Union County star and Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1859-1864, 1860-06-08
A SLAYER Captured.
L. :. SrT.uEE -CHUsATIE,-
Key H,-f- Nav d lS.D


carrying great press Of canvass, and hav-
ing rather suspicious look about her, but
on our close approach to her she displayed
French colors This was bad omen for
Us, yet our Commander, being full o. pluck
aud zeal, and willing to ruu some personal
risk in the suppression Of the Slave-ira3s,
Immediately lowered boat with Lieu
tenant and boats crew fully armed to
make visit. As our boat neared the
side of the ship, down went the French
colors to the bottom Of the sea, accompapi-
ed with all the "ship's papers" the captain
preferring to be captured as slarer oaly,
without name or nationality. On board
ing, they Immediately surrendered TIE
negroes were all down in the hold, tie
hatches covered, and all suspicious appear
ances removed from the deck as far as
was possible-so that, without boarding,
the vessel Nigh, have escaped our suspi-
eions; and, as long IS they displayed any
other fag except our OWL, go long, by the
laws Of nations, are We forbid to board
wiihou, their permission. This iaw ought
to be changed. As soon as We took pos
session, the negroes found ii out, and came
mastering on deck, Whoopirg and yelling
frantic with delight, shaking hands and
embracing each other and going through
all sorts OF fantastic motions. Ii was 4
most thrilling and Interesting scene. They
had regular 4,h Of July for a short time.
Order aud dicipline were momentarily
ended.
In the mean time, our party seized the
ships crew and their effects, and sent them
aboard Of our vessel as prisoners. We
soon had hawsers out as;ern, aud of the
gay "Crusader" steamed with the prize in
tow for Key West. If We only had enough
provisions and water, We would have taken
her to Washington, to show our legislative
fathers the curiosity. Our prize is a
French barqus Of about $50 tons burden.
She had a crew Of II men, and All ne
groes aboard. The crew are French, Por-
tuguese and Spanish. The Captain is
very intelligent aud gen,lemanly French
man. l have listened to his narrative of
his cruise with great deal of interest
He appears to have used his negroes with
extraordinary kind and humane feelings
for slave-:rader. They had been at sea
for Il days, aud los, bu; by death, (and
several Of these were brought aboard, sick,
without bis knowledge.) On leaving Why
nah (kiDgdom of DahOmy.) Africa, coast
traders wanted to pu, $50 victims aboard,
but the Captain resolutely refused to take
more than AIS. He also tells US that over
800 Of lis cargo consisted Of prisoners of
war-had been quite badly treated-and
would probably have been killed if not
sold soon. Nearly all Of them we're high .
ly delighted with the exchange. This is
the Captains first cruise as SLAYER, and
he bear his i'll fortune like a philosopher.
All the credit for the state Of the ne
groes on the vessel however does DO: be-
long to the Captain alone, as the Super
cargo, another FrenchnaD, who is an old,
experienced officer in slave,,rading, ap-
pears TO be ac;ua,ed BY the same princi.
pies Of intelligence and humanity as the
Captain. When l speak Of humane treat
ment on SLAYER speak comparatively, Of
course. Judge for yourselves! hundreds
Of stark naked human beings crowded in
to very small space, with scanty allow
ance Of food and water, no bedding, and
With such accommodations as these to
make sea voyage of forty to sixty days!
A, regular intervals, they are allowed to
come on deck. Order aud cleanliness are
as far as practicable males
md females are kept separate; the sick
IRE waited on; the weak are protected
rom the strong; and Equality and fra
ernity" is their motto.
This is the third SLAYER l have been
board Of durin ng this month the healthy
md happy appearance of this party, in
with the others, speaks volumes
n favor of the Frenchmen. On this ac-
cunt, and also on account of their aver ,
ge age being greater, this is the most val- {
Iable cargo of the three, although it is the
mallest. Had We not captured her, in ..
ess than twentJ-fOur hours, probably, =,
cur hundred thousand dollars would have ,
banged hands, and these negroes doomed
0 a life Of Cuban slavery. But now 7
heir fate is changed, whether for the bet .
ar or the worse the world will differ in t
pinion. Personally, am very glad Of a
!, and feel proud Of being partially in 9
.rumen.al in bringing about the change. =
,ur prize money will probably amount to il
,urteen thousand dollars, but by dividing
,is among SO many, our shares will be
cry small. L
The slave trade, even in the hands of q
ne SO we'll qualified to take charge of it q
this humane and intelligent Frenchman,
, ho,r;hla one Tvish IL vas abolished 7