The mode of marching slaves is described as follows: “On the journey,
they are tied to a long pole, one end of which is tied to a camel’s
saddle, and the other, which is forked, is passed on each side of the
slave’s neck, and tied behind with a strong cord, so as to prevent him
drawing out his head: in addition to this, his right hand is also
fastened to the pole, at a short distance from the head, thus leaving
only his legs and left arm at liberty. In this manner he marches the
whole day behind the camel: at night he is taken from the pole and put
in irons. While on the route to Souakim, I saw several slaves carried
along in this way. Their owners were afraid of their escaping, or of
becoming themselves the objects of their vengeance; and in this manner
they would continue to be confined until sold to a master, who,
intending to keep them, would endeavour to attach them to his person. In
general, the traders seem greatly to dread the effects of sudden
resentment in their slaves; and if a grown-up boy is to be whipped, his
master first puts him in irons.”
Page 333: “Females with children on their backs follow the caravans on
foot; and if a camel breaks down, the owner generally loads his slaves
with the packages; and if a boy in the evening can only obtain a little
butter with his _dhourra_ bread, and some grease every two or three days
to smear his body and hair, he is contented, and never complains of
fatigue. Another cause which induces the merchants to treat the slaves
well (?) is their anxiety to dissipate the horror which the negroes all
entertain of Egypt and the white people. It is a common opinion in the
black slave countries that the Ouleder Rif, or children of Rif, as the
Egyptians are there called, devour the slaves, who are transported
thither for that purpose: of course, the traders do every thing in their
power to destroy this belief; but, notwithstanding all their endeavours,
it is never eradicated from the mind of the slaves.”
Page 462: “The manners of the people of Souakim are the same as those I
have already described in the interior, and I have reason to believe
that they are common to the whole of eastern Africa, including
Abyssinia, where the character of the inhabitants, as drawn by Bruce,
seems little different from that of these Nubians. I regret that I am
compelled to represent all the nations of Africa which I have yet seen,
in so bad a light.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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