Page:Abstract of the evidence for the abolition of the slave-trade 1791.djvu/37

( 7 ) taken by war, there being many ships then lying at Bassau: the people of the other had moved higher up in the country for fear of the white men. In passing along to the trader's town he saw several villages deserted; these the natives said had been destroyed by war, and the people taken out and sold.

Sir George Young found slaves to be procured by war, by crimes, real or imputed, by kidnapping, which is called panyaring, and a fourth mode was the inhabitants of one village seizing those of another weaker village, and selling them to the ships.

He believes, from two instances, that kidnapping was frequently practised up Sierra Leon River. One was that of a beautiful infant boy, which the natives after trying to sell to all the different trading ships came along side his, (the Phœnix) and threatened to toss overboard, if no one would buy it; saying they had panyared it with many other people, but could not sell it, though they had sold the others. He purchased it for some wine.

The second was, a captain of a Liverpool ship had got, as a temporary mistress, a girl from the king of Sierra Leon, and instead of returning her on shore on leaving the coast, as is usually done, he took her away with him. Of this the king complained to Sir George Young very heavily, calling this action panyaring by the whites.

The term panyaring, seemed to be a word generally used all along the coast where he was, not only among the English, but the Portuguese and Dutch.

Capt. Thompson also says, that at Sierra Leon he has often heard the word panyaring; he has heard also that this word, which is used on other parts of the coast, means kidnapping or seizing of men.

Slaves, says Mr. Town, are brought from the country very distant from the coast. The king of Barra informed Mr. Town, that on the arrival of a ship, he has gone three hundred miles up the country with his guards, and driven down captives to the sea-side. From