In these two distempers the patients must be supported with good nourishment, and made to sweat copiously. It would be a mistake to think that they ought to be kept to a spare diet; you must give them nourishing food, but a little at a time. A negro can no more than any other person support remedies upon bad food, and still less upon a spare diet; but the quantity must be proportioned to the state of the patient, and the nature of the distemper. Besides, good food makes the best part of the remedy to those who in common are but poorly fed. The negro who taught me these two remedies, observing the great care I took of both the negro men and negro women, taught me likewise the cure of all the distempers to which the women are subject; for the negro women are as liable to diseases as the white women.
SECTION II.
Of the Manner of governing the Negroes.
When a negro man or woman comes home to you, it is proper to caress them, to give them something good to eat, with a glass of brandy; it is best to dress them the same day, to give them something to sleep on, and a covering. I suppose the others have been treated in the same manner; for those marks of humanity flatter them, and attach them to their masters. If they are fatigued or weakened by a journey, or by any distempers, make them work little; but keep them always busy as long as they are able to do any thing, never suffering them to be idle, but when they are at their meals. Take care of them when they are sick, and give attention both to their remedies and their food, which last ought then to be more nourishing than what they usually subsist upon. It is your interest so to do, both for their preservation, and to attach them more closely to you; for though many Frenchmen say that negroes are ungrateful, I have experienced that it is very easy to render them much attached to you by good treatment, and by doing them justice, as I shall mention afterwards.
If a negro woman lies-in, cause her to be taken care of in every thing that her condition makes necessary, and let your wife, if you have one, not disdain to take the immediate care of her herself, or at least have an eye over her.
A Christian ought to take care that the children be baptised and instructed, since they have an immortal soul. The mother ought then to receive half a ration more than usual, and a quart of milk a day, to assist her to nurse her child.
Prudence requires that your negroes be lodged at a proper distance, to prevent them from being troublesome or offensive; but at the same time near enough for your conveniently observing what passes among them. When I say that they ought not to be placed so near your habitation as to be offensive, I mean by that the smell which is natural to some nations of negroes, such as the Congos, the Angolas, the Aradas, and others. On this account it is proper to have in their camp a bathing place formed by thick planks, buried in the earth about a foot or a foot and a half at most, and never more water in it than about that depth, for fear lest the children should drown themselves in it; it ought likewise to have an edge, that the little children may not have access to it, and there ought to be a pond without the camp to supply it with water and keep fish. The negro camp ought to be inclosed all round with palisades, and to have a door to shut with a lock and key. The huts ought to be detached from each other, for fear of fire, and to be built in direct lines, both for the sake of neatness, and in order to know easily the hut of each negro. But that you may be as little incommoded as possible with their natural smell, you must have the precaution to place the negro camp to the north or north-east of your house, as the winds that blow from these quarters are not so warm as the others, and it is only when the negroes are warm that they send forth a disagreeable smell.
The negroes that have the worst smell are those that are the least black; and what I have said of their bad smell, ought to warn you to keep always on the windward side of them when you visit them at their work; never to suffer them to come near your children, who, exclusive of the bad smell, can learn nothing good from them, either as to morals, education, or language.
From what I have said, I conclude that a French father and his wife are great enemies to their posterity when they give their children such nurses. For the milk being the purest blood of the woman, one must be a step-mother indeed to give her child to a negro nurse in such a country as Louisiana, where the mother has all conveniences of being served, of accommodating and carrying their children, who by that means may be always under their eyes. The mother then has nothing else to do but to give the breast to her child.
I have no inclination to employ my pen in censuring the over-delicacy and selfishness of the women, who thus sacrifice their children; it may, without further illustration, be easily perceived how much society is interested in this affair. I shall only say, that for any kind of service whatever about the house, I would advise no other kind of negroes, either young or old, but Senegals, called among themselves Diolaufs, because of all the negroes I have known, these have the purest blood; they have more fidelity and a better understanding than the rest, and are consequently fitter for learning a trade, or for menial services. It is true they are not so strong as the others for the labours of the field, and for bearing the great heats.
The Senegals however are the blackest, and I never saw any who had a bad smell. They are very grateful; and when one knows how to attach them to him, they have been found to sacrifice their own life to save that of their master. They are good commanders over other negroes, both on account of their fidelity and gratitude, and because they seem to be born for commanding. As they are high-minded, they may be easily encouraged to learn a trade, or to serve in the house, by the distinction they will thereby acquire over the other negroes, and the neatness of dress which that condition will entitle them to.
When a settler wants to make a fortune, and manage his plantation with oeconomy, he ought to prefer his interest to his pleasure, and only take the last by snatches. He ought to be the first up and the last a-bed, that he may have an eye over every thing that passes in his plantation. It is certainly his interest that his negroes labour a good deal: but it ought to be an equal and moderate labour, for violent and continual labours would soon exhaust and ruin them; whereas by keeping them always moderately employed, they neither exhaust their strength nor ruin their constitution. By this they are kept in good health, and labour longer, and with more good will: besides it must be allowed that the day is long enough for an assiduous labourer to deserve the repose of the evening.
To accustom them to labour in this manner I observed the following method: I took care to provide one piece of work for them before another was done, and I informed their commander or driver in their presence, that they might not lose time, some in coming to ask what they were to do, and others in waiting for an answer. Besides I went several times a day to view them, by roads which they did not expect, pretending to be going a hunting or coming from it. If I observed them idle, I reprimanded them, and if when they saw me coming, they wrought too hard, I told them that they fatigued themselves, and that they could not continue at such hard labour during the whole day, without being harassed, which I did not want.
When I surprised them singing at their work, and perceived that they had discovered me, I said to them chearfully, Courage, my boys, I love to see you merry at your work; but do not sing so loud, that you may not fatigue yourselves, and at night you shall have a cup of Tafia (or rum) to give you strength and spirits. One cannot believe the effect such a discourse would have upon their spirits, which was easily discernible from the chearfulness upon their countenances, and their ardour at work.
If it be necessary not to pass over any essential fault in the negroes, it is no less necessary never to punish them but when they have deserved it, after a serious enquiry and examination supported by an absolute certainty, unless you happen to catch them in the fact. But when you are fully convinced of the crime, by no means pardon them upon any assurances or protestations of theirs, or upon the solicitations of others; but punish them in proportion to the fault they have done, yet always with humanity, that they may themselves be brought to confess that they have deserved the punishment they have received. A Christian is unworthy of that name when he punishes with cruelty, as is done to my knowledge in a certain colony, to such a degree that they entertain their guests with such spectacles, which have more of barbarity than humanity in them. When a negro comes from being whipped, cause the sore parts to be washed with vinegar mixed with salt, Jamaica pepper, which grows in the garden, and even a little gun-powder.
As we know from experience that most men of a low extraction, and without education, are subject to thieving in their necessities, it is not at all surprising to see negroes thieves, when they are in want of every thing, as I have seen many badly fed, badly cloathed, and having nothing to lie upon but the ground. I shall make but one reflection. If they are slaves, it is also true that they are men, and capable of becoming Christians: besides, it is your intention to draw advantage from them, is it not therefore reasonable to take all the care of them that you can? We see all those who understand the government of horses give an extraordinary attention to them, whether they be intended for the saddle or the draught. In the cold season they are well covered and kept in warm stables. In the summer they have a cloth thrown over them, to keep them from the dust, and at all times good litter to lie upon. Every morning their dung is carried away, and they are well curried and combed. If you ask those masters, why they bestow so much pains upon beasts? they will tell you, that, to make a horse serviceable to you, you must take a good deal of care of him, and that it is for the interest of the person to whom a horse belongs, so to do. After this example, can one hope for labour from negroes, who very often are in want of necessaries? Can one expect fidelity from a man, who is denied what he stands most in need of? When one sees a negro, who labours hard and with much assiduity, it is common to say to him, by way of encouragement, that they are well pleased with him, and that he is a good negro. But when any of them, who understand our language, are so complimented, they very properly reply, Masser, when negre be much fed, negre work much; when negre has good masser, negre be good.
If I advise the planters to take great care of their negroes, I at the same time shew them that their interest is connected in that with their humanity. But I do no less advise them always to distrust them, without seeming to fear them, because it is as dangerous to shew a concealed enemy that you fear him, as to do him an injury.
Therefore make it your constant custom to shut your doors securely, and not to suffer any negro to sleep in the house with you, and have it in their power to open your door. Visit your negroes from time to time, at night and on days and hours when they least expect you, in order to keep them always in fear of being found absent from their huts. Endeavour to assign each of them a wife, to keep clear of debauchery and its bad consequences. It is necessary that the negroes have wives, and you ought to know that nothing attaches them so much to a plantation as children. But above all do not suffer any of them to abandon his wife, when he has once made choice of one in your presence. Prohibit all fighting under pain of the lash, otherwise the women will often raise squabbles among the men.
Do not suffer your negroes to carry their children to the field with them, when they begin to walk, as they only spoil the plants and take off the mothers from their work. If you have a few negro children, it is better to employ an old negro woman to keep them in the camp, with whom the mothers may leave something for their children to eat. This you will find to be the most profitable way. Above all do not suffer the mothers ever to carry them to the edge of the water, where there is too much to be feared.
For the better subsistence of your negroes, you ought every week to give them a small quantity of salt and of herbs of your garden, to give a better relish to their Couscou, which is a dish made of the meal of rice or maiz soaked in broth.
If you have any old negro, or one in weak health, employ him in fishing both for yourself and your negroes. His labour will be well worth his subsistence.
It is moreover for your own interest to give your negroes a small piece of waste ground to improve at the end of your own, and to engage them to cultivate it for their own profit, that they may be able to dress a little better, by selling the produce of it, which you ought to buy from them upon fair and just terms. It were better that they should employ themselves in cultivating that field on Sundays, when they are not Christians, than do worse. In a word, nothing is more to be dreaded than to see the negroes assemble together on Sundays, since, under pretence of Calinda or the dance, they sometimes get together to the number of three or four hundred, and make a kind of Sabbath, which it is always prudent to avoid; for it is in those tumultuous meetings that they sell what they have stolen to one another, and commit many crimes. In these likewise they plot their rebellions.
To conclude, one may, by attention and humanity, easily manage negroes; and, as an inducement, one has the satisfaction to draw great advantage from their labours.
[THE END]
INDEX
Index
Abeikas Indians—293
Acacia Tree—222
Achechy—237
Adaies Indians—9;
Post of, 54
Agriculture, Indian—341
Aiaouez Indians—59, 62; 63; 66; 305
Alaron, Martin de—9, 10
Algonquins—93
Alder—226
Alibamous Indians—293
Alibamous River—135
Alligator—
slave girl kills, 19;
author kills large one, 22;
description of, 253-255
Amite River—113
Ants—272; 273
Aplaches Indians—293
Apples, wild—212
Aquelou-Pissas Indians—18; 297
Arkansas—
German colonists there, 29; 88
Arkansas Indians—
mate with Canadians, 4; 57; 303
Arkansas River—
reached by Tonti, 4; 112; 113; 153-154
Armed-fish—276-277
Ascension Bay—114; 139
Ash—226
Aspen—226
Assinais Indians—5-9
Attakapas Indians—
cannibals, 302
Avoyelles Indians—149;
home of, 302-303
Ayac Shrub—226
Balers, Marquis of—9
Barataria—145
Barbel, description of—274
Barley—203
Baton Rouge—52;
named after a cypress tree, 217
Bay of St. Bernard—3
Bay of St. Esprit—2
Bay of St. Louis—16; 17; 114;
lands around, 138
Bayou Choupic—17; 18
Bayou Goula—141
Bayou-Ogoulas Indians—52; 302
Bayou St. John—17; 18; 49; 52
Beans—
cultivation in La., 204
Bears—132; 133;
description of, 245-249;
feast of, 324
Beavers—
description of, 127-131
Bec-croche—261
Bees—271
Bienville—
becomes Gov. Gen. of La., 10-11;
founds New Orleans, 15;
breeds hogs, 16; 28; 38;
defeats Natchez Indians, 39; 42; 49; 71; 87; 88; 92; 93;
war against Chicasaws, 94-95; 109;
returns to La., 186
Biloxi—11; 16;
not suitable for settlement, 28;
distress of German colonists, 29;
country back of, 30; 47;
settlement destroyed, 137.
Birch Tree—231
Bishop (Bird)—270
Blackbirds—268
Black River—113;
land around it, 148;
lands along, 151-154
Bon Homme—195
Bois-Briant—58
Bonita Fish—12
Bourgrnont, Commander de—
voyage to Missouri and Kansas, 59-68;
his journal, 69; 160; 305
Bows—
how made, 340
Buffalo—64;
hunt by author, 122; 132; 134; 146; 147; 152;
hunt in New Mexico, 155;
hides and tallow, 155-156; 162, 178;
description of, 240;
Indian hunt, 240;
feast of, 324
Burgo-Breaker (fish)—275
Burial customs—333-337
Butterflies—271
Buzzard—
deseciption of, 258
Caouquias Indians—301
Caouitas Indians—293
Caddo Indians—151; 303
Cadillac, de la Motte—
arrives in La., 5; 6; 8; 9;
death of, 10;
his mine, 163
Calendar of Natchez—319
Calumet (Pipe of Peace)—35;
feathers for, 258
Campeachy wood—183
Canadians—
early voyagers to La., 4;
at Dauphin Island, 16;
at Mobile, 46; 58; 59;
get salt, 157;
Route to La., 161-163
Candlemas Islands—138
Cannes Brulee's—52
Canoe—
how made, 69
Cantharadies—272
Canzas (see Kansas)
Cape Anthony—13
Cape Francois—11-13; 182
Capuchins—51
Caranco—22
Cardinal—269
Carolina—
population, IX; 47
Carp—17; 146; 274
Carrion-Crow—258
Carthaginians—
practised scalping, 283
Caskaquias (see Kaskasia)
Cassine Shrub—228
Castin Bayou—113
Castine Mine—133
Catamounts—134; 144
Caterpillars—271
Catfish—
description of, 274
Cat Island—16; 138
Cedar Trees—215; 225
Celoron, Capt. de—93; 94
Chacchi-Oumas Indians—300
Chactaw Indians (see Choctaws)
Chaineau, M.—278
Chameleons—257
Champmelin, Commander—
captures Pensacola XXIV; 104; 105
Chandeleur Islands—13
Chaouachas Indians—140; 301
Chaouanous River—162
Charleville, M. de—109; 110
Charlevoix—I; III; IV; XXV; XXVI; 24; 30
Chateauguier—101
Chatkas Indians—295;
language, 297
Chatots Indians—294
Cherokees—293
Cherokee River—162
Chestnut Trees—214
Chicasaw Cliffs—133
Chicasaw Indians—46;
murder French, 56-57;
war with, 87-90;
make peace, 94;
country of, 137;
destructive wars, 291;
language, 297;
destroy other tribes, 303-304;
fierce and arrogant, 332.
Chitimachas Indians—18;
war with, 71; 300;
home of, 302
Choctaws—46; 80; 84; 85; 113
Chopart, de—73; his death, 82
Choupic—276
Choupichoul (buck wheat)-156-157
Clerac (Gascony)-27
Climate—
of Gulf Coast, III; VIII;
severe weather, 36;
at Mobile, 46;
of the Miss. Valley, 57;
of La., 107-108
Clothing of Indians—344-346
Cochineal—183
Cockle-Island—17, 138
Codfish—14
Cola-Pissas—18
Colbert—3
Coligni, Admiral de—2
Conchac Indians—293
Copper Mines—30, 145
Corbijeau—266
Cormorant, 259
Coroas Indians—300
Cooking, Indian—342
Corn—
description of, 164-165;
importance of.185;
its cultivation in La., 202;
feast of, 321-322; 347
Cotton—145; 158;
how cultivated, 174-175;
for export, 181
Cotton Tree—222
Coxe—
account of Carolina, VI; XIII; 47
Cranes—22; 126;
description of, 261
Crayfish—277
Creeper, bearded—232
Crocodile—253-255
Crows—268
Crozat—
La. ceded to, 5;
full store-houses, 8;
transfers to West India Co., 10; 107
Cuba—13
Cushaws—
cultivation in La., 206
Cypress Tree—IV;
at Baton Rouge, 52; 216; 217
d'Artaguette—28; 52; 88; 92
Dauphin Isle—13; 15; 45; 46; 49; 101; 103
d'Avion—23
Deer—64;
white, 124; 132; 134; 144; 152;
hunt, 242-244; feast of, 319
Deer Oil—249
DeLaet—2
De Lisle—279
de Meuse—
grant, 54
de Soto—2
de Ville, Father—26
Diodorus Siculus—
his description of lands west of Africa, 281-282
Diseases—
fatal to Indians—291;
of Negroes, 359-360
Dove—266
Dragon flies—272
Draught (Bird)—263
Ducks—126;
description of, 259-261
du Crenet—84
du Haye—198
Dumont (Historian)—I; V; VII; XXV; 46; 56; 66; 113; 135;
historical memoirs, 187; 225
Du Pratz—1eaves La., 187
du Tiffenet—88; 89
du Vernai, Paris—52
Eagles—257
Eels—277
Egret—261
Elder Tree—231
Elephant—
skeletons found in Ohio—290
Elk—64, 132, 134, 144
Elm—226
English—
extent of American possessions, XIV;
shipping, XVII;
at English Turn, 47-51;
on the Yazoo, 56; 57;
on the Miss. River, 140;
tobacco trade, 199
English Turn (Reach)—47; 51;
why its name, 139-140
Epidemic—13
Episingles Indians—93
Esquine—181, 233
Eye Inflammation—
treatment for, 43
Exports—
from La. to Islands, 182
Falcon—258
Feast of War—352-353
Feasts of Indians—320-322
Ferns—
Maiden hair, 234-235
Fig Trees—210-211
Filberts—213
Fire, how made—340
Fireflies—272
Fish—
plentiful in La., 274
Five Nations—294
Flamingo—22; 126;
description of, 261
Flat root—235
Flaucourt, Loire de, 24
Flax—145
Fleury, Cardinal—187
Flies—271
Florida—
French settle there, 2;
Spanish attack them, 2;
French later attack Spanish, 2
Flowers—239
Flying Fish—12
Food of Indians—348-350
Fool—
description of, 263
Forant, M. de—85
Fort Assumption—57; 93; 95
Fort Balise—47; 48; 116; 118;
where built, 139
Fort Carolin (Fla.)—2
Fort Chartres—58
Fort Crevecoeur—3
Fort Louis—46; 294
Fort Mobile—88; 92
Fort Orleans—59; 61; 62; 69; 160
Fort Rosalie—23-24; 33; 34; 35
Fort St. Francis—92; 95
Fort St. John Baptist—6; 7; 9; 10
Fort St. Louis—136
Fox Indians—
home of, 301
Foxes—251
French—
shipping, XVII;
in Fla., 2, 18;
at Natchez, 32-33;
bad influence, 41;
massacre at Natchez, 82-83;
commerce with La., 177-182
Frigate (Bird)—263
Frogs—253
Fur trade—178
Gar fish—
description of, 276-277
Gaillard—61-63; 65
Games—
Indian, 347
Geese—
wild, 127; 259
Gentilly—52
Germans—
in La., 29
Gold—145; plentiful in Mexico, 150
Gourges, Dominque de—2; 8
Grapes—208-209
Grass Point—17
Great Sun—40; 42-43
burial, 333-336
Green flies—272
Grigas Indians—298
Guenot—34
Gulf of Mexico Coast—1;
northern boundary, 13;
description of land bordering, 135-137
Gypsum—124
Habitations of Indians—341
Hakluyt (Fla.)—2
Halcyon—
description of, 263-264
Hatchet-bill—262
Havana—102
Hawks—258
Hedge-hog—253
Hennepin, Father—3
Herons—126; 261
Hemp—
cultivation, 180; 238
Hickory Trees—213
Horn Island—16
Hornbean Trees—226
Hops—177; 234
Howard, John—58
Hubert—
planter, 20; 22; 24; 25
Hubert, Mme.—136; 167
Humming Bird—270
Hurons—93
Hurricane—30; 31; 32
Huts—
how made, 341