Tuesday, September 18th.—About one o'clock this morning, we had a violent tornado, which we had expected, from the frequent lightning of the last four or five days; also, from the near approach of the termination of the rainy season. The morning was very fresh and clear after it; but, in the afternoon, it became cloudy and close. Burglaries are frequently committed by the Kroomen in Sierra Leone, under cover of the storm, it being a favourable time, from the difficulty of hearing their operations, as well as from the disinclination the inhabitants feel to go out in such heavy rain and wind, to examine their stores and out-houses.
Wednesday, 19th.—Heavy rain from last evening till nine this morning. Attended the Court, where I heard the trial of an action brought by a house-carpenter against the executors of an estate, for work, forming part of a contract that he had made with the late Tascoe Williams, Esq.; the executors objecting to pay any part, because the whole of the contract had not been performed, although it appeared, that he was ready, but they were not willing, that he should complete it: a verdict was, of course, given for the carpenter.
At three in the afternoon, I accompanied Capt. Owen to dine with Capt. Arabin, on board the North Star, which was to sail for the Gambia on the following day, taking a detachment of the Royal African Corps thither, under the command of Lieutenant Nott. There was, at one period, so much sickness at Sierra Leone, that this young man (then an ensign) was the COMMANDING OFFICER IN BARRACKS!
Thursday, September 20th.—Very fine weather. Accompanied Mr. Macauley in a ride on horseback, through the grass-field, to a village called Portuguese Town, and round Barrack Hill, passing the new, and afterwards the old burying-ground, &c. The grass-field is said to be that part of Sierra Leone, which is the principal cause of the unhealthiness of the town, it being, in heavy rains, partly covered with water; however, there are other causes in addition to this, that are said to contribute to the unhealthiness of the place. One of these is a belt of wood on the hill above the town; which must considerably impede the current of air, and, if this was cleared and cultivated, it would greatly improve the salubrity of the place; but, I fear, the greatest evil of all is insurmountable, under existing circumstances, as it is not within the control of the colonists. This is the low marshy land that lies on the other side of the bay, and directly opposite the town, called the Boollam shore, where a friend of mine (Lieutenant George Maclean, Royal African Corps, who is, at present, at the head of the Council at Cape Coast) went a few months before my arrival, on an important mission from the Governor of Sierra Leone, to be present at, and thereby countenance and confirm their choice in, the election of a king.
The origin of the connection between our colony at Sierra Leone, and the natives of the Boollam territory is very interesting, and will form an appropriate introduction to a sketch of Lieutenant Maclean's visit during the election of a King.
In the year 1804, the colony of Sierra Leone was attacked by the Native Powers, and a body of blacks to the northward of the Boollam territories was put in motion for the purpose of assisting the other native tribes in overwhelming the white population at Freetown. The King, or Chief of the North, (or, as they call themselves, the Sherbro Boollams,) who has since been known by the name of King George, and through whose territories the hostile tribes must needs pass, being a firm ally of the King of Great Britain, declared that on no account whatever would he permit them to pass through his country to attack a British settlement: and he carried his point so effectually as to render the expedition fruitless. In consequence of the determined and friendly conduct of this Prince, a deputation of whites from Freetown was despatched to him, with an invitation to visit Sierra Leone, which invitation he accepted. While at Freetown, he was crowned with all solemnity by the name of King George. He continued on the most amicable terms with the Government of Sierra Leone until his death, which took place the 19th of May, 1826, at the advanced age, it is said, of upwards of one hundred years, a point which it would be difficult to ascertain accurately, as these people are entirely ignorant of their own ages. Since this period the throne of the Boollams has been vacant; it being now, however, the intention of the people to proceed to the choice of a King, according to their custom; and it being deemed of considerable importance from the vicinity of Boollam to Sierra Leone, that a person should be elected who was known to be friendly to the English settlement, it was determined by his Excellency the Governor that a person should be sent as a commissioner to be present at the election and coronation; whose duty it should be to support the claims and secure the election of a person known to the English by the name of Macaulay Wilson, who, being a near relation of the late King George, and having been educated in England, being also a man of considerable abilities, was deemed in every way worthy of the throne.
The election of Macaulay Wilson having been accomplished, it would then become the duty of the Commissioner, on the part of the English Government to use every means in his power to induce the new King, with the numerous chiefs and head men, to accede to, and sign, a convention, whereby the sovereignty of Boollam was to be ceded to the King of Great Britain, under certain limitations and restrictions specified in the treaty. The attainment of this point, would, of course, be attended with great difficulty; but it had become of the utmost importance for the suppression of the slave trade that the attempt should be made; for slave dealers who were actually carrying on their traffic in Freetown, upon the least alarm, removed to Boollam with their unfortunate victims, and being then out of British territory were in perfect security. The following is Lieutenant Maclean's personal narrative of his mission.
"Yougroo, Boollam, March 3rd, 1827.
"I left Freetown tins morning in the Government barge, with Mr. S. (a person appointed to accompany me as interpreter) and arrived in the course of the evening at the Boollam shore. On landing I proceeded to Yougroo, called by the late King, George Town, where I was received by the King (esse), by Dalmahoumedii, a powerful Mandingo chief, with a number of other chiefs, and headmen.
"There was a very good house (constructed after the country fashion) assigned us as a place of residence. After taking possession, I was visited by the different chiefs and head men, who came to pay their respects, or, as they phrase it, to do service to me, as representing the Governor of Sierra Leone. These consisted principally of Boollam chiefs, who had seldom left their own country; and a few, notwithstanding their vicinity to a white colony, who had scarce ever seen a white man before. There were, also, not a few Mandingo chiefs, who had acquired property and influence in Boollam, and which was daily increasing. These Mandingoes are possessed of considerable intelligence and great cunning, by which means, and by the genius of their religion (Mahommedan), they invariably, though gradually, acquire the superiority over the native rulers of those countries in which they choose to settle. In Boollam this was becoming very apparent; and as the Mandingo chiefs are all either covertly or openly, supposed to be engaged in the slave trade, and consequently opposed to the English Government, I was instructed particularly to guard against, and to oppose their interest in the election of the King. Dalmahoumedii, whom I mentioned above, is the principal Mandingo chief in Boollam, and is by far the best informed man that I had seen here. He is even well conversant in European politics. He is a man of large property, and has a town of his own, called Madina, inhabited entirely by Mandingoes.