Page:The History of Slavery and the Slave Trade.djvu/132

 ships, lying under the fort of Goree, to kidnap a hundred, or a hundred and fifty, men, women and children, king Darnel's subjects, who had come to Goree in consequence of the friendly intercourse between him and Darnel. He refused, and was much shocked by the proposition. They said such things had been done by a former governor, but the chief Maraboo at Rufisk did not recollect any such event.

Mr. Wadstrom was informed at Goree, by Captain Wignie, from Rochelle, who was just arrived from the river Gambia, that a little before his departure from that river, three English vessels were cut off by the natives, owing to the captain of one of them, who had his cargo, being tempted by a fair wind to sail away with several of the free negroes, then drinking with the crew. Soon afterwards the wind changed and he was driven back, seized, and killed, with all his crew, and those of the two other vessels. Mr. Wadstrom has, by accident, met with the insurer of two of these vessels in London, who confirmed the above facts.

Captain Hills says a man at Gambia, who called himself a prince's brother, had been carried off to the West Indies, by an English ship, but making his case known to the governor, was sent by him to Europe. Captain Hills was advised not to go on shore at Gambia, by the merchants there, for fear of being taken by the natives, who owed the English a grudge for some injuries received.

Mr. John Bowman says, that when a mate under Captain Strange ways, the ship then lying in the river Sierra Leone, at White Man's Bay, ready to sail, he was sent on shore to invite two traders on board. They came and were shown into the cabin. Meantime people were employed in setting the sails, it being almost night, and the land breeze making down the river. When they had weighed anchor, and got out to sea, Mr. Bowman was called down by the captain, who, pointing to the sail-case, desired him to look into it and see what a fine prize he had got. To his surprise, he saw lying fast asleep the two men who had come on board with him, the captain having made them drunk, and concealed them there. When they awoke they were sent upon deck, ironed, and put forward with the other slaves. On arriving at Antigua they were sold.

The Rev. Mr. Newton has known ships and boats cut off at Sherbro, usually in retaliation. Once, when he was on shore, the traders suddenly put him into his long-boat, telling him that a ship just passed had carried off two people. Had it been known in the town, he would have been detained. He has known many other such instances, but after thirty-six years, he cannot specify them. It was a general opinion, founded on repeated and indisputable facts, that depredations of this sort were frequently committed by Europeans. Mr. Newton has sometimes found all trade stopped, and the depredations of European traders have been assigned by the natives as the cause, and he has more than once made up breaches of this kind between the ships and the natives. He believes several captains of slave ships were honest, humane men; but he has good reason to think they were not all so. The taking off slaves by force has