ACCOUNT OF BOO K S. 



965 



ferent markets to sell them, for 

 they ver}^ soon discover that their 

 habits of life render them altoge- 

 ther unserviceable, or very inferior 

 to the black slaves, which they 

 procure frona Timbuctoo. After 

 travelling three days to one mar- 

 ket, five to another, nay some- 

 times fourteen, they at length be- 

 come objects of commercial specu- 

 lation, and the itinerant Jew- 

 traders, who wander about from 

 Wedinoon to sell their wares, find 

 means to barter for them tobacco, 

 salt, a cloth garment, or any other 

 thing, just as a combination of cir- 

 cumstances may offer, and then re- 

 turn to Wedinoon, with the pur- 

 chase. If the Jew have a corres- 

 pondent at Mogodor, he writes to 

 liira, that a ship had been wrecked, 

 mentioning the flag ornationshebe-, 

 longed to, and requests him to inform 

 the agent, or consul, of the nation 

 of which the captain is a subject ; 

 in the mean time flattering the poor 

 men, that they will shortly be libe- 

 rated and sent to Mogodor, where 

 they will meet their countrymen. 

 A long and tedious servitude, how- 

 ever, generally follows, for want of 

 a regular fund at Mogodor, for the 

 redemption of these people. The 

 agent can do nothing but write to 

 the consul-general at Tangier; this 

 takes up nearly a month, before an 

 answer is received, and the mer- 

 chants at Mogodor, being so little 

 protected by their respective go- 

 vernments, and having various im- 

 mediate uses for their money, are 

 very unwilling to advance for the 

 European interest of five per cent : 

 so that Llic; time lo«t in writing to 

 the government of the country to 

 whom the uafortunate captives be- 

 long, the necessity of procuring the 

 money for their purchase previous 



to their emancipation, and various 

 other circumstances, form impedi- 

 ments to their liberation. I knew 

 an instance where a merchant had 

 advanced the money for one of 

 these captives, who, had his ran- 

 som not been paid, would have 

 been obliged to return to the south, 

 where he would have been sold or 

 compelled to embrace theMahora- 

 medan religion ; for the British 

 vice-consul had not the purchase- 

 money, nor any orders to redeem 

 him, having previously sent to the 

 consul-general an account of the 

 purchase of the rest of the crew,- 

 This man was delivered up by the 

 merchant who had redeemed him 

 to the British vice-consul, to whom 

 he looked for payment: various 

 applications were made to the con- 

 sul-general, but the money was not 

 paid two years afterwards, all ap- 

 plications to government having 

 failed ; a representation of the case 

 was next made to a society in 

 London, which has been established 

 ever since the year 1724-, for the 

 redemption of British Slaves in Tur- 

 key and Baibary, which, after de- 

 liberating on the matter, agreed to 

 pay the merchant the money he 

 had advanced. The purchase- 

 money in this case, including the 

 cost of clothes (for the man was 

 naked when purchased) did not 

 altogether amount to fort}' pounds ; 

 there was, however, so much 

 trouble attending the accomplish- 

 ment of the business, that no indi- 

 vidual merchant has since ventured 

 to make an advance on a similar 

 security, for, not to mention the 

 difficuity of recovering the princi-' 

 pal at the expiration of a long pe- 

 riod, the value of money is such at 

 Mogodor, that merchants are un- 

 willing to advance it at a low .ate- 



rest. 



