FIVE HUNDRED SLATES FOR SALE.

Te Aroha News, Volume VIII, Issue 489, 16 July 1890, Page 6

FIVE HUNDRED SLATES FOR SALE.

The Traffic in Human Beings Carrier on in Africa.

These hungry creatures form, in truly pitiable sight. After sufiering this captivity for a short time they become mere skeletons. All ages, of both sexes, are to be seen ; mothers with their babes ; young men and women ; boys and girls ; and even babies who cannot yet walk, and whoso mot hers have died of starvation, or perhaps been killed by the Lufeinbe. One seldom sees either old men or old women ; they are all killed in the raids. Their marketable value being very small, no trouble is taken with them.

Witnessing groups of these poor, helpless wretches, with their emaciated forms and sunken eyes, their faces a very picture of sadness, it is not difficult to perceive tho intense grief that they are inwardly suffering ; but they know too well it is no use to appeal for sympathy to their merciless masters, who have been accustomed from childhood to witness acts of cruelty and brutality, so that to satisfy their insatiable greed they will commit themselves, or permit to be committed, any atrocity, however great. Even the pitiable sight of one of these slavesheds does not half represent the misery caused by this traffic—homes broken up, mothers separated from their babies, husbands from wives, and brothers from sisters. When last at Masaukusu, I saw a slave woman who had with her one child, whose starved little body she was clutching to her shrunken breast. I was attracted by her ead face, which betokened great suffering. I asked her the cause of it, and she told me in a low, sobbing voice the following taie :

‘ I was living with my husband and three children in an inland village, a few miles from here. My husband was a hunter. Ten days ago the Lufeinbe attacked our settlement; my husband defended himself, but was overpowered and speared to death with several of the other villagers. I was brought here with my three children, two of whom have already been purchased by the traders. I shall nevei see them any more. Perhaps they will kill them on the death of some chief, or perhaps kill them for food. My remaining child, you see, is ill, dying from starvation : they give us nothing to eat. I expect oven this one will bo taken from mo to day, as the chief, fearing lest it should die and become a total loss, has offered it for a very small price. As for myself,’ she said, ‘they will sell me to one of the neighbouring tribes to toil in the plantations, and when I become old and unfit for work I shall bo killed.’

There were certainly 500 slaves exposed to sale in this one village alone. Large canoes were constantly arriving from down river with merchandise of all kinds with which they buy these slaves. A largo trade is carried on betweon the Übangi and Lulungu rivers. The people inhabiting the mouth of the Übangi buy the Balolo slaves at Masaukusu and the other markets. They then take them up the Übangi river and exchange them with the natives there for ivory. These natives buy their slaves solely for food. Having purchased slaves, they feed them on ripe bananas, fish and oil, and when they get them into good condition they kill them. Hundreds of the Balolo slaves are taken into the river and disposed of in this way each month. A great many other slaves aro sold to the large villages on the Congo to supply victims for the execution ceremonies.

Much life is lost in the capturing of slaves, and during their captivity many succumb to starvation. Of the remainder, numbers are sold to become victims to cannibalism and human sacrifice ceremonies. There are few indeed who are allowed to live and prosper.—-E. J. Glavo in the ‘ Centurv.’