An old but fascinating letter was recently brought to our attention by Mrs. Robert A. Dahl, of North Haven, Connecticut. It was written nearly one hundred and thirty years ago to former President John Quincy Adams by Ka-le, one of forty-four tribesmen from Mendi, south of Sierra Leone in Africa, who were imprisoned in Connecticut after seizing control of the slave ship Amistad . The Africans had been kidnapped by slave traders and taken to Havana, where they were sold to two Spaniards, José Ruiz and Pedro Montez. As the new owners were shipping them to another coastal port in Cuba, the Africans, led by Cinqué, broke their chains. They killed the ship’s captain, who had had two of their number severely flogged for stealing water, and also slew the cook, who had threatened to cut them up and eat them. Both Ruiz and Montez were spared, apparently to help in navigating the ship back to Africa. By day a native named Ceci steered the ship eastward, guided by the sun; at night the Spaniards set the course. After two months at sea the Amistad foundered off Long Island. The Africans went ashore for provisions and were assured they were in a free land. Within a day, however, they were arrested and, after a hearing in New London, Connecticut, were imprisoned. Although the Connecticut courts decided they were free men, the Spanish government appealed the case to the United States Supreme Court, insisting that the blacks were Cuban residents and subject to slavery. While awaiting trial the Africans were imprisoned for seventeen months, first in an old jail on New Haven’s green, then in a new prison in the Westville part of the city. Curiosity seekers paid a shilling each to see them. The money was used by the jailor, Pendleton, to supply them with additional comforts. Their plight also attracted students from the Yale Theological Seminary, who taught them how to read and write. Ka-le wrote from the Westville prison on January 4, 1841, to Adams, who was to plead their case before the “Great Court.” His touching letter is reprinted here with the kind permission of The Adams Papers and the Massachusetts Historical Society:

Dear Friend Mr. Adams

I want to write a letter to you because you love Mendi people and you talk to the Great Court we want to tell you one thing Jose Ruiz say we born in Havanna he tell lie We stay in havanna ten days and ten nights we stay no more we all born in Mendi we no understand Spanish language Mendi people been in American 17 moons we talk America language a little no very good. We write every day we write plenty letters. We read most all time we read all Matthew Mark Luke and plenty of little books. We love books very much. We want you to ask the Court what we have done