The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1860-06-15
The Captured Africans At Key West.


The Captured Africans At Key West.
The slave trade appears to be carried on
at the present time, with an activity unpre>
cedented, since the traffic was declared pira.
cy by the civilized world. Three cargoes
have been captured by q. s. vessels within
a month, and there are now at Key West,
where the prizes were brought, seventeen
hundred wild Africans, in the custody of
q. S. Marshal awaiting shipment to Afri-
ca. 1t is asserted, the n. Y. Herald says,
and believed by those who have the best
means of knowing, that where one slave YES
sci is detected by the government with its
cargo of Africans, ten succeed in landing
the negroes and distributing them over the
South. We do not believe this to be true.
It would be impossible to land negroes in
any portion of the south without the fact
becoming known. The negroes at Key
West were all intended for Cuba, and the
traffic will flourish as long as that island is
under the domination of Spain.
The House of Representatives, on Monday
last, passed bill for the return of the Afri-
cans to their native country, and making an
appropriation for their support for period
not exceeding one year from the date of
their arrival in Africa.
Harper's Weekly, of late date, publishes
an interesting account of the condition of
the negroes captured on the bark Wild6re
and brought into Key West.
THEIR CONDITION ON SHIP BOARD.
Soon after the bark was anchored we re-
paired on board, and on passing over the
side, saw on the deck of the vessel, about
four hundred and fifty native Africans, in
state of entire nudity in sitting or squat
ing posture, the most of them having their
knees elevated so as to form resting place
for their heads and arms. They sat very
close together, mostly on either side of the
vessel, forward and aft, leaving q narrow
open space along the line of the centre for
the crew of the vessel to pass to and fro.
About fifty of them were full grown young
men. and about four hundred were boys
aged from ten to sixteen years. 1t is said
by persons acquainted with the slave trade
and who saw them, that they were generally
in very good condition of health and flesh,
as compared with other similar cargoes, ow-
ing to the fact that they had not been so
much crowded together on board as is COM
mon in slave voyages, and had been better
fed than usual. 1t is said that the bark is
capable of carrying, and was prepared to
carry, one thousand, but not being able
without inconvenient delay, to procure so
many, she sailed, with six hundred. Ninety
and upward had died on the voyage. But
this is considered as comparatively small
loss, showing that they had been better
cared for than usual. Ten more have died
since their arrival. and there are about forty
more sick in the hospital.
From the deck we descended into the
cabin, where we saw sixty or seventy wo-
men and girls, in Natures dress, some sit
| ting on the floor and others on the lockers,
and some sick ones lying in the berths.
-Four or five of them were good deal tat
| tered on the back and arms, and we noticed
that three had an arm branded with the
figure 81" which we suppose is the mer-
chants mark.
THEIR DEvoTIoNs.
The doctors had selected from the bark
woman about twenty-four years of age to
assist the nurse in taking care of the sick.
| She had been dressed in clean calico frock,
and looked very respectfully. About SUM-
down they all lay down for the night upon
a camp bed, and were covered over with
blankets. And now scene took place
which interested US very much, but which
we did not understand and cannot explain.
The woman standing up slapped her hands
| together once or twice, and as soon as all
| were silent she commenced a sort of recita-
ton, song, or prayer, in tone and manner
much like chanting of the Litany in Cath
Ole Churches, and every few moments the
voices of ten or fifteen others were heard in
the same tone, as if responding. This exer-
else continued about minute. Now what
could this be? 1t looked and sounded to
US very much like Christians chanting to-
gether in an evening prayer on retiring to
rest. And yet we feel quite assured that
none of these persons had ever heard of
Christ, or had learned Christian practices,
or possessed much, if any, knowledge of
God as Creator or Preserver of the world.
We suspect that it was not understood by
them as religious exercise at all, but as
something which they had been trained to
60 through at the barracoons in Africa or
on board the ship.
ON SHORE AND FREE.
In two days after the arrival of the bark,
the Marshal had completed large, airy
building at Whitehead's Point, a little out
of the town, for the reception and accom-
mediation of these people; and after getting
them clad as we'll as he could in short
time, they were all landed on the fort wharf,
and carried in carts to their quarters. On
arriving there they all arranged themselves
along the sides of the building, as they had
been accustomed to do on the decks of the
vessels, and squatted down in the same man.
ner.
1t took the Marshal and his assistants
some little time, and no small efforts, to give
the Africans to und erstand that they were
free to move about, to go out and come in
at will. They learned this in the course of
few hours, however, and general merri>
ment and hilarity prevailed. We visited
them in the afternoon, and have done 50
several times since; and we confess that we
have been struck, as many others have been,
with the expression of intelligence displayed