THE MIDDLE PASSAGE. 347 



slaves, and laid down the goods. The chief ordered 

 out the militia, made a night march, attacked a vil- 

 lage just before the dawn, killed those who resisted, 

 carried off the rest in irons manufactured at Birming- 

 ham, and handed them over to the trader, who drove 

 them down to the coast. They were then warehoused 

 in the fort dungeons, or in buildings called " barra- 

 coons " prepared for their reception ; and as soon as 

 a vessel was ready, they were marked and shipped. 

 On board they were packed on the lower deck like 

 herrings in a cask. The cargo supposed that it also 

 resembled herrings, in being exported as an article of 

 food. The slaves believed that all white men were 

 cannibals; that the red caps of the trade were dyed 

 in negro blood, and that the white soap was made 

 of negro brains. So they often refused to eat; upon 

 which their mouths were forced open with an instru- 

 ment known in surgery as speculum oris, and used in 

 cases of lock-jaw ; and by means of this ingenious 

 contrivance they breakfasted and dined against their 

 will. Exercise also being conducive to health, they 

 were ordered to jump up and down in their fetters ; 

 and if they declined to do so, the application of the cat 

 had the desired effect, and made them exercise not 

 only their limbs, but also their lungs, and so promoted 

 the circulation of the blood and the digestion of 

 the horse-beans on which they were fed. Yet such 

 was the obstinacy of these savage creatures, that many 

 of them sulked themselves to death ; and sometimes, 

 when indulged with an airing on deck, the ungrateful 

 wretches would jump overboard, and, as they sank, 

 waved their hands in triumph at having made their 

 escape. On reaching the West Indies they were put 

 into regular schools of labour, and gradually broken 



