"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الجزء II. ج. ج. لوريمر. ١٩١٥" [‎٢‎٤‎٩‎٤] (١٢٦٢/١٠١١)

2494
slaves thus obtaining their freedom ; and in September 1872 H.M.S.
Vulture " took possession of a large Baghlah, in which were 169 slaves,
mostly women and children. In the latter case the Nakhuda of the
vessel and his son were imprisoned by the Sultan of ; Oman, and the
vessel itself was condemned and destroyed. In 1872. all chiefs having
treaties with Great Britain relating to the traffic in slaves were reminded
of their obligations under the same; and numerous other steps were
taken for combating the trade.
Conditions of It has been stated above that domestic slavery in the Persian Gulf
the traffic bet- i s 0 f a type, but mildness was not a characteristic of the conditions
ween East the Gulf was at this time supplied with slaves: on the
^PersMan contrary the methods of the exporters from Africa appear to have been
Gulf. characterised by a barbarity equal to that of their compeers in^ any pait
of the world. A number of the " Times of India appearing in October
1872, contained the following description of the slave vessel taken by the
Vulture*" :—
"The number of slaves it was impossible at the time to estimate; so
l( crowded on deck, and in the hold below was the dhow, that it seemed
but for the aspect of misery, a very nest of ants.^ The hold, fiom
" which an intolerable stench proceeded, was several inches deep in the
foulest bilge-water and refuse. Down below, there were numbers of
"children and wretched beings in the most loathsome stages of small-pox
"and scrofula of every description. A more disgusting and degrading
" spectacle of humanity could hardly be seen, whilst the foulness of the
dhow was such that the sailors could hardly endure it. When the slaves
" were transferred to the Vulture the poor wretched creatures were
" so dreadfully emaciated and weak, that many had to be carried on
"board, and lifted for every movement. How it was that so many
" survived such hardships was a source of wonder to all that belonged to
" the Vulture. On examination by the surgeon, it was found that there
" were no less than 35 cases of small-pox in various stages ; and from
" the time of the first taking of the dhow to their landing at Butcher e
"Island, Bombay, 15 died out of the whole number of 169, and since
"then there have been more deaths amongst them. But perhaps the
ci most atrocious piece of cruelty of the Arabs was heard after war s
" from the slaves themselves ; viz., that at the first discovery of small-
"pox amongst them by the Arabs, all the infected slaves were at once
" thrown overboard, and this was continued day by day, until, they said,
"forty had perished in this manner. When they found the disease
" could not be checked, they simply left them to take their chance, and
<' to die. Many of the children were of the tenderest years, scarcely more
^ than three years old, and most of them bearing marks of the brutality
''of the Arabs in half-healed scars, and bruises inflicted from the lasH
and stick/''
The exporters of slaves from Africa to the Persian Gulf were mostly
Arabs, who were accustomed to proceed to Zanzibar for the purpose of legi
timate trade during the north-eastern monsoon, that is between November
and February, and who generally returned, bringing slaves, either just
before or just after the south-west monsoon, viz., in the months of April,
Hfri