His firm, he continued, had formerly sent most of its slaves by sea, but one of the vessels carrying them had been driven to Bermuda, where all the negroes had escaped to land and obtained their freedom under the British flag.[30] [Footnote 30: _Ibid_., pp.

145-149.] The scale of the coasting transit of slaves may be ascertained from the ship manifests made under the requirements of the congressional act of 1808 and now preserved in large numbers in the manuscripts division of the Library of Congress.

Its volume appears to have ranged commonly, between 1815 and 1860, at from two to five thousand slaves a year.

Several score of these, or perhaps a few hundred, annually were carried as body servants by their owners when making visits whether to southern cities or to New York or Philadelphia.

Of the rest about half were sent or carried without intent of sale.