Edwardsville spectator. [volume] (Edwardsville, Ill.) 1819-1826, 1824-05-04

Other twelve might possibly be concealed
IN The vessel, ordered her researched.
The result was, that negro man, not
however OF the Twelve, was rescued from
death. A platform of loose boards had
been raised upon the water casks of the
vessel, forming between dec ks Of about
% inches in height, which was the in
tended receptacle OF the cargo OF human
beings which captain Sanguines design
ed to procure. Beneath this platform,
with one OF the boards resting upon his
body, damned into the crevce between
two water-casks, was found this wretch
ed negro, In situation so extremely dis
tressing, that it was matter of great as
constituent to find him alive. The search
Tor the other twelve proving frui,Iess,
the officers and crew of the Tartar recol-
lected with feelings of horror, the casks
which they had seen floating on the
ocean; the painful conviction now forced
itself upon their minds that the Captain,
fearing lest he should be captured by the
Tartar and detained, had during the
chase, packed up his slaves in casks and
thrown them Into the sea; an appreben-
sion which is corroborated by the reAec-
ton that bad he thrown them overheard
without some cqs erlng their booies would
IN all probability have met the view of
The officers and crew Of the Tsr,er, and
disclosed The horrd catastrophe. But
alas ! ii was now too late to attempt any
plan Tor rescu!ng them. The chase had
carried them many leagues 10 wiGdward
OF the casks, aud should they ever fail in
with them, which was scarcely possible,
there was not the smallest probability of
finding any Of the wretched negroes alive,
for the casks being tight they must have
persisted from suiiocation. See Papers
laid on the table OF The House of Com
mons--Reporl Of Sir George Colie,-
Speech OF Duo de B gIic-Report Of
African Institution, vol. 10.
The schooner -, Don Morales,
master, arrived in the Ro pongos during
the month of August last, where she
took on board 200 slaves. Our infor-
mant states, that Morales while trading
for the cargo exhibited many instances
OF savage ferooity toward the slaves, but
after leaving the river, his cruelty seems
to have had full scope.
The number of slaves on board being
greatly disproportioned to the stowage
OF the schooner, be was obliged from
the first to issue short ra,icDs of water
and rice, in consequence OF which some
OF the slaves evinced some signs OF dis
content. Morales, deaf TO their wants,
kept them all below for three days with
out food Of any kind, and with barbara
ty unparalleled except among slave ira
ders, dischasged all the fire arms in his
vessel among the wretched beings, hound
and chaincd together as they were. Some
OF the sailors presumed 20 interfere, but
the barbarian si!enced their complaints
by killlnc the foremost OF them with his
sabre. II then made sail for the Rio
Po0gos, where, with the assistance Of
the slave lar tors, he got every thing put
to rights, took IN slaves to supply the
number he had killed, and bore away for
Havana. Sc Report of the African
Institution, p. 1875, vol. l6.
We addace these facts, supported as
they are by the most respectable witness
ses, to prove that the necessary conse-
qucnce Of familiarity with vice and cru
city is to harden and deprase The human
heart. /, is indifferent wbelhrr il be
prac,ised on board the slave ship, Or on
the plantation where slaves art kepl, he
effects are the same. The intercourse
between master and slave, calls forth the
continued exercise Of the malignant pas
sions and wherever we find this wretch
ed system existing, we shall perceive
that those tender and amiable feelings
which constitute so bright an ornament
to the human character, are more or less
impaired
In recit;ng those facts which serve to
exhibit the a'rocicus cruelties of the
slave trade, we have not embraced vague
and untonnded reports, but have restrict
ed ourselves almost wholly to official
estlmony-testimony which has been in
many instances, given under the solemn
tormalities OF legal evidence, which has
been slted by most scruinizine and
scrupu.ous examination, and Which
al VIC ihd"'ty aoi ingenuity VI ipteTes-
ted and avariclous men has never been
able to invalidate. O. such testimony,
we have at command sufficient to FL vo-
tunes, but we deem il necessary to Sc
leot but few of the very striking facts
which might be adduced to exhibit the
inhumani'y and wickedness Of this un-
righteous traffic in human flesh.
We shall now endeavor 10 show that