So powerfully did this
sorrow operate, that many of them attempted in various ways to destroy
themselves, and three actually effected it. Others obstinately refused to
take sustenance; and when the whip and other violent means were used to
compel them to eat, they looked up in the face of the officer, who
unwillingly executed this painful task, and said with a smile, in their own
language, "Presently we shall be no more." This, their unhappy state of
mind, produced a general languor and debility, which were increased in many
instances by an unconquerable aversion to food, arising partly from
sickness, and partly, to use the language of the slave-captains, from
sulkiness. These causes naturally produced the flux. The contagion spread;
several were carried off daily; and the disorder, aided by so many powerful
auxiliaries, resisted the power of medicine. And it was worth while to
remark, that these grievous sufferings were not owing either to want of
care on the part of the owners, or to any negligence or harshness of the
captain; for Mr. Wilson declared, that his ship was as well fitted out, and
the crew and slaves as well treated, as any body could reasonably expect.
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