Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1892-01-21
ARAB SLAVE cArcHsRs.
1ns Tramc In Humane Chattsls sim Car
rlod ON In Af.ica,

FLED ON In Af.ica.
y. Bronchl late Italian consul-pen.
eral ut Zanzibar has had some curious
experience and seen MANY strange
things during his stay in Africa. Re-
Gently he gave running account of
the African slave trade as it is now
carried on at and near Zanzibar, told |
OF the prowess Of the Arab slave |
catchers and the efforts of the dhows
to run the blockade and land their
human freight One curious thing
which he recounted was that, aside
from the Arabs those interested in
the traffic were almost invariably
negroes. They are engaged in per.
petuating the slavery of their own
race, says the San Francisco Ex-
aminer.
Their Arab captors," said he. ARE
AT almost constant war with bands of
negroes in the interior. and for every
slave that is captured and sold into.
slavery thirty or forty die. Some of
them perish in the attack, others
through privation while being trans.
ierred from the interior to the coast
where they can be shipped and others
while on the dhows.
They are substantially the same
type OF full-blooded colored people you
see in the United States. They are rs
black az it is possible for people to be.
The Arabs who 60 hunting for
them penetrate hundreds of miles in
the interior. Most of the captures
used to be made in the lake region.
but in late years it has been pretty
we'll stopped there. Since the great
powers have taken possession and APP
portioned out Zanzibar the Arabs are
not allowed to pursue their nefarious
business. Steps were taken right
away to prevent them. Both England
and Germany. as we'll as Italy. among
which ZANZIBAR was divided have
men-of-war on the alert for the slavers.
but for every man-of-war that Ger
many or Italy has England has ten to
twelve The task OF preventing the
slave traffic therefore, devolves almost
entirely on England. She does the
best she can, but nevertheless the
traffic goes on-not in the degree that
it did formerly. but still to a consider
able extent.
Several ports are unguarded and
into these the dhows sail and wait till
the bands OF slaves are driven in from
the interior, where they have been
caught. A dhow is from twenty to
thirty feet long as rule, though some
, are considerably larger Fifty, sixty.
a hundred or more naked slaves are
crowded into dhow, and the black
men in charge. who have bought then
from the Arabs then make every effOr
to run the blockade.
Slavery itself, after the victims are
turned over to their final owner. il
not so bad The Shareholders trea
them fairly we'll. not beating or NAL
treating them. as rule. The move
, ments OF these Arabs and their on
, slaughts are conducted in desultor,
: manner. Bands prey upon savage
wherever they can be found. Cloves
, which are produced in immense guam
) titles in Zanzibar. and the cultivation
, of which is the main industry ar
grown by slaves. They are kept la
boriously at work from one season t
another. The negroes are not nat
urally Industrious. They would niue
rather play and sing than be kept d
: work in the forests and fields. The
, make strenuous efforts to escape. an
t frequently succeed. II an attempt
made to capture them they will tigf
D to the death.
t What gives the Arab slavers sue
t an advantage over the poor African
o ia their native wilds is the guns whiC
r they have in plenty. The natives I
rule are not so equipped. The
have only their clubs and rude veal
y ons OF other kinds and are unable
> cope with the most improved Europea
!. and American weapons which Il
4 Arabs have. Even now the Arabs al
e able to secure SO many slaves tn
!, $50 or 800 will buy one and som
times two slaves"