For the Agitator.
LOOK. UP!
1 ____ J
O, 800 l that wresUAh WitßThy lot,
Give not thy youth to fell Despair I
Look up to.Heay’n andmurmpr not
Though tabor Jaca thee everywhere.
Fbt Whit la'Ufe’when loosed from Toil 7 .
An oWoeUew and dreary voldf
There it no Goodiliktr Labor’* spoil, • 7
, So.drosslesaaod BO uoalloyed.
! Look Tip!—-the aHgOts bid thee 1»V : 1
Thipe eye*, and annward gasa.for aye (
Though cloud* oybapg, tbcrc’nnany a rift
Through which beams doynvthe Belter Day,
There is no M,atindb<} in'despair,
No pride Of folded arms;
If thou wouHst\v6ifliefight,prcpare ■
To meet unshrinking, life’* alarms.
Look up! Oh| Soul; cahslthoti forget
Thy Origin, thy doriona birth 1
Thy Sire, thy mission's bound hath set.
And weighed thee in the scale of Wurth.
Then sit no more With idle hands,
And tearful eye and drooping crest;
Arise; and burst thy twaddling bands! —
Work lhou,abd leave with God the rest.
It may be that the world will chide j
The bad may sneer, the proud may scorn;
The foes of Good may strive to bide
With clouds of Care, the coming morn;
And friends who cheered thee when the sun
Rode proudly in a cloudless sky.
Prove recreant when life’s wur is on—
Foes, when thy trial hour is .nigh;
Cat strengthened by a living fhitb
In lliu, of whom thon art a part,
Not faithless friends, Pride's worst, nor death
Can make thee less than what thou art.
Misfortune's darkest clond may threat,
And Sorrow brinl With gall thy cup;
But do thy duty,'.Soul, and let
This motto cheer—" Loos of, look ur!”
M. 11. Coaip
THE SLAVE TRIBE,
TOMAHGO;
A TRUE STORY OF A FRENCH SLAVER.
A good sailor was Captain Ledoux. He
netian his naval career before the mast, and
rose to be Quarter Master. At Trafalgar he
had his hand shot awn}, and was discharged
wiia good certificates. Inactivity not agree
inr with him, he embarked as male aboard
a privateer, and the prize money he gained
enabled him to buy books, and study the
theory of navigation, the practice of which he
alrcadv knew perfectly. In lime he became
captain of a privateer of three guns and a
crew of sixty men, and the Jersey coasters
slil remember his exploits. Peace afflicted
him, for he had hoped to increase his little
fortunes at the expense of the English. He
was thus compelled to offer his services to
various unpugnacious merchants; and being
Known as a man of courage and experience
easily obtained' a shir. When the slave
trade was abolished; and those who perseve
red in it were obliged not only to elude the
vigilance of the French Custom House offi
cers, the British cruisers, Captain Ledoux be
came a precious man in the eyes of the deal
er in ebonv.
The Hope sailed from Nanlds on Friday,
ns superstitious people afterwards remember
e.. The inspector, who of course minutely
examined the vessel, failed to delect six large
diesis full of chains and handcuffs ; nor were
they surprised at the liberal slock of water
on board the Hope; which, according to her
papers, was going to Senegal to trade in wood
ami ivory. The voyage was not long, ’ns
true, but then 100 much precaution could do
no narm. if becalmed, what would become
o' them without water! So the hope sailed
or Friday, in good order, and well found in
a' rcspecis. Ledoux would have preferred,
perhaps, stronger masts, but while he com
minded the ship he had no reason to com
plain of them. His voyage to the coast of
Africa was a quick one, and he cast anchor
ir. me river Zoolc, (1 think,) at a lime when
Inc English cruisers were not watching that
nan of me coast. The country brokers soon
come on board. No moment could have been
more lavorabu.
'1 omango, a famous warrior and man-steal
c:. naa lust brought ’down to the shore a
creat number o I sloves and was willing to
sell mom ai a bargain, knowing that he pos
sessed the power of obtaining a fresh supply
as soon as that on hand was exhausted,—
bantam Ledoux landed, and made his visit
tc '1 omango. He found him in a straw hut,
erocieu on the nonce, accompanied by some
Kidnappers of inferior fame, slave drivers,
ana two of his wives. Tomango received the
wane cnptain in slate. He was dressed in
an old blue uniform coat, adorned with the
stripes of a sergeant and on each shoulder he
wore iwo captains’ epauleties, both fastened
to tne same button, and dangling one before
ana one behind. As he wore no shirt, and
nit coat was somewhat short fqr a man of
nis stature, there appeared between its while
facings and his calico drawers, a band of
black skin, resembling a broad bell. A large
cavairv sword swung by his side by a cord,
and ne held id his hand a handsome double
aorreled English gun. Thus adorned, the
African warrior considered himself the ne
Plus ultra of savage dandyish, as, in truth,
lie Wfli
Captain Ledoux examined him for some
time m silence, whilst Tomango drew him
self up like a granadier when noticed by a
toreign general, and exulted in the impres
sion he fancied to have made on the pale face,
' v no, after viewing him with the eye of a
luage, turned to his mate, and said, “ There
13 a fellow 1 could sell for a thousand dollars
01 least, if landed safe and sound at Martin-
iQU'- ’’
Thev sat down, and a sailor, who knew a
i'ttie of the Congo language, acted as inter
fretet After exhausting a few compliments
11 cawn boy brought a basket holding several
notties of brandy;.they drank each other’s
health ; and the captain, lo put Tomango in
good humor, made him a present of a copper
Powder flask, with a portrait of Napoleon in
felief upon it. The gift being accepted with
suitable gratitude, they left the hut, and sit
ting down in the shade with the brandy bot
tles before them, Tomango made a signal for
the slaves to be produced.
TheJOippeared | n a ] on g bodies
ent wuh fatigue and fear, each having fixed
to his neck a fork six feet long, whose pfongs
were Joined by a wooden bar near the nape
o- the neck. When they marched; one of
'he drivers look on his shoulder the handle
o' the leading slave’s fork, who, in his turn,
C-wried that of the man in the rear, who
“gam bore the yoke of the third, and so on.
they halted, the leader of this chain
oi suffering stuck into the ground the point of
'ne rundie of his fork, and the column hal-
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M. H. COBB, EDITORS ’* •■ rTft * I ’*‘ rt ! ***? ’ AG^€i‘o}i z 6^ is ntn ßfemrNnto r olrVfein3toV r r! J
OJ-nr _. _ » - |l j J y l ' fg t *L~ _'__' 11' _ ‘_' il! ; ?•»•■ ■ > .3 » ■
VOL. l£Ll r 'T6iOLIM6SGH, TIOGA COUITO* PA., THURSDAY MGRMN&
P .-, >,ll-. ;i .!! rp. I -"’ ■■ > =- ~.:■'--.i.ij -Jyl 'O' *1 '., , _\ ~ .
ted. It may ihfit lipjrp
ia slight chance jsaqa'pe op,'tl|e,.,wajf !
tfiose who to iheir tiecka
staff six ' feet fqig. () AV each pegryLpifssed
before him, Ih'^caplainshriiggeq bisslmnl«
ders, found .too dwarfisii,
women too young, tjdtiqplailjipg, at
the same time, of of Ihe Afri
can race.
‘Formerly,’ saijd jte, ‘the woh>eh were near
ly six feel four men turn l)ie
capstan of a fngatp, apd-raise, apph'pr.’’.
Howevfcr, while ; he Jie selected
the strongest.Qpff Jiandsqtnestrof jjhe, blacks.
These he was w|npg ,to h’gy At 1 -the fngr.ket
price, but oh thes rest, he cleimpdft huge
abatement. - Tomango, on fits fjidpi rhain
tained his rights,.piiiTedJiis goods, and spoke
of Ihe scarcity pfjrijep apd the dangers ohhe
tjade. He concluded by asking a higher
price for oil the sotjes the captain wished to
lake on hoard. As'spo'n os the' interpreter
had translated’ in|p'|french the offer of To
mango, Ledoux back with stir*
prise and indignation; and then, muttering
frightful oaths, ro^^tb .break off negotiations
with such an unreasonable man. Tomango
slopped him, and, with apparent difficulty,
succeeded in pacifying him. A fresh cork
was drawn, and the bargaining,commenced
anew. It was now Ihe .black man’s turn to
find the offer of the, while man] absurd.—
They scouted and disputed for a long time,
and drank oceans of brandy ; but the spirit
produced a contrary effect on the two con
tracting parlies. The more the Frenchman
drank, the lower did he reduce his biddings ;
the more the African swallowed, the more
did he slacken his'..demands; so that' when
the bottles were eqapiy, the bargain was
again siruck much in favor of Ihe European.
Some inferior calicoes,, powder, flint, three
hogsheads of brandy, and fifty old muskets,
were given in exchange for one hundred and
sixty. The captain, to ratify Ihe treaty,
gave his hand to the black, who was more
than half drunk, and the negroes were imme
diately delivered to the French sailors.—
They ftuickjy removed Ihe wooden forks, and
replaced them with iron collars and fetters,
thereby proving the superiority of European
civilization. There remained about thirty
slaves, men, and sick women.
The ship was full ; but Tomango not know
ing what to do with this refuse, offered them
to the captain at a bottle of brandy each.
The offer was templing. He recollected
having seen Ihe " S ( icilia,n Vespers” played
at Nantes, when a'considerable number of
stout, large men, entered the already cram
med pit, and yet succeeded in sealing
themselves by virtue of the compressibility
of the human body. So he chose twenty of
the best out of the thirty slaves. Then To
mango asked but a glass of brandy for each
of the remaining ten. Ledoux reflected that
children only pay lor and occupy half a
place in a public conveyance. He therefore
took three, but declared he could not lake a
single black more. Tomango seeing that
seven remained on his hands, seized his gun,
and pointing to a woman who was nearest to
him—the mother of three children—cried.
11 Buy her, or I will kill her ! A sppall
glass of brandy or 1 fire !’’
“ What the devil am I to do with her?”
replied Ledoux.
Tomango fired, and the wretched creature
was released froun slavery. “ Now for ano
ther,” whooped the intoxicated savage, point
ing at a decrepit old man ; “ a glass of
brandy, or—” one of his wives seized his
arm, and the shot missed. She had Recog
nized in the old man a magician, who had
promised her she should be a queen.
Tomango, rendered furious by the brandy
he had drank, was no longer masler of him
self; he struck his wife violently with the
butt end of his gun, and then, turning to Le
doux, said : “ I make you a present of that
woman.” She was pretty, and Ledoux, look
ing at her, smiling said, “ I can easily find
room for her.” The interpreter was a
humane man. Ho gave a snuff box to To*
mango, and taking off their forks gave them
their liberty. They immediately ran off,
some on one side and some on another, much
at a loss to find their way home, a hundred
miles from the coast. In the meantime,, the
captain took leave of Tomango, and busted
himself with shipping his cargo. It was not
prudent to remain long in the river, lest the
cruisers should return, so he proposed sail
ing on the morfow. Tomango lay down on
the grass to sleep off the effects of the brandy.
When he awoke the slaver wa? alrentty
under weigh, and dropping down the- river.
Tomango still half fuddled with the debauch
of the previous night, asked for his wife
Ayche ; he was told that she had Iherfiisfor
tune to displease him, and that he nao-pre
sealed her to the while captain, who fr*ad
taken her on board. At this nows,lhe stu
pified Tomango struck his forehead, then'
seized his gun, and as the river made several
windings before it reached' the sea, ran by
the shortest col to ft"little cotre Shoot'half a
league from the mouth. He had reckoned
rightly, and coming abreast' of thd slaver,
which had' been retarded by the sinuosities
of the river, he jumped in the boat, and got
on. board. Lfedoux, who wai surprised to
see him, was still more so' when he claimed
his wife. “A gift is a gift,” sajd the captain,
turning on his heel. The ntjgfo persisted,
offering to give back part of! the' goods he
had received in exchange for the slaves; the
captain latighed, and said that' Ayche was- a
very good wife, and that ho did not intend
separating from her. i , ■
ThenTotnango shed torrent's of tears, and
uttered pierciftg cries; sometimes- he rolled
upon (he deck ealling upon his darling Ayche,
at others, he .atr.ookf his head against Jjhe
planks as thodgh be would kill himself The
captain, with perfect coolneSs, pointed lo the
T /• T IA
YT7. '}<*'>
All: ■ ''' "I :
Amo ■
I
'hMi x» ;: m *• •“■>
| --uMu
:s b. f aft v.».
■; bw*s>t. aa»i
r<i &
buwrttjflu 4,7 1 i
shore, aud made sigasio'hlm (hat it waa time
45 b£ gbnej but'he'Remained’; he evenoflered
‘liHi bltllkiD eptrtiletfdfffhis sword, his-guri—
ell/in Vain: M, OtiHiig (His discussion, (he mate
’bfjhPHopd skid'toXliOdoui.' 11 Three slaves
have dted during (benight, why should not
thiS'strhppmg f&'scal, bring us alone, more
ijian,the three we_ have Iqsi?” The captain
rjflepted.that )ie would’fetch,ht least, $lOOO,
ihat 'iiiig yoyage.whiph promlsed jo .be very
profitable,, wcnjjdprdbably be bis jastthat—
his fortune jypufjp- b© i.niade — ; he giye
.Up the qlaye.
jittle.tq him whether he led (lie coast with,a
£99.d Qr, .bad reputation j besides, the shore
was.uninhabiled, ond the,African warrior el
his mercy. ; Alj ;/ ho,had to do was.to deprive
bim,of his armSt.for it would have been dan
gerous to lay hands op him while they were
in his r possession ■ Ledous asked for his gun
to examine whether it'Were Worth the beauti
ful Aychej in playing With the Inch, he Con
trived Jo remove the priming, and meanwhile
‘(He malegof possession of the sword'; thus
Toniango being completely disarmed, -in n
mometil two stbiit sailors threw therrts'elves
Upon him, got him on his back, and began
bidding him. The resistance of the negro
was heroic, as' sodn as he had recovered
from his firht surprise; notwithstanding the
disadvantages of. his situation, he-struggled
dong,'and owing to great strength, contrived
to get upon his (eel. -
'•' With one blow he knocked down (he man
Who held him by (he collar, and leavjing pari
or his COM in the hands of the other, rushed
like'ft madman opoh the male in' order to re
cover his sword ; tho twin struck him with it
on the .head, inflicting a large but shallow
wound. Tomango fell a second (ime, and
then they bound his hands and feet firmly.
Whilst resisting, he uttered shouts of rage,
and struggled like a wild boar caught in a
trap; but on perceiving all resistance useless,
he closed his eyes, remained motionless ; his
deep and agitated breathing alone indicating
life. “ Faith I” said Captain Dedoux, “ tho
blacks w,hom he has sold will lough heartily
on seeing him a slave in his turn ; this proves
that a Providence exists.” Moral Captain
Ledoux.
The unfortunate man was, in the .mean*
time, bleeding jo,.death.. The charitable, in
terpreter wbo.hadon the .preceding evening
saved the lives of the sis,slaves, went and
bound up his wound,•addressing to him some
words of consolation. The:negro remained
motionless aira corpse, and sorpe nf the crew
were obliged to carry him like a bailor goods
to his appointed place between. decks. For
two days he would neither eat nor drink,,and
srarcp.ly oponpd oypft.
His companions in captivity, formerly his
prisoners, saw him arrive among them with
looks of stupid astonishment,'and such was
the dread he still inspired, that none'dare in
sult the misery of him who had been (he
cause of theirs. Favored by a strong breeze
froip shore, the vessel rapidly left the Afri
can shore behind. Already at his ease on
the subject of the British cruisers, the Cap
tain only thought of the enormous profit that
awaited him in tfie West Indies. His “ cbo.
ny,” as lie facetiously termed his cargo of
slaves, waq free from damage. There was
no contagious disorders on board. Twelve
of the weakest negroes' had died of the heal,
but that was a-trifle. In order (hat his hu
man cargo should suffer as little possible, he
took the precaution of bringing his slaves on
deck every , day. In their turns a, third of
the unfortunates had an hour a day allotted
to them to lay in a stock of fresh air. A
part of the crew guarded them, armed to the
teeth ;, besides (hey were only freed from
part of the chains. Sometimes a sailor of a
musical turn, who played the violin, would
treat them to an air with variations, and it
was curious to see all those black faces,
turned towards the musician, lose by degrees
their expression of despair, and at last laugh
heartily and clap their hands when the irons
permitted them to do so. Exercise is neces
sary for health, and it was one of the sanita
ry practices of Captain Ledoux to make his
slaves dance, for the same reason that horses
are rpado to curvet during'a long voyage.
“ Come, my children, dance and amuse your
selves,” cried the philanthropist, in a voice
of thunder, cracking on enormous whip,
which made the poor Diggers jump about—
spite of. themselves.
Fora limeTomango’s wound kept him be
low, At length lid appeared on deck, and
tossing back his head with disdain when he
saw his fellow slaves, gazed calmly and sad-,
ly on the vast watery waste hrotmd him ; he
then lay down, or rather threw himself on
the deck without sdeking to arrange his irons
to render them less galling; whilst Ledoux,
seated on .tfip .trnffrqil, quietly smoked his
pipe, and Aychej attired in an elegant bine
cotton dress, carried a waiter of liquors ready
to serve refreshments. It was evident that
she fulfilled important functions in the cap-,
tain’s service. A negro, who haled Tomango
made a sign for, hind to look in that direction.
Tomango turned his head and perceiving her,
uttered a cry, roso impatipptly, ran towards
the traffrail before the guard could prevent so
grievous a breach.of discipline, and cried
with a voice of thunder: “ Ayche I dostihou
not believe in this country of the whiles there
is Mumbo-Jumbo?” Ayche screamed with
terror, |hb,sailors advanced with their slicks
ready Jq strike him ; but Tomango, folding
his arms with an Indifferent ajr, turned quiet
ly, to his plact,'whilst Ayche, bursting into
tears, scemed horrififed at jhese mysterious'
words!. . ..
The interpreter kpew who this terrible
Afumb'o-Jumbo wits. It 1s the (jugbeartof
the negroes, he Said. , Whpn a negro fearf.
liif wile should'do to him what'women do/ift
other counir^sTho'‘threatens her with .Mutij
boJdmbbi I have' seen the Humbo-Jumbo
'ijh * f. T '■
i*.‘. a jKf»- i! > XiJßi I -•*’■<~ - U-Ja vB r;j hs"t«t iJTi
m
y ■ 5
■VHistfix,' »■;
'< ai V :
;5i o;. f r
jliJMi; ;
jnyaelr, and - underslandihe trick* hot the
black* being more pimple.arQueasilr deceiv
ed ; on a certain evening, whilst' the-women
are amusing.themseivealdancing tite/olgar,
as they say in their jargon, strange music is
heard froma grove of mangoes near at bahd
without any one appearing.’ • The music con
sisls of reed pipes,wooden drums, balatrfos,
guitars made with half a calabash. The wo
men no sooner heard the noise than they be
gin to tremble ahd endeavor to csea'pS,” but
-the husband prevents them; the females
know right well what is to befhl [Hern; ‘All
al.once there coppes out oflfieTivood agreal
white figure, as (alias our mizzen mast, with
a head like a bushel, eyeS as big ad melons,
and a muzzle Kkeold Nick’s, all oil fire;'
• This figure moves slowly; ahd &ocs not ap
proach more than a stone’s throw frttm the
edge of the grove; the women' dry, “There
is Mumbo-Jumbo,’’ and bawl like fish hags ;
then the husbands say, “ Come, huzzies, tell
us if you have been steady ; if you lie, there
is Mumbo-Jumbo, he knows, and is'ready to
eat you olive.” Some of the creatures are
simple enough to confess, and then the hus
bands thrash them soundly. “ And whnt is
this figure of Mumbo-Jumbo?" asked the
captain. “ Why, a fellow upon stilts, dress
ed in a long white sheet, and wearing for a
head a pumpkin hollowed out; and lighted
with a candle. It is not very ingenious, but
little wit is necessary to deceive the blacks.
Adernll, Mumbo-Jumbo is a good invention,
and I wished my wife believed it.” “As for
mine,” said Ledoux, ‘j if she is not afraid of
Mumbo-Jumbo, she has a wholesome dread
of the cudgel ; she knows how I would, treat
her if she played me any tricks. As to that
fellow there, tell him to behave himself, and
not to frighten the wench, or I will give him
a scarifying he will not readily forget.” Say
ing this, the captain went down to his cabin,
and sent for Ayche, whom he endeavored to
console ; but neither caresses nor
there were limits to Ledoux’s patience—
could bring the young negress to, reason;
floods of tears streamed from her eyes, and
the captain returned on deck'in bad humor,
to abuse the officers of the watch.
At night when the crew were asleep, the
meo on duly heard a grave, solemn, and dis
mal cltaunl, proceeding from the slaves’ berth
and the shrieks of a woman. A moment af
terj all was still. The next day Tomango
appeared on deck, with his face much swollen
and bruised, but his air was haughty and
resolute as before. Scarcely had Ayche
seen him, when she left the trhffrail, where
she was seated beside the captain, and run
ning rapidly towards Tomango. knelt before
him, ahd said in fl tone of deep despair, -Par
don me, Tomango, pardon mo I” Tomango
looked at her steadily for a moment, then
seeing the interpreter going away, mtillered,
“A file, Ayche and turning his back upon
her, stretched himself upon the deck. The
captain reprimanded her severely, and for
bade her, under pain of beating, to speak 19
her ex-husband ; but he was. far from sus
pecting the meaning of their short conversa
tion.
Meanwhile, Tomango, shut up with other
slaves, was constantly exhorting them to
make a bold attempt to recover their liberty.
Ho spoke to them of the small number of the
whiles, and pointed out the increasing care
lessness of the wntoh ; and, without explain
ing how, he told them he was able to lead
them back to their country, boasted of his
knowledge of sorcery, which’ihe blacks were
easily persuaded of, and threatened, them
with the vengeance of his fetish if they re
fused to aid bis enterprise. In his addresses
he* only made use of the Pauses dialect,
which was understood by the greatest part
of the slaves, but unknown to (he interpreter.
The reputation oflhe orator, the habit"nCqui- 1
red by the Negroes of fearing and obeying
him, marvelously assisted his eloquence, and
they urged him to fix a day for (heir delive
rance before ho considered the scheme prac
ticable. He replied vogucly to the conspira
tors that the lime was not yet come, and that
the devil himself, who appeared to him in
dreams, had not given him permission.—
However, he neglected no opportunity of try
ing experiments on the vigilance' of the
guards. On one occasion 'a sailor led his"
gun resting against the bulwarks whilst he
amused himself with gazing at a shoal 'of
flying fish that were following in the wake of
the'vessel. Tomango look up the piece and
began handling it, imitating with grotesqh'c
gestures the motions of the sailors made in
their exercise. The musket was taken'from
him after a short .time, but he had prove'd
that he might touch n weapon without exci
ting suspicion; but \vhen the limn came for
making use of it, bold would be the man who
dared to snatch it out of h|s hands. - ■
One doy Ayche threw him a biscuit, ma-
King a sign he understood. The biscuit con
tained a small file, nod on this tool depended
the success or the plot. At the moment To
mango forbore to show,the file to his compa-,
nions, but when night came, he commenced
muttering unintelligible words, accompanied
by fantastic motions. By .degrees he raised
his- words, uttering loud- cries,- Those who
heard his varied tones might have supposed
him engaged in an animated conversation
with a being invisible to all eyes but his own,
and the slaves trembled, not doubling that the
devil was present among them, Tomango
concluded the scene with an exulting shout.
••Comrades,” he cried;- “the spirit I hive
raised, has granted my prayerj and I hold in
my hand the instrument : of otir deliverance.
All we want is a little touhlge and wo shall
be free. Ho. passed the Gib lo hla neighbors,
and the trick, palpable.as it was* found credit
with theae behlgbied people, ' .
After waiting long, ihe'grent day of ven
geance and liberty came. The conspirators
bound lo each otlicf by a dreadful oath, had
a hi
itac? ,*3ca2v(ttt* t*:s ni
r *
formeiTiheir plops''after' mature deliberation.
The holiest, tfith Tomongb at' their head,
when they went _pn deck, where to seize the
arqns of the.guards v whilst others were to (j go
down.into,the captain's ; cabin, and get pos
session of the muskgla,, there. ! Those who
had succeeded in. ridding themselva of their
irons .were to begin the attack. But,notwith
standing the steady labor of several nights,
the greater part of the slaves were unable to
(akcßopclive part in the enterprise; there
fore three of the most vigorous negroes un
dertook to kill the man who corricd (ho keys
of the shackles, and set their companions
free. On that day Captain Ledoux was in
excellent humor, and contrary to custom, he
had pardoned a cabin boy deserving the lash.
He praised the evolutions of the officer on
duty, told the crew he was pleased with (hem,
and promised them a present on arriving at
Marlinque. The sailors, delighted, already
formed plans lor spending the gift, and were
thinking abont the brandy and the women
of color of Martinique, when Tomango and
his comrades were brought on deck. They
had been careful to file their irons in such a
manner ns not to appear cut, yet so that the
slightest effort would snap them asunder.—
They made such a clanking with them, that
to hear it, they might have been supposed
to be doubly ironed. After taking the air
for a time, they took each other by the hand
and commenced dancing, whilst Tomango
chanted the waj - song of his tribe. At last,
as if exhausted by fatigue, Tomango lay down
at the feet of a seaman, who was leaning care
lessly against the gunnel, the other conspi
rators doing the same, so that each sailor was
surrounded by several blacks. All at once
Tomango, who had gently removed his shack
les, uttered a loud w|ioop—the concerted sig
nal—and vigorously seizing the legs of the
nearest seamen, I brew him down, and wrest
ing away his musket, shot the officer of the
watch. At the same moment each seminal
was attacked, disarmed, and slain. On all
sides the war cry was heard. The boatswain,
who kept the keys of the iron? was bmong
the first that fell. Then a crowd of! blacks
rushed to the quarter deck. Thosb who
could not find other arms, look handspikes,
or the oars of iho boats. From this moment
the contest was at an end, though some of
the sailors, who had assembled, made what
resistance unarmed and surprised men could,
Ledoux was still alive hnd as brave ns ever.
Perceiving that Tomango was the soul of the
conspiracy, he hoped that if (lie could kill
him, he would yet be able to master the oth
er blacks.
He therefore rushed upon him, sabre in
liuiitj; Tomango met him hair way, holding
a musket in his hands, by the slock, and
using it like a club. The chiefs met on the
gangway. Tomango struck the first blow,
which the European avoided by quickly step
ping aside, and the end of the barrel* struck
the deck with sucii violence, that it brbke off
at the lock, and the gun escaped from his
hands. He was defenceless, and Ledoux,
with a smile of fierce joy, raised his arm to
cut him down, But Tomango, agile as the
panther of his native woods, bounded into
the arms of his foe, and grasped the hand
which held the sabre. The one sought to
retain, the other to get possession of it In
the furious struggle both fell, the negro low.
ermosl. Not discouraged, Tomango squeez
ed his adversary with the strength of a bear
and bit his throat so furiously, that the blood
gushed forth as from the wound of a lion’s
tooth. .
The sword dropped from the captain’s un
nerved hand. Tomango seized it, and rising,
his'mouth stained with blood, pierced with
redoubled blows the body of his expiring en
emy. The victory was no longer doubtful.
The few sailors who survived sought to ex
cite the pity of sa'vagcs ; but all, including
the humane interpreter, were pitilessly mas
acred, The lieutenant died gloriously. He
had retired all, near one of those small guns
which turn on a swivel, and on board the
Hnpp wore kept loaded with grape. With
his left hand be pointed the piece, whilst
with his right one he defended himself so
valiantly that lie attracted towards him a
swarm of blacks. Then pulling the trigger,
he opened through the compact mass {a wide
path, paved with tho dying and the dead ; a
moment after, he was cut to pieces. When
the corpse of the last while, hacked into
fragments, had been thrown overboard, the
blacks, satiated with vengence, raised their
eyes to tho sails, which, filled with u fresh
breeze, seemed still to obey their late tyrants,
and to drive lbs conquerers, notwithstanding
their trumpets, towards the land of slavery.
We have accomplished nothing, (bought they,
with 'sadness, for the great fetish of the
whites will not carry us back to fatherland,
now that we have shed the blood of its mas
ters; and called upon Tomango with
loud cries to lake command. He was in no
hurry to appear. They found him in the
fore cabin; in one hand he held the bloody
sabre of the cnp'ain, the other was extended
to Ayche, who kisrsedit as she kneeled before
him.
The oJtullalion'of his conquest could not
dispel the gloomy uneasiness his countenance
betrayed. Less ignorant than (be others, he
was more alive to ithe difficulties of their pos
ition.' >-
At length he appeared on the quarter deck,
affecting a calmness he was far from feeling.
Urged by a hundred confused voices to direct
the course of the ship, he slowly approached,
the rudder, and as thpugll desirous of-delay
ing. even-for a moment, the act which should
decide, for others, the extent of his
There wss not a black on hoard, however
stupid; who had failed to observe the Influence
of a certain wheel; and box placed before it,
exercised on the motion 61 the brig; but this
machinery had always remained a mystery
{‘o *!>em.Toraango examined the compass
. for, •ome T 4*ra(^-iaovfng r 4u»lipa,.at,.Jhough
;aading lha characiiw trtcad thereon., Then
,raisjiig hit hi* bead] be assumed aw
A|(i |u ,d9;jpf like a .man making
diffitjult ,ca Icplalions., .The b{apk« surroun
ds ki' n ;*)llvgapipg mouths and staring eyes,-
eagerly observing his slightest motions,. At
length with a miamreof (ear and confidence
csosod by ignorant* he moved the rudder
wheel with violence* . Like a generous sjeed
(paring .pnder the spur, of. an ri
der, the,beautiful brig bounded on the waves
at this suddenmotioij. One would have im
agined she. sought, to sinjc tbe imprudent pilot/
The necessary, relation between the direction
of the, sails.and of lhe rudder, thus violently
interrupted, (he. vessel, reeled and. went. upon
her beam ends, as if about to capsize. Her
.long taper mast dipped, (owarda the water,
until they became almost: horizontal, and sev
eral negroes rolled overboard; then proudly
righting the noble craft rose on the waves os
if to straggle with . destruction. But her
doom was sealed. The breeze increased to a
gale, opd all at once the two masts went by
the board with their fragments and a heavy
-network of ropes.
The terrified negroes tied befbw uttering dis
,mnl yells ; but as the wind had no more hold
upon ihe vessel, she -remained floating heavy
in the trough of the sea. Then the boldest
returned on deck, and cleared the wreck.—
Tomnngo remained motionless, his elbow res
ting on the pinnacle, and hiding his face up
on his folded arms. Ayche was by his side,
but dared not speak. By degrees the blacks
approached, and a murmur arose, which soon
increased to a tempest of reproaches and
abuse. “ Cheating impostor I” they voerfer
aied “ thou art the cause of all this misfor
tune j it is thou who didst persuade os to mu
tiny .against them. Thou didst boast of thy
knowledge, promising to lead as back to our
country. We believed thee, fools. that ws
were I and now we are about to perish be
cause thou hast offended the fetish of the
whites.”
• iilT
Ko.;w.
Tomango haughtily raised his head, and
the blacks around him drew back. He seized
on two muskets, mode a sign lo his wife la
follow him, and passing through the crowd,
which made way for him, reached the fore*
castle. There he made a brestw’orkof empty
casks and planks, and silting down in hisen*
trenchment, presented from it the threatening
bayonet uf his gun. They did not attempt to
molest him. Some wept, others raised fheif
eyes to heaven, invoking fetishes. Some, an
thejr knees before the compass, whose pcrpel*
ual vibrations they admired, entreated it lo
conduct them home. Others stretched on thd
deck, gave themselves up lo gloomy despair.
All at once a negroe came on deck, and with
a radiant face, announce he had discovered
where the whites kept their brandy; his joy
ful counlcnnce showed he had already tried
it. The news suspended for a moment the
cries of those unfortunates, and they ran la
the caboose to gorge themselves with liquor.
An hour afterwards many were insensible,
and the others, jumping and screaming on
the deck, gave themselve up lo all the extravit*
gnneies of the most brutal drunkenness,—
Their mad dances, shouts and songs, blended
with the sobs and groans of the wounded,
formed a horrible saturnalia. Thus passed
the rest of the day and night. The next
morning brought renewed despair. During
the night numbers had died, and the labouring
vessel was surrounded with floating corpses,
which, now borne on high by toppling seas,
waved their black arms towards the lowering
skies, anon, descending into the abyss, disap*
penring for a moment. Some apprentices in
sorcery, who had not dared to speak 6f their
knowledge before Tomango, essayed different
powerful spells, each followed by a fresh dis
couragement. They then begad again atf
Tomango, who still remained in his strong
hold. After all he was wiser than they, ana
might be able to save them from impending
destruction. An old man, the bearer of
terms of peace, appronced him and begged
his assistance; but Tomango, inflexible as
Coriolanus, was deaf to entreaty. During the
night, in the midst of the tumult, he hud laid
in a stock of biscuit and salt meat, and delet-*
mined to live apart s from ievery one, Tha
blacks still Imd braridy, and this for a limd
enabled them lo forget the sons, their slavery,
and approaching They sleep, and
dream of Africa ; they see the cool green,
wood forest, the straw huts, the banyan, cov*
ering a whole village with its shade; they
hear the voices of their wives, theif parents
and children, and awaken to reality and des*
pair, to recommence of the previous night.
Thus passed several days ; shouting, tearing
their hair, drinking and falling asleep. Some
died of intoxication, some leaped into the sea
or stabbed themselves. One morning Toman*
go left his retreat, and advanced lo the slump
of the mainmast. “ Slaves I” cried he, “ the
great spirit has appeared and revealed the
means of saving you from present dancer
and leading you back lo your country.—
Your ingratitude deserved that I should aban*
don you, but I feel pity for these Weeping
women and children. I pardon you. List*
en I” .
The blacks respectfully bent their heads,,
and crowded around him. 11 The whiles,’*
continued Tomango, “ alone knew hoW td
guide these great wooden houses but Wtj Can
manage these light boats, launch and jolly*
boat of the brig. Let us fill them with pro*
visions and embark ; the wind will blow us
home.’*
Never was there So Wild n project: and
they believed him. Ignorant of the tise of
the compass, and m the tnidst of a vast ocean,
they could Only wander at random over the
desert of waters. Ho imagined that by to w»
ing on they would xoriie to sope place in-<
habited by blacks ; for blacks, thought he,
possessed the land, whilst the whites live' on
board the ships.
Everything was soon prepared for embark
ing, but as the.boats could not cOntaib the
ninety negroes.wbo survived, they were obli
ged to leave behind the sick and wounded,
who entreated to he pill out of misery before
the others departed. The two boats were got
afloat with infinite difficulty, and left the tes*
■set ip the njidstof a rolling sea, which threat
ened every moment to swallow them up. — 1
The smaller boat started first. TomaOgo,
with'Ayche, had taken his place In the launch,
which being much heavier ladep, remained
far behind. They still heard the plaintive
cries of the wretches left on board, wl}eji, n
huge wave struck her amidships. She filled
and sunk and those m the jolly-boat, seeing