against the stream, and he would'give them a dance when they
arrived at Bluebergh. The rowing against tide or stream never made
any difference when Capt; Stedman was at Surinan; but of late the1
planters, from motives of humanity, have discontinued this practice,
and we should not have required it, but- have been provided with
a letter to enable us to procure a habitation for the night, had it
occurred to Mr. S, that the tides would fail us here. Our negroes
gave no answer, but their eye-brows were knit ;, their foreheads
became very much wrinkled ; and they looked at each other with
very expressive countenances. Mr. S. was engaged in conversation
with a director who was accompanying us, but I could not help observing
the negroes, in whose humour a great alteration hadevidently
taken place. After rowing about ten minutes in the most profound
silence, they began a song, which was not in the Surinam negro-
language, but in their own native African tongue, which of course
was understood by none in the barge but themselves. The tUnO'
was harsh and the words short, as if they were oppressed by the. lips.
I looked attentively towards them, with a-view Of readid^dh itheir
countenances the meaning of the song, not without some feelings iff:
apprehension, as evening was fast approaching, and we were in a
part of the country where the dwelling houses of the plantations
were very thinly scattered, and the banks of the river were covered
with forests, which, though appropriated to various plantations, still
remained in all their native wildness ; added to which, we were at
no great distance from the habitations of the bush-negroes, a circumstance
which appeared peculiarly important to me. at the moment,
when I recollected the dreadful scenes that had taken place”
when these negroes first rose upon their masters. But *their song
was soon finished, and we shortly after arrived at Bluebergh, where
Mr. S. kept his word with them, and gave them a dance; and they
became perfectly bappy. Since my return to Paramaribo, I have
been assured that the negroes here have obtained, at several times,
Of the various sorts of timber produced in the forests of Surinam,
you are already informed by Dr. Fermair; but during my
stay here, I am making a collection of specimens of the different
kinds, which I hope to have the pleasure of presenting to you, on
my return to Europe.
April 25.—We proceeded to Victoria, where an officer is stationed
with a picket of black soldiers to guard the frontiers of this
part of the cultivated land against the bush negroes. At Victoria
there is a new director, who being but very little? acquainted with
the place, could give us no information.
. The next morning we rowed up the river Surinam to the Sara
creek, and visited 1’Hermitage, a small woody plantation, the director
of which is a commissary of the government, residing with
the bush negroes, who are at present ifl amity with the people of
the colony. As we were going.to one of their villages, we fired some
guns by way of announcing our approach, as we were informed that
these negroes do not like to be visited by strangers without being
previously advertised in this 'manner of their coming.' At our
entrance into the place, we found several of their chiefs in a high
dispute among themselves; one in particular, who had on a red
worsted cap, and an old rusty sabre in his hand, seemed to be in a
very great passion; but when we advanced nearer, their contention
ceased, and we were well received by them. To conciliate their
good esteem we bought several articles of them, as carved cala-
basses, trinkets, &c. These negroesYare without any dress, like the
common slaves, though they have both shirts and browsers, which
are only worn by them when they make a journey to Paramaribo.
Their huts have a very poor appearance* consisting of a few poles
driven into the gFound, and united by palisades cut from a
dwarf palm, which is called here the palisade tr e e ; the roof being
covered with the leaves of the Indian corn. In the middle of
the village was a larger nut, which-was entirely shut up, and the
M