The History of Slavery and the Slave Trade/Chapter 19
CHAPTER XIX.
Operations of the Cruisers under the Ashburton Treaty.
We now return to the operations of the American cruisers. In 1847, the sloop-of-war Jamestown proceeded to the African station, under Commodore Bolton, and the frigate United States was relieved The year following, the commodore was relieved by the Yorktown, Commodore Cooper. In 1849, the squadron was assigned to Commodore Gregory, and consisted of the sloops-ofwar Portsmouth, John Adams, Dale, Yorktown, and the brigs Bainbridge, Porpoise and Perry. Three or four slavers were captured, and the entire coast closely watched.
In 1851, the Germantown, Commodore Lavalette, relieved Commodore Gregory. He made an active cruise for two years, when the frigate Constitution, Commodore Mayo, arrived to take command of the squadron, consisting of the sloops-of-war Marion and Dale and the brig Perry.
Of these squadrons, that of 1850 and 1851 contributed largely toward suppressing the trade and the abuses of the American flag. The efficient commander of the Perry, Andrew H. Foote, in his work entitled "Africa and the American Flag," published in 1854, has given the results of his cruising operations on the southern coast, a region seldom before visited by American cruisers. We are also indebted to his work for reliable information in regard to Liberia, the Maryland Colony, and other subjects connected with Africa.
The object of the cruise was "to protect the lawful commerce of the United States, and to prevent the flag and citizens thereof from being engaged in the slave-trade, to carry out in good faith the treaty stipulations with England, and to act in concert with British cruisers, so far as instructions permitted."
Information was received at Benguela, that five days previous to the arrival of the Perry, an English cruiser had captured, near this place, a brig, with eight hundred slaves on board. In this case, it appeared that the vessel came from Rio de Janeiro, under American colors and papers, with an American captain and crew; and had been, when on the coast, transferred to a Brazilian captain and crew, the Americans having gone on shore with the papers. The captured slaver was sent to the island of St. Helena for adjudication.
After remaining three days at Benguela, where neither fresh water nor provisions could be procured, the Perry weighed anchor and ran down the coast, examining all intermediate points and boarding several vessels during the passage to Loanda. This city is the capital of Loango, and the most flourishing of the Portuguese establishments on the African coast.
In a letter announcing the arrival of the vessel, and her reception by the authorities, the Navy Department was informed that an English steamer had arrived, having recently captured a slaver, the bark Navarre, which had sailed from Rio de Janeiro to St. Catharine's, where she had fitted up for a slave cargo, and received a Brazilian captain and crew. When boarded by the English steamer, the slaver had American colors flying; and on being told by the commander that her papers were forged, and yet that he could not search the vessel, but must send her to an American cruiser, the captain then ordered the American colors to be hauled down, and the Brazilian to be hoisted, declaring that she was Brazilian property, sent the Brazilian captain and crew on deck, and gave up the vessel.
The commander of the Perry also informed the Navy Department that, soon after his arrival at Loanda, he had received from various sources information of the abuse of the American flag in connection with the slave-trade; and inclosed copies of letters and papers addressed to him by the British commissioner, and the commander of an English cruiser, which gave authentic information on the subject.
He suggested that as the legitimate commerce of the United States exceeded that of Great Britain and France, on the coast south of the equator, and the American flag had been used to cover the most extensive slave-trade, it would seem that the presence of one or two men-of-war, and the appointment of a consul, or some public functionary at that place, were desirable.
In reference to vessels ostensibly American, which had been engaged in the slave-trade, a British officer, on the 21st of March, 1850, in a letter inclosing a list of American vessels which had been boarded by the cruiser under his command, stated that all the vessels had afterwards taken slaves from the coast, and, with the exception of the "Lucy Ann,"[1] captured with five hundred slaves on board by a British steamer, had escaped. The registers, or sea-letters, of these vessels appeared to be genuine; and he being unable to detect any inaccuracies in their papers, his duty to the American flag had ceased. The vessels in his list had been boarded by himself; but the senior officer of the division was referred to, "who could give a list of many more, all of which would have been good prizes to an officer having the right of search; "for he was well assured that they went over to that coast, fully fitted and equipped for the slave-trade.
On the 25th of March, the commander requested the English captain to give him a detailed account of the circumstances attending the capture of the bark Navarre, by her B. M. steamer Fire Fly.
He asked for this information, as the Navarre was boarded when under American colors, although displaying Brazilian colors when captured.
In reply, the English captain informed him that the slave bark Navarre, seized under the Brazilian flag, on the 19th instant, had the American ensign flying at the time she was boarded. The boarding officer having doubts of her nationality, in consequence of her papers not appearing to be regular, he himself, although ill at the time, considered it his duty to go on board, when, being convinced that her papers were false, he informed the person calling himself master of her, that it was his duty to send him to the American squadron, or in the event of not falling in with them, to New York. The master immediately went on deck and ordered the mate to haul down the American ensign — to throw it overboard — and to hoist their proper colors. The American ensign was hauled down and thrown overboard by the mate, who immediately hoisted the Brazilian ensign. A man then came on deck from below, saying that he was captain of the vessel; that she was Brazilian property, and fully fitted for the slave-trade; which the person who first appeared acknowledged, stating that he himself was a Brazilian subject. Having obtained this from them in writing, the person who first called himself captain having signed it, and having had the signing of the document witnessed by two officers, he opened her hatches, found all the Brazilian crew below, slave-deck laid, water filled, provisions for the slaves, and slave-shackles.
On the 6th of June, 1850, at three o'clock in the afternoon, a large ship with two tiers of painted ports was made to windward, standing in for the land toward Anibriz. At four o'clock the chase was overhauled, having the name "Martha, New York," registered on her stern. The Perry had no colors flying. The ship, when in range of the guns, hoisted the American ensign, shortened sail, and backed her main-topsail. The first lieutenant, Mr. Bush, was sent to board her. As he was rounding her stern, the people on board observed, by the uniform of the boarding officer, that the vessel was an American cruiser. The ship then hauled down the American, and hoisted Brazilian colors. The officer went on board, and asked for papers and other proofs of nationality. The captain denied having papers, log, or any thing else. At this time something was thrown overboard, when another boat was sent from the Perry, and picked up the writing-desk of the captain, containing sundry papers and letters, identifying the captain as an American citizen; also indicating the owner of three-fifths of the vessel to be an American merchant, resident in Rio de Janeiro. After obtaining satisfactory proof that the ship Martha was a slaver, she was seized as a prize.
The captain at length admitted that the ship was fully equipped for the slave-trade. There were found on board the vessel one hundred and seventy-six casks filled with water, containing from one hundred to one hundred and fifty gallons each; one hundred and fifty barrels of farina for slave-food; several sacks of beans; slave-deck laid; four iron boilers for cooking slave-provisions; iron bars, with the necessary wood-work, for securing slaves to the deck; four hundred spoons for feeding them; between thirty and forty nmskets, and a written agreement between the owner and captain, with the receipt of the owner for two thousand milreis.
There being thirty-live persons on board this prize, many of whom were foreigners, it was deemed necessary to send a force of twenty-five men, with the first and second lieutenants, that the prize might be safely conducted to New York, for which place she took her departure that evening.
Soon after the Martha was discovered, she passed within hailing distance of an American brig, several miles ahead of the Perry, and asked the name of the cruiser astern; on being told, the captain, in despair, threw his trumpet on deck. But on a moment's reflection, as he afterwards stated, he concluded, notwithstanding, that she must be an English cruiser, not only from her appearance, but from the knowledge that the Perry had left for Porto Praya, and could not in the mean time have returned to that part of the coast. Therefore, finding when within gun-shot of the vessel, that he could not escape, and must show his colors, ran up the American ensign, intending under his nationality to avoid search and capture. The boarding-officer was received at the gangway by a Brazilian captain, who strongly insisted that the vessel was Brazilian property. But the officer, agreeably to an order received on leaving the Perry, to hold the ship to the nationality first indicated by her colors, proceeded in the search. In the mean time, the American captain, notwithstanding his guise as a sailor, being identified by another officer, was sent on board the Perry. He claimed that the vessel could not lawfully be subjected to search by an American man-of-war, while under Brazilian colors. But on being informed that he would be seized as a pirate for sailing without papers, even were he not a slaver, he admitted that she was on a slaving voyage; adding, that had he not fallen in with the Perry, he would, during the night, have shipped eighteen hundred slaves, and before daylight in the morning been clear of the coast.
Possession was immediately taken of the Martha, her crew put in irons, and both American and Brazilian captains, together with three or four cabin passengers, (probably slave-agents,) were given to understand that they would be similarly served, in case of the slightest evidence of insubordination. The accounts of the prize crew were transferred, the vessel provisioned, and in twenty-four hours after her capture, the vessels exchanged three cheers, and the Martha bore away for New York.
She was condemned in the U. S. District Court. The captain was admitted to bail for the sum of five thousand dollars, which was afterwards reduced to three thousand: he then escaped justice by its forfeiture. The American mate was sentenced to the penitentiary for the term of two years; and the foreigners, who had been sent to the United States on account of the moral effect, being regarded as beyond our jurisdiction, were discharged.
The writing-desk thrown overboard from the Martha, soon after she was boarded, contained sundry papers, making curious revelations of the agency of some American citizens engaged in the slave-trade. These papers implicated a number of persons who are little suspected of ever having participated in such a diabolical traffic.
After parting company with the Martha, the Perry proceeded to Loanda, and found English, French, and Portuguese men-of-war in port. The John Adams, having exhausted her provisions, had sailed for the north coast, after having had the good fortune to capture a slaver. The British commissioner called aboard, and offered his congratulations on the capture of the Martha, remarking that she was the largest slaver that had been on the coast for many years; and the effect of sending all hands found in her to the United States, would prove a severe blow to the iniquitous traffic. The British cruisers, after the capture of a vessel, were in the practice of landing the slave-crews, except when they are British subjects, at some point on the coast. This is believed to be required by the governments with which Great Britain has formed treaties.
On boarding traders, the masters, in one or two instances, when sailing under a foreign flag, had requested the boarding-officer to search, and, after ascertaining her real character, to indorse the register. This elicited the following order to the boarding officer:
"If a vessel hoists the American flag; is of American build; has her name and place of ownership in the United States registered on her stern; or if she has but part of these indications of American nationality, you will, on boarding, ask for her papers, which papers you will examine and retain, if she excites suspicion of being a slaver, until you have searched sufficiently to satisfy yourself of her real character. Should the vessel be American, and doubts exist of her real character, you will bring her to this vessel; or, if it can be done more expeditiously, you will dispatch one of your boats, communicating such information as will enable the commander to give specific directions, or in person to visit the suspected vessel.
"If the strange vessel be a foreigner, you will, on ascertaining the fact, leave her; declining, even at the request of the captain, to search the vessel, or to indorse her character, as it must always be borne in mind that our government does not permit the detention and search of American vessels by foreign bruisers; and, consequently, is scrupulous in observing towards the vessels of other nations the same line of conduct which she exacts from foreign cruisers towards her own vessels."
On the 18th of August, the captain of an English cruiser entered Loanda with his boat, leaving the vessel outside, bringing the information that a suspected American trader was at Ambriz. The captain stated that he had boarded her, supposing she might be a Brazilian, but on ascertaining her nationality, had left her, and proceeded to Loanda for the purpose of communicating what had transpired.
On receiving this information, the commodore ordered the Perry to proceed to Ambriz and search the vessel, and in case she was suspected of being engaged in the slave-trade, to bring her to Loanda. In the meantime, a lieutenant who was about leaving-the squadron as bearer of dispatches to the government, volunteered his services to take the launch and proceed immediately to Ambriz, as the Perry had sails to bend, and make other preparations previous to leaving. The launch was dispatched, and in five hours afterwards the Perry sailed. Arriving on the following morning within twelve miles of Ambriz, the commander, accompanied by the purser and the surgeon, who volunteered their services, pulled for the suspected vessel, which proved to be the American brigantine "Chatsworth," of Baltimore. The lieutenant, with his launch's crew, was on board. lie had secured the papers and commenced the search. After taking the dimensions of the vessel, which corresponded to those noted in the register, examining and comparing the cargo with the manifest, scrutinizing the crew list, consular certificate, port clearance, and other papers on board, possession was taken of the Chatsworth, and the boarding officer directed to proceed with her, in company with the Perry, to Loanda.
Both vessels having arrived, a letter to the following purport was addressed to the commodore: "One hundred bags of farina, a large quantity of plank, sufficient to lay a slave-deck, casks and barrels of spirits, in sufficient quantity to contain water for a large slave-cargo, jerked beef, and other articles, were found on board the Chatsworth. These articles, and others on board, corresponded generally with the manifest, which paper was drawn up in the Portuguese language. A paper with the consular seal, authorizing the shipment of the crew, all foreigners, was also made out in the Portuguese language. In the register, the vessel was called a brig, instead of a brigantine. A letter of instructions from the reputed owner, a citizen of Baltimore, directed the American captain to leave the vessel whenever he should be directed to do so by the Italian supercargo. These, together with the report that the vessel on her last voyage had shipped a cargo of slaves, and her now being at the most notorious slave-station on the coast, impressed the commander of the Perry so strongly with the belief that the Chatsworth was a slaver, that he considered it his duty to direct the boarding officer to take her in charge, and proceed in company with the Perry to Loanda, that the case might undergo a more critical examination by the commander-in-chief."
The commodore, after visiting the Chatsworth in person, although morally certain she was a slaver, yet as the evidence which would be required in the United States courts essential to her condemnation, was wanting, conceived it to be his duty to order the commander of the Perry to surrender the charge of that vessel, and return all the papers to her master, and withdraw his guard from her.
The Chatsworth still in port, and suspected of the intention of shipping a cargo of slaves at Ambriz, the Perry sailed, the day on which her orders were received, without giving any intimation as to her cruising-ground. When outside of the harbor, the vessel was hauled on a wind to the southward, as if bound tip the coast, and continued beating until out of sight of the vessels in the harbor. She was then kept away to the northward, making a course for Ambriz, in anticipation of the Chatsworth's soon sailing for that place. The cruising with the English men-of-war was resumed. A few days after leaving Loanda, when trying the sailing qualities of the vessel with a British cruiser, a sail was reported, standing down the land towards Ambriz. Chase was immediately made, and, on coming within gun-shot, a gun was fired to bring the vessel to. She was then boarded, and again searched, without finding any additional proof against the vessel's character.
On returning towards Ambriz, soon after, the steamer Cyclops, with another British cruiser, was observed; and also the Chatsworth, with an American brigantine lying near her. A boat from the Cyclops, with an English officer, pulled out several miles, while the Perry was in the offing, bringing a packet of letters and papers marked as usual, "On Her Britanic Majesty's Service." These papers were accompanied by a private note from the British commander of the division, expressing great regret at the occurrence, which was officially noticed in the accompanying papers, and the earnest desire to repair the wrong.
The official papers were dated September the ninth, and contained statements relating to the chasing, boarding and detention of the American brigantine Louisa Beaton, on the seventh and eighth instant.
The particulars of the seizure of the vessel were given in a letter from the commander of the English cruiser Dolphin, directed to the British commander of the division, as follows: "I have the honor to inform you, that at daylight on the 7th instant, being about seventy miles off the land, a sail was observed on the lee bow, while her majesty's brigantine, under my command, was steering to the eastward. I made all possible sail in chase: the chase was observed making more sail and keeping away. Owing to light winds, I was unable to overtake her before Oh. 30m. a. m. When close to her and no sail shortened, I directed a signal gun to be fired abeam, and hailed the chase to shorten sail and heave to. Chase asserted he could not, and requested leave to pass to leeward; saying, if we wanted to board him, we had better make haste about it, and that 'we might fire and be damned.'
"I directed another gun to be fired across her bows, when she immediately shortened sail and hove to: it being night, no colors were observed flying on board the chase, nor was I aware of her character.
"I was proceeding myself to board her, when she bore up again with the apparent intention of escaping. I was therefore again compelled to hoist the boat up and to close her under sail. I reached the chase on the second attempt, and found her to be the American brig Louisa Beaton. The master produced an American register, with a transfer of masters; this gave rise to a doubt of the authenticity of the paper, and on requesting further information, the master refused to give me any, and declined showing me his port clearance, crew-list, or log-book.
"The lieutenant who accompanied me identified the mate as having been in charge of the slave-brig Lucy Ann, captured by her majesty's steam-sloop Rattler. Under these suspicious circumstances, I considered it my duty, as the Louisa Beaton was bound to Ambriz, to place an officer and crew on board of her, so as to confer with an American officer, or yourself, before allowing her, if a legal trader, to proceed on her voyage."
The British commander of the division, in his letter, stated, that immediately on the arrival of the vessels, he proceeded with the commander of the Dolphin and the lieutenant of the Battler to the brigantine Louisa Beaton. Her master then presented the register, and also the transfer of masters made in Rio, but refused to show any other documents.
On examining the register, and having met the vessel before on that coast he decided that the Louisa Beaton's nationality was perfect; but that the conduct pursued by her master, in withholding documents that should have been produced on boarding, had led to the unfortunate detention of the vessel. The British commander further stated, that he informed the master of the Louisa Beaton that he would immediately order his vessel to be released, and that on falling in with the commander of the Terry, all due inquiry into me matter for his satisfaction should be made; but that the master positively refused to take charge again, stating that he would immediately abandon the vessel on the Dolphin's crew quitting her; and, further, requested that the vessel might be brought before the American commander.
That, as much valuable property might be sacrificed should the master carry bis threat into execution, he proceeded in search of the Perry, that the case might be brought under consideration while the Dolphin was present; and on arriving at Ambriz, the cutter of the Perry was found in charge of one of her officers.
On the following morning, as he stated, accompanied by the officer in charge of the Perry's cutter, and the commander of the Dolphin, he proceeded to the Louisa Beaton, and informed her master that the detention of his vessel arose from the refusal, on his part, to show the proper documents to the boarding-officer, authorizing him to navigate the vessel in those seas; and from his mate having been identified by one of the Dolphin's officers as having been captured in charge of a vessel having on board five hundred and forty-seven slaves, which attempted to evade search and capture by displaying the American ensign; as well as from his own suspicious manœuvering in the chase. But as he was persuaded that the Louisa Beaton was an American vessel, and her papers good, although a most important document was wanting, namely, the sea-letter, usually given by consular officers to legal traders after the transfer of masters, he should direct the commander of the Dolphin to resign the charge of the Louisa Beaton, which was accordingly done; and, that on meeting the commander of the Perry, he would lay the case before him; and was ready, if he demanded it, to give any remuneration or satisfaction, on the part of the commander of the Dolphin, for the unfortunate detention of the Louisa Beaton, whether engaged in legal or illegal trade, that the master might in fairness demand, and the commander of the Perry approve.
After expressing great regret at the occurrence, the British commander stated that he was requested by the captain of the Dolphin to assure the commander of the Perry, that no disrespect was intended to the flag of the United States, or even interference, on his part, with traders of America, be they legal or illegal; but the stubbornness of the master, and the identifying of one of his mates as having been captured in a Brazilian vessel, trying to evade detection by the display of the American flag, had led to the mistake.
A postscript to the letter added, "I beg to state that the hatches of the Louisa Beaton have not been opened, nor the vessel or crew in any way examined."
On the Perry's reaching the anchorage, the Louisa Beaton was examined. The affidavit of the master, which differs not materially from the statements of the British officers, was taken. A letter by the commander of the Perry was then addressed to the British officer, stating that he had in person visited the Louisa Beaton, conferred with her master, taken his affidavit, examined her papers, and found her to be in all respects a legal American trader. That the sea-Letter, which had been referred to, as being usually given by consular officers, was only required when the vessel changes owners, and not, as in the present case, on the appointment of a new master. The paper given by the consul authorizing the appointment of the present master, was, with the remainder of the vessel's papers, strictly in form.
The commander also stated that he respectfully declined being a party concerned in any arrangement of a pecuniary nature, as satisfaction to the master of the Louisa Beaton, for the detention and seizure of his vessel, and if such arrangement was made between the British officers and the master of the Louisa Beaton, it would be his duty to give the information to his government.
The commander added, that the government of the United States did not acknowledge a right in any other nation to visit and detain the vessels of American citizens engaged in commerce: that whenever a foreign cruiser should venture to board a vessel under the flag of the United States, she would do it upon her own responsibility for all consequences: that if the vessel so boarded should prove to be American, the injured party would be left to such redress, either in the tribunals of England, or by an appeal to his own country, as the nature of the case might require.
He also stated that he had carefully considered all the points in the several communications which the commander of the British division had sent him, in relation to the seizure of the Louisa Beaton, and he must unqualifiedly pronounce the seizure and detention of that vessel wholly unauthorized by the circumstances, and contrary both to the letter and the spirit of the eighth article of the treaty of Washington; and that it became his duty to make a full report of the case, accompanied with the communications which the British commander had forwarded, together with the affidavit of the master of the Louisa Beaton, to the government of the United States.
This letter closed the correspondence.
The British commander-in-chief then accompanied the commander of the Perry to the Louisa Beaton, and there wholly disavowed the act of the commander of the Dolphin, stating, in the name of that officer, that he begged pardon of the master, and that he would do anything in his power to repair the wrong; adding, "I could say no more, if I had knocked you down."
The Louisa Beaton was then delivered over to the charge of her own master, nnd the officer of the cutter took his station alongside of the Chatsworth.
On the 11th of September this brigantine was seized as a slaver. During the correspondence with the British officers in relation to the Louisa Beaton, an order was given to the officer of the cutter to prevent the Chatsworth from landing the remaining part of her cargo. The master immediately called en board the Perry with the complaint that his vessel had been seized on a former occasion, and afterwards released by the commodore, with the indorsement of her nationality on the log-book. Since then she had been repeatedly searched, and now was prevented from disposing of her cargo; he wished, therefore, that a definite decision might be made. A decision was made by the instant seizure of the vessel.
Information from the master of the Louisa Beaton, that the owner of the Chatsworth had in Rio acknowledged to him that the vessel had shipped a cargo of slaves on her last voyage, and was then proceeding to the coast for a similar purpose — superadded to her suspicious movements, and the importance of breaking up this line of ostensible traders, but real slavers, running between the coasts of Brazil and Africa — were the reasons leading to this decision.
On announcing the decision to the master of the Chatsworth, a prize crew was immediately sent on board and took charge of the vessel. The master and supercargo then drew up a protest challenging the act as Illegal, and claiming the sum of fifteen thousand dollars for damages. The supercargo, on presenting this protest, remarked that the United States Court would certainly release the vessel; and the procuro of the owner, with other parties interested, would then look to the captor for the amount of damages awarded. The commander replied, that he fully appreciated the pecuniary responsibility attached to this proceeding.
The master of the Louisa Beaton, soon after the supercargo of the Chatsworth had presented the protest, went on shore for the purpose of having an interview with him, and not coming off at the time specified, apprehensions were entertained that the slave-factors had revenged themselves for his additional information — leading to the seizure of the Chatsworth. At nine o'clock in the evening, three boats were manned and armed, containing thirty officers and men — leaving the Perry in charge of one of the lieutenants. When two of the boats had left the vessel, and the third was in readiness to follow, the master of the Louisa Beaton made his appearance, stating that his reception on shore had been anything but pacific. Had the apprehensions entertained proved correct, it was the intention to have landed and taken possession of the town; and then to have marched out to the barracoons, liberated the slaves, and made, at least for the time being, "free soil" of that section of country.
In a letter to the commodore, dated September 14th, information was given to the following purport:
"Inclosed are affidavits, with other papers and letters, in relation to the seizure of the American brigantine Chatsworth. This has been an exceedingly complicated case, as relating to a slaver with two sets of papers, passing alternately under different nationalities, eluding detection from papers being in form, and trading with an assorted cargo.
"The Chatsworth has been twice boarded and searched by the commander, and on leaving for a short cruise off Ambrizette, a boat was dispatched with orders to watch her movements during the absence of the Perry. On returning from Ambrizette, additional evidence of her being a slaver was procured. Since then the affidavits of the master of the Chatsworth and the mate of the Louisa Beaton have been obtained, leading to further developments, until the guilt of the vessel, as will be seen by the accompanying papers, is placed beyond all question."
The Italian supercargo, having landed most of the cargo, and his business being in a state requiring his presence, was permitted to go on shore, with the assurance that he would return when a signal was made. He afterwards came within hail of the Chatsworth, and finding that such strong proofs against the vessel were obtained, he declined going on board, acknowledging to the master of the Louisa Beaton that he had brought over Brazilian papers.
The crew of the Chatsworth being foreigners, and not wishing to be sent to the United States, were landed at Ambriz, where it was reported that the barracoons contained four thousand slaves, ready for shipment; and where, it was said, the capture of the Chatsworth, as far as the American flag was concerned, would give a severe and unexpected blow to the slave-trade.
After several unsuccessful attempts to induce the supercargo of the Chatsworth to come off to that vessel, a note in French was received from him, stating that he was "an Italian, and as such could not be owner of the American brig Chatsworth, which had been seized, it is true, but unjustly, and against the laws of all civilized nations. That the owner of the said brig would know how to defend his property, and in case the judgment should not prove favorable, the one who had been the cause of it would always bear the remorse of having ruined his countryman."
After making the necessary preliminary arrangements, the master, with a midshipman and ten men, was placed in charge of the Chatsworth; and on the 14th of September, the following order was sent to the commanding officer of the prize: "You will proceed to Baltimore, and there report yourself to the commander of the naval station, and to the Secretary of the Navy. You will be prepared, on your arrival, to deliver up the vessel to the United States marshal, the papers to the judge of the United States District Court, and be ready to act in the case of the Chatsworth as your orders and circumstances may require."
After a protracted trial, the Chatsworth was at length condemned as a slaver, in the U. S. District Court of Maryland.
After a trip to St. Helena and the Cape de Verds, the Perry again proceeded to the south coast. She anchored in Loango, and the commander addressed a letter to the British commodore, April 4, 1851, asking whether any suspected vessels had been seen on the south coast; also requesting his views of the present state of the slave-trade on the coast. In reply, the commodore writes:
"On the second subject, my view of the present state of the slave-trade on the south coast: It is formed on my own observations of the line of coast from Cape St. Paul's to this port, and from the reports which I have received from the captains of the divisions, and the commanders of the cruisers under my orders, as well as from other well-informed persons on whom I can rely, that it has never been in a more depressed state, a state almost amounting to suppression; and that this arises from the active exertions of her majesty's squadron on both sides of the Atlantic, and the cordial cooperation which has been established between the cruisers of Great Britain and the United States on this coast, to carry out the intention of the Washington treaty; and latterly from the new measures of the Brazilian government.
"Factories have been broken up at Lagos, in the Congo, and at Arnbriz; although of this I need hardly speak, because your own observation during the past year must satisfy you of the present state of depression there.
"The commencement of last year was marked by an unusual number of captures by her majesty's cruisers, both in the bights and on the south coast, and also by those by the cruisers of the United States. This year, the capture of only one vessel equipped in the bights, and one with slaves (a transferred Sardinian,) on the south coast, have been reported to me — a striking proof of my view.
"The desperate measures also adopted by the slave-dealers in the last few months to get rid of their slaves by the employment of small vessels, formerly engaged in the legal and coasting trade, as marked by the capture of several (named) slavers, prove the difficulty to which they have been driven.
"The barracoons, however, along the whole line of coast, are still reported to me to contain a great number of slaves, to ship whom, I have little doubt further attempts will be made.
"Most satisfactory, on the whole, as this state of things may be considered, still I hope it will not lead to any immediate relaxation either of our efforts or of our coöperation; but that a vigilance will be observed for a time sufficient to enable a legal trade to replace the uprooted slave-traffic, and to disperse the machinery (I may say) of the merchants connected with it, and prevent any resumption of it by them."
In answer to the charge frequently made that the American squadron had been unsuccessful in their efforts to prevent the slave-trade, commander Foote replies that "it has been shown that the African squadrons, instead of being useless, have rendered essential service. For much as colonization has accomplished, and effectual as Liberia is in suppressing the slave-traffic within her own jurisdiction, these means and these results have been established and secured by the presence and protection of the naval squadrons of Great Britain, France, and the United States. And had no such assistance been rendered, the entire coast, where we now see legal trade and advancing civilization, would have been at this day, in spite of any efforts to colonize, or to establish legal commerce, the scene of unchecked, lawless slave-trade piracy.
"Strange and frightful maladies have been engendered by the cruelties perpetrated within the hold of a slaver. If any disease affecting the human constitution were brought there, we may be sure that it would be nursed into mortal vigor in these receptacles of filth, corruption and despair. Crews have been known to die by the fruit of their own crime, and leave ships almost helpless. They have carried the scourge with them. The coast fever of Africa, bad enough where it has its birth, came in these vessels, and has assumed perhaps a permanent abode in the western regions of the world. No fairer sky or healthier climate were there on earth, than in the beautiful bay, and amid the grand and picturesque scenery of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil. But it became a haunt of slavers, and the dead of Africa floated on the glittering waters, and were tumbled upon the sands of its harbor. The shipping found, in the hot summer of 1849, that death had come with the slavers. Thirty or forty vessels were lying idly at their anchors, for their crews had mostly perished The pestilence swept along the coast of that empire with fearful malignity.
"Cuba for the same crime met the same retribution. Cargoes of slaves were landed to die, and brought the source of their mortality ashore, vigorous and deadly. The fever settled there in the beginning of 1853, and came to our country, as summer approached, in merchant vessels from the West Indies. At New Orleans, Mobile, and other places it spread desolation, over which the country mourned. Let it be remembered that it is never even safe to disregard crime.
"Civilized governments are now very generally united in measures for the suppression of the slave-trade. The coast of Africa itself is rapidly closing against it. The American and English colonies secure a vast extent of seacoast against its revival. Christian missions, at many points, are inculcating the doctrines of divine truth, which, by its power upon the hearts of men, is the antagonist of such cruel unrighteousness.
"The increase of commerce, and the advance of Christian civilization, will undoubtedly, at no distant date, render a naval force for the suppression of the African slave-trade unnecessary; but no power having extensive commerce ought ever to overlook the necessity of a naval force on that coast. The Secretary of the Navy, it is to be hoped, has, in his recent report, settled the question as to the continuance of the African squadron.
"The increasing influence of Liberia and Cape Palmas will prove a powerful protection everywhere. With them Sierra Leone will unite in feeling and purposes. Their policy will always be the same. It must necessarily happen that a close political relationship in interests and feelings will unite them all in one system of action. Their policy will be that of uncompromising hostility to the slave-trade."
The pestilence which swept the coast of Brazil in 1849, had its effect in inducing the government to adopt more vigorous efforts to put down the slave-trade. In September, 1850, a law was passed declaring the slave-trade piracy, and several vessels were afterwards captured by the Brazilian men-of-war. According to a report of the Brazilian government, there were 60,000 slaves imported from Africa in 1848, 54,000 in 1849. In 1851, the number had been reduced to 3,287, of which 1,000 were captured by a Brazilian cruiser; and in 1852 but one slave vessel is known to have landed on the coast.
Cuba is still the great mart of the slave-trade, as appears by the occasional capture of slavers bound for that island. Witness the statements of the captain of a captured vessel, as given in the following letter, dated Jamaica, April 23, 1857: "The newspapers which I send you will inform you of the slaver captured by the Arab off the coast of Cuba. On the day of her arrival, after the landing of her wretched cargo, I paid a visit to the vessel, and thus witnessed the horrible manner in which the negroes had been stowed. The slave deck was exactly two feet six inches in height, in a vessel of one hundred and fifty tons, and water casks were stowed beneath. Is it any wonder that out of five hundred human beings, one hundred and thirty-eight, including those the brutal captain shot, should have died in a passage of fifty-three days from Africa? Forty died in one day between Cuba and St. Ann's Bay, on this island, showing at what fearful rate the mortality was increasing. When captured, they had but one biscuit to each person on board.
"The captain states that he has run nine successful cargoes, and been captured six times, and that he has lost £6,000 by this trip, but he does not mind it, as, if he had succeeded in landing the cargo, he would have received £37,000 for the adventure. What mercantile speculation can compete with this hellish traffic? and is it any wonder that Spain has been cursed beyond all the nations upon the earth?
"On landing at Fort Augusta, where the slaves are kept until they recruit, I never saw such a picture of woe. In a large room, nearly twice the size of the slaver, were three hundred and twenty-two young men and boys, and in an adjoining one more than forty women and girls, all naked living spectres, with wasted limbs, and thighs about the circumference of a large walking-stick — in fact, mere skin and bone, eaten up with scurvy and the itch. Yet, strange to say, on a black soldier informing them that they were free, their eyes danced with delight, and with feeble strength they clapped their emaciated hands and shouted for joy. When their food was distributed, the whip had of necessity to be used, to save the weakest from being crushed to death in the scramble, so ravenously hungry were they.
"Although the room in which they were placed is so much larger than the vessel, I could scarcely walk amongst them, as they occupied the whole space, and it seems impossible that they could have been packed in the slave deck. It is stated that each individual had to sit down with wide extended legs, and another was then stowed in, and so on until the vessel was full; and thus they remained, with the rare exception of being aired in detachments, for the space of fifty-four days."
- ↑ The "Lucy Ann," when captured, was boarded fifty or sixty miles to leeward, or north of Loanda. She had an American flag flying, although her papers had been deposited in the consul's office at Rio. The English boarding officer, who was not allowed to see any papers, suspecting her character, prolonged his visit for some time. As he was about leaving the vessel, a cry or stifled groan was heard issuing from the hold. The main hatches were apparently forced up from below, although a boat was placed over them, and the heads of many people appeared. Five hundred and forty-seven slaves were found in the hold, almost in a state of suffocation. The master then hauled down the American flag, declared the vessel to be Brazilian, and gave her up.