to 200. Dr. Holroyd visited the governor of Kor dofan in 1837; he had then just returned from a "gasoua" (slave-hunt) at Gibel Nooba, the product of which was 2187 negroes. From these "the physician to the forces was selecting able-bodied men for the army; but so repeatedly has the Pacha waged war against this chain of mountains, that the population has been completely drained, and from the above number, only 250 men were deemed fit for military service."*

Dr. Bowring, who visited Egypt in 1837, has informed me, that he estimates the annual importation of slaves into Egypt at from 10,000 to 12,000; that the arrivals in Cordofan amount to about the same number: that in 1827, a single caravan brought 2820 slaves to Siout, but that, in general, the annual arrivals there fluctuate between 500 and 5000; and that such is the facility of introducing slaves, that they "now filtrate into Egypt by almost daily arrivals."

From the authorities which I have now given, I think I may fairly estimate the northern or Desert portion of the Mohammedan Slave Trade at 20,000 per annum.

I am aware that this amount is far below the numbers given by others who are well acquainted with the subject; for example, the eminent eastern traveler, Count de Laborde, estimates the number that are annually carried into slavery from East Soudan, Abyssinia, &c. at 30,000. He also tells us that, in the kingdom of Darfour, an independent Slave Trade is

* Statement by Dr. Holroyd, yet unpublished.

carried on ;* and Burkhardt states, that Egypt and Arabia together, draw an annual supply of from 15,000 to 20,000 from the same countries; but having no desire to depart from the rule I have laid down, of stating nothing upon conjecture, however reasonable that conjecture may be, I shall not take more than

* Chasse aux Nègres, Leon de Laborde. Paris, Dupont et Cie., 1838, pp. 14 and 17.

+ The following are some of these authorities :

1st. For the number exported annually from Soudan

2000

to Morocco, &c., I take Jackson and Riley at 2d. From Soudan to Mourzouk, Lyon and Ritchie give 5000 3d. From Abyssinia to Arabia, &c., Burkhardt, says about 3500 4th. From Abyssinia, Cordofan, and Darfour, to Egypt,

Arabia, &c., I take Browne, Burkhardt, Col. Leake,

Count de Laborde, Dr. Holroyd, and Dr. Bowring, at 12,000

It ought to be borne in mind, that I have not taken into the account the number of slaves which are required for the home slavery of the Monammedan provinces and kingdoms in Central Africa. These are very extensive and populous, and travelers inform us that the bulk of their population is composed of slaves. We have therefore the powerful nations of Houssa (including the Felatahs), Bornou, Begarmi, and Darfour, all draining off from Soudan annual supplics of negroes, for domestic and agricultural purposes, besides those procured for the foreign trade. On this head, Burkhardt says,§ I have reason to believe, however, that § Burkhardt, p. 340.

SUMMARY.

Such, then, is the arithmetic of the case; and I earnestly solicit my reader, before he proceeds further, to come to a verdict in his own mind, upon the fairness and accuracy of these figures. I am aware that it requires far more than ordinary pa tience to wade through this mass of calculation ; I have, however, resolved to present this part of the subject in its dry and uninviting form, partly from utter despair of being able, by any language I could use, to give an adequate image of the extent, variety,

the numbers exported from Soudan to Egypt and Arabia bears only a small proportion to those kept by the Mussulmen of the southern countries themselves, or, in other words, to the whole number yearly derived by purchase or by force from the nations in the interior of Africa. At Berber and Shendy there is scarcely a house which does not possess one or two slaves, and five or six are frequently seen in the same family; the great people and chiefs keep them by dozens. As high up the Nile as Senaar, the same system prevails, as well as westwards to Kordofan, Darfour, and thence towards Bornou. All the Bedouin tribes, also, who surround those countries, are well stocked with slaves. If we may judge of their numbers by those kept on the borders of the Nile, (and I was assured by the traders that slaves were more numerous in those distant countries than even at Shendy), it is evident that the number exported towards Egypt, Arabia, and Barbary, is very greatly below what remains within the limits of the Soudan." He then states that, from his own observation, the slaves betwixt Berber and Shendy amount to not less than 12,000, and that, probably, there are 20,000 slaves in Darfour; "and every account agrees in proving that as we proceed further westward, into the populous countries of Dar Saley, Bornou, Bagarmè and the king. doms of Afnou and Houssa, the proportion of the slave population does not diminish."

and intensity of human suffering, which must exist if these figures be true; and partly from the belief that a bare arithmetical detail, free from whatever could excite the imagination or distress the feelings, is best fitted to carry conviction along with it. I then ask, is the calculation a fair one? Some may think that there is exaggeration in the result, and others may complain that I have been too rigorous in striking off every equivocal item, and have made my estimate as if it were my object and desire, as far as possible, to reduce the sum total. It signifies little to the argument, whether the error be on the one side or the other; but it is of material importance that the reader, for the purpose of following the argument, should now fix and ascertain the number which seems to him the reasonable and moderate result from the facts and figures which have been produced. To me, it seems just to take, annually,

For the Christian Slave Trade

For the Mohammedan .

150,000

50,000

CHAPTER II.

MORTALITY.

HITHERTO, I have stated less than the half of this dreadful case. I am now going to show that, besides the 200,000 annually carried into captivity, there are claims on our compassion for almost countless cruclties and murders growing out of the Slave Trade. I am about to prove that this multitude of our enslaved fellow men is but the remnant of numbers vastly greater, the survivors of a still larger multitude, over whom the Slave Trade spreads its devastating hand, and that for every ten who reach Cuba or Brazil, and become available as slaves,fourteen, at least, are destroyed.

This mortality arises from the following causes:1. The original seizure of the slaves.

2. To march to the coast, and detention there. 3. The middle passage.

4. The sufferings after capture, and after landing. And

5. The initiation into slavery, or the "seasoning," as it is termed by the planters.

It will be necessary for me to make a few remarks on each of these heads; and 1st, As to the mortality incident to the period of