Page:The History of Slavery and the Slave Trade.djvu/133

 been thought most frequent in the last voyage of captains lie has often heard masters and officers express this opinion. Depredations and reprisals made to get them were, so frequent that the Europeans and Africans were pi a spirit of mutual distrust: he does not mean that there were no depredations except in their last voyages. He has known Liverpool and Bristol ships materially injured from the conduct of some ships, from the same ports, that had left the coast. It is a fact that some captains have committed depredations in their last voyages who have not been known to have done it before.

Mr. Towne was once present with part of the crew of his ship, the Sally, at an expedition undertaken by the whites for seizing negroes, and joined by other boats to receive those they could catch. To prevent all alarm, they bound the mouths of the captives with oakum and handkerchiefs. One woman shrieked and the natives turned out in defense. lie had then five of them tied in the boat, and the other boats were in readiness to take in what more they could get. All his party were armed, and the men of the town pursued them with first a scattering, and at length a general fire, and several of the men belonging to the boats, he has reason to believe, were killed, wounded, or taken, as he never heard of them afterwards. He was wounded himself. The slaves ho had taken were sold at Charleston, South Carolina. The natives had not previously committed any hostilities against any of the ships, whose boats were concerned in this transaction. They owed goods to the captain, for which he resolved to obtain slaves at any rate. He has had several ship-mates, who have themselves told him they have been concerned in similar transactions, and who have made a boast of it, and who have been wounded also.

Mr. Storey believes the natives of the Windward Coast are often fraudulently carried off by the Europeans. He has been told by them that, they had lost their friends at different times, and supposed them taken by European ships going along the coast. He has himself taken up canoes at sea, which were challenged by the natives, who supposed the men in them had been taken off the day before by a Dutchman. When once at an anchor, in his boat, between the river Sestos and Settra Crue, he prevented the crew of a long-boat, belonging to a Dutchman then lying off shore, from being cut off by the natives, who gave as a reason for their intentions, that a ship of that country some days before had taken off four men belonging to the place. Afterwards, in 1768, being in a boat, with two other white persons, the natives attacked them. Both the former were killed, and he himself, covered with blood and wounds, was only suffered to escape, by consenting to give up boat and cargo, and to go to Gaboon. The reason the natives gave for this procedure was, that a ship from Liverpool (one Captain Lambert) had, some time before, taken a canoe full of their townsmen, and carried her away. He heard the same thing confirmed afterwards at Gaboon.

Mr. Douglas states that near Cape Coast the natives make smoke as a signal for trade. On board his ship (the Warwick Castle) they saw the smoke and stood in shore, which brought off many canoes. Pipes, tobacco, and brandy were got on deck, to entice the people in them on board. The