Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-01-05
THE CALLAS SLAVES.
King Menelek Has Ordered That
 Traffic in Them Be Stopped.


 sion to Abyssinia for the purpose of negotiating trade treaty with King Menelek, and the favorable reception accorded it by the able but half sav- age ruler of that interesting but large ly unknown country, has given every bit of news from Abyssinia 8 greater interest to the American reader, and when recently it was reported that the last vestiges of the slave trade which has always existed in Abyssinia was to be abolished it was especially gratifying and welcome news
 It seems Abyssinia has long been the highway for the slave raider. The black man captured in the country west and south of Abyssinia has been carried across the territory of the king of kings to the French port. ot Jibuti on the Somali coast, and from thence sent across the Red sea and the Gulf of Alden into Arabia, where ready sale is found for the human wares. A treaty was signed with the former ruler of Abyssinia, King Johannes. by England In 1884, pledging him to not only stop the traffic in human flesh across his country. but to put stop to slavery as 1t existed within his do- mains, and be it said to his credit, this really good king carried out the terms of this treaty, and there is no known case of slaves passing through his dominions from the time the treaty was signed to the day of his death This cannot be said for King Menelek, who at the time was ruling over the southern part of Abyssinia, and upon the death of King Johannes gained control of the whole of Abyssinia, for slave caravans have passed through the country under his rule,C and Gallas slaves from his dominions have al- ways been for sale in Hodeidah. and Mecca, in Arabia.
 But according to the latest procla- nation of King Menelek all this is to be changed. He has emphatically for bidden the traffic in Gallas men, and those who violate his edict are to be excommunicated It seems that he has issued similar edicts before, threatening to excommunicate those who violated the order, but they have not been needed. Under the terms of the last order of the king he declares that .tall who are taken in the act of selling men shall be punished in your person" This means that the pecu- liar and terrible punishment of mu- tilation practiced in Abyssinia will be inflicted.
 In Abyssinia there are no small jails, and about the only means uf dealing with criminals is by way of corporal punishment This has giycn rise to some of the most cruel prac- tices, of which the infiction of mu- tilation is one. The offender who suf- fers thus has a hand or foot taken off and he Is marked for life. He may no longer come near the komes of the Abyssinians. He is an outcast. Food is given him, but he may not stay in one place long, He must keep on the move. And because these mutilated criminals are to be seen almost every where in Abyssinia, when 6 man meets with an accident he dislikes having any one of his members amputated.
 The Gallas, which have for so long been the prey of their more powerful neighbors, occupy the country border ing on the Blue Nile to the south and west of Abyssinia proper, although the Shangalla country is really part of Abyssinia. The Gallas are the nearest negro race to Abyssinia and the greed for gold has encouraged the raiding of their country and the taking of slaves to send into Arabia. When the great slave chief of the Soudan. Osman Dig na, was captured 9 couple of years ago the backbone of the powerful slave trade was broken in Africa, but there were others concerned in the traffic, and ready to continue it.
 These traders are, of course, known to the French as well as the Turkish authorities, who are only too willing to shield them. as they are a source of private revenue to them What does Turkish official in the Hedja2 or the Yemen care about Constant. nople and it's treaties With Christian powers for the suppression of ths slave trade? While there is demans for the slaves in Arabia the traffi will probably in some form or othe exist, and just how much Meneles latest proclamation will accomplish the way of reform remains to be seen