Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands | Page 7

few shades of
deeper brown upon my skin which shows me related--and I am proud
of the relationship--to those poor mortals whom you once held enslaved,
and whose bodies America still owns. And having this bond, and
knowing what slavery is; having seen with my eyes and heard with my
ears proof positive enough of its horrors--let others affect to doubt them
if they will--is it surprising that I should be somewhat impatient of the
airs of superiority which many Americans have endeavoured to assume
over me? Mind, I am not speaking of all. I have met with some

delightful exceptions.
At length I succeeded in hiring a boat for the modest consideration of
ten pounds, to carry me and my fortunes to Cruces. My boat was far
from uncomfortable. Large and flat-bottomed, with an awning, dirty it
must be confessed, beneath which swung a hammock, of which I took
immediate possession. By the way, the Central Americans should adopt
the hammock as their national badge; but for sheer necessity they
would never leave it. The master of the boat, the padrone, was a fine
tall negro, his crew were four common enough specimens of humanity,
with a marked disregard of the prejudices of society with respect to
clothing. A dirty handkerchief rolled over the head, and a wisp of
something, which might have been linen, bound round the loins,
formed their attire. Perhaps, however, the thick coating of dirt which
covered them kept them warmer than more civilized clothing, besides
being indisputably more economical.
The boat was generally propelled by paddles, but when the river was
shallow, poles were used to punt us along, as on English rivers; the
black padrone, whose superior position was indicated by the use of
decent clothing, standing at the helm, gesticulating wildly, and
swearing Spanish oaths with a vehemence that would have put
Corporal Trim's comrades in Flanders to the blush. Very much shocked,
of course, but finding it perfectly useless to remonstrate with him, I
swung myself in my hammock and leisurely watched the river scene.
The river Chagres lolled with considerable force, now between low
marshy shores, now narrowing, between steep, thickly wooded banks.
It was liable, as are all rivers in hilly districts, to sudden and heavy
floods; and although the padrone, on leaving Gatun, had pledged his
soul to land me at Cruces that night, I had not been long afloat before I
saw that he would forfeit his worthless pledge; for the wind rose to a
gale, ruffling the river here and there into a little sea; the rain came
down in torrents, while the river rose rapidly, bearing down on its
swollen stream trunks of trees, and similar waifs and strays, which it
tossed about like a giant in sport, threatening to snag us with its
playthings every moment. And when we came to a sheltered reach, and

found that the little fleet of boats which had preceded us had laid to
there, I came to the conclusion that, stiff, tired, and hungry, I should
have to pass a night upon the river Chagres. All I could get to eat was
some guavas, which grew wild upon the banks, and then I watched the
padrone curl his long body up among my luggage, and listened to the
crew, who had rolled together at the bottom of the boat, snore as
peacefully as if they slept between fair linen sheets, in the purest of
calico night-gear, and the most unexceptionable of nightcaps, until
somehow I fell into a troubled, dreamy sleep.
At daybreak we were enabled to pursue our journey, and in a short time
reached Gorgona. I was glad enough to go on shore, as you may
imagine. Gorgona was a mere temporary town of bamboo and wood
houses, hastily erected to serve as a station for the crowd. In the present
rainy season, when the river was navigable up to Cruces, the chief part
of the population migrated thither, so that Gorgona was almost deserted,
and looked indescribably damp, dirty, and dull. With some difficulty I
found a bakery and a butcher's shop. The meat was not very tempting,
for the Gorgona butchers did not trouble themselves about joints, but
cut the flesh into strips about three inches wide, and of various lengths.
These were hung upon rails, so that you bought your meat by the yard,
and were spared any difficulty in the choice of joint. I cannot say that I
was favourably impressed with this novel and simple way of avoiding
trouble, but I was far too hungry to be particular, and buying a strip for
a quarter of a real, carried it off to Mac to cook.
Late that afternoon, the padrone and his crew landed me, tired,
wretched, and out of temper, upon the