text:  That is the yearly importation into the island; but when you take into consideration the vast numbers that perish before they leave their own coasts the still greater number that die amidst the horrors of the middle passage and the number that are lost at sea you will come to the inevitable conclusion that the number landed in Cuba--50 000 annually--is but a slight indication of the number shipped in Africa or of the miseries and destruction that have taken place among them during their transport thither