ripped them to search
for arms or money. Nothing being found, they had their clothes
returned, and were marched on to the poop and placed under a sentry's
charge to wait till they could be turned over to the tender mercies of
the Sultan of Zanzibar--a fate they dread very much. There were two
women on board who seemed past hope of recovery; the one who was dug out
of the sand, and another with an infant at her back, in which way these
people carry their children. The greater portion were suffering
dreadfully. Forty-one men, 59 women, and 137 children were taken out of
the dhow from between her decks, where they had been packed, unable to
move during the whole voyage. The young and good-looking women, who
were the most profitable portion of the cargo, appeared to have been
well fed, while the men and boys had been starved. The first care was
to remove the filth with which they were covered. Those able to bear it
were passed under the steam hose, the few rags they had on being taken
away as they entered the stream, and as they passed out dry coverings
were wrapped round them, contributed by the officers and seamen, such as
shirts, towels, sheets, flannels, etcetera. The weaker ones were washed
in warm water with soap. Nothing could exceed the gentleness with which
the hardy tars handled these poor creatures. By the time they had all
been washed the food was ready, and they were made to sit down in
circles of from twelve to twenty. Large bowls of boiled rice and beans
were placed in the centre of each group; this was the signal for the
most dreadful din; each fearing his or her neighbour would get a larger
share, crammed the food into their mouths, fighting, squalling, crying,
and shouting being carried on all the time until the dishes were empty.
It showed what must have been the state of things in the dhow, where
there was no room to portion them off, neither would the lazy Arab
disturb himself to see justice done to each. The sick were cared for by
the doctor and his attentive sick-bay man, assisted by all the officers.
Preserved milk, port wine, brandy and water, and preserved fowl were
pressed upon these suffering ones, who were almost too far gone to care
for anything, except to be allowed to die in peace. The difficulty was
to berth them; it was impossible to let them go below, their filthy
habits making it necessary that they should remain on the upper-deck,
where plenty of water could be used for washin