32 Ceiitral Africa. 
on the river's bank^ and the natives were neatly dressed in 
the bark cloth of the country. The scene has changed. 
All is wilderness ! The population has fled ! Not a 
village is to be seen ! They (the traders) plunder and 
destroy wherever they set their foot." At other places, the 
people informed him that the slave-hunters had cut the 
throats of many of the women, and dashed out the brains 
of the little children — looking on women and infants as 
useless articles of merchandise. In searching for slaves, 
Sir Samuel came upon these cargoes under all sorts of 
circumstances, and in all kinds of positions. On searching 
one vessel, apparently laden with corn and ivory, a sus- 
picious smell came from the forecastle, and the searchers 
probed the corn with their steel ramrods. Presently 
smothered cries revealed the fact that the forbidden articles 
of traffic were underneath. Sir Samuel says, ^^The corn 
was at once removed, the planks which boarded up the 
forecastle and stern were broken down, and there was a 
mass of humanity exposed, boys, girls, and women, closely 
packed like herrings in a barrel, who, under the fear of 
threats, had remained perfectly silent, until thus discovered. 
The sail attached to the mainyard of the vessel appeared 
full and heavy in the lower part ; this was examined, and 
upon unpacking, it yielded a young woman who had thus 
been sewn up to avoid discovery. I at once ordered the 
vessel to be unloaded. We discovered one hundred and 
fifty slaves stowed away in a most inconceivably small area. 
The stench was horrible when they began to move." 
In Unyoro, and Uganda, slaves were dealt in so regularly 
and so unblushingly, that prices were fixed for victims of 
different ages. M'tesa, king of Uganda, monopolised the 
tradcj receiving slaves and goods from the merchants. He 
then sent into the interior of the country, exchanged both 
