William Hall - Narrative of the Voyages and Services of the Nemesis from 1840 to 1843

The moment the king put his foot upon the deck, the single fife and drum which was on board set up "God save the king!" and the old man appeared well pleased both with the tune and the attention. After this, a particularly ugly, repulsive-looking fellow, who turned out to be the king's fool, though as old as the king himself, set up a most discordant note of admiration upon three reeds which he held in his hand, something after the manner of pan-pipes. At intervals he treated you to a sort of explanatory text of his own, in the shape of a few uncouth words, yelled out in a manner particularly edifying to all except those in whose honour it is supposed they were especially poured forth. His appearance was rendered more uncouth by a large bag tied under his chin, for what purpose was not very evident, but probably to contain either his charms or his tobacco.

The queen herself had also accompanied her lord upon this occasion, and exhibited no fear, and certainly no beauty. Picture to yourself a young sable queen, a capital caricature of one of the Egyptian statues in black marble, plump and shiny as her prototype, only less expressive. Then invest her in your imagination with sundry huge scars about her cheek and nose; not those delicate lines and graceful curves which decorate the upper lip of royalty among New Zealand tribes, but regular lumps, squeezed up and dried, as it were into large warts, particularly about the nose, as if a race of gigantic musquitoes had held a feast there!

However, to do justice to the lady's rank, if not to her looks, Captain Hall thought proper to shew her due attention, and, accordingly, a glass of wine was offered to her, as well as to her lord. The old man, though at first suspicious, like all half-savages, very gladly swallowed it, as soon as one of the officers had tasted it first. But for the queen wine was not good enough; rum was the nectar for her — that was the soul-stirring influence which could bend her pride, and warm her heart to gentleness.

Having by these means warmed the royal pair to good humour, the next thing was to bewilder them with astonishment. This was not difficult. They were requested to examine the ship's side, and to assure themselves that she was made entirely of iron. A loud Heugh! was their exclamation. To them it seemed a boundless mine of wealth, that mass of precious stuff, to purchase which was all their ambition. They were calculating in their own minds how many thousands and tens of thousands of slaves they would have to procure, before they could be able to obtain so much of the valued metal. But, when the engine was shewn to them, with all its polished bars, and massive parts, and its uses partly explained through the interpreter, their astonishment knew no bounds.

Before the chief's departure, great care was taken to explain to him the barbarous cruelties which had been committed upon the shipwrecked seamen by some of the tribes on the coast. He declared that he had never heard of the occurrence, and affected to be very much horrified at it. He was made to understand that he was to communicate to all the people of his tribe, as well as to all others whom he might fall in with, that, if ever any injury were done to any white men when driven upon any part of the coast, an iron vessel, even more terrible than the one he was then in, would be sent to punish the people. On the contrary, if he conducted himself peaceably, and treated white men well on all occasions, he would be considered the friend of the English, and of all other white men. He was also to make it publicly known wherever he went, that white men were always to be treated kindly when in distress. This he promised to do, with every appearance of sincerity, and upon the whole shewed more intelligence than might have been expected.

In consideration of the king's promises, and in order the more fully to gain his influence, a present was made to him, the most valuable he could have received – namely, a musket and bayonet, with its accoutrements. His surprise and delight were beyond all bounds; he almost seemed to get young again with pleasure as he grasped the precious weapon in his hands. On leaving the vessel, he insisted on shaking hands with almost every one on board.

On the following day, he returned again to the ship in high glee, bringing with him his own spear and shield, with other implements of war and of the chase, which he laid at the captain's feet, as the most valuable presents he could offer to a "faithful ally."

The circumstances relating to the distressed seamen on the coast, alluded to in the foregoing chapter, were first stated by one of the unfortunate sufferers himself, who accosted, in very good English, some of the officers of the Nemesis, as they were returning to their ship, and soon proved himself to have belonged to an American vessel, but stated that he was a native of Hanover. His name was Samuel Reid, or something very much like it. His right eye and lower jaw appeared to have been dreadfully wounded, and gave a practical introduction to the following tale, every part of which there is too much reason to believe is strictly true.

It appears that an American schooner, called the Colonel Crockett, of one hundred and forty tons, belonging to Newburgh, U. S., sailed from New York in the summer of 1839, bound on a voyage to the West Coast of Africa, to procure bullocks for salting, principally for the St. Helena market. She subsequently, also, proceeded to Madagascar, and touched at Delagoa Bay, on her way to Inhampura River, high up on the east coast, to trade for ivory. There she remained three weeks, without being able to accomplish her object. In working out of it again, in May, 1840, she missed stays, and went on shore on the sand at the river's mouth. They tried in vain to get the vessel off on the following day, there not being enough men fit for work, as all, except three out of eleven, were sick with fever. There she lay, nearly high and dry. It seems they had only one boat remaining, which was too small to contain all the people, and, therefore, it was agreed that the captain and second mate, (Samuel Reid,) with two men, should start off in her, and try to reach Delagoa Bay, which was only about seventy miles distant, where they were to procure a larger boat and other assistance, and then return to bring away the remainder of the crew, and whatever could be saved from the wreck.

Unfortunately, they found the surf beating over the bar at the mouth of the Inhampura so heavily, that they could not succeed in getting the boat out. In this predicament, the captain and second mate volunteered to set out together, to try to reach Delagoa Bay by land – a most hazardous experiment under any circumstances, with the dangers of the fatal fevers, and the treachery of the savage native tribes, staring them in the face. The attempt was, in fact, almost hopeless. Nevertheless, on the morning of the 9th of May, 1840, they landed from the vessel, totally unarmed, thinking, probably, that it would be both useless and laborious for two men to carry arms which they could scarcely use for more than one or two discharges, owing to the difficulty of carrying ammunition.

They proceeded for about twenty to twenty-five miles on that day, without molestation, but were at length joined by three natives, one of whom left them, under the pretence of going to procure water, while the other two lighted a fire, and began to roast some corn, of which they all partook equally. In the meantime, the native who had been absent returned, bringing with him seven others.

The captain, being anxious to make the most of his time, determined to proceed, although the day was fast declining. But, in order to relieve themselves from the weight of their bags of clothes which they had each brought with them, they entrusted them to the care of the natives who followed. On arriving at the bottom of a steep hill, where there was a picturesque valley, they all halted for the night, and soon made a capital fire. As might have been expected, the curiosity of the natives, to say nothing of their treacherous disposition, could not withstand the temptation of looking into the bags they had carried, to examine their contents. This was resisted by the captain, who was rather a hasty man; a scuffle ensued, and thus the opportunity the natives sought for was at once afforded them.