Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1846-03-26
From the National lntclligcnccr Of March 10.
THE CAPTURED SLAVE SHIPS.

|
narrowing account of tho slave-ship Pons, cap
tured on the coast of Africa by the sloop-of-war /
Yorktown, Captain Bell. The letter Of DR.. Luz
cHNpEEL, and the extracts from tho circular Of I
the Methodist Mission in Liberia, which we in
serted in Fridays paper, furnished the particu-
lars of the capture and Of the dreadful condition
Of the poor wretches found crammed beneath the |
decks Of the slave vessel but il is due to Capt.
Bell to give also his official accoun. Of the cap
tare, which we accordingly insert below. Itpre-
sents the most shocking case Of outraged human |
ity which has ever appeared in our columns. |
The vessel employed in this execrable transact
ton went, it appears, originally from Philadel-
phia. According to the United States Gazette
she was sold at Rio de Janerio as trader, by hsr
owners and all interest in her on the part of cit-
zens Of Philadelphia ceased some time since. She
arrived at Philadelphia on Friday, in charge of
Lieut.. CooDxLL, of the Yorktown, and prize
crew Of ten men. She brought in four prisoners,
Portuguese, who found on board at the
time Of her capture. 1t is devoutly to be hoped
that all, Of whatever country, who shall be con-
victed of having been engaged, whether directly
or indirectly, in the inhuman affair." may be made
TO suffer the extreme penalty of the law.
tits remarkable that within the same week
three vessels should have arrived in our ports as
prizes to the American squadron for having been
engaged in the slave-trade-viz: the Pons, above
fher. pA3e OF the same vessel, which arrived at
Charleston on Monday; and the Robert Jpiison,
prize 20 the sloop-of-war jamestown, which
reached Charleston "" Thursday.
We congratulate the officers OF our Navy, en-
gagged on the coast in the perilous war against
these enemies OF the human race, that their vigil
liant efforts have been rewarded with so much
success. They will receive the thanks of the
whole country:
Letter from Capt. Bell to the Secretary Of The Nary.
UNITED STATES SHIP YoRKrowN,
KABrNDA, (Africa,) Dec. l6, 1916.
SIR: have the honor to inform you that ad-
dressed a letter to you on the 30th ultmo, giving
an account Of the capture of the American barque
Pons, of Philadelphia, with eight hundred and
ninety-six slaves on board, a duplicate of which
/ now enclose. / was so anxious to dispatch the
vessel in the shortest time for Liberia in order to
land the slaves, and relieve them from their mis-
cradle confinement, that it was not in my power
TO give you ii more particular account of this YES
sci. will now endeavor to do so, and also state
some facts which have since come TO my know
ledge.
The Pons, under the command of James Berry,
was at anchor at kabinda for about twenty days
before she took on board the slaves, during which
time she was closely watched by her Britannia
Majesty's brig Cygnet, Commander Layton. AT
about nine O'Clock on the morning of the 9th
November the Cygnet got under way and stood
to sea. Immediately Berry gave up the ship to
Gallano, who commenced getting on board the
water, provisions, and slaves and so expeditions
were they in their movements, that at eiph: o.
clock that evening the vessel was under weigh,
having embarked nine hundred and three slaves.
Instead of standing directly to sea. she kept in
with the coast during the night AT daylight
they were off Kacongo, about twenty five miles
to the north of Kabinda, when they discovered
the Cygnet in the olfing. They Immediately
furlSd all their sails, and drifted so near the shore
that the negroes lined the beach in hope Of a
shipwreck. They continued in this situation
until meridian, when, finding they had now been
Icsnu thnyy cntsL Hi L.. IL
clear the shore, and, as the Cygnet drew of from
the land, they afterwards Set their more lofty
ones. Two days afterwards we captured her.
Her crew consisted of Spaniards, Portuguese,
Brazilans, and some from other countries; and,
although continuing under the American flag,
with probably American papers, not ono Ameri-
can was on board.
AS could not dispatch her the evening of her
capture. she kept company with us that night.
The next morning l regretted to learn that
eighteen had died and one jumped overheard. So
many dying in SO short time was accounted for
by the captain in the necessity he had of thrust
ing below all who were on deck, and closing the
matches, when he first fell in with US, i'm order TO
escape detection.
The vessel has no save-deck, and upwards OF
eight hundred and fifty were piled, almost in
bulk, on the water-casks below. These were
males. About forty fifty females were con.
fined in one half Of the round-house cabin on
deck; the other half OF the cabin remaining for
the use of the officers. AS the ship appeared to
be less than three hundred and fifty TONS il SEEM
ed impossible that one-half could have lived to
cross the Atlantic About two hundred filled up
the sPar-deck alone, when they were permitted
to come up from below, and yet the captain as.
sured me that it was his intention to have taken
four hundred on board if he could have
spared the time.
The stencil from below was so great that i,
was impossible to stand more than few mo.
ments near the hatchways. Our men who went
below from curiosity, were forced up sick in q
few minutes; then all the matches were off.
What must have been the snferngs of these poor
wretches when the matches Were closed! | am
informed that very often in these cases. the strong
er will strangle tue weaker; and this was proba-
bly, the reason why many died, or rather were
found dead, the morning after the capture. None
but an eye witness can form a conception of the
horrors these poor creatures must endure i'm their
transit across the ocean,
l regret TO say that most of this misery is pro.
duced by our own countrymen; they furnish the
means OF conveyance in spite of existing enact
ments; and although there are strong circum-
stances against Berry, the late master of the
"Pons," sufficient to induce me TO de.ain him, il
should meet with him, yet fear neither he nor
his employers can be reached by our present
laws. lie Will no doubt make il appear that the
"Pons" was beyond his control when the slaves
were brought on board. Yet, from the testimo-
ny OF the men who came over from Rio as pas
sengers, there is no doubt the whole affair was
arranged at Rio between Berry and GalIano be-
fore the ship sailed. These men state that the
first place they anchored was at Onin, near the
river Lagos, In the Blight Of Benin here thew
discharged portion of their cargo and received
on 6oard number Of hogsheads on pipes filled ,oifh
Ua!er. These were slowed on the ground tier,
and tier OF casks containing spirits were placed
over them. IHey JCere then informed that The