Travels Of Richard And John Lander Into The Interior Of Africa For The Discovery Of The Course And Termination Of The Niger By Robert Huish
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Every Four Slaves Were Also
Fastened Together By A Rope Of Twisted Thongs; And During The Night
Their Hands Were Fettered, And Sometimes A Light Iron Chain Was Put
Round Their Necks.
Those who betrayed any symptoms of discontent,
were secured by a thick billet of wood about three feet long, which
was fastened to the ankle by a strong iron staple.
All these fetters
were put on as soon as the slaves arrived at Kamalia, and were not
taken off until the morning they set out for the Gambia. In other
respects, the slaves were not harshly treated. In the morning they
were led to the shade of a tamarind tree, where they were encouraged
to keep up their spirits by playing different games of chance, or
singing. Some bore their situation with great fortitude, but the
majority would sit the whole of the day in sullen melancholy, with
their eyes fixed on the ground. In the evening, their irons being
examined, and their hand-fetters put on, they were conducted into two
large huts, and guarded during the night. Notwithstanding this
strictness, however, one of Karfa's slaves, about a week after his
arrival, having procured a small knife, opened the rings of his
fetters, cut the rope, and made his escape, and more might have got
off, had not the slave, when he found himself at liberty, refused to
stop to assist his companions in breaking the chain, which was round
their necks.
All the merchants and slaves who composed the coffle, were now
assembled at Kamalia and its vicinity; the day of departure for the
Gambia was frequently fixed, and afterwards postponed.
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