Portuguese would have called them) were the middle men in this affair.
They took their Barbary horses to the negro country, and "there bartered
with the great men for slaves," getting from ten to eighteen slaves for
each horse. They also brought silks of Granada and Tunis, and silver, in
exchange for which they received slaves and gold. These Arabs, or Moors,
had a place of trade of their own, called Hoden, behind Cape Blanco. There
the slaves were brought, "from whence," Ca da Mosto says, "they are sent
to the mountains of Barka, and from thence to Sicily; part of them are
also brought to Tunis and along the coast of Barbary, and the rest to
Argin, and sold to the licensed Portuguese. Every year between seven and
eight hundred slaves are sent from Argin to Portugal."

"Before this trade was settled," says Ca da Mosto, "the Portuguese used to
seize upon the Moors themselves (as appears occasionally from the evidence
that has before been referred to), and also the Azenegues, who live
further towards the south; but now peace is restored to all, and the
Infante suffers no further damage to be done to these people. He is in
hopes, that by conversing with Christians, they may easily be brought over
to the Romish faith, as they are not, as yet, well established in that of
Mohammed, of which they know nothing but by hear-say."


THE SENEGAL RIVER.

No doubt the prince's good intentions were greatly furthered by the
convenience of this mode of trading. In short, gain made for itself its
usual convenient channels to work in, and saved itself as much as it could
the trouble of discovery, or of marauding. Ca da Mosto being, as was said
before, the first modern European visiting Africa who himself gives an
account of it, and being, moreover, an honest and intelligent man,