CHAPTER XIII.Arrival at Mozambique—Interview with the Governor-general—Saluting the Consular Flag—Description of the Consul’s House on the Mainland—Portuguese Rosa—Cruelty of the Portuguese Towards their Slaves—“Flog until he will Require no More”—Irrigation and Native Labour.
Arrival at Mozambique—Interview with the Governor-general—Saluting the Consular Flag—Description of the Consul’s House on the Mainland—Portuguese Rosa—Cruelty of the Portuguese Towards their Slaves—“Flog until he will Require no More”—Irrigation and Native Labour.
On the 18th of July, 1857, H.M.S. “Hermes” arrived at Mozambique; the harbour master paid his visit; the Portuguese flag on the Fort was saluted with twenty-one guns; and the Governor-general’saide-de-camp, a nephew of the Sa de Bandeira, came on board to inform me that His Excellency and his lady would receive myself and my lady at eleven o’clock the next day.
In order to be punctual, shortly before the appointed hour, Captain Gordon, Mrs. M’Leod, and myself, accompanied by Mr. Soares, who hadkindly consented to act as interpreter, left the side of the “Hermes” in Captain Gordon’s gig. As soon as the boat was clear off the ship’s guns, the “Hermes” fired a consular salute, which was immediately taken up by Fort San Sebastian.
We landed on the handsome and substantially-built wharf, which will be referred to when describing the city of Mozambique, on which a large number of negroes were collected, and a few Portuguese.
In waiting, there was a description of palanquin, borne by four negroes, which the Governor-general had, with marked attention, sent “for the use of the English Señhora, to screen her from the gaze of the rude blacks.” Thanks were returned for the courteous offer, but my wife, preferring to walk with her husband, the palanquin was not put in requisition. While walking along the pier, on our way to the palace, the scabbard came off my sword, without being noticed by me, and the first intimation I had of the accident was on its being presented to me, in a very graceful manner, by a young slave. A trifle, which is not worth mentioning, but which the slave-dealers ofMozambique spoke of as an omen of what the British consul was going to do, and is simply alluded to as showing how the merest trifle is seized upon by these degraded men with superstitious dread.
At the inner end of the pier, on the right hand side, is a large square building, coloured pink, having a sentinel on guard in front of it: this is the Mozambique Custom-house, and from the thickness of the walls it is the coolest place in the whole town.
Passing the Custom-house, we approached the Palace, which was coloured on the outside partly white and partly pink, giving to it a very pleasing appearance, and entered by an archway which led us to a court-yard in the centre of the Palace, whence the entrance to the public rooms was approached by a double flight of steps, on ascending which we were received by theaides-de-camp, ushered into the reception-room, and requested to be seated.
In about five minutes’ time, a tall, thin, nervous-looking man, with intelligence stamped upon his brow, was ushered into the room by theaides-de-camp—this was Vasco Guedes e Carvel-Ihos de Menezes, Governor-general of Mozambique. We had evidently been too punctual; and His Excellency’s anxiety not to keep us waiting, together with his half-finished toilet, added much to the natural nervousness of his manner. He was accompanied by a gentleman, whose soft, cat-like motion, clean shaved face, white linen, neatly fitted garments, scrupulously clean hands, dark piercing eyes, and white teeth, so large and so even—so fully shown when he smiled—the whole completed by a voice whose tone was melody, spoke at once the polished gentleman and the self-possessed Jesuit. This gentleman was His Excellency’s secretary.
Having presented the Exequatur of Don Pedro the Fifth, by the Grace of God, King of Portugal and the Algarves, on this side and the other of the sea round Africa, Lord of Guinea, and of the Conquest, the Navigation and Commerce of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia, and of India, &c., it was handed to the secretary for registration in the archives of the province, and we began to converse.
Captain Gordon at once stated the circumstances under which he had fired at the Portuguese schooner of war “Zambesi,” off the mouth of the Inhambane river, and expressed his regret that in consequence of the obstinacy of the commander of that vessel, in not heaving-to nor showing his colours, he was obliged to have recourse to measures which might have led to serious consequences. The Governor-general accepted the explanation most graciously, and the secretary smiled. That smile said, “I know all about it.” And I found afterwards that he was aware, even then when we were speaking, although the “Zambesi” had not arrived in harbour, that at the time the “Hermes” fired at the “Zambesi” Ex-Governor Leotti was a passenger in her, and was on his way to the Bazarutto Islands, after his unsuccessful attempt to usurp the government of Inhambane, for the purpose of supplying the “Minnetonka” slaver, under American colours, and bound for Havannah de Cuba with a cargo of slaves.
The mentioning of the “Zambesi” affair led the Governor-general to ask if we had seen anysuspicious-looking vessel on our way up the Mozambique Channel, upon which the name of the “Minnetonka” was mentioned, and the circumstances under which she visited Port Natal, and also that we had been informed that her destination was Cape Corrientes, better known as Inhambane. The Governor-general assured us that she would not obtain one slave from Cape Delgado to Delagoa Bay; that the traffic had entirely ceased; that the Mozambique people were entirely opposed to the slave-trade; that they had turned their attention to legitimate commerce; and, now that the British consul had arrived, he hoped to see him followed by British vessels, when the marvellous commercial resources of the province would be developed. He referred to his secretary, who confirmed all His Excellency stated with a bland smile. Madam Guedes, the Governor-general’s wife, now entered, and the conversation turned to other subjects. She gave us both a most hearty welcome to her house, though she would not add it to a climate in which she had suffered much, and from the effects of which she appeared to be slowly recovering. Shewas accompanied by her child, a girl of three years old, born at Mozambique, who looked indeed a tender plant.
Even in this first interview, I could not but contrast the appearance of everything at the Palace with the description given by Salt of his reception at Mozambique, about fifty years since, as may be seen by the following statement:—
“After dinner we retired to another apartment, where tea and coffee were set out in a splendid service of pure gold from Seña, of excellent workmanship, executed by the Banians resident on the island. The Governor, when in his official dress, wears a very costly and curiously wrought chain of the same metal, and, on state days, has two or three black slaves in attendance, who appear almost overwhelmed by the pressure of the golden ornaments with which they are encumbered, remnants of the splendour once attending these viceroys of Eastern Africa.”
The gold chain of office here alluded to has been appropriated by some predecessor of Vasco Guedes, and the golden tea and coffee servicemust have shared the same fate, as the present Mozambiquers have no knowledge of such articles having existed; while those of their slaves who are covered have barely sufficient of the commonest material to hide their nakedness.
Having taken leave of His Excellency and family, we walked about the town, and were conducted to Mr. Soares’ house, where his father, the Brigadier Candido de Costa Soares, was introduced to us.
It was arranged, at the Cape of Good Hope, that a large house in the city of Mozambique, belonging to Mr. Soares, was to be leased to me. But on our arrival we found that Mr. Soares’ instructions had not been complied with in his absence, for the repairs which were to have been made previous to his return were not even commenced. It was found quite impossible to procure any other house on the island, even with the assistance of the Governor-general; and, although bitterly disappointed at this unexpected occurrence relative to a residence in the city, Mr. Soares having assured me that we should find his house there quite prepared, and at my disposal, Iwas obliged to content myself with that gentleman’s solemn assurance that the house would be immediately put into a state of repair, and that, as soon as that was done, one-half of the house would become mine for twelve months. The house was a very large one, divided into two distinct portions by a massive double stone staircase, and I found that one half of it would have been quite large enough for my purpose. Meanwhile it was arranged, as an earnest of Mr. Soares’ sincerity (who appeared much mortified that his instructions had not been complied with during his absence), that the British consular flag should be hoisted on the flag-staff which was already erected on the house; and that until the portion of the building required for my use was ready for occupation, I should have the use of Mr. Soares’ house on the mainland.
The following day was devoted to hoisting the consular flag, and opening the British Consulate. The Union Jack was accordingly hoisted at noon, and saluted by the Fort with twenty-one guns, which was acknowledged by a similar salute from H.M.S.V. “Hermes.” In the evening, thecaptain, and a number of the officers from the “Hermes,” together with myself, were entertained at dinner; Mrs. M’Leod, from slight indisposition, not being able to attend.
Next morning, at daylight, we left the “Hermes,” exchanging the kind and unbounded hospitality shown us by Captain Gordon, R.N. for the quiet of our own home in East Africa.
The house to which we were conducted, and in which we were to suffer so much, was on the N.W. end of Mozambique Harbour, built on the beach, and about a stone’s throw above high water mark.
In front of it, and looking towards the island of Mozambique, there was an extensive sandy beach, which, at low water, in full and change of the tides, was uncovered for the space of about two and a half miles; so that, at those periods, one could walk over the sands to within about half a mile of the island. At other times, the sand-bank was more or less, according to the state of the tide, covered with water. Along the beach, and at high water mark, a few mangrove trees marked the unhealthy character of the location.
The house itself was a large, square, solid-looking building, with a flat roof. It was surrounded by a wall, some ten or twelve feet in height, which enclosed a space covering about an acre of ground, and within which there was a kitchen, outhouses for the slaves, and a stable having accommodation for three horses.
The chambers on the basement were large and lofty, but were only used as store-rooms.
On the floor above there was one large sitting or reception-room, and three other apartments; access to which was obtained from the front of the house by a door on the basement, leading to a massive stone staircase; and on the rear of the house, by a double stone staircase leading from the court-yard.
The spaces for windows of the rooms on the basement were barred by iron wood; the door of the house was double and folding, and all the fastenings were heavy, awkward, and cumbersome, evidently made with a view to resist any attacks of the natives. The windows of the upper apartments were one half glass, and the other half a wooden shutter onhinges, which opened to admit air; while the glass part was fitted with a similar shutter to exclude, when necessary, the intense light of that latitude.
The reception-room was furnished with two light Indian sofas, which looked cool and inviting; a dozen and a half chairs, of all descriptions, collected from every quarter of the globe, each design showing that comfort was the object sought; three tables placed conveniently in the apartment; a few good French coloured prints on the wall; a number of books in English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian, on a variety of subjects—history, architecture, agriculture, mining, poetry, andbelles-lettres—scattered about the room, showed the attainments of the owner. In one corner stood two barometers, one French and the other English, while close adjoining, on the wall, hung an aneroid. In another part of the room was seen one of Dent’s duplidescopes for finding noon by the double reflection of the meridian sun in any latitude; by its side a German microscope, and a French alarm clock. Exploring the next apartment, one cameacross a magic lantern, Chinese puzzles carved in ivory, and a complete apparatus for the Daguerreotype process. These all attested to the various tastes of the owner, and it was his favourite boast that the house contained everything; in proof of which, on visiting the store-room below, he showed me a rusty rat-trap, an American cotton-gin, palms and needles, copal varnish, rockets; and, in short, anything that I named was, as if by enchantment, immediately produced.
The house, with the slaves attached to it, twenty-three in number, and a small open carriage with one horse, were at my service, and to be considered absolutely mine for twelve months; the rent to be agreed upon as soon as a kitchen was built adjoining the house, so as to cook in it in the English style; and the sum was agreed upon which the rent was not to exceed.
Mr. Soares had breakfast prepared, and bade us welcome, saying that he was glad to show us some return for our kindness to him “when, sick and lonely at the Cape of Good Hope, we nursed and made him well.”
The following day our baggage was landed from the “Hermes,” and she proceeded to sea some days afterwards.
Mr. Soares had asked me as a favour to allow a widow woman, who had acted as overseer to the slaves in the house, to remain and take charge of the slaves; and my wife was delighted to have some one who knew how to manage them, and was glad to show the poor widow some kindness. But before two days Mrs. M’Leod was obliged to speak to her for her cruel treatment of the negroes, and begged her to be more gentle with them for the future. In the evening, when going out for a drive, the Portuguese woman told them to take the horse out of the carriage, and informed her mistress that she was placed there to take care of Mr. Soares’ slaves and property. I was obliged to tell Mr. Soares that neither as an Englishman, nor a British consul, could I allow any slave to be treated as Portuguese Rosa had used them in my presence; and as only one woman could command in an Englishman’s house, the poor widow, who did not understand her position, must go. He explained her conduct bystating that she behaved herself in that manner on purpose to be sent to his plantation in the country, where she would command everybody. The next day she left the house, and great was the rejoicing of the slaves when she was gone.
When we took the house, the slaves, with the exception of one who was a carpenter, and appeared to be a favourite with Portuguese Rosa, were, without exception, the most miserable, broken-hearted looking negroes I ever saw. They had the appearance of having been half-starved for a very long period, and were covered with scars and sores, evidently the effects of brutal treatment. One poor creature was so horrifying a sight, that I asked Mr. Soares if it was not possible to do something to alleviate his sufferings, when he was sent to the house of Mr. Soares’ father to be treated by the slave doctor there. He begged me not to think his slaves were in that condition always; and accounted for it by his absence from Mozambique, stating that, when he returned after an absence of any duration, he was sure to find that some of his slaves were dead, and many of them had run away intothe Makua country; which he felt certain was caused by the cruel treatment of those whom he had left in charge of them. He added that he rejoiced they were with me, for now there would be an end of this, as far as those who were attached to this house of his. I observed, on his making his appearance among them, that they clapped their hands, as if glad at his presence; but I found no expression of this feeling in their countenances; and I soon learned that they made this clapping of their hands on seeing me, or my wife, or, in fact, any one with a white face—and that it was not only their glorious privilege to be slaves, but that they had to express their joy in this manner on beholding their oppressors. How abject must be that domestic slavery which degrades the image of God to such baseness!
However, we set about improving their condition gradually. Owing to the poor food, and scanty allowance of it, which was served out to them, their blood was very much impoverished, and their bodies were covered with disgusting running sores; the fingers and toes of some of the younger slaves being almost rotted off—andin this condition their oppressors expected them to perform their daily task. The appearance of some was really too horrible to be described. I ordered sulphur and lard to be applied, and had to superintend the treatment myself, as the elder ones could not be persuaded at first to assist their younger fellow-sufferers. They were induced to bathe in the salt water morning and evening. At first there was some difficulty about the matter, but by dint of a little coaxing the elder ones took to it, and then there was no difficulty with the younger ones. The allowance of food was really not sufficient to sustain life, consisting entirely of a description of small grain called milho. This allowance was served out about once a week; a day more or less seemed to be a matter of indifference. The food served out in this manner to the poor hungry negroes was of course seized upon with avidity, and what was intended for a week’s supply seldom lasted for more than two or three days, and on the fourth day all were crying for food. Until the end of the week they had no chance of receiving any from their own masters; they must, therefore, rob them, or some other person; when foundout, they were flogged. Hunger was ever goading them on to rob; the lash was always ready, and therefore the whip was always going.
If found stealing cocoa-nuts from the trees, the custom of Mozambique is to allow the captain or guardian of the palm trees to shoot them. No question is asked as to how a slave comes by his death—and the body is thrown into the sea.
The reason for giving them so little food is not that their masters are unable to feed them, but simply that they come of a fierce race, and it is necessary to keep them in subjection. The Portuguese are always dreading their slaves rising upon them; and, therefore, they exercise all their ingenuity in devising means to keep them down, and display a refinement in cruelty which I am not aware exists in any other slave-holding communities. Here at Mozambique, where slaves are plentiful, and where there is no difficulty in replacing them, they are not valued as in those places where a human being represents so many thousand dollars, or hundred doubloons. Here a slave is only worth forty dollars, even when the slave ships from Réunion or Cuba liein the harbour. If a slave is refractory, and flogging only makes him worse, the arbitrary master, enraged at his continued disobedience, bids his brutal overseer flog him until “he will require no more.” The master looks on and gloats his vengeance. The slave perishes under the lash—a few dollars will replace him. Not so where he cannot be replaced except at considerable expense. This is one thing which peculiarly aggravates the domestic slavery of Mozambique, viz., the facility with which the negro is replaced. To keep them in subjection, every opportunity is seized to destroy all sympathy with each other, and all natural affection. The son is made to flog his mother and his sister; the father flogs his daughters, and also the woman who bore them for him—all at the command of their owner, who can do with them what he pleases. Women are made to flog—and that under circumstances too revolting to be told. If two persons of different sexes are observed growing attached to each other, and there is springing up between them that feeling which we would unquestionably call love, but which the proud superiority of the Portugueseintellect denies can exist in men and women with black skins,—those two are chosen for each other’s executioners. It is thus that, making nature war against itself, they endeavour to create and perpetuate an unnatural race, destitute of all affection to each other. They war against the Omnipotent—love they cannot eradicate from the human heart—woe to that hour when vengeance wakes to life!
Increased supplies of food were given to the slaves attached to my house; some were supplied with nets, and sent to collect fish, which were to be found in abundance on the beach before the house; all were kept employed. The garden, once a neglected ruin, soon smiled; and the contented, well fed negro laughed aloud. The orange trees, pronounced dead, returned to life, and with their golden fruit rewarded our care. The rose trees, which had been brought from the Brazils when the slave-trade flourished, on our arrival looked like wild briers; but trimmed and trained by Englishwomen, and watered by the slaves, they soon bore roses the size of small dahlias, whose fragrance was astonishing. The barren fig-trees were not ungrateful, and presented uswith their cool, luscious fruit every morning. The pomegranate trees dazzled us with the rich carnation colour of their flowers, and their fruit formed an agreeable dessert. The banana and the pine-apple improved so much in flavour, that they were not recognized as Mozambique fruit by those names: the banana tasted more like that of China; and the pine-apple approached the hot-house fruit of that name. When H.M.S.V. “Cordelia” called at Mozambique, on her way to the Kuria Muria Islands, the captain’s gig, on her return to the ship, was filled with peas, lettuces, cabbages, and oranges from my garden, until Captain Vernon begged me to put no more in—or else she would sink. This was only a few months after our arrival at Mozambique: showing what irrigation and native labour, properly directed, may do in that climate in a short space of time.