Once on board the slaves were put in chains two by two.  When the ship was ready to start, the hold of the vessel was crowded with moody and unhappy wretches who most often were made to crouch so that their knees touched their chins, but who also were frequently made to lie on their sides “spoon-fashion.”  Sometimes the space between floor and ceiling was still further diminished by the water-barrels; on the top of these barrels boards were placed, on the boards the slaves had to lie, and in the little space that remained they had to subsist as well as they could.  There was generally only one entrance to the hold, and provision for only the smallest amount of air through the gratings on the sides.  The clothing of a captive, if there was any at all, consisted of only a rag about the loins.  The food was half-rotten rice, yams, beans, or soup, and sometimes bread and meat; the cooking was not good, nor was any care taken to see that all were fed.  Water was always limited, a pint a day being a generous allowance; frequently no more than a gill could be had.  The rule was to bring the slaves from the hold twice a day for an airing, about eight o’clock in the morning and four in the afternoon; but this plan was not always followed.  On deck they were made to dance by the lash, and they were also forced to sing.  Thus were born the sorrow-songs, the last cry of those who saw their homeland vanish behind them—­forever.

Sometimes there were stern fights on board.  Sometimes food was refused in order that death might be hastened.  When opportunity served, some leaped overboard in the hope of being taken back to Africa.  Throughout the night the hold resounded with the moans of those who awoke from dreams of home to find themselves in bonds.  Women became hysterical, and both men and women became insane.  Fearful and contagious diseases broke out.  Smallpox was one of these.  More common was ophthalmia, a frightful inflammation of the eyes.  A blind, and hence a worthless, slave was thrown to the sharks.  The putrid atmosphere, the melancholy, and the sudden transition from heat to cold greatly increased the mortality, and frequently when morning came a dead and a living slave were found shackled together.  A captain always counted on losing one-fourth of his cargo.  Sometimes he lost a great deal more.

Back on the shore a gray figure with strained gaze watched the ship fade away—­an old woman sadly typical of the great African mother.  With her vision she better than any one else perceived the meaning of it all.  The men with hard faces who came to buy and sell might deceive others, but not her.  In a great vague way she felt that something wrong had attacked the very heart of her people.  She saw men wild with the whiskey of the Christian nations commit crimes undreamed of before.  She did not like the coast towns; the girl who went thither came not home again, and a young man was lost to all that Africa held dear.  In course of time she