Olaudah was sold to another trader and was sent
on a boat across the ocean. When he first saw
the boat he was very afraid because he had never seen a
ship or even white people before and it scared him. When he first saw the white men he was afraid that they were devils and wanted to kill and eat him (Dexheimer, Wheeler). Olaudah was put below deck with the other slaves being transported. People were sweating, vomiting, urinating, and defecating on themselves. People were constantly fainting and dying from the stale air that was below deck on the ship. They had tubs at one end of the boat to use as washrooms but they were rarely emptied and small children would sometimes fall in and drown. Olaudah was so ill that they allowed him to come on deck to breathe fresh air. He wanted to kill himself and so he stopped eating but they beat him until he had no choice but to eat (Wheeler).