The southern enterprise. [volume] (Greenville, S.C.) 1854-1870, 1856-09-04
The Jtaffic in Gifcassian
dU Q IN G y.

There has lately been an unusu ally large
number of Circassians going about the streets
of Constantinople. Many of them, no
doubt belonged to the deputation which
came to petition the Porte that their coun.
try might lie taken under the suzerainty
of the Sultan. A considerable portion,
however, of the Circassians now in the cap
ital have quite another mission than polit-
ical one to fulfil. They are here as slave
dealers, charged with the disposal Of the
numerous parcels of Caucasian girls that
have been for some time pouring into this
market. Perceiving that when the Rus
slams shall have re-occupied the coast Of Cau-
casus this traffic in whit slaves will be over,
the Citcassain dealers have redoubled their
efforts ever since the commencement of the
peace conferences to introduce into Turkey
The greatest possible number of women
while the opportunity of doing so lasted.
They have been so successful, notwithstand-
ing the prohibition Of the trade by the Porte,
and the presence Of so many Of her Majesty's
ships in the Black Sea, that never, perhaps,
at any former period, was white human flesh
so cheap as it is at this moment.
There is an absolute glut in the market,
and dealers are obliged to throw away their
goods, owing to the extent of the supply,
which in many instances has been brought
by steam under the British flag. In former
times, a "good middiing" Circassian girl
was thought very cheap at 910o. but at the
present moment the same description of
goods may be had for G5 in fact, the crea-
lures are eating their heads of, and must be
disposed of at any sacrifice, however alarm
ing. Independently of all political, humane,
and Christian objections to the abominable
state of things, there are several practical
ones which have even forced themselves on
the attention of the Turks. With low prices
a low class of purchasers come into the
market. Formerly, Circassian girl was
pretty sure of being bought into good fam
lily, where not only good treatment, but Of
ten rank and fortune, awaited her; but at
the present low rates she may be taken by
any huxter, who never thought of keeping
slaye hefore. H...
h Another evil is, that the temptation TO
possess Circassian giIl at such low prices
is SO great in the minds Of the Turks, that
many who cannot afford 10 keep several
slaves have been sending their blacks to
market, in order to make room for newly
purcDaseu WIito SHI. iho consequence -
that numbers of black women, after being
as many rs eight or ten years in the same
hands, have lately been consigned to the
broker for disposal. Not few of those
wretched creatures are in state quite sn-
fit for being sold. have it on the authori-
ty Of a respectable slave broker, that at the
present moment there have been thrown on
market unusually la:ge numbers OF negresses
in the family way, some of them slaves Of
pachas and men of rank. lie finds them so
unsaleable that he has been obliged to de.
cline receiving any more. A single obserya
tion will explain thu reason of this, which
might appear strange when compared with
the value tina. is attached even to an unborn
black baby in some slave countries. In rCun.
stantin ople it is evident that there is very
large number ofuegresses living end having