Edward Gilleat tells of some of the horrors of the African slave-trade:
Children are thrown with the baggage on the camels if unable to
walk; but if they are five or six years of age the poor little
creatures are obliged to trot on all day with bleeding feet.
The daily allowance of food was sometimes a quart of dates in
the morning and half a pint of flour, made into a bazeen, in
the evening. None of the owners ever moved without their whips,
which were in constant use. Drinking too much water, bringing
too little wood, or falling asleep before the cooking was
finished were considered almost capital crimes. No excuses were
taken; the whip exacted a fearful penalty. Sometimes the little
children would cry bitterly for water when the hot east wind was
blowing; if they fell down, the Moors would haul them up roughly
and drag them along violently, beating them incessantly till
they had overtaken the camels.--“Heroes of Modern Crusades.”
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