The Pirate Slaver

by Harry Collingwood

  To this the chief replied by inquiring what white men we referred to; he knew nothing about white men, and indeed had never seen any except ourselves. And he strongly advised us to lose no time in making our way back down the river again, as his soldiers were very angry at our presumption in invading his territory, and he could not answer for it that he would be able to restrain them should they take into their heads to actively resent our intrusion by attacking the ship.

  I knew from this reply, which Lobo duly translated to me, that our friend Matadi was an adept in the art—so peculiarly characteristic of the African savage—of lying, and must be dealt with accordingly. So I said to Lobo—

  “Tell him that he is mistaken. Say that the circumstance was doubtless of so trivial a character as to escape the recollection of a great chief like Matadi; but that, nevertheless, we know it to be a fact that about six moons ago some thirty or forty white men were sold to him by one Mendouca, a slave-buyer; and that it is those men we are seeking, our instructions being that we are not to return without them, even should we be obliged to destroy Matadi’s town with our thunder and lightning in the process of securing them.”

  My scarcely-veiled threat to destroy his town was received by Matadi with scornful laughter, the savage declaring in set terms that he did not believe in the power of the white men to produce either lightning or thunder; and as to our accomplishing the threatened destruction without those means—why, there were a few of his warriors present who would have a word to say upon that matter. Touching the question of the white men said to have been sold to him, Matadi admitted that he now thought he remembered some transaction of the kind, but had not the remotest idea of what had become of them; he would make inquiries, however, and if we would go away, and return again about the same time next moon he would perhaps be able to give us some news of them. But before troubling himself to make any such inquiries he must be propitiated with a present; and he would also like to know what price we were prepared to pay for each white man, should any be found.

  “Tell him,” said I, “that this is a case of ‘no white man, no present’; but that if the white men are found, I will not only buy them of him at so much per head, but also make him a handsome present into the bargain. Say that the goods to be paid as ransom are aboard the schooner, and that they consist of guns, beads, brass wire, beautiful printed calicoes, suitable for the adornment of any African king’s wives; handsome red coats with resplendent brass buttons and gorgeous worsted epaulettes, admirably calculated to set off Matadi’s own kingly figure; and superb blankets, red, blue, green—in fact, all the colours of the rainbow. If he and two or three of his chiefs would like to come aboard and see these magnificent articles, I shall be very pleased to exhibit them.”

  This speech being translated by Lobo, there ensued a long palaver, the result of which was that Matadi declined to go on board the schooner, but had no objection to come off alongside and inspect them from a distance, provided that we would first return and hoist up our own boat. The fact evidently was that the fellow, treacherous himself, suspected everybody else of being the same, and was clearly indisposed to put himself in our power, while he was at the same time devoured with curiosity to see the articles of which I had given such a glowing description. Of course, as I wished above all things to excite his cupidity to the point of determining to possess the goods, even at the cost of having to give up the white men, I readily agreed to his proposal; and at once returned to the schooner and ordered the boat to be hoisted to the davits.

  It was evident that my endeavour to excite Matadi’s curiosity had been completely successful; for no sooner was the gig out of the water than a large canoe was launched, into which Matadi and three or four other negroes—presumably subordinate chiefs—scrambled, when she was at once shoved off and, paddled by twenty natives, brought to within about twenty yards of the schooner, that being considered, I suppose, about the shortest distance within which it would be safe to approach us. I tried to persuade them to come a little nearer, if not actually on board, but Matadi resolutely refused; and as he seemed half inclined to go back again without even waiting to see what I had to show him, I ordered the steward to open the boxes at once, and forthwith proceeded to exhibit my coils of wire, strings of beads, bandana handkerchiefs, rolls of gaudily-coloured prints, old military uniforms, and muskets, and other odds and ends, the exhibition proving so attractive that before its conclusion the canoe had been gradually sheered nearer and nearer to the schooner until she was brought fairly alongside, and they had even consented to accept a rope’s-end to hang on by. Matadi badly wanted us to pass some of the articles down over the side that he might examine them still more minutely, but I would not permit this, thinking it best to still leave some of his curiosity unsatisfied, and at length, after they had been alongside nearly an hour and a half, and had asked for a second and even a third sight of most of the goods, they reluctantly retired, their eyes glistening with cupidity, Matadi promising to institute an immediate inquiry as to the whereabouts of the white men, and to let me know the result as soon as possible.

  I was very well satisfied with this interview, for I felt convinced that I had so powerfully excited the covetousness of the savages that they would determine to possess the goods that I had shown them at any cost. And so, as it turned out, I had, although, consequent upon my omission to take into consideration the natural treachery of the savage character, I was wholly mistaken as to the form in which that determination would manifest itself.

  It was clear that Matadi still entertained a wholesome, whole-souled distrust of us; for when he landed the troops of warriors were still left drawn up along the river bank, with the evident intention of preventing any attempt on our part to go ashore and satisfy our curiosity by an inspection of his town; we therefore accepted the palpable hint thus conveyed, and stuck to the ship, which, I need scarcely say, had been cleared for action and held ready for any emergency from the moment of our arrival abreast the town.

  It was by this time growing late in the afternoon, and as I was anxious to obtain possession of my unfortunate countrymen and leave Matadi’s rather dangerous neighbourhood before nightfall, we watched the proceedings in the town narrowly and with a great deal of interest. But although we were enabled with the aid of our telescopes to follow Matadi and his little coterie of chiefs to a large building abutting on the square at the intersection of the cross streets, and which we took to be the “palace,” we were unable to detect anything of an unusual character in the appearance or movements of the people until close upon sunset, when we observed a small canoe coming off to the schooner—a craft propelled by four paddlers, with a single individual sitting in the stern. This person we presently recognised as one of the chiefs who had accompanied Matadi alongside earlier in the day; and he brought a message to the effect that the king had ascertained that the white men about whom we had inquired were all safe in a village a day’s march distant, and that Matadi would send for them on the morrow, unless we were prepared to make him a present of a musket, five strings of beads, a bandana handkerchief, and a roll of printed calico, in which case he would so far discommode himself as to send off a messenger at once. This was of course very annoying, and I did not at all like the idea of giving these savages anything without a tangible return for it; still, after considering the matter a little, I arrived at the conclusion that to expedite affairs by twelve hours was quite worth the price asked, and the articles were accordingly handed over, not without grave misgivings as to the wisdom of the proceeding. Soon after this it fell dark, the stars sparkled out one after another, lighting up the scene with their soft effulgence, the noises in the town became hushed, save for the occasional barking of a dog here and there, and a deep, solemn hush fell upon us, in which the deep, hoarse, tumbling roar of a whirl-pool at no great distance, and the gurgle and rush of the turbid river past the schooner’s hull became almost startlingly audible. But as long as we were able to see them the lines of native warriors
still stood, silent and motionless, guarding the whole river front of the town. As a matter of precaution, I now ordered the boarding nettings to be triced up all round the ship, the guns to be loaded with grape and canister, the small arms to be prepared for immediate service, a double anchor-watch to be kept, and the men to hold themselves ready for any emergency, after the bustle of which preparations the schooner subsided again into silence and darkness, the men for the most part “pricking for a soft plank” on deck, and coiling themselves away thereon in preference to seeking repose in the stifling forecastle. As for Gowland and myself, we paced the deck contemplatively together until about ten o’clock, discussing the chances of getting away on the morrow, and then, everything seeming perfectly quiet and peaceful, we had our mattresses brought on deck, and stretched ourselves out thereon in the small clear space between the companion and the wheel.

  I had been asleep about two hours, when I was awakened by a light touch, and, starting up, found that it was one of the anchor-watch, who was saying—

  “Better go below, sir, I think, because it looks as though it was goin’ to rain. And Bill and me, sir, we thinks as you ought to know that we fancies we’ve heard the dip o’ paddles occasionally round about the ship within the last ten minutes.”

  “The dip of paddles, eh?” exclaimed I, in a whisper. “Where away, Roberts?”

  “Well, first here and then there, sir,” answered the man, in an equally low and cautious tone of voice; “both ahead and astarn of us; sometimes on one side, and then on t’other. But we ain’t by no means certain about it; that there whirl-pool away off on our port-quarter a little ways down-stream is makin’ such a row that perhaps we’re mistaken, and have took the splash of the water in it for the sound of paddles. And it’s so dark that there ain’t a thing to be seen.”

  It was as the man had said. It was evident that a heavy thunderstorm was about to break over us, for the heavens had become black with clouds, and the darkness was so profound that it was impossible to see from one side of the deck to the other. I scrambled to my naked feet and went first to the taffrail, then along the port side of the deck forward, returning aft along the starboard side of the deck, listening intently, and I certainly fancied that once or twice I detected a faint sound like that of a paddle stroke, but I could not be certain; and as to seeing anything, that was utterly out of the question.

  “Find Warren, and tell him to bring a port-fire on deck, and light it,” said I. “It can do no harm to take a look round, just to satisfy ourselves; and it is never safe to trust these savages too much. Look alive, Roberts; moments may be precious if it be as you suspect.”

  “Ay, ay, sir,” answered the man, as he trundled away forward to find the gunner. And meanwhile, as it was evident that a heavy downpour was imminent, I roused up Gowland, and we carried our mattresses below, I repeating to him, as we went, what Roberts had told me.

  By the time that we got back on deck again the gunner was aft, waiting for us, with the port-fire all ready in his hand, and I instructed him to go aloft as far as the fore-cross-trees and light it there. A few seconds elapsed, and then, with startling distinctness, came down to us the cry—

  “All ready, sir, with the port-fire!”

  “Then light it at once,” answered I, “and we will see what there is to be seen.”

  The livid, blue-white glare of the port-fire almost instantly burst forth, shedding its unearthly radiance far across the glassy, swirling surface of the rushing stream, and by its light we saw a startling sight indeed, the schooner being surrounded by a flotilla of at least twenty large canoes, each manned by from thirty to forty dusky warriors, fully armed with spears, bows, and war-clubs. They were about a cable’s length from us, and had evidently taken up their positions with the utmost care, so that they might close in upon and reach us simultaneously, as they were now doing. As the brilliant light of the port-fire blazed forth, a shout of astonishment, not very far removed from dismay, burst from the occupants of the canoes, and a momentary tendency to sheer off precipitately became apparent; but this was instantly checked by a loud and authoritative call from the largest canoe—the voice sounding very much like that of Matadi himself—and with an answering yell the savages at once turned the bows of their canoes toward the schooner and began to paddle for dear life.

  “Call all hands,” shouted I, “and pipe to quarters. Pass the word that the men are not to wait to dress. Another minute and the savages will be upon us!”

  The men needed no second order; they had all been sleeping on deck, and had awakened at the gunner’s call from aloft, and the glare of the port-fire striking through their closed eyelids, and before the words were well out of my lips they were standing to their guns and awaiting my next order.

  “Depress the muzzles of your guns as much as you can, and give the treacherous rascals their contents as you bring them to bear,” cried I. “We shall only have time for one round, and if that does not stop them we shall be obliged to fight them hand to hand!”

  The whole of the schooner’s guns were fired, one after the other, but the port-fire unfortunately burnt out just about that time, so that we were unable to ascertain what effect had been produced, and before another could be found and lighted we heard and felt the light shocks of collision as the canoes dashed alongside, and in a moment found ourselves engaged in attempting to check the onset of a perfect wall of savages that hemmed us in on every side, and surged, and struggled, and writhed, and panted as they endeavoured to force a way through the stubborn boarding nettings. It was just the tricing up of those nettings that saved us; but for them the schooner’s decks would have been overrun, and we should have been massacred in a moment. As it was, this unexpected obstacle, which of course none of them had observed in the afternoon—the nettings not being then triced up—daunted them, for they could neither displace it nor force a way through it, and while they clung there, like a lot of bees, vainly striving to find or make a passage through it, our men were blazing away with musket and pistol at the black wall of writhing, yelling humanity, and bowling them over by dozens at a time. When at length another port-fire was found and lighted, it disclosed to us an appalling picture of dusky, panting bodies, blazing eyeballs, waving skins and plumes, gleaming spear-points, and upraised war-clubs hemming us in on both sides, from stem to stern, every separate individual glaring at us with demoniac hate and fury as he strove ineffectually to get at us.

  The savages fell in scores at a time beneath our close and withering fire, and at length, finding the netting impassable, and themselves being shot down to no purpose, they suddenly abandoned the attack and flung themselves back into their canoes, in which they made off with all speed for the shore, subjected meanwhile to a galling fire of grape and canister from our guns, which I very regretfully allowed to be maintained, believing that our only chance of safety lay in inflicting upon them a severe enough lesson to utterly discourage them from any renewal of the attack. We continued firing until the last canoe had reached the shore, by which time eleven of them had been utterly destroyed and several others badly damaged, resulting in a loss to Matadi of, according to my estimate, not far short of three hundred men. We had just ceased firing, and the men were busy securing the guns again, when the threatened storm burst forth, and our fight terminated with one of the most terrific tempests of thunder, lightning, and rain that I had ever been exposed to. It; lasted until about three o’clock the next morning, and then passed off, leaving the heavens calm, clear, and serene once more, and the stars even more brilliant than they had been before the gathering of the storm. Of course, after the attempted surprise of the schooner by the savages, there was no more sleep for me that night, and before dawn I had resolved to send a boat ashore, demanding the surrender of Matadi and his chiefs, as hostages for the good behaviour of their people until the delivery of the English prisoners, the alternative, in case of refusal, being the destruction of the town.

  Accordingly, as the rising sun was gilding the hi
ll-tops, I ordered the boat to be lowered, and sent her away in Gowland’s charge, with Lobo to act as interpreter, with a message to that effect. The guard of warriors still held the landing-place, and to the chief in command of them the message was given; its receipt, as Gowland subsequently informed me, producing a very considerable amount of consternation. The reply was that Matadi had been very severely wounded in the accidental engagement of the previous night, and was believed to be dying; but that the chief to whom the message had been given would communicate with his brother chiefs, and that we should receive their reply on the following morning. And to this Gowland had replied that if the white prisoners were not surrendered, safe and sound, or the whole of the chiefs, Matadi included, on board the schooner when the sun stood over a certain hill-top—which would be in about an hour from that moment—the schooner’s guns would open fire upon the town and continue its bombardment until every house in it was razed to the ground. And therewith the gig returned to the ship, and was again hoisted to the davits.

  This peremptory message, coupled no doubt with the experiences of the preceding night, had its desired effect; for while the sun was still a quarter of an hour distant from that part of the heavens that Gowland had indicated, we saw a procession issue from the fetish-house in the centre of the town, which our telescopes enabled us to make out as consisting of a group of white men, closely guarded by a body of some two hundred armed warriors, detailed, it would appear, for the purpose of guarding the whites from the fury of the witch-doctors, or priests, who were thus most unwillingly deprived of their prey, and who accompanied the party right down to the shore, doing their best to instigate the people to attack the escort and recapture the released prisoners. There was a terrific hubbub over the affair, repeated rushes being made at the party; but the guards appeared to use their clubs with great freedom, and eventually the cortege reached the river, and the whites were safely embarked in three large canoes which, manned by natives, and apparently in charge of some authoritative person, at once shoved off for the schooner.