APPENDIX.] THE MAROONS. 363 



have no knowJedge of the rules and restraints to which 

 all other classes of the inhabitants were subject; and 

 the vigilance of justice (notwithstanding what has re- 

 cently happened) seldom pursued them, even for of- 

 fences of the most attrocious nature, 



In truth, it always seemed to me, that the whites 

 in general entertained an opinion of the usefulness of 

 the Maroons, which no part of their conduct, at any 

 one period, confirmed. Possibly their personal ap- 

 pearance contributed, in some degree, to preserve 

 the delusion ; for, savage as they were in manners 

 and disposition, their mode of living, and daily pur- 

 suits, undoubtedly strengthened the frame, and served 

 to exalt them to great bodily perfection. Such fine 

 persons are seldom beheld among any other class of 

 African or native blacks. Their demeanour is lofty, 

 their walk firm, and their persons erect. Every motion 

 displays a combination of strength and agility. The 

 muscles (neither hidden nor depressed by cloathing) 

 are very prominent and strongly marked. Their sight 

 withal is wonderfully acute, and their hearing remark- 

 ably quick. These characteristics, however, are com- 

 mon, I believe, to all savage nations, in warm and 

 temperate climates; and, like other savages, the Ma- 

 roons have only those senses perfect, which are kept 

 in constant exercise. Their smell is obscure, and their 

 taste so depraved, that I have seen them drink new 

 rum fresh from the still, in preference to wine which 

 I offered them; and I remember, at a great k>.,tiv:il 

 in one of their towns, which 1 attended, that their 

 highest luxury, in p-ii::t of food, was some rotten 

 beef, which had been original I v salted in Ireland, and 



