“Cayenne, April 23, 1789.
“Honour’d Parent:
“I take this Opportunity to write Unto you to let you know of a very bad accident that Happen’d on our late passage from Cape Mount, on the Coast of Africa, bound to Cayenne. We sailed from Cape Mount the 13th of March with 36 Slaves on bord. The 26th day of March the Slaves Rised upon us. At half-past seven, my Sire and Hands being foreward Except the Man at the helm, and myself, three of the Slaves took Possession of the Caben, and two upon the Quarter Deck. Them in the Caben took Possession of the fier Arms, and them on the quarter Deck with the Ax and Cutlash and Other Weapons. Them in the Caben handed up Pistels to them on the quarter Deck.
“One of them fired and killed my Honoured Sire, and still we strove for to subdue them, and then we got on the Quarter Deck and killed two of them. One that was in the Caben was Comeing out at the Caben Windows in order to get on Deck, and we discovered him and Knock’d him overbord. Two being in the Caben we confined the Caben Doors so that they should not kill us.
“Then three men went foreward and got the three that was down their and brought them aft. And their being a Doctor on board, a Passenger that could Speak the Tongue, he sent one of the boys down and Brought up some of the fier Arms and Powder. And then we cal’d them up and one came up, and he Cal’d the other and he Came up. We put them In Irons and Chained them and then the Doctor Dres’d the People’s Wounds, they being Slightly Wounded. Then it was one o’clock.
“They buried my Honoured Parent, he was buried as decent as he could be at Sea, the 16th of this Month. I scalt myself with hot Chocolate but now I am abel to walk about again. So I remain in good Health and hope to find you the Same and all my Sisters and Brothers and all that Inquires after Me. We have sold part of the Slaves and I hope to be home soon. So I Remain your Most Dutiful Son,
“Wm. Fairfield.
“Addressed to Mrs. Rebecca Fairfield,
Salem, New England.”
Under date of May 29, 1789, Doctor Bentley wrote in his diary:
“On Wednesday went to Boston and returned on Friday. News of the death of Captain William Fairfield who commanded the Schooner which sailed in Captain Joseph White’s employ in the African Slave Trade. He was killed by the Negroes on board.”
This following letter of instructions to one of the few Salem captains in the slave trade was written in 1785, under date of November 12th:
“Our brig of which you have the command, being cleared at the office, and being in every other respect complete for sea, our orders are that you embrace the first fair wind and make the best of your way to the Coast of Africa and there invest your cargo in slaves. As slaves, like other articles when brought to market, generally appear to the best advantage, therefore too critical an inspection cannot be paid to them before purchase; to see that no dangerous distemper is lurking about them, to attend particularly to their age, to their countenance, to the strength of their limbs, and as far as possible to the goodness or badness of their constitutions, etc., will be very considerable objects.
“Male or female slaves, whether full grown, or not, we cannot particularly instruct you about, and on this head shall only observe that prime male slaves generally sell best in any market. No people require more kind and tender treatment to exhilarate their spirits than the Africans, and while on the one hand you are attentive to this, remember that, on the other hand, too much circumspection cannot be observed by yourself and people to prevent their taking advantage of such treatment by insurrection and so forth. When you consider that on the health of your slaves almost your whole voyage depends, you will particularly attend to smoking your vessel, washing her with vinegar, to the clarifying your water with lime or brimstone, and to cleanliness among your own people as well as among the slaves.”
These singularly humane instructions are more or less typical of the conduct of the slave trade from New England during the eighteenth century when pious owners expressed the hope that “under the blessing of God” they might obtain full cargoes of negroes. The ships were roomy, comparatively comfortable quarters were provided, and every effort made to prevent losses by disease and shortage of water and provisions. It was not until the nations combined to drive the traffic from the high seas that slavers were built for speed, crammed to the hatches with tortured negroes and hard-driven for the West Indies and Liverpool and Charleston through the unspeakable horrors of the Middle Passage.
Salem records are not proud of even the small share of the town in this kind of commerce, and most of the family papers which dealt with slave trading have been purposely destroyed. It is true also that public sentiment opposed the traffic at an earlier date than in such other New England ports as Bristol and Newport. Slaves captured in British privateers during the Revolution were not permitted to be sold as property, but were treated as prisoners of war. The refusal of Elias Hasket Derby to let his ship Grand Turk take slaves aboard on her first voyage to the Gold Coast was an unusual proceeding for a shipping merchant of that time. Nor according to Doctor Bentley was the slave trade in the best repute among the people of the place.
While Salem commerce was rising in a flood tide of enterprising achievement in the conquest of remote and mysterious markets on the other side of the globe, and the wounds left by the Revolution were scarcely healed, her ships began to bring home new tales of outrage at the hands of British, French and Spanish privateers and men-of-war. There was peace only in name. In 1790, or only seven years after the end of the Revolution, seamen were bitterly complaining of seizures and impressments by English ships, and the war with France was clouding the American horizon. The Algerine pirates also had renewed their informal activities against American shipping, and the shipmasters of Salem found themselves between several kinds of devils and the deep sea wherever they laid their courses.
The history of the sea holds few more extraordinary stories than that related of a Salem sailor and cherished in the maritime chronicles of the town.
“On the 14th of August, 1785, a French vessel from Martinique, bound to Bordeaux came up with the body of a man floating at some fifty rods distance. The captain ordered four men into the boat to pick it up. When brought on board, to the great surprise of the crew, the supposed dead body breathed. Half an hour afterwards the man opened his eyes and exclaimed: ‘O God, where am I?’ On taking off his clothes to put him to bed it was discovered that he had on a cork jacket and trousers. It was afterwards ascertained that he had sailed from Salem in a brig bound to Madrid. The brig was attacked by Sallee pirates and captured. This sailor, pretending to be lame, was neglected by the Moors who had captured him. About 11 o’clock at night, having put on his cork apparatus, he let himself down from the forechains into the water unperceived. He swam about two days when he being quite exhausted, his senses left him, in which state he was discovered by the men from the Frigate. On his arrival at Bordeaux he was presented by the Chamber of Commerce with a purse of 300 crowns.”
On February 10th, 1795, the following appeal was posted in the streets of Salem:
“For the purpose of taking into consideration the unhappy situation of the unfortunate prisoners at Algiers, and to devise some Method for carrying into effect a General Collection for their Relief on Thursday, the 19th day of the present Month!
“The Meeting is called by the desire of the Reverend Clergy and other Respectable Citizens of this Town who wish to have some System formed that will meet the Acceptance of the Inhabitants previous to the Day of Contribution.
“The truly deplorable fate of these miserable captives loudly calls for your Commiseration, and the Fervent Prayers they have addressed to you from their Gloomy Prisons ought to soften the most Adamantine Heart. They intreat you in the most Impassioned Language not to leave them to dispair, but as Prisoners of Hope, let those of them who still survive the Plague, Pestilence, and Famine, anticipate the day that shall relieve them from the Cruel scourge of an Infidel, and restore them to the Arms of their long-bereaved Friends and Country.
“It is hoped that the Humane and Benevolent will attend that Charity may not be defeated of her intended Sacrifice in the auspicious Festival, when the New World shall all be assembled, and the United States shall offer her tribute of Praise and Thanksgiving at the Altars of God.”[28]
An item of the date of February 16th, 1794, records that “information is received that Edward Harwood, mate, James Peas and Samuel Henry of Salem, lately returned from Algerine captivity were apportioned shares of a benefit previously taken for such sufferers at the Boston Theatre.”
FOOTNOTES:
[25] From “An Account of the Yacht Cleopatra’s Barge.” by Benjamin W. Crowninshield, Historical Collections of the Essex Institute, from which much of the information in this chapter is derived.
[26] (1797) “Aug. 30.—Went to the Market House to see the Elephant. The crowd of spectators forbade me any but a general and superficial view of him. He was six feet four inches high. Of large Volume, his skin black as tho’ lately oiled. A short hair was on every part but not sufficient for a covering. His tail hung one third of his height, but without any long hair at the end of it. His legs were still at command at the Joints but he could not be persuaded to lie down. The Keeper repeatedly mounted him but he persisted in shaking him off. Bread and Hay were given him and he took bread out of the pockets of the spectators. He also drank porter and drew the cork, conveying the liquor from his trunk into his throat. His Tusks were just to be seen beyond the flesh and it was said had been broken. We say his because this is the common language. It is a female, and teats appeared just behind the fore legs.” (From the Diary of Dr. William Bentley.)
[27] “A narrative dated Sept. 18, 1806, is published. It relates that the ship Marquis de Somereulas, Captain William Story, on the coast of Sumatra, had a narrow escape from being surprised by some of the natives. Two proas came alongside with fourteen men who were allowed to come on board. Only five of the ship’s company were left on deck. The mate and rest of the hands were stowing the cargo. The captain, being in the cabin, heard Mr. Bromfield, the clerk who was above, exclaim that he was cresed. The sailmaker ran to his rescue, but was dangerously wounded and jumped down the hatchway. All the hands below were ordered to gain the deck, though they had scarcely any arms. The captain, while endeavoring to ascend the companionway, was attacked with boarding pikes. His men attempted to get up but were repulsed with several of them wounded. They were rallied and another effort was about to be made. The injunction was given that if they did not succeed, and the Malays took possession of the ship, a match should be applied to the magazine to blow her up. In the meanwhile the natives had retreated, which was immediately discovered by the crew who got on deck with the expectation of a deadly contest. Mr. Bromfield was found dead. The carpenter and cook were missing, but these two had escaped in a boat and soon returned to unite with their comrades.” (Felt’s “Annals of Salem.”)
[28] The 19th of February, 1795, was a day of National Thanksgiving ordered by proclamation of President Washington.