The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-08-14
Z PEDRO BLANCO, THE SLAYER.
How Rich spaniard Caught the Blacks
From tho Iunyla

How a Rich spaniard Caught the Blacks
From the Jungle.
recent visitor to the Gallinas River, on
the west coast Of Africa, just north of Ii
IBERIA, says great many traces yet exist of
the large establishments maintained by Pc
dro Blanco when he was making his enor-
nous fortune in the slave trade, fifty years
ago. The story of Pedro Blanco is a re-
markable one. OF the hundreds of men
who for three centuries engaged in the AZ
rican slave trade the Spaniard. Pedro
Blanco, lowered above them all in the ex-
tent and success of his operations.
Pedro Blanco was q man of education.
He was born at Malaga, Spain, OF good
family. He chose. however, to embark in
disreputable business, because he saw in it
the prospects of great fortune. At frs he
commanded a slave ship running from
West Africa to the West Indies, where he
sold his slaves. After few years he es-
tablished himself In Africa, at the mouth OF
the GallInas River, for the purpose of ac-
cumulating the cargoes there which his
fleet of slave vessels were to carry to all
parts of the West Indies and the South
American coast. In 1896 Captain Canot
visited Pedro BlancG and wrote the best de-
scription of his establishment that we have.
1t was written, however, in tue blunt style
of sailor, and undoubtedly he omitted a
a great many interesting details
He said that as he entered the river and
pushed upward among the many islands, he
was astOnished at the great pains the Span
iards had taken to avoid being surprised by
cruisers, which were constantly on the alert
TO capture Shaving vessels. He saw at least
twenty watch towers, made of high piles, pro-
tected against sun and rain, and enabling the
watchmen to observe the sea ut height of
from 60 to 100 feet above the ground. A
n har nf W. az 70 xoI -,
lofty trees. Each watchman has power
full spy-glaSs, with which he was continually
sweeping the horizon. Then there were
other towers extending into the interior,
within signaling distance of one another
Upon the appearance in the ofing Of hos
tile sail, the news was telegraphed by sig
nails in few minutes from the coast for
miles into the Interior, and thus Pedro Ban-
CO and his agents were instantly informed
that there was danger in the air.
Then there was a great hustling Of the
hundreds of slaves who filed the great trad
erS' barracoons, or slave sheds, into the man.
grove Swamps, or off into the jungle, where
there was not one chance in a hundred that
their presence would be detected. If the
vessel sent few boatloads of men ashore
they found nothing In the sheds except bales
Of harmless merchandise, and Pedro Blanco
was ready to receive them with the blandest
OF smiles and an apparently very hearty
welcome, assuring them that he was glad to
receive visits from people OF MS own color
that he had quit shaving for living and
was now in legitimate commerce, and he
hoped that they would come to see him
often. At that very time he would prob
ably have 1000 or 5000 slaves out in the
swamps. The slave-chasers could find no
proof of the nefarous business, and on they
would go 10 seek their prey in other direc-
tiOns.
In similar way the news communicated
from post TO post of Blanco's establishment
whenever one of his little vessels return ed
from the western world for a fresh cargo.
1t would lie at anchor off the coast, take On
little india-rubber. cocoanut-oi and other
articles of legitimate commerce and walt
for some dark night when nothing had
been seen or heard of any cruiser, and then
it would rapidly ill its hold with the
poor wretches. who were tied together in
the barracoons, and off it would start for
America. Pedro Blanco was extremely
fortunate. Now and then he lost a
slave vessel, but the most of his
cargoes of black people reached the
western world in safety and were sold at
great profit to traders there. He could af-
ford to lose an occasional vessel, for the
profits on q single cargo that safely reached
America amounted to small fortune.
Each OF his slave depots on the island was
In charge Of an agent. Upon one of these
islands near the mouth Of the river Blanco