Books: Manuel Pereira
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F. C. Adams >> Manuel Pereira
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"We must have all hands ready at the call," said the Captain. "It
looks dirty overhead, and I think we're going to catch it from the
north-east to-night. If we do, our position is not as good as
before. I don't feel afraid of her, if we only get clear of this
infernal coast," said the Skipper, as he rolled up his chart, and
repaired on deck again.
During this time, Manuel, who, had given the crew some very
acceptable hot cakes for supper, was sitting upon the windlass,
earnestly engaged, with his broken English, recounting an adventure
he had on the coast of Patagonia, a few years previous, while
serving on board a whaleman, to a shipmate who sat at his left. It
was one of those incidents which frequently occur to the men
attached to vessels which visit that coast for the purpose of
providing a supply of wood and water, and which would require too
much space to relate here.
"Did you run, Manuel?" said the listening shipmate.
"What else did me do? If I no run, I'd not be here dis night,
because I be make slave, or I be killed wid club. Patagonian don't
care for flag--nor not'in' else--I trust--e my leg, an' he get to de
boat jus' when cap-i-tan come to rescue."
"Was you on board an Englishman then, Manuel?" inquired the
shipmate.
"Yes, I'm always sail in English ship, because I can get protection
from flag and consul, where I go--any part of globe," said he.
"I never liked this sailing among barbarous nations; they've no
respect for any flag, and would just as lief imprison an Englishman
or an American as they would a dog. They're a set of wild
barbarians, and if they kill a fellow, there's no responsibility for
it. It's like a parcel of wolves chasing a lamb, and there's no
finding them after they've killed it. But they give a fellow his
rights in Old England and the States. A man's a man there, rich or
poor, and his feelings are just as much his own as anybody's. It's a
glorious thing, this civilization, and if the world keeps on,
there'll be no danger of a fellow's being imprisoned and killed
among these savages. They're a cowardly set, for nobody but cowards
are afraid of their own actions. Men neither imprison nor kill
strangers, that don't fear the injustice of their own acts. You may
smoke that in your pipe, Manuel, for I've heard great men say so.
But you'd been done making dough-nuts then, Manuel, if they'd got
hold o' you."
"Never catch Manuel among Patagonians, again; they not know what the
flag be, nor they can't read de registrum ticket, if they know'd
where England was," said Manuel; and just as he was concluding the
story of his adventure, the little sailor-boy put his arm around
Manuel's waist, and, laying his head on his breast, fondled about
him with an affectionate attachment. The little fellow had been a
shipmate with Manuel on several voyages, and, through the kindness
he had received at his hands, naturally formed an ardent attachment
to him. Taking advantage of the good treatment, he knew how to
direct his attention to the steward whenever he wanted a snack from
the cabin-locker of that which was not allowed in the forecastle.
After holding him for a minute, encircling his arm around the little
fellow's shoulder, he arose, and saying, "I know what you want,
Tommy," proceeded to the cabin and brought him several little
eatables that had been left at the captain's table.
The wind now began to veer and increase, her sails kept filling
aback; and as often as the man at the helm kept her off, the wind
would baffle him, until finding it would be necessary to go on the
other tack, or make some change of course, he called the Captain.
The moment the latter put his foot upon deck, he found his previous
predictions were about to be verified. The rustling noise of the
gulf, mingling its solemn sounds with the petrel-like music of that
foreboding wind that "whistles through the shrouds," awakened the
more superstitious sensations of a sailor's heart. The clouds had
gathered their sombre folds into potent conclaves, while the
sparkling brine in her wake, seemed like a fiery stream, rolling its
troubled foam upon the dark waters.
"Brace the yards up sharp-hard a-starboard!--and trim aft the
sheets," ordered the Captain, who had previously given the order,
"All hands on deck!"
The order was scarcely executed, before the noise of the approaching
gale was heard in the distance. All hands were ordered to shorten
sail as quickly as possible; but before they could get aloft, it
came upon them with such fury from E.N.E. as to carry away the
foretop-mast and topgallant-mast, together with its sails, and the
main-topgallant-mast with the sail. The foretop-mast, in going by
the board, carried away the flying-jib-boom and flying-jibs. Thus
the ill-fated Janson was doomed to another struggle for her floating
existence. The sea began to rise and break in fearful power; the
leak had already increased so, that two men were continually kept
working the pumps. The crew, with commendable alacrity, cut away the
wreck, which had been swaying to and fro, not only endangering the
lives of those on board, but obstructing every attempt to get the
vessel into any kind of working order. The main-sail had rent from
the leash to the peak of the gaff, and was shaking into shreds. The
starboard sheet of the maintop-sail was gone, and it had torn at the
head from the bolt-rope, flying at every gust like the shreds of a
muslin rag in a hail-storm. Without the government of her helm, she
lay in the trough of the sea more like a log than a manageable mass.
Sea after sea broke over her, carrying every thing before them at
each pass. The officers and crew had now as much as they could do to
retain their holds, without making any effort to save the wreck,
while the men at the pumps could only work at each subsiding of the
sea, and that under the disadvantage of being lashed to the frame. A
more perilous position than that in which the old brig Janson now
lay, it was impossible to imagine.
"'Tis the worst hurricane I've ever experienced upon the West India
coast, Captain, but it's too furious to last long; and if she don't
go to pieces before morning, I'll give her credit for what I've
always swore against her. She can't keep afloat though, if it hangs
on another hour in this way," said the mate, who, with the Captain
and Manuel, had just made an ineffectual attempt to rig a storm
stay-sail, to try and lay her to under it. For the mate swore by his
knowledge of her qualities, that to put her before it, would be
certain foundering. The gale continued with unabated fury for about
two hours, and stopped about as suddenly as it commenced. The work
of destruction was complete, for from her water-line to the stump of
the remaining spars, the Janson floated a complete wreck.
The captain gave orders to clear away the wreck, and get what little
sail they could patch up, upon her, for the purpose of working her
into the nearest port. The mate was not inclined to further the
order, evidently laboring under the strong presentiment that she was
to be their coffin. He advised that it was fruitless to stick by her
any longer, or hazard an attempt to reach a port with her, in such a
leaky and disabled condition. "If we don't abandon her, Skipper,"
said he, "she'll abandon us. We'd better make signal for the first
vessel, and bid the old coffin good-by."
The captain was more determined in his resolution, and instead of
being influenced by the mate's fears, continued his order, and the
men went to work with a cheerful willingness. None seemed more
anxious to lend a ready hand than Manuel, for in addition to is
duties as steward, he had worked at sail-making, and both worked at
and directed the repairing of the sails. Those acquainted with
maritime affairs can readily appreciate the amount of labor
necessary to provide a mess with the means at hand that we have
before described. And yet he did it to the satisfaction of all, and
manifested a restless anxiety lest he should not make everybody
comfortable, and particularly his little pet boy, Tommy.
"We'll get a good observation at meridian, and then we shall shape
our course for Charleston, South Carolina. We'll be more likely to
reach it than any other southern port," said the captain to his
mate. "That steward, Manuel, is worth his weight in gold. If we have
to abandon the old craft, I'll take him home; the owners respect him
just as much as a white man; his politeness and affability could not
but command such esteem, with a man that a'n't a fool. I never
believed in making equals of negroes, but if Manuel was to be
classed with niggers for all the nigger blood that's in him,
seven-tenths of the inhabitants of the earth would go with him. I
never saw such an attachment between brothers, as exists between him
and Tommy. I verily believe that one couldn't go to sleep without
the other. I should think they were brothers, if the lad wasn't
English, and Manuel a Portuguese. But Manuel is as much an
Englishman at heart as the lad, and has sailed so long under the
flag that he seems to have a reverence for the old jack when he sees
the bunting go up. He likes to tell that story about the Patagonians
chasing him. I have overheard him several times, as much amused in
his own recital as if he was listening to the quaint jokes of an old
tar. But he swears the Patagonians will never catch him on their
shores again, for he says he doesn't believe in making 'drum-head of
man-skin,'" said the Captain, evidently with the intention of
affecting the mate's feelings, and drawing his mind from its dark
forebodings.
"Well, Skipper, I pray for a happy deliverance," said the mate, "but
if we make Charleston with her, it'll be a luck that man nor mermaid
ever thought of. I hearn a good deal o' tell about Charleston, and
the Keys. That isn't one of the places our stewards are so 'fraid
of, and where owners don't like to send their ships when they can
find freight in other ports?"
"I expect it is, sir; but I apprehend no such trouble with any of my
crew," answered the Captain promptly. "I sail under the faith of my
nation's honor and prowess, the same as the Americans do under
theirs. We're both respected wherever we go, and if one little State
in the Union violates the responsibility of a great nation like
that, I'm mistaken. Certainly, no nation in Christendom could be
found, that wouldn't open their hearts to a shipwrecked sailor. I
have too much faith in what I have heard of the hospitality of
Southerners, to believe any thing of that kind."
"Talk's all very well, Skipper," said the mate; "but my word for it,
I know'd several ships lying in the Mersey, about three years ago,
bound to Southern ports for cotton. White stewards worth any thing
couldn't be had for love nor money, and the colored ones wouldn't
ship for ports in Slaves States. The Thebis got a colored man, but
the owners had to pay him an enormous advance, and this, too, with
the knowledge of his being locked up the whole time he was in port;
thus having to incur the very useless expense of supplying his
place, or find boarding-house accommodations for the officers and
crew. If it be true, what I've hearn 'em say in the Mersey, the man
doesn't only suffer in his feelings by some sort of confinement they
have, but the owners suffer in pocket. But it may be, Skipper, and
I'm inclined to think with you, our case is certainly deplorable
enough to command pity instead of imprisonment. The government must
be found cutting a dirty figure on the national picture, that would
ill-treat sailors who had suffered as much as our boys have. I would
hate to see Manuel shut up or ill-used. He's as brave a fellow as
ever buckled at a handspike or rode a jib-boom. Last night, while in
the worst of the gale, he volunteered to take Higgins's place, and,
mounting the jib-boom, was several times buried in the sea; yet he
held on like a bravo, and succeeded in cutting away the wreck. I
thought he was gone once or twice, and I own I never saw more peril
at sea; but if he hadn't effected it, the foot of the bowsprit would
have strained her open in the eyes, and we'd all been sharks'-bait
before this. The fellow was nearly exhausted when he came on board;
says I, its gone day with you, old fellow; but he come to in a
little while, and went cheerily to work again," continued Mr. Mate,
who though pleased with the Captain's determination to make the
nearest port, seemed to dread that all would not be right in
Charleston--that the bar was a very intricate one--water very shoal in
the ship-channel, and though marked with three distinctive buoys,
numbered according to their range, impossible to crops without a
skilful pilot. The mate plead a preference for Savannah, asserting,
according to his own knowlege, that a ship of any draft could cross
that bar at any time of tide, and that it was a better port for the
transaction of business.
The Janson was headed for Charleston, the queen city of the sunny
South, and, as may be expected from her disabled condition, made
very slow progress on her course. During the gale, her stores had
become damaged, and on the third day before making Charleston light,
Manuel Pereira came aft, and with a sad countenance reported that
the last cask of good water was nearly out; that the others had all
been stove during the gale, and what remained, so brackish that it
was unfit for use. From this time until their arrival at Charleston,
they suffered those tortures of thirst, which only those who have
endured them can estimate.
CHAPTER IV.
THE CHARLESTON POLICE.
MR. DURKEE had said in Congress, that a negro was condemned to be
hung in Charleston for resisting his master's attempts upon the
chastity of his wife; and that such was the sympathy expressed for
the negro, that the sheriffs offer of one thousand dollars could
induce no one present to execute the final mandate. Now, had Mr.
Durkee been better acquainted with that social understanding between
the slave, the pretty wife, and his master, and the acquiescing
pleasure of the slave, who in nineteen cases out of twenty
congratulates himself on the distinguished honor, he would have
saved himself the error of such a charge against the tenor of social
life in Charleston. Or, had he been better acquainted with the
character of her police, he certainly would have saved the talent of
Mr. Aiken its sophomore display in that cumbrous defence. In the
first place, Mr. Durkee would have known that such attempts are so
common among the social events of the day, and so well understood by
the slave, that instead of being resented, they are appreciated to a
great extent. We speak from long experience and knowledge of the
connection between a certain class of slaves and their masters. In
the second place, Mr. Durkee would have known that any man connected
with the city police--save its honorable mayor, to whose character we
would pay all deference--would not for conscience' sake scruple to
hang a man for five dollars. We make no exception for color or
crime. A qualification might be called for, more adapted to our
knowledge of it as it has existed for the last four or five years;
but we are informed by those whose lives and fortunes have been
spent for the moral elevation of the city police, that it was even
worse at the time referred to.
The reader may think we are making grave charges. Let us say,
without fear of refutation, they are too well known in the community
that tolerates them. As a mere shadow of what lays beneath the
surface, we would refer to the only independent speech we ever
listened to in Charleston,--except when self-laudation was the
theme,--made by G. R--, Esq., in one of her public halls a few weeks
ago. Mr. R--is a gentleman of moral courage and integrity, and,
without fear or trembling, openly denounced the corruption and
demoralization of the police department. Even the enemies of his
party, knowing the facts, appreciated his candor as a man, while
they denounced the publicity, (for his speech was paraded by the
press,) lest the fair name of the queen city should suffer abroad. A
beautiful farce followed this grave exposition. The board of
aldermen, composed of fourteen men of very general standing,
remained mum under the accusation for a long time. Its object was to
show up the character of a class of officials, whose character and
nefarious arts have long disgraced the city. But in order to make a
display of his purity, Mr. C--, a gentleman entitled to high moral
consideration, chose to make it a personal matter; yet, not content
with a private explanation given by Mr. R--, he made a call through
the press. Mr. R--responded in a proper and courteous manner,
acknowledging the due respect to which Mr. C--'s private character
was entitled; thus increasing the ambition of the board generally,
who, with the expectation of Mr. R--making a like acknowledgment to
them as a body, (not excepting their honorable head,) made a demand
in joint-officio. This being duly signalized through the columns of
the Courier and Mercury, Mr. R--met it with a response worthy of a
gentleman. He referred them to the strongest evidence of his
assertions, in the countenance which they gave to a class of
officials too well known to the community for the honor of its name
and the moral foundation of its corporate dignity. Thus ended a
great municipal farce, to prolong which the principal performers
knew would disclose the intriguing scenes of their secondary
performers. The plot of this melo-comic concern was in the sequel,
and turned upon the very grave fact of Mr. C--having some time
previous withdrawn from the honorable board, to preserve some very
delicate considerations for conscience' sake.
How much spiritual consolation Mr. C--realized through the
acknowledgment of Mr. R--, or the honorable board in joint-officio
from the firm admonition, we leave for the secondary consideration
of proper wives and daughters.
But the reader will ask, what has this to do with poor Manuel
Pereira,--or the imprisonment of free citizens of a friendly nation?
We will show him that the complex system of official spoliation, and
the misrepresentations of the police in regard to the influence of
such persons upon the slave population, is a principal feature in
its enforcement. To do this, we deem it essentially necessary to
show the character of such men and the manner in which this law is
carried out. We shall make no charges that we cannot sustain by the
evidence of the whole city proper, and with the knowledge that truth
is stronger than fiction.
What will the reader say when we tell him that, among the leading
minds of the city--we say leading minds, for we class those who are
considered foremost in the mercantile sphere among them--are three
brothers, unmarried, but with mistresses bought for the purpose,
whose dark skins avert the tongue of scandal;--that, twice, men were
sold, because of the beauty of their wives, to distant traders, that
the brothers might cast off their old mistresses, and appropriate
new ones to an unholy purpose; that these men enjoy their richly
furnished mansions, are known for their sumptuous entertainments,
set an example of mercantile honor and integrity, are flattered
among the populace, receive the attentions of very fine and very
virtuous ladies, wield a potential voice in the city government, and
lead in the greatest development of internal improvements;--that
these men even whisper high-sounding words of morality, and the
established custom considers their example no harm when color is
modified.
What will the reader think, when we tell him that there is no
city-marshal in Charleston, but innumerable marshalled men,
supported by an onerous tax upon the people, to quiet the fears of a
few. And what will they think, when we tell them that the man whose
name is so frequently sounded through the columns of the press as
the head of police, and applauded for his activity among thieves, is
the well-known prince-officio of a voluptuous dwelling, where
dazzling licentiousness fills his pockets with the spoils of
allurement. This man has several counterparts, whose acts are no
secrets to the public ear, and who turn their office into a mart of
intrigue, and have enriched themselves upon the bounty of espionage
and hush-money, and now assert the dignity of their purse. It may be
asked, why are these men kept in office?--or have these offices
become so disgraced that honest men will not deign to accept them?
No! such is not the case. It is that moral integrity is not
considered in its proper light, and is not valued as it should be;
that these men have a secret influence which is well known, and are
countenanced and retained for the weight of their control among a
certain class; and, strange to say, that the party ex-officio make
these demoralizing things the basis of their complaints against the
"powers that be;" yet such is their feeble dependence, that no
sooner are they in office than we have the repetition of the same
things.
Now, how far his honor is answerable for these things we must leave
the reader to judge. The leading characteristics of his nature
conflict with each other; his moral character is what is considered
sound here; and truly he is entitled to much respect for his
exemplary conduct, whether it be only exerted as an example, or the
heartfelt love of Christian purity. Some people are pious from
impulse, and become affected when purpose serves to make it
profitable. We, however, are not so uncharitable as to charge such
piety to our worthy head of the city government, but rather to a
highly developed organ of the love of office, which has outgrown the
better inclinations of his well-established Christianity.
We must invite the reader's attention to another and still more
glaring evidence of the demoralization of social life in Charleston.
A notorious woman, who has kept the worst kind of a brothel for
years, where harlots of all shades and importations break the
quietude of night with their polluted songs, becomes so bold in her
infamy that she appeals to the gracious considerations of the city
council, (board of aldermen.) How is this? Why, we will tell the
reader:--She remained unmolested in her trade of demoralization,
amassed a fortune which gave her boldness, while her open display
was considered very fine fun for the joking propensities of
officials and gallants. With her wealth she reared a splendid
mansion to infamy and shame, where she, and such as she, whose steps
the wise man tells us "lead down to hell," could sway their victory
over the industrious poor. So public was it, that she openly boasted
its purpose and its adaptation to the ensnaring vices of passion.
Yes, this create in female form had spread ruin and death through
the community, and brought the head of many a brilliant young man to
the last stage of cast-off misery. And yet, so openly tolerated and
countenanced by leading men are these things, that on the 31st of
July, 1852, this mother of crime appeals to the honorable board of
aldermen, as appeared in the "Proceedings of Council" in the
Charleston Courier of that date, in the following manner:
"Laid over until a monied quorum is present.
"Letter from Mrs. G. Pieseitto, informing Council that having
recessed her new brick building in Berresford street at least two
feet, so as to dedicate it to the use of the citizens of Charleston,
if they will pave with flag-stones the front of her lot,
respectfully requests, that if accepted, the work may be done as
soon as possible. Referred to the Aldermen, Ward No. 4." The street
is narrow and little used, except for purposes known to the
lanterns, when honest people should sleep. The information might
have been couched with more modesty, when the notoriety of the woman
and the dedication of her tabernacle of vice was so public. How far
the sensitive aldermen of the fourth ward have proceeded in the
delicate mission, or how much champagne their modest consideration
has cost, the public have not yet been informed. Rumor says every
thing is favorable. We are only drawing from a few principal points,
and shall leave the reader to draw his own inference of the moral
complexion of our social being. We make but one more view, and
resume our story.
An office connected with the judiciary, so long held as one of high
responsibility and honorable position, is now held merely as a
medium of miserable speculation and espionage. It is an elective
office, the representative holding for four years. The present
incumbent was elected more through charity than recompense for any
amiable qualities, moral worth, or efficient services to party ends.
A more weak man could not have been drawn from the lowest scale of
party hirelings, though he had abdicated the office once before to
save his name and the respectability of the judiciary. It may be
said, he was elected in pity to speculate on misery; and thus it
proved in the case of MANUEL PEREIRA. This functionary was elected
by a large majority. Could his moral worth have been taken into
consideration? We should think not! For several times have we been
pointed to two interesting girls,--or, if their color was not
shaded, would be called young ladies--promenading the shady side of
King street, with their faces deeply vailed, and informed who was
their father. The mother of these innocent victims had been a mother
to their father, had nursed him and maintained him through his
adversity, and had lived the partner of his life and affections for
many years, and had reared to him an interesting but fatal family.
But, no sooner had fortune begun to shed its smiling rays, than he
abandoned the one that had watched over him for the choice of one
who could boast no more than a white skin.
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