Durand Journal

Yesterday at noon we were about 3 l. from land and we skirted it at this distance steering to the ESE.

(Detail of page 31 of "Journal de bord d'un négrier : Guinée / Lieutenant Durand, 1731." Image courtesy of Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. [Call Number GEN MSS VOL 7])

We ran this course until 3 o’c. in the afternoon without really recognizing any landmarks but at this hr. having sighted three small little mountains on Cape Apolonia, I sketched this place as shown above, with the cape to the E and the headland to the W or NW.

It is a lowland, covered with trees and nearly double, everywhere edged with sand on the seaside. The Mariner’s guidebook says that Isigny is located at the start of this first double land and that a little to the west of this place are two or three large trees and then a great, tall, thick forest in which one finds palm trees that are very unequal in height, some being tall and others short. The village of Isigny is located near these trees. It’s there that we dropped anchor to a muddy bottom 15-16 and 17 fathoms deep.

In the separation of the double land that one sees in the E of Isigny, around 2 or three leagues away to the E, Abiany is located, of which one can see a block of tall forest on the beginning of the double land.

We skirted this land by steering to the ESE until 8 o’c. at night when, having set by Cape Apolonia thanks to the moon, it stayed to the N1/4NW around 3 ½ l. We anchored in this place with our third anchor only, at 26 fathoms from the fine sand bottom, just to stay one night there.

In the morning at 4 o’c. we got under sail and steered to the ESE and SE1/4E, skirting the land that jutted out from the creek from Cape Apolonia to the Cape Three Points. It is a rather low land and covered with trees. Around ten-thirty we put our launch and yawl into the water and, as we were approaching ships anchored in front of Axime, we sent our yawl with an officer on board with a flag. We then approached using the little sail, the violent currents carrying to the SE and pulling us forcefully. When we were among the ships, about one league from land, with the fort at NE1/4E between us and the island at the point above Axime village, we anchored at 10 fathoms from the muddy bottom, with the Three Points Cape to the SE1/4E. Around 2 o’c. in the afternoon when our sails were furled and our ship was standing, we saluted the fort with five cannon discharges and it sent three back to us.

While we were anchored in front of Axime, the land would appear to you from the place where we were anchored in the manner that I sketched it below.

One can obtain captives in this place but only at night since since [sic] those people native to this country who bring blacks aboard to you would be taken themselves if they were detected. Someone came aboard from the fort to offer us a slave boy on whom we did not agree at all.

(Detail of page 33 of "Journal de bord d'un négrier : Guinée / Lieutenant Durand, 1731." Image courtesy of Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. [Call Number GEN MSS VOL 7])

The Axime fort belongs to the Dutch and it's built on a rather high rock, surrounded on the sea and landsides by three bastions, armed with 24 cannons. The governor's house is built at the highest point in the fort. The village of Axime is rather pretty. It's built on two sides of the fort. We went into this place to get water and wood. We went ashore with a launch and yawl, into a sea with occasional high waves, and into the inlet, which was very narrow and lined with rocks, into which the sea broke when the winds came from the W and WNW:

(Detail of page 33 of "Journal de bord d'un négrier : Guinée / Lieutenant Durand, 1731." Image courtesy of Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. [Call Number GEN MSS VOL 7])

We addressed ourselves directly to the governor concerning everything we had taken at Axime and, as he is the sovereign and master of all the negroes, he set the price of the wood, which is sold by the cord, each cord being five feet long and high and a half fathom wide. We took ten cords at eight gold crowns per cord, and we paid for it with brandy, of which we gave about an ounce to pay for everything. [We took] as much firewood as carpentry wood, which we had cut in the forest by our carpenters and carried by negroes to the sea. The governor of the fort or first steward sent from La Mine is named Mr. Berkant.

Water is very easily obtained near the fort, which has the key to the well, and we filled the launch three times.

There were seven ships anchored like we were the first days, including two Dutch ships, two English ships, and a ship from Hamburg that wanted to go back up and was waiting for the currents to change.

Thursday the 9th