Page:The History of Slavery and the Slave Trade.djvu/131

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PROCURING SLAVES
119

which are usually practiced on all that part of the coast. The French Senegal company, also, in order to obtain their complement of slaves, had recourse to their usual method on similar occasions, namely, of bribing the Moors, and supplying them with arms and ammunition, to seize king Dalmammy's subjects. By January 12th, 1788, when Mr. Wadstrom arrived at Senegal, fifty had been taken, whom the king desired to ransom, but they had all been dispatched to Cayenne. Some were brought in every day afterwards, and put in the company's slave-hold, in a miserable state, the greater part being badly wounded by sabres and musket balls. The director of the company conducted Mr. Wadstrom there, with Dr. Spaarman, whom he consulted as a medical man in their behalf. Mr. Wadstrom particularly remembers one lying in his blood, which flowed from a wound made by a ball in his shoulder.

Mr. Dalrymple understood it common for European traders to advance goods to chiefs, to induce them to seize their subjects or neighbors. Not one of the mulatto traders at Gorce ever thought of denying it.

Mr. Bowman haring settled at the head of Scassus river, informed the king, and others, that he was come to reside as a trader, and that his orders were, to supply them with powder and ball, and encourage them to go to war. They answered, they would go to war in two or three days. By this time they came to the factory, said they were going to war, and wanted powder, ball, rum and tobacco. When these were given them, they went off to the number of from twenty-five to thirty, and in six or seven days, a part of them returned with three slaves.

In 1769, (says Lieut. Storey,) Captain Paterson, of a Liverpool ship, lying off Bristol town, set two villages at variance, and bought prisoners, near a dozen, from both sides.

Mr. Morley owns, with shame, that he has made the natives drunk, in order to buy a good man or woman slave, to whom he found them attached. He has seen this done by others. Captain Hildebrand, commanding a sloop of Mr. Brue's, bought one of the wives of a man, whom he had previously made drunk, and who wished to redeem her, when sober next day, as did the person he (Mr. Morley) bought the man of, but neither of them was given up. He supposes they would have given a third more than the price paid, to have redeemed them.

Sir George Young says, that when at Annamaboe, at Mr. Brue's, (a very great merchant there,) Mr. Brue had two hostages, kings' sons, for payment for arms, and all kinds of military stores, which he had supplied to the two kings, who were at war with each other, to procure slaves for at least six or seven ships, then lying in the road. The prisoners on both sides were brought down to Mr. Brue, and sent to the ships.

Mr. J. Parker has known presents made by the captains, to the black traders, to induce them to bring slaves. Captain Colley in particular gave them some pieces of cannon, which he himself saw landed.

On the subject of Europeans attempting to carry off the natives, General Rooke says that it was proposed to him by three captains of English slave