All these chains are shut by a lock, and never can be taken off. Thus, these poor fellows must walk any distance whatever, and work, sleep and live always with these chains; the marks of which I have seen round their bodies and their legs in very deep furrows eaten into their flesh, which becomes black and as hard as bone, the sight of which is truly distressing. After these poor creatures are put in chains, they make them work at the hardest work; as cutting stone from the mountains, felling trees, carrying sand and stones for building, moving guns from one place to another, and such kinds of laborious work. They have no machines to facilitate the workmen; all must be done by the strength of these poor people.
Every ten slaves are bound together, and followed by a guard with a whip in his hand; and if any one of them has occasion to perform any natural evacuation, they went all together, whether by night or day. They sleep all together on the ground, in a large stable, with a mat under them. If any of them have money then they can make themselves rather more comfortable. " The government allows to each person for every clay of the week, (except Friday.) a loaf of eight or ten ounces of a very black kind of bread, made of barley and beans, one handful of peas, and a small measure not larger than a thimble of oil; that is the whole of their food; and on Friday nothing at all.
" An Aga of the Janizaries of Algiers, observing the miserable state" of the prisoners, and the inhumanity with which they were treated, was induced by his feelings to allow them a portion of meat and wheat bread for every Friday, on which day they would have had nothing. This allowance was continued for several years; but for their misfortune this good man died of about a middle age; and nobody, after him, was so humane as to follow his benevolent example. And thus these unfortunate creatures were again deprived of assistance and continued to pass their lives as before till the Divine Providence released them through the medium, and through the exalted and merciful government of Great Britain.
" The troops seeing several ships coming near the town to receive the slaves, and to take away our anchors from the environs of the mole, thought that they were agoing to renew the attack, or to do "some improper thing; and they rushed into the mole with their arms. Some of them, when our boats shoved off with the slaves, were so brutish as to fire several musket shots, which fortunately passed over the boats. On my arrival on board, I reported this conduct to his Lordship, who ordered mo to claim redress for it, from the Dey. On the next day, after all the slaves were embarked on board the two transports, and anchored near the Queen Charlotte, they all came on deck, on the shrouds, and on the yards, exclaiming and shouting in the same words as before; and giving cheers and plaudits to every ship: so that it was a most joyful noise on both sides.
Lord Exmouth then gave orders to have them counted. We took a list of Sicilians, - 6 Portuguese, Dutch, - 1 63 people of eacli nation, and they amounted to one thousand and eighty-three in the whole. Then his Lordship ordered them to be embarked on board several ships to convey them to their respective countries, which was done according to the follow in a: table: Neapolitans, - 161 Greeks, " The Wasp was ordered to call and receive such slaves as might be at Bona; and the Mutine proceeded to Oran for the same purpose.
Five Spaniards were afterwards brought by the Mutine, from Oran to Gibraltar; and fifty slaves had been sent from Oran to Algiers, previously to the Mutine's arrival, to be conveyed to their respective homes, through the medium of the British Consul. All the slaves therefore amounted to eleven hundred and thirty-eight, besides those of Constantina, and Bona, -who were seventy-three in number; making in the whole, twelve hundred and eleven slaves. Besides these, there were released by Lord Exmouth on his first visit to Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli, seventeen hundred and ninety-two slaves; making a grand total of thirty hundred and three helpless victims restored from slavish durance, to liberty. "This was the number of slaves we knew of; and if in process of time, we or our consul come to understand that any other slave is detained in any part of the kingdom of Algiers, the Dey is obliged to produce him, and give him up to the British Consul.