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The Middle Passage
"Africans on Board the Slave Bark Wildfire,"
from Harper's Weekly, June 2, 1860. Collection of the Library of Congress
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I had not eaten since the kidnappers took me from my
village. It was hot and I must have fainted. When I woke up, I was on
board a big ship. It was very crowded. I could not see my brother,
Moeyon, and I didn't know if he was with us. I was very scared - for
him and for me. There were so many people that I barely had room to
turn. We were all chained to the floor of the ship. I never knew
anything could be so horrible. I still had no idea what was going to
happen to me. I missed my family so much, especially my brother.
The food they gave us was terrible. It was called slabbersauce.
Slabbersauce was beans boiled to a pulp then covered with red pepper.
Some of the others refused to eat. They were whipped until they would
eat. Some of the men and women died. Their bodies were thrown overboard
into the water.
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