Plate in John Gabriel Stedman's Narrative, of a five year's expedition, against the revolted Negroes of Surinam, in Guiana, on the wild coast of South America; from the year 1772 to 1777 (London: Printed for J. Johnson, St. Paul's Church Yard, & J. Edwards, Pall Mall, 1796), vol. 2, p. 88.

Engraving was done after one of John Gabriel Stedman's own drawings. According to Stedman's account, the image depicts a rebel Surinamese negro. As he wrote, "This rebel negro is armed with a firelock and a hatchet; his hair, though woolly, may be observed to be plaited close to his head, by way of distinction from the rangers, or any other straggling negroes, who are not yet accepted amongst them; his beard is grown to a point, like that of all Africans, when they have no opportunity of shaving. The principal dress of this man consists of a cotton sheet, negligently tied across his shoulders, which protects him from the weather, and serves him also to rest on; while he always sleeps under cover in the most obscure places he can find, when detached from his companions. The rest of his dress is a camisa, tied around his loins like a handkerchief; his pouch, which is made of some animal's skin; a few cotton strings for ornament around his ancles [sic] and wrists; and a superstitious obia or amulet tied about his neck, in which he places all his confidence. The skull and ribs are supposed to be the bones of his enemies, scattered upon the sandy savannah." (vol. 2, p. 88-89)

Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Resistance.