He seemed quite indignant at "the imposition," and indulged in severe remarks on the character of the woman with whom I boarded. He threatened to give her a regular reprimanding, and swore he would cut down her bill to less than one third of the amount.
On the following morning, at about seven o'clock, I again went to the counting room, and found opposite the entrance a mule already bridled and saddled, with a negro guide to show me the way, over the mountains by the Grand Etang route, to the Upper Pearl estate. I took leave of Bohun, who wrung my hand affectionately at parting, and taking the direction indicated by my guide, entered on my journey.
The road was rough and muddy, for there had been heavy rains, the mule was lazy, and I was unaccustomed to this kind of travelling; besides, I found much on the route to excite my attention; much which was novel and highly interesting. My progress was consequently slow. The road passed among the sugar plantations, which were confined to the comparatively low lands near the sea shore; then ascending towards the mountains, winded through coffee and cacao estates, the successful cultivation of which articles of commerce requires a cooler and moister region than the sugar-cane.
During this journey, I often stopped my mule on the summit of a commanding height, and gazed admiringly around on the beautiful and extensive prospect. The well-cultivated plantations, each appearing like a village in itself, scattered among the many hills and valleys and intervals even to the very sea coast; the sea beyond, which at that distance seemed as smooth and polished as a mirror, encasing the island in a frame of silver; the luxuriant tropical foliage, whose beauty I had often heard described; the cocoanut, orange, tamarind, and guava trees, loaded with fruit, with plantains, bananas, pineapples, aloes and cactuses on every side, all filled my heart with wonder and delight.
Taking the road leading over the mountains, which is impassable for carriages, I passed through vast tracks of forest, where the lofty trees were covered with stout vines reaching to the tree tops, rendering it difficult for man to penetrate those sylvan recesses. Near the highest part of this mountain road, at a height of several thousand feet above the sea, is situated a romantic lake, called by the French the Grand Etang, or Great Lake, which fills the crater of an extinct volcano. Near this spot, where the atmosphere is always cool and humid, we were suddenly enveloped in a cloud, and soon experienced the peltings of a tropical shower. I received conclusive evidence that my garments were not water-proof before we could find shelter in a negro hut by the wayside.
After passing the Grand Etang, we began to descend the mountains on our way towards the north side of the island. The sun again shone brightly, and again a beautiful and expanded prospect met my view. To the eastward was the little town of Greenville, situated at the head of a beautiful bay, in which several ships and quite a number of small vessels were riding at anchor. Far to the north was seen the high and rugged island of St. Vincent, rising like a blue and jagged cloud out of the sea; and between that island and the shores of Grenada, a birdseye view could be obtained of the little islands and rocks, some cultivated and some barren, known as the Grenadines. Among the plantations which appeared afar off, nearest the sea coast, my guide pointed out the Pearl estates, which, he said, with a degree of pride that caused me some astonishment, produced more sugar than any two estates in that part of the island.
In the course of the route, I asked a thousand questions of my guide, who was an intelligent slave belonging to the Upper Pearl estate, and seemed delighted with an opportunity to display his knowledge. He gave me much information, which I subsequently found to be correct, in relation to the mode of managing estates in the West Indies, and conducting the economy of those establishments, each of which, although of course subjected to the general laws of the colony, was in those days a community of itself, under the government of an absolute despotism, the best government in the world provided "the head man" possesses the attributes of goodness, wisdom, and firmness, and is exempt from the imperfections which seem inseparably attached to human nature. But when a despot can boast of none of those attributes, woe to the people who are obliged to submit to his oppressions and obey his behests!
The island of Grenada, as is indeed the case with most of the Windward Islands, is well watered by rivers running from the mountains. Some of the streams are of considerable size, and are never dry in seasons of the greatest drought. The water, conducted by canals from these rivers, constituted the chief motive power for the machinery on the sugar estates, although in a few cases windmills were used for that purpose. The estates comprised each an area of some two to five hundred acres, a considerable portion of which was planted with the cane. The remainder was improved as sites for the various buildings, gardens for the slaves, fields of corn and "guinea grass," and other purposes. The "sugar works" were placed as near the centre of the estate as convenience would admit. The manager's house, which was a large, inconvenient, one-story building, with numerous out-houses, was generally situated on an elevated spot of land in the vicinity. Another house of smaller size was occupied by the overseers.
At no great distance from the "sugar works," and sometimes in close proximity, was a collection of huts, thirty or forty in number, cheaply constructed, with thatched roofs, and huddled together without any regard to order, or even convenience. These were known as "negro houses," the dwellings of the slaves, where, when their daily tasks were ended, they could rest from their labors, and enjoy, without restraint, the few comforts which shed a gleam of sunshine over their condition.
In their houses and families, the slaves made their own regulations. Their enjoyments consisted chiefly in social gatherings and gossip. The women derived gratification from showy dresses and decorations, and sometimes displayed their barbarian tendencies by indulging a love for scandal and mischief-making. They seemed constitutionally gay and cheerful, as was seen by their merry jokes and songs; and a loud, ringing, contagious, African laugh, in the jocund chorus of which many joined, was elicited on very slight provocation.