CHAP. XXIX.

Some Account of a remarkable Negro.—The Troops prepare for Europe.—Description of a Coffee Plantation.—Plan of Reform for the Increase of Population, and universal Happiness.—One more Instance of horrid Barbarity; and Example of Humanity.—The Regiment embarks.

Being now once more arrived in town, and wishing to be no longer troublesome to any body, I hired a very neat small house by the water-side, in which we lived nearly as happy as we had done at the Hope.

The first person that visited me here was the American Captain Lewis, of the Peggy, who, to my great concern, told me, that poor Macdonald, the grateful sailor, had died on the homeward passage, after being twelve days at sea; and desired him in his last words to return me, with his good wishes, the mother-of-pearl cork-screw I had formerly given him. He farther acquainted me also, to my sorrow, that three English vessels had been captured by the American Revenue privateer sloop, which lay at this time, with her prizes, in the road before Paramaribo; one of which, belonging to Ireland, was valued at above £. 50,000 sterling.

Having been waited on by a number of planters and [[346]]others with congratulations on our success against the rebels; amongst the rest appeared the celebrated Gramman Quacy, who came to shew me his fine coat, gold medal, &c. which he had received as a present from the Prince of Orange, in Holland. This man, being one of the most extraordinary characters of all the negroes in Surinam, or perhaps in the world, I cannot proceed without giving some account of him; the more so, as he has made his appearance once or twice already in the course of this history.—This African (for he was born on the coast of Guinea) by his insinuating temper and industry, not only obtained his freedom from a state of slavery, but by his wonderful ingenuity and artful conduct found the means of procuring a very competent subsistence.

Having got the name of a lockoman, or sorcerer, among the lower slaves, no crime of any consequence was committed, especially at the plantations, but Gramman Quacy, which signifies Great-man Quacy, was instantly sent for to discover the perpetrators, which he so very seldom missed, owing, in fact, to their faith in his sorceries, added to his penetrating look[1] and authority among them, that he has often prevented farther mischief to their masters; and, for these services, occasionally received very capital rewards. The corps of rangers, and all fighting free negroes, are under his influence; to whom he sells his obias or amulets, in order to make them invulnerable, [[347]]and, of course, to engage without fear: by which deceit he has most certainly done much good to the colony, and at the same time filled his pockets with no inconsiderable profit to himself; while his person by the blacks is adored and respected like a God. The trash of which his amulets are made costs him in reality nothing; being neither more nor less than a collection of small pebbles, sea-shells, cut hair, fish-bones, feathers, &c. the whole sewed up together in small packets, which are tied with a string of cotton round the neck, or some other part of the bodies of his credulous votaries.

But besides these, and many other artful contrivances, he had the good fortune, in 1730, to find out the valuable root known by the name of Quaciæ bitter, of which he was actually the first discoverer, and from which it took its name: and, notwithstanding this medicine is now less in repute in England than formerly, it is highly esteemed in many other parts of the world for its efficacy in strengthening the stomach and restoring the appetite. It has, besides this valuable property, that of being a powerful febrifuge, and may be successfully used when the bark is nauseated, as is frequently the case.

In 1761, it was made known to Linnæus by Mr. d’Ahlberg, formerly mentioned; and the Swedish naturalist has since written a treatise upon it. By this drug alone Quacy might have amassed riches, were he not entirely abandoned to indolence and dissipation; the consequence of which is, a complication of loathsome distempers, [[348]]of which the leprosy is one: and that disorder is, as I have already stated, absolutely incurable. Nevertheless his age, though he could not exactly ascertain it, must have been very great, since he used frequently to repeat that he acted as drummer, and beat the alarm on his master’s estate, when the French commodore, Jacques Cassard, put the colony under contribution, in the year 1712.

Having taken a portrait of this extraordinary man, with his grey head of hair, and dressed in his blue and scarlet with gold lace, I, in the annexed plate, beg leave to introduce it to the reader.

This very same week we had indeed a fresh proof of the good effects of Gramman Quacy’s animating obias or amulets, a captain of the rangers, named Hannibal, bringing in the barbacued hands of two rebel negroes, which he had himself encountered and shot; and one of these hands proved to be that of the noted rebel Cupido, formerly taken, in 1774, and brought to Colonel Fourgeoud in the forest, but from whom he had since that time, though loaded with chains, found means to run away.

Blake Sculpt.

The celebrated Graman Quacy.

London, Published Decr. 2nd, 1793, by J. Johnson, St. Paul’s Church Yard.

In returning the visits of my friends, I paid one to Mr. Andrew Reynsdorp, who shewed me the loop and button of his hat, which being diamond, had cost him two hundred guineas—such is the luxury of Surinam. But even this is exceeded by the magnificence of M. d’Ahlbergh, who, when I waited on him, besides a gold snuff-box set [[349]]with brilliants, value six hundred pounds sterling, made me remark two silver bits (small pieces of money) set in gold, and surrounded with diamonds, with this inscription:

“Soli Deo Gloria. Fortuna beaticum, &c.”

Having signified my surprize at this peculiar attention and respect to two sixpences, he declared to me that they were all the money he had in the world when he first came to Surinam from his own country, Sweden.—“Did you work?” said I.—“No.”—“Did you beg?”—“No.”—“You did not steal, sir?”—“No: but, entre nous, I whined and acted the enthusiast, which sometimes is very necessary, and I found preferable to the other three.”—To which I answered, “Sir, your candid confession brings back to my remembrance your usage of your negro slave, Baron, after having promised him his manumission in Amsterdam, and fully proves what you have just asserted.”—One instance more of the extravagance and folly of the inhabitants of this colony, and I have done: Two of them disputing about a most elegant and expensive carriage that was imported from Holland, a law-suit ensued immediately, to determine who was to possess it, during which time the coach was left uncovered in the street till it fell to pieces, and was totally destroyed.

On the 10th of February, most of our officers being now arrived at Paramaribo from the camp, Colonel [[350]]Fourgeoud entertained the whole with a feast, as he was pleased to call it, at the head-quarters; an old stable lanthorn, with broken panes of glass, hanging over our heads, which I expected every moment to drop into the soup. And here he acquainted us, with evident marks of satisfaction, that he had at last put a final end to the expedition; having, notwithstanding there was so little blood-shed, perfectly accomplished his aim in rooting out the rebels, by destroying TWENTY-ONE TOWNS or VILLAGES, and demolishing TWO HUNDRED FIELDS with vegetables of every kind, on which they depended for subsistence: also, that the intelligence was now confirmed, that the negroes were to a man fled over the River Marawina, where they and their friends were settled, and protected by the French colony of Cayenne, who not only gave them shelter, but supplied them with every thing they wanted. On which good news we all heartily congratulated him, and drank further prosperity to the colony of Surinam with three cheers; the future safety of which now depended on the new cordon or path of circumvallation, defended by the troops of the Society, and the corps of black soldiers or rangers.

In Dr. Firmyn’s works, Colonel Fourgeoud and his troops are twice mentioned as the saviours of the colony; and by the Abbé Reynal they are noticed as a very brave and valiant corps: compliments to which they are with truth entitled. And what cannot but redound to his honour, is, that at the time he imposed such hardships [[351]]on his own troops, he never deliberately put a rebel negro captive to death, nor even, if he could avoid it, delivered them into the hands of justice; well knowing, that while it was his duty to expel them, nothing but the most barbarous usage and tyranny had driven these poor people to this last extremity. Indeed I myself, whom during the first three years he persecuted with unremitting severity, must do him the justice to say, that he was indefatigable in doing his duty; and that, though confused, I believe him at bottom to have been an undaunted and very BRAVE OFFICER.

He further acquainted us, that the vessels, with a fresh supply of provisions from Holland, had been cast on the lee-shore in the Texel Roads, one of them having her upper cabin stove away, with the second mate and three of her men washed overboard; he added, however, that part of the stores had been saved, and loaded on board two bilanders, which were this very day arrived in the River Surinam. And now, so much in particular was I become his favourite, that he even made me his confidant; and declared, that he proposed keeping the last arrived troops, however fast they were dying away (and who had lately lost a man by straying in the woods) encamped for many months after our departure. He then began to tell me what officers he meant, if possible, to ruin on their return, and which, by his recommendation, he intended to promote: but here I took the liberty to stop him short, by declaring, upon my honour, that those very gentlemen should be apprised by myself of their impending [[352]]danger, if he persisted in carrying this cruel plan in execution. This at least had the effect to end the disagreeable conversation: when, in my turn, I added, “Sir, permit me farther to put you in remembrance of these very troops you have just mentioned, in regard to their truly distressed situation at the Casseepore Creek; while their surgeon is gaining gold watches and diamond rings by curing fashionable diseases among the gentry at Paramaribo.” To which he replied, “Vous êtes un brave garçon;” and promised to take my hints into consideration.

I was now invited once more by Captain Mackneal to spend a few days on his coffee estate, Sporksgift; but though I was prevented on this occasion from accepting the invitation, I will take this opportunity to describe that useful berry, which, not being a native of Guiana, it is said was first planted in Surinam by the Count de Neale, though others ascribe it to one Hansbach, a silver-smith, in 1720[2].

Sprig of the Coffee Tree.

London, Published Decr. 1st, 1791, by J. Johnson, St. Paul’s Church Yard.

The coffee-berry is the produce of an elegant tree, which is seldom allowed to grow higher than a man can reach, in order to facilitate the gathering of it. The bark of this tree is light brown, and the leaves like laurel, having a beautiful polish; with these it is thickly covered, [[353]]the branches diverging from near the surface of the earth to the summit. The berries, which are oval, are first green, and gradually change their colour, till they are ripe, when they acquire a bright crimson hue, like that of a cherry. In each of these berries are two kernels resembling beans, lying flat upon each other. Of these a good tree is said to produce three or four pounds weight at each crop; for this tree, like most other vegetable productions in this luxuriant climate, bears two crops every year.

To give the curious a better idea of this useful plant, I present him with a sprig of it, copied from nature in the annexed plate;—in which the figure A refers to the wood, where it was cut off; B is the upper side of the leaf; C the lower side of the same; D is the berry just beginning to change; E the same in full perfection, being of a beautiful crimson; and F the kernels or beans as they appear when they are divested of their husk, and ready for exportation.

The buildings on a coffee estate are, first, the dwelling house, which is usually situated for pleasure near the banks of a river; and for convenience adjoining to it are erected the outhouses for the overseer and book-keeper, with store-houses and small offices: the other necessary buildings are a carpenter’s lodge, a dock and boat-house, and two capital coffee-lodges, the one to bruise and separate the pulp from the berries, the other to dry them; the rest consist of negro-houses, a stable, hospital, [[354]]and warehouses, which altogether appear like a small village. The coffee-lodge alone sometimes costs five thousand pounds sterling, and sometimes more. But to give a more complete idea of the whole apparatus, I must refer to the plate, where all the buildings, fields, paths, gardens, floodgates, and canals are marked, and explained by the necessary references. The plan, as exhibited in this plate, is intended to unite at once elegance, convenience, and safety. It is elegant, as being perfectly regular; convenient, as having every thing at hand and under the planter’s own inspection; and safe, being surrounded by a broad canal, which by floodgates lets in the water fresh from the river, besides a draw-bridge, which during the night cuts off all communication from without.

I shall now proceed to the planting-ground, which is divided into large square pieces, in each of which are generally two thousand beautiful coffee-trees, growing at eight or ten feet distance from each other. These trees, which begin to bear at about the age of three years, are in their prime at six, and continue to produce fruit till they are thirty; the manner of supplying them being from good nurseries, which no coffee estate is ever without, having already mentioned that they afford two crops every year, which is about Midsummer and Christmas.

T. Conder Sculpsit

Plan of a regular Coffee Plantation.

References to the Plan.

1. The Dwelling House 2. The Overseers Dwelling 3. The Book-keepers Office 4. The Kitchen 5. The Storehouse 6. The Poultry-house 7. The Hogs-sty 8. The Boat-house or small Dock 9. The Carpenters & Coopers Lodge 10. The Drying Lodge for the Coffee 11. The Bruising Lodge for do 12. The Negro-houses 13. The Horse Stables 14. The Fold for Sheep & Bullocks 15. The Great Guard house 16. The Hospital 17. The Pigeon-house 18. The Corn-house or Granary 19. The Necessary houses 20. The Sentry Boxes for Watchmen 21. The Floodgates 22. The Great Draw-bridge 23. The Landing Place 24. The Great Canals 25. The River or Creek 26. The Gravel walks 27. The Drying Floor for Coffee 28. The Negro Gardens 29. The Pasture for the Horses 30. The Pasture for the Sheep & Bullocks 31. The Poultry-yard 32. The Hogs-yard 33. The Kitchen Gardens 34. The Flower do 35. The Plantain Trees 36. The Groves of Orange Trees 37. The Dams & Gutters for Draining 38. The Path to enter the Fields 39. The Bridges over the Gutters 40. The Gates, Barriers, &c.

London, Published Decr. 1st, 1791, by J. Johnson, St. Paul’s Church Yard.

At the times of harvest, it is not unpleasing to see the negroes picking the crimson berries among the polished green, where all ages and sexes are employed to fulfil their [[355]]task with ardour, when the youth who having first filled their baskets, wantonly run naked, and play amongst the luxuriant foliage.

I will now conduct them before the overseer’s presence, where, all the baskets being inspected, the flogging commences, which is mostly inflicted with impartial severity on all who have not fulfilled their tasks, whether from idleness or incapacity. This ceremony concluded, the berries are carried home into the bruising-lodge, and the slaves return home to their houses. The berries being bruised in a mill for that purpose, in the above lodge, to separate the kernels from the husks or pulpy substance, they are next steeped in water one night to cleanse them, and then spread on the drying-floor, which is exposed to the open air, and is constructed of flat stones; after which they are spread on garrets made for the purpose, to let them evaporate and dry internally, during which time they must be turned over every day with wooden shovels: this done, they are once more dried in large coolers or drawers, that run easily on rollers in and out of the windows, to prevent them from being overtaken by showers of rain: then they are put into wooden mortars, and beaten by candle-light with heavy wooden pestles, like the rice at Gado-Saby, to divest them of a thin coat or pellicle that unites the two kernels in the pulp. At this exercise the negroes wonderfully keep time, and always sing a chorus. Being next separated from the chaff through a bunt-mill, once more thoroughly dried on the [[356]]coolers, and the whole beans picked from the bruised, which last are consumed in the colony: they are finally put into casks or barrels, of about three or four hundred, weight each, for exportation.

I shall only farther observe, that in Surinam some coffee plantations produce above 150,000 pounds weight per annum; and that, as I have already mentioned, in the year before our arrival no less was exported to Amsterdam alone than 12,267,134 pounds of this valuable article, the prices of which have fluctuated, from three-pence halfpenny to eighteen pence; but which, calculated at the average price of eight-pence halfpenny, produces a yearly income of not less than 400,000 pounds sterling; (which, is no despicable revenue) besides what goes to Rotterdam and Zealand.

This is sufficient to prove that the cultivation of coffee is highly worthy the attention of the planters: and as for the virtues of this excellent berry, without entering into particulars, I will only refer the reader to that highly-approved pamphlet, entitled “A Treatise concerning the Properties and Effects of Coffee; by Benjamin Mosely, M. D. Author of Observations on the Dysentery of the West Indies;” from which I cannot resist the temptation of extracting the following passage:—“Bacon says, coffee comforts the head and heart, and helps digestion. Doctor Willis says, being daily drunk, it wonderfully clears and enlivens each part of the soul, and disperses all the clouds of every function. The celebrated [[357]]Doctor Harvey used it often. Voltaire lived almost entirely on it; and the learned and sedentary of every country have recourse to it to refresh the brain, oppressed by study and contemplation.”

With the above description I must conclude the observations which I have been able to make on such of the vegetable productions of this colony, as have offered themselves to my examination. But so abundant is the variety, and so extraordinary the properties, of the trees, plants, roots, &c. of this country, that by far the greater number are as yet perfectly unknown to the oldest inhabitants of this settlement, and to all the world besides.

A few years ago a Count Gentelly, an ingenious nobleman, travelled through the desarts of Guiana with some Indians, and had acquired considerable knowledge in this his favourite study. But alas! his labours, which promised fair to be of material benefit to the Botanic Society, and to mankind in general, were interrupted by a fever, which, owing to his excessive fatigue, he caught at the River Correntine, and cut him off in the midst of his useful and entertaining researches.

Having now concluded my account of the different productions of the colony, particularly cotton, sugar, cacao, indigo, and coffee, to which it is indebted for its riches; and having once more repeated that the different trees, shrubs, plants, roots, gums, and perfumes, are equally as innumerable as they are excellent; I cannot have a fairer opportunity of fulfilling my promise of [[358]]submitting to the reader a few considerations, by an attention to which I cannot help thinking that not only Surinam, but the West India colonies in general, might accumulate wealth to themselves, and promote the permanent happiness of the slaves that are under their subjection, without having recourse to the Coast of Guinea to supply the almost hourly consumption of that unfortunate people. But before I proceed, it will be necessary to state the manner in which the negro slaves are distributed and treated, by the customs of this settlement only, without adverting to the distribution or government of them in other colonies; from which, however, those may equally derive some profit;—and then I shall endeavour to point out how, in my opinion, they ought to be distributed and treated, according to the laws, not only of humanity but of common sense.

I have before observed that in Surinam there are supposed to be on an average about 75,000 negro slaves of all denominations, which (allowing them, for the sake of a round number, to amount to 80,000) are here distributed in the following extraordinary manner, viz. The plantations, being about 800 in number, though some have but 24 negroes, and others 400, we will suppose them to possess 100 slaves each, which complement is exactly the above number of 80,000 people. These are employed in this settlement as follows; the first column of figures alluding to one estate, the second ditto to eight hundred. [[359]]