Black Ivory | Page 8

beings. They were
negroes, secured by the necks or wrists--men, women, and
children,--and guarded by armed half-caste Portuguese. When a certain

number of them, about a hundred or so, had issued from the wood, and
crowded the banks of the creek, they were ordered to stand still, and the
leader of the band advanced towards his master.
These were some of Yoosoof's "goods and chattels," his "cattle," his
"black ivory."
"You have been long in coming, Moosa," said the Arab trader, as the
man approached.
"I have," replied Moosa, somewhat gruffly, "but the road was rough
and long, and the cattle were ill-conditioned, as you see."
The two men spoke in the Portuguese tongue, but as the natives and
settlers on that coast speak a variety of languages and dialects, we have
no alternative, good reader, but to render all into English.
"Make the more haste now," said Yoosoof; "get them shipped at once,
for we sail when the moon goes down. Pick out the weakest among the
lot, those most likely to die, and put them by themselves in the small
dhow. If we must sacrifice some of our wares to these meddling dogs
the English, we may as well give them the refuse."
Without remark, Moosa turned on his heel and proceeded to obey
orders.
Truly, to one unaccustomed to such scenes, it would have appeared that
all the negroes on the spot were "most likely to die," for a more
wretched, starved set of human beings could scarcely be imagined.
They had just terminated a journey on foot of several hundreds of miles,
with insufficient food and under severe hardships. Nearly all of them
were lean to a degree,--many so reduced that they resembled nothing
but skeletons with a covering of black leather. Some of the children
were very young, many of them mere infants, clinging to the backs of
the poor mothers, who had carried them over mountain and plain,
through swamp and jungle, in blistering sunshine and pelting rain for
many weary days. But prolonged suffering had changed the nature of
these little ones. They were as silent and almost as intelligently anxious

as their seniors. There were no old pieces of merchandise there. Most
were youthful or in the prime of life; a few were middle-aged.
Difficult though the task appeared to be, Moosa soon selected about
fifty men and women and a few children, who were so fearfully
emaciated that their chance of surviving appeared but small. These
were cast loose and placed in a sitting posture in the hold of the
smallest dhow, as close together as they could be packed.
Their removal from the bank made room for more to issue from the
wood, which they did in a continuous stream. Batch after batch was
cast loose and stowed away in the manner already described, until the
holds of two of the large boats were filled, each being capable of
containing about two hundred souls. This was so far satisfactory to
Yoosoof, who had expended a good deal of money on the
venture--satisfactory, even although he had lost a large proportion of
the goods--four-fifths at least if not more, by death and otherwise, on
the way down to the coast; but that was a matter of little consequence.
The price of black ivory was up in the market just at that time, and the
worthy merchant could stand a good deal of loss.
The embarkation was effected with wonderful celerity, and in
comparative silence. Only the stern voices of the half-caste Portuguese
were heard as they ordered the slaves to move, mingled with the
occasional clank of a chain, but no sounds proceeded from the
thoroughly subdued and worn-out slaves louder than a sigh or a
half-suppressed wail, with now and then a shriek of pain when some of
the weaker among them were quickened into activity by the lash.
When all had been embarked, two of the five boats still remained
empty, but Yoosoof had a pretty good idea of the particular points
along the coast where more "cattle" of a similar kind could be
purchased. Therefore, after stationing some of his men, armed with
muskets, to guard the boats, he returned with the remainder of them to
the hut in which the Englishmen had been left.
There he found Azinte and her guardians. He seemed angry with the
latter at first, but after a few minutes' thought appeared to recover his

equanimity, and ordered the men to remove the ropes with which the
girl was tethered; then bidding her follow him he left the hut without
taking any notice of the Englishmen further than to say he would be
back shortly before the time of sailing.
Yoosoof's motions were usually slow and his mien somewhat dignified,
but, when occasion required, he could