The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1888-08-09
SLAVE HUNTING IN AFRICA.
The Arabs Still Desolating the COunti
with the Internal Traffic.

From Henry Drummond's recent
work on Central Africa: The life of
the native African is not idyllic. 1t is
darkened by tragedy whose terrors
are unknown to any other people un-
der Heaven. OF its mild domestic slave
ry do not speak, nor of its revolving
witch-craft, nor of its endless quarrels
and frequent tribal wars. These minor
evils are lost in the shadow of great
national wrong. Among these sim
pie and unprotected tribes Arabs
uninvited strangers from another race
and nature-pour in from the North
and East with the deliberate purpose
of making this paradise a hell. 1t
seems the awful destiny of this home
less people to spend their lives in break
ing up the homes of others. Wherever
they go in Africa the followersof Islam
are the destroyers of peace, the break
ers up of the patriarchal life, the dis
solvers of the family tie. Already they
hold the whole continent under one
reign of terror. They have effected
this in virtue of one thing-they
possess firearms; they do it for one OBJ
ject-ivory and slaves, for these two
are one. The slaves are needed to buy
stolen to carry it. So living man him
rency of Africa.
1t is quite mistake to imagine that
slave-hunting is a thing OF the past.
On the contrary, the Arabs have quite
recently become bolder than ever.
Many at home imagine that the death
knell of slavery was struck with the
I'll L. oS
Livingston. In the great explorers
time we heard much of slavery; we
were appealed to; the Government
busted itself; something was really
done. But the wall is already forgot
ten, and England hears little now of
the open sore of the world. But the
tragedy | have alluded to is repeated
every year and every month-witness
such recent atrocities as those of the
upper Congo, of the Kassai and San
karu region described by Wissman, and
of the Welle- -Makua district referred to
by Van Gele. 1t was but the other
day that an explorer crossing from
Lake Nyassa to Lake TanganYika saw
the whole southern end of Tanganyika
peopled with large and prosperous
villages. The next to follow him
found not solitary. human being
nothing but burned homes and
bleaching skeletons. 1t was but yes
terday-the close of 1S87-that the
Arabs at the north end of Lake Nyassa,
after destroying fourteen villages with
! many of their inhabitants, pursued the
population of one village into a patch
of tall dry grass, set it ON fire sur
rounded it, and slew with the bullet
and the spear those who crawled out
from the more merciful flames. The
Wa-Nkonde tribe, to. which these peo.
pie belonged, We're, until this event,
one of the most prosperous tribes in
East Central Africa. They occupied a
country of exceptional fertility and
beauty. Three rivers, which never
failed in the severest drouth run
through their territory, and their
crops were the richest and most varied
in the country. They possessed herds
of cattle and goats; they fished in the
, lake with nets; they wrought iron in
I to many-patterned spear-heads with
exceptional ingenuity and skill; and
that even artistic taste had begun to
develop among them was evident
| from the ornamental work upon
their huts, which were themselves
unique in Africa for clever construction
and beauty of design. This people.
in short, by their own inherent ability
/ and the natural resources of their
country were on the high road to
civilization. ~