &c. We have likewise seen divers of them eaten by the sharks, of which a prodigious number kept about the ships in this place, and I have been told will follow her hence to Barbadoes, for the dead negroes that are thrown over-board in the passage. I am certain in our voyage there we did not want the sight of some every day, but that they were the same I can’t affirm. We had about 12 negroes did wilfully drown themselves, and others starv’d themselves to death; for ’tis their belief that when they die they return home to their own country and friends again.

The best goods to purchase slaves here are cowries, the smaller the more esteemed; for they pay them all by tale, the smallest being as valuable as the biggest, but take them from us by measure or weight, of which about 100 pounds for a good man-slave. The next in demand are brass neptunes or basons, very large, thin, and flat; for after they have bought them they cut them in pieces to make anilias or bracelets, and collars for their arms, legs and necks. The other preferable goods are blue paper sletias, cambricks or lawns, caddy chints, broad ditto, coral, large, smooth, and of a deep red, rangoes large and red, iron bars, powder and brandy.

With the above goods a ship cannot want slaves here, and may purchase them for about three pounds fifteen shillings a head, but near half the cargo value must be cowries or booges, and brass basons, to set off the other goods that we buy cheaper, as coral, rangoes, iron, &c. else they will not take them; for if a cappasheir sells five slaves, he will have two of them paid for in cowries, and one in brass, which are dear slaves; for a slave in cowries costs us above four pounds in England; whereas a slave in coral, rangoes, or iron, does not cost fifty shillings; but without the cowries and brass they will take none of the last goods, and but small quantities at best, especially, if they can discover that you have good store of cowries and brass aboard, then no other goods will serve their turn, till they have got as much as you have; and after for the rest of the goods they will be indifferent and make you come to their own terms, or else lie a long time for your slaves, so that those you have on board are dying while you are buying others ashore; therefore every man that comes here, ought to be very cautious in making his report to the king at first, of what sorts and quantities of goods he has, and be sure to say his cargo consists mostly in iron, coral, rangoes, chints, &c. so that he may dispose of those goods as soon as he can, and at last his cowries and brass will bring him slaves as fast as he can buy them; but this is to be understood of a single ship: or more, if the captains agree, which seldom happens; for where there are divers ships, and of separate interests, about buying the same commodity they commonly undermine, betray, and out-bid one the other; and the Guiney commanders’ words and promises are the least to be depended upon of any I know who use the sea; for they would deceive their fathers in their trade if they could.

The road where our ships ride is very good and clean ground, and gradual soundings. The best anchoring is in eight fathom water, against a great tuft of trees that make like a barn, about a mile and a half off the shore, on which there runs such a prodigious swell and surf, that we venture drowning every time we go ashore and come off, the canoos frequently over-setting, but the canoo-men are such excellent divers and swimmers, that they preserve the lives of those they have any kindness for, but such as they have any displeasure to they will let shift for themselves, therefore ’tis very prudent for all commanders to be kind and obliging to them, their lives lying in their hands, which they can make them lose at pleasure, and impute all to accident, and they could not help it; and there are no amends to be had.

The canoos we buy on the Gold Coast, and strengthen them with knees and weather-boards fore and aft, to keep the sea out, they plunging very deep when they go against a sea. They are made of the trunk of the cotton tree hollow’d, from a two hand to a twelve hand canoo, the largest being not above four foot broad, but twenty-eight or thirty foot long. Those that are most fit for the use at Whidaw, are five hand or seven hand canoos; of which each ship that buys many slaves ought to carry two, for they are very incident to be staved by the great sea when they overset, and here is none for supply, and without them there is no landing or coming off for goods or men.

The canoo-men we bring from Cape Corce, being seven in number, of which one is boatswain, and is commonly one of the most skilful canoo-men in Guiney; he commands the rest, and always steers the canoo, and gives his orders to the rest, when to row or when to lie on their paddles, to watch a smooth or shun a great sea they see coming. Their pay is certain and stated, half of which we pay them in gold at Cape Corce; and the rest in goods when we have done with them at Whidaw; ’tis also customary to give them a canoo to carry them back, and cut up the other for fire-wood, unless an opportunity offers to sell it, which is very rare. They lost us six or seven barrels of cowries, above 100 bars of iron, and other goods, by the oversetting of the canoos in landing them, which we could never recover, or have the least satisfaction for, but were forced to give them good words, lest they should, in revenge, play us more such tricks. We kept two men ashore here constantly to fill water, which lay and eat at the factory, which fill’d our small hogsheads in the night, and roll’d them over the sand to the sea-side, ready to raft off in the morning, before the sea breeze came in, which is the only time, we having no other way to get it off but by rafting, and in hauling off to the longboat the great sea would often break our raft, and stave our cask, whereby we lost a great many.

The longboat was chiefly employ’d in bringing water aboard, which we started into our butts in the hold, and sent the small cask ashore again next morning, of which we had two gangs on purpose. We had a little deal yaul which did us great service in bringing off cows, hogs, staves, letters, &c. from the canoos, with only two boys in her.

When our slaves are aboard we shackle the men two and two, while we lie in port, and in sight of their own country, for ’tis then they attempt to make their escape, and mutiny; to prevent which we always keep centinels upon the hatchways, and have a chest of small arms, ready loaden and prim’d, constantly lying at hand upon the quarter-deck, together with some granada shells; and two of our quarter-deck guns, pointing on the deck thence, and two more out of the steerage, the door of which is always kept shut, and well barr’d. They are fed twice a day, at 10 in the morning, and 4 in the evening, which is the time they are aptest to mutiny, being all upon deck; therefore all that time, what of our men are not employ’d in distributing their victuals to them, and settling them, stand to their arms; and some with lighted matches at the great guns that yaun upon them, loaden with partridge, till they have done and gone down to their kennels between decks. Their chief diet is call’d dabbadabb, being Indian corn ground as small as oat-meal in iron mills, which we carry for that purpose; and afterwards mix’d with water and boil’d well in a large copper furnace, till ’tis as thick as a pudding. About a peckful of which in vessels, call’d crews, is allow’d to 10 men, with a little salt, malagetta, and palm oil, to relish.

(A) HAND-CUFFS FOR SLAVES. (B) LEG SHACKLES. (C-E) THUMB SCREWS. (F-H)
“SPECULUM ORIS,” TO OPEN CLOSED JAWS.
From Clarkson’s _Abolition of the Slave Trade_, London, 1808
]

They are divided into messes of ten each, for the easier and better order in serving them. Three days a week they have horse-beans boil’d for their dinner and supper, great quantities of which the African Company do send aboard us for that purpose. These beans the negroes extremely love and desire, beating their breast, eating them, and crying “Pram! Pram!” which is, “Very good!” They are indeed the best diet for them, having a binding quality, and consequently good to prevent the flux, which is the inveterate distemper that most affects them, and ruins our voyages by their mortality. The men are all fed upon the main deck and forecastle, that we may have them all under command of our arms from the quarter-deck, in case of any disturbance; the women eat upon the quarter-deck with us, and the boys and girls upon the poop. After they are once divided into messes, and appointed their places, they will readily run there in good order of themselves afterwards. When they have eaten their victuals clean up (which we force them to for to thrive the better), they are order’d down between decks, and every one as he passes has a pint of water to drink after his meat, which is serv’d them by the cooper out of a large tub, fill’d beforehand ready for them. When they have occasion to ease nature, they are permitted by the centinels to come up, and go to a conveniency which is provided for that purpose, on each side of the ship, each of which will contain a dozen of them at once, and have broad ladders to ascend them with the greater ease.

When we come to sea we let them all out of irons, they never then attempting to rebel, considering that should they kill or master us, they could not tell how to manage the ship, or must trust us, who would carry them where we pleased; therefore the only danger is while we are in sight of their own country, which they are loath to part with; but once out of sight out of mind. I never heard that they mutiny’d in any ships of consequence, that had a good number of men, and the least care; but in small tools where they had but few men, and those negligent or drunk, then they surpriz’d and butcher’d them, cut the cables, and let the vessel drive ashore, and every one shift for himself. However, we have some 30 or 40 Gold Coast negroes, which we buy, and are procur’d us there by our factors, to make guardians and overseers of the Whidaw negroes, and sleep among them to keep them from quarrelling, and in order, as well as to give us notice, if they can discover any caballing or plotting among them, which trust they will discharge with great diligence; they also take care to make the negroes scrape the decks where they lodge every morning very clean, to eschew any distempers that may engender from filth and nastiness. When we constitute a guardian, we give him a cat of nine tails as a badge of his office, which he is not a little proud of, and will exercise with great authority. We often at sea, in the evenings, would let the slaves come up into the sun to air themselves, and make them jump and dance for an hour or two to our bag-pipes, harp, and fiddle, by which exercise to preserve them in health; but notwithstanding all our endeavour, ’twas my hard fortune to have great sickness and mortality among them.

Having bought my complement of 700 slaves, viz. 480 men and 220 women, and finish’d all my business at Whidaw, I took my leave of the old king and his cappasheirs, and parted, with many affectionate expressions on both sides, being forced to promise him that I would return again the next year, with several things he desired me to bring from England; and having sign’d bills of lading to Mr. Peirson, for the negroes aboard, I set sail the 27th of July in the morning, accompany’d with the _East India Merchant_, who had bought 650 slaves, for the island of St. Thomas, from which we took our departure, on August 25th, and set sail for Barbadoes.

We spent in our passage from St. Thomas to Barbadoes two months eleven days, in which time there happened such sickness and mortality among my poor men and negroes, that of the first we buried 14, and of the last 320, which was a great detriment to our voyage, the Royal African Company losing ten pounds by every slave that died, and the owners of the ship ten pounds ten shillings, being the freight agreed on to be paid them by the charter-party for every negro delivered alive ashore to the African Company’s agents at Barbadoes; whereby the loss in all amounted to near 6500 pounds sterling. The distemper which my men as well as the blacks mostly died of, was the white flux, which was so violent and inveterate, that no medicine would in the least check it; so that when any of our men were seized with it, we esteemed him a dead man, as he generally proved. I cannot imagine what should cause it in them so suddenly, they being free from it till about a week after we left the island of St. Thomas. And next to the malignity of the climate, I can attribute it to nothing else but the unpurg’d black sugar, and raw unwholesome rum they bought there, of which they drank in punch to great excess, and which it was not in my power to hinder, having chastised several of them, and flung over-board what rum and sugar I could find; and was forced to clap one Lord, our trumpeter, in irons, for his being the promoter of their unseasonable carousing bouts, and going in one of his drunken fits with his knife to kill the boatswain in his bed, and committing other enormities; but tho’ he remained upon the poop day and night in irons for two months, without any other shelter than the canopy of heaven, he was never troubled with any sickness, but made good the proverb, “That naught’s never in danger,” or “that he who is born to be hang’d,” &c. I have given some account of him elsewhere, therefore shall say no more here.

The negroes are so incident to the small-pox, that few ships that carry them escape without it, and sometimes it makes vast havock and destruction among them; but tho’ we had 100 at a time sick of it, and that it went thro’ the ship, yet we lost not above a dozen by it. All the assistance we gave the diseased was only as much water as they desir’d to drink, and some palm-oil to anoint their sores, and they would generally recover without any other helps but what kind nature gave them.

One thing is very surprizing in this distemper among the blacks, that tho’ it immediately infects those of their own colour, yet it will never seize a white man; for I had several white men and boys aboard that had never had that distemper, and were constantly among the blacks that were sick of it, yet none of them in the least catch’d it, tho’ it be the very same malady in its effects, as well as symptoms, among the blacks, as among us in England, beginning with the pain in the head, back, shivering, vomiting, fever, &c. But what the smallpox spar’d, the flux swept off, to our great regret, after all our pains and care to give them their messes in due order and season, keeping their lodgings as clean and sweet as possible, and enduring so much misery and stench so long among a parcel of creatures nastier than swine; and after all our expectations to be defeated by their mortality. No gold-finders can endure so much noisome slavery as they do who carry negroes; for those have some respite and satisfaction, but we endure twice the misery; and yet by their mortality our voyages are ruin’d, and we pine and fret ourselves to death, to think that we should undergo so much misery, and take so much pains to so little purpose.

I deliver’d alive at Barbadoes to the company’s factors 372, which being sold, came out at about nineteen pounds per head one with another.

Having got aboard near 700 hogsheads of sugars, at nine and ten shillings per hundred freight for Muscovadoes, and 11 for Clay’d; some cotton at 2 _d._ per lb. and ginger at 8 _s._ per cent. we got all clear to sail against the 2d of April, the _Tiger_ man of war being then ready to carry Colonel Kendal to England, and to take under her convoy such ships as were ready to sail at that time, of which there were small and great about 30, seven of which were merchant-men of 28 guns and upwards each, and were order’d by Capt. Sherman to make the line of battle, in case we met an enemy, he being pleased to appoint me, in the _Hannibal_, to lead on the star-board tack, and Capt. Buttrom in the _Faulkenburg_, on the larboard tack, in case of engaging, while himself kept the centre; and the other ships of the line were disposed for seconds. Colonel Kendal having disengaged himself from the multitude of gentlemen that came to attend him, and wish him a good voyage, the 2d of April in the evening got aboard the _Tiger_, with a discharge of all the cannon round the town; and the third, in the evening, we set sail for England, with the _Chester_ man of war in our company, which Colonel Cothrington, the general of the Leeward Islands, had sent from Antigua to Barbadoes, to strengthen our convoy, till we were past Diseada, upon advice he had receiv’d, that there was a squadron of French men of war from Martinico, waiting for us thereabouts.

Wednesday the 3d. Yesterday about four in the evening we got under sail, and stood out of Carlisle bay, and then laid our fore topsail to the mast, and drove to leeward to wait for the rest of the fleet: At seven were abreast the hole. We had great popling sea, but little wind at night, till this day noon.

Friday the 19th. In the morning ’twas my unhappiness to be seized with violent convulsions in my head, together with a vertigo, so that I could not stand, and all things I look’d on turn’d round. The vertigo was much allay’d soon, but the convulsions continued so severe upon me, that I was forced for most part to keep my bed, till we made the island of Scilly, which was upon the 22d of May, in which time the hearing of my left ear was much impair’d, I having lost the hearing of my right ear upon the coast of Guiney, by a former fit. And now, having none to look after me (my doctor having died of the plague in Barbadoes), my deafness increased daily.

When I came to London, thro’ the kindness and good-will of my friends and acquaintance, who were sorry to see me return in that condition, I was advised to a great many applauded physicians, who all pretended they would cure my deafness. I went under the care of several of them, who were the most celebrated in that famous city, by whose orders I was tormented by the apothecaries, with doses of nasty physick every day, for four or five months time, and butcher’d by the surgeons with blisters, issues, setons, &c. and spent about 100 guineas among them, without receiving a farthing benefit; wherefore I did conceive it more prudence to bear my deafness as contentedly as I could, than any longer to undergo so much misery and charge to no purpose; accordingly I shook hands with the doctors, and being rendered unfit for my employment by my deafness, I settled my affairs in London, took my leave of it, and came down to Wales, among my relations in Brecknock, my native town, there to spend the rest of my life as easily as I can, under my hard misfortune.