The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1878-07-25
TUE AZOR.
spncriugs ~ the Negro Enigrnnis from
ChnrIestOn Ia LLberin-.A H"peu..
lion Of the Troubles, if not
.. horrors, 0f the


OF The AAsOci stiVn bny.
The narrative OF the experience of the
Azor and her three hundred emigrantt
at Sierra Leone, contained in the letter
Of Mr.. Williams, published to-day, Is as
interesting and amusing in It's way, at
the graphic description of the disease.
ridden bark from Charleston, given to
the publicon Saturday, Captain Holmes
found that there would be Il heavy in
crease in the mortality OF his passengers
il he were becalmed or delayed in sDy
way between Sierra Leone and Monrovla,
and he wisely determined to make ar.
rangements to be lowed TO MOnrovia by
the Ethiopia, The contract was regu'
lerly made, but before the hour appointed
for sailing the Ethiopia quietly steamed
out of the harbor, her captain vouch
sating no apology or explanation to the
lismayed and ;ever-stricken emigrants,
Mr.. Williams, with natural Indignation,
charactcrjzas the conduct Of Captain
Simmons as "a piece of the most heart
less cruelty" Captain Simmons knew
the situation Of the Azor, and that, in
the opinion Of the port physician a large
number Of the emigrants would die
if they were kept aboard the ship
many days longer. In Sierra Leone his
conduct is Denounced by his own
c%ountrymen as "dirty." This is not
enough. 1t is the duty Of the govern
ment to bring the behavior OF Captain
Simmons to the notice Of the British
government, in order that the facts may
be investigated. A country as ready as
G:cat Britain is TO honor those who save
life, whether they be foreigners or British
subjects, will not be slow to condemn
and punish the commander Of a British
vessel, in an English port, who deliber.
atclv breaks a formal bargain, and
ahandons to their fate hundreds eft those
cmancipated Africans or whom England
has always protested peculiar sympathy
and affection, Captain Simmons was not
governed by the commercial instincts Of
the shopkeeper, or by the generosity Of
the sailor, or by the charity of the
philanthropist. In every way and sense
he was false to the honorable traditions
of the British merchant service, A
spotle.s record by his act is smirched
and stained. Fortunately for the Azor,
another steamer, not commanded by o
Captain Simmons, ran into Sierra Leone
on May 3 'th, and by her, the Senegal,
tho Liberian bark was towed to her
destination, casting anchor in the port
Of Monrovia at midnight on Sunday,
June %, forty.twe days from Charles
ton. With fair weather the voyage
could have been made in twenty-five
days or less. The bad faith of Captain
Simmons gave Mr.. Williams an
opportunity to see the ms and outs
Of Sierra Leone. OF this pecu-
liar town, with its three horses and two
hundred white inhabitants, its one-ltory
houses, chalering merchants and tower
ing cocoa trees, he draws a faithful II
not flattering picture, Politics the
colony has none, as the governor and
council are appointed by the crown.
There is a newspaper in the town, which
sometimes opposes and sometimes sup
ports the colonial government. The
man who owns the press is hostile t.
Governor Rowe the man who owns the
! type is Governor R8we's staunch friend,
Type vetOes press, or press vet0es type
and the government is in or out of favor
accordingly ~ lead or iron have the
J upper hand. 1t should be noted, how.
=, ever, that diversity of interests and
affections, as represented in the owner
ship and management of newspapers,
causes dead-locks and %see.sawing in
other places than the west coast Of
Africa. The physical power of the
natives at Sierra Leone is most surpris.
ing. There, as here, the thickness, ofthe
skull and the strength of the spinal
column are turned to excellent account.
Wages are small, but living is cheap,
and fruit cells at surprisingly low prices.
The judgment formed by Mr.. Williams
of the alligator pear :" as a steady diet u
is rash, and will not be confirmed by
those who have had a larger experience
of its peculiar flavor. On the other side,
it will be noted, in favor of Mr.. Will
liams, that he admits that mangoes are
I delightful. A smack of the lips
evidently accompanied his remark that
the mango has an aromatic, spicy taste,
impossible to describe" There in
Africa, near the eeator, Mr.. Williams
found a sOuvenir of his native city. The
water in Sierra Leone tastes Just like
tawny fluid drawn from the bosom of the
historic "Jemes." The laboring classes
ia Sierra Leone are respectful, faithful
and well-behaved. As they must draw
a line somewhere, they, negro'like, draw
it in the wrong place. They will stand
anything except being called niggers,"
an offense which is punished by a fine
by the local magistrates. Nearly every.
body in Sierra Leone, except the Mus
sulmans, is more or less black, and the
soc al relations are awIully mixed. To
his horror, Mr.. Williams found himself,
in the house Ofone of the fl rst merchants,
at table with the merchants son and
daughter, both of them persons of color.
The daughter is an accomplished mu-
stefan, is visited by the British officers
aud their wives, and is a leader of Sierra
Leone TON. In this respect Sierra Leone,
better ar worse .Lsn England, or the
cc-sincSt Of Europe, where the distinc
ton hat southerners naturally and
necessarily make between whites and
blacks is necessarily unknown. 1t was
not a pleasant sight in Paris, in the days
of the second empire, TO behold the En-.
press Eugene and the dainty danes OF
the court dandling, in public, the odorous
little piccaninnies of lhighness
S%oulouque l., emperor of Hayti! The
sensations OF Mr.. Williams are best de-
scribed by himself. 1t is reasonable to
presume that he. accepted the situation.
When the Az)r was at Sierra Leone it
was ascertained that the passenger. were
nearly peDniless. The exodus ~associs-
ton had stripped them bare. One man,
who has not a cent, holds claims against
the association for twelve hundred dol.