220 



TRINIDAD: THEN AND NOW. 



stead of the slaves found on board being landed in 

 their native country — Guinea — Daaga with the others 

 were brought to Trinidad and enlisted as soldiers. 

 This untutored savage was unable to draw the nice 

 distinction between being a slave and being a com- 

 pulsory soldier ; he knew that he had to perform 

 work against his inclination and resented it. The 

 consequence was that he consulted with his country- 

 men, whom he could influence, and a great many of 

 the other African tribes in the same regiment, to join 

 in the mutiny, promising them that he would lead 

 them back to their own country. This account was 

 afterwards fully corroborated by many of the muti- 

 neers especially those who were afterwards shot with 



Daaga." 



i ' Before this event a quantity of Africans hav- 

 ing been brought hither from the Islands of Grenada 

 and Dominica, were most imprudently induced to en- 

 list as recruits in the 1st West India Regiment. True 

 it is we have been told that they did this voluntarily, 

 but it may be asked if they had any will in the 

 matter ? How could they understand the duties to 

 I)e imposed on them by becoming soldiers, or how 

 comprehend the nature of an oath of allegiance, with- 

 out which they could not legally speaking be con- 

 sidered soldiers ? I attended the whole of the trials 

 of these men and well knew how difficult it was to 

 make them understand any idea which was new to 

 them, by the means of the best interpreter procur- 

 able." 



