Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1889-07-11
YHE arab aAVERS.

To this day there is an occasional
cargo OF Blacks quietly picked up on
the African coast and run up the Red
Sea, while it is no secret that hun
dreds Of slaves are marched across
the Soudsn country and openly sold
on the north coast. When every
other nationality had been forced to
quit the nefarious traffic in human
flesh, the Arabs took hold and for
ten years they defied the power Of the
alliance. When l was first sent out to
the east coast as a midshipman on II.
NJ. S. Rover, every christian nation
was assisting to prevent the traffic,
but it goes without dispute that Eng
land was the only nation entering
heartily into the work. She has done
more on sea and land to break up
ownership of human flesh than all the
rest OF the world combined. In only
one or two instances on our station
did the Rover receive anything like
hearty support from the vessels Of
other nations, and In half q score of
cases the crews of merchant vessels
gave us information calculated to as
sist our enemies.
The Arab craft were not always
commanded by Arabs. Renegade
Americans, Frenchmen, Spaniards,
and men of other nationallties were
interested. and it was these men who
gave us the most trouble. They were
old hands in the business, up to all
the tricks and lodges, and they gave
us many useless chase and played
us many sharp game. The favorite
slave craft was the dhow, of light
draught. great spread of canvas, easily
managed, and fast sailer in any sort
of breeze, but various syndicates had
purchased hrigs, schooners and small
ships, and they were flying all sorts oi
colors and processing all sorts of oc-
equations. They came down the east
coast from Juba to Sofala, a distance
of a thousand miles, measured by the
trend of the coast. For two years
England had only two slave catcher'
on this long line, and it did not re.
quire much sharpness to get out q
contraband cargo. .
The mouth of every river on thi
coast has from two to five outlets, anC
many of them spray out into long in
lets and false channels, traversint
miles of swamp or low land, anC
twenty cruisers could not have KEEP
the coast under strict guard. Th
Rover was fast sailing brig. but sh
should have been a steamer to carr,
out the program laid down for her.
, One day just as we were ready t.
sail from Lasimba, after making som
needed repairs. an American mer
chairman came in with three black
aboard. They had been picked VI
off raft at sea a hundred miles dow
the coast. The Yankee captai
brought them aboard and turne
them over with the observation:
I'm a standing neutral on thi
blackbird question, captain. 1t seem
wrong to drag these niggeTs off an
make slaves of 'em, but our constitu
, tion permits slavery. Inever owned on
J and never shall, but we've got to hav
slaves or we can't have cotton ant
sugar. These poor devils have n
doubt got a story to tell. Maybe
will furnish a pointer for you ant
maybe it won't. I'm standing neu
tral, as I said before. If you can ge
anything out of them 60 ahead
We had two or three interpreter
aboard, and it wasn't long before W
learned that brig called the Lilo
had put in at the mouth of the Zinga
seventy miles down the coast, and wa
loading a cargo. The three men hac
escaped from barracoon three mile
| from the coast, reached the water an
built the raft, and, although realizinl
that there was not one chance in
hundred for their lives if they driftet
out to sea, they took it, and had bee
afloat two days and two nights whel
picked up. The brig had not begu
to load cargo when they escaped. In
deed, the barracoon held only abou
eighty captives, while she wanted two
hundred or over, and it would be fou
or FIVE days before her colnplemen
was ready.
The brig referred to professed to b
merchantmen. We had overhaule,
and boarded her twice without finding
ANYTHING suspicious, but yet we ha
been told several times that she wa
one of the luckiest crafts in the slav
trade. Here was golden opportun
ity, and the story of the blacks wa
hardly completed before the Rove
had made sail. We we're in luck i
carrying a fine breeze with US for fift
miles down the coast, then we &C
cats paws and calms, squall or two
and it was evening OF the second da
before we rounded the point AM
looked into the blight, at the west sid
Iaf -: II ,,.no kko ,r.o,,kL ~ tha Kiv,no