Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1888-12-27

Now that the blocade of the East At
rican coast has begun in earnest, and
the first great step toward the extermi-
nation of the slave trade in the Dark
Continent has been taken, few facts
concerning that slave trade will be in
place.
The capture and sale of African ne
groes has been going on for many CEN
turies, and still continues with but
slightly abated activity. The captives
are marched either across the Desert of
Sahara to the North African coast
chiefly Moroccoz-or to the ports on the
Zanzibar coast, anu thence are taken to
various countries on the Mediterranean,
to Turkey, Arabia, the Africa Islands,
and elsewhere, where they go to stock
haremS, or are made use of as servants
in every kind of menial occupation.
Some twelve years ago England estab
lished blockade on the Eastern coast
of Africa and maintained it for about
nine years. During that period the
slave trade on the coast became snug
Cling traffic. During the past three
years however, it has resumed its old
proportions. The infamous traffic has
received no such check in Morocco, and
is still rampant there.
Until within a number of years near
" all the slave catchers were Arabs.
Now, however, the native negroes them
selves, having learned the art from the
Arabs, are largely engaged in it. In
deed it is said that in Central Africa
the Arab merchants themselves no long
er take any personal part in slave hunts,
for their supplies altogether
on the native catchers.
1t can readily be imagined that many
districts in the African interior have
been practicallydepopulated by this long
continued slave traffic. Along the banks
of the Congo, for instance, and in the
region to the northwest of Lake Tang
it is estimated that fully twenty
five thousand square miles have been
absolutely drained of their people. And
this was once one of the most thickly
settled sections of the continent. South
of this another district of twenty thOus-
and square miles has been almost utter
ly depopulated, while east of this latter
district, in the region where Livinstone
died, the Arabs have turned fully fifteen
thousand square miles into a wilder
ness.
The suffering endured by the captur-
ed negroes on their long and weary
from the interior to the slave
markets on the coast are too well known
to require any detailed discussion. 1t
has been said that the routes of slave
caravans in Equatorial Africa "can be
traced by the bones of negroes that
strew the way"
Great Britain and Germany have fin
ally determined to begin war on this
unholy and inhuman traffic, and to keep
it up until it is stopped forever. Italy,
France and Portugal will probably join
them in this noble undertaking. The
east coast trade is to be stopped first,
and an effort will be made to establish,
by means of many war ships, an effec-
tive blockade along three thousand miles
of the coast, from Suakim on the Red
Sea to Mozambique.
Meanwhile, also, the slave trade will
be attacked at one of its chief sources of
supply, two hundred and fifty thousand
dollars having been contributed by var
ious European governments for the Or
ganization of party to be sent to the
big lakes in Central Africa.
The fight will necessarily be long
and bitter one, but all will hope that it
will be victorious and a glorious one
in the end, and it will leave this vast
and now untamed continent enrolled
among the civilized nations of the coun-
Columbus Dispatch.