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hopes of freedom (humanly speaking) depended on this man. However, as
he could not bear the thoughts of my not sailing with him, he always
became mild on my threats. I therefore continued with him; and, from
my great attention to his orders and his business, I gained him
credit, and through his kindness to me I at last procured my liberty.
While I thus went on, filled with the thoughts of freedom, and
resisting oppression as well as I was able, my life hung daily in
suspense, particularly in the surfs I have formerly mentioned, as I
could not swim. These are extremely violent throughout the West
Indies, and I was ever exposed to their howling rage and devouring
fury in all the islands. I have seen them strike and toss a boat right
up an end, and maim several on board. Once in the Grenada islands,
when I and about eight others were pulling a large boat with two
puncheons of water in it, a surf struck us, and drove the boat and all
in it about half a stone's throw, among some trees, and above the high
water mark. We were obliged to get all the assistance we could from
the nearest estate to mend the boat, and launch it into the water
again. At Montserrat one night, in pressing hard to get off the shore
on board, the punt was overset with us four times; the first time I
was very near being drowned; however the jacket I had on kept me up
above water a little space of time, while I called on a man near me
who was a good swimmer, and told him I could not swim; he then made
haste to me, and, just as I was sinking, he caught hold of me, and
brought me to sounding, and then he went and brought the punt also. As
soon as we had turned the water out of her, lest we should be used ill
for being absent, we attempted again three times more, and as often
the horrid surfs served us as at first; but at last, the fifth time we
attempted, we gained our point, at the imminent hazard of our lives.
One day also, at Old Road in Montserrat, our captain, and three men
besides myself, were going in a large canoe in quest of rum and sugar,
when a single surf tossed the canoe an amazing distance from the
water, and some of us even a stone's throw from each other: most of us
were very much bruised; so that I and many more often said, and really
thought, that there was not such another place under the heavens as
this. I longed therefore much to leave it, and daily wished to see my
master's promise performed of going to Philadelphia. While we lay in
this place a very cruel thing happened on board of our sloop which
filled me with horror; though I found afterwards such practices were
frequent. There was a very clever and decent free young mulatto-man
who sailed a long time with us: he had a free woman for his wife, by
whom he had a child; and she was then living on shore, and all very
happy. Our captain and mate, and other people on board, and several
elsewhere, even the natives of Bermudas, all knew this young man from
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