Narrative of the Voyages and Services of the Nemesis from 1840 to 1843

During this short interval, Raymanytek had been able to get possession of the arms belonging to Abdallah, and which I have stated were supplied every two or three years by the government of Bombay, as a recompence for his friendly assistance when needed; and, having burnt and ruined the greater part of the town, and completely destroyed the crops and plantations in the neighbourhood, he embarked on board his little vessel, and, taking with him all that he could conveniently carry away of any value, he withdrew to the island of Mohilla, and established himself there in a position easy of defence; all the subsequent efforts of the rightful authorities to turn him out were of no avail.

This man must have been supplied, by some means or other, with abundance of ammunition; and it is not unlikely that his speculations in the slave-trade, by means of his own vessel, may have supplied him not only with money, but also with warlike weapons and ammunition. It is well surmised, too, that he received assistance direct from Madagascar at various times; and it must not be forgotten that the nine or ten years which elapsed between the commencement of these occurrences and the visit of the Nemesis was a period particularly fraught with difficulties in relation to the traffic in slaves, and that it appears primâ facie, highly probable that this marauding rebel may have been strongly encouraged, and even aided, in his attempts, by distant parties interested in the traffic. Indeed, unless some assistance of this kind had been furnished to him, it is difficult to see how he could so long have found means to maintain himself.

The sultan applied for assistance on several occasions to the government of the Mauritius, of the Cape, and of Bombay. The letter of the young sultan Alloué, after the death of his father, in 1836, addressed to the governor of the Cape of Good Hope, and to the admiral of the station, asking for assistance, was a really pathetic appeal to their good feelings. It detailed the horrors of poor old Abdallah's death, and the violent acts of the invader; it related the defenceless state in which he found himself on taking the reins into his hands; and then appealed to British generosity, in return for the faithful adhesion of his family to Great Britain, and the hospitality of his people towards all British subjects.

The answer on that occasion was prompt, and worthy of the cause – namely, "that in consequence of the difficulties in which the sultan of Johanna was placed, and in consideration of the fidelity with which the late Sultan Abdallah had fulfilled his engagements for the suppression of the slave-trade, and the hospitality which he had on all occasions shewn to British vessels touching at Johanna, the governor and admiral readily yield to the earnest desire of the Sultan Alloué for the aid of arms and ammunition, and send an ample supply thereof to Johanna in one of his majesty's sloops of war," &c.

With this assistance, Alloué was once more able to make head for the time against his enemy. But the country still continued in a very unsettled state; and, as the assistance was only temporary, he again fell into extreme difficulty, and addressed himself to the governor of the Mauritius upon the subject. Sir William Nicolai, who was governor and commander-in-chief of that island at that time, referred the application to the consideration of the home government. But it would seem that some little intrigues had sprung up among the sultan's own family, which it is not very easy, and so far very unimportant, to fathom.

The Sultan Alloué's uncle, Seyd Abbas, had about the same time sent two young men, either his sons or nephews, to the Mauritius, to report the unhappy state of the island, and to request assistance in support of the actual Sultan Alloué. Not long afterwards two or three other young men arrived at the Mauritius, also bearing letters from Seyd Abbas to the same purport. As this man was thought to be well disposed towards the English, and had been favourably spoken of by all those who had visited the island, and as, moreover, his object seemed to be the laudable one of trying to support the young sultan's authority, even though without his highness's acknowledged sanction, it was judged proper to maintain all these young men at the public expense, until an opportunity should offer for sending them back again. After the lapse of some months, a vessel was hired on purpose to carry them back; and it was at the same time distinctly intimated that, "however praiseworthy the intentions of Seyd Abbas may have been in sending his own relations from home as political messengers, and however high he may stand personally in the respect of Englishmen, it would in future be impossible for British authorities to maintain political correspondence with him or with any other person in Johanna than his highness the sultan of the island." The sultan was further recommended henceforth to give Seyd Abbas a share of his confidence in his councils, in consequence of his age and experience, and the apparent sincerity with which he espoused his interest; and, at the same time, the young men were recommended to his notice as very sensible and well-informed persons. The friendly interest and intentions of the government towards the sultan and people of Johanna were then in general terms expressed; and thus, with kind words and kinder hopes for better days for his subjects, the young sultan was left for the present to take care of himself.

It was only a few months before the arrival of the Nemesis that some of the events which have been recorded had occurred. The Sultan Alloué was still in extreme danger; and another letter was addressed by him to the governor of the Mauritius, only about five months previously. It appears to have been remarkably well written, and contains some ingenious observations which, as being written by a young Moorish prince, the ruler of an island in a remote corner of the globe, under circumstances of great difficulty, it may be worth while to dwell upon it for a moment.

He thanks his excellency the governor of the Mauritius for the kindness he had shewn to the young men, whom he admits to be distantly related to him; but shrewdly remarks that their "clandestine departure from Johanna, contrary to his express orders, and during the night, had given him reason to suppose that they were not quite so friendly disposed towards him as they wished his excellency to believe: and that he feared the object of their journey had been a pecuniary speculation upon the governor's goodness and British hospitality." He proceeds to express his thanks for being apprised that persons had entertained political correspondence with English authorities without his knowledge or consent; and adds, that, although he fully concurs in his excellency's opinion with regard to the age and experience of his uncle, Seyd Abbas, still there are many others in Johanna who possess the same qualities, and whose attachment and loyalty he had never had occasion to doubt.

The suspicion here betrayed is self-evident, and sufficiently delicately expressed. The picture he then draws of the state of his country is a pitiable one for a prince himself to be obliged to depict – "The town burnt; the country ravaged; all our cattle killed by the chief, Raymanytek, aided by natives of Mohilla, under his orders." He distinctly intimates that the rebel chief was receiving "assistance from the French;" and, although he does not state reasonable grounds for the assertion, the statement is not altogether an improbable one, considering that the abolition of slavery in the Mauritius had roused the feeling of the French population against us and our allies: and, moreover, slavery was still in existence in the neighbouring island of Bourbon, where strong feelings against the English had been undisguisedly avowed; while, at the same time, the difficulty of procuring fresh slaves had greatly raised their price.

Intrigues were thought to have been carried on by the French traders in Madagascar itself, where they have long attempted to obtain a footing, but with little success, owing to the deadly nature of the climate. It is, however, perfectly well-known that they are still anxious to strain every nerve to establish themselves in some place eastward of the Cape, in addition to the island of Bourbon, where there is no harbour whatever, but merely an open roadstead. They are, moreover, anxious to get some point d'appui whence they may injure British trade, in case of war, in that quarter; and, at the same time, by establishing a little colony of their own, find some means of augmenting their mercantile marine.

One of their latest attempts has been at the Isle Madame; and it is perfectly well known that several other efforts have been made, and still more talked about.

If, however, Raymanytek really did receive any foreign assistance, it is not probable that it was with the knowledge or connivance of the government of Bourbon, but rather from the restless enterprise of private individuals interested in the slave trade. However that may be, there seems to be very good grounds for our hoping that the Sultan Alloué may be permitted to remain in the peaceable possession of his own rightful territories. It is our evident interest to prevent those fine islands from falling into any other hands, more especially now that the intercourse between the West and East, through the Mozambique channel, is likely to be more extensive than formerly; and that the opening for legitimate commerce, within the channel itself, cannot but attract the attention of British merchants. The trade in slaves will become yearly more difficult, and, indeed, nothing would tend more to cause its total downfall than the gradual extension, under proper government protection, of the legitimate trade in British manufactures along that coast.

The young Sultan Alloué further went on to declare in his letter that numbers of his people had been captured and taken to Mozambique and Zanzibar, where they were sold into slavery; and that several such cargoes had already been sent over. He begged earnestly that assistance might speedily be sent to him, in arms and ammunition, and that he particularly stood in need of lead and flints, and a couple of small field-pieces. At the same time, he entreated that some small vessel of war might be sent to his aid; for that such were his difficulties, that, unless speedy assistance should arrive, he feared that he should be driven to abandon the town, and seek personally an asylum in British India. He then appealed to the magnanimity of the British government, in the hope that he and his people might not be compelled to abandon their homes for want of timely assistance.10

Such, then, was the unhappy situation of the beautiful little island of Johanna, as described by its own prince, only a few months before the unexpected visit of the Nemesis. Little change had taken place; the town still held out, but it does not appear that any assistance had been sent to it. The very sight of the steamer gladdened the young sultan's heart, and encouraged the people, who stood greatly in need of it; the rebel chief being then at only a short distance from the town.

Late as it was, the captain and Lieut. Pedder landed in uniform to wait upon the sultan at once, as their time was so limited. One of his uncles and his prime minister received them, and accompanied them through a few narrow streets, built in the Moorish style, to the sultan's palace. At the entrance were stationed four half-clad soldiers, with muskets, as a personal guard; and, on reaching the reception room, the sultan was discovered sitting on a high-backed chair, at the further end of the apartment. He immediately rose and advanced towards them in a very friendly manner, welcoming them to Johanna with a good, hearty shake by the hand. Two chairs were placed on his left, for his guests, while, on his right, sat the governor of the town, and several other of the principal people, all on the tip-toe of expectation for the news from England, the more particularly as they were in some hope that the strange-looking "devil-ship," as they called her, might have brought a letter from the English government, in answer to his application for assistance.

They were doomed, however, to be again disappointed; but the sultan made many inquiries about the Queen and Prince Albert, and whether an heir to the throne had yet been born, and seemed not a little curious to know if the Thames Tunnel was finished. In short, he appeared to be a very well-bred and courteous young man. He alluded painfully to the distressed state of the island, and to his being surrounded by his enemies under Raymanytek, and begged hard for at least a little powder and shot, with which to endeavour to hold out until better assistance could reach him.

As it was already quite late, the interview did not last long, but promises were made to renew it on the subsequent day, and a party was arranged for an excursion outside the town on the following morning. Accordingly, at daylight, the party were again met by the king's uncle on the beach, who appointed three soldiers to act both as guides and guards. These men appeared quite pleased with the duty assigned to them, and throughout the whole trip did everything in their power to amuse the party, and to point out to them the objects best worth notice; one man went in search of shells upon the beach, another to procure fruit, and scarcely a wish was expressed that was not immediately gratified.

Having ascended the hills on the eastern side of the valley, they were gratified by a delightful prospect in every direction. The valley below was rich and capable of high cultivation, but only partially cleared of wood, and in other parts covered with long grass and low shrubs, varied by the numerous wild flowers which were then in blossom. In the rear were high and thickly-wooded mountains, picturesque in themselves, but shutting out the view of the opposite side of the island, while, in the other direction, the eye could trace the long line of picturesque coast, giving altogether a very favourable impression of the character of the island, the more particular as some of the timber is very fine, and calculated for repairing ships.

The town itself could only be viewed from the top of a higher hill behind it, which was now ascended, and its character well made out. Its little white flat-topped houses and turreted walls, with very narrow streets, pointed out its Moorish origin. But there was nothing to render it otherwise striking.

The whole population appeared to be abroad, each struggling which should gratify his curiosity the quickest, in running down to the beach to catch a glimpse of the strange vessel, the like of which none had ever seen before. Boats were seen crowding round her on all sides, and, as she lay there, decked out with all her flags, the scene was both animated and picturesque.

On descending the hill, the party were again met by the sultan's uncle, who invited them to breakfast with his highness, and accompanied them, first to his own house, where they met the sultan himself, and thence to the palace, which was close at hand. But it was still rather an early hour for a reception, and on entering the palace, it was very evident that the preparations had not yet been completed for their arrival. His highness's ladies, the sultana and her companions, had only just time to make their escape, leaving everything in disorder, and, in short, breakfast was not quite ready.

His highness was very condescending, but it was clear that his attentions were being divided between two or more objects at the same time, one of which was readily guessed to be the ladies fair, who had so suddenly decamped. But this was not the only one, and, in the little intervals between his exits and his entrances, an opportunity was taken to ask his uncle, who was present, what it was all about. The mystery was solved. His highness was condescending to superintend the preparation of the breakfast for his guests, that it might be worthy of them. The kitchen was on this occasion converted into the council-chamber, and quite as weighty matters there discussed, and certainly with equal warmth, and probably, too, with the full "ore rotundo" of hungry eloquence, as are often treated of with greater solemnity in higher conclaves.

The result, indeed, was worthy of the cause. The breakfast was pronounced capital, and ample justice done, after the morning's walk, to the wisdom of his highness's deliberations. He himself seemed quite delighted, and his uncle declared to Captain Hall, in his absence, that the young man's greatest pleasure was to contrive some new means of gratifying the English who came in his way, and that there was nothing he would not condescend to do for them, in his enthusiastic admiration of the nation. A little of this might be said and done for effect, but there has always been good reason to believe that he was on all occasions a sincere, and, in some respects, useful ally.

The same day, a grand entertainment was to be given by some relation of the Sultan's, in his uncle's house, in honour of the performance of the first Mohammedan rite upon the young infant, his son and heir, upon the eighth day after its birth. The sultan himself, with his chief minister, accompanied them to see the festivities. On this occasion, the ladies of the court were all found to be in the apartment adjoining the reception room, and only separated from it by a large screen or curtain before the door. Now, according to all the prescribed rules of civilized life, it may reasonably be supposed that the fair damsels, secluded as they usually were, had just as much curiosity to see the lions of the day, the English officers in uniform, as the latter had to catch a glimpse of eastern beauty, the more sought the more forbidden. Every now and then you could see the curtain moved gently on one side, and a young lady's head peep out; and then another would steal a quiet look on the other side; then again, by pressing against each other, more of them would be seen than they intended, but quite enough to make you wish to see more still. In the meantime his highness had retired, or perhaps they might not have been so bold.

As the gallantry of the sons of Neptune has at all times been famous, so in this instance it innocently got the better of their discretion, and, with an apparently accidental, though well-premeditated charge at the curtain, which was most gallantly pushed on one side, a full view of all the fair ladies was obtained, much more to the apparent horror of the old uncle, who was a spectator of the achievement, than to that of the fair damsels themselves, who, nevertheless, quietly retreated in some trepidation. The ladies were all very handsomely and gaudily dressed, it being a gala-day, but they were not altogether the most Venus-like of beauties.

But a more curious scene was brought to view on being conducted to another apartment, where a large and merry party of ladies of less distinguished rank were amusing themselves with dancing and singing, but certainly without much grace in the one or melody in the other. There was only one good-looking female among the whole assembly, and she appeared to be the queen of beauty, or mistress of the feast, for she was treated with the utmost attention and deference by all the rest.

On returning again to the presence of the sultan, refreshments were handed round, and, as the weather was hot, a whole train of the female servants of the house were ushered into the room, each with a fan, or sort of portable punka, in her hand. They were all very neatly and cleanly dressed, and immediately set their fans most dexterously to work, taking their stations behind each person of the party.

In the midst of this scene the sultan disappeared, followed by his uncle, and, after a few minutes' consultation, the attendance of Captain Hall was requested in his highness's private apartment. Something important was evidently about to happen, but, before there was much time to conjecture what it might be, he found himself alone with the sultan. His highness frankly confessed the alarm which the strength of the chief named Raymanytek had excited in his mind, that he was even then not far from the town, and that he himself was determined at once to march out against the rebels, if he could get a sufficient supply of powder and shot. At the same time he begged that, if necessary, he might have the assistance of the steamer to protect his town.

Only one reply could be given, namely, that the visit of the steamer was a mere casual thing, with a view to ascertain the nature of the harbour; that the service she was engaged on would admit of no delay, but that, as long as she was there, which could not be many hours more, she should give protection to himself and his family, as well as to the town, if in danger, and that a small supply of ammunition should be given to him to enable him to defend himself. He appeared quite satisfied, and pleased with the reply. At the same time, as the danger was imminent, and much blood might otherwise be shed, he requested that, since the orders by which the steamer was obliged to abide would necessitate her immediate departure, the British flag might be hoisted upon his citadel before she started, and receive the proper salute, in order to intimidate the rebel chief; and further, that a letter might be written to the latter, stating that the sultan of Johanna was an old ally of Great Britain, and that the taking up arms against him could no longer be permitted; in short, that he had, therefore, better take himself off as quickly as possible, and return to obedience.

This was a request which demanded very serious consideration. It was evident that Captain Hall had no authority whatever to interfere in the matter. And such, consequently would have been the only reply of many officers, perhaps most, under the same circumstances. But, there was now something of humanity called into play, something of pity, and something, perhaps, of pride. It was impossible not to feel a deep interest in the unhappy position of the young sultan, more particularly as he and all his family had on so many occasions behaved with kindness and humanity towards Englishmen in distress. He had, moreover, stated his positive wish to become not only the ally, but even the subject of Great Britain, and that he would rather give up the island altogether to the English, and, if necessary, retire from it elsewhere, than see it in its then state of misery from the incursions of Raymanytek.

There was, in fact, something in Alloué's appeal, which was altogether irresistible; and after much reflection, and well knowing the responsibility incurred, it was agreed that the British flag should be hoisted upon the citadel, under a salute of twenty-one guns. This was accordingly done, and for the first time, the flag, which so many millions look upon with pride, waved over the citadel and walls of Johanna. The sultan smiled, and appeared to take far greater pride in that unstained ensign, than in his own independent flag, or his own precarious authority.

Great were the rejoicings of the whole people of the town; in fact, the day had been one of continued excitement to all parties. To crown the whole, a letter was written to the rebel chief, according to the tenour of what has been stated above, and which, it was hoped, would induce Raymanytek to retire peaceably for the present, and to defer to an opportunity less favourable for himself, if not altogether to forego, his treasonable designs, which had evidently been to depose the sultan, and probably put him to death, and banish all his family, assuming the whole authority himself in his place.

This had been a long and eventful day for the Nemesis, and while we have been relating what was passing on shore, those on board had been busy taking in water and wood for the immediate continuance of the voyage. One thing, however, yet remained; the sultan was to visit the ship, and see what to him were wonders. He came on board in the afternoon, with several attendants, in full Moorish dress, and, of course, evinced the utmost astonishment at the arrangement of the ship, the machinery, &c. To him and his followers all was new. As they steamed round the bay, their wonderment increased more and more at the ease and rapidity with which she moved; and having partaken of a little fruit and bread, and taken a most friendly and, to all appearance, grateful leave of Captain Hall, and all on board, he was landed in the ship's boat, with his own flag flying upon it.