c h a p , others with congratulations on our fuccefs againft th e re -
hels; arrtongft the reft appeared the celebrated
Quacy, who came to fbew nje flis fipe coat, gold ‘medal*
&c. which he had received' as a prefeiit from the Prince
o f Orange, ip Holland. This man, being one of tbe moftr
extraordinary charaéters of all the negroes in Surinam,
,or perhaps in the world, T cannot procéèd withoptVtvihg
fome account of him*; the more To, as hehVs^made^is
appearance Once . or twice already in the pouffe of this
hiftory.'-—-This African (for he was horn on’the feoaft o f
Guinea) by his infinuating temper and induftryf^Qtpnljr
obtained his freedom from a ftate o f flavéfy[ but by hl&
wonderful ingenuity and artful conduct found the means
o f procuring a very competent fiubfiftehc^i'*'*
Having got the name o f a locjkoman, or jforcerer^ among
the lower Haves, ho crime o f any confequènèe was committed,
efpecially at the plantations, but Gfamm 'an $U0(y,
which fignifies Great-man Quacy, was inftantly fent for
to difcover the perpetrators, which he fo very feldoms
miffed, owing, in to their faith, in his &rceries*
added to his penetrating look * and authority among them,
that he has often prevented farther paHchief to their
matters^ and, for tHefe fervfces, occafionally received
very capital rewards. The corps of rangers, and all
fighting free negroes, are under his influence i to whom
he fells his obias or amulets, in order to make them in»*
* See in Chapter X X V . die manner In which I myfelf dilcoverccf a thief.
m vulnerable,
vulnerable, and, of courfe, to engage without fear: by c h a p .
which deceit he has moft certainly done much good to . XXUL ,
the- colony, add at the fame time-filled his pockets with
»© ineonflderable profit to; himfelf; while his: perfon by
the hlacks?is?ad0rëd and refpefied like a- God. The trafti
®f ;'whfch; his amulets ane made coftshim in reality nothing;,
being neither more- nor lefs than a collection o f
fmall pebbles, fea-fhells, cut hair, fifti-bones, feathers,
§00: thewhole few#d upyogether in fmall packets, which
t e tM w i t h a firing o f cotton round the neck, or fome
other part o f the bodies of his credulous votaries.
But befides thefe, and many ether artful contrivanc-es,
he liad the good föFöiiiö, 'm sfgb, to find5 Out the valuable
root kno\V“n by* the name- o f QuabiS bitter, o f whieh he
WasT a&ually the firff cflfeover(ny and from which it took
its- name i | and, notwithftanding this medicine is now
left in> repute mi Èögknd than formerly, i t is highly
efteemed in- many- other parts of'the world for its efficacy
in* ffréngtheömg >the ftomadh and reftoring the appetite.-
It lias* - befidfés tMsr valuablè property, that o f being a
powerfrib febrifuge, and may be fuceeüfully ufed when
the bark is .napfeated, as is frequently the cafe.
In 1761, it was made known to Linndus by Mr.
dlAbiberg,.formerly mentioned-; and the Swedifh natura-
lifti has fince: written- a treatife- upon it. By this drug
alone Quacy. might have amaflèd riches, were,he not
entirely abandoned to indolence and diflipation; the con-
feqüence o f which is, a complication of loathfome dif-
Y y a tempers,