AN AMERICAN IN ALGIERS – PART 3 – Corsairs & Captives

This week, we continue with the captivity narrative of John Foss, a crewmember aboard an American merchant ship who, in October, 1793, was captured by Barbary corsairs from Algiers.

Last week’s excerpt ended with John Foss arriving in Algiers and then experiencing what he called “the hardest day’s work I ever underwent before.”

We pick up the story from there.

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As it is not in my power to write the particulars of each day of my captivity (which would be too tedious to my readers), I only intend to give you a short narrative of some of the most particular occurrences, which happened while I was in this abject slavery, and of the common labor and usage of the slaves, which is as follows.

At daybreak in the morning, the prison-keeper calls all the slaves out to go to work. At the door of the Bagnio, they are met by the Guardians or taskmasters (who have their orders from the Guardian Bachi, who is the master of all the slaves that belong to the regency). The slaves are then conducted to whatever place he has directed.

The greatest part of their work is blowing up rocks in the mountains. While some are drilling the holes, others are digging the earth from off those rocks, which are under it, and others carrying away the dirt in baskets. When the rocks are blown up, they take such as will answer their purpose (rocks less than 20 tons weight, will not serve.) Many that weigh 40 tons are hauled by the slaves two miles distance. They roll them to the bottom of the mountain, where there is a convenient place to put them on a sled. Here they are left until Friday, (which is the Mahometan Sabbath). On this day, all the Christian slaves belonging to the Regency are driven out to haul them to the Quay, which is about two miles from the place where they are loaded.

In order to haul these rocks, they place them upon a sled made of large square timber, and after being sufficiently secured with ropes, they put about six or seven hundred men to each sled, who haul it with ropes about seven inches in circumference, and as the road is all paved with large flat stones, they make some progress in the business. When rising an ascent, should the number who are at one sled, not be able to haul it up, they are assisted by the rest. By this means, they are enabled to haul three or four rocks in a day, upon each sled.

From this Quay, they are taken on board a Puntoon (which is a large flat bottomed kind of vessel) and discharged at the back of the Mole, with the help of wheels. These rocks are laid there in order to break off the sea, so that the mole may not wash away. It must have a continual supply, for every gale of wind that comes washes them out into deep water. After a gale, they have as much need of them as they had the first hour after the mole was built. So we may conclude this is a work that will never be finished.

On Friday when the slaves are going to work in the mountains, they pass out through the gates of the city, about daybreak in the morning, and arrive at the bottom of the mountain sometime before sunrise. On their arrival there, they are divided by the taskmasters into different gangs, each gang having one sled. They must haul as many in a day as the taskmasters think proper, and are treated with additional rigor and severity on this day. For the drivers are anxious to have as many sleds hauled as possible (because the number they haul must be reported to the Dey).

They continually beat the slaves with their sticks and goad them with the sticks’ ends, at which is set a small spear, not unlike an ox-goad, among our farmers. If any one chance to faint, and fall down with fatigue, they generally beat them until they are able to rise again. At night when they are done hauling, all hands are called together and have their names called by the clerk. Everyone must pass the Guardian Bachi as his name is called. After they are done calling, and find that none are missing, the slaves are driven by the taskmasters into the city, then left to go to the Bagnio by themselves, and must appear there within half an hour after they enter the gates of the city.

The roll is called every night in the prison, a few minutes before the gates are locked. If any one neglects his call, he is immediately put into irons, hands and feet, then chained to a pillar, where he must remain until the next morning. Then the irons are taken from his feet, and he is driven before a taskmaster, to the marine, and the Viguilhadge (who is the minister of the marine) orders what punishment he thinks proper, which is immediately inflicted by the taskmasters. He commonly orders 150, or 200 bastinadoes.

The manner of inflicting this punishment is as follows.

The person is laid upon his face, with his hands in irons behind him, and his legs lashed together with a rope. One taskmaster holds down his head and another his legs, while two others inflict the punishment upon his breech, with sticks somewhat larger than an ox-goad. After he has received one half his punishment in this manner, they lash his ancles to a pole, and two Turks lift the pole up, and hold it in such a manner, as brings the soles of his feet upward, and the remainder of his punishment he receives upon the soles of his feet. Then he is released from his bands, and obliged to go directly to work among the rest of his fellow-slaves.

On other days of the week only a part of the slaves work in the mountains, while the others work in the harbor. Those in the harbor are again divided into different companies, each company having different kinds of employment. Some are employed in careening the corsair ships and fitting them for sea. At other times they strip them and haul them up. Others are discharge their prizes, clean the harbor, and bring those large rocks, before mentioned, to the mole.

Every article that is transported from one part of the harbor to another, or from the harbor, to the city, or from the city to the harbor, or elsewhere, must be carried by the slaves, with poles upon their shoulders. For the streets are so narrow, that no kind of a carriage is used here, not even a wheelbarrow. In many streets it is difficult for one man to pass another.

When their prizes are discharged, their cargo must be all carried into the city, and stowed in magazines, so that some number of slaves are constantly carrying hogsheads of sugar, pipes of wine, casks of nails, cannon, &c.

They work from day break in the morning, until a certain hour in the afternoon, which they call Laza, which is just half an hour before sunset, summer and winter. At this time, they hoist a white flag upon the Mosques to denote that it is the hour of prayer, it being contrary to their religion to have a bell sound among them. On Fridays they hoist a green flag, this being a favorite color of Mahomet.

All the slaves at this hour are ordered to leave work, except when they are fitting the corsair ships for sea in a hurry. Oftentimes when this is the case, they are obliged to work all night, and then go up to the gate, called Babazia, which is the marine gate, and before they can pass, they are searched by the taskmasters to prevent their stealing anything from the Regency. If they are found with anything except a few chips, they do not escape punishment. I have known a slave to receive a hundred bastinadoes for being found with three board nails.

Having related the daily labors of the slaves, I will now proceed to give you an account of the provisions they are allowed to subsist on to enable them to perform this laborious slavery, and the clothing they are allowed to protect them from the cold rains and the scorching rays of the sun.

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For the next installment of John Foss’s narrative, see the next post here in this blog.

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For those who may be interested…

The above excerpt from John Foss’s narrative comes from A journal, of the captivity and sufferings of John Foss; several years a prisoner at Algiers: together with some account of the treatment of Christian slaves when sick—and observations on the Manners and Customs of the Algerines, second edition, originally published in 1798, pp. 22-27.

As usual, I have lightly edited and abridged the original text to make it more accessible for modern readers.