River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1884-06-12
A SLAVE SALE IN TANGHR.
How the Inhuman Trafac is openly CARRIED
On In an African City.


Correspondence Leeds Mercury
Sunday, learned, was the day on
which these human chattels were gem
orally disposed of; so, on the first Sun.
day after my arrival in Tangier I laid
my plans went for walk, and pres
emily found myself in the crowded little
threading my way past the stalls laden
with spring vegetables, with delicious
oranges, bananas, and other fruits, and
among heaps of fish, over which Arab
housewives were battling eagerly with
the statesmen. Visions of scenes de-
scribed in the pages of Uncle Toms
Cabin, and other works of fiction ia
| miliar to me in my early days, flashed
before my eyes. [ turned eagerly and
followed my guide. expecting shortly to
witness a melodramatic scene.
Just ahead of my conductor was a
tall, Unbranded Arab, with fine face and
| long. gray beard, whom I recognized as
one of the auctioneers who patrol the
High street of Tangier, carrying pieces
of calico, horse trappings, knives or
| other articles on their arms, and carry
ing the price at which they are offered
| to the public. He was moving stolidly
along through the crowd ofmarket peo-
pie. who were all too busy to spare so
| much as a glance for him. My guide
pointed to him.
VOLTA" he cried
uDr+ 5c Tho uTar-o - I Ia
"Voila, monsieur, voila!" he repeated,
pointing again to the auctioneer.
And then | saw walking YEARLY be-
hind him, pausing when he paused,
moving on when he advanced, looking
with eyes of pathetic apathy upon the
busy crowd around her, a girl Of thir-
teen years or Whereabouts, with uncov-
cred face, clad in single scanty gar
ment of white cotton. She was black
but not G::ocmely, and she had evil
IDENTIFY been carefully prepared i'll the
bath for the ordeal in the morning.
There she stood. alone in the crowd,
friendless, detected, travel worn hardly
to be distinguished in outward appear
ance from the other girls around her,
and yet deprived of the first of all rights
which human nature claims for itself-a
slave, without even the commonest of
humanity The little girl looked up
with dull curiosity visible on her fea-
lures when she observed my European
dress. Then she turned away with the
same sad face of hopeless detection. /
asked her price.
"Thirty-fiye dollars" cd was the an
swer.
Seven pounds as the price for
this little bit Of humanity !
She had peen brought from the
Soudan, the auctioneer told me. She
had been captured there by a slave
dealer, who carried her to Eogador, and
passed her on to another dealer, by
whom she had been taken to Tangier.
She was a pagan, absolutely ignorant;
but she was healthy, she was active, she
was good looking, she was-but no my
pen refuses to chronicle the list of vari-
Gus qualities as they were glibly enum
Grated by the salesman. He might
have been talking of a horse or a sheep;
nay, ne would hardly have talked so
cOarsely of either of those animals as he
did of this fellow creature of mine.
Presently he turned away disappointed,
finding that no bid was forthcoming
from me- | followed him at little dis
,ance along the narrow, winding street.
The girl was ever treading in his foot
steps. Suddenly a woman benkoned
him to door He entered it, still fol-
lowed by the girl; and when, a few
minutes afterward, he emerged, he was
alone. Through my conductor ] learned
that he had sold the girl to the woman
Of the house for the sum of IS.