HORRORS OF THE SLAVE TRADE.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 10517, 27 July 1910, Page 6

HORRORS OF THE SLAVE TRADE.

AV AFRICAN TRAVELLER'S STORY. Mr Alfred J. Swann, late senior Resid'ent Magistrate of the Nyassaland Piotrctorate. has written a graphic storv of -Fighting the Slave Hunters in Central Africa." It is a-record of 2G rears of travel and adventure, round Vis Great Lakes, and of the overthrow oi' Tip-pu-Tib, and other great slaveiriders.' Many of the details are horii'ile enough; happily they describe what has been destroyed, though much preventive work remains to be done. To quote from a chapter describing the cruelties of the slave, trade. It is dated 1982: . , I On November 29 we arrived at M'pwapwa, where the maim portion oil the party had encamped. Situated oil the outskirts of the Ugogo plains and forests, the neighborhood had become a convenient halting place for all the slave caravans en route to the coast. Here we met the notorious Tip-pu-Tib's annual caravan, which had been resting after the long march through L'o-ogo, and the hot passes of Chunyo. As fchev filed past we noticed many chained together by the neck. Others had their.necks fastened into tho forks of poles about 6ft long, the ends ot which were supported by the men who preceded them. The women, who were as. numerous as the men, carried babies on their backs in addition to a tyisk ot ivory or other burden on then- heads. They looked at us with suspicion and | fear, having been told, as we subseouently ascertained, that white men always desired to release slaves in order to eat their flesh, like the Upper Congo cannibals. : It is difficult adequately to describe the filthv state of their bodies; in many instances, not only scarred by the cut of a "chikote" (a piece of hide used to enforce obedience), but feet and shoulders were a mass of open sores, made more painful by the swarms of flies which followed the march and lived on the flowing blood. They presented o moving picture of utter misery, and one could not help wondering how any ox them had survived the long tramp from the Upper Congo, at least 1000 miles distant. Our own inconveniences sank into insignificance compared with tlie suffering of this crowd of half-starved, ill-treated creatures who, weary and friendless, must have longed for death. The headmen in charge were most polite to us as they passed our camp. Each was armed with a rifle, knife, and spear, and although decently clothed in clean cotton garments, they presented a thoroughly villainous appearance. Addressing one, I pointed out that main- of the" slaves were unfit to carry loads. To this he smilingly replied: "They have no choice! They must go, or die!" Then ensued the following conversation :

"Are all these slaves destined for Zanzibar?"

''Most of them, the remainder will stav at the coast."

"Have you lost many on the road?' •'Yes! numbers have died < hunger!" "Any run away?"

"No, they are too well guarded. Only those who become possessed with the devil try to escape; there is nowhere they could run to if they should go." •'What do you do when they become too ill to travel?"

"Spear them at once!" was the fiendish reply. "For, if we did not, others'would pretend they were ill in ord'-r to avoid carrying their loads. No! we never leave them alive on the road; they all know our custom." "1 see-women carrying not only a

child on their backs, but, in addition, a tusk of ivory or other burden on theiiheads. What do you do in their case when they become too weak to carry both child aiid ivory? Who carries t-hc ivory ;-'

"She docs! We cannot leave valuable ivory on the road. We spear tho child and make her burden lighter. Ivory first, child afterwards!" I could have struck the demon dead at my feet.

For downright savagery this beat anything I had met with.. "Ivory first, child'afterwards!" I repeated over and over again. Alas! I was destined many times to witness the truth of that cruel statement. Thus early in my life I understood what Livingstone meant and felt when, in ISS6, lie wrote the following:—"Besides tho.se actually captured, thousands are killed, or die of their wounds and famine, driven from their homes by the slave-raider. Thousands perish in internecine wars, waged for slaves with their own clansmen or neighbors; slain by the lust for gain which is stimulated by the slave-purchasers. The many skeletons we have seen amongst the rocks and woods, by the pools, and along the parts of the wilderness, all testify to the awful sacrifice of human life which must be attributed directly or indirectly to

this trade of hell." Strong words, but not a whit too strong! As the last poor creature in that living chain of wretchedness passed me, every humane feeling within me rose up in rebellion as I realised for the first time that, though a member of a philanthropical society, I was unable to respond to the natural impulse of an Englishman and set the whole company

free. Nevertheless, our indignant protest was despatched both to Zanzibar and England, and I am glad to say wo were then looking at the last slavecaravan ever permitted to leave the mainland. The reader, however, should bear in mind that although those Eastern slave-routes are now closed, there is yet, at the present day, a considerable area in Africa still remaining wherein arc practised similar cruelties, which call for speedy suppression by those European Powers who have acquired the regions as a sphere of influence.