The Slave Trade on the Congo River.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume X, Issue 3310, 16 September 1889, Page 2

The Slave Trade on the Congo River.

The following is an extract from a loiter sent by Mr W. J. Davy, whom at Stanley Pool, Congo lijver, to is uncle. Major Parriss, of Taranaki J From Boma, on the lower part of (ho liivtT Congo, to Stanley FsiJls, a dstanco of about a thousand miles, lit) Irado ip slaves is carriect ou auionfat l

the Natives and Arabs. From Boma to tliofallij the Natives trailo in slaves, ivory, ground nuts, oil, copal and rubier. Ono can buy a full grown man on the Upper Congo for three or four pieces of cloth, or an equivalent in money say from 5s to 10s. A woman fetches a liltlo less, On the tributaries of iho Upper Congo the slave trade is very brisk, and ono often sees a canoe going along full of slaves; and often this occurs a few hours after thoir capture. Sometimes a wliolo viliago will go and raid another one, and ol the capture they will select from Cfty to ono hundred and sell thorn as slaves; tho remainder are sold as occasion permits, Many die of starvation; sonio ore killed and offered as a sacrifico to save some chief from sickness or trouble of some kind, and. others are mado nse of to settle n dispute. Amongst the many ways of sacrifico, one, mothod is to break the legs and arms of thu slave, and thou to bury him up to his neck in tho sarth, and thevo to lot bint remain until bo is dead. There Ins remains in' the burning sun, and no ono is allowed to giye him food or water on pain of being placed in the same position, Tho method adopted for settling a dispute between villages is to break the legs and arras of tho slave and then to hang tho victim up by the feet to a treo or branch of a tree, and thero to lot him remain until death puts an ond to bis sufferings. for theso sacrifices thoy generally tako a slave who is small—tho fat and hoalthy ones they kill and uso for food, I have been sitting amongst a lot of theso savages when a woman was being killed and cut up for food, whilst 1 was none tho wiser until some parts «f the body were brought to me for sale. I have seen a man's arm cut oil at tho olbow and tied to a stick in order to setilo a disputo. Sometimes they cut tho ears, nose, or fingers off. Tho Arabs do tuoro raiding around and about tho basin of tho Stanley Falls than tho Natives do on thu whole Congo Eiver, Tho Arabs capture hundreds, and take all their ivory. You can buy at Stanley Falls, right under tho nose of the authorities in the Froo States, hundreds of slaves. Stanloy Falls is govorned by an Arab belonging to the Zanzibar tribe, callod Tippoo Tib, and has a contract with the Freo States to suppress the slave trade, but he does not carry out his work. Ho has a few Arab chiefs with him, and these men take a largo force and go out on raids lasting from six to eight months. They bring back with thorn slaves in (lumber and great quantities of ivory. Tippoo Tib has just given tho Freo States six months' ] notice that if they do not supply bitn with guns and ammunition that be will leave. I should have, however, stated that the Freo States have stopped guns and power going to Stanley Falls, and most of it was for Tippoo Tip. The Arabs say they liauo no time to talk of trado when they are ihinging of war. So much for the Free States of Congo and the slavo trade, whijh is increasing every day under a mismanaged and useless Government. \Y. J. Daw. Kinchasaa, Stanley Pool, Uppor Congo lliver, Africa.

A favorite tenor, Herr Gessuer, has just wet with a Bad end at OstcrodefHanoyer), being shot in bod by a fellow actor Horr Seidemann, who then committod suicide. Thoy disagreed over an actress. Tho distribution of bread after it is baked now costs tho avorago workman iu a city as much as it does to grow the wheat, mill it, barrel it, move it 1600 milcß and convert it into bread, all put together,