Journals Of Two Expeditions Of Discovery In North West And Western Australia Volume 1 (Of 2) by George Grey (read book txt) 📕

That The Slave Population In

This Country Are By No Means Deficient Either In Mental Powers Or

Personal Courage.

 

The Brazilians Themselves Are Aware Of The Danger Which Threatens Them,

And Yet Evince An Extraordinary Degree Of Supineness With Regard To It.

They Have Indeed Framed Certain Regulations As To The Slaves Being All

Within Their Houses At An Early Hour Of The Evening,  Etc. Etc.,  And These

They Deem Sufficient For Their Protection; Yet To An Unprejudiced

Observer It Would Appear That,  Unless Some Much More Effective Measures

Are Adopted,  Within A Few Years From The Present Time The Whole Of This

Fine Country Will Be In The Hands Of The Blacks: And Indeed I Think One

Would Be Justified In Concluding That The Moment Which Produces A Person

Sufficiently Intriguing Again To Stir Up The Slaves,  And Endowed With The

Firmness And Talent Necessary To Conduct An Emeute Of This Nature,  Will

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Be The Last Of The Brazilian Empire.

 

Political Condition Of The State.

 

It Is Evident From What I Have Before Stated That The Only Hope The White

Population Can Reasonably Entertain Of Retaining Their Present Position

Must Be In The Most Perfect Union And Concord Amongst Themselves,  And

That,  When A Unity Of Design And Action Ceases To Exist Between The

Different Provinces,  Their Fate Is Sealed. Yet This Circumstance Never

Appears To Enter Into Their Calculations; And At This Instant Each State

Is Plotting Its Separation From The Empire. The Inhabitants Here Openly

State Their Intention Of Revolting And Declaring Their Independence,  And

Sunday Next Is Even Mentioned As The Day For The Commencement Of The

Rising.*

 

(*Footnote. The Revolt Broke Out On The 7th November 1837 But Was

Suppressed The Following Month. Great Alarm Existed Lest The Negro Slaves

Should Be Induced To Take Their Part Likewise In The Conflict Between The

Contending Factions. Annual Register For 1837.)

 

It Is Really Strange To One Who Stands By,  A Calm Unconcerned Spectator,

To Observe Men Hurried On By The Violence Of Faction To Their Own Certain

Destruction,  And To Behold Them So Entirely Blinded By Party Spirit As

Not To See That Danger Which Stares Them So Openly In The Face,  That A

Child Could Scarcely Fail To Detect It.

 

The Slave Trade,  Though Nominally Abolished,  Is Actively Pursued Here,

Eighty-Three Slaves Having Been Landed Just Before My Arrival,  And

Another Cargo During My Stay.

 

The Slaves Are Not Only A Very Superior Race Of Men In Point Of Physical

Powers,  But,  As Far As My Experience Of Their Habits Went,  I Found Them

Very Moral And Honest. Their Notions Of Religion Were However Curious.

Several Were Christians Nominally,  But Their Christianity Consisted In

Wearing A String Of Beads Round The Neck; And They Seriously Assured Me

That Those Who Wore Beads Went Up To Heaven After Death,  And That Those

Who Did Not Went Down Under The Waters.

 

I Talked To Many Of Them About Their Own Land. None Had Forgotten It,  But

They All Expressed The Most Ardent Desire To See It Again. They Call

Themselves Captives,  Not Slaves,  And Are Very Punctilious Upon This

Point. They Labour Very Hard Here,  Generally In The Town,  Paying Their

Masters Eighteen-Pence A Day,  And Keeping The Rest Of Their Earnings For

Themselves. The Rate Of Labour Must Therefore Be High; But They Wear

Scarcely Any Clothes,  And Their Subsistence,  Which Is Jerked Beef And

Beans,  Costs But Little. The Slaves In The Country Are However All

Obliged To Work On Their Owners' Plantations.

 

All The Principal People In The Town Are Concerned In The Slave Trade,

And Their Chief Wealth Consists In The Number Of Slaves They Possess;

Therefore There Is Little Chance Of The Trade Being,  For Many Years,

Totally Abolished.

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With Regard To The Execution Of The Laws This Country Is Much In The Same

State As Certain Parts Of Ireland. Homicide,  And Attempts At Homicide,  By

Shooting,  Are Frequent; But It Is Difficult,  If Not Impossible,  To

Convict The Offenders,  For He Who Renders Himself Conspicuous In

Prosecuting Parties Concerned In A Murder Assuredly Gets Shot At In His

Turn.

 

Impressions And Observations At Sea. Remarks On Voyage From Bahia To The

Cape.

 

August 25.

 

Re-Embarked In The Beagle And Sailed For The Cape Of Good Hope.

 

September 10.

 

We Had Yesterday And All Last Night A Gale Of Wind,  Succeeded This Day By

A Heavy Fall Of Rain. The Wind Had Raised A Very High Sea,  But When The

Rain Began To Fall I Heard The Captain And Several Of The Officers Remark

That The Rain Would Lay The Sea; For The Result Of Their Experience Was,

"That A Fall Of Rain Always Beats The Sea Down." What They Had Stated

Would Occur Took Place In This Instance Within Two Or Three Hours. This

Shows Forcibly What Great Results A Slight Force,  Continued For A Long

Time,  Will Produce.

 

September 15.

 

Whilst Standing On The Deck Of The Beagle This Evening We Remarked Large

Luminous Spots In The Water. They Appeared To Be About 12 Inches In

Circumference,  Were Very Numerous,  And Perfectly Stationary. The Light

They Emitted Was Phosphorescent,  But Far Brighter Than I Had Ever Before

Witnessed; It Was So Vivid As To Be Distinctly Visible For Nearly A

Quarter Of A Mile.

 

September 16.

 

We Saw This Morning An Immense Number Of Fin-Backed Whales,  Some Of Which

Were Quite Close To The Vessel. In The Course Of Half An Hour I Counted

Thirty Of Them. Could They Have Been Feeding On The Phosphorescent

Animals We Saw Last Night?

 

We Are Today About 600 Miles From The Cape,  And There Is A Strange

Discordance Amongst The Elements. From The South-West Comes A Long And

Heavy Swell; A Strong Breeze Is Blowing From The East,  And Threatening

Clouds Spring Upwards From The North. These Omens Have A Meaning. Down To

The Southward,  Somewhere Off Cape Horn,  There Blows A Furious Gale. The

Wind Will Draw Round Shortly To The Northward. That Is The Interpretation

And The Reading.

 

A Swell Like This One Can Only Witness Off The Cape Of Good Hope. It Was

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To Me A Novel And Magnificent Sight. Uniform And Lofty Ridges Of Waves

Advancing In Rapid Succession,  And Yet With So Regular And Undisturbed A

Motion That One Might Easily Fancy These Great Walls Of Water To Be

Stationary: Yet Onward They Moved In Uniform And Martial Order; Whilst As

The Ship Rose Upon Their Crests She Seemed To Hover For A Moment Over The

Ocean In Mid Air. And Now The Wind Drew Round To The Northward And It

Blew Almost A Gale. The Vessel Felt Its Power And Bent Before It. It Was

Beautiful To Watch The Process Of Hand-Reefing Topsails And Making The

Vessel Snug--The Ready Obedience To The Word Of Command And The Noiseless

Discipline With Which Each Duty Was Fulfilled. First Had The Men

Clustered On The Rigging Like Bees; Then At The Word To Lay Out They

Fearlessly Extended Themselves Along The Yard-Arm,  And Whilst They Took

In The Reefs The Ship Pitched And Rolled So Heavily That One Felt Anxious

For Their Safety: But There They Swung Securely Between High Heaven And

The Sea.

 

Sea-Birds.

 

The Sea-Birds Held Their Holiday In The Stormy Gale. The Lordly And

Graceful Albatross,  Whose Motion Is A Very Melody,  Swept Screaming By

Upon The Blast. The Smaller Cape Pigeons Followed Us Fast,  Passing And

Repassing Across The Vessel's Track. At Last One Of Them Spies A Fragment

On The Waters,  Which Has Been Thrown Overboard: A Moment It Hovers Above,

Then Plunges Down. But The Other Birds Have Seen It Too; And All,

Pouncing On The Spot,  Move Their Wings Confusedly And Seem To Run Along

The Waters With A Rapid And Eager Motion. Now Is There Discord Wild

Amongst Them. A Screaming And Diving,  Swimming And Running,  Mingled With

A Chattering Noise. No Sooner Does One Gain The Morsel Than Another Tears

It From Him. Who Will Be The Victor Here? The Albatross; For He Sweeps

Triumphantly Over All,  Swoops Down,  And With A Scream Scares Off The

Timid Little Multitude; Whilst High Above His Head He Holds His Arching

Wings; And Now In Pride And Beauty He Sits Upon The Waters And,  Drifting

Fast Astern,  Gradually Fades In The Twilight.

 

What Wonder That A Sailor Is Superstitious! Separated In Early Youth From

His Home Ere He Has Forgotten The Ghost Stories Of Childhood,  And Whilst

The Young And Simple Heart Still Loves To Dwell Upon The Marvellous,  He

Is Placed In Such Scenes As These: In The Dark Night,  Amidst The Din Of

Waves And Storms,  He Hears Wild Shrieks Upon The Air,  And By Him Float

Huge Forms,  Dim And Mysterious,  From Which Fancy Is Prone To Build

Strange Phantoms; And Oft From Aged Sailors He Gathers Legends And

Wondrous Tales Suited To His Calling; Whilst The Narrator's Mysterious

Tone And Earnest Voice And Manner Attest How Firmly He Himself Believes

The Story.

 

Arrival At The Cape. Hire The Lynher.

 

September 21.

 

We Came In Sight Of Land Yesterday Evening,  And Spent The Greater Part Of

The Day In Beating Up False Bay To Simonstown,  Where We Arrived About

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Half-Past Six P.M. I Instantly Landed In A Shore-Boat With Lieutenant

Lushington And Mr. Walker; And,  Having First Hurried To Admiral Sir P.

Campbell With Some Letters I Had To Him,  We Forthwith Started To Ride To

Cape Town. Finding That A Vessel For Our Expedition Could Be Procured

Here More Readily And Economically Than At