About a league from Pasqua, and on the bank of the same river, a Spaniard from the isle of Cuba, called Don Juan Maldonado, had taken up his residence in a charming house, all the environs of which were delightful. The land which was not in tillage, formed vast meadows interspersed with bowers of palm and other trees, which presented a most charming appearance.
The house of this Spaniard was large and convenient, was surrounded by eight or ten huts occupied by his slaves, and the whole was enclosed by a quadruple wall of piles, the innermost of which was ten feet high, well terraced, and supported by two raised ways, with four platforms, each of which contained two pieces of cannon. Don Juan lived peaceably in his fortress, and was esteemed and respected by his neighbours: he was rich and did much good, but he had no wife.
At this residence travellers were cordially received and feasted. The people of the country do not agree with respect to this extraordinary man; some say that he left several children, heirs to his virtues and solitude. He lived in the most intimate way with several Negresses, without being attached to any one of them by the ties of marriage. Others assert, that he had no children; that the king inherited his property, and that he left his ordinary residence to return to Spain.
The Negroes of this country are husbandmen, and they perform their operations in cadence with the sound of drums: the spades which they use, are made of wood, shod with a small rib of iron; this serves them to root up weeds, open the ground, and cover the seeds which they sow.
From the residence of Maldonado to James’s village, is about three days journey, a distance which is agreeably performed by land. At this village, a greater quantity of wax is procured than at any other part of the province: the Portuguese alone buy here more than 500 cwt. every year. A market is held in it twice a week, whither the Negroes of the environs bring the wax for sale; the Portuguese buy it by wholesale, melt, and purify it, form it into cakes, and send it to Cachaux, where the magazines are established; from hence they ship it on their own account, or sell it to European merchants who send in quest of it.
The native inhabitants of James are Feloups and idolaters: they are adroit and civilized; and their manners are softened by their commerce and connections with foreigners. They acknowledge no sovereign, but live under the pacific republican government of their elders; their lands are rich and well cultivated, though they have no other agricultural implements than wooden spades, shod with iron, and having long handles.
With respect to the country, it is impossible for one to be more agreeable; it abounds in palm and other large trees. The Portuguese live here in easy circumstances, and have handsome and convenient houses. It is remarkable that the musquitoes are more numerous here than in any other part of Africa; they consequently are a great inconvenience to the inhabitants.
The river of Casamança is about a league distant from this village; it empties itself into the sea, to the north of the river St. Domingo; its water is deep enough to bear large ships; but there is a bar at its mouth which is very difficult and dangerous to pass, as it can only be cleared by canoes or small craft, and never without danger. Both banks of this river are inhabited by savage and cruel Felups, who will not hold any communication with the whites, and are always at war with their neighbours. Their country is interspersed with rivers, or rather with torrents, which proceed from a lake that is formed by the heavy rains, but which is dry in the fine season. At the rainy period the whole country resembles a vast marsh.
A few leagues up this river, is the village of Guinguin: it is inhabited by the Portuguese, who carry on a considerable commerce in wax; for this privilege they pay a duty to the king, and are as much masters in his states as he is himself. This prince and all his subjects are idolaters, and speak a peculiar language. The soil of this district is flat and very rich. Apes are uncommonly numerous in this part, and commit shocking ravages; but they are themselves grievously tormented by the bees, with which the country is covered.
The next Portuguese colony is Cachaux; it lies near the river of St. Domingo, about twenty leagues from its mouth. This establishment is in the territory of the tribe called Papels, an idolatrous people, whose principal god is a little statue, which they call Chine, and to which they sacrifice dogs. These Negroes are of an intrepid character, but they are treacherous, cruel, and vindictive; they are almost always at war with their neighbours, and even with the Portuguese, who, to secure themselves against their incursions, have surrounded their town on the land side with a strong pallisade, supported by some batteries, at which they always mount guard to prevent being surprised. Their houses consist only of a ground floor, but they are large and convenient; they are covered during the rainy season with the leaves of the latane tree, and the rest of the year with sail-cloth, which secures them from the operation of the sun, or of moisture. This change of covering is indispensible, because in the dry season the leaves would take fire, while the sail-cloth would not keep out the rain. They have a church, the duty of which is performed by a curate and a few priests; and there is likewise a convent inhabited by two or three Capuchins. All the Portuguese catholics and their priests are spiritually dependent on the bishop of St. Jago, one of the Cape de Verd islands. The Papels or natives have a part of the town to themselves, which they exclusively occupy: though they remain idolaters, they have adopted nearly all the customs of the Portuguese. Outside of the pallisades nothing is to be seen but swamps and fields of rice, the produce of which is not equal to the consumption. Oxen and cows are very scarce and dear in this part, and there are neither sheep, hogs, goats, nor poultry, though they might be bred with great facility. The town is not supplied with water, so that the inhabitants are obliged to fetch it from the distance of a musquet-shot from the pallisades, and almost always with an escort, to prevent their slaves from being killed or carried off.