Stirring Incidents In The Life of a British Soldier

The product which has made the name of Madeira famous and familiar is its wine, now produced in great quantities; this and the cultivation of the sugar-cane form its principal trade. At twelve o'clock we passed the Desertas, a group of barren rocks. These rocks appear to be only frequented by fishermen. One of these isles is a high pyramidical rock which at a distance very much resemble a sail.

March 23rd. At daylight the brilliant light on Cape Teneriffe was descried ahead. We ran in for the land, and the high precipitous rocks, all bleak and bare, here and there broken by deep and rugged clefts, rose in bold outline before us. Somewhat later, as the clouds cleared away, the celebrated Peak was in sight, a grand and solitary object towering to the clouds in seeming desolation; for, although there is a certain amount of fertility on its sides, it was not apparent as we approached it. By eight o'clock we ran into the wharf at Santa Cruz, and, after a visit from the health officer, all were free for a run on shore while the ship was coaling. There is little at Santa Cruz itself to interest the stranger. The houses are poor structures, the streets are narrow, but they are kept very clean; there are no public buildings with any pretensions to taste or elegance. Nevertheless, one is repaid for a stroll in the country, where the scenery is remarkably wild and impressive – deep ravines, from which bold rocks, rise abruptly, void of every trace of vegetation except a few cacti and other hardy plants.

There is a sort of wondrous grandeur in this volcanic scenery – in the scorched craters of these enormous rocks, ribbed at the sides, no traces of life, no appearance of vegetation – all is arid, dry, and parched, while away to the southward can just be discerned a fine picture of woodland scenery, arresting the eye at once by its great contrast, and, as it were, compelling one to admire the extreme beauty afforded by the charming landscape. Here and there were noticed inclosures of cacti, used in rearing the cochineal, which with the castor-oil plant, appears to be largely cultivated for exportation. I and two sergeants, with our wives, entered a saloon to take refreshments, as well as to learn the custom and habits of the people. During the time we were enjoying the lunch, we heard the landlady say to her husband in Spanish, "charge them English well, they have plenty of money," fortunately one of the sergeant's wives, being a Spaniard, understood what was said, when they had a most amusing row in the Spanish language, the landlady coming off second best; she did not get as much out of us as she had anticipated. Santa Cruz boasts of a very ancient and time-worn cathedral, which we visited. It was here that Nelson (1797) undertook an expedition against Teneriffe, which although unsuccessful and disastrous, displayed great heroism and bravery. The two flags captured on this occasion are retained in this old cathedral, and the inhabitants still bear in mind the attack and repulse. Here the immortal Nelson lost his arm, and it was the only affair in which he was unsuccessful.

Toward evening we left the harbour of Santa Cruz, the bright moon-light affording us a capital view of the Peak, which frowned upon us in all its grandeur, its head hoary with many a winters snow. A fine favouring breeze was with us all night; at dawn of the following morning the island of Teneriffe was looming far behind us on the distant horizon. From the present may be said to commence our dreary, monotonous, long voyage, from the pillars of Hercules in the east across the broad Atlantic to the West Indies. Life on board ship and the varied incidents at sea, all tend to rouse feelings and sensations which are reserved alone for those whose business is on the great waters. To the officers and soldiers – as well as the ladies, the routine on board ship, especially of this splendid transport, was entirely different from that they had hitherto enjoyed on shore. Fortunately the varied scenes were under most favourable circumstances as regards the weather. At first the usages of naval, every-day life seemed particularly vexatious, and annoying, when so many human beings were packed so closely into such a small space; but after a few days, when sea-sickness had been got over, one and all perceived, to a certain extent, the necessity of order, cleanliness, and good discipline. Scrubbing, washing and holystoning the decks, cleaning brass and wood work, the troops parading, watches assembling, sailors mustering at quarters and divisions, are all measures which tend to enforce the discipline so essential to good government. Existence in the limited space of a ship, with so many troops on board, for weeks completely isolated from the outer world, is so peculiar and interesting to those unacquainted with the sea, that I may be permitted to make a few remarks as to our daily routine. From the hour of four o'clock in the morning, as soon as the watch has been mustered, bustle and activity begin, lasting throughout the day, and even to the hour when the night reminds one of sleep; pumps are manned, water is splashed over the decks in all directions, yet it is absolutely essential to the preservation of the health and comfort of the troops and those on board. By six o'clock the washing is nearly finished, when all the hammocks are piped up and stowed. It is now time for breakfast, consisting of cocoa and biscuit. The men then prepare and dress for parade at ten o'clock, which lasts for about an hour. At noon the dinner bugle sounds, and although consisting as it invariably does, of either salt junk or plum duff, or salt pork and pea-soup, there are few men healthier than soldiers while on board ship. Grog time comes next (when half a gill of rum, lime juice, with two pints of water are supplied to each man), and with the hour of smoking, constitutes a pleasant break in the day. During the afternoon the band plays on the quarter deck, and the men sit around in groups, singing, dancing, and all sorts of amusing games, until four o'clock, when the sailors assemble at their stations with rifle, cutlass, and pistol for inspection by their divisional officers. The inspection over, the sailors resume their work to make or furl sail, according to the wind. Supper is now prepared, consisting of tea and biscuit, after which, at eight o'clock, smoking is permitted, but not between decks, hammocks having been piped down at 7.30.

The orderly officers always go the rounds of the decks, to ascertain that all is correct, when those off watch are expected to turn into their hammocks; and so ends the day and its duties. This was the routine every day during the whole voyage.

At six o'clock p.m., the officers, both naval and military, usually dine together, when the incidents of the day, and the progress of the ship, and other matters which are sure to turn up, form a lively conversational hour, during which time the band plays. After dinner the assembly of smokers usually muster on deck where all sorts of yarns and topics engross the attention until bed-time. Sunday alone seems to break the monotony and routine of every day life at sea; when after divine service at ten o'clock, the remainder of the day is usually spent in reading or sleeping.

On the morning of March 31st, we sighted Cape de Verde Islands, and by two in the afternoon we took in coal at Port Grand, St. Vincent; here we had a good view of African negroes, who coaled our ship with baskets which they carried on their heads. They were very tall and powerfully built men, with no clothing except a little round their loins. What a contrast in the scenery between this place and Madeira! Here are barren rocks, and not the faintest indication of vegetation to be seen in any direction, although its formation is somewhat similar.

The town, if it can be so named, consists of a few straggling houses and the stores of the coal contractors, situated along the shore, while stretching away behind are several high, rough and jagged peaks and mountains, affording a fine background for the barren and uninteresting coast scenery.

Next day, at eight o'clock, we reached Santiago, another island of the same group; here we stayed for two or three hours. The houses, with a few exceptions, were poor specimens of habitations, nearly all built of stone, and one story high. The interiors present only a few articles of absolute necessity; of home comfort or cleanliness, in our sense of the word, they seem to have no idea.

The population appear to be made up of an intermixture of Portuguese settlers and negroes, who cultivate little patches of land in the valleys where are produced a few tropical fruits.

During the voyage our drum-major and a private fell down the hatch-way; the soldier was killed and the drum-major severely injured, so much so that it laid him up for ever afterwards.

After parade next morning the bell tolled, and the regiment were present to pay their last tribute to their comrade. The ship's captain read the beautiful and appropriate service for a burial at sea, and on reaching that portion, "we commit his body to the deep," it was slid out of the port, wrapped in a hammock, with a round shot at its feet, into the bright, blue, deep sea, to be seen no more until that day when the sea shall give up its dead.

On the 12th we cast anchor in the harbour of Trinidad, where two companies were landed on detachment. The town has no pretensions to size or elegance, it is, however, most picturesquely situated along the shore of the island, backed up by a curiously shaped hill with a large pitch lake on its summit. This is a very important port of the West Indies, particularly for the mail service, some eight or ten different lines reaching here monthly.

At four o'clock in the evening we left the anchorage under sail and steam, with a fresh evening breeze, running along at twelve knots an hour. On the 18th April, 1864, at 7 o'clock, a.m., the island of Jamaica was in sight. At nine o'clock we took a pilot on board to navigate the vessel through the intricate and dangerous narrows between the reefs. As the ship approached and rounded Port Royal, we cast anchor in Kingston harbour at eleven a.m. As we lay at anchor, the sight was indeed beautiful, the city with its white houses peeping out from amongst the dark green foliage; with Newcastle looming up in the distance with its white wooden barracks, on the side of St. Catharine's peak, with its lofty summit towering towards the heavens, the mountain covered with forests of mahogany, cedar, yellow sander and coffee plantations, and the valley covered with large green plantations of sugar-cane. Nature was indeed looking charming; the view in every direction was exquisite, – look where we would there were nature's beauties before us. The entrance to the harbour at the end of Port Royal, broken into little islands, where tradition says a town was submerged by an earthquake, the sparkling sea running here and there into creeks, bays and inlets, together with the evergreen foliage of tropical trees and flowers, made up a very attractive landscape, which gave us a most favourable impression of Jamaica. Directly in front of us are the landing-place and jetties, where several vessels are flying the flag of Old England.

At four o'clock in the afternoon we disembarked and formed on the quay, where we were surrounded by a conglomeration of the inhabitants of all shades of colour. After detailing two companies for detachment, one at Port Royal and the other at Uppark Camp, we marched off to Newcastle, a distance of 18 miles, seven of which were up a steep, mountain, zigzag foot-path. The weather being so hot we did not attempt to march during the heat of the day. The word being given, we marched off with the band playing, followed through the streets by a motley crowd of negroes, mulattoes, and creoles, raising a cloud of sand and dust as we advanced. After a very fatiguing march of ten miles we halted at a place called the gardens, where we piled arms and rested for two hours, resuming our journey at one o'clock in the morning, up a mountain road which tried many of our best marchers, arriving at Newcastle barrack at sun-rise, very much fatigued after the march during the close, warm night. But as we marched up the mountain the wild scenery surpassed anything that I have yet seen, and compensated somewhat for the fatiguing march; – the mountain side clothed with the loveliest tropical fruits, hanging over our heads as we stooped under them by the way, bananas, mangoes, tamarinds, pine-apples, pomegranates, bread-fruits, oranges, lemons, coffee and sugar-cane; while the air was perfumed with the aroma of the sweet smelling rose-trees, oleanders, fuchsias, myrtles, ferns, and odoriferous magnolias, with the deep gullies at our feet where the sparkling waters jump and foam as they rush in torrents down the steep rocks, towards their ocean home.

One must travel a long way indeed before he meets with prettier scenery or a place that will surpass in fragrance and loveliness the floral beauty and picturesque landscapes of this island.

CHAPTER XXVIII

JAMAICA – THE EXHIBITION – MARKET – REBELLION – THE COMMISSION – COL. HOBBS – THE VOYAGE – ROUTE – VOYAGE – QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY – EDINBURGH – CARLTON HILL – TOLBOOTH – QUEEN MARY'S ROOM – DUNOON – DISCHARGED – DALKEITH – GLASGOW – EMBARK FOR CANADA – THE VOYAGE – ARRIVAL – MONTREAL – KINGSTON – PICTON – THE DUNKIN BILL – THE MARQUIS OF LORNE.

The barracks or camp were situated on a high ridge of St. Catharine's mountain, called Newcastle, famous for its exhilarating, pure air, with immensely deep gullies on each side; each wooden hut built on terraces, one above the other, consists of one room. The officers' quarters were neat little isolated cottages, surrounded with lovely flowers, trees, and shrubs. The parade ground was a large terrace which had been excavated and levelled with a nice mound round its lower edge, forming a promenade as well as a drill ground. We had one large wooden building where divine service was held by all denominations in their turn; it also served as a schoolhouse and lecture hall. The married sergeants' quarters were distributed on each side of the ridge, in separate little cottages, with flower gardens to each. The means by which the troops were supplied with water was a novel and most clever proof of our engineer's skill. From the upper end or source of the gully stream, which was many feet above the barracks, the water was conducted along the brow of the ridge by means of a large trough of bamboos resting on trestles, passing into a large reservoir situated a little above the barracks, from which pipes conducted the water to the respective quarters and rooms. Before this improvement, the water had to be carried from the bottom of the gulley in large leather bags by donkeys, and was doled out to the troops daily. Above the barracks on a flat side of the mountain, Col. Hobbs apportioned a garden for each company, which we reclaimed and cultivated, raising almost all sorts of vegetables, viz: yams, cocoas, sweet potatoes, cauliflowers, cabbages, potatoes, celery, lettuces, &c., besides pineapples and strawberries, with a variety of lovely flowers.

Many of the officers and most of the colour sergeants kept horses. Being the wine and mess sergeant to the officers, I had the privilege of keeping four horses, which I frequently hired out to the officers. These horses enabled us to travel through the mountainous country for many miles.

On Christmas eve of 1864, one of our much respected comrades, Qr. – M. Sergeant Thomas Bellinton, died of heart disease, much regretted by the battalion, leaving a wife and three small children to mourn his untimely end.

In the beginning of 1865, Colonel Elkington was appointed Deputy Adjutant-General at Kingston. During the summer we had an exhibition in the hall, of fancy, useful, and ornamental articles, manufactured by the soldiers of the battalion; and the number of articles, as well as the skill manifested in their manufacture, was very much admired by the visitors from the City of Kingston and the surrounding country. Among some of the distinguished visitors present, whose names the author entered in his note book, were, Governor Eyre and lady, General O'Connor and lady, Deputy Adjutant-General Lieutenant-Colonel Elkington and lady, and others. Some of the articles on exhibition were wonderfully good, and sold at a high price. A Lancashire weaver made a miniature loom out of the bones which he saved from time to time, and wove a miniature web of fine texture on it to the amusement of those present. This was bought for fifteen pounds. William Sugden, a carpenter, made a model of the cantonment of Newcastle, which was sold to Rev. Mr. Fife for fifteen pounds. Henry Foreman, made a model battery from bone – sold for ten pounds; Corporal Gilchrist, a bed quilt, sold for nine pounds. Other articles, such as fancy work-boxes, shirt buttons, and several articles of furniture and wearing apparel, too numerous to mention, were exhibited and sold. In June, 1865, Sergeant James Rance, Officers' Mess Sergeant, died of heart disease, leaving a wife and four children to mourn his loss. I, being the senior Colour-Sergeant in the Battalion, was chosen and appointed to the vacancy caused by his death. Sergeant-Major Robert Hyde was promoted to Quarter-Master, and Colour-Sergeant Neale appointed Sergeant-Major in his place.

We had a market every Wednesday and Saturday round the canteen, when the negroes from the country brought in all sorts of produce, some on donkeys, but most on their heads. A line of black women might be seen on those days, very early in the morning, coming to market along the narrow mountain path, with baskets of yams, cocoas, plantains, bananas, pine-apples, mangoes, oranges, lemons, bread-fruit and pomegranates, besides provisions in abundance. These people come miles with their loads, and barefooted, their clothes tucked up to their knees by a handkerchief tied round a little below the hips, securing them in graceful folds, with a light, gay handkerchief on their heads. They wear light, showy garments, and are very fond of any common jewellery, which they wear in their ears and on their fingers.

We were enjoying every comfort in this delightful station, when we were aroused by a report that the negroes had broken out in open rebellion at Morant Bay. It appeared, from what we could learn afterwards, that a local preacher, named George W. Gordon, had been for some time urging the black population of Saint-Thomas-in-the-east to rise in rebellion against the Government, telling them there were back lands which they could get, and urging them to pay him money for the purpose of agitation. This, it is said, was the doctrine he preached in his chapel. And a few compatriots of his named Paul Bogle, William Bogle, William Burie, James Burie, and others, were engaged in swearing in, drilling, and organizing forces in order to attack the white population, when at dinner on Christmas night, kill them, and take their wives. But an accident occurred which fortunately, nay, providentially, brought this base conspiracy to light.

On the 7th October, 1865, which was Saturday, and market day at Morant Bay, a Court of Petty Sessions was held in that town. A man who had been convicted by the court for some crime, afterwards interrupted the proceedings of the court, and when the police endeavoured to arrest him, he was rescued from their hands by the mob. For this act, warrants were issued against two ringleaders named Bogle, and several others.

On Tuesday, the 10th, six or eight policemen and some constables proceeded to Stony Gut to execute the warrants; they found Paul Bogle, who, after the warrant for his apprehension had been read to him, told them that he would not go with them. When they proceeded to arrest him, he cried "Help here!" and immediately a body of men, from four to six hundred in number, rushed out from Bogle's chapel and attacked the police; these men were armed with muskets, pistols, cutlasses, pikes, sticks and stones. The police were overpowered and severely wounded by the mob. In the meantime information of this rising was at once sent to the custos, Baron Yon Ketelhodt, who applied to the governor for military aid.

On the 11th, a meeting was held at Morant Bay, at twelve o'clock, and proceeded with its business till about four, when it was disturbed by the noise of a large crowd approaching, a few volunteers were drawn up outside the Court House; the crowd advanced; the Riot Act was read by a magistrate, when stones were thrown at the volunteers, who fired at the mob and retired into the Court House, when the infuriated rebels surrounded the Court House and set fire to it. The inmates were then compelled to leave the building, and endeavoured to conceal themselves; some fled with their families into the woods, but others were dragged from their houses and hiding places and beaten to death; some left for dead on the ground. Women and children fled for their lives into the woods, and there remained for days and nights without food or shelter, while their husbands were left murdered. The mob gained strength daily, murdering every white man they came across. They attacked houses and villages, and numbers of white inhabitants were killed and brutally treated. At Farrington they halted and organized in military order, prepared to resist the authorities, and any force that might be brought against them. On the 21st October, the Maroons marched out to meet them, when a sharp skirmish ensued; eventually the Maroons got the best of it, when the rebels flew. The letter of Baron Von Ketelhodt, written on the 10th October, requesting military aid was taken by the authorities into immediate consideration, and within twenty-four hours' of its receipt the 2nd Battalion 6th Regiment was on the march to Morant Bay, where troops were also landed from Spanish Town, and martial law was proclaimed in the affected district. After the troops had arrived, they took many of the rebels and had them tried and executed or flogged, according to the nature and degree of the offence. George Wm. Gordon was arrested on the 17th and placed on board H.M.S. "Wolverine," and conveyed to Morant Bay, where he was tried by a court martial on the 20th, and on the 21st found guilty and executed on the charge of high treason against Her Majesty Queen Victoria. Paul Bogle was apprehended on the 23rd, and on the 24th was conveyed a prisoner to Morant Bay, where he was tried and executed with other leaders. Had it not been for the prompt and stringent measures resorted to by Governor Eyre in crushing this rebellion, before it had assumed its intended magnitude, no one can tell how much more innocent blood of Her Majesty's subjects would have been spilled by the semi-savage rebels, urged on by the preacher. As it was, they murdered Baron Von Ketelhodt and other justices of the peace, altogether they killed and wounded fifty-six white people. These details disclosed the worst features of the negro character, but when white men urge them on they are guilty of the greatest sin. The merciless beating to death, the mutilation of the living and the dead, the delight in blood and murder, tell how the spirit of the savage still lurks in the hearts of many of the black population of Jamaica. The promptness and decision with which Governor Eyre quelled this rebellion, deserved the approbation and consideration of the Government. Instead of which, however, he was censured by partisans. The social circle in England were divided, and controversy began to rage on the question. In order to satisfy the public, and settle the question, the Crown issued a commission of inquiry.

On the 30th December the commission issued to Sir Henry Storks, William R. Gurney, Q.C., and Mr. J. B. Maul, requiring them to make full inquiry into the "origin, nature, and circumstances of the disturbances, and respecting the means adopted in the course of the suppression of the same, and respecting the conduct of those concerned in such disturbances or suppression." The gentlemen selected were a sufficient guarantee to the public that the inquiry would be what it was wished it should be, – full, searching, and impartial.

The Commission was opened at Kingston, Jamaica, on January 23rd, 1866, and closed its prolonged sittings on March 25th. The Commissioners have discharged their duties with extraordinary industry, and with the ability and impartiality which were to be expected of them. They arrived at the conclusion that there was on the part of the leaders of the rioters a preconcerted plan, and that murder was "distinctly contemplated." They nevertheless find that there was no general conspiracy against the Government, and the inference is, that the riot, though of considerable magnitude and danger, was not the result of any very long standing organization, and that it was foolish, barbarous, and wicked in its origin, although of a local character.