Monday 30 January 2023

A description of John James by an Officer from the HMS Woolwich shipwreck.

 The following is an interesting account of John James and life on Barbuda from an outsider's point of view.

Description of Barbuda, by Capt. Greville, R.N.  

(Southey, vol. iii., pp. 522 — 24.)  

 

The Woolwich, a forty-four with two decks, commanded  

by Capt. T. B. Sulivan, was ordered, in July 1813, to proceed 

to Barbadoes, to take the flag of Sir F. Laforey, when  

upon the night of the 11th of September 1818, she was  

totally wrecked in a furious hurricane, upon the north end  

of the small island of Barbuda; the crew were fortunately  

all taken from the wreck the next morning, and landed upon  

the beach, where they remained for about a week, employed  

in saving the few stores, etc., that were not under water.  

At the end of that time the officers and crew removed to  

the settlement, if it may be so' termed, situated at the other  

end of the island. " The extent of Barbuda may be about  

ten miles long and seven broad. On the north side there is  

an entrance into a large lagoon of six or seven miles in  

length, and from half a mile to a mile in breadth. On the  

southern bank of this lagoon is situated the small settlement, consisting of one

white man and 300 or 400 black slaves. The island is a grant from the Crown to the

family of Codrington; and from the sale of its stock and the  

profits derived from the many lamentable wrecks, is supposed  

to yield to the present owner an income of £7000 per  

annum. The white inhabitant at the time I visited the  

island was a Mr. James, the respectable attorney for Sir  

Christopher Codrington. He had then been resident about  

ten years in the island, and, with the exception of an  

occasional trip to the neighbouring island of Antigua,  

lived entirely secluded from the world. From the very  

superficial view I was then in the habit of taking of any  

place, I am unable to say how many acres were under cultivation, but it strikes me

they must have been few, and  

confined entirely to raising a sufficiency for the maintenance  

of the slaves, and providing food for the stock. Almost the  

whole of the island was covered with wood; and the stock  

that run wild in it was reckoned to amount to, horned cattle,  

3000; sheep, 40,000; horses, 400; deer, perhaps, 100 or  

150. Rides were cut in the woods; and Mr. James, who  

kept a great many wretchedly broke horses in his stable,  

some Porto Rico blood hounds, and two very expert hunts-  

men, was in the constant habit of mounting his horse at day-  

break, and, thus accompanied, repairing to the woods to hunt  

the wild bull, or deer, if such should chance to fall in his way.  

 

This was sport, as you may naturally suppose, sailors had  

no particular objection to; and no first-rate sportsman in  

Leicestershire ever went to meet the hounds, at a favorite  

cover, with more animated spirits than I mounted my rough  

vicious pyeball to accompany Mr. James in his daily  

diversion; and it would have puzzled the best huntsman in  

England to have displayed more judgment, skill, and  

dexterity, in selecting and separating a young but full-grown  

bull from a large herd, than my two black friends did. As  

soon as this was accomplished, the bull generally made, at a  

furious rate, for the thickest parts of the wood, followed by  

myself and motley companions.  

 

The huntsmen carried long ropes before them, and when-  

ever they could get sufficiently near to the bull, they skilfully  

threw them over the animal's horns, and not unfrequently  

seized the creature by the tail, and by a sudden peculiar  

jerk, succeeded in turning the bull over .... At other  

times it was the practice of Mr. James to drive, by means of  

a long line of slaves, and every tenth man a gong, which he  

kept sounding, a vast number of sheep, into an arm of the  

sea. They were then enclosed in this living palisade, and the  

rams caught. The cattle, when wanted for exportation or  

consumption, are caught as above described, and lashed to  

the horns of tame oxen, who never fail, sooner or later, to  

conduct them to head-quarters without any assistance.  

 

The settlement consisted of a large barn-like looking  

house, belonging to Mr. James, stables, artificers' shops of  

every kind, Negro huts, and an old dilapidated castle, said to  

have been built by the Buccaniers, who, it seems, made this  

island one of their places of abode. This piece of antiquity  

had nothing particular to recommend it to notice. Two  

very small schooners or boats belonged to the island, and  

traded to and from St John's, Antigua. Guinea birds were  

found wild in the greatest profusion, also wild ducks; and  

on the beach were nightly turned many turtles.  


Sunday 29 January 2023

Map of Clare Hall Estate

 Plan of Clare Hall Estate from The History of the Island of Antigua, One of the Leeward Caribbees in the West Indies, from the First Settlement in 1635 to the Present Time Vol2 (1896) p308 - Vere Langford Oliver

Date of map unknown.