John Duncan

“ I have found by calculation, that the expense of maintaining slaves for domestic purposes is much greater than the hire of them to perform any labour would be. The only advantage in holding slaves is, that you always have them in the house or premises, and in fact they are always considered as part of the master’s family, and their services readily procured, which is not the case in regard to hired slaves; for, so long as the African can procure food by theft or otherwise (at least it is so along the coast) , they can never be induced to [Pg 115] work. ”

“ I was treated by this King with every mark of respect, and even kindness. He introduced me to his sister, to whom I presented a few needles and two thimbles.
After returning to the market-place, the King introduced me to some of his wives, who were like so many sheep in a pen, over the walls of which on one side they could conveniently look. Here I was requested to station myself for show, like a wild beast in some public menagerie [Pg 94] Some of the young wives seemed to take great interest in seeing a white man; others, upon my looking steadfastly at them, ran back, as if alarmed. ”

“ The Spaniards and Portuguese of this place all treated me with great kindness. In fact, though they are slave-dealers, they are generous and kind, and very gentlemanly in their manners, particularly to Englishmen. Even the greatest enemies of M. de Suza, if they knew him, would admit him to be so. They also treat their slaves very well, both as regards food and labour, as I have already stated in other parts of my journal; their labour is little or nothing. [10]
The Spaniards and Portuguese treat their slaves in every respect better than the African slave-merchants ”

“ They are never allowed to be disturbed or molested in any way, either in the cranery or in its vicinity. In a short time the crowd dispersed with as much precipitation as they had collected, several people advancing with immense thongs of bullocks’ hides fastened to a handle, like a hunting-whip, and laying about them right and left indiscriminately upon all who came in their way. These, it appeared, were market-constables, who are employed by the king, or gadadoo, to preserve order, and protect property in the market. ”

“ Had domestic slavery (or rather I may call it service) been tolerated, our merchants would have been encouraged to enter upon other speculations, such as agriculture, and even trades; since many of our merchants, who constantly employ five or six native and European carpenters, would put their slaves to learn a trade, whereas they have now no motive for doing so. Besides, the holders of domestic slaves would use all their influence in abolishing the removal of slaves into another country. ”

“ I was glad when the King ceased his inquiries, for my people required rest as well as myself. We were allowed to remain in this hut during the night with my horse tied up outside. One fowl was reserved for our breakfast in the morning—rather a scanty allowance for all of us; but we had stored our havresacks pretty well with heads of corn, which was nearly ripe at this season, and very sweet. Although the caboceer, after my inquiry respecting Terrasso-weea, appeared tolerably friendly, and eager to receive any little article as a present, he never offered me anything in return. ”

“ Most of the huts on the banks of the lagoon are of the most inferior description, and the people dirty in their habits. When about seventeen miles from Whydah, each side of the river presented a beautiful appearance, having a small tree or shrub, not exceeding fifteen feet high, and resembling the mangrove, with the branches drooping, and the top taking root in the bed of the river, thus forming a beautiful colonnade. ”

“ I asked the caboceer the name of these mountains, but he denied all knowledge of them, either by name or otherwise. I then asked several of my soldiers, from whom I received a similar reply. It seemed to me very singular, that a man should live during his whole life so near any remarkable spot without knowing something of the place, or even its name; but from a communication I received from a Mahomedan priest at Abomey, I was convinced that the distant mountains were the Dabadab Mountains, from the resemblance of their shape to a dumpling made from the Indian corn-meal so called. ”

“ The few constant attendants as soldiers are people who are serving for punishment for offences of various descriptions. For instance, if a man commits adultery with the wife of another, and the case is laid before the King, the offender is doomed to serve so long as he is able in the capacity of a soldier, and when unfit for that service, was generally offered as a sacrifice at one of the King’s annual customs; but the latter part of this cruel sentence has been abolished by the present King of Dahomey, who is much more merciful than his predecessors. ”

“ The King then ordered four men to dig a grave for Maurice, and sent me a flask of rum to give the carriers and grave-diggers. He also sent two fine cloths to wrap the body in. He would not allow it to be interred in the sepulchre appointed for strangers, but it was buried in the court-yard in front of Mayho’s house, with every mark of respect.
Great attention was paid by all the spectators during the burial-service, which I read. I was now left without a white man, and, for a moment, I felt the loneliness of my situation. ”

“ It is even worse than sacrilege in England to meddle with or deny the powers vested in their fetish; and if a white man, even by mistake, is guilty of contempt towards fetish, he is by the priest doomed to instant death, through the power of the said fetish. ”

“ The mountain of Savalu, from which the town takes its name, is beautifully wooded to the summit, with bold projecting rocks or precipices at different distances, showing their hoary crowns and angles, forming a beautiful back-ground to the town, which, independently of the neighbouring kroom, is certainly larger than any town in the Mahee country, and before it was ceded to the Dahomans was always considered the capital or metropolis. The houses are much larger generally, and built with more taste and uniformity than any Mahee town. ”

“ It is worthy of remark, that on the whole coast, from Cape Palmas to Accra, there is not a single shoemaker, although no trade seems to be so much wanted. Even the natives in the interior complain much of the want of shoes. Nor is there a tailor, a cabinet-maker, a wheelwright, or a blacksmith who can weld a piece of iron with any neatness in the whole settlement. Such articles, if manufactured on the coast, would draw trade from the interior, and excite the natives to industry; and thus British manufactures would be soon in great demand in the interior also. ”

“ These selfish people, besides shunning all intercourse with other tribes, will not allow even a pebble, or any thing dead or alive, not even a serpent, to be carried into another country. Not being made acquainted with this circumstance, (though I had been cautioned without any reason being assigned by my caboceer,) I asked one of my private servants to pick up a piece of stone of an unusual appearance. As soon as this was observed by them, a Dassa bowman ran up nearly alongside of me, raising several hideous yells, accompanied with menacing gestures. ”

“ I visited the ruins, and it was certainly a wretched spectacle to see so many houses in ashes, and their inhabitants encamped on the outskirts of the town, with such articles of furniture as they were able to save from destruction. Fortunately, this being the dry season, they were not so much exposed as otherwise they might have been.
These people feel the destruction of their abodes the more as their dwellings are their family sepulchres; every member of the family being invariably buried under the floor. ”

“ I felt, consequently, much inclined to leave the town, and encamp for the night in the bush; but, upon a second consideration, I thought if any evil were premeditated towards us, it would be more likely to be put into execution if we were out of the town than when under the protection of the King. I therefore sent a messenger to ask him if he could accommodate us with a hut to shelter us, as it was now raining fast. But he had already observed the sudden approach of the tornado, and had gone to order a hut for our accommodation. ”

“ The people, I have said already, are void either of sympathy or gratitude, even in their own families; and the poor horse is not held in half so much esteem as the swine, because they cannot eat it. It may remain tied up without food or water until it perish, if left to a negro’s discretion. However, as some considerable time must elapse before I commence my journey to the interior, owing to the King of Dahomey not having returned from his slave-hunt, I knew that by proper treatment I could soon get the animal into good condition. ”

“ Our company of trading-women left us here.
After partaking of some refreshment we again marched. No man could experience more anxiety than I did myself during this part of my journey; for the next town we reached would decide the success of the object I had in view. Many were the doubts and fears that assailed me. Sometimes I thought Terrasso-weea might have gone on, and have taken another direction; and again, even if he were there, perhaps my information at Abomey respecting Mungo Park might be incorrect, and Terrasso-weea might know nothing of the circumstances about which I was interested. ”

“ Beyond the last village the road becomes still rougher, but is over-arched by large and beautiful trees, various and singular in appearance, and adorned by many kinds of creepers. All the large planks and beams brought to Cape Coast are carried from this neighbourhood on the heads of slaves, relays of whom are stationed at intervals, each carrying one large beam or two planks on his head ten or twelve miles. This is certainly hard work, particularly for girls. ”

“ This valley, or plain, is well watered by small streams and springs of various qualities, and the surface of the soil is of a sandy clay. In crossing it I observed many different species of bulbous plants, of the flag tribe, which I had not noticed previously in any part of Africa I had yet visited; some of their blossoms or flowers appeared very much like the breast of a partridge in colour, and resembled in shape and texture the wing of the dragon-fly. ”

“ He is, I am glad to find, disgusted with the trade.
Whydah is divided into three parts, or rather was so formerly. Besides the real Portuguese, there are numerous slaves who have obtained their freedom by purchase, and some by returning as servants or slaves to the slave-dealers who come from Brazil. In many cases, when a rich slave-dealer dies, he gives, by his will, freedom to all his slaves, however numerous they may be. The Portuguese part of Whydah excels, in every sense of the word, both the English and French. ”