Journal of an African Cruiser: Comprising Sketches of the Canaries, the Cape De Verds, Liberia, Madeira, Sierra Leone, and Other Places of Interest on the West Coast of Africa — John Shaqi
Journal of an African Cruiser: Comprising Sketches of the Canaries, the Cape De Verds, Liberia, Madeira, Sierra Leone, and Other Places of Interest on the West Coast of AfricaBridge, Horatio
History
Journal of an African Cruiser: Comprising Sketches of the Canaries, the Cape De Verds, Liberia, Madeira, Sierra Leone, and Other Places of Interest on the West Coast of Africa
Bridge, Horatio
Africa, West -- Description and travel; Bridge, Horatio, 1806-1893
The gait of the women is remarkably free and unembarrassed. With no
constraint of stays or corsets, and often innocent of any covering, the
shoulders have full play, and the arms swing more than I have ever seen
those of men, in our own country. Their robes are neither too abundant,
nor too tight, to prevent the exhibition of a very martial stride. The
scanty clothing worn here is owing partly, but not entirely, to the warmth
of the climate. Another cogent reason is the poverty of the inhabitants;
so, at least, I infer from the continual petitions for clothes, and from
remarks like the following, made to me by a mulatto woman:--"You very good
man, you got plenty clothes, plenty shirt."
_September_ 3.--The Cornelia, of New Bedford, came in and anchored. She
has been out fifteen months, and has only 400 barrels of oil.
4.--Left the ship in the launch on an expedition to the neighboring island
of St. Antonio; being despatched by the Commodore to procure information
as to the facilities for anchoring ships, and obtaining water and
refreshments. Our boat was sloop-rigged, and carried three officers, a
passenger, and ten men. At 11 A.M. we "sheeted home," and stood out of the
harbor with a fair breeze, and all canvass spread: but, within an hour,
the wind freshened to a gale, and compelled us to take in everything but a
close reefed mainsail. The sea being rough, and the weather squally, our
boat took in more water than was either agreeable or safe, until we
somewhat improved matters by constructing a temporary forecastle of
tarpaulins. Finding it impossible, however, to contend against wind and
current, we bore up for an anchorage called Santa Cruz. This was formerly
a notorious haunt for pirates; but no vestige of a settlement remains,
save the ruins of an old stone house, which may probably have been the
theatre of wild and bloody incidents, in by-gone years. The serrated hills
are grey and barren, and the surrounding country shows no verdure.
Anchoring here, we waited several hours for the wind to moderate, and
tried to get such sleep as might perchance be caught in an unsteady boat.
By great diligence in working against wind and current, we succeeded in
reaching Genella at 9 o'clock in the evening of the second day. Our
mulatto pilot, Manuel Quatrine, whistled shrilly through his fingers; and,
after a brief delay, the response of a similar whistle reached our ears
from shore. A conversation was sustained for some moments, by means of
shouts to-and-fro in Portuguese; a man then swam off to reconnoitre; and,
on his return, the people launched a canoe and carried us ashore, weary
enough of thirty-six hours' confinement in an open boat. We took up our
quarters in the house of a decent negro, who seemed to be the head man of
the village, and, after eating such a supper as the place could supply,
sallied out to give the women an opportunity of preparing our beds.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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