ey would do their best to beat off any
enemies who might attempt to take the vessel.

The night continued perfectly calm, while a light mist somewhat obscured
the shore and distant objects. He knew that sounds, though from a
considerable distance, could be heard, and that he should thus have
timely intimation of the approach of boats, even should they come off
with muffled oars.

The captured slaver, with four hundred human beings stowed away in her
hold, has not yet been described.

The slave-deck was divided into two parts: in the larger portion the men
were packed away; in the smaller, the hapless women and children. When
the slaves were first received on board on the African coast, the
largest men had been picked out to act as head men or overseers of the
rest, and having been threatened with punishment should they refuse to
obey orders, they had not unwillingly taken the office imposed on them.
They at first divided the slaves into gangs of about twenty men each,
for whose good behaviour they were answerable; their first duty had been
to stow away the slaves. The slave-deck was about four feet in height,
with beams and bars running from side to side; on these beams the slaves
were compelled to sit with their heads thrust between their knees, so
close together that when one moved the whole mass had to move also.
Care had been taken to place the largest slaves the farthest from the
ship's side, or from any position in which their strength might avail
them to secure a larger space than their neighbours. One portion of the
deck was much lower, being scarcely twenty inches in height, and in this
the children were stowed away.

When the slaver was captured the hatches were found closed and all the
larger men heavily ironed, and it may be imagined, had the chase
continued long, what would have been the suffering of the unfortunate
wretches.

The slaves were fed twice a day, and in order to give room, one half
were allowed at a time to come on deck, the only opportunity they had to
stretch their limbs. At meal-times they were arranged into messes, and
when all was ready, at a signal from the head man, they commenced
eating.

Their food consisted of rice, or farina, which is flour made from the
cassada, a species of potato boiled, or calabancies, a kind of bean;
occasionally a small quantity of salt beef, fish, or chillies, was
served out to them as a relish. After each meal they were made to sing,
not for the