SACRIFICE OF LIFE.-- No less than six vessels have left New York within two weeks for
the coast of Africa for cargoes of slaves. One
of those terrible wholesale massacres that occasionally occur in the prosecution of this
monstrous traffic is graphically described in a
letter from St. Paul De Loando, on the African
coast, dated Feb. 21st:--
"The principal bit of news is the loss of one
of our Baltimore slavers, as fine looking a clipper built hermaphrodite brig as ever was seen
in these waters. On the 10th of this month,
as her Majesty's steamer Gloucester was cruising to the southward cape Lopez, they
made a sail to leeward. They immediately
put her before the wind to give chase, which
manoeuvre the fellow observing, he immediately followed suit, with a view of rounding cape
Lopez, and probably escaping after nightfall,
by running into some of the small rivers inside
of the Bight of Biafra. He proved himself a
match, however, for his vessel sailed like a
witch and gained on the steamer nearly the
whole day, when, at about five o'clock in the
afternoon, the Portuguese steamer Tagus hove
in sight on the weather bow, thus cutting off
the fellow's chance of rounding the cape. Seeing his chance thus lost, he stood her directly
on to the rocks of the cape. As the brig
struck, and was overwhelmed by the breakers,
the miserable creatures on board, probably to
the number of five hundred, set up a howl of
despair that could be heard even above the
roaring of the hungry sea. But is was too
dark, by that time, to see much, and beyond
human skill or power to aid the drowning
wretches, so that they soon must have met
their doom, for on the next morning the beach
inside of the rocks, was strewn with corpses
and fragments of the wreck. Nothing was
found, however, to reveal the name of the
slaver, or any other information concerning
him, save that to the practiced seaman she
proved of Baltimore built. The monsters
who manned the vessel are supposed to have
escaped in their boat before she struck, and
must have gained the shore, as a boat somewhat stove was discovered on the beach with
the oars near by. A good prize was thus lost,
and what is worse, probably five hundred human beings were launched into eternity."
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