Original Manuscript "Diary" of a voyage to the West Indies: in one of his own steamships, the “Columbian."

AN ILLUSTRATED DIARY OF A BUSINESS TRIP BY STEAMSHIP TO THE WEST INDIES WITH ORIGINAL HAND-DRAWN PLANS OF HARBORS & TOWNS & ANOTHER TRIP BY SAIL TO SPAIN AND PORTUGAL

[FORWOOD, Sir William Bower (1840-1928)]. English merchant, shipowner, wealthy businessman, and Liverpool politician. Original Manuscript "Diary" of a voyage to the West Indies in one of his own steamships, the "Columbian," January 20th 1867 to March 27th 1867. [63] pp., + 6 accomplished full-page sketches of the West Indian towns and harbors the writer visited. 4to, original morocco (considerably rubbed), written at sea, and at various islands in the West Indies, 1867. BOUND WITH: Manuscript Diary, entitled, "Journal of Trip to Spain and Portugal in the S. S. 'Talisman' 1868." [43] pp., written on rectos only, at sea and on land in Spain and Portugal, 17 October 1868 to 25 November 1868.

The writer of these two very legible manuscript journals was no stranger to adventure. As a seventeen year-old, William Bower Forwood (see ODNB) left Liverpool on a around-the-world voyage. His autobiography, Recollections of a Busy Life: Being the Reminiscences of a Liverpool Merchant 1840-1910, was published in 1910. He also wrote, Reminiscences of a Liverpool Shipowner (1920).

William Forwood and his brother Arthur formed the West India & Pacific SS Co, in 1863, to operate passenger and cargo services to the West Indies, in competition with Alfred Holt. During their 36 years of independent operation, the company owned 58 ships. For a history of their company see, The Shipping List, The Fleet online at http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/wip.shtml. William and Arthur Forwood were among Liverpool's most successful blockade-runners during the American Civil War. Each served a term as mayor of Liverpool, William was president of the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce in 1871, and from 1878 to 1881. He was also a city councilor for forty years. Both William and Arthur were knighted by Queen Victoria in 1883, and 1885, respectively.

Although not signed, the "Diary" and "Journal" manuscripts were written by William Bower Forwood. The diary begins Jany 20th 1867, and Forwood's first sentence let's us know he is the writer. "Left the River Mersey in the 'Columbian'", a steamship owned by Forwood and his brother. "...we arrived off Holyhead, wind getting up, made the water rather lumpy, and the consequence was the ship began to roll, and soon upset my equilibrium compelling me to leave dinner," and on the 22nd he was "still ill." The Columbian, their second steamboat with that name would, later that same year, 1867, be driven ashore in a hurricane at St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, not to be salvaged until 1873. Forwood's trip was a business trip, a fast-paced business trip at that, by steamer, not a pleasure cruise. Forwood was observant, quite full of himself, opininiated, and fully as racist as many people of his day and station. This wonderfully written diary is full of interesting observations about the West Indian locations he visited for his business (and one South American), and the people with whom he met and interacted, including all the named local agents of his company. He didn't stay anywhere very long, a couple of weeks the longest, but he fully and articulately describes everything he saw and did, with whom he did it, and with whom he met along the way, as well as not being shy in giving his opinion of every place visited.

The first port of call for the Columbian was Barbados, 7 February 1868, for a quick visit, meeting his agent Mr. De Costa. "At 11 AM I went on shore with Captain Baker & the Doctor. We visited Messers Dummett Co. our Agents, & Mr. De Costa senior partner in the house, accompanied us to the Icehouse, a place where they sell iced liqueur in these Islands; we then returned to the Agents house, & went all over it. It is a large shop (store), as they call them here, where you can get any article you wish for. We then wandered about the town, which "is much like a 2nd or 3rd rate English town. The shops or rather stores are very fair, & generally on a large scale. The town is crowded with Negroes, three Barbadian banjas, as they call themselves in the proportion of three women to one man, and three black men to one white man. We passed a number of negro houses which are entirely built of wood with lattice work all over. The streets are irregular, & white & the tropical sun blazing down upon them, makes it very sore for the eyes, and very hot. Business is executed here in a very energetic manner..." Driving to the country "we arrived at the Barracks...built in a circle round the race course,...which acts as a drill ground. We saw the 16th Reg. & a Reg. of Blacks drill & heard the Black band play... In our ride we saw the Sugar cane which forms the main article of export...The negroes here are of a heavy build, with large faces, & high foreheads, & not as insolent as I expected to find them. The women are far worse looking than the men but dress very well, viz. in long airy white dresses, which look very neat as they walk along with a straight figure, & measured stride. They carry everything on their heads. Having had an iced drink at the Ice house we returned on board. Mr. De Costa, his son, & two daughters to whom I was introduced came off, and inspected the ship. The eldest is dark and not good looking, the second Miss Constance is much fairer & rather pretty. Mr. De Costa is a tall stout man, with a large but good looking face. He was extremely kind, and polite in every way. They left the ship about 7:30 P.M. and we got the anchor up & proceeded at 7:30. Altogether I was very well pleased with the island, but would not like to live in it for a long period as there is a great want of amusement and in a day or so you would see everything that was to be seen. So good bye to Barbados…I expect we shall arrive at Puerto Cabello on Sunday at noon distance 420 miles from St. Vincent..." So, on the 10th it was arrival at Puerto Cabello, north coast of Venezuela, where he observed "The houses are poorly built, but white washed different colors which gives the town a nice appearance. The houses are generally built with a Bay window with Iron bars to the front, & shutters behind, but no glass. So that the gentlemen ride up, & speak to the ladies thro' the window. There a few good stores & a few shops worth of notice...thro' all the business streets a tramway runs. There are no carriages here every body rides. The harbour is good, & there is plenty of water...The Spaniards surrendered the town in 1823....we went to a Bull Fight...and proceeded to Mr. Bromley's (The English Engineer) house...there were a good many ladies already assembled, who favoured us with some music, and as the performance did not begin got up a Spanish waltz, a very pretty & graceful dance. The women are generally very good looking. Very dark, with fine black eyes (Spanish). The women here delight in dancing & would rather starve than not be able to dance & dress well. During the dances they never speak. The dancing being finished the Bull throwing commenced. It consisted in a bull being let loose and men mounted riding after it at full speed, & taking hold of its tail, and having got well up with it, or a little in advance by a violent twist throw it on its back, this they succeeded in doing two or three times whilst I was there. After each throw a black band plays." He describes the men who load and unload the ships in port: "The Natives here are creoles between the Indian, & Spaniard. They are a short strong fine race, of a dark yellow color, & they make very good workmen..." He describes a trip on horseback to a country house at San Esteban, and "all the Beauties of a wild Tropical Country." He provides a full-page sketch plan of the harbor of Barbados, and another of Puerta Cabello. His ship having been loaded, it was on to Curaçao on the 14th, again including a drawing, a full-page sketch plan of the harbor and town, and taking five pages to describe what he saw on his visit. Followed by a visit to Colón, Panama, which he describes in nine pages; then on to Kingston, Jamaica, again with a full-page sketch plan of the harbor, and a description of the beauty of the Blue Mountains, etc. "The hovels of the negroes here are simply built. 8 by four poles are at each corner joined at the top by pieces of wood & covered with leaves...Having arrived at Panama [City] we proceeded to the Aspinwall Hotel...The town is built of wooden houses with high verandas, some with one & others with two, one on the top of the other...It is about ten times as large as Colón-the stores are far better, & there is much more life, in fact it is rather gay but then it is much more hot not having the Sea breeze. I was introduced to a mighty host of Railway & Steamboat officials, to all the Chief Merchants...I must add another good point to the Colón's character, viz. its Turtle Steaks, which are excellent...Went to church...We had a very poor service, the congregation consisted chiefly of Blacks...As usual spent the day as best I could...played a game of Billiards...had a a grand lunch to day at which all the elite of Colón were present...Dined with Mr. Martin the British V. Consul...ahead full steam for Kingston. So after a stay of 11 1/4 days at a place where there is little to be seen, or done or heard, we proceeded on our voyage home...arrived off Port Royal 63 hours from Colón, & at 8:30 arrived at Kingston..." He describes entering the harbor, where "you find yourself opposite the most considerable town of Jamaica...The town of Kingston is generally built of wood, the houses are generally two stories in height-having piazzas fitted up all round with Venetian blinds, or 'jalousies'.-The streets which are long, straight and regular incline gradually towards the Harbour...& are paved wretchedly...The houses are going to ruin..." He quotes a source, presumably a periodical, as saying 'one of the least alluring towns I have ever seen, & has but very few attractions.'...In the town you never saw a white inhabitant walking...the scenery of the country is beautiful. The greater portion of the Island is covered with a wild jungle. Nothing can be grander either in color or ? than the ravines of the Blue Mountain Range...From Plum Tree Point went close into the shore to Morant Bay Pt., the Eastern cape of Jamaica. The scenery is magnificent. The Blue Mountains appear entombed in the clouds..." With full-page sketch plan of Kingston town and harbor. Then it was on to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, also with a full-page sketch plan of the harbor area. It is built "at the bottom of a large Bay, in a very low, & marshy situation. It is mostly built of wooden houses, but a large part is now being rebuilt of stone & brick having been burnt down lately. The streets are broad, but unpaved, all the dirt of the houses is thrown into them, & they are never cleaned. Along the side of the streets the main drain runs, across which in most places you have to jump. It is a very miserable hot place...[meet] Mr. Scott in the morning & [he] presented me to the chief merchants of the town, & in the afternoon we went on a ride into the country. We went passed the governor's house up a rivers bed to a considerable height up the mountains to the Spanish Consul's house, from where we obtained a beautiful view of the town below & bay beyond..." On 10 March "we passed thro' the Cacos Passage, & shaped our course for the Fastnet [southern most point of Ireland]..." With a full-page sketch plan of Port-au-Prince, and harbor. Then it was on to Roche's Point, Ireland, and then to Liverpool. On the 17th Forwood writes: "Chief Engineer reports only 250 tons [of coal] left or 9 1/2 days. We have 1789 miles to the Fastnet or 2089 miles to Liverpool. If therefore we have a head wind we shall be short." On the 20th "Ship rolling heavily. When we were getting up from dinner the ship took a violent roll & sent bread bread, spoons, plates, card, books to flying, the sight was most ludicrous every body holding on as if they were fearful lest they should fly into the middle of next week." On the 23rd, "We have been going with 3 boilers for 2 3/2 to save coals...great doubts expressed about the coal lasting...I had a game of cards in the evening...ship, she is beautiful order--Retire at 12 P. M." and on the 24th "been getting anchors & cables ready for port...determined to proceed to Queenstown...came to our anchor at Monkstown. We have run from P. au P. to Queenstown in 16 days less 5 hours for diff. in time," finally reaching Liverpool on the 27th. With a sketch plan of Queenstown, and harbor, followed by a sketch of a compass.

The journal of Forwood's trip to Spain and Portugal is a delightful, intelligently written account containing wonderful observations. The ship in which young Forwood voyaged to those countries, S. S. Talisman, was built in 1857, purchased by the Forwood's from Alfred Holt in 1864, and lost off Portugal in 1874. On 17 October 1868 "At noon the 'Talisman' S S proceeded to Sea, having the fortunate writer on board..." and on the 18th "I had the pleasure to day of paying my respects to Neptune, and such debts are best paid early in the passage." Forwood's landing is "the picturesque town of Santander." He "Took a cruise in the Captain's gig, in and out of the numerous Bays of the Harbour...at the head of it is situated a small, quiet village with its ancient Moorish cottages and Spanish Dons fancy country houses. It would require a poet to describe the quiet lake like scenery all round this little place, with its mountains, luxourious pastures and glassy waters, but as I am no poet, I must leave it to wild fancy to picture." There is a long description of the town, and he gives his opinion of the Spanish: "The Spaniards are very indolent and procrastinating, their favorite proverb, which they follow rigidly, being, 'Never do today what you can put off till tomorrow.' Manãna is a word they are very fond of using." He describes the physical attributes of both sexes. Forwood take a train about 100 miles into the mountains to Reynosa [Reinosa], later sails up the river Odiel to Huelva, of Columbus fame, where he visited "our agents," and talks about the ore they transport. Back for dinner with his ship's captain, he had "a capital Spanish dinner, from nine to thirteen courses." The next morning he took the "Diligence"...a large coach with three compartments, Back, Middle, & Front, and a place at the top. I took my seat No. 1. First compartment to the front, & just behind the animals, which are nine in number, donkeys, mules, & a horse for a leader," and started for Seville, a city he describes in detail. "We then went outside the walls to the alms house for poor old men called 'La Curidad' in the chapel of which there are several pictures by [Bartolomé Esteben] Murillo including some of his best, for instance 'Pan y Peces' or Loaves & Fishes, Moses striking the Rock , there is also two pictures there by J[uan de] Valdés Leal called 'Triumph of Liner' [?] and the dead Prelate which it is said Murillo could never look at without holding his nose...In the Museo there is a very large collection of Murillo's paintings...I may as well here try my hand at describing the handsome brunette girls of Spain. Middle height, magnificently developed figures, but perhaps a little heavy, pretty feet & ?, square foreheads & Grecian noses, dark black hair, clear olive complexions richly colored, thick lips, & fine white teeth, large soft eyes with light blue eyeballs, and they dress with very great taste from the richest to the poorest. Although these girls look so pretty from 15 to 20 years of age, they make about the ugliest old women you can imagine..." He describes dances, meals, sightseeing, casinos, opera, and some business, all of which occupy him. On 15 November his ship arrives at Lisbon during a hard gale. His first impression "From the Town of Belem, the city (as seen from the river) covering several hills with Palaces, churches, convents, and dazzling white houses rising more or less abruptly from the quay has a magnificent, & imposing view." Immediately "After the usual visit from the customs officers &c. I went on shore, & looked up our agent Mr. Garland, & with him went to the Exchange, to arrange a little business, passing across the Plaça do Comércio...said to be the finest in the world..." On the 18th "Went on board at noon, and at 3 PM proceeded, took charge of quarter deck..." and headed for home, with "All sail set." On the 24th, "So ended my enjoyable trip to Spain and Portugal.' The last two pages are, "Abstract of Log out to Santander & Huelva/'Talisman' S S.", and "Abstract of Log home from Huelva, Sinis [Portugal] & Lisbon/ Talisman S S," recording date, wind, course, latitude, longitude, distance, and remarks.

At the rear, Forwood has written a page expressing his opinion about racial equality, entitled, appropriately enough, "Equality of Races," in which he lays out his belief that "The natives of the West Indies are not, & probably never will be the equals of Europeans in those Islands & any legislation which seeks to treat them as such must bear unjustly on the Europeans. How can one deem as equals a class swayed by no moral perceptions, fearing no divine retribution, & with whom falsehood is more familiar than the truth. When the superstitions & debasing effect of an immoral life, shall be supplanted by strict belief in a moral, if not divine law, then the natives with a better grace may be considered the equals of the more dominant race. Hayti."

LIST OF ORIGINAL FULL-PAGE HAND-DRAWN PLANS.

1. Puerto Cabello, Venezuela.

2. Barbadoes.

3. Curaçao.

4. Kingston, Jamaica.

5. Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

6. Queenstown & Roches Point, Ireland.

7. Large compass.