Catalogue description Logs, apparently kept by Thomas Dixon, in one volume, of H.M.S. Agamemnon, the Count du Nord, the brig Mampookata

Throughout the pages are closely trimmed so that the endings of some words are missing.

Arranged as follows:

H.M.S. Agamemnon

1 Oct. 1782 - 10 Jun. 1783

"Rems etc. on bd. H.M.S. Agamem[non]"

While in port gives date, winds and remarks. When at sea gives date and for each day H (hours), K (knots), F (fathoms), course, winds, remarks. At the bottom of each page gives course, distances, latitude, longitude, water - expenditure of and amount remaining, bearings etc.

"Remarks" include many details of provisioning, stores, watering, painting, cleaning etc. and give details of a tour of duty in the West Indies.

25 Oct. 1782

"Recd, on bd ... fresh Beef 17 Tuns of Water and 27 Pigs of Iron ballast ... at 8 Weighd. Anchor and came to Sail with Adl. Pigot Adl. Drake and 13 Sail of ye line ..."

20 Nov. 1782

"... Sigl. for a Strange Sail ... md Sail and gave Chais ... ye Chais Sh[ip] prov'd to be Dean [Dane] ..."

21 Nov. 1782

"... at 5 saw the Land Barbadoes"

22 Nov. 1782

"... came into Carlile Bay Barbadoes"

23 Nov. - 4 Dec. 1782

"... Launch Employ'd Watering ... Recd, on bd. some Boatswains Stores ... some carpeters and gunners Stores ... 3 Barrels of Beef ... 94 Firkins of Butter 18 Puncheons of Pease ... 102 Baggs of Bread ... Opened a Barrel of Pork Conts. 56 Double pieces Short 4 single pieces ..."

5 Dec. 1782

"... Weighd Anchor and came to sail in Compy. with H.M. Ships St. Albans, Warrior, Alcide, Dolphin and Pegasus ..."

18 Jan. 1783

"... md. ye sigl. for a ship going home to England hoisted ye jolly boat out and sent the Monthly books and Quarterly Accts. On board the Formidable to go home in the Espion ..."

22 Jan. 1783

"... sigl. for a strange sail ... md. sail and gave Chais ... saw Martinique ... still in Chais ..."

27 Jan. 1783

"... hoisted ye other Cutter out and sent bd. of a Merchants ship for Wood ..."

2 Feb. 1783

"... gave Chais ... sent a boat on bd. ye Chais Ship provd. to be Deanish sloop from Antigua bound to Barbadoes ..."

8 Feb. 1783

"... came too ... in Groslet Bay, St. Lucia ..."

9 Feb. 1783

"... began to copper ye bends on ye starboard side. Launch Employd watering ..."

Between 10 Feb. - 5 Apr. 1783, many details of provisioning, work and repairs to ship "opend a Puncheon of Pork ... scrubd Hammocks ... Recd. on bd. 7 H hds of sugar and 20 Bags of Cocoa ... Returnd ye Condemned Stores and Recd, on bd. some Boatswains Stores ... Empd. painting the Ship ... Recd. on board ... 6 H hds. of pease and 4 H hds. of Vinegar ... 7 Pipes of Wine ... had Divine Service perform on board and mustard [sic] the ships comp ..."

3 Apr. 1783

"... Adl Hughes md. the sigl. for a Court Martial"

5 Apr. 1783

"... Adl ... Read the Kings Proclimation of Pence to the Ships Company ... H.M. Sloop Cormorant from Plymouth with Dispatches for the Adl ..."

9 Apr. 1783

"... sent a boat mand and Armd to attend a Punishment of three men belonging to His Majs. Ship Jupiter ..."

12 Apr. 1783

"Weighd. Anchor and came to sail with Adl Drake 7 Sail of the Line a Frigate and a Fire Ship ..."

18 May 1783

"... Came to at Spithead ..."

23 May 1783

"... Discharg'd part of the marine and Recd. Some from Different Ships to go round to Chatham"

27 May - 1 Jun. 1783, sailed along the south coast, passing on 27th Culver Cliffs, 29th Dover Castle, Deal Castle, 30th Margate and "End of ye Isle of Sheppey", 1st June Sheerness

3 Jun. 1783

"... Came too ... at Gillingham Slip'd the Cable and took the mooring Bridles in ..."

4 Jun. 1783

"... Unbending Saild. Striping ye masts ... geting the Boatswain's Gunners and Carpenters Store out ..."

6 Jun. 1783

"... Sent the Privisions Spirrits etc. on shore ..."

8 Jun. 1783

"... sent the Officers and all hands to the Dock Yard to Return Stores ... Dischargs the Mariners to head quarters"

10 Jun. 1783

"... had Prize Money paid ... the Commissioner came on board and Paid the ship off"

6 blank pages

Count du Nord

[29 Sep. 1783] - 10 Jun. 1784

"Rems etc. on bd. the Count du Nord"

Arranged as for H.M.S. Agamemnon, giving different sets of details when in port and when at sea.

No details given of the Count du Nord before sailing.

2 Oct. 1783

"People Employ'd making matts etc ..." [compare with An Account of the Slave Trade of the Coast of Africa by Alexander Falconbridge Late Surgeon in the African Trade, 1788, the chapter Proceedings during the voyage, p. 6, describes the sailors building a house on deck "... The roof is then covered with mats, made of rushes of very loose texture ... the slight texture of the mats admits both the wind and the rain ... though at the same time it increases the heat of the ship to a very pernicious degree ..."]

16 Oct. 1783

"... Saw a sail which we suppos'd to be a french Brigg bound to the West Indies ..."

17 Oct. 1783

"... Empd. cleaning the Mens and Womens rooms ..."

18 Oct. 1783

"... Carpenters making a platform between decks etc ..."

[Compare with Falconbridge op. cit., the chapter Treatment of Slaves, p. 20 "Neither will the height between cecks ... permit them the indulgence of an erect posture especially when there are platforms, which is generally the case. These platforms are a kind of shelf ... They are placed nearly mid way between the decks, at a distance of two or three feet from each deck. Upon these the negroes are stowed ..."]

19 Oct. 1783

"... Saw several Small land Birds about the ship ... had prayers performed on board"

22 Oct. 1783

"Employd. Shifting the Provisions in the Mens room etc. to make room for the Carptrs. to fix the platforms for the Neagroes ..."

23 Oct. 1783

"... saw a Small land bird which appear'd to be very much Tired and also some fish about the Ship ..."

24 Oct. 1783

"... saw a sail ... brought too and spoke the sail shee provd to be a Portuguese Ship from Africa with Slaves but having nobody on board that could speak the language md. sail without further particulars ..."

26 Oct. 1783

"... Coopers making ... Tubs etc. for the Slaves ..."

[Compare with Falconbridge op. cit. describing the slaves' use of tubs, in answering "... the necessities of nature" p. 20 and at meal times "... Their food is served up to them in tubs ... They are placed round these tubs in companies of ten to each tub, out of which they feed themselves with wooden spoon ... they soon lose [these], and ... feed themselves with their hands."]

1 Nov. 1783

"... a small bird like a Swallow or Martine has been about the Ship for Several Days past and last night lodged in the Cabbin, by which we suppose our selves nearer the land than Our reckoning gives us"

2 Nov. 1783

"... this morning i hook'd a Shark but the line being too small be broke it and made his escape, the small bird still continues about the Ship ..."

6 Nov. 1783

"... saw a Ship ... which we supposed to be from the Windward coast of Africa bound to the West Indies with Slaves ..."

7 Nov. 1783

"... this afternoon the Armourer refus'd to do is duty ..."

13 Nov. 1783

"... Carpenters fixing platforms for the Slaves Under the half Deck ..."

18 Nov. 1783

"... Carpenters fixing the Barracada ..."

[Compare with Falconbridge op. cit., p. 6, describing a division built across the deck "... called a barricado ... In this barricado is a door at which a centinel is placed during the time the negroes are permitted to come upon deck ..."

21 Nov. 1783

"... Carpenters about the Barracado etc. etc. at 10 a poor unfortunate Dolphin took the hook, was Discover'd and Immediately hall'd In ..."

22 Nov. 1783

"... hook'd a Shark of ... 11 feet long hall'd it in and he was Immediately Cut up and Devour'd ..."

29 Nov. 1783

"... Carpenters Employ'd Building a round House etc ..."

[Compare with Falconbridge, op. cit. p. 6, describing the sailors building a house on deck]

30 Nov. 1783

"... saw a flock of White Birds hoevering on the Surfice of the Water"

1 Dec. 1783

"... a small Dispute happend with the Scotch part of the Ships Company which Ended in Boxing"

3 Dec. 1783

"... Saw the Land ..."

4 Dec. 1783

"Came too ... in Mallimba Road ... found Riding here the Hector Capt Ash and Darneild, Capt. Kelly and 13 Slail [sic] of french ship ... Moor'd with the badge to the Northd. the Factorys ... at 5 or 6 Miles at 6 am Hoisted the Boats out and sent the Docter on shore at 11 the Boat Returned with Nambarnsa [sic] fired 3 Saluts 23 Guns People Empd ... geting Goods out of the Hould etc" [Nambarnsa" could possibly be a reference to NAIMBANA, King of Robana, overlord of the Bulom shore, in Sierra Leone, who died in February 1793, see A. Mackenzie-Grieve Last Years of the English Slave Trade: Liverpool 1750 - 1807, 1941, p. 28, p. 226 and other references. James Penny's later trading appears to have been further south, with Angola but according to Sanderson's Liverpool Deleates op. cit. p. 64 Penny's experience had included "... two years as a factor on the Windward Coast" (approximately the coasts of the present day Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia). According to Sanderson, p. 64, one of Penny's co-delegates in 1788, was John Matthews who had lived and acted as an agent in Sierra Leone and whose experience "... was a useful supplement to the evidence of Penny on conditions on the Windward Coast ..."]

5 Dec. 1783

"... am Sent the Pinnace on Shore at 10 Shee Returned with the Mafo[ ] and Several Other Black Gentlemen fird 3 Saluts 21 Guns People Employd Cleaning the Mens Room etc"

6 Dec. 1783

"... am Capt. Penny went on Shore ..."

After the entry for 8 Dec. 1783, 31 blank pages.

[30 May 1784]

"... Calm and Clear Wr. Employd About the Slaves etc. ... No. of Slaves on board 674"

31 May 1784

"... Buried a Boy Slave No 28. Remains on board 673 ..."

2 Jun. 1784

"Buried a woman Girl slave No. 32 Remains on bd 669"

[The lower numbers given 28, 32 etc. here represent the number of slaves or number of seamen to have died.]

5 Jun. 1784

"... Departed this life Danl. ]?] Broad seaman no. 12 ..."

9 Jun. 1784

"... buried a Man Boy Slave no. 36 ..."

10 Jun. 1784

"... Departed this life Jno. Stephenson seaman No. 13 ... Employd Washing and Drying the Mens Room"

Although ruled and headed for some pages ahead there are no further entries.

For brief notes relating to the Count du Nord, see under the Mampookata.

IN REVERSE

Brig Mampookata

29 Mar. 1785 - 22 Jan. 1786

Arranged as for HMS Agamemnon and the Count du Nord, giving different sets of details when in port and when at sea.

1st page

"Water on board when sailed from Mallimba May 29th 1784 40000 Gallons in the Comte du Nord Lait [late] Oiseau"

3rd, 4th pages

Notes of supplies received on board, 6 Aug. - 3 Sep. 1784, 13 Aug. "Recd. on board ... for Cap. Penny"

"Rems. etc. on Board the Mampookata"

29th Mar. 1785

"... hall'd out of the Ould Dock and came into the Channel ... Anchord of the New Peer head ... Employd Cleaning Ship ... and geting Stores on board"

1st Apr. 1785

"Weighd Anchor ... Pilot left us of the N.W. Buoy at Noon the great Orms Head ..."

31 May 1785

"... saw Several Flocks of Birds Like Sea Gulls of a small kind with Remarkable Long Wings ..."

2 Jun. 1785

"... to my great Astonishment saw the land, which Prov'd to be the Island of Ascension ... N.B. found the ship to be sixteen Degrees Forty Miles to the Westward of my reckoning which I conceive must have been intirely Owing to our keeping too Near the Line ... I shall therefore in future Recommend not being too Anctious in geting to the Southrd. Untill you are sure that you are to the Eastward of Cape Palmas ..."

13 Jun. 1785

"... saw Several Loggs of Wood and pieces of Reeds floating on the water, which I suppose must have Come from the River Congo ..."

19 Jun. 1785

"... saw the Land ..."

4 blank pages

"Rems. etc. on Bd. ye Mampookata Jany 19th 1786"

19 Jan. 1786

"... Weighd Anchor and md Sail ... No of Slaves on Board 206 = Dead one. Whole purch[ase] 207 Slaves in 6 Month"

22 Jan. 1786

"... Slaves on Bd 206"

Rules and headed for 23 Jan. 1786 but no further entries