WHOLESALE CAPTURE OF SLAVES.

Bush Advocate, Volume II, Issue 94, 11 December 1888, Page 2

WHOLESALE CAPTURE OF SLAVES.

4, Letters received, from Aden contain particulars of an exciting chase after slave dhows which occured a few weeks since on the East Indies station. H.M.S. Osprey, Commander E. Gassing, has oeen serving on the East Indies station for several years, and was recommissioned at Bombay in April, 1886. On the 15th September, while on a cruise, the Osprey sighted Mocha, and boarded a small dhow that had been sent from Assab Bay by tho Italians to Mooha, for fruit. She then stood up the coast to the north until about nine o'clock at night when she turned round and came down slowly at a distance of about eight miles from land. At daybreak on tho following (Sunday) morning the Osprey sighted three dhows ahead, and immediately went in pursuit of them. On getting within range a gun was fired from the sloop as a signal to the dhows to stop and submit to examination. No notice, however, was taken of this ; but the dhows, instead, crowded on more sail and endeavoured to esoape. A wellaimed shot at the mast of the largest of tl\e three dI\QW6. speedily

, brought her "up , ;but|b^M^ft^^v| the twaother dh6ws.\w v e)^i^|afj^|.^!^| mile ahead and widely^epar^^^^ sothafthe capture of bo|t- W^oy" :^ nofytf e^ans easy. But> -a^.lor^u^ate;:" ; > siiol;through the sail of f he.nowostv ; resulted in; her soon^^g^ma^-^'^' prisoner, and then the Osprey went / in pursuit ,of the third dtibw,anjd. eventually captured her. faking? t;he last Woi^W^k^^^^f^ sloop .steamed bac& to^the first;- of : : the dhows, and, on search jfreingmade, it was found that the three dhows ctfntaiifed oyer tw6|Mnd%d is v aves7 male ahd- ; "female' "in;. nearly equal proportions, yand **Ky fcoHhe larger proportion being Christians from Abyssinia. The prizes': were towed to fAden r where r th© vessels were'cOndemhedand the slaves were taken charge of by the^authorities. '.-