L E T T E R M S
Departure from liarbadoes.—A Chase.—Arrival at the Coast of
Guiana.—The River JSurinam.-^Description o f the Town of Paramaribo.
M y D ear. Sir, Surinam,Pammaribo, May 2.
T he 9th nit. we left Barbadoes on a beautiful day, and with a fair
wind; the principal passengers were Mr. I. G. and two officers.
We sailed several days in a smooth and pleasant sea, when towards
the evening a strange sail hove in sight, which, by the help of the
glass, appeared to be an armed schooner, and the captain suspected
it was a privateer; he therefore altered his course as soon
it grew d ark ; but how great was his surprize, when the next
morning as soon as daylight appeared, be found this vessel had
followed us The captain supposed that they must have on
board of'the schooner superior glasses^ and it being star light*,
they Were enabled by them to discover bar manoeuvres. This
armed schooner shewed English colours ; but this proved nothing
of what nation she might b e ; for though in war by land
no .civilized nation allows itself the privilege of making use
o f the enemy’s colours for deception, it is not so at sea; but what
propriety there can be in acting here so differently might be difficult
to explain.
As this armed schooner had so much the appearance of a privateer,
all the letters were packed together, and a weight added to
sink them if we were taken. One of the officers took from his
pocket a portrait of a handsome lady, gave it a stern look, and then
requested me, as being of a neutral nation, to take charge of it, as
he did not know what might happemjbo himself it our vessel- should
be -captured. . As our brig was a remarkable fast sailer the chase
lasted.several hours, during which, timo we suffered the most unpleasant
uncertainty; however,.,I had, nothing to reproach .myself
with, as I had made particular ..enquiry while .at Barbadoes,
whether there was any expectation^of a; neutral ship .going (;to Surinam,
but there was not the least hope of it; -andtherefore I was,
obliged to fosk a, second time the chance of being taken,;, but fortunately
the armed ^schooner, when -she a p p ro ^ ^ ^ h e a re r.:tq , us,
-seemed to recogdi.ze our vessel, and discontinued her pursuit,' which
made us believe, that she , was an English. cruiser. fon this .station.
You may. think how happy we were when gg| found , that ifoe
altered her course.
Oh the 21st- of April we arrived in-sight of the, coast- of Surinam,
and as there was no other, vessel in sight, gg^ouldj,enjoy, the
pleasure öf our approachiog, arrival, without its being, mixed with
the least apprehension.. ?
1 The-weather was very serene and refreshed, by the eastern breeze,
but-the;sails?fflfod so mqderatelyi that wei.glidedHalmos,t.impercep-
tibly afongithdiCbast of the fine river of Surinam, and gaye us foil
time:to view the handsome j.country housesintermixed with a
great:number of fine growing trees',, amongst which, thé different
species of the palm are particularly. plea§jng to^fife ©ye. *
* About eleyeq miles from the entrance of the rivfer we passed Eort
Leiden, which, lies at, the entrance, , of -the Commewyne into the
rivet Surinam on-foe opposite s i ^ o f the Commewyne, is( Tort
Amsterdam ; and opposite, on the wesfshore of the foyer Surinam,,
are the batteries^ of Red Pamerend, alb which ,arè extremely well
placed for the defence^of the, colony,, fnd some o f the passengers
said - they were of ?considerable strength. After advancing about,
seven miles more up the river,; we came tQr Port, Zelandia, to
which the town of Paramaribo is adjacent. This town has a very.