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.
