CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.
DESCRIBES SOME OF THE DOINGS OF YOOSOOF AND HIS MEN IN PROCURING BLACKIVORY FROM THE INTERIOR OF AFRICA.
A dirty shop, in a filthy street in the unhealthy town of Zanzibar, isthe point to which we now beg leave to conduct our reader--whom we alsorequest to leap, in a free and easy way, over a few months of time!
It is not for the sake of the shop that we make this leap, but for thepurpose of introducing the two men who, at the time we write of, satover their grog in a small back-room connected with that shop. Stillthe shop itself is not altogether unworthy of notice. It is what theAmericans call a store--a place where you can purchase almost everyarticle that the wants of man have called into being. The prevailingsmells are of oil, sugar, tea, molasses, paint, and tar, a compoundwhich confuses the discriminating powers of the nose, and, on theprinciple that extremes meet, removes the feeling of surprise that oughtto be aroused by discovering that these odours are in close connexionwith haberdashery and hardware. There are enormous casks, puncheons,and kegs on the floor; bales on the shelves; indescribable confusion inthe corners; preserved meat tins piled to the ceiling; with dust anddirt encrusting everything. The walls, beams, and rafters, appear to beheld together by means of innumerable cobwebs. Hosts of flies fattenon, without diminishing, the stock, and squadrons of cockroaches careerover the earthen floor.
In the little back-room of this shop sat the slave-dealer Yoosoof, incompany with the captain of an English ship which lay in the harbour.
Smoke from the captain's pipe filled the little den to such an extentthat Yoosoof and his friend were not so clearly distinguishable as mighthave been desired.
"You're all a set of false-hearted, wrong-headed, low-minded,scoundrels," said the plain-spoken captain, accompanying eachasseveration with a puff so violent as to suggest the idea that hisremarks were round-shot and his mouth a cannon.
The Briton was evidently not in a complimentary mood. It was equallyevident that Yoosoof was not in a touchy vein, for he smiled theslightest possible smile and shrugged his shoulders. He had business totransact with the captain which was likely to result very much to hisadvantage, and Yoosoof was not the man to let feelings stand in the wayof business.
"Moreover," pursued the captain, in a gruff voice, "the trade in slavesis illegally conducted in one sense, namely, that it is largely carriedon by British subjects."
"How you make that out?" asked Yoosoof.
"How? why, easy enough. Aren't the richest men in Zanzibar the Banyans,and don't these Banyans, who number about 17,000 of your population,supply you Arabs with money to carry on the accursed slave-trade? Andain't these Banyans Indian merchants--subjects of Great Britain?"
Yoosoof shrugged his shoulders again and smiled.
"And don't these opulent rascals," continued the Briton, "love theirease as well as their money, and when they want to increase the latterwithout destroying the former, don't they make advances to the like ofyou and get 100 per cent out of you for every dollar advanced?"
Yoosoof nodded his head decidedly at this, and smiled again.
"Well, then, ain't the whole lot of you a set of mean scoundrels?" saidthe captain fiercely.
Yoosoof did not smile at this; he even looked for a moment as if he weregoing to resent it, but it was only for a moment. Self-interest cameopportunely to his aid, and made him submissive.
"What can we do?" he asked after a short silence. "You knows what theSultan say, other day, to one British officer, `If you stop slave-tradeyou will ruin Zanzibar.' We mus' not do that. Zanzibar mus' not beruin."
"Why not?" demanded the captain, with a look of supreme contempt, "whatif Zanzibar _was_ ruined? Look here, now, Yoosoof, your dirty littleisland--the whole island observe--is not quite the size of my own Scotchcounty of Lanark. Its population is short of 250,000 all told--scarceequal to the half of the population of Lanark--composed ofsemi-barbarians and savages. That's one side of the question. Here'sthe other side: Africa is one of the four quarters of the earth, withmillions of vigorous niggers and millions of acres of splendid land, andno end of undeveloped resources, and you have the impudence to tell methat an enormous lump of this land must be converted into a desert, andsomething like 150,000 of its best natives be drawn off _annually_--forwhat?--for what?" repeated the sailor, bringing his fist down on thetable before him with such force that the glasses danced on it and thedust flew up; "for what? I say; for a paltry, pitiful island, ruled bya sham sultan, without army or navy, and with little money, save what hegets by slave-dealing; an island which has no influence for good on theworld, morally, religiously, or socially, and with little commercially,though it has much influence for evil; an island which has helped thePortuguese to lock up the east coast of Africa for centuries; an islandwhich would not be missed--save as a removed curse--if it were sunk thisnight to the bottom of the sea, and all its selfish, sensual,slave-dealing population swept entirely off the face of the earth."
The captain had risen and dashed his pipe to atoms on the floor in hisindignation as he made these observations. He now made an effort tocontrol himself, and then, sitting down, he continued--"Just think,Yoosoof; you're a sharp man of business, as I know to my cost. You canunderstand a thing in a commercial point of view. Just try to look atit thus: On the one side of the world's account you have Zanzibar sunkwith all its Banyan and Arab population; we won't sink the niggers, poorwretches. We'll suppose them saved, along with the consuls,missionaries, and such-like. Well, that's a loss of somewhere about83,000 scoundrels,--a gain we might call it, but for the sake ofargument we'll call it a loss. On the other side of the account youhave 30,000 niggers--fair average specimens of humanity--saved fromslavery, besides something like 150,000 more saved from death by war andstarvation, the results of the slave-trade; 83,000 from 150,000 leaves67,000! The loss, you see, would be more than wiped off, and a handsomebalance left at the world's credit the very first year! To say nothingof the opening up of legitimate commerce to one of the richest countrieson earth, and the consequent introduction of Christianity."
The captain paused to take breath. Yoosoof shrugged his shoulders, anda brief silence ensued, which was happily broken, not by a recurrence tothe question of slavery, but by the entrance of a slave. He came insearch of Yoosoof for the purpose of telling him that his master wishedto speak with him. As the slave's master was one of the wealthy Banyansjust referred to, Yoosoof rose at once, and, apologising to the captainfor quitting him so hurriedly, left that worthy son of Neptune to coolhis indignation in solitude.
Passing through several dirty streets the slave led the slaver to abetter sort of house in a more salubrious or, rather, less pestilential,part of the town. He was ushered into the presence of an elderly man ofquiet, unobtrusive aspect.
"Yoosoof," said the Banyan in Arabic, "I have been considering thematter about which we had some conversation yesterday, and I find thatit will be convenient for me to make a small venture. I can let youhave three thousand dollars."
"On the old terms?" asked Yoosoof.
"On the old terms," replied the merchant. "Will you be ready to startsoon?"
Yoosoof said that he would, that he had already completed the greaterpart of his preparations, and that he hoped to start for the interior ina week or two.
"That is well; I hope you may succeed in doing a good deal of business,"said the merchant with an amiable nod and smile, which might have led anignorant onlooker to imagine that Yoosoof's business in the interior waswork of a purely philanthropic nature!
"There is another affair, which, it has struck me, may lie in your way,"continued the merchant. "The British consul is, I am told, anxious tofind some one who will undertake to make inquiries in the interior aboutsome Englishmen, who are said to have been captured by the black fellowsand made slaves of."
"Does the consul know what tribe has captured them?" asked Yoosoof.
"I think not; but as he offers five hundred dollars for every lost whiteman
who shall be recovered and brought to the coast alive, I thoughtthat you might wish to aid him!"
"True," said Yoosoof, musing, "true, I will go and see him."
Accordingly, the slave-dealer had an interview with the consul, duringwhich he learned that there was no absolute certainty of any Englishmenhaving been captured. It was only a vague rumour; nevertheless it wassufficiently probable to warrant the offer of five hundred dollars toany one who should effect a rescue; therefore Yoosoof, having occasionto travel into the interior at any rate, undertook to make inquiries.
He was also told that two Englishmen had, not long before, purchased anoutfit, and started off with the intention of proceeding to the interiorby way of the Zambesi river, and they, the consul said, might possiblybe heard of by him near the regions to which he was bound; but these, hesuggested, could not be the men who were reported as missing.
Of course Yoosoof had not the most remote idea that these were the veryEnglishmen whom he himself had captured on the coast, for, after partingfrom them abruptly, as described in a former chapter, he had ceased tocare or think about them, and besides, was ignorant of the fact thatthey had been to Zanzibar.
Yoosoof's own particular business required a rather imposing outfit.First of all, he purchased and packed about 600 pounds worth of beads ofmany colours, cloth of different kinds, thick brass wire, and a varietyof cheap trinkets, such as black men and women are fond of, for Yoosoofwas an "honest" trader, and paid his way when he found it suitable to doso. He likewise hired a hundred men, whom he armed with guns, powder,and ball, for Yoosoof was also a dishonest trader, and fought his waywhen that course seemed most desirable.
With this imposing caravan he embarked in a large dhow, sailed for thecoast landed at Kilwa, and proceeded into the interior of Africa.
It was a long and toilsome journey over several hundred miles ofexceedingly fertile and beautiful country, eminently suited for thehappy abode of natives. But Yoosoof and his class who traded in blackivory had depopulated it to such an extent that scarce a human being wasto be seen all the way. There were plenty of villages, but they were inruins, and acres of cultivated ground with the weeds growing rank wherethe grain had once flourished. Further on in the journey, near the endof it, there was a change; the weeds and grain grew together and didbattle, but in most places the weeds gained the victory. It was quiteevident that the whole land had once been a rich garden teeming withhuman life--savage life, no doubt still, not so savage but that it couldmanage to exist in comparative enjoyment and multiply. Yoosoof--passedthrough a hundred and fifty miles of this land; it was a huge grave,which, appropriately enough, was profusely garnished with human bones.[See Livingstone's _Tributaries of the Zambesi_, page 391.]
At last the slave-trader reached lands which were not utterly forsaken.
Entering a village one afternoon he sent a present of cloth and beads tothe chief, and, after a few preliminary ceremonies, announced that hewished to purchase slaves.
The chief, who was a fine-looking young warrior, said that he had nomen, women or children to sell, except a few criminals to whom he waswelcome at a very low price,--about two or three yards of calico each.There were also one or two orphan children whose parents had diedsuddenly, and to whom no one in the village could lay claim. It wastrue that these poor orphans had been adopted by various families whomight not wish to part with them; but no matter, the chief's command waslaw. Yoosoof might have the orphans also for a very small sum,--a yardof calico perhaps. But nothing would induce the chief to compel any ofhis people to part with their children, and none of the people seemeddesirous of doing so.
The slave-trader therefore adopted another plan. He soon managed toascertain that the chief had an old grudge against a neighbouring chief.In the course of conversation he artfully stirred up the slumberingill-will, and carefully fanned it into a flame without appearing to haveany such end in view. When the iron was sufficiently hot he struck it--supplied the chief with guns and ammunition, and even, as a greatfavour, offered to lend him a few of his own men in order that he mightmake a vigorous attack on his old enemy.
The device succeeded to perfection. War was begun without any previousdeclaration; prisoners were soon brought in--not only men, but women andchildren. The first were coupled together with heavy slave-sticks,which were riveted to their necks; the latter were attached to eachother with ropes; and thus Yoosoof, in a few days, was enabled toproceed on his journey with a goodly drove of "black cattle" behind him.
This occurred not far from Lake Nyassa, which he intended should be hisheadquarters for a time, while his men, under a new leader whom heexpected to meet there, should push their victorious arms farther intothe interior.
On reaching the shores of the noble lake, he found several birds of thesame feather with himself--Arabs engaged in the same trade. He alsofound his old friend and trusty ally, Marizano. This gratified himmuch, for he was at once enabled to hand over the charge of theexpedition to his lieutenant, and send him forth on his mission.
That same evening--a lovely and comparatively cool one--Yoosoof and thehalf-caste sauntered on the margin of the lake, listening to the sweetmelody of the free and happy birds, and watching the debarkation, from alarge boat, of a band of miserable slaves who had been captured orpurchased on the other side.
"Now, Marizano," said Yoosoof, addressing the half-caste in his nativetongue, "I do not intend to cumber you with cloth or beads on thisexpedition. I have already spent a good deal in the purchase of slaves,who are now in my barracoon, and I think it will be both cheaper andeasier to make up the rest of the gang by means of powder and lead."
"It is lighter to carry, and more effectual," remarked Marizano, with anod of approval.
"True," returned Yoosoof, "and quicker. Will a hundred men and gunssuffice?"
"Eighty are enough to conquer any of the bow and spear tribes of thisregion," replied the half-caste carelessly.
"Good!" continued Yoosoof. "Then you shall start to-morrow. The tribesbeyond this lake are not yet afraid of us--thanks to the mad Englishman,Livingstone, who has opened up the country and spread the informationthat white men are the friends of the black, and hate slavery."[Livingstone tells us that he found, on ascending the Shire river, thatthe Portuguese slave-traders had followed closely in the footsteps ofhis previous discoveries, and passed themselves off as his friends, bywhich means they were successful in gaining the confidence of thenatives whom they afterwards treacherously murdered or enslaved.]
"You may try to pass yourself off as a white man, though your face isnot so white as might be desired; however, you can comfort yourself withthe knowledge that it is whiter than your heart!"
The Arab smiled and glanced at his lieutenant. Marizano smiled, bowedin acknowledgment of the compliment, and replied that he believedhimself to be second to no one except his employer in that respect.
"Well, then," continued Yoosoof, "you must follow up the discoveries ofthis Englishman; give out that you are his friend, and have come therefor the same purposes; and, when you have put them quite at their ease,commence a brisk trade with them--for which purpose you may take withyou just enough of cloth and beads to enable you to carry out thedeception. For the rest I need not instruct; you know what to do aswell as I."
Marizano approved heartily of this plan, and assured his chief that hisviews should be carried out to his entire satisfaction.
"But there is still another point," said Yoosoof, "on which I have totalk. It appears that there are some white men who have been takenprisoners by one of the interior tribes--I know not which--for thefinding of whom the British consul at Zanzibar has offered me fivehundred dollars. If you can obtain information about these men it willbe well. If you can find and rescue them it will be still better, andyou shall have a liberal share of the reward."
While the Arab was speaking, the half-caste's visage betrayed a slightdegree of surprise.
"White men!" he said, pulling up his sleeve and showing a
gun-shot woundin his arm which appeared to be not very old. "A white man inflictedthat not long ago, and not very far from the spot on which we stand. Ihad vowed to take the life of that white man if we should ever chance tomeet, but if it is worth five hundred dollars I may be tempted to spareit!"
He laughed lightly as he spoke, and then added, with a thoughtfullook,--"But I don't see how these men--there were two of them, if notmore--can be prisoners, because, when I came across them, they werewell-armed, well supplied, and well attended, else, you may be sure,they had not given me this wound and freed my slaves. But thescoundrels who were with me at the time were cowards."
"You are right," said Yoosoof. "The white men you met I heard of atZanzibar. They cannot be the prisoners we are asked to search for.They have not yet been long enough away, I should think, to have come byany mischance, and the white men who are said to be lost have beentalked about in Zanzibar for a long time. However, make diligentinquiries, because the promise is, that the five hundred dollars shallbe ours if we rescue _any_ white man, no matter who he may chance to be.And now I shall show you the cattle I have obtained on the way up."
The barracoon, to which the Arab led his lieutenant, was a spaceenclosed by a strong and high stockade, in which slaves were kept underguard until a sufficient number should be secured to form a gang,wherewith to start for the coast. At the entrance stood asavage-looking Portuguese half-caste armed with a gun. Inside there wasan assortment of Yoosoof's Black Ivory. It was in comparatively goodcondition at that time, not having travelled far, and, as it wasnecessary to keep it up to a point of strength sufficient to enable itto reach the coast, it was pretty well fed except in the case of a fewrebellious articles. There were, however, specimens of damaged goodseven there. Several of the orphans, who had become Yoosoof's property,although sprightly enough when first purchased, had not stood even theshort journey to the lake so well as might have been expected. They hadfallen off in flesh to such an extent that Yoosoof was induced to remarkto Marizano, as they stood surveying them, that he feared they wouldnever reach the coast alive.
"That one, now," he said, pointing to a little boy who was tightlywedged in the midst of the group of slaves, and sat on the ground withhis face resting on his knees, "is the most troublesome piece of goods Ihave had to do with since I began business; and it seems to me that I amgoing to lose him after all."
"What's the matter with him?" asked the half-caste.
"Nothing particular, only he is a delicate boy. At first I refused him,but he is so well-made, though delicate, and such a good-looking child,and so spirited, that I decided to take him; but he turns out to be_too_ spirited. Nothing that I can do will tame him,--oh, _that_ won'tdo it," said Yoosoof, observing that Marizano raised the switch hecarried in his hand with a significant action; "I have beaten him tillthere is scarcely a sound inch of skin on his whole body, but it's of nouse. Ho! stand up," called Yoosoof, letting the lash of his whip falllightly on the boy's shoulders.
There was, however, no response; the Arab therefore repeated the order,and laid the lash across the child's bare back with a degree of forcethat would have caused the stoutest man to wince; still the boy did notmove. Somewhat surprised, Yoosoof pushed his way towards him, seizedhim by the hair and threw back his head.
The Arab left him immediately and remarked in a quiet tone that heshould have no more trouble with him--he was dead!
"What's the matter with that fellow?" asked Marizano, pointing to a manwho was employed in constantly rolling up a bit of wet clay and applyingit to his left eye.
"Ah, he's another of these unmanageable fellows," replied Yoosoof. "Ihave been trying to tame _him_ by starvation. The other morning he fellon his knees before the man who guards the barracoon and entreated himto give him food. The guard is a rough fellow, and had been put out oftemper lately by a good many of the slaves. Instead of giving him foodhe gave him a blow in the eye which burst the ball of it, and of coursehas rendered him worthless; but _he_ won't trouble us long."
In another place a woman crouched on the ground, having somethingwrapped in leaves which she pressed to her dried breast. It was thebody of a child to which she had recently given birth in that place ofwoe.
Leaving his cringing and terrified goods to the guardian of thebarracoon, the Arab returned to his tent beside the beautiful lake, andthere, while enjoying the aroma of flowers and the cool breeze, and thegenial sunshine, and the pleasant influences which God has scatteredwith bountiful hand over that luxuriant portion of the earth, calmlyconcerted with Marizano the best method by which he could bringinconceivable misery on thousands of its wretched inhabitants.