"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الجزء II. ج. ج. لوريمر. ١٩١٥" [‎٢‎٤‎٩‎٦] (١٢٦٢/١٠١٣)

2496
Caplures by
H.M.S.
" Philomel"
1884
Captures by
H.M.S.
" Osprey"
and H.M.S.
" Ranger
1885.
be both easier and more effective tban to watcb 2^500 miles of the
Arabian coast from Makalla to Basrah; but reports from East Africa
showed that other reasons for the increase also existed. The principal of
these was a severe famine upon the mainland of Africa, which had
brought down the price of slaves there to six shillings a head; but an
impression also prevailed at Zanzibar that the British Government, in
consequence of reverses in the Soudan, had at last withdrawn their
opposition to the slave trade. Importations having become frequent,
captures by British cruisers also commenced.
In October 1884, when H.M.S. "Philomel^, Captain Lang, was
lying at anchor off Ras-al-Hadd, a native vessel was sighted coming up
' from the south-west and was pursued by the "Philomel^ under sail
only; on a gun being fired across her bows as a signal to heave to she
made straight for the coast, but she was intercepted by the "Philomel ",
which had meanwhile got up steam. The Nakhuda of the Arab vessel
and five slave dealers succeeded in escaping to the shore In a small boat,
but three dealers were captured by the " PhilomeFs " boats and three on
board of the vessel. The ship was found to contain 128 male and 26
female slaves of the Wazaramo tribe, all of whom were in a wretched
condition, having been without food or water for two days; and corre*
spondence was discovered on board which threw considerable light upon
the slave trade. The prize, of which the destination was shown to^ be
Khadhra in Batinah, was condemned, with her cargo, in the Vice-
Admiralty Court at Masqat; and the slave traders captured were
imprisoned by the Sultan of ''Oman in Fort Mirani.
At Masqat Captain Lang received a telegram from the Admiral,
directing him to proceed at once to Aden; and on the 18th of October,
on his way there, he fell in with a suspicious Sambuk a little to the
northward of Masirah Island. On boarding her she was found to be
the <( Fatah-al-Khair 33 of Sur, bound for a port in Batinah; she had
on board 30 male and 21 female slaves; and besides the Nakhuda, who
was also owner, she carried four passengers and a crew of eight men,
the passengers being the proprietors of the slaves. The slaves were
removed to the " Philomel }> and the Sambuk was at first taken in tow;
as, however, she proved to be unseaworthy, the crew and passengers with
their effects were transferred to the " Philomel 33 on the 23rd of October
and the vessel itself was burned. On the 26th of October the " Philo
mel^ reached Aden, where the slaves and cargo were disposed of accord
ing to law and the destruction of the prize was confirmed by the Vice-
Admiralty Court. The Nakhuda and the slave dealers were afterwards
sent to Masqat and imprisoned there by the Sultan of ''Oman in Fort
Jalali.
In the early part of the ensuing season no vessels of the Royal
Navy could be spared for cruising against slavers. Later on three
ships were sent, and of these H.M.S, " Osprey ^ succeeded, on the 19th
of September 1885, in capturing a vessel with 73 slaves; and, ten days
after, H.M.S. a Eanger" seized a fishing boat off Sur, in which were
two slaves recently disembarked from a slaver. In the former case the
vessel was condemned in the Vice-Admiralty Court at Masqat and the
dealer punished with imprisonment by the Sultan of ; Oman,
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