18G6.] HALT OF THE SLAVE-GANG. 107 



everything European. He says that lie would like to go 

 with me. " Would not care though he were away ten 

 years." I say that he may die in the journey. — " He will 

 die here as well as there, but he will see all the won- 

 derful doings of our country." He knew nie, having come 

 to the boat, to take a look incognito when we were here 

 formerly. 



We found an Arab slave-party here, and went to look 

 at the slaves ; seeing this, Mponda was alarmed lest we 

 should proceed to violence in his town, but I said to him 

 that we went to look only. Eighty-five slaves were in a 

 pen formed of dura stalks (Holcus sorghum). The majority 

 were boys of about eight or ten years of age ; others were 

 grown men and women. Nearly all were in the taming- 

 stick ; a few of the younger ones were in thongs, the thong 

 passing round the neck of each. Several pots were on 

 the fires cooking dura and beans. A crowd went with us, 

 expecting a scene, but I sat clown, and asked a few questions 

 about the journey, in front. The slave-party consisted of 

 five or six half-caste coast Arabs, who said that they came 

 from Zanzibar; but the crowd made such a noise that we 

 could not hear ourselves speak. I asked if they had any 

 objections to my looking at the slaves, the owners pointed 

 out the different slaves, and said that after feeding them, 

 and accounting for the losses in the way to the coast, they 

 made little by the trip. I suspect that the gain is made by 

 those who ship them to the ports of Arabia, for at Zanzibar 

 most of the younger slaves we saw went at about seven 

 dollars a head. I said to them it was a bad business 

 altogether. They presented fowls to me in the evening. 



20th September. — The chief begged so hard that I would 

 stay another day and give medicine to a sick child, 

 that I consented. He promised plenty of food, and, as an 

 earnest of his sincerity, sent an immense pot of beer in the 

 evening. The child had been benefited by the medicine 



