12.—Joe Davis brought his son on board to "learn sense." In pursuit of this laudable object, the young man is to make a cruise with us. The father particularly requested that his son might be flogged, saying, "Spose you lick him, you gib him sense!" On such a system, a man-of-war is certainly no bad school of improvement.
13.—A delightful day, clear sky, and cool breeze. We sailed from Cape Palmas yesterday, steering up the coast.
I have been conversing with young Ben Johnson, one of our Kroomen, on the conjugal and other customs of his countrymen. These constitute quite a curious object of research. The Kroomen are indispensable in carrying on the commerce and maritime business of the African coast. When a Kroo-boat comes alongside, you may buy the canoe, hire the men at a moment's warning, and retain them in your service for months. They expend no time nor trouble in providing their equipment, since it consists merely of a straw hat and a piece of white or colored cotton girded about their loins. In their canoes, they deposit these girdles in the crowns of their hats; nor is it unusual, when a shower threatens them on shore, to see them place this sole garment in the same convenient receptacle, and then make for shelter. When rowing a boat, or paddling a canoe, it is their custom to sing; and, as the music goes on, they seem to become invigorated, applying their strength cheerfully, and with limbs as unwearied as their voices. One of their number leads in recitative, and the whole company respond in the chorus. The subject of the song is a recital of the exploits of the men, their employments, their intended movements, the news of the coast, and the character of their employers. It is usual, in these extemporary strains, for the Kroomen attached to a man-of-war to taunt, with good-humored satire, their friends who are more laboriously employed in merchant vessels, and not so well fed and paid.
Their object in leaving home, and entering into the service of navigators, is generally to obtain the means of purchasing wives, the number of whom constitutes a man's importance. The sons of "gentlemen" (for there is such a distinction of rank among them) never labor at home, but do not hesitate to go away, for a year or two, and earn something to take to their families. On the return of these wanderers—not like the prodigal son, but bringing wealth to their kindred—great rejoicings are instituted. A bullock is killed by the head of the family, guns are fired, and two or three days are spent in the performance of various plays and dances. The "boy" gives all his earnings to his father, and places himself again under the parental authority. The Krooman of maturer age, on his return from an expedition of this kind, buys a wife, or perhaps more than one, and distributes the rest of his accumulated gains among his relatives. In a week, he has nothing left but his wives and his house.
Age is more respected by the Africans than by any other people. Even if
the son be forty years old, he seldom seeks to emancipate himself from the
paternal government. If a young man falls in love, he, in the first place,
consults his father. The latter makes propositions to the damsel's father,
who, if his daughter agree to the match, announces the terms of purchase.
The price varies in different places, and is also influenced by other
circumstances, such as the respectability and power of the family, and the
beauty and behavior of the girl. The arrangements here described are often
made when the girl is only five or six years of age, in which case she
remains with her friends until womanhood, and then goes to the house of
her bridegroom.
Meantime, her family receive the stipulated price, and are responsible
for her good behavior. Should she prove faithless, and run away, her
purchase-money must be refunded by her friends, who, in their turn, have a
claim upon the family of him who seduces or harbors her. If prompt
satisfaction be not made (which, however, is generally the case), there
will be a "big palaver," and a much heavier expense for damages and costs.
If, after the commencement of married life, the husband is displeased with
his wife's conduct, he complains to her father, who either takes her back,
and repays the dowry, or more frequently advises that she be flogged. In
the latter alternative, she is tied, starved, and severely beaten; a mode
of conjugal discipline which generally produces the desired effect.
Should the wife be suspected of infidelity, the husband may charge her with it, and demand that she drink the poisonous decoction of sassy-wood, which is used as the test of guilt or innocence, in all cases that are considered too uncertain for human judgment. If her stomach free itself from the fatal draught by vomiting, she is declared innocent, and is taken back by her family without repayment of the dower. On the other hand, if the poison begin to take effect, she is pronounced guilty; an emetic is administered in the shape of common soap; and her husband may, at his option, either send her home, or cut off her nose and ears.
There is one sad discrepancy in the moral system of these people, as
regards the virtue of the women. No disgrace is imputed to the wife who
admits the immoral advances of a white man, provided it be done with the
knowledge and consent of her husband. The latter, in whose eyes the white
man is one of a distinct and superior order of beings, usually considers
himself honored by an affair of this nature, and makes it likewise a
matter of profit. All proposals, in view of such a connection, must pass
through the husband; nor, it is affirmed, is there any hazard of wounding
his delicacy, or awakening his resentment, whatever be his rank and
respectability. The violated wife returns to the domestic roof with
undiminished honor, and confines herself as rigidly within the limits of
her nuptial vow, as if this singular suspension of it had never taken
place.
In spite of the degradation indicated by the above customs, the
Kroo-women are rather superior to other native females, and seem to occupy
a higher social position. The wife first married holds the purse, directs
the household affairs, and rules the other women, who labor diligently for
the benefit of their common husband and master. Their toil constitutes his
wealth. It is usual for a man to live two, three, or four days, with each
of his wives in turn. As old age advances, he loses the control of his
female household, most of the members of which run away, unless he is wise
enough to dispose of them (as usage permits) to his more youthful
relatives. As a Krooman of sixty or seventy often has wives in their
teens, it is not to be wondered at that they should occasionally show a
disposition to rove.