e warpath, the caravan leaders visited the city slave market and
made, from day to day, a few purchases. The price paid for an old
Negro was 10,000 to 15,000 cowries, an adult Negro 30,000, a young
Negro woman 50,000 to 60,000, a Negro boy or girl 35,000 to 45,000.
The seller agreed to take back, within three days of the date of the
purchase, any slaves that proved to have objectionable qualities, such
as a disease, bad eyes or teeth, or a habit of snoring in sleep. As a
rule slaves that come below Nupe were not salable for the reason that,
being unaccustomed to eat salt, it was difficult for them to withstand
the regime of the desert. Also, slaves from certain countries south of
Kano were not salable because they were cannibals. The slaves from
this region were recognized by their teeth which were sharpened to a
point, resembling those of a dog. Negroes from other tribes were not
purchased because they were believed to have the power of causing a
man to die of consumption by merely looking at him. The purchase of
Fellatahs, or pregnant Negro women, or Jews was strictly forbidden by
the Sultan. The Fellatahs were not bought because they boasted of
being white people. The Negro women could not be bought because the
child to be born would be the property of the Sultan if its mother
were a heathen, and it would be free if the mother were a Mohammedan.
The Jew Negroes could not be bought because they were jewelers,
tailors, artisans and indispensable negotiators.

The raiding troops, after having been on the campaign for nearly a
month, returned with 2,000 captives, who marched in front of the
column, the men, women, old and young, almost all nude, or half clad
in ragged blue cloth, and the children piled upon the camels. The
women were groaning, and the children crying, while the men, though
seemingly more resigned, bore bloody marks upon their backs made by
the whips. The convoy was marched to the palace, where its arrival was
announced to the Sultan by a band of musicians. The Sultan
complimented the chief, examined the slaves and ordered them to the
slave market; and the next morning the caravan leaders were invited to
come and make their purchases.

After the slave-trading was over, it was necessary to purchase
supplies of corn, millet, dried meat, butter and flour for three
months, also to purchase camels and hide-tents. Daumas's caravan,
which set out from Metlily with only 64 camels and sixteen men, had
now increa