Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1868-10-07
The Slave Trade Revived.

fifty negroes from Mobile pay to CUBA,
furnishes the reporter Of the Mobile
Register with a full narration Of the
trip. We have only room for the sub
joined extracts. This man says that he
and his friend Tommy" agreed to en-
ter the service of the Schooner with the
understanding that they were to go to
Galveston, whittier the negroes were
going to work on plantation, and that
| he did not know that the Yankee Cap
tain was SLAYER, and had induced the
negroes to go aboard under false pre-
tences, and with the intention OF selling
the negroes into slavery Here is the
story inp part. twill be foundinteresting
AT g. o'clock everything had been
made snug, and the watch had started
to go below, when the mate came for
ward to the waist and told all hands to
muster aft. The men, Tommy and I
with the rest, ranged ourselves along on
deck in line. The captain and the
two mates stood on the windward side
of the deck in front of us, looking like
officers overhauling row Of soldiers
After looking to see that all hands
there, the Captain said" Men, I sup
pose you know what you were shipped
il, this schooner for; the time has come
for us to put things in train to carry out
our design. The, first thing, Of course,
is to GET the irons on the negroes-after
that we shall have time enough to-
here my chum, Tommy, and l both put
our oars in and asked what all this
meant; for though we had had our sus-
pieions-at least, I had-this "plump-
out-with-it."' speech had taken us all
aback. -, 5. -
"Ill tell you what it means, said
the captain; ~ should have told you
before you came on board hut had no
opportunity, and was not going to lose
two good men by being afraid to take
them without telling; this, means that
if we land this cargo Of one hundred
and fifty negroes on the Island of Cuba,
we shall make good thing of it; if We
are caught at it the speculation will
probably lose US our necks; you have
no choice; a couple of men vail not be
allowed to block a game like this
with us.
And he was right: Tommy and I
would have been q couple of bloody
fools to cry hands of at a,time like
this, with the certainty Of going over
the sides with our throots cut.
AS soon as the captain was done
speaking the second mate went down
into the cabin and handed up a pair Of
reyolvers to each man, and then com
menced passing up the handouts. TAX
ing care not to let the things jingle and
make noise. When enough had been
handed up to-" accommodate" our com
plemcnt of passengers, the mate sent
four Of us forward with them, and him
self went down into-the hold with a
lamp and turned out FIVE or sly Of the;
negroes, telling them that he wanted
their help. about something on deck.
The darkies came up the hatchway
trembling and stumbling about the decks
with the motion of the vessel, feeling
their way forward, headed by the mate
with the light, until they were at the
gangway abreast the galley, when the
revokers were showed under their noses.
and sudden death promised them if they
made the least bit Of row. The irons
were slipped on their hands and fast
cned, gags placed in their mouths, and
then they were slowed away in the
gangwayto windearcE.
:, This bringing them up by half-dozens
was kept up until all but about twenty
five had been occurred, but the waking
up cf the others lad so disturbed these
that they couldn't sleep much, and l
suppose they must have heard some
thing OF other of what was going onson
deck, for when the mate went down for
another batch, the poor devils kicked
up most internal din, and swore by all
that was good and bad, that they wouldn't
come up until they knew what it was
all about. The mate tried persuasion
at first, but move they wouldn't, and
finally the mate got in passion and
grabbed the first one. that came handy
and tried. odrag him up on deck any
how. The negro, Of course, resisted,
and in the scutfie the light was knocked
out, and all the darkies made rush to
the hatch. The mate cleared ,himself
of the negro and sprang-on deck just in
time to save himself. Calling the second
mats, cook, and steward to come quick
with capstan bars, the blacks that were
below were kept from rushing on deck.
The capstan-bars were used pretty free:
Ilyion the sconces of some that tried to
get out anyway, but none of them were
much hurt. Leaving three men to look
after the main-hatch the mate went for
ward, and with the helpo Tommy and
I, reused up about sixty fathoms OF
chain from the locker and ranged it
along the deck, and, getting out a ball
of marline, he and the captain took the
darllies that had been put in irons, and,
one at time, seized them hard and fast
to the chain. This done, the captain
called all hands to come with him and
make a break on thefellows below. The
steward got bnll's-eye lamp, and with
the captain. and six Of the crew, jumped
into the hold among the darkies. The
negroes in the hold were scared almost
to death by this time and there wasnot
much OF fight in getting them " to
rights" as the mate called it. When
the hold had been cleared, and all the