Samboe; or, The African Boy

by Mary Ann Hedge

Of brotherhood is sever’d as the flax

That falls asunder at the touch of fire—

And having pow’r

T’ enforce the wrong, for such a worthy cause,

Dooms and devotes him as his lawful prey.”

Mr. Irving, the factor whom we have named as having received the peremptory and unlimited order from the merchants of Cape Coast Castle, had won their confidence, by the remarkable success which had attended his negociations with the king and principal grandees of Whidáh, in which delightful part of Africa he had resided for some years. Nothing, perhaps, more strongly proves the indurating power of the love of gain upon the heart, and the baneful influence of the habitual view of oppression on the better feelings of the soul, than the change which generally takes place in the characters of the young men whose [[4]]official duty places them in situations like that filled by Mr. Irving. It has, indeed, been most justly and impressively observed, that it is impossible for any one to be accustomed to carry away miserable beings, by force, from their country and endearing ties, to keep them in chains, to see their tears, to hear their mournful lamentations, to behold the dead and the dying mingled together, to keep up a system of severity towards them in their deep affliction, to be constant witnesses of the misery of exile, bondage, cruelty, and oppression, which, together, form the malignant character of this nefarious traffic, without losing all those better feelings it should be the study of man to cherish; or without contracting those habits of moroseness and ferocity which brutalize the nature.

Irving, like many other youths, had been induced by an ardent curiosity, and an enterprising spirit, to engage as a writer to the Royal African Company[1], at a time when [[5]]the traffic in slaves was legally pursued, as one source of riches to a great commercial nation. Yet it may with candour be presumed, that he, and many a youth entering upon the same path, with the same laudable impulses, had they anticipated the peril to which they exposed their humane principles, by engaging themselves in a trade so repugnant to nature, religion, and justice, would rather have undergone personal hazard and difficulty in their native land, so that they might have fostered that divine principle, which is the noble and distinguishing characteristic of man—of free-born man.

That Irving possessed a native humanity and right feeling, would appear from his letters to his friends in England, written on his arrival in Africa; and as he describes the country as it first met his admiring and youthful eye, it may be not unamusing to my young readers, to extract a few passages from his letters to his sister, before we pursue [[6]]the detail of subsequent events, in which he was an actor. “Well, my dear Sophy,” he observes, “are you reconciled to your brother becoming a dealer in slaves? I assure you I have had some compunctious visitings of conscience upon the subject during the voyage; the calmness and monotony of which, gave me ample opportunity of reflecting upon the kind-hearted arguments of my good little sister, against a commerce, which, I believe she says true when she asserts, ‘is founded in injustice and crime, and a compound of all that is wicked and cruel.’ But, Sophy, what will you call your wild brother, when I tell you, that the first glance I had of this enchanting country, put you, your arguments, the unhappy and abused natives, from my mind, in an instant; and I could only bless my stars that I was to become an inhabitant of a region which seemed to offer so many delights—so many interesting studies for my pencil. I can anticipate all you would say upon this subject, as to the cruelty of tearing the miserable natives from scenes which ‘breathe of Paradise,’ so as to have raised [[7]]the enthusiasm of even the thoughtless heart of Charles Irving. But I have no time for argument, Sophy, scarcely that for brief description. Imagine then, my dear sister, the most boundless luxuriancy of landscape, continually clothed with all the beauties and riches of spring, summer, and harvest; lofty mountains covered with wood, chiefly fruit-trees; fine streams, romantic and fertile valleys. Such is the general appearance: the scenery in detail surpasses description. This charming country seems to be remarkably populous. The kingdom of Whidáh, in which is situated the factory to which I am at present appointed, is (as you will find on consulting your map) on the western side of Africa, commonly called the slave-coast. This kingdom we should rather call a county, as it extends only about ten miles along the coast, and about seven miles inland. Yet, although of so small an extent, it is divided into twenty-six divisions, or provinces. The villages are numerous, and thickly inhabited. The houses or huts of the natives are small; conical at the top, and thatched either with long grass, or the palmetto [[8]]leaves. The interior is very clean; but from the fish and other articles of food kept in them, you may readily imagine the effluvia is not very pleasant to European nicety.

The furniture of these dwellings is not very costly, seldom amounting to more than a chest to contain their light and simple articles of clothing; a mat to repose upon, raised a little from the floor; a jar to contain water, and calabashes of various sizes; two or three wooden mortars to pound corn and rice, and a basket or sieve to prepare it when done. The villages formed of these huts are generally built in a circle, surrounded by a clay wall, scattered over the country in the midst of beautiful groves clear of brushwood, and have a most picturesque and beautiful effect to a stranger’s eye. The fields are always verdant, and nature puts forth her beauties with inexhaustible profusion; perpetual spring and autumn succeeding each other. The Company’s factory here, is most pleasantly situated in the midst of gardens, which amply supply it, and the fort, (called [[9]]Fort William,) consisting of four batteries, mounting seventeen guns. In these gardens is an abundant supply of beans, potatoes, every other edible root known in Europe, and a great variety of delicious fruits peculiar to the climate. Amongst the most beautiful and useful vegetable riches of Africa, may be reckoned the plantain and banana trees. The latter bears a fruit six or seven inches in length, covered with a yellow skin, very tender when ripe. The pulp of it is as soft as a marmalade, and of a most pleasant taste. It grows on a stalk about six yards high, the leaves being nearly two yards long, and a foot wide. One stalk only bears a single cluster of the fruit, which sometimes consists of forty or fifty bananas; and when the cluster is gathered, the stalk is cut off, or it would bear no more fruit. The plantain is not unlike the banana, but somewhat longer, although the flavour greatly resembles it. The leaves, and every part of the tree, are converted into a variety of useful articles. There are also guavas, a fruit very like our peach, except that the external coat [[10]]is rougher; and it has small kernels like the apple, instead of a stone. Cocoas, oranges, lemons, citrons, and limes, abound, and, as you may readily suppose, are in great request amongst us, as well as beautiful additions to the luxuriant vegetable riches of the country.”

In a subsequent letter he again writes: “I was much pleased this morning to see the natives extracting what we call the wine from the palm tree, which is beautifully straight and lofty, growing sometimes to a prodigious height.