Even in the dreadful destruction of the
“ Boyd,” George laid the blame entirely on
the English, and spoke with great bitterness
of the ill-treatment of Philip, the native chief,
who came as passenger in the ship. He described,
and mimicked his cleaning shoes and
knives ; his being flogged when he refused to
do this degrading work; and, finally, his
speech to his countrymen when he came on
shore, soliciting their assistance in capturing
the vessel, and revenging his ill treatment.
Over and over again our friend George,
having worked up his passion by a full recollection
of the subject, went through the whole
tragedy. The scene thus pourtrayed was interesting
although horrible. No actor, trained
"in the strictest rules of his art, could compete
with George’s vehemence of action. The
flexibility of his features enabled him to vary
the expression of each passion; and he represented
hatred, anger, horror, and the imploring
of mercy so ably, that, in short, one
would have imagined he had spent his whole
life in practising the art of imitation.
I frequently conversed with George upon
the subject of religion, and from what he told
me I found that the natives had not formed
the slightest idea of there being a state of
future punishment. They refuse to believe
that the good Spirit intends to make them
miserable after their decease. They imagine
all the actions of this life are punished here,
and that every one when dead, good or bad,
bondsman or free, is assembled on an island
situated near the North Cape, where both the
necessaries and comforts of life will be found
in the greatest abundance, and all will enjoy
a state of uninterrupted happiness. A people
of their simple habits, and possessing so little
property, have but few temptations to excesses
of any kind, excepting the cruelties
practised by them in war, in which they
fancy themselves perfectly justified, and the
tyranny exercised by them over their slaves,
whom they look upon as mere machines.
There is in fact but little crime among them,
for which reason they cannot imagine any
man wicked enough to deserve eternal punishment.
This opinion of theirs we saw an