Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-03-20
THE SLAVE TRADE IN AFRICA.
Interesting Particulars of the Methods of
Carrying il On.

The Paris Temps published the other day
letter from Arabia giving some details in re-
gard to the slave markets in Hodeida and other
towns. tits said that the Turkish governme nt
closes its eyes to the traffic. and that conse-
quently slavery fourishes with little or no OBJ
struction. The few vessels scattered along the
great distance from Zanzibar to Suakin are
utterly inadequate for the purpose of suppress
ing the trade. To exercise an effective sur
Vigilance a large fleet Of cruisers would be
necessary. involving, of course, an immense
expense.
The captains of the slavers are thoroughly
skilled in the methods of concealing their mer
chandlse. For example. when a ship is
approaching the slaves are thrown in the bot
tom of the hold, and barrels and bales and all
sorts OF things are placed over them with little
care for the danger of their suffocation. In
this way many SLAYER escapes as vessel en-
gagged in an honest business. In the Red Sea
they employ other means of escape. They
deal principally in children. and when there is
danger of capture they put their captives in
small boats AND land them on some island,
where they conceal them as best they can. One
OF the difficulties in the way of stopping this
traffic is the consent of the slaves themselves.
In liberty away from their own countries they
see nothing but starvation before them, and
the result is that many liberated slaves often
resell themselves. Moreover, they have a
dread of Europeans. The Arabs tell them that
the whites eat the blacks.
The proper way to suppress the traffic would
be to commence with the slave markets. which
flourish under the protection or. at least, toler
ance of the Turkish government. Formerly
the markets were carried on openly, now they
are operated secretly, and that is the only Diff
ference. The siavers land their merchandise
upon some deserted portion of the coast. and
from there it is brought overland to Hodeida.
Everybody is informed of the arrival. The
governor is the first to get the news. The slaves
are placed with agents, who sell them either in
the town itself or in the interior. OF course,
the prices vary according to the quality of the
goods; but Of late years the prices have been
considerably raised on account of the fees
which the merchants are obliged to pay to the
Turkish officials. Nevertheless. good servant
can be purchased for about $50 or $50. The
negroes from Zanzibar and the Soudan are
generally employed as servants. The women
from Djimona and Abyssinia are high-prfced.
They are generally very pretty, with tolerably
clear compilations and features Of the Euro
pean type. They fill the harems of Arabia
A handsome Gala about twelve years old will
sell easily for S120, $50, or even $500. In
Hodeida, where there are two European con-
suls this trade is carried on secretly but in the
interior it goes on openly. In Loheva, little
town north of Hodeida, the slaves are sold at
auction, and the lieutenant-governor receives
81 for each slave that is sold. Moreover, he
generally selects one or two for himself out of
each new cargo. This functionary does not
even know how to sign his name. and the cadi
of the same town deals in Gallas and Sou
danese as the most legitimate business in the
world
All that the Turkish government does against
this traffic is to give color of satisfaction to
the European powers. Lately Turkish war
vessel seized two slavers with 160 negroes but
this is, after all only a thin veil to cover the
acts which are going on every day under the
shelter of the Ottoman flag.
About one thousand slaves are annually sold
at Hodeida, and the trade is carried on at other
points on a much larger scale.