describes some of the doings of yoosoof and his men in procuring black ivory from the interior of africa.
a dirty shop, in a filthy street in the unhealthy town of zanzibar, is the point to which we now beg leave to conduct our reader—whom we also request 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 the purpose of introducing the two men who, at the time we write of, sat over their grog in a small back-room connected with that shop. still the shop itself is not altogether unworthy of notice. it is what the americans call a store—a place where you can purchase almost every article that the wants of man have called into being. the prevailing smells are of oil, sugar, tea, molasses, paint, and tar, a compound which confuses the discriminating powers of the nose, and, on the principle that extremes meet, removes the feeling of surprise that ought to be aroused by discovering that these odours are in close connexion with haberdashery and hardware. there are enormous casks, puncheons, and kegs on the floor; bales on the shelves; indescribable confusion in the corners; preserved meat tins piled to the ceiling; with dust and dirt encrusting everything. the walls, beams, and rafters, appear to be held together by means of innumerable cobwebs. hosts of flies fatten on, without diminishing, the stock, and squadrons of cockroaches career over the earthen floor.
in the little back-room of this shop sat the slave-dealer yoosoof, in company 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 extent that yoosoof and his friend were not so clearly distinguishable as might have been desired.
“you’re all a set of false-hearted, wrong-headed, low-minded, scoundrels,” said the plain-spoken captain, accompanying each asseveration with a puff so violent as to suggest the idea that his remarks were round-shot and his mouth a cannon.
the briton was evidently not in a complimentary mood. it was equally evident that yoosoof was not in a touchy vein, for he smiled the slightest possible smile and shrugged his shoulders. he had business to transact with the captain which was likely to result very much to his advantage, and yoosoof was not the man to let feelings stand in the way of business.
“moreover,” pursued the captain, in a gruff voice, “the trade in slaves is illegally conducted in one sense, namely, that it is largely carried on 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? and ain’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 their ease as well as their money, and when they want to increase the latter without destroying the former, don’t they make advances to the like of you 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?” said the captain fiercely.
yoosoof did not smile at this; he even looked for a moment as if he were going to resent it, but it was only for a moment. self-interest came opportunely to his aid, and made him submissive.
“what can we do?” he asked after a short silence. “you knows what the sultan say, other day, to one british officer, ‘if you stop slave-trade you will ruin zanzibar.’ we mus’ not do that. zanzibar mus’ not be ruin.”
“why not?” demanded the captain, with a look of supreme contempt, “what if zanzibar was ruined? look here, now, yoosoof, your dirty little island—the whole island observe—is not quite the size of my own scotch county of lanark. its population is short of 250,000 all told—scarce equal to the half of the population of lanark—composed of semi-barbarians and savages. that’s one side of the question. here’s the other side: africa is one of the four quarters of the earth, with millions of vigorous niggers and millions of acres of splendid land, and no end of undeveloped resources, and you have the impudence to tell me that an enormous lump of this land must be converted into a desert, and something like 150,000 of its best natives be drawn off annually—for what?—for what?” repeated the sailor, bringing his fist down on the table before him with such force that the glasses danced on it and the dust flew up; “for what? i say; for a paltry, pitiful island, ruled by a sham sultan, without army or navy, and with little money, save what he gets by slave-dealing; an island which has no influence for good on the world, morally, religiously, or socially, and with little commercially, though it has much influence for evil; an island which has helped the portuguese to lock up the east coast of africa for centuries; an island which would not be missed—save as a removed curse—if it were sunk this night 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 his indignation as he made these observations. he now made an effort to control himself, and then, sitting down, he continued— “just think, yoosoof; you’re a sharp man of business, as i know to my cost. you can understand a thing in a commercial point of view. just try to look at it thus: on the one side of the world’s account you have zanzibar sunk with all its banyan and arab population; we won’t sink the niggers, poor wretches. we’ll suppose them saved, along with the consuls, missionaries, and such-like. well, that’s a loss of somewhere about 83,000 scoundrels,—a gain we might call it, but for the sake of argument we’ll call it a loss. on the other side of the account you have 30,000 niggers—fair average specimens of humanity—saved from slavery, besides something like 150,000 more saved from death by war and starvation, the results of the slave-trade; 83,000 from 150,000 leaves 67,000! the loss, you see, would be more than wiped off, and a handsome balance left at the world’s credit the very first year! to say nothing of the opening up of legitimate commerce to one of the richest countries on earth, and the consequent introduction of christianity.”
the captain paused to take breath. yoosoof shrugged his shoulders, and a brief silence ensued, which was happily broken, not by a recurrence to the question of slavery, but by the entrance of a slave. he came in search of yoosoof for the purpose of telling him that his master wished to speak with him. as the slave’s master was one of the wealthy banyans just referred to, yoosoof rose at once, and, apologising to the captain for quitting him so hurriedly, left that worthy son of neptune to cool his indignation in solitude.
passing through several dirty streets the slave led the slaver to a better 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 of quiet, unobtrusive aspect.
“yoosoof,” said the banyan in arabic, “i have been considering the matter about which we had some conversation yesterday, and i find that it will be convenient for me to make a small venture. i can let you have three thousand dollars.”
“on the old terms?” asked yoosoof.
“on the old terms,” replied the merchant. “will you be ready to start soon?”
yoosoof said that he would, that he had already completed the greater part of his preparations, and that he hoped to start for the interior in a 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 an ignorant onlooker to imagine that yoosoof’s business in the interior was work 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 to find some one who will undertake to make inquiries in the interior about some englishmen, who are said to have been captured by the black fellows and 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 white man who shall be recovered and brought to the coast alive, i thought that 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, during which he learned that there was no absolute certainty of any englishmen having been captured. it was only a vague rumour; nevertheless it was sufficiently probable to warrant the offer of five hundred dollars to any one who should effect a rescue; therefore yoosoof, having occasion to travel into the interior at any rate, undertook to make inquiries.
he was also told that two englishmen had, not long before, purchased an outfit, and started off with the intention of proceeding to the interior by way of the zambesi river, and they, the consul said, might possibly be heard of by him near the regions to which he was bound; but these, he suggested, could not be the men who were reported as missing.
of course yoosoof had not the most remote idea that these were the very englishmen whom he himself had captured on the coast, for, after parting from them abruptly, as described in a former chapter, he had ceased to care or think about them, and besides, was ignorant of the fact that they 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 of many colours, cloth of different kinds, thick brass wire, and a variety of cheap trinkets, such as black men and women are fond of, for yoosoof was an “honest” trader, and paid his way when he found it suitable to do so. he likewise hired a hundred men, whom he armed with guns, powder, and ball, for yoosoof was also a dishonest trader, and fought his way when that course seemed most desirable.
with this imposing caravan he embarked in a large dhow, sailed for the coast landed at kilwa, and proceeded into the interior of africa.
it was a long and toilsome journey over several hundred miles of exceedingly fertile and beautiful country, eminently suited for the happy abode of natives. but yoosoof and his class who traded in black ivory had depopulated it to such an extent that scarce a human being was to be seen all the way. there were plenty of villages, but they were in ruins, and acres of cultivated ground with the weeds growing rank where the grain had once flourished. further on in the journey, near the end of it, there was a change; the weeds and grain grew together and did battle, but in most places the weeds gained the victory. it was quite evident that the whole land had once been a rich garden teeming with human life—savage life, no doubt still, not so savage but that it could manage to exist in comparative enjoyment and multiply. yoosoof—passed through 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 to the chief, and, after a few preliminary ceremonies, announced that he wished to purchase slaves.
the chief, who was a fine-looking young warrior, said that he had no men, women or children to sell, except a few criminals to whom he was welcome at a very low price,—about two or three yards of calico each. there were also one or two orphan children whose parents had died suddenly, and to whom no one in the village could lay claim. it was true that these poor orphans had been adopted by various families who might not wish to part with them; but no matter, the chief’s command was law. yoosoof might have the orphans also for a very small sum,—a yard of calico perhaps. but nothing would induce the chief to compel any of his people to part with their children, and none of the people seemed desirous of doing so.
the slave-trader therefore adopted another plan. he soon managed to ascertain that the chief had an old grudge against a neighbouring chief. in the course of conversation he artfully stirred up the slumbering ill-will, and carefully fanned it into a flame without appearing to have any such end in view. when the iron was sufficiently hot he struck it—supplied the chief with guns and ammunition, and even, as a great favour, offered to lend him a few of his own men in order that he might make a vigorous attack on his old enemy.
the device succeeded to perfection. war was begun without any previous declaration; prisoners were soon brought in—not only men, but women and children. the first were coupled together with heavy slave-sticks, which were riveted to their necks; the latter were attached to each other with ropes; and thus yoosoof, in a few days, was enabled to proceed on his journey with a goodly drove of “black cattle” behind him.
this occurred not far from lake nyassa, which he intended should be his headquarters for a time, while his men, under a new leader whom he expected to meet there, should push their victorious arms farther into the interior.
on reaching the shores of the noble lake, he found several birds of the same feather with himself—arabs engaged in the same trade. he also found his old friend and trusty ally, marizano. this gratified him much, for he was at once enabled to hand over the charge of the expedition to his lieutenant, and send him forth on his mission.
that same evening—a lovely and comparatively cool one—yoosoof and the half-caste sauntered on the margin of the lake, listening to the sweet melody of the free and happy birds, and watching the debarkation, from a large boat, of a band of miserable slaves who had been captured or purchased on the other side.
“now, marizano,” said yoosoof, addressing the half-caste in his native tongue, “i do not intend to cumber you with cloth or beads on this expedition. 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 and easier 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 a nod of approval.
“true,” returned yoosoof, “and quicker. will a hundred men and guns suffice?”
“eighty are enough to conquer any of the bow and spear tribes of this region,” replied the half-caste carelessly.
“good!” continued yoosoof. “then you shall start to-morrow. the tribes beyond this lake are not yet afraid of us—thanks to the mad englishman, livingstone, who has opened up the country and spread the information that white men are the friends of the black, and hate slavery.” (livingstone tells us that he found, on ascending the shire river, that the portuguese slave-traders had followed closely in the footsteps of his previous discoveries, and passed themselves off as his friends, by which means they were successful in gaining the confidence of the natives whom they afterwards treacherously murdered or enslaved.)
“you may try to pass yourself off as a white man, though your face is not so white as might be desired; however, you can comfort yourself with the knowledge that it is whiter than your heart!”
the arab smiled and glanced at his lieutenant. marizano smiled, bowed in acknowledgment of the compliment, and replied that he believed himself to be second to no one except his employer in that respect.
“well, then,” continued yoosoof, “you must follow up the discoveries of this englishman; give out that you are his friend, and have come there for 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 with you just enough of cloth and beads to enable you to carry out the deception. for the rest i need not instruct; you know what to do as well as i.”
marizano approved heartily of this plan, and assured his chief that his views should be carried out to his entire satisfaction.
“but there is still another point,” said yoosoof, “on which i have to talk. it appears that there are some white men who have been taken prisoners by one of the interior tribes—i know not which—for the finding of whom the british consul at zanzibar has offered me five hundred dollars. if you can obtain information about these men it will be well. if you can find and rescue them it will be still better, and you shall have a liberal share of the reward.”
while the arab was speaking, the half-caste’s visage betrayed a slight degree of surprise.
“white men!” he said, pulling up his sleeve and showing a gun-shot wound in his arm which appeared to be not very old. “a white man inflicted that not long ago, and not very far from the spot on which we stand. i had vowed to take the life of that white man if we should ever chance to meet, but if it is worth five hundred dollars i may be tempted to spare it!”
he laughed lightly as he spoke, and then added, with a thoughtful look,—“but i don’t see how these men—there were two of them, if not more—can be prisoners, because, when i came across them, they were well-armed, well supplied, and well attended, else, you may be sure, they had not given me this wound and freed my slaves. but the scoundrels who were with me at the time were cowards.”
“you are right,” said yoosoof. “the white men you met i heard of at zanzibar. 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 by any mischance, and the white men who are said to be lost have been talked about in zanzibar for a long time. however, make diligent inquiries, because the promise is, that the five hundred dollars shall be 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 space enclosed by a strong and high stockade, in which slaves were kept under guard until a sufficient number should be secured to form a gang, wherewith to start for the coast. at the entrance stood a savage-looking portuguese half-caste armed with a gun. inside there was an assortment of yoosoof’s black ivory. it was in comparatively good condition at that time, not having travelled far, and, as it was necessary to keep it up to a point of strength sufficient to enable it to reach the coast, it was pretty well fed except in the case of a few rebellious articles. there were, however, specimens of damaged goods even there. several of the orphans, who had become yoosoof’s property, although sprightly enough when first purchased, had not stood even the short journey to the lake so well as might have been expected. they had fallen off in flesh to such an extent that yoosoof was induced to remark to marizano, as they stood surveying them, that he feared they would never reach the coast alive.
“that one, now,” he said, pointing to a little boy who was tightly wedged in the midst of the group of slaves, and sat on the ground with his face resting on his knees, “is the most troublesome piece of goods i have had to do with since i began business; and it seems to me that i am going 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’t do it,” said yoosoof, observing that marizano raised the switch he carried in his hand with a significant action; “i have beaten him till there is scarcely a sound inch of skin on his whole body, but it’s of no use. ho! stand up,” called yoosoof, letting the lash of his whip fall lightly 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 force that would have caused the stoutest man to wince; still the boy did not move. somewhat surprised, yoosoof pushed his way towards him, seized him by the hair and threw back his head.
the arab left him immediately and remarked in a quiet tone that he should have no more trouble with him—he was dead!
“what’s the matter with that fellow?” asked marizano, pointing to a man who was employed in constantly rolling up a bit of wet clay and applying it to his left eye.
“ah, he’s another of these unmanageable fellows,” replied yoosoof. “i have been trying to tame him by starvation. the other morning he fell on his knees before the man who guards the barracoon and entreated him to give him food. the guard is a rough fellow, and had been put out of temper lately by a good many of the slaves. instead of giving him food he gave him a blow in the eye which burst the ball of it, and of course has rendered him worthless; but he won’t trouble us long.”
in another place a woman crouched on the ground, having something wrapped in leaves which she pressed to her dried breast. it was the body of a child to which she had recently given birth in that place of woe.
leaving his cringing and terrified goods to the guardian of the barracoon, the arab returned to his tent beside the beautiful lake, and there, while enjoying the aroma of flowers and the cool breeze, and the genial sunshine, and the pleasant influences which god has scattered with bountiful hand over that luxuriant portion of the earth, calmly concerted with marizano the best method by which he could bring inconceivable misery on thousands of its wretched inhabitants.
