" He selected accordingly one
hundred and thirty-two of the most sickly of the slaves. Fifty-four of
these were immediately thrown overboard, and forty-two were made to be
partakers of their fate on the succeeding day. In the course of three days
afterwards the remaining twenty-six were brought upon deck to complete the
number of victims. The first sixteen submitted to be thrown into the sea;
but the rest with a noble resolution would not suffer the officers to touch
them, but leaped after their companions and shared their fate.
The plea, which was set up in behalf of this atrocious and unparalleled act
of wickedness, was, that the captain discovered, when he made the proposal,
that he had only two hundred gallons of water on board, and that he had
missed his port; It was proved, however, in answer to this, that no one had
been put upon short allowance; and that, as if Providence had determined to
afford an unequivocal proof of the guilt, a shower of rain fell and
continued for three days immediately after the second lot of slaves had
been destroyed, by means of which they might have filled many of their
vessels[A] with water, and thus have prevented all necessity for the
destruction of the third.
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