Slike strani
PDF
ePub

But to return to our history. The little town Edina, which we left in the barricade, soon began to enlarge. The hardy pioneers, joined by the families they had left behind, one after another ventured out of their little circumvallation, and erected as a more permanent place of residence, upon the lots drawn from the Government, such buildings in kind and size, as best suited their means and convenience. Thus house has been added to house, and one thatched building after another has given place to the framed dwelling with shingle roof, until now, according to the best information, there are upwards of a hundred framed houses in this town, and about three hundred inhabitants; besides the very flourishing settlement of Bassa Cove, upon the opposite side of the St. John's river, and the little town of Bexley, lying five miles up the St. John's.

Edina is situated on a tongue of land between the Atlantic ocean and the confluent waters of the St. John's, Mechlin's, and Benson's rivers. As a town, from natural causes, it must remain circumscribed. The ocean on one side, and the waters of the above named rivers on the other, forbid much enlargement in width; and being brought to an angle towards the southeast by the meeting waters of the ocean and river, on the northwest skirted by lowlands, (though now effectually ditched and drained,) prevent great extension lengthwise. But the natural position of these two sister settlements, Edina and Bassa Cove, at the confluence of these three rivers, seem clearly enough to predict their destiny and relative importance to the adjacent country. These streams, coming from different directions, and ́of different degrees of navigableness, are destined from far and near to bear upon their bosoms, to these markets upon the ocean's shore, the valued products of an inexhaustably rich interior. Here will be the residence of the merchant, the mechanic, and the man of business; while the fertile lands that line the elevated banks of the St. John's and Mechlin, will at tract the industrious, gratify the taste of the farmer and ruralist, and form the delightful retreat of the man grown gray and weary in the service of his country.

And what is of great importance to the christian philosopher is, that from these settlements, as above hinted, the lines of christianity can, and we sincerely hope will, radiate in as many directions as from any other seat of civilization on the coast.

In building here, on this little neck of land, one important post of the enemies of Christ has been stormed and taken. A devil's-bush, in which is concocted and set on foot almost every fell and degrading custom that characterises the natives of this coast, not long since, had its growth on the honored spot more recently consecrated by our Baptist brethren to the worship of the true God. At the roots of a tree that now shades that house of worship, many a poor victim has paid with his blood the debt due to the violated laws of his country, for revealing the secrets of the devil'sbush, or dispelling from the mind of some poor female, the illusions constantly practiced upon that sex, by the cunning and address of the other; and a most insufferable stench has been exhaled from the human flesh that hung and putrified in its waving branches.

Thus the cause of Christ is triumphing over that of the wicked one-a circumstance that ought to encourage the faith and arouse the energies of every christian in these Colonies. It should be, and we believe is, borne in mind by most of the intelligent people of this commonwealth, that Liberia is of consequence, chiefly so far as it serves to elevate the mind and morals of the natives of Africa, and forms a suitable home for the man of color. Every thing ought to be done to promote christian feeling, and encourage christian effort. It is "righteousness that exalteth a nation." By this we stand. Without it we fall. PROBITAS.

Edina, March 14, 1841.

TREATY WITH THE FISHMEN.

WE are happy to announce to our readers, the successful termination of the long pending difficulties between this Government and the Fishmen of Bassa Cove. Below will be found a treaty of peace concluded by His Excellency, with the chiefs and head-men of that tribe, on the 29th ultimo; the faithful performance of which, on their part is guarranted by all the neighboring kings, chiefs, and head-men.

It will be remembered that immediately after the arrival of Governor BuCHANAN, in this country, in April, 1839, he made a formal demand upon the Fishmen for the surrender of the only surviving murderer of Governor FINLEY, which after considerable opposition was acceded to. On this agreementa conditional peace was granted them; but until its fulfilment they were forbidden any kind of intercourse with the Colony, and it was stipulated that if within a given period they should fail to deliver up the murderer, they should be treated as enemies and expelled from the territory of the Colony on which they resided. On the expiration of the time specified, they applied for an extension of time, on the ground that the criminal having fled the country it had been impossible to apprehend him.

Desirous of avoiding a resort to arms, and deeply solicitous to bring the murderer to justice, the Governor granted this request, and extended the time for several months longer, the chiefs again solemnly pledging themselves to use every exertion in fulfilling the agreement. Whether sincere

in this, is doubtful, but a considerable show of zeal was manifested in the business; canoes were despatched to Grand Sesters, and several of the chiefs were long absent ostensibly in pursuit of the culprit. In the mean time the Governor, not trusting entirely to the honesty of the men employed, secretly secured the servics of other agents, and at one time there was good reason to believe that PRINCE, of Trade Town, would succeed in catching the murderer. But every effort failed, and at last the chiefs declared it was utterly impossible to fulfil their agreement, as the man was either dead or had gone "to some long country," where he could not be found.

As no reasonable hope remained of accomplishing his first chief purpose, and, as the people of Bassa were subjected to considerable inconvenience from the existing state of things, he consented to change the conditions proposed to the Fishmen, and gave them peace, on suitable indemnity being made for aggressions committed on the Colony, and satisfactory assurances being given for their future good conduct. After repeated visits to Bassa Cove, and frequent long and wearisome palavers, a treaty was finally concluded on this basis, which fully vindicates the authority of the Government, and establishes its jurisdiction over the Fishmen, and the whole country occupied by them.-Liberia Herald.

ARTICLES OF A TREATY OF PEACE.

ARTICLES of a Treaty of Peace made on the 28th day of March, anno domini 1841, between His Excellency THOMAS BUCHANAN, Governor of the Commonwealth of Liberia, and the Fishmen residing at Bissa Cove.

ARTICLE 1. BLACK WILL, GRANDO, JACK SAVAGE, BOTTLE OF BEER, and JUMBO, chiefs and head-men of the Fishmen, do agree for themselves and their people, to pay, as an indemnity for their aggressions and spoliations made upon the people of the Colony during the recent hostility, to the Governor of the Commonwealth of Liberia, the sum of one thousand dollars-viz. to pay down the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars, and the

residue in three yearly and equal instalments of two hundred and fifty dollars each, commencing with the date of the articles.

ARTICLE 2. The above named chiefs, for themselves and their people, do further agree, and solemnly bind themselves, always to recognize and maintain the lawful rights of the American Colonization Society, to all the land lying between the present colonial settlement of Bassa Cove and Tabacconee, said tract of land having been formerly ceded by the rightful owners, to said Society, in the year 1836. And they, the said chiefs, while living on any part of the aforesaid territory, agree at all times to be subject to the laws and authority of the Colony, and to perform all such duties as may be legally required of them by the constituted authority of the Colony. It is expressly understood that the slave trade is forbidden by the laws of the Colony, and that death is the penalty of either buying or selling a slave. The chiefs aforesaid, solemnly bind themselves, in case any of their people should be guilty of buying or selling slaves, to deliver them up to the authorities of the Colony.

ARTICLE 3. In consideration of the foregoing stipulations on the part of the Fishmen of Bassa, the Governor of Liberia hereby agrees to give them peace and to allow them to continue as residents at Bassa Cove, so long as they faithfully fulfil the obligations of this treaty.

ARTICLE 4. Duke WILLIAMS, YOUNG RUSER, YELLOW WILL, JUMBO CESAR, Prince JAHWAY, SOFTLY JOHN, King JOE HARRIS, King BOB GRAY, King PEGRAY, alias BIG BEN, and WE SOLDIER, do hereby agree to guaranty the faithful performance of the articles of this treaty, and to respect the rights of the aforesaid Society, to the territory described between the colonial settlements and Tabacconee.

ARTICLE 5. The commerce of the country shall no longer be carried on by bars, but in the proper currency of the Colony.

Given under our hands this twenty-ninth day of March, it the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fort

one.

THOMAS BUCHANAN,

Governor of Liberia.

Black WILL, his X mark.
Duke WILLIAMS, his X mark.
GRANDO, his X mark.

JACK SAVAGE, his X mark.

BOTTLE OF BEER, his X mark.

JUMBO CESAR, his X mark.

Prince JAHWAY, his X mark.

SOFTLY JOHN, his X mark.
King JOE HARRIS, his X mark.
King BOB GRAY, his X mark.
King PEGREY, his X mark.
WE SOLDIER, his X mark.
YOUNG RUSER, his X mark.

Kings and Headmen of the Fishmen at Bassa Cove.

Signed, sealed and delivered, in the presence of

PETER HARRIS, jr.,

YOUNG PRINCE, his X mark, (natives.)
JOSEPH JONES,

LOUIS SHERIDEN.

FROM THE NEW YORK EVANGELIST.

THE SACRED SEAL.

SCENE SIXTH.

CHANNEL OF MOZAMBIQUE.-The storm and the slaver-An hour before daybreakDon Liugo-State of matters in the hold-Story of Loango and Almeda-The deckLincoln Gray.

I.

"Six hundred wretches-rather closely stowed!
Well may they say I bring a noble load.
How fast the rascals die; through all the night
I heard them, shrieking, on' the waves alight!
Fierce, greedy Waves! ye chase our bark along,
As if ye would condemn, yet share the wrong,
When the poor slave, dragged from his stifled den,
With you finds refuge from his fellow-men!
Large sums were mine, if half the wasted bones
Cast to those billowy deeps, with oaths and groans,
Could yet, reclothed with sinews, flesh and breath,
Find other markets than thine own, O Death!
Reclothed! they shall be, in that final day,
When we shall meet a heavier doom than they!
Sebastian, ho! awake! our cargo thins,

Through these wild nights of tempests and of sins:
How stands the number now?"

"Just fifteen less

That hold is one foul scene of wretchedness:
Bad food, bad water, neither room nor air-
The soul's stern curse, the laughter of despair!
You know the fiery chieftain? By his side
We bound the girl that was to be his bride.
She droops a little, but they say he keeps
His food for her, and fans her while she sleeps."
-"You mean Loango, whose menacing eye
Speaks, as if all his irons thundered, ' Die!'
His heart defies the chain-it must be broke;
Then he will bend more gently to the yoke.
When the glad morn shall greet the swelling tide,
We'll crush his love, and check his sullen pride."
"Captain Liugo! O'er these boiling seas,
In fiercer days and gloomier nights than these,
Year after year, my hardened hand has fed
These fattened monsters with peculiar bread,
Fresh from our floating oven! Yet before,
Such weight as now, my spirit never bore.

Slow comes the light, Liugo-let me tell

The tale in which these strange forebodings dwell..

II.

"Far through yon sky, where equatorial plains
Stretch to the base of Afric's mountain chains,
Immortal Zeilah, on her golden throne,
Brilliant with love and beauty, reigned alone!
At length there came an Arab guest,-a Sheikh,
Whose soul delighted 'mid the stars to seek
Wide realms of thought and melodies of sound,
Such as in heavenly spheres alone are found;
Versed in all starry science, he believed
There was a spell, which never yet deceived,
Wrought in the motions of the orbs above,
Whose love was order, and whose order love.
For this he sought the vaults of ancient time;
For this he wandered in each varying clime;
Trod the Siberian barriers; on the hills

Of Syria stood exulting; by the rills
Of European mountains held his ear,
If thus, a silent listener, he might hear
Some soft vibration of that wondrous song,
In which the worlds of glory march along!
Struck by the gentleness of Zeilah's eye,
He laid awhile his dreamy science by,
And found, at last,'in calm domestic rest,
A spell as sweet-as mighty, in his breast.
There, by his side the fair Almeda grew,

Learned the wild wisdom which Almanzor knew;
On hoary cliffs, attended by her sire,
Her eagle-genius caught aerial fire,

Enraptured scanned those orbs of grandeur o'er,
And seemed amid their charioteers to soar !

III.

"Such were the scenes Loango oft surveyed,
A prince whom ten submissive tribes obeyed,
When with Almeda at Almanzor's side,
He read the stars, and won his gentle bride!
One cloudless night, when Zeilah with the rest,
Graced the rude cottage on the mountain's breast,
Far off, serenely pure, Almanzor saw

A star, that'owned some yet unfathomed law:
Fired with the sight, he fixed his flashing eye,
Called it by name, as if he sought reply;
Then, as if all the visions he had nursed
Forth from his lips in heavenly language burst,
He poured such music on the trembling air
As every breeze exulted e'en to bear!
Sudden as death, then-burst a savage yell→
Cruel and keen the poisoned arrows fell;
Then rushing on, the foes, at first unseen,
Smote to the ground Almanzor and the Queen.
Loango fought, Almeda prayed, in vain-
Enough: in yon dark hold, by one strong chain
We hold them fast, dependent on our will!
Liugo! I've no heart to treat them ill!"

Thy tale, Sebastian, is too long by far,
Thou too art smitten by a frantic star;
What! shall our hearts, so long inured to hear
The wail'of others breaking on our ear,

Melt at a story, which but proves the more

Their hearts must break, as others have before?
These princely captives, once subdued, will bring
Sums which will make the prosperous trader sing.
See, that when this impetuous night is fled,
Forth to the deck thy royal friends are led!”

IV.

"Twas sad to see the proud Loango lashed

For fiends to mock the form his fetters gashed.
And still more sad, that gentle girl to see,

Trembling and shrinking 'mid their cruel glee!
Then as Liugo cheered his savage crew,

And laughed as insult to dishonor grew,

Loango wrung his agonizing chain

With strength shot wildly from his maddening brain! Burned, boiled, endured! until her fainting cry

Struck through each nerve unearthly energy:

Then did he teach his tyrants how to shrink-

Where heads were thickest hurled each severed link-
Rushed to the gangway-bore Almeda there,
And stood, a lion roaring in his lair!

"Down to the hold, my queen! our friends unbind,

« PrejšnjaNaprej »