d with their faces towards the stern.
In this way each negro lies on his right side, which is considered
preferable for the action of the heart. In allotting places,
particular attention is paid to size, the taller being selected for
the greatest breadth of the vessel, while the shorter and younger are
lodged near the bows. When the cargo is large and the lower deck
crammed, the supernumeraries are disposed of on deck, which is
securely covered with boards to shield them from moisture. The
_strict_ discipline of nightly stowage is, of course, of the greatest
importance in slavers, else every negro would accommodate himself as
if he were a passenger.

In order to insure perfect silence and regularity during night, a
slave is chosen as constable from every ten, and furnished with a
"cat" to enforce commands during his appointed watch. In remuneration
for his services, which, it may be believed, are admirably performed
whenever the whip is required, he is adorned with an old shirt or
tarry trowsers. Now and then, billets of wood are distributed among
the sleepers, but this luxury is never granted until the good temper
of the negroes is ascertained, for slaves have often been tempted to
mutiny by the power of arming themselves with these pillows from the
forest.

It is very probable that many of my readers will consider it barbarous
to make slaves lie down naked upon a board, but let me inform them
that native Africans are not familiar with the use of feather-beds,
nor do any but the free and rich in their mother country indulge in
the luxury even of a mat or raw-hide. Among the Mandingo chiefs,--the
most industrious and civilized of Africans,--the beds, divans, and
sofas, are heaps of mud, covered with untanned skins for cushions,
while logs of wood serve for bolsters! I am of opinion, therefore,
that emigrant slaves experience very slight inconvenience in lying
down on the deck.

But _ventilation_ is carefully attended to. The hatches and bulkheads
of every slaver are grated, and apertures are cut about the deck for
ampler circulation of air. Wind-sails, too, are constantly pouring a
steady draft into the hold, except during a chase, when, of course,
every comfort is temporarily sacrificed for safety. During calms or in
light and baffling winds, when the suffocating air of the tropics
makes ventilation impossible, the gratings are always removed, and
portions of the slaves allowed to repose at night on deck, while the