le better than ten yards, or thirty-one feet. The greatest breadth
of the bottom, or floor, was ten feet four inches; and the least five.
Hence, a grown person must sit down all the voyage, and contract his
limbs within the narrow limits of three square feet. In the vessel of
eleven tons, the length of the room for the thirty slaves was twenty-two
feet. The greatest breadth of the floor was eight, and the least four.
The whole height from the keel to the beam was but five feet eight
inches, three feet of which were occupied by ballast, cargo, and
provisions, so that two feet eight inches remained only as the height
between the decks. Hence, each slave would have only four square feet to
sit in, and, when in this posture, his head, if he were a full-grown
person, would touch the ceiling, or upper deck.

Having now received this admeasurement from the builder, which was
rather more favourable than my own, I looked upon the destination of
these little vessels as yet more incredible than before. Still the
different persons, whom I occasionally saw on board them, persisted in
it that they were going to Africa for slaves, and also for the numbers
mentioned, which they were afterwards to carry to the West Indies
themselves. I desired, however, my friends, George Fisher, Truman
Harford, Harry Gandy, Walter Chandler, and others, each to make a
separate inquiry for me on this subject; and they all agreed that,
improbable as the account both of their destination, and of the number
they were to take, might appear, they had found it to be too true. I had
soon afterwards the sorrow to learn from official documents from the
Custom-house, that these little vessels actually cleared out for Africa,
and that now nothing could be related so barbarous of this traffic,
which might not instantly be believed.

In pursuing my different objects there was one, which, to my great
vexation, I found it extremely difficult to attain. This was the
procuring of any assurance from those who had been personally acquainted
with the horrors of this trade, that they would appear, if called upon,
as evidence against it. My friend Harry Gandy, to whom I had been first
introduced, had been two voyages, as I before mentioned; and he was
willing, though at an advanced age, to go to London, to state publicly
all he knew concerning them. But with respect to the many others in
Bristol, who had been to the coast of Africa, I had not yet found one
who would come for