The Sun.
London, England, 1860-04-12 00:00:00

IIOW IS IT DONE?

Quite easily. A fair illustration we have in the
recently captured American (of course) bark Orion,
having a cargo of 888 live negroes aboard. This
vessel, after numerous adventures about the mouth
of the Congo—having been captured as a slaver
and again released by the American flag officer—
sailed quietly up said river and discharged her
coppers at an understood point. From thence they I
were carried overland a distance of 60 miles, to the
point at which she was to receive her cargo. This
latter had been collectei from various places along
the coast, at such places as they could be procured.
Her complacent was to have been 1,200, but time
and tide could not wait even for a slave cargo.
On a dark night she stood into her place of
shipment, and in one hour and a half had near 900
negroes aboard. In one hour more she was at sea,
and had nearly got out of the range of the cruisers
on the coast when she was overhauled by one of the
ever-watchful British steamers, at a distance of some
200 miles at sea.
The usual, and I may say more successful awl
respectable, mode of procedure, is for the slaver to
get her regular papers at some port (usually New
York) in the States, for some point on the coast, as
a trader, generally in palm oil. These vessels gene-
rally carry out a partial cargo of notions, such as
calico prints, rum, crockery, &c., to serve the double
purpose of a cloak to their purposes, and to assist
in paying for their cargo of live stock. With a
Portuguese or Spanish supercargo aboard they sail
for the point at which the cargo of flesh and blood
is to be had, arriving at which, arrangements are
made for the delivery of said cargo. A coasting
voyage under pretence of trade is the next move,
and it results in the engagement at different points
of stoppage of portions of her cargo of slaves, who
are to be delivered and on hand by a certain speci-
fied night. That night arriving, the vessel is on
hand, and in a few hours has her cargo aboard and
standing out at sea Cuba-ward. The shipment of
the negroes is sometimes a troublesome job, there
being always refractory ones amongst them. These
are usually ironed or made stupidly drunk with
rum, and thus got to sea.
THE CIIANCES,

as I have said, for a safe andproitable venture, are
three in the trader's favour to one against him.
Here are a few items of evidence to substantiate
the above assertion which have come under my own
observation.
There is a notorious slave-dealer here, who, a
short time since, offered to wager a large sum of
money with a captain of a certaii British cruiser
who is somewhat noted as a captor of slaves, that
he would name three different points, at one of
which, within a certain specified time, he would
receive a eargo of slaves, and would safely carry
that cargo to market without any hindrance from
the British captain. It is enough to say that the
slaver's challenge was not accepted.
A suspected slaver lay up the Congo River; two
British steamers lay at the mouth of that river
ready to nab her when she got her cargo aboard.
For four months the slaver lay at her anchor, ap-
parently partially dismantled, until one dark night,
having got a " good ready," she took in her full
cargo of slaves, got under weigh, passed quietly
and unseen between the two guardships, and was
soon beyond the reach of pursuit.
Recently a slaver was captured in this vicinity by
a British steamer, having a full cargo aboard. Al-
most at the same hour of the capture, right before
the eyes of the captors, sailed out from land two
vessels loaded full of slaves. Being out of coal the
steamer could not pursue, and of course the slavers

escaped.
Says a leading merchant of Loando, an American,
" Out of 80 vessels clearing from this coast with
slave cargoes, 25 out of these 80 would be the limit
of capture ; that would be a large per tentage ; it
would not reach that figure, perhaps."