The slave-trade is, however, still carried on to a lamentable extent on
the east coast of Africa, to supply the Arabian and Persian markets, and
has been the chief cause of all the depopulating wars which have taken
place on that side of Africa, reducing whole districts inhabited by an
industrious people into howling deserts. A squadron, consisting
entirely of steamers, has now for some years been stationed on that
coast for its suppression.
Though not sanctioned by the Portuguese government, their officials in
their possessions at the mouth of the Zambesi and other places along the
coast have taken an active part in the trade, as have also the French,
who, though they do not call their captives slaves, equally encourage
the slave-dealers and internal warfare, by purchasing the blacks taken
in battle and carrying them off under the name of apprentices to their
possessions in the Southern ocean. The service on this coast, though
less unhealthy, provided the crews do not sleep on shore, is often
severe in the extreme, the boats being sent away for considerable
periods to watch for slaving-dhows as they sail along the coast. These
dhows are large, swift-sailing craft, commanded and manned by Arabs,
savage fellows, who frequently fight desperately when attacked by the
boats. With a strong breeze they often manage to elude even steamers.
When hard-pressed, with a full cargo of slaves on board, they will run
their vessels through the surf on shore in the hopes of carrying off
some of their unfortunate captives who may escape from the wreck, being
very indifferent about those who may be drowned. The Arabs themselves
generally manage to get on shore, though sometimes the whole of their
black cargo is sacrificed.
From the following account by an eye-witness some of the lesser horrors
of the slave-trade on the east coast may be conceived. It exhibits,
also, the spirit in which our gallant officers and seamen carry on the
duty imposed on them.
Her Majesty's steamer _Vulture_, Commander Cay, was, in 1874, cruising
off Madagascar, when, it being almost calm, a dhow was seen standing for
the port of Majunga. Although she had every appearance of an honest
trader, a boat was sent to board her, carrying one of the officers and
an interpreter, with directions to hail the _Vulture_ should any slaves
be found. All was suspense till the cry came from the dhow of "She's a
slaver, sir!" Three hearty cheers were given by the _Vulture's_ crew.
"How many has she on board?" asked the captain. "Two hundred, sir," was
the answer. A hawser was soon passed on board the slaver, and she was
hauled alongside. Then began the sickening task of transferring the
poor captives from the dhow to the ship. The British seamen behaved
nobly; even the regular grumblers forgot their complaints and came
forward to assist in transporting the weak and helpless creatures from
their prison. So cramped and emaciated were they that many had to be
carried in the arms of the men. Tenderly and carefully did these
strong, rough fellows bear their helpless burdens, notwithstanding the
filth which had accumulated on them during their long imprisonment in
the pestilential hold. Now and then a baby appeared, and was eagerly
lifted on board by the men. There were seven, and as the little ones
were borne along they opened their eyes with wonderment. One baby had
been born on board the dhow, and another had lost its mother during the
fatal voyage. Those who had suffered most were children whose ages
ranged from three to seven years. They had been evidently unable to
hold their own against the stronger ones in the scramble for food which
had taken place at feeding time; the stronger thrived, while the weaker
starved. Of the hapless cargo thirty were at death's door, and thirty
others little more than skeletons. Many of the unhappy beings had
scarcely tasted food during their imprisonment in the dhow. In they
poured, a living stream, until the ship's decks were covered with a
black mass of human beings of all ages, including women so old that it
was difficult to understand what object those dealers in human flesh
could have had in shipping such worthless articles for the slave-market.
At last the stream stopped. "They're all out of the dhow, sir,"
exclaimed the seamen who remained on board the vessel. "Have another
look and make quite sure," answered the commander. Well it was that
they did so, for in a dark corner of the hold, buried all but the head
in the sand which the dhow carried for ballast, lay a poor old woman.
She was dug out and borne on board.
In the meantime the Arabs came on board the _Vulture_, but these, having
suffered no privations, were able to walk, and as they came over the
side the ship's corporal and corporal of marines stripped them to search
for arms or money. Nothing being found, they had their clothes
returned, and were marched on to the poop and placed under a sentry's
charge to wait till they could be turned over to the tender mercies of
the Sultan of Zanzibar--a fate they dread very much. There were two
women on board who seemed past hope of recovery; the one who was dug out
of the sand, and another with an infant at her back, in which way these
people carry their children. The greater portion were suffering
dreadfully. Forty-one men, 59 women, and 137 children were taken out of
the dhow from between her decks, where they had been packed, unable to
move during the whole voyage. The young and good-looking women, who
were the most profitable portion of the cargo, appeared to have been
well fed, while the men and boys had been starved. The first care was
to remove the filth with which they were covered. Those able to bear it
were passed under the steam hose, the few rags they had on being taken
away as they entered the stream, and as they passed out dry coverings
were wrapped round them, contributed by the officers and seamen, such as
shirts, towels, sheets, flannels, etcetera. The weaker ones were washed
in warm water with soap. Nothing could exceed the gentleness with which
the hardy tars handled these poor creatures. By the time they had all
been washed the food was ready, and they were made to sit down in
circles of from twelve to twenty. Large bowls of boiled rice and beans
were placed in the centre of each group; this was the signal for the
most dreadful din; each fearing his or her neighbour would get a larger
share, crammed the food into their mouths, fighting, squalling, crying,
and shouting being carried on all the time until the dishes were empty.
It showed what must have been the state of things in the dhow, where
there was no room to portion them off, neither would the lazy Arab
disturb himself to see justice done to each. The sick were cared for by
the doctor and his attentive sick-bay man, assisted by all the officers.
Preserved milk, port wine, brandy and water, and preserved fowl were
pressed upon these suffering ones, who were almost too far gone to care
for anything, except to be allowed to die in peace. The difficulty was
to berth them; it was impossible to let them go below, their filthy
habits making it necessary that they should remain on the upper-deck,
where plenty of water could be used for washing down. They were
accordingly made to lie close to each other, when sails were covered
over them and screens were hung round, while the awning was stretched
over the top of all. Sleep was out of the question, even for the weary
seamen; the groans and cries were most heartrending. The doctor and his
assistant were up all night attending to the poor captives. At Majunga
calico was purchased to clothe them. In the morning they went through
the same cleansing process as the night before, when the warm sun, and
decks washed down, made things look more cheerful. The dhow having been
burnt, the _Vulture_ stood away for the Seychelles. Cold nights told
upon the exhausted frames of the poor captives, fifteen of whom passed
away in spite of every care before the ship had completed half her
voyage to the Seychelles. Happily the weather remained remarkably fine.
Altogether seventeen deaths occurred among the slaves during the twelve
days they were on board before the ship reached her destination. Six of
these were children. The two women most despaired of were landed in a
much improved state.
Frequently the slaving-dhows captured are in a far more horrible state
than in the instance above given. The Arabs have been known to murder
and throw into the sea every slave on board, in the hopes of preserving
their vessel when they have seen no chance of escape. Very often half
the slaves die on the voyage between the coast of Africa and the Persian
Gulf. Probably, for every slave captured ten human lives have been
lost, either in the attack on their native villages or on the journey to
the coast, or by the attempts made to land them through the surf when
chased by men-of-war, or by starvation and sickness on board. Still, as
long as the Arabs have any hopes of making the voyage profitable, they
will pursue the traffic, and the only way to put a stop to the horrible
system is by making the chances of capture so great that they will be
compelled to abandon it in despair. This can most effectually be done
by keeping a large squadron of fast steamers, well supplied with boats,
under zealous and active officers, with orders to board and thoroughly
examine every dhow they can fall in with, and not to allow one to pass
which has the slightest indication of being destined for the
slave-trade.
British ships of war, mostly steamers, now traverse the whole of the
Pacific, one of the chief services in which they are engaged being the
prevention of the kidnapping system which has been carried on to a great
extent to supply the Fiji Islands and Queensland with labourers.
Nothing could be more abominable than the system which has been pursued.
Small-armed vessels have been fitted out, and have, by fraud or
violence, got the natives of different islands to come on board, when,
shutting them down under hatches, they have carried them off and
disposed of them, though nominally as free labourers, yet in reality as
slaves. By the efforts of the naval officers engaged in the service,
the practice has nearly, if not entirely, been suppressed.
These satisfactory results have not been produced without the sacrifice
of the lives of many gallant officers and seamen, the destruction of the
health of many more, and by a large expenditure of money. The question
to be asked is, "Will England be content, when contemplating all that
she has done, that slavery and the accursed slave-trade shall exist in
any part of the world where she by means of her navy has the power to
put it down?" We are confident that from every part of the British
dominions the answer will be, "No! at every cost we will continue the
noble work we have commenced, and not rest while a single nation dares
to assert her right to enslave our fellow-men."
We hold it as one of the most glorious privileges which England
possesses that a slave once setting foot on British soil or reaching the
deck of a British man-of-war is a slave no longer, and must not be
delivered up to the man who calls himself his owner while an English
soldier or sailor remains alive to defend him, or a plank of the ship in
which he has sought refuge still floats above the surface. More, we
would say that should the fugitive slave place his hand on the gunwale
of the smallest boat above which the flag of England flies, protection
should be afforded him, even though his pursuers were at his heels. Let
other nations know that England denies that one man can justly enslave
his fellow--acknowledges not the right of ownership in slaves, but is
resolved to strike off the fetters from the captive wherever he can be
reached, whether on shore or afloat. But her task is only yet partly
accomplished--she has still a great and glorious work before her, and to
enable the officers of our ships to perform their duty as they would
wish to do it, they must be hampered by no vexatious restrictions, or be
allowed to feel that they are liable to heavy fines or censure should
they overstep the strict line of their orders. Let them rather be
assured that the nation fully understands the difficulties with which
they have to contend, and will afford them support should they err in
exhibiting their zeal in the repression of the evil traffic. The west
coast still requires watching; each harbour on the east coast from which
slaves are shipped must be blockaded, till every Arab dhow manned by a
slave-trading crew is captured and destroyed. Our fleet of gunboats
could not be more usefully employed than in such an undertaking, and in
a few years, or months even, under active officers, they would render
slave-trading too precarious a pursuit to be followed.