_From the Memoirs of General Miller, Second Edition._
In Brazil the slave trade is seen in some of its most revolting aspects;
for there the general treatment of negro slaves is barbarous in the
extreme. About thirty thousand are annually imported into Rio Janeiro
alone, and perhaps an equal number in the other ports of the empire. One
of the many abhorrent circumstances attending this nefarious traffic is,
that, upon a vessel's arriving near the port, such slaves, as appear to be
in an irrecoverable state of disease, are frequently thrown into the sea!
This is done merely to evade the payment of the custom-house duty, which
is levied upon every slave brought into port. Instances have occurred of
their being picked up alive by coasting vessels!
Fourteen or fifteen slave ships, with full cargoes, arrived at Rio Janeiro
during the six weeks that Miller remained there. One morning that he
happened to breakfast on board a Brazilian frigate, the commander, Captain
Sheppard, kindly lent him a boat to visit a slaver of 320 tons, which had
come into port the preceding night. The master, supposing him to be in the
imperial service, was extremely attentive, and very readily answered every
inquiry. He said the homeward-bound passage had been tolerably fortunate,
only seventy-two deaths having occurred in the cargo; and that, although
thirty of the sick were then in an unsaleable plight, the owners might
calculate upon sending into the market four hundred sound and well-grown
Africans; a number that would yield a handsome profit.
After some further conversation, Miller requested permission to see the
'tween decks, upon which the muster accompanied him below, and pointed out
the manner of securing his cargo, which was by shackling each negro by one
leg to an iron bar running a midships from stem to stern, so as to form a
double row, lying feet to feet. The air was so oppressively nauseating,
that Miller could not remain below for more than two minutes. There was
hardly a slave in the whole number who was free from festering sores,
produced by constant friction from lying on the hard and unwashed decks.
Some of them were bruised so dreadfully, that it was wonderful that they
continued to exist. Their emaciated appearance might have led to the
supposition that they had been nearly starved during the passage, did not
the varied miseries to which they were subjected, sufficiently account for
their fleshless forms. A great number of them were now upon deck, and clad
in long woollen shirts, in order to be sent to the warehouses on shore.
Miller, heartily sick of this disgusting scene, took leave of the master;
but, unable to control the indignation he felt, he inveighed with great
bitterness against all wretches concerned in so iniquitous a traffic,
letting him know at the same time that he was not in the service of the
emperor. The master, though at first taken aback by the violence of the
general's invectives, soon recovered himself, and retorted in the most
insolent terms of defiance, abusing the English for meddling in what he
styled the legitimate commerce of Brazil. The state of the vessel was such
as cannot be described, and the fetid effluvia, arising from it, offended
the senses on approaching her within fifty yards. Although Miller took a
warm bath immediately upon getting on shore, the stench of the slave ship
haunted his nostrils for many days.
There is a long narrow street in Rio Janeiro exclusively appropriated to
the negro stores. It is, in fact, the slave-bazaar. The fronts of the
shops are open, and the objects for sale are seated on benches, where,
strange to say, they often pass their time in singing. People wishing to
become purchasers lounge up and down until they see a subject likely to
suit their purpose. Miller one day put on a broad-brimmed straw hat, and
walked into several of the stores, as if with a view of making a purchase.
The slave venders came forward with eagerness to show off their stock,
making their bipeds move about in every way best calculated to display
their good points, and in much the same manner that a jockey does in
showing off a horse. Those who appeared to be drowsy were made to bite a
piece of ginger, or take a pinch of snuff. If these excitements did not
prove sufficient to give them an air of briskness, they were wakened up by
a pull of the ear, or a slap on the face, which made them look about them.
Miller was so inquisitive, and his observations were so unlike those of a
_bona fide_ purchaser, that the dealers soon began to suspect he did not
intend to be a customer. One of them being in consequence rather pert in
his replies, Miller once more allowed his indignation to get the better of
his judgment, and he abused the fellow in terms more violent, if possible,
than those he had addressed to the master of the slave ship. He had some
difficulty to avoid getting into a very serious squabble, as many of the
other dealers came out and joined in the yell now raised against him. As
he passed along the street, it was like running the gauntlet; for he was
saluted by vituperations on all sides, and it was perhaps only by
preserving a menacing attitude in his retreat that he prevented something
more than a mere war of words. They dwelt with marked emphasis on the
officious English, who, instead of attending to their own affairs, would
not, they said, allow other people to gain an honest livelihood.
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