Travels in the equatorial regions of South America, in 1832

Front matter

RULES OF THE BOSTON LIBRARY.

FRANKLIN PLACE.

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Preface

The greater part of the following work had originally the form of letters, written from the country which it attempts to describe, to my friends in North America. The remainder is but an enlargement of the journal which I constantly kept during my absence. When I returned home, I had no intention of publishing my observations on South America ; but subsequent 6onsideration determined me to hazard the experiment.

The press of the present day so overflows with works by men of talent in every department of science and literature,- that an unknown author runs a great risk of being overlooked among the multitude of established competitors for the notice of the public ; and so true is it, that we ourselves cannot judge with impartiality of the merit of our own productions, that although I am convinced the subject of the following pages might be made interesting to a large proportion of my readers, I am by no means equally sure that I have treated it in a manner to render it so. The title of the work (Travels in the Equatorial regions of South America) does not embrace its whole scope ; but as it clearly designates its most important part,- 1 have adopted it.

The region through which I have travelled, is part of a vast territory, which, for about three centuries, was held in a bondage most oppressive and humiliating, by a people occupying a spot on the globe, comparatively insignificant in extent. After the conquest, the conquerors and their descendants in turn be-

4 PREFACE.

came the slaves and dependants of the mother country. The results of this long slavery are apparent, and must continue so for many years. To those with whom the history of the rise and fall of the governments of the earth is a matter of philosophical study and reflection, the condition of so fair a portion of the globe, after a great political change, cannot fail to be of interest. I have therefore described this condition, without going into lengthened speculations on its causes, for the most part leaving my readers to draw their own conclusions and inferences. I think it will not be attributed to that excessive national vanity of which citizens of the United States are accused, when I say that the eyes of the whole civilized world are now anxiously watching the state of affairs in our republic. Setting aside all consideration of our actual present importance in the scale of nations, the future prosperity or adversity of the United States is of immense moment as an example, and as the result of .an experiment in the republican form of government. In this point of view again, the state of the South American republics ought to attract attention in the minds of citizens in the United States. It may be well if we can take warning from the misfortunes of our neighbors, and pause before we have blown the embers of civil discord into a flame that will destroy us.

The gross misrepresentations of some recent travellers in the United States, are sufficient to render our citizens cautious in the reception of travellers' stories; and it would be no matter of surprise to me, if some of the pictures I have drawn of the state of society in the Ecuador, should be thought exaggerated. Nothing will perhaps excite more astonishment in us, who are accustomed to see in our clergy the patterns of a correct life, than the account I have given of this class in South America ; but in regard to this, and many other things, of which I have taken notice, it must be recollected that, until since the revolution, Spanish America has been absolutely shut out from participation in the wonderful advancement in knowledge and civilization, which many other parts of the world have been

PREFACE. 5

making during the last sixty years ; and that even since this event, only the sea-port towns, and those possessing easy and rapid means of communication with the coast, have drawn essential benefit from foreign intercourse. After all, the account I have given of the clergy, will, even at the present day, find many parallels in Spain and Italy. As regards the correctness of my descriptions, all I ask is, that they may be judged of, not by comparison with our own state of society, but by the testimony of other travellers of credibility, taking into view the considerations which I have just suggested. The book pretends not to science. Its object is to give a faithful picture of the moral and physical condition of the people, and an idea of the more prominent natural features of the country. I have considered that I could in no better and pleasanter manner accomplish this, than by describing things as I saw them, interspersed with my personal adventures from day to day.

In my short account of the Indian population, I have purposely omitted any speculations concerning their origin, and their supposed connexion with the copper-colored tribes of eastern Asia, and of the chain of islands between the two continents. The subject has been fully treated of by older and more learned heads than mine ; and, moreover, the discussion of it would involve a greater space than would be consistent either with the limits I have prescribed to myself, or with the character of the rest of the work.

I shall not attempt to excuse myself for any errors (except those of mere typography) which may be in this book, on the plea of haste or negligence. This I consider would be no apology for me, nor compliment to my readers. I have taken much pains with the work, and, such as it is, I commit it to the judgment of the public.

ERRATA.

Page 16, line 8 from the bottom, for luxuriant, read luxurious: « 52, " 12 " " " for Punto, read Punta. " 56, " 4,6,18," " for Verda, read Verde. « 165, « 11 " " * for subtle, read subtile.

TRAVELS

IN

SOUTH AMERICA.

Chapter I

Voyage from New- York to Jamaica. — Adventure in a boat — Port Royal. — Kingston. — Races. — Contemplated Emancipation of the Slaves — Voyage fiom Port Royal to Chagre. — Passengers. — False alarm — Rains on the coast of Veragua — Chagre. — Fevers. — Night in the castle of San Lorenzo.— Voyage up the river. — Pyebald negroes. — Parrots. — Cruces

Ride from Cruces to Panama. — Advantages of a canal across the Isthmus.

A sea voyage, unless accompanied by extraordinary circumstances of hardship or danger, or directed to unexplored regions, however interesting to the voyager himself, can seldom be made so in a narrative. A history of the succession of winds and calms, although their occurrence be of paramount importance to the prisoner on board ship, makes but a poor appearance in any other place than a log-book. I shall therefore pass lightly over my voyage from New- York to Jamaica, from which former place I sailed, with one compagnon de voyage, on the 24th of September, 1831, in a schooner of seventy tons burden, bound to Kingston and Chagres. On board a vessel of this size, of course, the cabin could not be very spacious ; and unfortunately it was very dirty and uncomfortable : however, this was the only vessel bound for our place of destination, and we were obliged to make the best of the matter. The whole furniture of the cabin consisted of a few chairs without backs, and now and

10 VOYAGE FROM

then " lame of a leg," and a small table swung upon hinges for the convenience of shutting it up to the deck, where it was confined by a button, except during the time of meals, when it occupied nearly the whole area of the cabin floor. But we had, what Dr. Franklin says was so rare in his day, a civil and obliging master of the vessel, and affairs went on with tolerable smoothness.

Toward sunset, as we approached the mouth of the harbour, one of the beautiful packets for England (I think the Sheffield,) passed near us. On board was a friend of whom I had a few hours before taken leave ; and as I cqmpared our cock-boat with the stately fabric now rapidly leaving us, I almost envied him the superior comfort and security of his position, and felt more strongly than I had ever before, the discomfort of my own situation. As long as the packet ship remained in sight, I watched her rapid progress ; and when darkness hid her from my view, a cold feeling of imprisoned loneliness came over me, on looking round our narrow deck, and peering into the dark hole called a cabin, and thinking of the many tedious days and nights I was to be confined within their limits.

From this time to the end of our voyage, we had about the usual number of gales, fine days, and calms. A calm in the tropics is, in my opinion, more disagreeable than a storm ; and on board our vessel, a hurricane would have been a relief from the intense heat and glare of the sun. There was no escaping it. The cabin was hotter than Mons. Chaubert's ovens, no awning on deck, and the pitch, frying and bubbling from every seam, sent

NEW- YORK TO JAMAICA. 11

up its pungent odour, and, as I imagined, rendered the heat more unbearable. The only relief was to place myself under the foot of a sail, which, flapping with the lazy rolling of the vessel, created some motion of the air. But the wished-for breeze would at length come, and with it vessel and crew would wake from their lethargy, and again bound over the bright blue waves.

I always preferred, when the weather would permit, having my matrass brought on deck, to inhaling the close, air of the cabin during the night ; and often have I been awakened by the man at the helm shaking my shoulder, and bawling in my ear, "there is a squall coming, Sir." On these occasions, I would either go to the black hole below, or, if the squall promised not to be too severe, draw a tarpauling over my large cloak, and weather it out. I cannot descant on the miseries of sea-sickness, the common theme of landsmen at sea, for, happily, I was spared this addition to the desagremens of the voyage. At various times we caught dolphins ; and, notwithstanding tne many horrid accounts of the poisoning of whole ships' companies in consequence of eating fish caught in the tropical seas, we ate them, and found them a wholesome and palatable fish. I can affirm, from numerous observations, that the stories of the changing colors of this fish when dying, are not fabulous, as they are asserted to be by the author of " Six months in the West Indies." The colors do change in the most beautiful manner ; and although this fish may exhibit the phenomenon more vividly than others, yet it by no means affords the onlv instance of it. Almost all the sea-fish

12 VOYAGE.

with which I am acquainted, display more or less of it, after being taken from the water.

On the 12th of October we made land, which proved to be the small low sand-keys called Los Caycos, or Les Caiques, probably from the resemblance which they bear, when first seen, to boats. On the next day, we made in sight the grand dark blue hills of Santo Domingo. How melancholy is the reflection, that this island, the garden of the West Indies, is in possession of a people, the whole mass of whom are in a state of debasement and degradation, scarcely if at all less than that, which a part of them suffered under their French masters. On the 14th we saw Cuba ; Santo Domingo still in sight.

On the 15th we made point Morant, the eastern end of Jamaica, and soon had a pilot on board, and were sailing close along the shores of this lovely island. In some places, ranges of beautifully green conical hills, rise from the edge of the sea, each hill, as they recede from the water, being higher than the one in front of it, until they are merged in the grand swelling outline of the blue mountains. In other parts the foot of the first range of hills is at a considerable distance from the sea, and the intervening flat ground is occupied by sugar plantations, presenting a rich surface of green, unbroken save by the low red tiled roofs of the manufactories, and the round brick towers of the windmills for grinding the cane. The hills are covered with grass or with wood, except where a neat white house, or more rarely a cliff, peeps forth from the luxuriant covert of leaves. Some of these houses appear to be placed in almost in-

ADVENTURE IN A BOAT. 13

accessible situations, high up on the sides of steep hills, and indeed we were told that they were approachable only by a bridle path.

About twenty miles east of Port Royal are the White Horses, fine cliffs, the bases of which are washed by the sea. They can be seen at a great distance, and are a landmark well known by sailors.

Our water had for a number of days been so bad, that we drank no more than was absolutely necessary to support life, supplying the deficiency with porter and light French wine. After the pilot came on board, it fell calm as we were near the shore, and some one susrgested that the boat should be sent to a small stream of fresh water, the mouth of which was in sight, to procure a supply of the necessary element. The master consented ; and the jolly-boat was lowered into the water, with the mate, two sailors, myself, and a huge cask in it. I was delighted with the prospect of exchanging, even for a few moments, our narrow, dirty vessel, for a walk on the green and fresh looking shore. We had hardly proceeded a quarter of the way to land, when we saw, careering down a gap or ravine in the hills, a mass of white vapor, and were overtaken by a smart gust of wind, with rain. To proceed to land in the teeth of it, was impossible ; we therefore immediately pulled again for the vessel, which was now making short tacks expecting us, our little boat dancing like an eggshell on the waves caused by the sudden squall. The manoeuvre of boarding a vessel under way, from so small a boat, is one of some delicacy and danger, when there is much wind, although the schooner was thrown into the wind to lessen

14 PORT ROYAL.

her headway as much as possible. We however accomplished it, after narrowly escaping being swamped, glad to terminate our excursion in safety, although without the wished-for water, and at the expense of a thorough wetting, both by the rain and sea. The suddenness of these squalls is astonishing. When we left the schooner the sky was perfectly cloudless, and not a breath of air ruffled the surface of the water, or filled our looselyhanging sails ; and before the sailors had pulled half a mile, the sun was hidden, heavy rain fell, and a strong breeze raised a sea absolutely dangerous to our little boat. In half an hour, the sun was again shining brightly, and not a trace of the gust remained.

A light breeze brought us the same evening in sight of Port Royal ; and, wrapped in my cloak, I lay down on deck thirsty, but with the hope of plenty of good water in the morning. After midnight, my companion woke me from a dream of running brooks, with a large tumbler of water in his hand, a demijohn full having been procured from the fort in the harbor. How delicious ! These cold-water drinkers are practising no self-denial, it is luxury, thought I ; and after another tumbler full, I fell asleep, fully convinced of the virtues of cold water.

When I arose at sun-rise, the schooner was at anchor in Port Royal harbor. The novelty of the scene was, for a while, highly amusing. It was soon after the British West India ports were opened to our vessels ; and the harbor was crowded with shipping, among which, swarms of chattering blacks were paddling their canoes, offering for sale fruits and vegetables, and wrangling and abusing each other in their laughable dialect, composed of bad

PORT ROYAL. 15

English with a sprinkling of worse Spanish. Now and then a white man was seen, lolling listlessly under an awning in Ins boat rowed by three or four stout negroes, or pacing slowly along the shore, overshadowed by a broad-spreading palm-leaf hat. The rising sun brought every thing into activity. Sails, wet with the heavy night dew, were hoisted to dry ; decks were washed down ; and every living thing was bustling to improve the cool hours of the early morning, that they might rest in the middle of the day.

Port Royal is strongly fortified on both sides of the harbor. On the east side the shore is so bold, that ships of a heavy draught can lie close to the fortifications. The neat barracks of the soldiers, surrounded by tall, feathery Cocoa Palms, form a pleasant feature in the landscape. There is an excellent and spacious hospital at Port Royal, which I visited before leaving Jamaica, and found in a state of the most perfect neatness and comfort. The wards of the hospital are placed on each side of a central avenue, and are divided by partitions which do not reach to the ceiling. This is a great advantage for the purpose of ventilation. Port Royal is five miles below Kingston, and was formerly the more considerable place ; but after its destruction by the sea in the great earthquake of 1692, and subsequently by a hurricane, when partially rebuilt, Kingston became the more important town, and has so continued ever since.*

After breakfast, my companion and myself obtained permission to land with our baggage, as the schooner was to remain some days, and we proceeded in a wherry * Sec Raynal's Indies, and Edwards' West Indies.

16 KINGSTON.

op to Kingston. The master and coxswain of the wherry was a free black, and exercised the most despotic sway over the four slaves who rowed it, never ceasing his vituperations of what he called their laziness ; though the poor fellows were pulling with all their might, and really carried us to the town in a very short space of time. The appearance of Kingston, on approaching it, is not very attractive. The lower part of the town, which is most prominent, is principally built of red brick. It is situated on a sandy slope, shut in on three sides by hills, and the whole aspect, as seen from the water, is hot and uncomfortable. After landing, a long walk took us to a public house which had been recommended to us, but which we found full of people come from other parts of the island to witness the approaching military races ; we were therefore obliged to go in search of another, and, after half an hour of plodding through the deep sand under a burning sun, we were safely housed in excellent lodgings.

In Jamaica, English comfort is grafted on that luxury which is peculiarly tropical, and which no combination of artificially heated rooms, hot-house fruits, and exotics, can ever successfully imitate. The contrast of our present cool, airy, and luxuri&at quarters, to the dirty, close cabin of the schooner, put us in very good humor to enjoy the refreshing luncheon of fruits which was set before us at noonday. The delicious pine apple, the juicy orange, the high-flavored mango, the delicate nispero, the blushing pomegranate, and the far-famed Aguacati, or Avocato pear, were spread before us in an abundance and a perfection astonishing to a native of the colder re-

KINGSTON. 17

gions of the north. From subsequent observation, I am well convinced that the fruits of these regions, used in moderation, instead of being hurtful, are an antidote to many of the diseases of tropical climates. Fruit bears the odium of inducing many diseases, which are in reality brought on by excess, or by an imprudent exposure, especially to cold and damp night air, or to the fierceness of the noonday sun.

On the morrow, I presented letters of introduction to several merchants residing in Kingston. I was received by these gentlemen with a cordial hospitality, which I shall ever remember with gratitude and pleasure, and which rendered my short stay in the island, one of the few periods in my life which I should be willing to live over again.

The houses of Kingston (especially those in the upper part of the town, at a distance from the water,) are admirably fitted for the climate, airy, spacious, and surrounded by wide verandahs, with large shutters of Venetian blinds. The floors are principally without carpets, for the sake of coolness. They are made of the island mahogany, which is different from the Honduras ; and as they are kept as highly polished as a mirror, it is a matter of some difficulty for an inexperienced person to keep his legs under him in walking on them. The better houses stand at a little distance from the street, and have small inclosures around them, which are filled with flowering and sweet-smelling vines and shrubs, which comport well with the green verandahs, and help to relieve the eye from the glare of the sandy

18 RACES.

soil, while they diffuse coolness and fragrance throughout the house.

The military races given by the officers of H. B. M.'s forces in Jamaica, were held this week on the race course in the rear of the town. The horses were entered and ridden by the officers, in spite of the heat, rain, heavy course, and the fever which was then prevailing with great malignity. I was present one day, but unfortunately do not recollect the name of the winning horse, nor whether he or his rider had the longer pedigree.

I did not visit the interior of the island, more than to the distance of two or three miles from Kingston. What little I saw of it, was extremely picturesque and beautiful.

At the time I was in Jamaica, the public mind was in a state of great agitation on the subject of Parliamentary interference in the management of the slaves. At that time, the late decisive steps for the emancipation of the slaves, had not been taken by the British Parliament ; and I believe few in the island imagined that the measures referred to would so soon be entered upon. The public presses were full of complaints of the acts that had then passed, regulating the manner and degree of punishment that might be inflicted on slaves, and the quantity of labor to be exacted from them. The advocates for the continuance of slavery for an indefinite period, pretended that these acts excited insubordination among the blacks. But the real cause of the alarm which was felt by a large portion of the community, even by those who strenuously advocated the amelioration of the condition of the slaves, and their emancipation as soon as it could be clone with safety to the whites and benefit to themselves, was the conduct of certain persons who, with intemperate and misjudging zeal, (to call it by no harsher name,) had been industriously instilling into the minds of the slaves, that immediate and unconditional freedom was what they should demand ; and who had been stirring them up against their owners, by representing to them, that it was only the obstinacy and cruelty of these, that prevented such an event from taking place. A report had even gained ground among the blacks, it was said by means of these persons, that Parliament had actually passed an act emancipating the negroes ; but that the Colonial Assembly refused to sanction it, or permit it to go into operation. How absurd such an assertion was, any moderately-informed person might see ; but it served to impose on the ignorant blacks. The massacre which subsequently happened in 1832, proved these apprehensions to be well founded.

The noble and liberal measures since taken by the British government, have probably set this matter at rest. There is every reason to suppose that emancipation will now proceed as fast as is consistent with safety to both parties. What will be the ultimate effect, and whether the great superiority in numbers of the black population, and their better adaptation to the climate, will not, at some future period, render the islands ineligible residences for the whites, remains to be seen. Should such an event take place, it must be brought •about gradually ; and, by the growing wealth and intelligence of the blacks themselves. Accomplished by these means, the complete possession of the islands by the negroes, is an event perhaps not to be deprecated.

There are in this country, (the United States,) a set of men who may be fairly termed agitators, although they assume to themselves the name of Anti-Slavery party. As the question of the proper means of getting rid of slavery in the United States, is more and more discussed every day, and is one of engrossing interest and vital importance to every good citizen, I trust I shall be excused for a short examination of some of the principles and arguments of these men, as set forth in an article published in the English Quarterly Magazine and Review for April, 1832. I refer to this paper, because it has been republished in the United States, through the agency of some of the members of the so called Anti- Slavery party, and therefore may be considered as an exposition of their sentiments. The difference between the forms of government of Great Britain and the United States must, in a measure, alter the state of the case ; but the principal question of immediate emancipation remains the same.

In discussing this question it must be kept in view, that the British government has both directly and indirectly sanctioned colonial slavery. If any one doubt this, let him read Bryan Edwards' account of the slave trade, in the fourth book of his history of the West Indies. Charters have been granted in different reigns, for trading in slaves ; acts of Parliament have been passed, regulating the manner of their importation ; and, in two instances, the crown has actually held an interest in the trade. It appears to me, that for the

SLAVES.

British government to have deprived the West India planters of their slaves without compensation, would have been an act of as flagrant injustice, as to have deprived any other of its subjects of any other property acquired in a way not unlawful. Of the ten distinct arguments of this writer, why the planters should not be compensated for the loss of their slaves, (all of which I think are equally futile and susceptible of refutation,) I shall examine but two. In No. 3 he assumes that no loss will happen to the proprietor from emancipation. Does he deny that slaves have a regular marketable value ? No. But he says that the estates would become so much more valuable under free labor, that emancipation would be a benefit rather than an injury to the owner. Let me state a parallel case. A man has a horse and a plough, with which he tills his ground. It is represented to government, with every show of probability, nay, it is proved, that he can till the same ground more profitably, by means of a hoe ; and that, in this way, he can soon indemnify himself for the loss of his horse and plough. Would any one justify his rulers in depriving him of them, without a compensation ? It may perhaps be replied to this, that the possession of a slave is wrong, while that of a horse is not. In answer, I repeat, that the government are partakers in the wrong, and therefore have no right to redress it solely at the expense of the planters. In No. 9 he says, " If the claim demand a sum of money equal to the full existing value of the negro, this, and more than this, the claimants have already received : the oppressed negroes have amply paid it by the net products of their toil." What an argument ! Will it be said, that because a man has reaped from his estate, in the course of years, more than its full existing value, that his rulers have a right to deprive him of it, without indemnificacation ?

On the subject of immediate emancipation, I have a few words to say. By immediate emancipation, I do not mean the immediate commencement of measures for emancipation, and their gradual progress until its accomplishment ; but the immediate placing of the slaves on the footing of other citizens. He contends, that it would be safe for the masters ; basing his assertion on the presumed gratitude of the negro for such a benefit. Can it be supposed that the continued injuries of years can be washed out and forgotten, on account of a single benefit conferred, however great it may be ? This writer must either be very ignorant of human passions, or he must wilfully put his knowledge out of sight, when he makes such an assertion. He says that " the native Africans" (refer ring to the liberated Crown slaves,) " are as fit for liberty as any people upon earth." Such an assertion is almost too absurd to merit contradiction. But let us see what the author of Six Months in the West Indies, in 1825, says on this subject. " In Antigua," he writes, " I went to see the African free apprentices, who were all drawn up in a line, in theyard of the Custom House, They amount to upward of two hundred, and consist of natives of the various coasts of Africa, who have been captured by our cruisers on board unlawful bottoms, and landed at St. Johns. It has been the intention of government to bind out these persons, as apprentices, for seven years, under the ordinary incidents of this species of service ; and to declare them absolutely free at the expiration of the term.