Weekly Trinity journal., 1869-07-24
A Turkish Slave Market.

A correspondent of the London Star, writing
from Smyrna, describes his visit to slave mar
ket. He says:
party of US, under the leadership of our
guide, passed along Frank street, and then turned
up through the hazars and the Persian market,
and on till we passed through kind of gateway,
in which several Turks were smoking. Here We
found a moderately sized square, surrounded by
number of low buildings few Turks were
lounging about, and two or three boys, as black
as ebony, stood eyeing US with considerable GU
riosity but there nothing to indicate the
existence of a slave market-it might have been
market for any other commodity. Our guide,
however, went to a door in the corner of the
square, about which several people were stand
ing and some black boys were engaged packing
butter in tubs. We entered, and then we found
ourselves in the presence Of slave owner and
his slaves. The man-stealer was STOUT, sensu-
Gus, lazy-lookng Turk, about sixty years of age,
sitting wrapped up in costly Eastern robes, with
the everlasting pipe in his mouth The slaves
consisted Of five women and two boys. Three of
the women were comparatively young, ranging
from nineteen to twenty-tour years. DID, the
other two about thirty, and the boys about thir-
teen or fourteen. The sitting,
Turkish fashion, on a broad divan or platform,
and the boys were packing butter. All were as
black as ravens. We were asked to set down
of the girls was remarkably good-looking, had
on good dress, and with necklace of beads and
long, gilt eardrops, made some pretension to
style; and the others were very passable as
negresses from our European standpoint of
beauty. Another Turk came in and took his
place near the proprietor, and spoke few words
in English. We asked through our guide what
was the price of the best looking of the girls.
The old man told US $500 and ordered her to
stand up, which she Immediately did, showing
fine form and erect position. When took out
my pencil and paper, to note the price, they all
seemed to exhibit considerable interest in our
visit; the price OF the other two y91Pgf .men
was $3.50 each, and that of the two el yho
were strongly built G300 and tAs1ln Two
young boys was $3.50 each. Ty ysnen
stood up for inspection. Dlgsfdc, who
was native of Smyrna, told that if we pur-
chased any of them We should receive papers
! from the government, transferring our property
to our possession, and it was with difficulty that
we could make them understand that the papers
would be of value as soon as the slave and
master reached the British dominons. After
giving them a little q bacl,shish," we left the
dirty den with our hatred of Eastern abomina-
tions very much intensified. ! confess, an
Englishman, l can feel nothing but shame for
our national friendship for the Turkish govern
ment and It's institutions. We were told that,
after the Crimean war, slavery disappeared; but
it is gradually spreading again, and in a country,
the government of which is as corrupt as rotten
ness can make it, and whose officers, from the
highest to the lowest, bow blindfoded before
the power of ~ backshish," it is no wonder that
slavery should spread
CoNsTASTSoPLE, April 23d.-I proposely kept
my letter open till reached this city, so that
might make further inquiries into the subject.
1 have conversed with gentleman long resident
in Constantinople and we'll acquainted with
Turkish institutions and laws. He assures me
that large slave-trade is carried on, that the
Circassians sell their children for the Turkish
market, and scarcely ship arrives from
Trebizond Egypt, without bringing some );
that some of the Circassan girls will at times
fetch c 900, but the Africans are very cheap :;
that if gentleman wants to buy slave he
sends for slave broker, who takes his order for
the kind Of article that he requires, and then
goes to the depots where they are kept. My
friend accompanied me yesterday to the principle
street in Galata where the Circassians are kept
and showed me the establishments with thckly
trellsed windows. The African market is across
the Golden Horn, in Stamboul He however
informed me of two notifications in the system
The first is that the traffic is only legal among
the Moslems, and that Franks can neither buy nor
sell and, secondly, that the slave has the option
of refusing to so with any buyer but if the slave
does not object, a legal transference is made and
the fate Of the unfortunate finally sealed The
first modification does not altar the principle of
the wicked system, and the second cannot be of
much value to a poor, lonely, friendess victim
whose body belongs 10 mercenary, and, it may
be, cruel spectator.