Narratives of Colored Americans

by Unknown

He was occasionally instructed by young gentlemen at the warehouse, though he never attended a regular school. In a little time, he was able to read and write, so as to make dray tickets, and superintend the shipping of tobacco. In this business, and in overseeing the labor of the other hands in the warehouse, he was particularly useful; so much so, that he received 800 dollars salary in 1820, the last year he remained there; and he could have received a larger sum, if he would have continued.

In the year 1813, he bought himself and his two little children (his wife being dead) for 850 dollars, and thus became free. The manner in which he obtained this sum of money to purchase himself and his children, reflects much credit on his character. It will be seen from the salary he received after he was free, and which he relinquished for the sake of doing good in Africa, that his services at the warehouse were highly estimated; but of their real value, no one except a dealer in tobacco can form an idea. Notwithstanding the hundreds of hogsheads that were committed to his charge, he could produce any one the instant it was called for; and the shipments were made with a promptness and correctness, such as no person has equalled in the same situation. For this correctness and fidelity, he was highly esteemed, and frequently rewarded by the merchant with a five-dollar note. He was allowed also to sell for his benefit many small parcels of waste tobacco. It was by saving the little sums obtained in this way, with the aid of a subscription by the merchants to whose interests he had been attentive, that he procured these 850 dollars which he paid for the freedom of himself and children. When the colonists were fitted out for Africa, he defrayed a considerable part of his own expense. With a design to improve his condition, he emigrated to Africa among the first settlers of Liberia, where he was the means of doing much good to both colonists and natives.

In reply to one of his friends, who desired to know what inducement he had for going to Africa, when he was already so comfortably situated, he said, "I am an African; and in this country, however meritorious my conduct and respectable my character, I cannot receive the credit due to either. I wish to go to a country where I shall be estimated by my merits, not by my complexion. And I likewise feel bound to labor for my suffering race."

Soon after he made a profession of religion he commenced holding meetings and exhorting among the colored people; and, though he had scarcely any knowledge of books, and but little acquaintance with mankind, he would frequently exhibit a boldness of thought, and a strength of native intellect, which no acquirement could ever have given him.

At the close of his farewell sermon, on his departure for Africa, he remarked in substance as follows: "I am about to leave you; and I expect to see your faces no more. I long to preach to the poor Africans the way of life and salvation. I don't know what may befall me—whether I may find a grave in the ocean, or among the savage men, or more savage wild beasts, on the coast of Africa: nor am I anxious what may become of me; I feel it my duty to go.

"I very much fear that many of those who preach the gospel in this country will blush when the Saviour calls them to give an account of their labors in His cause, and tells them, 'I commanded you to go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.'" And with the most forcible emphasis he exclaimed, "The Saviour may ask, 'Where have you been? What have you been doing? Have you endeavored to the utmost of your ability to fulfil the commands I gave you? or have you sought your own gratification and your own ease, regardless of my commands?'"

In his new home, his intellectual ability, firmness of purpose, unbending integrity, correct judgment, and disinterested benevolence, caused him to be beloved and respected, and gave him great influence: and he soon rose to honorable distinction. The interests of the colony, and the cause of his countrymen, in both Africa and America, were very near to his heart. For them he was willing to toil, and to make almost any sacrifice; and he frequently declared that no possessions in America could induce him to return.

He possessed a constitution peculiarily fitted for toil and exposure, and he felt the effects of the climate perhaps less than any other individual in the colony. During the sickly season of the year, he was usually wholly employed in attending the sick; and for more than a year, they had no other physician among them. The little medical information he had obtained from Dr. Ayres and others on the coast, together with several years' experience, enabled him successfully to contend with the peculiar fevers of the climate.

Under date of March 12th, 1824, shortly after the arrival of the Cyrus with 105 emigrants, he wrote: "The fever began about the 24th ult., and on the 28th we had thirty-eight cases; and by the 2d inst. we had sixty-six under the operation of medicine; and at present, I have about a hundred cases of fever to contend with; but we have been very much favored, for they all appear to be on the recovery, and we have lost none, saving three children. I have very little time to write to you, myself being the only man that will venture to act in the capacity of a physician."